[Half a Month Later]
Beneath Karakura Town, inside a massive underground training ground that had been carefully concealed.
"Hado Four! Byakurai!"
Along with a slightly awkward chant, Kurosaki Ichigo suddenly thrust his joined index and middle fingers forward.
A blinding white light did not condense into a thin line like it did in the textbooks. Instead, with a loud boom, it exploded like a violent white lightning sphere.
After the ear-splitting blast, the ten-meter-tall boulder being used as a target not far away was instantly blown into powder filling the air.
"Well? Aizen-sensei! That one packed enough punch, right?"
Kurosaki Ichigo's face was filled with the unique pride of youth as he excitedly turned back to look at his teacher, as if waiting for a word of praise.
Standing behind him, Aizen Sosuke wore that ever-present gentle smile, like a spring breeze. He pushed up the black-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose, the gaze behind the lenses deep and calm.
"The power is indeed impressive," Aizen first offered affirmation, then immediately changed his tone, "However, Ichigo, what I taught you was Byakurai. What you used just now was more like a Hado cannon that blew its own barrel."
He stepped forward slowly and pointed at the lingering waves of reishi still hanging in the air.
"Look. The reishi is dispersing far too much. The essence of Byakurai lies in highly compressing its destructive force into a single point, pursuing extreme penetration and speed. What you did turned it into a flashy explosion. That proves your spiritual pressure is very strong, but your control over it is still far from sufficient."
Aizen's few words always struck straight at the heart of the problem, gentle, yet leaving no room for argument.
"Alright! Alright! I get it! I get it!"
The moment Kurosaki Ichigo heard another Kido lecture coming, he immediately waved his hands exaggeratedly, his face full of resistance.
"Aizen-sensei, stuff like Kido is fine as long as it can blow the enemy away, right? Why make it so complicated!"
Ever since his Shinigami powers had been awakened by Aizen, the latter had begun training him in every aspect.
Sword, fist, movement, and Kido. All four disciplines.
The first three were nothing unfamiliar to Kurosaki Ichigo, who had been fighting all year round. He learned them incredibly fast.
But the last one, "Kido," gave him quite a headache.
It was not that he could not learn it, but that his spiritual pressure was simply too massive, making precise control extremely troublesome.
After several rounds like this, he lost much of his enthusiasm for learning.
On top of that, he did not like the chanting kind of combat that felt all soft and dainty, so he disliked Kido even more.
And in his view, chanting incantations and controlling reishi were all time-consuming, exhausting work.
With that kind of free time, he would rather grip his Zanpakuto and charge in, hacking it out properly with someone.
Clashing steel head-on, that was what a real man should be doing!
But Aizen's teaching philosophy was to cultivate him into a well-rounded expert with no weaknesses.
And since Ichigo knew Aizen was doing this for his own good, he could only grit his teeth and force himself to learn.
"Ichigo," Aizen's smile did not change, "You must understand that 'knowing something but choosing not to use it' and 'being unable to use it because you do not know it' are two completely different realms."
He walked to Ichigo's side, gently patted his shoulder, and spoke earnestly.
"I am having you learn Kido not so that you will treat it as your main method of combat. It is so that in the future, when you face a true Kido expert, you can quickly find a way to counter it."
To be honest, Kurosaki Ichigo's learning ability had long surpassed the realm of simply being fast.
It was almost savage, an instinctive kind of absorption and growth.
In terms of talent, aside from his overly massive spiritual pressure that made fine control difficult and caused him to struggle with Kido, he was an unquestionable genius in every other aspect.
If he were placed in Soul Society, people like Ichimaru Gin or Hitsugaya would all pale in comparison before this unpolished gem that was Kurosaki Ichigo.
This rate of growth was even faintly catching up to how Aizen himself had been when he first became a Shinigami.
The difference was that he had relied on both intellect and talent, while Kurosaki Ichigo was a pure instinct type, someone who grew faster through battle.
To be able to personally carve such material, Aizen already felt more than satisfied as a teacher.
After all, not everyone was Ross, and not everyone was Aizen.
"Aizen-sensei, I get all the reasoning," Kurosaki Ichigo scratched his head, a sly smile appearing on his face, "But I think, instead of making me learn dry stuff here, why don't you just attack me with Kido directly? If I dodge your attacks in real combat, my progress will definitely be faster!"
He chuckled. These two weeks of close daily interaction had long since given him complete trust and closeness toward this gentle teacher.
In his heart, the other party had already become one of the most important people in his life.
"You…"
Hearing this, Aizen could not help but smile. Behind the lenses, a trace of genuine amusement flashed, a complex emotion mixed with appreciation and the gaze of someone looking at their most satisfying masterpiece.
"You really are a genius born purely for battle. Fine, we'll do it your way. Draw your sword."
Aizen laughed softly, yet made no move to draw his own blade. He simply stood there quietly, arms hanging naturally at his sides, his entire body wide open, as if inviting an attack.
"Sensei, then I'm coming!"
The moment he heard the words "real combat," Kurosaki Ichigo's eyes changed instantly.
The usual laziness vanished without a trace, replaced by the excitement of a fierce tiger catching the scent of blood.
He pulled the Zanpakuto from his waist in one motion, the blade pointed straight at Aizen.
It was a standard Zanpakuto, with nothing particularly special about it.
In fact, under Aizen's initial guidance, what Ichigo had awakened was an absurdly oversized blade, like a giant door plank.
But back then, Aizen had keenly sensed that it was not Kurosaki Ichigo's true Zanpakuto, but rather a "pseudo-Zanpakuto" simulated by the Quincy power within his body.
Thus, he had used certain methods to temporarily suppress that Quincy power, instead guiding him with purer Shinigami power. Only then had he helped Ichigo condense this Zanpakuto that truly belonged to him.
Aizen did not intend to stifle the other powers within Ichigo.
On the contrary, he was full of anticipation for the miracle of Shinigami, Hollow, and Quincy powers united within him.
It was just that now was still too early.
Food had to be eaten one bite at a time, and the road had to be walked step by step.
Using Shinigami power as the foundation, first mastering Shikai and even Bankai, firmly opening and stabilizing the main path, that was the top priority at present.
As for the other two tributaries, there would be plenty of time in the future for complete integration.
It might even be unnecessary to integrate them deliberately. By the time Shikai and Bankai were reached, those two powers might naturally surge forth on their own.
Aizen looked forward to the day Kurosaki Ichigo would fully bloom.
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