"O brave warrior, clad in the chariot of steel, advance and shatter the darkness—Hadō #1: Shō!"
With a low chant, Kurotsuki Renya extended his right arm, curling his ring and little fingers inward while keeping his thumb slightly apart, index finger aimed straight ahead.
A faint azure light ignited at his fingertip, then erupted into a small shockwave that burst forward, striking the empty space before him.
The sudden flash of kidō light drew the attention of everyone nearby.
"No way—he succeeded on his first try?"
"Didn't the instructor say it takes days of practice before you can get it right?"
"He must be from a noble family—already trained in kidō before this."
"Impossible. I heard he's a newly arrived soul from the Rukongai outer districts. There's no way he learned kidō in advance."
The students' murmurs swelled, a mixture of disbelief and frustration. Even the instructor, Tsuno Haru—a seated officer on loan from the Kidō Corps—looked momentarily taken aback.
The Shin'ō Academy's training blocks for combat classes lasted ninety minutes each. This one was devoted to Kidō, and Tsuno Haru had planned to cover the basics of Hadō in the first session.
He'd spent the first thirty minutes explaining the chant, the proper stance, and the importance of directing spiritual energy correctly, then allowed the class time to practice—reminding them not to rush, since mastering even the simplest Hadō usually took several days.
Yet before that advice had time to settle, Renya had already executed a clean Shō. It was, in every sense, a direct slap to the face of convention.
Tsuno Haru cleared his throat. "Kurotsuki Renya, try it again."
Renya nodded. "Understood."
He raised his arm, set his stance, and recited, "O brave warrior, clad in the chariot of steel, advance and shatter the darkness—Hadō #1: Shō!"
The flash returned, this time sharper and faster, the shockwave striking with noticeably greater force.
Tsuno Haru could no longer doubt it—Renya had fully grasped the technique after a single demonstration. A true natural talent.
Turning to the others, Tsuno Haru said, "Renya has demonstrated proper form for Hadō #1. Everyone, follow his example—" He stopped short, realizing the futility of that suggestion. This wasn't something you could simply mimic; it was raw aptitude.
"…Begin your own training," he finished, a little flatly. "If you need guidance, you may ask Renya."
Students began practicing, murmuring chants and struggling to channel their reiryoku. Most failed to produce even a spark.
The first to approach Renya was Zantetsu Ryoji, the tall, broad-shouldered classmate who often sat near him. "Renya, I've tried a dozen times and nothing's working. What am I doing wrong?"
Renya studied his form. "Show me once more."
Ryoji repeated the gesture and chant, but nothing happened.
"Your grip's too tight," Renya explained. "Relax the middle, ring, and little fingers. Let the index finger tilt slightly downward, and keep the thumb at a natural angle."
Following the correction, Ryoji's fingertip briefly lit up before fading. No shockwave yet, but visible progress.
"It lit up!" Ryoji grinned and immediately tried again.
Soon, other classmates gathered, asking for help.
"Renya, my stance is fine, but I can't get it to trigger."
"Your chant is too rushed—slow it down," Renya replied.
"My chant and stance are fine, but nothing happens!"
"Then it's your reiryoku flow. Channel your energy during the chant, and sever it cleanly at the final syllable to prevent interference."
One by one, Renya addressed their issues, and gradually, several managed faint flashes or weak shockwaves. With enough practice, they'd master Shō.
Tsuno Haru watched with a mix of exasperation and admiration. Renya wasn't just talented—he was effectively teaching in the instructor's place.
Still, the Kidō Corps officer made a mental note: if Renya's talent could be nurtured, perhaps he could be recruited into the Corps. Since the forced departure of the previous Grand Kidō Chief and Vice-Chief over a century ago, the Corps' mastery of forbidden spells had weakened. A prodigy like Renya could change that.
Renya, unaware of the thoughts brewing in his teacher's mind, spent half an hour assisting his peers. When the lesson was nearly over, he stood silently, raising his hand without chanting.
For a Shinigami, both Hadō and Bakudō were normally performed with a full chant to maximize power. Only the most skilled could forgo the incantation—mukidō—and even then, it drastically reduced potency.
Renya knew that captains like Aizen Sōsuke could fire Hadō #90 without a chant, and lieutenants like Kuchiki Rukia or Hisagi Shūhei could skip incantations for lower-level spells such as Byakurai or Sai. He wanted to learn the same for Shō.
No chant meant no warning, which meant true speed in combat. But he had no idea where to start.
Tsuno Haru noticed his stillness. What's he doing? he wondered. He's not chanting… Could he be trying to skip the incantation?
It seemed absurd. Mastering even low-level Hadō without a chant took thousands of repetitions. Even Tsuno Haru himself had needed hundreds of tries for something as simple as Byakurai.
Yet he let Renya attempt it. Failure would teach its own lesson.
Renya's hand lit up—then fired a shockwave.
Tsuno Haru froze. …He actually did it?
Only one thought came to mind: Is this even fair?