"Your spiritual pressure is currently not strong enough, and you can't temporarily control that power."
Arata warned him seriously.
"If you forcefully release Shikai, the same kind of rampage as today will happen again, and casualties could easily occur."
Hitsugaya Tōshirō nodded seriously and carefully returned the Asauchi to its sheath.
At that moment, the dojo door opened and Kusaka Sōjirō peeked inside.
"Um… Saito-sensei, can I learn with you too?"
Although Kusaka and Tōshirō had known each other for less than two days, he already saw him as his best friend.
After seeing what had happened in the sword room that afternoon, he was feeling uneasy himself.
So the moment the other students left, Kusaka decisively ran back just to find out what was going on with Tōshirō.
"Of course you can. Come here." Arata motioned for him to enter.
"Saito-sensei, is Tōshirō okay?" Kusaka looked up at Arata, worry clearly written on his face.
"Of course he's fine. And even if something were wrong, it would still be a good thing for him."
Arata smiled, then told Kusaka what had happened during Tōshirō's first contact with Shikai.
The black-haired boy was initially confused, he didn't quite understand how ridiculous it was for someone to reach the threshold of releasing a Zanpakutō on the very day of enrollment.
Only after Arata explained everything slowly did Kusaka finally grasp it.
"Tōshirō, you're really incredible!" Kusaka exclaimed, looking at him with sincere admiration and envy in his eyes.
"Uh… it's not as serious as he's saying, Kusaka. I didn't know it would turn out like that either." Tōshirō blushed at the direct praise.
Although he acts colder and calmer than his peers, he is still a child at heart.
When praised by someone his age, someone close to him, of course he can't hide that little bit of happiness.
"You're amazing. I don't know when I'll even be able to communicate with my Zanpakutō…"
In Kusaka's voice, both worry and anticipation could be heard.
Arata smiled faintly, patted his shoulder, and said: "Don't get discouraged, you're this year's top student, your talent and potential are second only to Tōshirō's. Your teacher believes you'll succeed very soon."
He had no doubts about Kusaka's potential—within the original storyline, he was a genius acknowledged even by Hyōrinmaru.
Moreover, even during today's sword-swing practice, Arata had noticed some unusual signs around Kusaka's Asauchi.
Although he still wasn't entirely certain what lay behind that, Arata believed that with his guidance, Kusaka could once again recreate that "miracle" moment.
However, in order to complete the main task [Fate of Hyōrinmaru], Arata felt he needed to slightly intervene in how Kusaka formed his connection with his Zanpakutō.
Since that task appeared, he'd been running different possibilities through his mind.
Maybe the appearance of two Hyōrinmaru wasn't some random miracle, but simply the result of a "system rule" that within the same time frame, two highly compatible souls could connect with the same "fundamental form" of a Zanpakutō and give it the same name.
It's not like someone drunkenly forged another identical sword in Ōetsu's workshop and pasted the same name on it.
Arata already had a fairly solid theoretical framework in mind; he just needed time to verify it.
When classes finally ended, dusk had already fallen over the Shinō Spiritual Arts Academy.
"See you tomorrow, Saito-sensei!" the two boys bowed to him before leaving, their silhouettes soon disappearing down the path scattered with fallen petals.
Arata remained alone in the dojo, closing his eyes and sensing the changes within his own body.
Although he had been quite absorbed with Rangiku over the past months, he had maintained intense all-around training the entire time.
With the blessing of the Spirit King bloodline, the feedback from such training made his spiritual pressure grow stronger and stronger.
Two months ago, his spiritual power had been at the standard captain level, sixth stage.
And now it had already risen to at least the eighth stage.
Given the long lifespan of Shinigami, increasing spiritual pressure by one-third of a captain's level in just two months was already a terrifying speed.
And that was without using any external aids.
If he wanted to burn through his destiny points, he could have spent a few thousand to exchange for a B-rank essence of high-density spiritual pressure from the system shop, his strength would be even higher now.
But the longer he trained under Unohana Retsu, the more one thing became clear to him a tower that reaches the sky begins at its foundation.
If all you do is chase a faster rise in spiritual pressure while neglecting everything else, Kidō, Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hohō, precision control, then you'll only become a giant balloon of spiritual power that bursts the moment someone lightly pokes it.
Unless one day your spiritual power reaches the "wall" known as Kurosaki Ichigo.
When you reach Ichigo's level, technique hardly matters anymore, just releasing your spiritual pressure, ten or even a hundred times stronger than your opponent's, is enough to incinerate them instantly.
But the reality was that Arata was nowhere near that level yet.
Although the incomplete Spirit King bloodline helped, it too had its limits.
He had to proceed step by step, building solid foundations in everything so he could one day become a massive, immovable tree.
That was exactly why Arata genuinely admired Aizen.
Extraordinary talent, mastery in everything he touched, a mind cold and firm like a mountain, a dazzling collection of traits far surpassing ordinary Shinigami, all gathered in one man, created that unparalleled, most charismatic villain.
In a way, Aizen was Arata's role model.
At least at this phase, Arata was trying to mold his efforts according to the "Aizen template."
Power needed a strong enough mind to control it, that was the logic.
Teaching and raising students at the Shinō Spiritual Arts Academy now brought massive growth to both his strength and his spirit.
Speaking of which, Aizen too, by Yamamoto's decision, had been appointed chief professor of the Kidō Department. Perhaps someday they would stand together on the same platform, teaching the same generation.
Arata smiled faintly, shook his head, and was just about to leave the dojo when he sensed a familiar spiritual pressure approaching.
He turned and saw Rangiku leaning against the doorframe, swinging two skewers of tricolor dango in her hands.
"I guessed someone would definitely forget dinner~" She tilted her head, her blonde hair swaying gently in the evening breeze.
Arata quickly walked up to take the dango from her, his fingers unintentionally brushing her wrist.
"Did you finish your paperwork for today?"
"Of course, otherwise the captain wouldn't have let me go." Rangiku leaned in a bit and sniffed him, catching a cold trace on him. "Why do you smell like winter?"
Arata bit into the dango, when his woman bought it, it always tasted the best. The sweet, sticky texture slowly melted on his tongue, washing away the day's fatigue.
"That kid, Tōshirō. His talent is truly astonishing. He just got his Asauchi today, and he's already reached the threshold of his Zanpakutō's Shikai."
"Tsk tsk, so he's almost as talented as you?" Rangiku seemed a little surprised.
"Not at all. I only reached Shikai in my sixth year. From that perspective, Tōshirō is even more talented than me."
Arata quickly finished the dango, and before the sweetness left his mouth, he leaned in and kissed Rangiku's cheek.
"Ah! Don't smudge my face!"
"How can what a scholar does be called smudging? This is just a little extra makeup."
"Hmph! Then forget about getting into bed tonight!"
Arata froze as he remembered he had to go to the Fourth Division tonight for his teacher's lessons.
He took a deep breath and decided to confess.
"Rangiku, I might be coming home later these nights."
"Captain Unohana is currently holding an advanced Kaidō course, so I have to go to the Fourth Division for additional lessons."
———
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