Its Name

Evening in the student dormitory.

After returning, Hisagi Shūhei lay down on his bed to read and rest, while the bed beside him, Xin's, was completely empty.

He had no idea where Xin had gone. Xin was now the President of the Spirit Training Academy's Student Council, so whatever he was up to, it wouldn't be surprising.

Shūhei didn't dwell on it. But just as he was reading, he suddenly felt an overwhelmingly familiar, powerful Spiritual Pressure surge from afar, jolting him upright on his bed.

This Spiritual Pressure... it's Xin's!

As a Fifth-year student at the Spirit Training Academy, sensing and recognizing Spiritual Pressure was second nature to him. He could never mistake Xin's.

But this intensity was far beyond anything he knew.

The sudden burst of Spiritual Pressure was detected by most students in the academy, stirring up quite a commotion on campus. Some recognized whose Spiritual Pressure it was, while others wondered which teacher—or even a Shinigami—had unleashed it within the academy grounds.

Hisagi Shūbei furrowed his brow in thought for a moment, then set down his book and quickly left the dormitory, heading toward the direction from which the Spiritual Pressure had come.

Outside the Kendo Classroom.

The first to arrive was Nanda Hidezawa. The moment he sensed that the Spiritual Pressure fluctuation came from Xin, he rushed to the scene without a moment's delay.

It was already evening, close to bedtime, so the only person who could still be in the kendo classroom seemed to be Xin, the Student Council President.

But by the time he reached the outside of the kendo classroom, the Spiritual Pressure fluctuation inside had already subsided.

Focusing carefully, he could sense someone was still in there.

Seeing others starting to gather nearby, Nanda Hidezawa thought for a moment, then took the initiative to push open the door and step inside.

In the empty, silent kendo classroom, Xin sat alone cross-legged in the center, an ordinary black Asauchi resting horizontally across his thighs.

Nanda Hidezawa paused slightly at the sight, a flicker of realization passing through his eyes.

"Teacher Nanda?"

Xin noticed the arrival and spoke in surprise, a smile spreading across his face.

"What brings you here?"

Nanda Hidezawa closed the classroom door behind him and asked, "I should be asking you. What were you doing, making such a big commotion?"

"Commotion?"

Xin thought for a moment. He hadn't paid attention earlier, but now that he recalled, he had unintentionally released a burst of Spiritual Pressure.

Had it alarmed that many people...

Nanda Hidezawa noticed that after his question, Xin's presence seemed to have become even more subdued, as if drawing inward. He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination.

His expression turned serious as he looked at the Asauchi-style blade in front of Xin.

"Let me ask you—have you obtained your own Zanpakutō?"

Xin glanced down at the Asauchi before him and chuckled lightly. "You could say that."

"..." Nanda Hidezawa took a deep breath. Countless thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant, but in the end, only one word came out.

"Good!"

As Xin's teacher, Nanda Hidezawa was genuinely overjoyed by this news, but he kept his expression in check.

Even among graduates of the Spirit Training Academy—those hailed as "geniuses"—it was extremely rare for anyone to awaken their Zanpakutō while still a student. Xin had given him a tremendous surprise.

Compared to Nanda Hidezawa's delight, Xin's heart was perfectly at ease.

For him, awakening his Zanpakutō was simply a matter of gradual progress, taking its natural course.

And the Asauchi before him was not his true Zanpakutō—it was just a decoy he had taken from the storage room. His real blade was hidden away. The reason for this was that his sword looked somewhat unusual, and if he casually displayed it, it would draw too much attention.

Spiritual Pressure Level: Lv:18
Zanpakutō Unlock Progress: 12% (Half-Release)

However, after calling out its true name just now, the Zanpakutō's unlock progress had increased by a little on its own.

"Come on. A student who awakens a Zanpakutō at the Spirit Training Academy needs to be registered," Nanda Hidezawa said. "Since this Asauchi has become your blade, you may carry it with you from now on."

The two walked out of the kendo classroom together, only to find quite a crowd gathered outside—students and teachers alike.

Hisagi Shūhei and Kanazawa were there too. Xin smiled and waved at them.

"Teacher Nanda, what's going on?" one of the teachers who had arrived asked.

Nanda Hidezawa pulled them aside and spoke in low tones. After hearing his explanation, the teachers all turned to look at Xin with peculiar expressions.

"What happened?" Shūhei and Kanazawa came up beside Xin and asked.

Xin gestured to the blade in his arms and said, "Just this."

The two were stunned for a moment, then both realized at once.

"Xin, you..."

Xin scratched his head and said, "Yeah. Now Teacher Nanda says he has to take me to register. What a hassle."

"Let's go, Xin!"

Nanda Hidezawa called out, and Shin followed him. The other students dispersed under the guidance of the local teachers.

But the spiritual pressure fluctuation from earlier still sparked murmurs among the students. It wasn't hard to guess that Shin had walked out of the kendo dojo with a sword, and soon, word spread throughout the Spirit Training Academy that Student Council President Tachikawa Shin had awakened his Zanpakutō.

Shin followed Nanda Hidezawa to the faculty office. Nanda told him to wait there and left alone. About ten or fifteen minutes later, two more teachers from the Spirit Training Academy accompanied him back.

"Tachikawa."

Shin recognized them—they were senior instructors at the academy.

"Is that your Zanpakutō now?" one of them asked, pointing at the sword Shin was holding.

Shin gave a slight nod.

The two teachers exchanged glances. One spoke up: "It's extremely rare for a student at the Spirit Training Academy to possess their own Zanpakutō... As expected of the Student Council President. No wonder the Principal thinks so highly of you. Congratulations, Tachikawa."

Even Nanda Hidezawa couldn't suppress the smile spreading across his face.

One teacher pulled out a notebook, while the other began questioning him.

"Could you please describe your Zanpakutō's name and abilities in detail?"

They needed to record every Shinigami's Zanpakutō on file. Besides Shin's verbal account, they would likely have him demonstrate its abilities shortly.

Shin looked at the sword in his arms. Its appearance was no different from an ordinary Asauchi—mainly because Shin hadn't bothered to disguise it. Still, Zanpakutō came in all sorts of bizarre forms, so any look was plausible.

As for its abilities... how should he put it?

Shin hadn't really prepared a story for that. He paused for a moment, then slowly spoke.

"It's called..."

"This Shore, That Shore!"