"By the way, Hyorinmaru, why are your swordsmanship and Hakuda skills so strong?" Toshiro asked, somewhat puzzled.
Although Toshiro's swordsmanship and Hakuda couldn't be called exceptionally powerful, he had consistently ranked first in the Shin'o Academy's assessments, with no other student surpassing him.
But at the beginning, when Toshiro fought Hyorinmaru using swordsmanship and Hakuda, he couldn't fight back at all.
Fortunately, Toshiro was a monstrous genius, learning while fighting, which allowed him to gradually start counterattacking.
"Nothing much, really. The Ice Dragon Pearl contains memories of battles between human cultivators that the ice dragon once witnessed. I just imitated what I saw," Hyorinmaru said, sitting down beside Toshiro.
"Is that so? Then, can I learn swordsmanship and Hakuda from you in the future?"
What the Shin'o Academy taught in Zanjutsu and Hakuda were just the basics, which Toshiro had long since mastered.
"Of course, no problem. After all, you are my master. My reason for existing is you. If you need it, everything I have is yours," Hyorinmaru said, turning her head to look at Toshiro.
"However, I'm just imitating without grasping the essence. If you want to train swordsmanship and Hakuda to a high level, it's best to go to Yamamoto Genryusai," Hyorinmaru advised.
"Yeah. Captain-Commander Yamamoto has lived for so many years. His abilities in Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hoho, and Kido should all have reached the limit of what a Shinigami can achieve."
"That's why I didn't refuse when Kyoraku Shunsui told me to go see Captain-Commander Yamamoto at noon," Toshiro said.
Suddenly, Toshiro remembered something and looked at Hyorinmaru with expectation. "Oh, right, Hyorinmaru. Since the Ice Dragon Pearl contains the ice dragon's inherited memories, there should be cultivation methods to become an immortal or something, right? Can you teach me?"
Toshiro felt that cultivating to become a god or immortal must be much stronger than Shinigami powers.
Hyorinmaru looked at Toshiro with some amusement. "There are, but unfortunately, you can't use them."
"Why?" Toshiro asked urgently.
"Because you're not human," Hyorinmaru explained.
"You're the one who's not human..."
Before Toshiro could finish, he suddenly remembered he indeed wasn't human.
"Correct. A Shinigami's body is composed of Reishi, making them a different species from humans. Most of the inherited memories are dragon cultivation techniques, with a small portion of human techniques. None are suitable for you," Hyorinmaru explained.
"Is that so?" Toshiro sighed, somewhat disappointed.
"But don't be disheartened. All cultivation paths ultimately converge. Shinigami power, when trained to profound levels, is also incredibly formidable," Hyorinmaru comforted.
"Yeah, I know," Toshiro said, not really disheartened. He had just asked casually.
"Uh... Hyorinmaru, from now on, can you maintain this form?" Toshiro asked hesitantly.
"What do you mean?"
Hyorinmaru didn't immediately grasp what Toshiro was saying.
"I mean, in the future when I come here to train, just stay in your human form," Toshiro said, looking at Hyorinmaru.
"Well, after all, your appearance is quite beautiful, pleasant to look at. Isn't there a saying, 'Men and women working together, the labor is not tiring'? Being in a good mood makes training more efficient too," Toshiro said shamelessly.
Hearing Toshiro's words, a faint blush appeared on Hyorinmaru's perpetually cold face, like a proud plum blossom suddenly blooming in the snow. For a moment, Toshiro was captivated.
"You stupid idiot, what are you looking at?" Hyorinmaru said, both shy and annoyed.
"Yare yare, this shy, delicate look doesn't suit Hyorinmaru," Toshiro said, feeling goosebumps as he looked at Hyorinmaru like this.
"What did you say..."
"Alright, alright. You still haven't answered. Do you agree or not?" Seeing Hyorinmaru about to get angry again, Toshiro quickly said.
"Well, I suppose there's no helping it. It's for your training, after all. Helping the master train is also a Zanpakuto's duty," Hyorinmaru said, turning her head away.
"Hehe..." Toshiro couldn't help but laugh.
Although Hyorinmaru turned away, Toshiro could see her neck had turned red too.
After that, neither Toshiro nor Hyorinmaru spoke.
Perhaps they didn't know what to say, or perhaps they were enjoying the peaceful atmosphere.
Slowly, the fatigue from the earlier full-force battle washed over him. Toshiro couldn't help but close his eyes and soon fell asleep.
Hyorinmaru looked at the sleeping Toshiro, then also lay down beside him, a smile appearing on her face that could dim the world. If Toshiro saw it, he would surely be mesmerized.
The perpetually bone-chilling icy plains seemed to become as warm as spring.
The next day, morning.
Toshiro slowly opened his eyes.
Then, he couldn't help but recall last night's training session with Hyorinmaru.
'Good grief, I never expected Hyorinmaru to be a woman. Truly surprising,' Toshiro thought, glancing at the Zanpakuto beside him.
"And she didn't even wake me when I fell asleep. Really, wouldn't sleeping in an icy wasteland cause a cold?" Toshiro grumbled.
"Well, whatever. No point overthinking. Better think about what to do today."
"As for training, I've hit a bottleneck. There won't be significant progress for now. Besides, training should balance work and rest. I'll skip training today. Better go find Momo," Toshiro decided.
What Toshiro didn't know was that, just as he decided to find Momo, a meeting was being held within the Gotei 13.
A meeting directly related to him.