It was a rest day at the academy, so Katori Sora didn't have classes. He went with Lisa into the back mountain forest. The last time he was at Granny E's izakaya, he had heard Lisa mention a wild bear in the area, and the thought of hunting it had crossed his mind.
He also brought his three disciples along, because besides hunting the bear, they needed to find some suitable wood for dojo practice. There was a type of wood in the forest called Black Ironwood, whose toughness and hardness far surpassed ordinary wood, making it very suitable for crafting training targets.
Kana Azashiro saw a small stream in the forest and went to scoop some water with her hands: "The water here is so clear. It's perfect for a picnic."
"A picnic here?" Shinji Hirako said lazily. "Be careful not to get carried away by a wild bear!"
"We can find a spot for a picnic at noon," Sora said, touching some bite marks on a tree trunk. They seemed to be marks left by a bear sharpening its teeth. "These marks were likely left by a large animal. Little Lisa, was this where you encountered the bear before?"
"This is the place. The bear came out from those bushes over there. I tried to go around it carefully, but it still spotted me," Lisa said, pointing to a densely vegetated area.
"I can sense a faint residual Spiritual Pressure in these marks. It's a good thing you were quick-witted and didn't choose to confront the bear head-on," Sora said. Ordinary animals in the Soul Society were also composed of spiritual particles and could occasionally have individuals with prominent Spiritual Pressure. Lisa had not yet reached her full potential, and encountering these powerful beasts was somewhat dangerous for her.
"Let's see if Fuku can find it," Lisa said. She had brought her little Akita to track the bear's scent. "Fuku, help me find the bear," she said, picking up the puppy and bringing it to the tree stump to let it smell the residual scent. The little Akita was very smart and quickly understood, barking after sniffing the scent: "Woof, woof—"
Lisa placed the puppy back on the ground, and it began to follow the lingering scent, stopping and starting as it went. The five of them followed the Akita deeper into the forest. After a while, the puppy stopped and barked furiously in a certain direction: "Woof, woof, woof, woof—"
Soon, there was movement in the forest. A sturdy, brown-furred wild bear emerged from the woods.
Wild Bear
Spiritual Pressure: LV 8
This bear's Spiritual Pressure had actually reached the level of an ordinary squad member; most of the students in Sora's class hadn't even reached this level. If it weren't a bear, but a human spiritual body, it could graduate from the academy to become an official Soul Reaper.
"I'll take care of it!" Kensei Muguruma chose to draw the wooden sword from his waist. Such a beast was not worthy of him using his Asauchi. Sora didn't stop him. With Kensei's current strength, dealing with a bear with Spiritual Pressure was more than enough.
Kensei Muguruma
Talent: S
Spiritual Pressure: LV 24
Affinity Level: Friendly
Status: Excited (Let the professor see the results of my training!)
Sora glanced at Kensei's panel. When he first met him, his Spiritual Pressure was only level 15. After this period of Jinzen meditation, it had already increased to level 24. Kana's and Shinji's had also increased significantly, to levels 21 and 26 respectively.
Kensei let out a great shout, stepped forward, and delivered a swift slash towards the bear's head. The bear simultaneously swung its claws at him. If Kensei ignored the attack, he would be hit after striking the bear. However, he had learned his lesson from the last spar with Shinji. He held back a bit of his strength; the wooden sword, originally a vertical downward slash, suddenly changed direction, slashing diagonally towards the bear's shoulder.
The sword was longer than the claws. Before the paw could reach him, the blade struck the bear's shoulder with a dull THUD. The bone was instantly broken by the immense force, and the paw hung limply.
"ROAR—" the bear howled in pain. Kensei pressed his advantage, retracting his wrist and instantly thrusting the sword forward, striking the bear's shoulder and leaving a bloody hole. The bear was enraged and lunged, its maw open, aiming for Kensei's neck.
Kensei kicked the bear in the chest, pulled out his sword to create distance, and then quickly delivered a horizontal slash towards its neck. CRACK— The bear's cervical vertebrae shattered. It fell to the ground, twitched a few times, and soon went still.
"Hehe, easy peasy!" Kensei said, wiping the blood from his sword on the bear's fur. However, Lisa's little Akita continued to bark incessantly.
"Look out!" Lisa shouted, pointing behind Kensei.
Kensei froze, suddenly feeling as if he were covered by a huge shadow. Sora's eyes narrowed. A giant bear, over three meters tall, had appeared from the jungle behind Kensei.
Wild Bear
Spiritual Pressure: LV 25
This massive bear seemed to be the companion of the one on the ground. Seeing its fallen comrade, it was instantly enraged. "ROAR!!!" The giant bear opened its bloody maw and lunged at Kensei.
His face turned pale. It was too late to escape. He could only swing his sword at the giant bear behind him. But his strike was made in a hurry and lacked power; it was directly swatted away. The lunge continued, still aiming for his neck.
Just as he thought it was over, Kana Azashiro and Shinji Hirako suddenly appeared at his sides. From the left and right, they thrust their wooden swords almost simultaneously. The giant bear's two eyes were directly pierced.
Kana and Shinji had seen the giant bear's shadow earlier and were prepared to intervene. Now truly blind, the bear's anger was instantly extinguished by fear. It shook its head violently to dislodge the swords and fled back in the direction it came from. Even blind, it could still follow the scent back to its den.
Just then, a stream of light suddenly flashed through the forest.
Katori Style: Ryūkō!
Squelch—
The fleeing blind bear suddenly split in two as it ran. The remains of the giant bear crashed into a tree, bringing it down with a thunderous crash.
The others were stunned for a moment, then all looked towards Katori Sora. They saw that he was still standing a few meters away, unmoved. The Zanpakutō in his hand was spotless, not a drop of blood on it.
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