Water cascaded from the wooden basin, soaking the boy's lengthening black hair, drenching his entire body like a waterfall.
[Time to wash that little elephant!]
[Kids taste better when they're squeaky clean!]
Sōsuke sat calmly on a small wooden stool, rinsing off soap suds, ignoring the chatter from the small Zanpakutō nearby.
After spending time with Makoto, Sōsuke had confirmed the man was a fool. But as he learned more, his worries about his secrets being exposed faded. Thankfully, Makoto seemed only interested in older women.
[Hey!]
[Makoto, Aizen-chan's ignoring me! Pick on him a bit!]
"Quiet, you." Makoto said, tapping the Zanpakutō's sheath irritably. He continued pouring water over Sōsuke, casually asking, "So, Sōsuke, it's been about six months since you started at the Shin'ō Academy, right? How's that promise going? Made any good friends?"
Sōsuke, scrubbing his body, paused briefly before replying nonchalantly, "One or two, I guess. We get along fine."
"You actually made friends?" Makoto's tone was exaggerated, as if he'd heard something unbelievable. "I thought you'd be a loner for all six years!"
"Impressive!"
As if to punctuate his praise, Makoto tapped the basin lightly on Sōsuke's head, producing a soft thunk.
Nice head!
Sōsuke clutched his head, shooting Makoto a sidelong glare, clearly annoyed. But, under someone else's roof, he had to play nice.
"You're the one with issues, Makoto." Sōsuke said, raising his voice slightly, scrubbing harder in frustration. "I'm not some emotional idiot. Why would you think I couldn't make a single friend?"
"Because you're a genius." Makoto said, stepping into the nearby hot spring. He scooped water with a gourd ladle, letting it spill over his shoulders, his tone earnest. "And you've got a maturity beyond most kids. Without restraint, you might see everyone around you as mere cucumbers, tomatoes, or mochi. A fool who thinks they're above the rest…"
Sōsuke froze, turning with a hint of defiance. "What's wrong with that? In terms of Reishi structure or spiritual talent, geniuses and Pluses are practically different species! Do you see yourself as the same as an ordinary soul in Rukongai?"
"Sōsuke." Makoto called, gesturing for him to look over.
When Sōsuke turned, he saw Makoto flicking his fingers toward him.
"Hadō #666: Daddy Slap!"
Piu!
Before Sōsuke could react, a Reishi-water wrapped droplet shot forward at blinding speed.
Smack!
The tiny droplet struck Sōsuke's forehead, knocking him back, his head buzzing.
After a moment, he clutched his head, recovering. His palm touched a slightly swollen, red mark.
Despite his young age, Sōsuke's reiatsu was at a vice-captain level, his spiritual body tough enough to withstand blows from ordinary Hollows. Yet this monster…
"Damn it!" Sōsuke muttered. "Using some unknown Kidō…"
"Feel it?" Makoto interrupted, arms resting on the bath's edge, his expression calm.
"Feel what?" Sōsuke asked, confused.
"Didn't notice?" Makoto smirked. "I shouted a chant, but there's no such thing as a fractional Kidō. That was just a plain finger flick."
"…A finger flick?" Sōsuke echoed, stunned, falling silent.
He couldn't process it at first.
A question mark slowly formed in his mind.
Makoto's voice continued, steady. "Geniuses and Pluses do differ vastly in Reishi structure. But isn't the gap between geniuses just as wide? Some might graduate the Shin'ō Academy in a year, train for a century, and still only reach vice-captain level, only to be killed by a slightly unique Gillian. Others, in an era without Zanpakutō, could awaken Shikai and Bankai on their own, becoming unmatched in the Soul Society within a millennium."
"Both are 'talented Shinigami' to ordinary souls. But to the latter, what's the difference between the former and a common soul?"
Sōsuke, listening to Makoto's calm words, instinctively placed himself as the lesser genius and Makoto as the greater. The casual flick and the lingering ache on his forehead sharpened the sense of their vast divide.
No matter his prodigious talent or learning ability, Sōsuke was a person of the present. He couldn't know his future potential or grasp how many advantages Makoto had to reach such power. All he felt was the chasm between them, deep as an abyss.
Unconsciously, he saw himself in that lower tier.
But that fleeting thought sparked an overwhelming surge of pride, threatening to consume him.
"It's not the same!" Sōsuke snapped, lifting his head, his swollen forehead no deterrent as he locked eyes with Makoto, unflinching. "Even if they seem equal now, the potential of a genius and a Whole will never be the same."
Makoto's smile widened, as if he'd been waiting for those words.
"Sōsuke, of the four arts, Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hohō, and Kidō, you're best at Kidō, right?"
Leaning on the bath's edge, Makoto grinned like a fox luring a young prey into a trap. "Want to challenge me?"
"Challenge?" Sōsuke looked up, puzzled.
…
Whoosh.
Rukongai, North District 20, outskirts.
Amid the towering peaks of the rugged highlands, two figures, one large, one small, suddenly appeared.
Fresh from his bath, Makoto wore a loose yukata, his long hair tied back casually, his Zanpakutō at his waist. In his hand, he held a slightly pale Sōsuke.
Sōsuke's sidelong glance fell on Makoto, calm as ever, his expression tinged with unease.
That ridiculous speed earlier…
Was Makoto really using Shunpo?
"Sōsuke."
"Yes?"
Lost in thought, Sōsuke snapped to attention as Makoto called his name.
"What's the highest-level Hadō you can unleash at full power?" Makoto asked.
"Hadō #63: Raikōhō." Sōsuke replied with clear self-assurance, a source of his pride. His peers, even their instructors, likely couldn't wield Hadō above number fifty.
After all, anything beyond fifty was considered advanced Kidō.
"Target that mountain." Makoto said, unfazed, pointing to a peak. "Show me your full strength."
"Understood."
Whether out of defiance or confidence in his talent, Sōsuke responded without hesitation. Raising his hand, his small frame erupted with staggering Reiatsu. A fierce wind radiated outward, scattering endlessly around him.
In the distance, nocturnal creatures startled at the terrifying force, a flock of crows taking flight in the dark.
"Ye scattered beast bones! Spire, crimson crystal, steel wheel. Moving is wind, still is sky. The sound of lances clashing fills the empty castle!" He chanted loudly, ending with, "Hadō #63: Raikōhō!"
In an instant, lightning flared.
A deafening roar echoed through the sky as a destructive beam of golden light tore through the night, streaking toward the towering mountain.
The light flickered, the darkness briefly stilled.
Then, a blazing explosion erupted on the mountain's surface.
With full incantation and vice-captain-level Reiatsu, the blast rivaled an ordinary Hollow's Cero, leaving a deep, scorched crater in the peak, its top shaved flat.
Sōsuke exhaled softly.
Though he suppressed it, a faint smirk of pride crossed his face. Even he hadn't expected such a strong performance under pressure.
"Not bad." Makoto said, genuinely impressed, his tone warm.
Sōsuke's lips curved into a slight smile.
"But." Makoto's voice shifted, pointing a finger at the mountain. "Hadō #90."
Sōsuke's smile froze.
Abandoning the incantation?
For a number ninety Hadō?
That was bound to fail.
Having studied the absurd techniques required for forbidden-level Kidō, Sōsuke made the judgment the moment the words left Makoto's mouth.
The night fell silent for a heartbeat.
Sōsuke's tension eased slightly.
But then, his peripheral vision caught a darkness deeper than the night itself, rising and spreading.
Like an immense mountain coffin, it engulfed the entire peak.
"Kurohitsugi."
The moment Makoto uttered the incantation, the black coffin sealed shut.
A pitch-black cube, encircled by soul-binding crosses, consumed their entire view, dimming even the faint moonlight under its oppressive darkness.
Surging, shadowy Reiatsu pierced the heavens.
The awe-inspiring sight burned into Sōsuke's eyes, as if etched into his soul. Even centuries later, he'd never forget it.
Abruptly, the black coffin dissipated.
The mountain that once stood was gone, replaced by a flattened void in the rugged highlands, as if erased by an indescribable force.
Fine debris drifted down, forming a thick gray mist.
Makoto waved his sleeve, a gust clearing the dust around them.
"That's an incantation-abandoned, full-power Hadō #90." He said. "And the gap between you and me. Until you can match it, think of yourself as ordinary, Sōsuke."
His large hand gently ruffled the boy's soft hair.
But the small boy stood rigid, staring at the void, lost in thought.
His earlier pride vanished without a trace.
"The gap… huh?" Sōsuke murmured.
That night, he tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
Meanwhile, Makoto sipped sake, glancing at a panel he hadn't checked in ages.
[Heir of the Soul King: Activated]
[Kidō: Tier 18 ↑]
[Kidō Bottleneck: Stage 6]
[Teaching in Progress - Kidō Bottleneck Breakthrough ↑]
[Kidō: Tier 19 ↑]
[Kidō: Tier 19 (1/100)] · [Talent Locked]
[Come back to explore this area later!]
He raised his sake cup, taking a sip.
A rare improvement.
Over three hundred years, he'd poured immense effort into advancing his skills. Progress now was excruciatingly difficult, especially at this stage.
Perhaps only sparring with the Soul King's Palace elites could push him further.
That's why the "Heir of the Soul King" Trait was so vital to him now.
[Bond Trait 12: Heir of the Soul King: By teaching and forming deep bonds, you can share others' talents, wisdom, and abilities, breaking through their talent limits.]
Makoto exhaled, eyeing the panel's details.
"Don't let me down, Sōsuke."
…
The next day, during a break.
Despite maintaining his usual diligent demeanor, even Yamada Seinosuke, seated beside him, noticed Sōsuke's distraction.
"Hey, Sōsuke." Yamada said, turning curiously. "This is rare. You pull an all-nighter or something? Oh, by the way, I found this wild medical book in the library yesterday. It says you can cure people with poop! And some fool even brews wine with it!"
Once he started on a topic he loved, he rambled like a typical kid.
"Hm? Oh." Sōsuke replied, clearly distracted. "That's something."
His gaze was hollow.
"Sōsuke?"
As they spoke,
Bang!
A pair of small hands slammed onto their desk.
The blonde kid with the bob cut glared fiercely at Sōsuke, shouting, "Hey, Sōsuke! Duel me!"
The loud voice silenced the classroom.
Classmates turned toward Sōsuke and Shinji, whispering.
"Here he goes again."
"Sōsuke's the strongest in class."
"He's lost so many times. Doesn't he know shame?"
Despite the biting comments, Shinji ignored them, staring intently at Sōsuke.
Yamada frowned, annoyed. "What's with you? Didn't you get beat enough times already? You recover just to come back for more. Got a screw loose or something?"
His tone was blunt, but it was true.
Since Sōsuke defeated him on the rooftop, Shinji had been relentless, determined to uncover the secret behind Sōsuke's strength, only to be casually beaten each time after school.
Sōsuke had never seen him as a real opponent.
Yet Shinji clung on like gum on a shoe.
"I won't give up until I'm as strong as you!" Shinji declared.
"Shoo." Yamada said, waving him off. "Who's got time for you? Want a beating? Wait till after school."
"Fine." Sōsuke said suddenly, his calm gaze meeting Shinji's. "If you want to get stronger, follow me after school."
"Huh?!" Yamada and Shinji exclaimed in unison, turning to him, bewildered.
***
Bonus Chapter:
100 Power Stones = 1 BC
300 Power Stones = 2 BC
500 Power Stones = 3 BC
700 Power Stones = 4 BC
1000 Power Stones = 5 BC
***
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