"Move!"
"Come on, MOVE!"
"Why won't my body listen?!"
Kuchiki Byakuya screamed internally.
But his limbs were frozen—numb and unresponsive. No matter how loudly he shouted in his mind, no matter how he commanded himself, there was no reply.
He stood there like a puppet with cut strings, utterly immobile.
Helpless, he watched as Lan Yan extended a single finger.
"Hadō #4 – Byakurai."
The words had barely left his lips—
BOOM!
A thunderous crack echoed across the training field like ten thousand beasts roaring.
A dazzling arc of blue-white lightning burst from Lan Yan's fingertip and shot straight toward Byakuya.
"No… I'm the heir of the noble Kuchiki clan!"
"How can I be defeated by a lowly fourth-tier Hadō?!"
"This is unacceptable!"
Byakuya's pupils widened as the lightning drew near. Rage and helplessness flooded his chest.
His body… crushed under Lan Yan's spiritual pressure, wouldn't even budge.
He couldn't believe it.
He couldn't accept it.
BOOM!
Lan Yan lowered his hand and didn't even spare Byakuya a glance.
He had no interest in looking at people who lost to him.
Especially someone he had never once considered a real opponent.
—Your Kidō talent is extremely pleased with that flex.
—Motivated by success, it has just completed training in dual-cast incantation-less Kidō: you can now cast two Hadō or two Bakudō spells at the same time.
—Your spiritual pressure, not to be outdone, says it was inspired and has just broken through to the level of eight-carriage-class.
Lan Yan chuckled to himself.
All he'd done was flex a little—and got this as a reward?
His Kidō and spiritual pressure were just too diligent. Always training. Never slacking.
After today's events, one thing was clear:
His swordsmanship, Kidō, spiritual pressure, even his Zanpakutō—none of them wanted to be low-key.
Even if he did.
Thud!
A heavy sound rang out across the field.
Everyone turned in stunned silence to see Byakuya collapse to the ground, drenched in cold sweat, face pale.
As the crushing pressure finally lifted, he slowly turned his head to look at the ground beside him.
There, from his feet stretching out over a hundred meters, was a deep scorched groove—still sparking with arcs of white-blue lightning.
Just from that one, Byakurai.
A fourth-tier Hadō spell.
And yet its range and destructive power had utterly dwarfed his own full-chanted Hadō #33: Sōkatsui.
"…Talent, huh?"
Byakuya stared at the lightning-scorched trench, hands trembling, fingers clawing at the dirt.
His mind reeled in chaos.
For the first time in his life, he felt—deep down—that the Kuchiki name… meant nothing in front of Lan Yan.
He crushed the thought immediately.
But it had already taken root.
"Was that really just Hadō #4: Byakurai?" Tessai Tsukabishi muttered.
He'd been able to cast Byakurai without chanting since this morning. But he could never unleash that kind of power.
That… wasn't just control.
That was monstrous strength.
"Range, force, spiritual pressure... That wasn't any different from what a captain-level Shinigami could do. In fact, it might've been stronger than some weaker captains," Ukitake Jūshirō muttered aloud, unable to hide the shock on his face.
He was a veteran captain. He knew exactly what that kind of Byakurai meant.
It wasn't a spell you tried to block.
Even he would avoid taking it head-on.
"His spiritual pressure… it's even stronger than yesterday."
"He's got Shikai. He's mastered every recorded Hadō and Bakudō spell…"
"Brother… your pace is only accelerating."
Aizen stood calmly, glasses glinting, his eyes flashing.
He understood now.
This wasn't just pressure.
It was a signal.
Time to speed up.
He didn't feel crushed—he felt motivated.
Every display of power was fuel for his growth.
"He suppressed Byakuya entirely, just with spiritual pressure."
"And then that Byakurai…"
"Does his talent have no ceiling?"
Shihouin Yoruichi was stunned.
She could defeat Byakuya, sure—especially with her speed. One hit and it would be over.
But compared to Lan Yan?
There was no comparison.
"Lan Yan," Ukitake finally said, voice trembling slightly.
"You've… already mastered all sixty Hadō and Bakudō spells recorded in the Kidō Compendium: Volume I?"
"And can cast them without chanting?"
Everyone froze.
Even Aizen.
"Yes," Lan Yan replied with a small nod, calm and honest.
There was no need to hide his strength.
Not when it changed by the minute.
Every moment that passed made the "old" him obsolete.
Which meant every minute was a hidden ace.
Concealing power? Pointless.
Anyone trying to ambush him based on "gathered intelligence" would fail before they even made a move.
Because by the time they attacked, his strength would already have surpassed what they knew.
"What?!"
"That fast?!"
"He's learned everything—in less than half an hour?!"
The entire class broke into stunned murmurs.
And not a single one of them doubted it.
That Byakurai… and Byakuya's total defeat—were all the proof they needed.
"I thought so," Ukitake murmured.
"That's why you didn't train like the others."
"That's why you told me to focus on the other students."
"Because you'd already… finished."
Even though he'd suspected, hearing it confirmed still shook him.
This kind of genius—there was no doubt.
Lan Yan would one day succeed Yamamoto Genryūsai as Captain-Commander…
Or ascend to the Royal Guard itself.
"That's exactly right," Lan Yan said, reclining back against the tree trunk.
To be fair, Ukitake wasn't entirely right—but close enough.
He hadn't expected the teenage version of Byakuya to be this hot-headed.
So sensitive to being questioned or slighted. So ready to start a fight.
Completely unlike the calm and stoic captain, he would become.
"My mistake," Ukitake said, finally calming himself. "I underestimated your speed."
"But this is still class time. Even if you've finished Volume I, it's not great to just sit around."
"I'll have someone bring you Volume II."
That volume contained the high-level spells—Hadō and Bakudō #61–99.
Originally, Ukitake thought that even with Lan Yan's talent, he wouldn't touch it until at least the second semester.
But now?
It was still Day One.
First period.
And it was already time.