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Chapter 26 - [26] Satoru's Calligraphy

"Sōsuke, let me teach you a Kidō!"

In the mess hall, Satoru waved his chopsticks triumphantly as he spoke.

Aizen glanced at him.

"Taught by the Captain-Commander?"

Satoru widened his eyes. "You doubting me? Do I, Satoru Mikami, only know how to show off things the Captain-Commander taught me?"

"I swear on one of the Captain-Commander's arms—this was definitely not taught to me by him!"

Aizen: "..."

For some reason, Satoru seemed to have a grudge against the Captain-Commander's arms, constantly swearing oaths on them.

After thinking for two seconds, Aizen ventured another guess.

"Did you learn it from someone else while studying at the 1st Division?"

Satoru opened his mouth, then coughed lightly.

"Enough with the nonsense. Are you going to learn or not?"

"I am."

Aizen nodded.

When it came to acquiring skills, he never refused.

Satoru wore a satisfied expression and proceeded to explain the preset-triggered Kido technique he had learned from Jūshirō.

After listening to Satoru's explanation, Aizen quickly ran a mental simulation.

Then, his eyes lit up. "This is an excellent technique."

A preset-triggered Kidō could be prepared on one's body before battle.

If ambushed, it could save one's life at a critical moment.

Looking at Satoru, Aizen couldn't help but feel a wave of emotion.

By concealing his true strength, he had avoided much trouble and stayed out of the spotlight.

The trade-off, however, was that he had to research most abilities and techniques on his own or secretly sneak into the library to study the knowledge left behind by predecessors.

Now, with Satoru in the picture, the situation had changed entirely.

Techniques and abilities he couldn't access before were now being brought to him by Satoru.

One could say that the knowledge Satoru repeatedly shared had become a crucial factor in his current growth.

And the more this happened, the more indebted he felt toward Satoru.

Even among friends, he would never take such one-sided generosity for granted.

He needed to produce research results as soon as possible.

If that experiment succeeded, he could help Satoru ascend to a whole new level.

Then, at least some of the debt could be repaid.

Imagining Satoru's tearful gratitude and worshipful admiration, Aizen allowed himself a faint smirk.

The afternoon schedule consisted of only one lecture—a cultural class on various Hollows.

At the Shin'ō Academy, the daily timetable wasn't fixed.

Today, after the two-hour cultural class, the rest of the time was free for personal activities.

Students could return home or head to the dojo for independent training.

Satoru packed his things. "Sōsuke, want to go to the Rukongai?"

Aizen shook his head. "I'm heading to the calligraphy classroom. Maybe next time."

"Calligraphy classroom?"

Satoru blinked in surprise—he hadn't even heard of such a thing at the academy.

Aizen nodded. "It was recently established, more of an extracurricular club."

As he spoke, he picked up a bag and walked out of the classroom.

After a moment's thought, Satoru followed.

Noticing this, Aizen gave him a puzzled look.

"What are you doing?"

"Checking out Japanese calligraphy."

"You're interested in calligraphy?"

"Not in the slightest."

Aizen's confusion deepened.

If he wasn't interested, why tag along?

Though perplexed, he didn't press further.

Failing to understand Satoru's thought process had become a rather common occurrence for him.

When the two arrived at the calligraphy classroom, they found it already filled with quite a few students.

"Who's the instructor for this club?" Satoru asked curiously.

"Yamazaki-sensei from Class Three," Aizen replied, pulling out paper and a brush from his bag. "His skill isn't exceptional, but there are still things worth learning."

Hearing this assessment, Satoru chuckled.

This guy really had some arrogance to him.

Just as he was about to comment, a figure walked in through the front door.

At the sight of the newcomer, Satoru couldn't help but let out a surprised "Huh?"

Many students in the room gasped involuntarily.

Even Aizen's expression flickered with surprise.

The person who entered wasn't Yamazaki-sensei from Class Three—but a young-faced, white-haired man with a single ponytail.

"Captain Ukitake?!"

"Captain Ukitake of the 13th Division?!"

Under everyone's gaze, Jūshirō stepped onto the podium and nodded with a smile.

After introducing himself, the students showed understanding expressions.

Jūshirō had come because he was actually the vice president of the Seireitei Calligraphy Association.

Hearing that the Shin'ō Academy had started a calligraphy club, he volunteered to give a lecture.

The school administration, of course, welcomed him with open arms.

After his introduction, Jūshirō spotted Satoru sitting at the back of the classroom, his eyes lighting up.

He winked at Satoru before turning his attention back to the students and beginning his lecture on basic calligraphy principles.

Listening to Jūshirō's explanation, Satoru's gaze grew somewhat complicated.

Unlike kendo, Japanese calligraphy had few renowned schools.

The reliable ones were mostly propagated by Buddhist monks.

Their names were all steeped in traditional Japanese edginess.

Jūshirō took out paper and brush, demonstrating several writing styles on the spot.

After finishing his lecture, he had the students try writing themselves.

He walked down from the podium, observing left and right.

Sometimes offering pointers, sometimes nodding approvingly, other times looking stiff.

When he reached Satoru's side, he pulled up a chair with a smile and sat down.

"Good afternoon, Satoru. When I came, I was wondering whether to invite you. I didn't expect you'd already be here."

As he spoke, he suddenly noticed Aizen writing nearby.

After studying Aizen's characters for a moment, Jūshirō showed surprise.

He nodded gently. "This student is truly remarkable. So young, yet already possessing his own 'spirit'."

"Many calligraphy enthusiasts who've practiced for years never reach this level."

Aizen remained silent until he finished writing, then set down his brush and bowed to Jūshirō in thanks.

Satoru leaned over to look.

Aizen had written three lines of haiku in classical style, which Satoru couldn't understand.

After examining it, Satoru nodded. "Not bad, decent writing."

Hearing this, Aizen gave him a deadpan look.

"You understand calligraphy?"

He knew exactly what kind of person Satoru was.

During regular classes, he'd never seen Satoru use a brush; all his notes were taken with self-made hard pens.

Forget calligraphy, Satoru's handwriting was barely legible even to himself.

His only merit was speed, absurd speed, over ten times faster than other students.

Yet Satoru lifted his chin proudly at Aizen's question.

"Sōsuke, if you're going to say that, I can't just let it slide."

Under Aizen's gaze, Satoru took his brush, smoothed out a fresh sheet of paper, and weighted it with a paperweight.

The moment Satoru raised the brush, Aizen suddenly felt his familiar friend's aura change completely.

Satoru stared at the paper motionlessly for several seconds.

Then suddenly brought down the brush in one fluid motion,

"The Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower,"

"The secret treasury of all Buddhas!"

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