Chapter 24: The Strongest Light Type Zanpakuto (Forced)
During this time, Omaeda was thriving.
Counting money until his hands cramped was not even the important part.
He was already rich.
What he really wanted now was reputation. He wanted his name to carry weight in the Gotei 13, for people to look at him with new respect. Ideally, they would even be a little deferential when they saw him.
Omaeda felt that goal was not far off.
After all, he had already conquered the most difficult group of stubborn troublemakers.
"Heh heh, those idiots from the Eleventh Division looked down on my medicine at first, but now every single one of them has to squeeze out a smile when they see me, just to buy a little more than the others. I thought they were all brainless brutes, but it turns out they can be a bit clever."
"But that is good. If they were really stupid, I would not dare sell to them at all. Only the clever ones know how to keep their mouths shut. That way I can slowly move on and conquer other Divisions."
"When this whole thing spreads so much that it cannot be hidden anymore, when Grandpa Omaeda is finally forced into the spotlight, I wonder how many jaws will hit the floor. Even if the business collapses and I walk away, it will still be the biggest story in years. Fame and popularity will just roll over me."
He lay back in a chair, lazily basking in the sun and soaking in the fantasies of becoming the Seireitei's newest big star.
Then a cold, clear voice fell from above and froze the warmth out of the air.
"Omaeda, can you explain to me what exactly this so called medicine is?"
Omaeda jolted so hard he flipped off the lounge chair and crashed to the ground, covering himself in dust. He did not even feel it.
"C Captain? Why are you here? Weren't you at a meeting?"
"I was at the Captains' regular meeting." Suì Feng walked toward him, face dark. "If I had not gone, I would not have known you were secretly selling illegal drugs."
"What illegal drugs? This is a misunderstanding, a complete misunderstanding. It is just a simple laxative. I was kindly sharing a homemade folk remedy. And I was not even selling it on purpose for money. They were the ones who forced money into my hands to express their gratitude. That is not a transaction."
Omaeda was so scared he almost lost control of his bladder. Prison was the last place he wanted to end up.
"You really are from the Onmitsukido, aren't you? Your spiritual law exam must have gone very well."
Suì Feng laughed from sheer anger.
"But that kind of excuse might work on others. It will not work on me."
Seeing her raise her hand as if she was about to strike, Omaeda's face went white.
"W wait, Captain Suì Feng."
A gentle voice cut in.
Retsu Unohana, with Isane at her side, appeared in front of Omaeda, having come from the same direction as Suì Feng.
Despite her gentle expression and beautiful features, despite the loving responsibility she bore as the leader of the healing Division, the first thing Omaeda felt when he saw her was even greater fear.
"C Captain Unohana?!"
"Good afternoon, Vice Captain Omaeda."
Unohana smiled like the sun finally breaking through clouds. "The weather is lovely today."
That smile made Omaeda tremble uncontrollably.
His legs, which had been poised to run, suddenly felt like jelly.
"Such good weather is perfect for a little conversation," Unohana continued mildly. "I would like to understand the source of this medicine from you. I hope you will not hesitate to enlighten me."
"…"
Omaeda opened his mouth, then silently apologized to Takeru and Ichigo in his heart.
It was not that he lacked cunning.
At this moment, neither a brute nor a clever man would dare lie.
Before long, he spilled everything like beans pouring from a bamboo tube.
"…To think it was concocted by two first year students. That makes this a little difficult to handle."
Outside the Second Division barracks, Isane let out a soft sigh as she walked down the steps.
Behind her, faint shouts drifted out.
Things like, "Captain, I was doing this to improve the reputation of the Onmitsukido."
And, "You used a laxative to improve the Onmitsukido's reputation, did you? Do you know what kind of terrible nickname that bastard Kenpachi is calling me now?"
She pretended not to hear any of it.
"Yes, it is a bit troublesome," Unohana mused, walking beside her, "but in its own way, we should also be thankful. At least it is not a serious crime. At worst it is… a prank, perhaps."
A prank.
Really?
Hearing the screams coming from inside the barracks, Isane could not help but shiver. This kind of prank was not something ordinary people could endure.
"In any case, we must meet these two young people."
Unafraid of the harsh sunlight, Unohana looked up. The rays, unobstructed by trees, were a little dazzling. She narrowed her eyes slightly and gazed in the direction of the Spiritual Arts Academy.
…
Spiritual Arts Academy, training ground.
"Hadō 63 Raikoho."
Golden lightning roared in Takeru's hands.
Electric snakes crackled and danced around him, then surged forward in a single blazing line that tore through the formation of puppet enemies.
These were specially made shikigami used by the Academy. Once destroyed, they reverted to folded paper effigies. Because they lacked any real combat ability, they were perfect as training dummies for students' practical drills.
"Hey hey hey hey!"
Ichigo charged in from the gap Takeru had opened.
Hachihara and Rindo Yu guarded the rear, constantly disrupting any attempts by the puppets to regroup and completely surround Ichigo.
That way, they always had a retreat route.
But their tactics were too solid, and with their current strength, there was almost no need to retreat at all.
It did not take long for them to cleanly sweep away more than a thousand puppets.
Under the stunned gazes of the other students, as if watching a miracle unfold, the four of them once again took the top results.
"Takeru's Kido is improving too fast. Is Aizen sensei's guidance really that amazing?"
After class, Hachihara spoke with barely concealed envy.
"Sensei's guidance is amazing, yes," Takeru said, shaking his head slightly, "but my progress still is not enough. Once I skip the incantation, the power is less than a third of the full version. Kido is really hard to train. Hakuda and Zanjutsu are more straightforward."
"That is for sure."
Ichigo cut in.
"With your strength, even a Menos Grande gets humbled, and every time the sword instructor looks at you, it is with this complicated expression. The Hakuda instructor does not even dare to seriously spar with you."
"I feel like you do not even need technique. Just swinging your fist or sword is more than enough."
Takeru did not get angry. If anything, his eyes brightened, as if he had found a new angle.
"Hearing you say that, I feel I am especially suited to iai. Drawing a punch and drawing a sword. The technical content sounds very high."
"?"
Ichigo blinked.
To be honest, it actually made sense.
"Sigh."
Hachihara let out a long, heavy sigh.
"You two keep getting stronger, while Rindo and I are still stuck in place."
"If the rest of the class heard you say that, they would cry."
Takeru gave her a sidelong glance.
"Is it not true? Rindo and I still do not see any sign of Shikai. If I could have mastered Shikai earlier, I could have given that guy a proper beating that night."
"That might be a little difficult," Ichigo said, his cheek twitching.
It had been a Menos Grande.
He and Takeru both had fourth class spiritual pressure, equivalent to a top level Vice Captain, and even then, only because their Shikai were special did they manage to defeat it.
Rindo Yu also nodded, typing to say that just being able to help at all had been his limit.
"Besides, you are not interested in Zanjutsu anyway. Even if you awakened Shikai, you would not be able to fully use your Zanpakuto's strengths."
"What if my Shikai is Hakuda type?" Hachihara shot back, unconvinced.
"Is there even such a type of Zanpakuto?"
Ichigo was stunned, glancing unconsciously at Takeru and Rindo.
He genuinely did not know, but from Hachihara's point of view, that look was pure mockery.
"Hard to say," Takeru replied, which soothed her a little.
"Besides, my Zanpakuto glows, so who is to say it is not light type?"
"Mm hm, mm hm, Takeru is right," Hachihara said quickly.
"???"
"???"
Ichigo was full of question marks, and even Rindo Yu felt the urge to say something. But looking at the two happily praising each other, he did not know where to even begin.
"Takeru, your Zanpakuto is absolutely the strongest light type Zanpakuto."
"Hachihara, your Zanpakuto is absolutely the strongest Hakuda type Zanpakuto."
Basking in the title of strongest light type Zanpakuto, Takeru returned to the dormitory, changed clothes, picked up his thermos, and headed out again.
His destination was the hillside behind the dorms.
Because it was close by and few people came here, the four of them had claimed it as their personal training ground.
It was not that the Spiritual Arts Academy did not have proper practice fields, but because so many students used them, the four did not want to stand out more than they already did.
Besides, they felt bad constantly destroying the official training grounds.
Practicing on this patch of barren land with few trees also saved the Academy a decent amount in maintenance costs.
"Hoo…"
Maybe it was because he had secretly been training here whenever Ichigo was out hauling water.
Takeru felt especially sharp today.
He lowered his body slightly. His hand relaxed around the sword hilt with perfect control, his posture like a leopard coiled to spring, each muscle fiber aligned for maximum power.
His spiritual pressure, far beyond his peers, was compressed and refined. He pushed it through the release points in his wrist into the hilt, then into the scabbard, where it formed seven Kido threads.
Right now, a single flick of his thumb on the guard would snap those threads and send them shooting from the opened scabbard, slicing any enemy in front of him to pieces.
He had grasped the essence of American style iai.
Just as Takeru fully concentrated, waiting for that instant where his body and mind would mesh like interlocking gears, ready for ignition, he heard a soft rustle nearby.
In that instant, his thumb twitched on instinct.
But another slender hand had already anticipated the motion and pressed down over his.
It held his thumb firmly in place.
Seven Flash was stopped from being unleashed.
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