"Oh? You already said it's impossible, so why should I even race you?"
Hao found Yoruichi rather amusing. Is this how nobles think? he wondered.
Yoruichi froze for a moment, a flicker of awkwardness crossing her face. Looking at Hao's expression, she found it more and more infuriating—even more so than that lazy childhood friend of hers.
"Then… how about this: you run half the distance, I run the full. We'll see who finishes faster. That should be fair, right?"
She continued, "It's unlikely, but if you really do win… I'll call you brother from now on."
Hao rubbed his chin thoughtfully, picturing Yoruichi's unwilling and embarrassed face saying that. Hmm… nah. That's not really my thing.
"No need for that. If I win, just teach me some advanced Shunpo techniques."
Hao had a clear goal. He wasn't here to tease little girls—he was in this mission world to grow stronger. What he really wanted was Yoruichi's advanced Shunpo technique—Utsusemi.
From what he remembered of the original series, Utsusemi wasn't just Shunpo. It was a technique that bordered on teleportation.
Yoruichi furrowed her brows when she heard that—surprised at Hao's eagerness to improve. But thinking about it more, she realized she had nothing to lose in this bet.
If she won, it'd be a small victory over Hao, and she'd get to hear this cocky transfer student respectfully call her "sister." And if—by some impossible chance—she lost, well, she'd end up being Hao's teacher. That… didn't sound too bad either. Kinda satisfying, actually.
"Alright, it's a deal."
Yoruichi nodded and waved him over. "I'll start by teaching you the fundamentals of Shunpo."
Hao stepped closer as Yoruichi began her hands-on instruction.
It had to be said… Yoruichi's teaching ability was—awful. Compared to Aizen, it was like night and day.
The fact that Ichigo ever learned anything from her must've meant he had impressive natural talent.
Still, despite her terrible teaching methods, Hao understood it all anyway. Thankfully, he had a high aptitude for martial arts techniques.
"So that's how it works. Let me give it a try."
With Yoruichi-sensei giving him close-up guidance, Hao felt he had grasped the technique's core. He stepped aside into the practice area to test it out.
The basic theory behind Shunpo was centered around using a pivot point. The user would generate explosive muscular force at that pivot to launch themselves in a straight line to the next point. In short, the technique wasn't very flexible, and relied on preselected "anchor points" that needed to be plotted ahead of time.
Because of this principle, the training field was divided into segments. Each section—one pivot point to the next—was about 20 meters long. There were 10 sections in total, making the full course 200 meters.
Yoruichi's earlier proposal was that she would run the full 200 meters, and Hao would run half (100 meters). The winner would be whoever used less time.
Now steady in position, Hao calmed his breathing, lowering his posture. The muscles in his calves tightened and bulged, like beasts preparing to pounce.
The next moment—boom! Power surged through him like a tide. As his foot connected with the pivot point, the reactive force blasted him forward in an explosive dash, and he shot through the first segment like a rocket, landing cleanly on the next pivot.
He steadied himself and glanced at the display monitor nearby. It showed the time he'd used to cross that segment:
0.973 seconds.
Seeing the number, Hao frowned slightly. Shunpo didn't seem to offer a huge speed increase. Even with a standard starting sprint and reaching top speed, he could normally manage 20 meters in about one second.
Now, just crossing one pivot point left his calves feeling slightly sore—proof that this wasn't yet a technique he could use continuously in extended combat.
"Oh? Not bad."
Yoruichi raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised. Not only had Hao pulled it off on the first try, but considering his current spiritual level, his speed was already above average for the academy.
She stepped lightly, appearing beside Hao in an instant.
The number on the screen read: 0.491 seconds.
Hao paused in thought—he realized he had just fallen into a mental trap.
It was true that he could run 20 meters in about one second, but that was after accelerating. The strength of Shunpo lay in how it instantly brought a person to their top speed, condensing the entire acceleration process into a near-invisible moment.
It was a form of explosive movement—ideal for sudden dodges in battle or for closing in on an enemy.
And Yoruichi's Shunpo just now had completely outclassed his. He could even feel that she had deliberately restrained her spiritual pressure to match his.
This girl wasn't cheating him—she truly possessed master-level skill in Shunpo. Her speed wasn't dependent on stats, but on technique.
No wonder she's the future "Flash Goddess." Hao admired her in his heart, but he didn't intend to give up on the match. After all, that had only been his first attempt at Shunpo—there was still room to grow.
After a series of continuous Shunpo attempts, the soreness in his legs eased somewhat—he was starting to grasp the technique more.
After about twenty tries, Hao stopped practicing and instead sat down cross-legged, closing his eyes to meditate.
"Hey, class ends in twenty minutes. Aren't you going to practice more? At this rate, you're definitely going to lose~"
Yoruichi teased from beside him, her expression full of playful confidence. She was clearly in a great mood. Despite Hao's talent, in terms of Shunpo, he had been completely outpaced.
Even after all that practice, his progress—while real—wasn't significant.
"Don't worry. I never go back on my word. I'll accept the outcome, whatever it is. Just let me have a moment of silence."
Hao waved her off with a flick of his hand—like he was swatting away a fly.
Yoruichi didn't get angry. She was already convinced she had the match in the bag. To her, everything Hao said or did now sounded like the last barks of a defeated dog.
Hao sat still, cross-legged, as a second self appeared within his mind.
That inner self repeated the motions of Shunpo again and again, while he observed—watching the flow of power, the muscular movements, the transitions.
At the exact moment the end-of-class bell rang, Hao opened his eyes.
Standing beside him, Yoruichi suddenly felt that this man's presence had… shifted. His dark eyes looked even deeper now.
But she didn't think too much of it. She simply walked over to the starting point.
Under the gaze of many spectators, she moved.
Afterimages shimmered in the air, nearly silent—then a beat later, her figure solidified at the finish line.
The screen at the endpoint lit up with a number:
4.396 seconds
She came to a graceful stop. Only her dark violet hair swayed lightly in the air.
Elegant. Incredibly elegant.
Even Hao couldn't help but admire her. No wonder she could lead the Stealth Force… With a Shunpo like that, she could kill silently and leave no trace.
"Your turn, little brother."
Yoruichi stood at the finish line, beckoning him with one finger.
Even the way she addressed him had changed—clearly, she already considered herself the victor.
°°°
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