Two months later, Katori Nanatsuki finally got the chance to give a lecture to the Kaido Advanced Class.
At the invitation of Department Head Yamada, Nanatsuki once again entered the Kaido Advanced Class classroom.
Although Yamada invited top Kaido experts every month to teach the class, the decision to have Nanatsuki lecture had been made at the last minute. Before that, invitations had already been sent to several seated officers of Squad Four.
So Nanatsuki's lecture had to be pushed back.
It had already been several months since he last came to this classroom.
However, the students hadn't forgotten the level of Kaido he had demonstrated during that last visit—some even thought it surpassed Department Head Yamada's.
Today, Nanatsuki explained several Kaido techniques, as well as how to respond in various scenarios. The lesson began with basics and gradually moved to advanced strategies, leaving the students feeling like they had truly gained something valuable.
"In many situations, there are multiple ways to heal. You must analyze your surroundings. On the battlefield, our priority in medical treatment is survival and quickly restoring combat capability..."
"But in post-battle medical care, we should aim to prevent long-term complications. For us, that might just mean spending a little more time and patience, but for the injured, it could be the difference between recovery and a lifelong wound..."
"Alright, that wraps up today's class. Thank you again to Department Head Yamada for giving me this opportunity. I hope you all found it helpful."
As soon as Nanatsuki finished, Kobayashi-sensei led the applause.
"Katori-sensei, that was a fantastic lecture! Even I learned a lot!" Kobayashi laughed.
"You're too kind. We're all learning from each other," Nanatsuki replied, waving modestly.
At that moment, a new notification appeared on his Status Interface. The reward for completing his first lecture for the Kaido Advanced Class had been settled.
Nanatsuki left the classroom and checked his rewards.
[First-time completion of Kaido Advanced Class Lecture – Rewards Settled]
[Acquired Random Trait Entry – Kaido Self-Regeneration]
[Gained 10,000 General Ability EXP]
[Random Skill Proficiency +2 Levels]
[Acquired 3 Disciple Binding Slots]
Nanatsuki had received a new trait. He focused his attention on the Kaido Self-Regeneration entry and immediately saw the detailed information.
Kaido Self-Regeneration: Your Kaido has developed to the level of reflexive muscle memory. When injured, your body will autonomously use Kaido to heal itself.
The full effects of Kaido Self-Regeneration still needed testing.
Most skills are learned by training the body to remember them—building muscle memory. Nanatsuki's Kaido had already reached a mastery level, and he already had that muscle memory.
Now, with this trait, that muscle memory had been further deepened.
Raising his Reiatsu required a large amount of EXP—30,000 points just to level up once.
Instead of saving the EXP to raise Reiatsu, Nanatsuki chose to patch up some of his weaker areas.
He poured the 10,000 points of General Ability EXP entirely into Shunpo.
During this time, Hirako Shinji had also learned the Shun Strike sword technique and completed a training mission, granting Nanatsuki 5,000 more points of General Ability EXP and the sword technique Raikiri.
He used those 5,000 points to further level up Shunpo.
As a result, Shunpo had now reached Level 50.
Also, after acquiring the Swordheart Clarity trait, his swordsmanship practice had gone more smoothly. The experience he gained from teaching and daily training with his disciples had increased his sword skill level further.
At this point, his swordsmanship training was progressing nicely, and there were many ways for him to continue gaining experience. So he didn't plan to spend General Ability EXP on sword skills.
Otherwise, fixing his other shortcomings would take an extremely long time.
His Status Interface now looked completely different compared to just a few months ago.
Katori Nanatsuki
Basic Abilities: Reiatsu Lv75, Swordsmanship Lv60, Kidō Lv20, Hakuda Lv15, Shunpo Lv50
Sword Techniques: Shunpo Iaido (Mastery), Shun Strike (Mastery), Blade Catch (Mastery), Flowlight (Advanced), Senmai-Oroshi (Skilled), Wave Break (Novice), Crimson Tide (Novice), Raikiri (Novice), Quadrant Shun Strike (Novice), Jaw Split (Novice)...
Kidō: Kaido (Mastery), Hadō #1: Shō (Novice), Bakudō #1: Sai (Novice)...
Traits: Culinary Sage, Patient Guidance, Battleborn Berserker (Active), Swordheart Clarity, Kaido Self-Regeneration
Disciples: Azashiro Kana, Muguruma Kensei, Hirako Shinji, Kotetsu Isane, Kobane Jin'emon (5/9)**
The random +2 skill proficiency had landed on Blade Catch, leveling it up to Mastery!
Nanatsuki recalled the newly appeared memories about Blade Catch, his expression turning a little strange. He might just be the only person in all of Seireitei to have trained this skill to the mastery level.
At this level, Blade Catch was no longer limited to simply "catching a blade."
Nanatsuki could now use the refined techniques of Blade Catch to perform barehanded blade disarms!
Disarming and counterattacking in one smooth motion—that was the essence of Blade Catch at the Mastery level.
Back at the dojo, Nanatsuki immediately began testing the Kaido Self-Regeneration trait. He was very curious about its effect.
He conjured a Reiatsu Blade with his right index finger and slashed his left palm.
The sharp Reiatsu Blade cut into the skin instantly. Blood welled up at the edges of the wound, ready to spill.
But before the blade even left his skin, a soft Kaido glow shimmered over the wound.
The cut left by the Reiatsu Blade quickly began to heal.
A bit of blood squeezed out as the wound closed.
As he pulled the Reiatsu Blade out from his palm, the last bit of the wound healed under Kaido's effect—leaving only a single drop of blood behind.
A flicker of delight flashed in Nanatsuki's eyes. The Kaido Self-Regeneration effect had exceeded his expectations.
He hadn't even actively used Kaido!
It had become a reflex, as though integrated into his self-healing system!
Like a reflexive kick when your knee is tapped—
When he was injured, his body would automatically trigger Kaido to heal itself.
Which meant, as long as his Reiatsu wasn't completely depleted, he could heal endlessly!
To test other body parts, Nanatsuki used the Reiatsu Blade to cut across his chest.
The wound on his chest also lit up with Kaido's glow and began healing rapidly.
After several rounds of testing, Nanatsuki concluded that the healing speed and effect of Kaido Self-Regeneration scaled with his Kaido proficiency.
So if he suffered an injury beyond what his Kaido could handle, the trait wouldn't be able to heal him quickly.
Still, Nanatsuki's Kaido was already exceptional—second only to Unohana Retsu within Squad Four. He could handle most non-lethal injuries with ease.
The Kaido Self-Regeneration trait significantly boosted his combat capability.
Even against a Vice-Captain-level Shinigami, he could now endure the fight and wear them down through attrition.