Chapter: 46
The next morning came faster than Renji wanted.
The sun was barely up when he and Choji arrived at Takeda's private training ground. It wasn't what Renji expected no fancy dojo, no shining marble floors. Just a wide open field surrounded by towering stone walls, scarred with old battle marks, as though countless fights had happened here before.
Takeda stood at the center, wearing a simple black training uniform, his expression calm but unreadable.
"You're late," he said flatly.
Renji scratched the back of his head. "Uh… it's still sunrise"
"You're late," Takeda repeated, his voice like steel. Then, just as quickly, he smiled faintly. "But I'll forgive you. Today's lesson will make sure you don't waste my time tomorrow."
Renji glanced nervously at Choji, who gave him a look that said, You're on your own now, kid.
Takeda motioned for Renji to step closer. His gaze sharpened. "Listen carefully, Renji. The times Januza has appeared were always moments when you were closest to death. Against Tang Shii, when your back was to the wall that's when that power showed itself. If we want to awaken it, we must recreate that fear."
Renji's stomach tightened. "Recreate… fear?"
Takeda nodded, his tone deadly serious. "Today, you will fight me with the intent to survive. And I… will fight you with the intent to kill."
Renji took a step back. "Wait, WHAT?!"
Takeda's voice didn't rise, but it carried enough weight to crush Renji's protest. "If you want to control what's inside you, you must face the edge of death — and not run. Fear is the key to unlocking Januza's power. And I will make you face it."
Renji's heart pounded. The memory of his nightmare came rushing back the burning earth, the pile of bodies, the blurry figure that looked just like him.
"But… what if I lose?" Renji asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Takeda walked closer until he stood right in front of him. His presence was overwhelming, but his voice softened. "You won't. I'm your mentor now. My job isn't to kill you, Renji — it's to break you just enough so you can rebuild stronger."
Renji swallowed hard. Something about Takeda's words — and the calm confidence in his eyes — lit a spark in his chest.
"Okay," Renji said finally, clenching his fists. "Then come at me."
Takeda's faint smile widened. "Good. Then survive."
And just like that, the air around them shifted. The pressure was suffocating, almost physical. Renji's instincts screamed at him to run, but his feet wouldn't move.
Takeda's killing intent washed over him like a tidal wave.
"Let's begin."
And so they began .....
Minutes turned into hours and days turned into weeks.
Weeks turned into months.
A day without rest....renji had been training non stop
Renji's life had become a cycle of exhaustion, pain, and survival.
Takeda's private training ground had become his battlefield. Every morning before the sun even rose, Renji was dragged out of bed by Choji and tossed into a routine that felt like it was designed to kill him.
Takeda never went easy.
On the first day, Renji had thought he was going to die that was exactly what Takeda wanted him to think. The man's killing intent was enough to freeze Renji's blood. Every attack was sharp, precise, aimed to hurt but never kill. The fear kept Renji moving, kept him alive.
At first, Renji was clumsy, his breathing too fast, his legs tripping over themselves. Takeda knocked him down more times than Renji could count.
But slowly, something changed.
The months of his hardwork was beginning to pay off
Renji's body began to adapt. His muscles hardened. His reflexes sharpened. Every strike that used to leave him gasping for air, he began to dodge by an inch. Every blow that used to leave him crumpled on the floor, he started taking with gritted teeth, forcing himself to stand again.
Takeda noticed.
One morning, as Renji wiped sweat from his forehead, his chest heaving, Takeda stood with arms crossed and a faint grin.
"You're faster," he said.
Renji blinked, confused. "Faster?"
"Yes." Takeda's voice was calm but approving. "You were barely keeping up with my weakest strikes a month ago. Now… you can dodge them."
Renji smiled faintly despite the pain in his ribs.
But what was more shocking was this — even without a single drop of mana, Renji's physical stats were surpassing normal human limits.
Choji noticed it too. The first time they sparred after a month of Takeda's training, Choji had been shocked when Renji moved so fast he almost landed a clean hit.
"You're… stronger than me now," Choji had admitted, half-proud, half-concerned.
Renji laughed, holding his bruised knuckles. "I don't even have mana. How does that make sense?"
"That's what scares me," Choji had muttered.
Takeda said nothing about it aloud, but in his mind, he was deeply impressed — and troubled.
Even among awakened hunters, once their awakening settled, their physical stats barely grew without mana reinforcement
Plus once a Hunter awakeings they can't grow stronger but can only sharpen their skills
But Renji… Renji was evolving. His body was breaking limits through sheer willpower and Takeda's brutal training.
Morning after morning, Renji pushed himself harder.
Afternoon after afternoon, Takeda pushed him further.
Evenings ended with Renji lying on the floor, staring up at the sky, his body covered in bruises, Choji dragging him back home.
This went on for weeks and months
And yet, every night he got up and did it again.
By the end of the second month, Renji's speed was frightening.
By the third month, his endurance rivaled that of an S-rank.
Takeda had pushed him pass his limits
By the fourth, Takeda caught himself actually smiling when Renji blocked one of his strikes and countered — something no unawakened human should have been able to do.
Renji was no longer the defenseless boy who watched helplessly as others protected him.
He was becoming something else.