"Hey, Toshiro, are you really going to be taken as a student by the Captain-Commander? That's the Captain-Commander!"
After leaving the small restaurant, Renji was so flustered he didn't know how to express his shock.
"Idiot, did you forget what Captain Kyoraku said? It's only a possibility."
If Yamamoto wanted to take Toshiro as a student, Toshiro wouldn't have any objections.
After all, Yamamoto was the strongest Shinigami in a thousand years. With his guidance, Toshiro's strength could improve even faster.
"Captain Kyoraku is Captain-Commander Yamamoto's student, after all. If he says so, it's probably true," Kira said, stroking his chin.
"There's no need to keep guessing. I'll find out what it's about when I go," Toshiro said, ending the topic.
Afterwards, the group wandered around the streets some more. The 1st District, connected to the Seireitei, was arguably the most prosperous area in the Rukongai.
Even Shinigami frequented this place. Toshiro and the others ran into several Shinigami after just a short while.
Whenever they saw something interesting for sale, they gathered to look, though they didn't buy anything. The shopkeepers weren't thrilled but didn't say much.
Since everyone was wearing the Shin'o Academy's uniform, even though they weren't Shinigami yet, the shopkeepers didn't dare to offend them.
After wandering for the afternoon, everyone returned to the academy.
"It's getting late. Let's all go back," Toshiro said.
With that, everyone went their separate ways.
However, what Toshiro didn't know was that after the others parted, they didn't return to rest. Instead, they all, coincidentally, headed towards the training grounds.
Shin'o Academy's Indoor Training Grounds.
Momo, Renji, Kira, and Rukia looked at each other, puzzled.
"What is everyone doing here so late? Could it be..." Momo wondered.
"Um, we're all here to train, right?" Kira asked timidly.
"Sigh, if you wanted to train, you should have said so earlier. We could have come together. It would have been more efficient," Momo said with a smile.
"Shut it! You came here to train secretly too," Renji retorted unhappily.
"That's great. It seems none of us want to be left far behind by Toshiro," Kira said, also smiling.
"Well, catching up to that guy might be impossible, but I'd really like to see the shocked look on Toshiro's face when my strength improves. Hehe!" Renji chuckled proudly.
"Oh, right, Rukia, why are you here?" Renji asked, confused.
The others were stimulated by seeing Toshiro's strength and wanted to train hard to close the gap with him.
However, Rukia wasn't in Class 1, so she didn't go on the Living World training mission and hadn't witnessed Toshiro's power.
"Shut up! I just... I just felt like it, wanted to do some training," Rukia said, her expression turning somewhat dejected as she spoke.
Among them, only Rukia was in Class 2, and her grades were the worst among the group.
Although Toshiro skipped to the sixth year, he was in Class 1 of the sixth year. His grades went without saying.
Having poor grades and failing to integrate into her class and build good relationships with classmates, Rukia had been feeling somewhat depressed.
So, she wanted to train secretly by herself. If her performance during exams was outstanding, she could enter Class 1 and be with everyone.
"Alright, since everyone's here to train, let's pair up. Momo with Rukia, and Renji with me. It'll be more effective that way," Kira suggested, smoothing things over.
…
Toshiro's Residence.
While Momo and the others were training, Toshiro wasn't idle either. He had entered the Inner World of his Zanpakuto to train.
However, this time Toshiro wasn't training his Reiatsu. His Reiatsu had already reached the limit of Lieutenant-level. Unless he broke through to Captain-level, it wouldn't improve much.
"Hyorinmaru, let's not train Reiatsu this time. Fight with me," Toshiro said. Through his battle with Alfred, Toshiro realized his combat experience was still lacking.
Of course, this was also because Toshiro hadn't experienced many battles.
"Fine," Hyorinmaru said. As soon as the words left his mouth, he suddenly swiped a claw at Toshiro.
Toshiro hastily dodged aside.
Boom!
A huge crater appeared on the ground, with countless ice shards flying.
"Hey, Hyorinmaru, what's the idea of attacking suddenly?" Toshiro complained, brushing off the ice crystals that had landed on him.
"Nothing. Just wanted to tell you, when fighting an enemy, they won't wait for you to be ready before attacking," Hyorinmaru lectured.
"Is that so? I understand. I'll never let my guard down again," Toshiro said with a serious expression.
"Take this! Vacuum Ice Blade!" Toshiro used the technique immediately after releasing his Shikai.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Numerous ice blades shot towards Hyorinmaru.
Clang clang clang!
The ice blades collided with Hyorinmaru's massive body, producing a series of clear ringing sounds.
"Useless. I am the Strongest Ice-type Zanpakuto. Ice of this level has no effect on me," Hyorinmaru stated.
"Is that so? Well, no choice then. I'll have to go all out," Toshiro said, resigned.
"Hah!"
Toshiro stamped his right foot on the ground, leaping high into the air directly above Hyorinmaru's head, then slashed down.
Despite his massive size, Hyorinmaru's speed was not slow at all. With a twist of his body, he vanished from Toshiro's sight.
Then, he suddenly appeared behind Toshiro, swinging his tail at him.
Toshiro immediately turned, using his Zanpakuto to block in front of him.
Thud!
Toshiro was sent flying, sword and all.
"That really hurts," Toshiro said, standing up and rubbing his body.
Then, without hesitation, he charged at Hyorinmaru again.
And so, Toshiro was repelled again and again, only to charge forward again and again.