The training grounds of Shin'o Academy rang with shouts, bursts of reiryoku, and the sharp crack of bodies striking sand and stone. Sunlight beamed down in golden shafts, catching on the uniforms of dozens of students as they practiced the disciplines that had built the foundations of the Gotei 13 — Hakuda, the art of unarmed combat, and Hohō, the speed of the soul.
Today's session was overseen by Captain Isshin Shiba, flamboyant as ever, grinning beneath his mess of black hair.
"Alright, kids!" he barked, arms akimbo. "Today's all about fists and feet! No Zanpakutō, no Kidō, no fancy flashbangs. Just good ol'-fashioned beatdowns. Who's ready to sweat?!"
A few enthusiastic cheers answered him. Others groaned.
Akira Lan, meanwhile, yawned lightly, his golden eyes half-lidded as he flexed his fingers. Zhuoyin was silent for once, uninterested in "barehanded squabbling." Akira didn't mind. He hadn't trained much Hakuda or Hohō before — not in earnest. He preferred elegance over brawling.
Still, he gave it a try.
He stepped into the basic Hakuda stance Isshin demonstrated — a low guard, front foot forward, rear hand chambered — and threw a simple punch.
Just as his fist extended, he felt it.
[System Correction: Hakuda form alignment... Optimal trajectory calculated. Kinetic force redistributed. Passive talent "Flowing Structure" activated.]
Akira's body shifted microseconds ahead of his intent. His spine straightened. Hips turned. Energy coiled and exploded from his core into his arm. The punch blurred through the air.
WHUMP.
The shockwave knocked over a practice dummy ten feet away — one he wasn't even aiming at.
"…Oops."
Akira scratched his head, trying not to look smug as the students nearby turned to stare, jaws slack.
Byakuya Kuchiki, practicing his Hakuda kata nearby, froze mid-step. His eyes narrowed, nostrils flaring.
"That punch had no telegraph. No waste. And no effort," he thought, eyes darkening.
Nearby, Yoruichi appeared beside Akira in a sudden flash of motion, hand on her hip.
"Not bad, newbie," she said with a lopsided grin. "You sure you've never trained Hakuda before?"
"Not really," Akira admitted, shrugging. "I just sort of… tried it out."
[Hakuda Talent increased: Intermediate → Advanced.]
[New skill acquired: "Kinetic Transfer." Allows seamless reiryoku reinforcement for unarmed strikes. Enhances impact by 240% based on posture and timing.]
The ground cracked slightly under his next step. Akira blinked, then steadied himself.
Yoruichi's grin widened. "Heh. You just stepped funny and cracked the earth. You're either a natural… or something else."
She flickered away before he could answer, but her gaze lingered for longer than usual.
Not far off, Aizen Sōsuke was silent. Sweat glistened on his brow as he repeated a series of tightly controlled elbow strikes and sweeps. His form was perfect — painfully, rigorously practiced. Every motion was honed like steel, but it took effort. Every gain was earned.
His gaze drifted toward Akira again.
There his younger brother stood, casually observing his own hand like he was checking for a paper cut — while sand still drifted from the broken dummy across the field.
"He doesn't even train…" Aizen thought.
He tightened his fist.
[Observe Mode: OFF][System Integration: OFFLINE]
No shortcuts. No system. Just raw will. He repeated the kata again.
Beside them, Byakuya's frustration mounted. If Akira was born with innate talent in Kidō and spiritual pressure, fine — but now this? Physical combat, too?
He launched into Shunpo, vanishing and reappearing ten meters away in a flash of speed. A respectable display — clean, controlled, dignified.
Then Akira tried.
He braced himself, shifting his stance.
[Activating Hohō Simulation Matrix.][Predictive Pathfinding engaged.][Shunpo Technique learned: "Void Flash."]*
"Let's see what happens," he muttered.
And vanished.
BOOM.
A ripple exploded outward from where he had stood. Dust kicked up. Half the training field gasped as he reappeared fifty meters away — arms flailing to regain balance — and overshot his target by a full yard.
He staggered and caught himself on a pole.
"…Too fast," he said, eyes wide. "Waaay too fast."
[Hohō increased: Intermediate → Mastered.]
[New Movement Skill acquired: "Light Step." Enables silent, invisible movement with zero reiryoku signature up to 30 meters.]
Isshin blinked at the crater Akira had left in his launch point. "Uh… okay, yeah. That's not normal."
He jogged over, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I was gonna teach you all how to do that gradually, but you just… well, never mind."
He gave Akira a thumbs-up. "You're either a genius or some kind of divine prank."
Akira laughed awkwardly. "Can't it be both?"
Urahara leaned against a tree nearby, tapping his chin with his fan. He'd been watching the entire time — not the physical displays, but the moments in between.
"No reiryoku fluctuation when he vanishes," Urahara murmured. "And that punch… no wasted motion. His body doesn't just react — it knows ahead of time."
He looked over to Aizen, who had stopped moving.
Aizen stood motionless, watching Akira train.
His face was calm, but his mind was a storm.
He'd studied night after night, perfecting Kidō incantations, learning the layers of spiritual resonance, breaking down every technique and refining it inch by inch.
And still, Akira breezed past.
Not with arrogance. Not with force.
Just… effortless growth.
As if the world itself bent to help him.
Aizen clenched his teeth behind a placid smile and turned away. His fists trembled slightly at his sides.
"This path… is too slow," he thought coldly.
He remembered the old, forbidden texts in the deeper libraries. Whispers of catalysts. Evolution beyond limits. Power that didn't wait for mastery.
The Hōgyoku.
He hadn't considered it seriously before. It was just a theoretical experiment. A lost cause.
But now…
Now it was necessary.
Because no matter how fast he trained, no matter how much he sacrificed…
He would always be one step behind someone who never had to try.
He looked over his shoulder one last time, watching Akira accidentally spark a new Hohō technique while trying to tie his sash.
Then he turned fully, walking off the training field.
His mind was already moving — faster than any Shunpo.
If power would not come to him naturally…
Then he would create it.