Aizen Sōsuke still found last night's experience difficult to believe.
Originally, he thought he was going to be taken to some secluded location and trained into the personal assassin of a noble clan.
Or perhaps he'd have an encounter like Katō—receiving a so-called "Divine Blade" that had to be fed with his own flesh, Reishi, and soul.
What he didn't expect was for Katori Nanatsuki to bring him to what appeared to be an ordinary-looking dojo.
He had checked—there were no guards stationed here.
At least, not on the surface.
It was also possible that there were guards present, but they were so powerful that they could conceal themselves from his perception.
If that were the case, then his chances of escape were grim.
He didn't yet possess the strength to slip away under the gaze of such formidable individuals—especially not when their attention was focused on him.
But as the sun rose and the dojo grew more and more lively, he began to feel that something was off.
This was… an actual Kendo dojo!
Those coming here to train didn't seem to be official Shinigami.
Aizen Sōsuke scanned the courtyard. Seeing that Katori Nanatsuki wasn't around, he decided to take the opportunity to probe someone for information.
His eyes quickly landed on the most suitable target—a silver-haired girl practicing sword swings. He walked over and spoke with a sincere tone:
"Excuse me, miss. May I borrow a bit of your time?"
"This is my first day at the dojo, and I'm not very familiar with the rules here."
"Ah, hello…" Kotetsu Isane was startled by the unfamiliar voice and quickly lowered her wooden sword, politely responding, "Are you one of Sensei's new disciples? If there's anything you're unsure about, feel free to ask."
"Many thanks. I'm Aizen Sōsuke."
"No problem, I'm Kotetsu Isane."
Seeing how polite and serious she was, Aizen felt reassured. 'As I thought, she's an honest one.'
"Sensei... left in quite a hurry and didn't explain much. If Miss Kotetsu could tell me a little about this dojo, that would be wonderful. By the way, are all the sword trainees here Sensei's disciples?" he asked with a smile.
"Sensei seems to have a Kaido Advanced Class lesson today, so he probably went to teach. As for the folks still training here, yes, we're all his students," Kotetsu replied honestly.
Teaching? Kaido Advanced Class?
Aizen's mind stirred. He hadn't heard of that term before, so he pressed further:
"What's the Kaido Advanced Class? I'm sorry, I'm from the Fuwai District, so there's a lot I'm unfamiliar with. Could you explain a bit?"
Kotetsu explained, "The Kaido Advanced Class is a supplementary course at the Shin'o Spiritual Arts Academy. From the sixth year onward, students can choose from different advanced courses based on their past grades, and undergo one year of focused training."
Aizen was slightly stunned. So Katori Nanatsuki was also a teacher at the Spiritual Arts Academy?
Could it be… Nanatsuki had truly taken a liking to his talent and wanted to accept him as a disciple?
Was this actually… a legitimate swordsmanship dojo?
Just then, Aizen noticed a white-robed woman walk out from the building. He initially assumed she was another trainee—until he tried to sense her presence and realized… he couldn't feel her Reiatsu at all.
'Another powerhouse!'
It turned out not fleeing immediately was a wise choice. This woman might even be assigned to watch over him!
Aizen had already considered the possibility: what if all the students training here were just like him—brought here by force?
If that were true, he could possibly use that to his advantage. A little agitation could stir up chaos and give him a chance to escape.
"Who's that sitting under the eaves over there? She seems… different," Aizen asked, pointing at the white-robed woman rinsing teacups.
Kotetsu turned to glance, then said, "That's Sensei's elder sister. Since you're Sensei's disciple, you can call her Shishō. She's basically our Sensei's Sensei."
Aizen probed further, "I see… If she could train someone as strong as Sensei, then Shishō must be an extremely powerful Shinigami herself, right?"
Kotetsu replied proudly, "Of course! Shishō was a founding Squad Captain!"
Aizen's heart trembled.
That woman in white was… a first-generation Captain?!
He knew very well the status that Captains held among the Shinigami.
From what he understood, nobles and Shinigami operated in separate spheres, though sometimes their paths overlapped.
But overall, Captains were the ones who led the Shinigami.
Aizen realized he might have misjudged Katori Nanatsuki last night.
There's no way a Captain-level Shinigami would be assigned just to monitor him.
He was very self-aware—he wasn't nearly important enough to warrant being watched by someone of that level.
What he didn't know, though—
Katori Batsu'unsaiwas here to "monitor" him!
Before heading off to teach class, Nanatsuki had specifically asked Batsu'unsai to keep an eye on Aizen and make sure the kid didn't run away!
After all, ever since Nanatsuki brought Aizen back, his Reputation Level had dropped to Hostile!
He had definitely acted too rashly. Bringing Aizen back without earning his trust was a misstep.
But he had no choice—geniuses like Aizen, once missed, might never need a mentor again the next time you meet them.
Nanatsuki had to act. This could be his one and only chance to take Aizen in as a disciple!
He couldn't let that walking jackpot slip away—so he decided to bring him back first and worry about building rapport later.
Thankfully, the System actually supported this kind of approach to accepting disciples. To complete the recruitment, the only requirement was the target's "acknowledgment."
And Aizen had acknowledged it… verbally.
For the System, verbal acknowledgment was good enough.
Thus, Aizen became Nanatsuki's first disciple to start off with a Reputation Level of Hostile.
Unfortunately, Nanatsuki hadn't received the disciple reward yet—because the disciple's reputation was too low, the reward couldn't be claimed for now.
"Hey, you the new disciple Sensei picked up?" came a laid-back, slightly cocky voice.
Aizen snapped out of his thoughts and turned to look. The speaker was a long-haired blond youth.
"I am Aizen Sōsuke, a new disciple of Sensei," Aizen introduced himself.
Hirako Shinji raised an eyebrow. For some reason, the guy's smile rubbed him the wrong way.
Still, remembering that this was a newly joined junior, he suppressed his irritation and said:
"I'm Hirako Shinji. I overheard your conversation earlier—you're from the Fuwai District, right?"
"I've been there too. Surviving out there's no small feat."
Aizen chuckled softly. "The conditions in Fuwai are indeed a bit rough, so meeting Sensei has truly been a stroke of fortune."
Shinji nodded. "Sensei probably won't be back for a while. I'm guessing you've never done formal sword training before—let me teach you some basic stances for now."
"I'd be very grateful."
"You're being way too polite."