Soul Society, South Rukongai, outskirts of the Third District.
A spinning black vortex suddenly appeared in the dim sky. Then, two figures stepped out of it, and the vortex gradually vanished.
"Where are we going next?" Eroding Wolf turned and asked. "Straight to the World of the Living?"
"No, let's visit the Shiba Family first."
"You really do care about your disciple."
"Quit yapping."
"Yeah, yeah! Got it, got it!"
Soul Society, West Rukongai, Shiba Family.
At night, silvery moonlight softly spilled across the ground, reflecting mottled shadows of trees and rocks, as well as the sturdy man still training diligently in the Sakki-seki training grounds.
"Ganju..."
At the top of a towering tree, Shadow, dressed in a Shihakushō, muttered to himself. Ganju Shiba's talent was not particularly outstanding, but precisely because of that, he needed to work even harder. After all, he had his own reason why he absolutely could not lose.
"His talent for Swordsmanship really isn't much. No, it should be called downright terrible. Still, I didn't expect him to be quite accomplished in Ninjutsu."
Leaning against the trunk, Eroding Wolf snorted.
"Isn't that only natural?"
With a tap of his toes, Shadow's powerful burst of strength launched him into the air like a fired cannonball.
"...They're all my pride."
A smile curled across Shadow's lips. Dense lightning surged around his airborne figure in an instant, crackling nonstop as silver-blue electric light illuminated the dark night sky.
His raised arm brimmed with lightning. With only a slight swing, a thick, blinding bolt of lightning struck down from the heavens at Ganju Shiba below, who had raised his head at the sound.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Return!!!"
The hastily formed rocks were shattered in an instant, but they successfully blocked most of the attack. The remaining current