After checking in for the Wood-Element Zanpakutō and awakening the Wood Release Arts…
in that very instant,
Bai Chen felt it clearly—
his mind had gained an enormous block of memories it hadn't possessed before.
"This is…"
"Senju Hashirama's lifetime of battle experience…"
"And all his insights—his understanding and techniques for using Wood Release…"
Right then,
every battle Hashirama had ever fought—alive or dead—
flickered through Bai Chen's mind like a rapid-fire montage.
The images were so vivid it was as if he were watching them with his own eyes.
And with each scene—
each Wood Release technique being unleashed—
Bai Chen absorbed it all.
From the simplest defensive move—
Deep Forest Wall—
to binding techniques like—
Thorn Assassination—
to Wood Clone, Wood Substitution,
and even large-scale techniques that reshaped the battlefield—
Deep Forest Emergence…
World of Trees…
and Advent of a World of Flowering Trees…
"Is this because the system's template has been god-tier enhanced?"
"And not just Hashirama…"
"Even all the Wood Release techniques used by people who implanted Hashirama's cells…"
"…those memories got folded in as well?"
Bai Chen realized, delighted—
the Wood Release he'd received was practically an encyclopedia.
It contained nearly every Wood Release technique that had ever appeared in the shinobi world.
Even Yamato's infamous 'three bedrooms and one living room' technique was within reach.
Which, in a weird way,
meant the system had accidentally opened up a real estate career path for him.
"Tsk…"
"From now on, if Seireitei ever suffers large-scale destruction…"
"I can just become Soul Society's number one contractor."
Bai Chen joked to himself.
Forget "three bedrooms and one living room"—
if the Head Captain paid up, he could rebuild a wooden Las Noches at one-to-one scale.
But—
excitement aside,
Bai Chen quickly discovered something important.
Even though he now possessed the entirety of Wood Release—
he couldn't immediately cast it freely.
He needed…
a medium.
"Of course… it still comes back to the Asauchi."
Bai Chen wasn't surprised.
If every ability had already been "localized" into reiatsu…
then naturally it would require a Zanpakutō as the conduit.
At the same time,
he could hear his classmates' indecisive voices around him.
"What do we do…? This is torture."
"There are so many Asauchi, I have no idea which one to pick."
"How about over there? I feel like the ones in the back row look a bit higher quality."
In the corridor,
his classmates were tangled in indecision.
Faced with such a huge number of Asauchi, it was hard to choose.
Naturally—
that included the familiar canon faces as well.
"Bai Chen… have you decided yet?"
"Is there an Asauchi you've taken a liking to?"
Hinamori Momo walked up beside him, asking curiously.
Earlier, she'd circled the hall carefully—
the sight of so many Asauchi had made her heart race, itching to choose…
but—
a woman's sensitivity struck hard, and her indecision flared up.
She still couldn't commit.
"Me? Doesn't really matter." Bai Chen shrugged, then walked over to an Asauchi and casually drew it.
The whole motion was smooth and careless.
His entire vibe screamed: I do what I want.
"Ah…"
"Bai Chen—are you serious?! You're picking that casually?!"
Momo was stunned.
She stood there, blank, completely frozen.
She'd been agonizing over this for ages—
and Bai Chen acted like it was nothing.
"It's not a big deal. I'm just too lazy to choose."
Bai Chen chuckled. "You really don't have to copy me."
Momo: "..."
So that's what being a genius is like.
Normal people simply couldn't understand their logic.
Not far away,
Kira Izuru and Abarai Renji—who had been exchanging opinions and choosing carefully—
also froze when they heard Bai Chen's voice.
"Holy—!"
"Kira, look over there! The Asauchi Bai Chen grabbed… isn't that the one we talked about and decided to pass on?"
"And he picked it?!"
Renji whipped around.
When he saw the familiar blade in Bai Chen's hand, his jaw practically dropped.
What the hell?
Did we misjudge it?
That Asauchi had looked completely unremarkable compared to the others.
And yet Bai Chen chose it.
In that moment—
Kira and Renji both felt their brains short-circuit.
They couldn't tell whether Bai Chen was the weird one—
or if their own eyes were simply terrible.
But Bai Chen didn't notice their reaction.
He had no interest in tracking it.
After chatting with Momo a bit more,
Bai Chen carried the Asauchi to the homeroom teacher.
"…?"
"Bai Chen—only five minutes have passed. You've already made your choice?"
The teacher stared at the brand-new, sharp Asauchi in Bai Chen's hands, genuinely surprised.
No doubt about it—
Bai Chen was a super-genius.
He must have his own way of thinking.
But even so…
the teacher had led classes for years.
In every cohort, during the Asauchi selection—
no one had ever moved as quickly as Bai Chen.
Because for a Soul Reaper,
a Zanpakutō was without question the most important thing in their life.
Soul Reapers lived with their Zanpakutō.
And died with them.
For most people,
considering the long road ahead—
they would deliberate again and again before choosing.
Only Bai Chen was different.
As always, he stood out.
As always, he did things that made people stare.
"I've chosen."
"And for the remaining time… I can wait outside, right?" Bai Chen asked.
"Yes." The teacher nodded. "Straight ahead is the exit. You can return to the classroom and wait."
With permission granted,
Bai Chen didn't linger.
He took his Asauchi and returned alone to the classroom.
"Time's limited…"
"But there should still be a long while until the selection period ends."
"What should I do in the meantime?"
In the empty classroom,
Bai Chen lowered his gaze to the Asauchi he'd placed on the desk.
A thought rose naturally.
"They say a Zanpakutō merges with its owner's soul…"
"Since I've already checked in and received the Wood-Element Zanpakutō reward…"
"Then what will my own Inner World look like?"
Curiosity and doubt stirred together.
Bai Chen sat down cross-legged, picked up the Asauchi, and laid it across his knees.
He assumed a distinctive posture—
one only Soul Reapers understood.
Jinzen.
A meditative method that allowed him to enter his inner world directly through deep concentration.
Soon—
in less than a minute—
Bai Chen's vision fell into darkness.
And then—
his consciousness slipped fully into his inner world.
◇ I'll drop one bonus chapter for every 10 reviews (leave a review/comment!)
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 60 chapters ahead on P@treon: patreon.com/KageNaruto