News of what had happened during the Real World training exercise had already spread throughout the Shin'ō Academy by the next day.
More than the shocking fact that a Menos had appeared during a mock combat scenario, what truly stunned everyone—and quickly became the talk of the school—was that Student Council President Tachikawa Nobu had slain the Menos with a single strike.
As usual, Nobu skipped class that day. He spent the morning alone in the student council office, unaffected by the growing buzz around him.
Sometime before noon, Nanada Hideki came by. The instructor shared his lingering alarm over the previous night's events and couldn't hide his amazement that Nobu had actually killed a Gillian.
"Nobu, maybe it really is right that you stopped attending classes. There's nothing left for this teacher to teach you."
But Nobu responded seriously, "Nanada-sensei, you've already taught me so much. I owe a great deal of who I am today to you."
Nanada laughed heartily. "You're the best student I've ever had, Nobu. When you join the Gotei 13, I know you'll go far. That alone will make me proud."
After lunch, Hinamori Momo, Kira Izuru, and Abarai Renji came by together, saying they wanted to formally thank Nobu for saving them the night before.
Both Kira and Renji's attitudes had noticeably changed—they now treated Nobu with quiet respect, barely meeting his eyes.
Hinamori offered effusive praise, recounting how she had been completely paralyzed by the Hollow's spiritual pressure and how Nobu had felled it with a single stroke. She even asked if he might be willing to give her some sword training during his spare time.
At the mention of this, both Renji and Kira lit up with excitement.
If it were just Hinamori, Nobu would have agreed without hesitation—an easy way to build goodwill.
But if Kira and Renji joined too, it would start eating into his training and rest time.
Still, knowing the kind of future both of them would go on to achieve, Nobu paused and said, "We'll see. If I have time."
Hinamori beamed. "Then it's settled, President!"
Nobu gave a dry look. "I said, if I have time."
"You'll definitely have time," she said sweetly.
By afternoon, once class began, Nobu was alone again in the office. That was when Shiba Kaien appeared.
News travels fast… Nobu thought as he saw him enter.
"A rare guest. Vice-Captain Shiba."
Kaien stepped in and gave Nobu a once-over, as though seeing him for the first time. He clicked his tongue. "Unreal. You know word about you has already made it all through the Thirteen Divisions?"
Nobu laughed. "Is the Gotei 13 that idle? All I did was kill a Menos. Hardly worth gossiping over."
Kaien shook his head lightly. "You're still a student. A student who killed a Gillian. Of course it's worth talking about. And honestly, what happened last night was… strange."
Nobu's eyes narrowed slightly. "What do you mean?"
Kaien hesitated, then said, "All the Shinigami from the Barrier Squad who were assigned to your team last night—they were killed."
Nobu's expression twitched. "By who?"
"According to the investigation, it might have been a member of the Twelfth Division."
"The Twelfth?"
Nobu was genuinely surprised. He had assumed Aizen would fabricate some kind of plausible cover story—but he hadn't expected him to drag the Twelfth into it.
The Twelfth Division oversaw the Department of Research and Development, and its current captain, Kurotsuchi Mayuri, also headed the R&D Bureau.
Kaien continued, "That member apparently couldn't take Captain Kurotsuchi's methods anymore. He held a grudge against the Soul Society and defected last night."
Nobu: "…"
He was silent for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing."
Kaien narrowed his eyes. "I saw the footage from last night. That strike you used to kill the Hollow—was that the power of your Zanpakutō?"
Nobu tilted his head. "That one? No, that was just sword pressure."
Kaien didn't look convinced. "Really?"
Nobu casually picked up a pen from the desk, twirled it once between his fingers, and then slashed it through the air in front of him.
Whoosh!
From the arc of the pen's motion, a visible crescent of sword energy sliced outward.
Kaien instinctively sidestepped it, eyes wide as it shot past.
He turned back to Nobu, visibly shaken.
You couldn't tell from the footage—but having felt it up close, Kaien now understood viscerally how dangerous it was.
This kid…
Kaien's expression wavered. That kind of pure swordsmanship—he'd never seen anything like it.
Swordsmanship was a core part of Shinigami training, sure, but very few could ever claim true mastery. For most, an unreleased Zanpakutō was little more than a vessel for raw speed and strength.
But Nobu's blade was different. He was truly skilled in the art of the sword. That one, simple strike held both elegance and terrifying efficiency.
"You believe me now?" Nobu asked with a faint smile.
Kaien looked at him and said slowly, "With your talent… I doubt your future will stop at the Fourth Division."
"Oh? Aren't you worried Captain Unohana might hear you say that?"
Kaien burst into laughter. "Captain Unohana wouldn't be that petty. And honestly, if she found out what your swordsmanship is really like, I doubt she'd insist on keeping you in the Fourth."
"I think the Fourth Division is just fine."
Kaien only replied, "You'll understand once you're officially stationed there."
---
Fourth Division barracks.
Kotetsu Isane was watching a recording with Captain Unohana Retsu. She'd obtained it from the Twelfth Division—footage of the Shin'ō students' entire field exercise the night before.
When the footage reached the moment where Nobu felled the Gillian in one blow, Isane sneaked a glance at her captain.
"Isane."
"Yes, Captain!"
"Rewind a little," Unohana said, her voice soft and level, eyes never leaving the screen.
Isane quickly moved to rewind the video. She already had a good idea what her captain wanted to review—so she dragged the timeline back to just before Nobu's battle with the Hollow.
They watched the moment again—Nobu's clean, devastating slash.
Isane couldn't help commenting, "Captain, Nobu-kun's strength is truly remarkable."
"…Yes, it is."
Unohana's voice was so calm, it carried no inflection at all. Isane blinked, uncertain. Then she heard her captain speak again.
"Isane, did you notice anything?"
Isane froze. She didn't know what specific "thing" the captain meant.
The obvious highlight of the entire video was that one moment—Nobu's battle.
She thought carefully, then asked, "Captain… could it be that Nobu-kun's strike was the power of his Zanpakutō?"
"It wasn't."
Unohana gave a rare, quiet denial. Her serene eyes had grown unreadably deep.
"Many people will probably think the same as you. But that was nothing more than pure swordsmanship."
Then, unexpectedly, Unohana let out a warm, gentle laugh. Her next words were spoken almost to herself.
"Good. I saw through it…"