That night, bright moonlight filtered through the tree branches, scattering into specks of light that shone through the window onto the two figures lying on the bed, chatting.
"Big brother, why did you choose to study medicine?" Whitebeard asked.
Li Yun smiled upon hearing this. "Medicine? Of course, to save people."
"True," Whitebeard nodded, suddenly enlightened. "It really is a great profession. Oh, big brother, you must've been to many places, right? Can you tell me about the world outside?"
"I haven't been to that many, actually. This is my first time at sea, but I never expected to run into a shipwreck." At this, even now, Li Yun felt a bit unlucky. He chuckled and said, "But I guess I was fortunate to meet you—my little brother."
"Gurararara!" Whitebeard burst out laughing.
"Arte, do you have a dream?" Li Yun asked.
"Of course!" Whitebeard grinned. "My dream is to build a big family, and to live freely with them on this vast sea."
"That's a great dream." Li Yun smiled as well. "Then let your big brother join you. I can even work part-time as a doctor."
"Part-time doctor?" Whitebeard looked confused. "Isn't being a doctor your main job, big brother?"
Li Yun explained, "It is for now, but not in the future. If we're going to build a big family, we'll need the strength to protect it. That's why I plan to become a powerful fighter too."
"You should just stick to being a doctor. I'm already really strong! Even the adults who try to compete with me can't win, so I'll protect the family myself," Whitebeard said proudly.
"Alright, we'll talk about this later!" Li Yun looked out at the moonlight. "It's almost midnight. We should sleep now, or we won't have any energy for work tomorrow."
"Okay," Whitebeard agreed, then closed his eyes and soon fell into a deep sleep, snoring softly.
Time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, Li Yun had already been on Starfish Island for more than three years. During this time, aside from treating patients, he trained with Whitebeard, often sparring with wooden swords. But to his frustration, he lost every time.
He couldn't help it—Whitebeard was simply stronger and had better reflexes. What was worse was that despite eating the same food, Whitebeard had grown ridiculously fast. At just twelve, he was already over 1.65 meters tall, while Li Yun was only 1.75 at thirteen! Was this kid even human?
Bam! Bam! Bam!
"Take this!"
Bam!
"Again!"
"Hah!"
Their shouts echoed across the training ground.
Two hours later—
"I can't… I'm done…" Li Yun collapsed on the ground. "Let's stop for today."
Whitebeard looked at him with a wooden sword in hand and sighed. "Big brother, maybe you should stick to being a doctor. I'll handle protecting the family."
"No way!" Li Yun sat up immediately. "Even if I'm not as strong as you now, it doesn't mean I can't become powerful. Look! I've already got abs!"
"But you're still too weak! I wasn't even using 20% of my strength!" Whitebeard replied.
"That's because your strength is monstrous," Li Yun said, then questioned, "And why do you grow so fast, even though we eat the same stuff? Don't tell me you're sneaking good food behind my back!"
Whitebeard: "…"
He was at a loss for words.
"Anyway, that's it for today." Li Yun took off the Zanpakutō from his back and declared, "Once I learn this weapon's name, I'll show you what a comeback really looks like!"
"Gurararara! Big brother, you've been saying that for three years now. Aren't you supposed to name your weapon yourself?"
"Innocent fool," Li Yun said with an air of superiority. "This is no ordinary weapon. Enough talk—I need to focus. Go train on your own."
Whitebeard shook his head and turned to walk into the forest. Two years ago, he had abandoned manual labor and became a hunter. As for his big brother's habit of staring blankly at his sword every day… he honestly didn't get it.
Time flew by. Night fell again. In their room, Li Yun lay asleep on the wooden bed, hugging his sword. Whitebeard, of course, was also lying beside him. There was only one bed, but unlike before, it had been enlarged significantly. Even with both of them on it, there was still plenty of room.
A cool autumn breeze slipped in through the window and silently circled the room before vanishing.
Buzz.
In the silent room, a sudden hum echoed. Then, streams of aqua-blue energy burst from Li Yun body and spread outward. Soon, the entire room was shaking—furniture, windows, and everything else trembled violently under the surging spiritual energy.
The rhythmic thudding sounds grew louder and more frequent until Whitebeard, startled by the chaos, woke up instantly.
"This energy… is it wind?" Whitebeard looked in shock at the swirling streams around him, at Li Yun enveloped in blue light, and the shaking furniture.
Suddenly, Li Yun shivered in his sleep and opened his eyes.
A vast blue sky. A boundless grassland. The ever-present wind whispered something inaudible, brushing past him again and again. His silver hair danced wildly in the gusts. The wind was so strong he had to shield his face with his arm as he squinted thoughtfully.
"M… Mas…ter… You… f…fin…ally…"
"Who… Who's speaking?" Li Yun face lit up in joy. This had to be it—the prelude to awakening his Zanpakutō. But why couldn't he see it?
"What's your name?" Li Yun shouted to the sky, his silver hair fluttering.
"I…"
"Am…"
"My name… is…"
"What? Say it again!" Qingcheng was nearly trembling with excitement.
"My name… is…"
"Of course, it won't be that easy…" Li Yun muttered and closed his eyes, concentrating to listen more carefully.
"Big brother, wake up."
"Wake up…"
Li Yun groaned softly and slowly opened his eyes. As the spiritual energy around him faded, a streak of blue light flashed through his eyes before disappearing.
"You okay, big brother?" Whitebeard asked, clearly concerned.
"I'm fine," Li Yun smiled happily.
Three whole years. He had waited this long, and finally, his Zanpakutō responded. Although he couldn't yet hear its name, he could now sense his spiritual energy. Even if it was only a partial awakening, he could already use basic Kido spells.
In terms of Soul Reaper ranking, his spiritual pressure was at about the level of a 12th Seat officer. His asauchi still hadn't changed, but he was beaming with satisfaction.
"Big brother… Big brother…" Whitebeard looked puzzled.
Li Yun smiled at him. "Sorry, I spaced out. I'm fine now. Let's go back to sleep."
"Okay," Whitebeard nodded. He didn't understand what had happened, but he could tell his brother had gotten much stronger—a lot stronger.
Snore… snore… Just like that, the two fell asleep again. Time passed quickly. By the time they woke, it was already past 6 AM.
Boom!
Crash!
Bam! Bam!
Morning sunlight rose slowly as two figures clashed atop the hill, wooden swords in hand. It was Li Yun and Whitebeard. But unlike before, they were now locked in a fierce back-and-forth battle.
Whitebeard's face was filled with shock. He knew Li Yun had gotten stronger, but not this strong. He was using half his strength now—and Li Yun could still keep up with his speed and reflexes!
His body hadn't even changed—it was the same as yesterday. It was insane!
This… this was what you called a comeback! A reversal of fate! The exhilaration of this battle brought a smile to Li Yun face. He had finally reclaimed his dignity as an older brother.
BAM!
Just as Li Yun was getting excited, he was suddenly knocked to the ground, dazed. He looked up at Whitebeard with a blank stare. "Art, your strength suddenly increased again?! Can you give me a break?!"
"I wasn't even going all out before. But that last strike? Full power," Whitebeard explained, trying to comfort him.
Li Yun rolled his eyes. "I'm starving."
"I'll go hunt something." Whitebeard dashed off into the forest.
Watching his figure disappear, Li Yun immediately stood up, pointed forward, and shouted:"Hadō #4: Byakurai!"
Zzzzt!Sparks of white lightning burst from his fingertip and crawled across his body. Moments later, he felt completely numb.
"Damn it…"
Regaining control, Li Yun cursed. He had failed Byakurai… again?!
"Hadō #4: Byakurai!"
Boom!The lightning scattered before it could even form properly.
"Ugh! One more time!"
"Hadō #4: Byakurai!"
Pop!
"I don't believe this!"
"Hadō—!"
Half an hour later—
Whitebeard emerged from the forest carrying a wild boar, only to be shocked by what he saw: Li Yun twitching on the ground.
"Big brother…?"
"I'm fine—urp." A loud burp escaped Li Yun mouth, followed by a puff of black smoke. Before he could say anything more, his eyes rolled back and he passed out.
Eyes turning red with worry, Whitebeard roared:"Who did this?!"