Nighttime, within the inner courtyard of the Squad 4 barracks. Moonlight, like water, spilled across the ground. The door to the bedroom at the edge of the courtyard was ajar. By the moonlight, one could see Unohana on the bed, her face colorless, as if she had not yet fully recovered from the Hollow poison earlier in the day.
In the courtyard, a black shadow stepped out from the darkness, slowly approaching Unohana's bedroom. Suddenly, the shadow's figure paused. A sudden, bone-chilling coldness stopped its advance.
A silver glint shone from within the bedroom doorway, and a blade swept out, carried by a furious gale. The shadow instantly drew its Zanpakutō and held it up to block.
CLANG!
The two Zanpakutō clashed. Unohana, in a blade-lock stance, pressed the dark figure down beneath her. The Hollow poison used in the lecture had been prepared by Unohana herself. The unexpected incident led her to believe that the person who swapped the poison was targeting her directly.
Unohana had a gut feeling that the culprit was still hiding within Squad 4, since the poison had been stored in the squad's reserves where no outsider could enter. Therefore, she feigned that her injuries were not fully healed, to see if the person would reveal themselves. Her method was effective.
By the moonlight, Unohana saw the other's face clearly, and her pupils instantly constricted in shock.
"A Reigai..." Unohana's face turned cold. "Wasn't the 'Captain Completion Project' shut down long ago?" The Soul Reaper pinned beneath her blade was a perfect copy of herself!
Unohana instantly understood: someone had been collecting her dissipated spiritual particles to create a Reigai—a soul-copy body. Hundreds of years ago, the Quincy war had caused heavy losses to the original Gotei 13. To replenish their captain-level strength, the Seireitei had initiated the "Captain Completion Project." However, Unohana remembered the project had been halted. Due to technical issues, the Reigai produced were very weak and couldn't even release their Zanpakutō. With the rise of a new generation of Shinigami, the captain-level ranks were filled, and the project was shelved.
"You used this face to deceive the Squad 4 members and walk right into the storage room, didn't you?" Unohana figured out how the poison had been swapped, but she had even more questions. "Are you a Reigai created by Shutara Senjumaru?"
"It seems that vial of poison didn't seriously injure you. I failed after all," the Reigai said, not answering her question.
"Why did you do this?" Unohana continued to ask.
"Why? Of course, it's to have a real spiritual body! You have so much Spiritual Pressure, why can't you just give me some!" The Reigai's expression turned ferocious. It pushed Unohana off and swung its blade at her neck.
"An emotionally unstable Reigai. You must be an early model," Unohana frowned, easily blocking the blow. The early models, besides being too weak to release a Zanpakutō, had many issues, including emotional instability.
"I am not a product!!!" The Reigai's emotions were completely ignited. It lost all reason and began slashing at Unohana frantically. However, while its body was made from Unohana's spiritual particles, it had not inherited her abilities. In Unohana's eyes, its artless attacks were no threat at all.
Moreover, when early Reigai models became agitated, their spiritual bodies would soon collapse. So, Unohana didn't continue questioning it. "How dull."
A silver light flashed. The Reigai felt a coldness at its waist, and it was instantly sliced in two. The bisected body fell to the ground and slowly dissipated.
Unohana looked up at the night sky, silent. This Reigai was very weak. A Vasto Lorde-class Hollow was clearly not something it could handle, which made the origin of that vial of poison very suspicious.
...
The next day, at the Shin'ō Academy. It was the day of the first-year Autumn Exam. The assessment would take place over several days, one subject per day. Today's subject was swordsmanship. The office was bustling as the Professors discussed the exam.
"Professor Katori, are you confident in your students? Professor Tsunayashiro's class has a huge advantage. They're almost all from the Seireitei, right?" Professor Kobayashi sighed. She taught the same class as Sora, but for Kaidō.
"My students' progress in their basic training is not bad, but compared to Professor Tsunayashiro's students, they are probably still far behind. After all, their training time has been too short," Sora said helplessly. His students were mostly from the Rukongai and had to start from scratch. However, he wasn't including his own disciples in that assessment.
"Yes, it's the same for my Kaidō class. Only a few of them can keep up..." Professor Kobayashi was very troubled.
"It can't be helped. Kaidō has a high entry barrier, requiring a lot of basic medical knowledge. It's normal for students not to like it," Sora comforted her.
"That's how it is with first-years. You can't expect them to do that well this year," Professor Sakai said, having a more relaxed view. She taught the same class, but for Kidō, and knew her students, who had only learned one Hadō and one Bakudō, were no match for the Seireitei-born students who had prior training.
"Today is the exam, and Professor Tsunayashiro isn't even here..." Professor Kobayashi said, clicking her tongue as she looked at an empty seat. Although everyone understood the weight of the Tsunayashiro name and knew he was just here to pad his resume, this level of indifference was a first.
"Today is the swordsmanship exam. Professor Katori, who are you optimistic about in our class? Your disciples must have good talent, right?" Professor Sakai changed the subject, as discussing the Tsunayashiro family was a sensitive matter. The fact that Sora had taken disciples had spread among the more familiar Professors.
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