First came the "stitching" of the heart, followed by the reassembly of bone, and then the fusion of flesh and blood. Whether because the injury was too severe, or because Unohana wanted him to fully experience the profundity of Kaidō, this round of healing took a long time.
After roughly half an hour, under Kurosaki Rei's watchful gaze, Unohana's pale hand brushed across his chest and abdomen, finally stopping at his waist. At the same time, the external wounds vanished completely.
"So this is advanced Kaidō… it really is powerful,"
Kurosaki Rei sighed. "But it feels like there's no essential difference from the Kaidō taught in class. It's just that your technique is finer, Teacher Unohana, and you're using far more spiritual pressure."
There was admiration—and a hint of anticipation—in Unohana's eyes.
"Your comprehension is excellent. Indeed, Kaidō doesn't really have ranks. How powerful one's Kaidō is mainly depends on control. It's a skill that improves with practice—though of course, talent matters a great deal as well."
"I think I'm starting to understand. Let me try."
As he spoke, Kurosaki Rei stood up and glanced at his torn, ruined uniform, thinking that he only had one set of school clothes… Looks like he'd have to borrow one from Sōsuke tomorrow.
He walked over to his experiment table, grabbed the terrified white mouse, and with a swift cut, opened up its entire chest cavity.
A Kaidō glow lit up in his hand as he closed his eyes and began treating the mouse.
Imagine what it looked like when it was whole…
Control the Reishi more delicately, like threads…
Five minutes later, Kurosaki Rei stared thoughtfully at the mouse lying lifelessly before him.
"Your method is basically correct,"
Unohana commented from the side,
"but your efficiency is far too low. A fatal injury won't give you that much time to repair it."
After thinking for a moment, Kurosaki Rei stepped back two paces and looked at Unohana.
"Teacher Unohana, let's do it again."
"Oh?"
Unohana was slightly surprised. She understood what he meant.
"It seems you really want to learn Kaidō that can be used in actual combat."
In the next instant, Kurosaki Rei saw a fountain of blood again. Even though he had been prepared this time, he still couldn't catch Unohana's movement at all.
Looking down at Kurosaki Rei lying beneath her, carefully experiencing her technique, Unohana felt a sense of satisfaction. Today had indeed been worth the trip. This child she had casually brought back from Rukongai was giving her one surprise after another.
She had invited Kurosaki Rei back then because of a gut feeling—that he was the same kind of person as her.
Like ferocious beasts meeting on the wilderness. One glance was enough to recognize each other's savagery.
Yet Kurosaki Rei's performance still exceeded her expectations. Swordsmanship, Hakuda, Shunpo, Kidō—he possessed top-tier talent in every area. And his reason for learning Kaidō was the same as hers.
In that case, what reason did she have not to teach him?
Northern Rukongai's 80th District—Zaraki District—really was a place where "talent abounded." Back then, she had encountered a child there whose strength drove her to despair. And now, she had picked up Kurosaki Rei as well.
She didn't know where that other child was wandering now, but Kurosaki Rei was also a promising prospect.
Looking at the resolute, masculine face beneath her, the corner of her lips curved upward unconsciously.
In the future… just how much will you be able to entertain me?
As the sun sank lower, the Academy students once again finished their fulfilling day. As for Kurosaki Rei, his time in the Kaidō classroom had been fulfilling in an academic sense—but in a physical sense, he was utterly drained.
When the classroom door was unlocked with a key, the student assigned to clean the room froze in shock at the sight before him. It looked exactly like a murder scene!
Blood was still dripping from the stained ceiling, and the amount pooled on the floor was even more exaggerated. The air was thick with a pungent stench of blood.
Inside the classroom were two people. One he recognized—Teacher Unohana, whom everyone loved. At this moment, Teacher Unohana was gently stroking a male student's abdominal muscles…
That physique is really good…
No—wait, what the hell am I thinking?!
No—hold on, what am I seeing?!
In a classroom that looked like a crime scene, Shin'ō Academy's most popular Kaidō instructor—Captain Unohana—was touching the bare upper body of a male student?!
Slide—
He shut the door.
There was no doubt about it. He must have opened the door the wrong way just now. He'd definitely seen it wrong.
Slide—
When the door opened again, the two people inside were already separated. One looked at him with a strange expression, while the other smiled gently at him with narrowed eyes.
"Um… Teacher Unohana, I—I didn't see anything,"
he said stiffly, turning around as if to flee the "crime scene."
Damn it, why did he have to be on duty today?
But he had barely turned halfway around when Unohana called out to him.
"This on-duty student, I'm terribly sorry for increasing your workload unnecessarily. We were merely practicing Kaidō just now."
"Practicing… Kaidō?"
The student looked suspiciously at the white mice locked in the cages inside the classroom.
Do mice really bleed that much?
And the junior standing next to Teacher Unohana—why did he look so weak? Pale-faced, barely able to stand. Was that also a side effect of practicing Kaidō?
The blood…
It can't be the junior's, right?
No, impossible. Teacher Unohana is such a gentle person. How could she let students practice on their own bodies? I'm definitely overthinking this.
Clutching his broom and mop, he nervously walked into the classroom.
"Then… I'll start cleaning?"
"Sorry to trouble you, senpai,"
Kurosaki Rei said apologetically. He didn't think this would lead to any strange misunderstandings, but the blood really was hard to clean. The poor guy would probably be at it for a long time.
He had originally wanted to help, but right now he felt far too weak.
Kaidō wasn't omnipotent. Unohana could heal his injuries, but she couldn't fully replenish his blood.
She had let him experience it three times with his own body just now. Even someone as tough as Kurosaki Rei couldn't handle that much blood loss. He urgently needed to head to the one place where he could recover—
The cafeteria.
"Let's stop here for today,"
Unohana said. "Let me see… the next Kaidō class is the day after tomorrow. Prepare well during this time."
She stepped lightly across the bloodstained floor, then glanced back with a gentle smile.
"I'll be stricter next time."
Kurosaki Rei touched his chest, wondering if Teacher Unohana might someday lose control and actually kill him with a single strike.
Thinking about it that way, trying to graduate early really was a long and arduous road.
At the very least, every required course and every elective he'd chosen had to earn the instructors' approval. If even one of them didn't nod, "speedrunning" the Academy would be impossible. And who knew whether the Academy would set up some special examination for a genius trying to skip grades and graduate early?
Kurosaki Rei brushed past the dazed on-duty student, shook his head, and pushed those thoughts aside for now.
The most urgent matter was filling his stomach and recovering. Although there were no wounds on his body anymore, his Life Source had dropped to just 40%.
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