Several weeks later, at the Sarcophagus Stone Mine training ground.
Sora was testing the enhancement Batsu'unsai received from her Visored state.
After a period of training, she had already tamed the Hollow power within her.
She could now actively Hollowfy to increase her combat power.
After entering her Hollowfied state, an oval mask appeared on her face. It had two diagonal black grooves, looking somewhat like two sword scars.
Thump, thump, thump—
Batsu'unsai flashed quickly, leaving eight afterimages in the air.
The eight afterimages simultaneously swung their naginatas, and the eight blade storms converged, sweeping towards Sora.
"So fast."
Spiritual pressure erupted from Sora's body. Golden flames, lightning, and a turbulent flow of reishi intertwined on his back.
His figure flashed, passing through the gaps in the blade storm at extreme speed.
The Hollowfied Batsu'unsai was incredibly fast. If Sora didn't use Shunkō, he couldn't keep up with her at all.
"You're the fast one! You can even pass through such a dense attack!"
Batsu'unsai threw a kick.
Sora reached out, intending to grab her foot and throw her.
However, the Hollowfied state had also greatly increased her strength. Sora underestimated it. After grabbing her ankle, he couldn't get a firm grip.
Boom—
Batsu'unsai's foot struck Sora's abdomen, but it didn't feel like hitting normal flesh.
Dense blue lines appeared on his abdomen.
"Although I held back a little, the defense of 'Blut Vene' is just ridiculous! It's like kicking a Bakudō spell. I can't move it at all!" Batsu'unsai flipped in the air, pushed off the air for leverage, and quickly delivered a spinning kick.
The defense provided by Sora's 'Blut Vene' was no less than some mid-to-high tier Bakudō.
At the same time, Sora's Blut switched to Blut Arterie.
A fist covered in a network of blue lines suddenly shot out.
BOOM—!
Their spiritual pressures collided, and the resulting turbulence pushed both of them back.
"Your strength has increased a lot," Batsu'unsai rubbed her swollen foot. Under the effect of the Hollow power, the injury under her skin was rapidly healing.
The mask on her face also began to dissipate. "I can't maintain the mask anymore. It lasted one second longer than last time."
Batsu'unsai had only just mastered Hollowfication and couldn't maintain it for long.
She could now maintain it for about half a minute.
"I switched to 'Blut Arterie'," Sora flexed his slightly numb fist. "It enhances my strength."
The boosts from Blut Arterie and Shunkō could be stacked!
Just now, with strength alone, he had pushed back the Hollowfied Batsu'unsai!
Twenty years had passed, and his Quincy panel had changed dramatically:
[Base Abilities (Quincy):
Reishi Manipulation Lv 80 (+5)
Blut Vene Lv 80
Blut Arterie Lv 80
Hirenkyaku Lv 60]
In these twenty years, apart from Kuchiki Byakuya, he had not encountered any other suitable disciples.
Therefore, the experience he gained from mission rewards was not much; he mainly relied on his own training.
After 'Reishi Manipulation' and 'Blut Vene' reached level 80, the improvement gained from training was minimal.
So, Sora had started training 'Blut Arterie' and 'Hirenkyaku' as well.
He had a theory about this.
Being a Quincy was a profession that heavily relied on talent.
The Kurosaki bloodline he had extracted had suffered too much loss, so the Quincy aptitude he had obtained from it was actually quite average.
Level 80 was already the limit of his Quincy talent for those abilities.
Now, to continue improving 'Reishi Manipulation' and 'Blut Vene', he either had to improve his Quincy aptitude or directly use general experience to level them up.
"Let's call it a day for now. I have to go to the academy. Uemon said he found a good prospect and wants to introduce him to me."
Sora said with a smile.
Uemon Tsubakiri was now the head of the swordsmanship department at the Shin'ō Academy, teaching swordsmanship to the students.
Yesterday, he had suddenly contacted Sora, saying he had found a good prospect for swordsmanship among the new students.
"Then you should go quickly!" Batsu'unsai nodded. "It's been a while since you've taken a new disciple. The dōjō has become quite quiet."
The human world was not peaceful recently, and the Shinigami were all busy, including Sora's disciples.
They came back to the dōjō less often, and Batsu'unsai felt it was a bit lonely.
...
Sora arrived at the Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy.
It was currently break time, and Sora met many students on the way.
The academy was lively. The new students had just enrolled a month ago and were at their peak of enthusiasm.
"Who's that? A new professor?"
"Idiot, didn't you see the captain's haori?"
"Ah... I'm from the Rukongai, I've never seen a captain's haori... so that's what it looks like, so cool!"
The students were all talking about Katori Sora's arrival.
The students from when Sora had taught at the academy had long since graduated. The faces he saw now were all new to him.
Sora was very familiar with the swordsmanship department and went directly to Uemon Tsubakiri's office.
"Captain Katori? A rare guest!"
On the way, he ran into Sōsuke Tanuki, who was returning to his office.
"Professor Tanuki, do you need so many materials for swordsmanship class now?"
Sora asked, looking at the lesson plans Tanuki was holding.
"These aren't for swordsmanship class. The curriculum is still the one you left, Captain. The experience you brought from the dōjō to the academy has made the swordsmanship course very complete."
A happy smile appeared on Tanuki's face. "The general studies professor is on maternity leave, so I have to cover for her."
"The general studies professor?" Sora thought of Tanuki's wife, who was a new teacher who had come later, and smiled. "That would be your wife, right? You're going to be a father!"
"Hehe, that's right!" Tanuki said with a silly grin.
"What brings you here today, Captain?" Tanuki asked, puzzled. "I haven't heard of any events at the academy that would invite a captain."
"Uemon said there's a good prospect for swordsmanship among the new students. I came to take a look," Sora explained.
"A good prospect for swordsmanship?" Tanuki came to a realization. "I think I heard Head of Department Uemon mention it. It's a student in his class."
The two arrived at the swordsmanship department office and saw Uemon reprimanding a student.
Standing in front of him was a rebellious-looking bald student.
"You've only been enrolled for a short time, and you've already caused so much trouble!" Uemon's face was red, and he slammed the desk several times. "Destroying public property will result in a deduction of academic credits!"
"You're destroying public property too, Professor Uemon!" the bald student said with his hands in his pockets and a pout.
The desk had already caved in from Uemon's pounding.
"Still talking back!" Uemon picked up a wooden sword from the rack on the wall. "Looks like you need a refresher course in swordsmanship!"
"Heh— I'd be delighted!" The bald student grinned and drew the wooden sword from his waist. "Let me see the renowned Katori style swordsmanship!"
He had provoked Uemon precisely to get him to fight!
The disciples of the Katori style were basically all powerhouses who had passed their graduation assessments early. The legends they left behind were still circulating in the academy.
Hearing that Uemon was a disciple of the Katori dōjō, the bald student wanted to learn a few moves from him but was flatly refused.
So, he had tried various ways to provoke him into a fight, so he could see if the Katori style was as powerful as the rumors said.
Sora glanced at the bald student's panel:
[Ikkaku Madarame]
Talent: S-
Spiritual Pressure: Lv 15
Affinity Level: Stranger
Status: Surging with fighting spirit
The bald student was Ikkaku Madarame!
He had the potential to learn Bankai, so he was indeed a good prospect.
"It seems the student you recommended is quite lively."
Sora said with a smile.
"Don't interrupt our duel..." Ikkaku was instantly displeased.
"Watch your mouth, kid!" Uemon interrupted his disrespect with a chop. "This is one of the best swordsmen in the entire Soul Society! If you want to learn swordsmanship, you'd better seize this opportunity!"
"Ah—!" Ikkaku held his head. "The best swordsman?!"
"Professor!" Uemon rubbed Ikkaku's bald head. "This is the student I was talking about... his personality is a bit unruly, but he's not a bad person at heart."
"Who's unruly!" Ikkaku slapped away the hand on his head in embarrassment.
"Are you Captain Katori?" Ikkaku was no fool. He knew this was an opportunity his professor had arranged for him. He immediately knelt on the ground. "I want to follow you and learn the Katori style. Please accept me as your disciple!"
[Ikkaku Madarame requests to become your disciple. Accept as a direct disciple?]
A disciple request notification appeared before Sora.
"Since you are a student that Uemon has approved of, I will accept you. However, you must respect your elders, train hard, and not tarnish the name of the Katori style," Sora nodded and accepted Ikkaku as his disciple.
...
A few days later, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto summoned the captains and lieutenants of each division to the 1st Division's assembly hall.
Sora looked around. Among the Shinigami who had a say in important meetings, nearly half were his disciples.
Kana Azashiro, Isane Kotetsu, Sōsuke Aizen, Sajin Komamura, Kensei Muguruma, and Isshin Shiba were the lieutenants of the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 9th, and 10th Divisions, respectively.
Yoruichi Shihōin was even the captain of the 2nd Division.
By now, the Katori style had considerable influence in the Gotei 13.
Furthermore, Kana, Aizen, Kensei, and Isshin all had a high chance of becoming captains of their respective divisions.
At that time, the influence of the Katori style in the Gotei 13 and the entire Soul Society would expand even further.
Sora looked at the entrance. Two more people came in.
They were the captain of the 7th Division, Love Aikawa, and the lieutenant, Sajin Komamura.
Sajin was also close to completing his Bankai training, but unfortunately, the 7th Division already had a new captain.
Love Aikawa had graduated a few years before Shinji Hirako and the others. He had already become an official Shinigami before Sora started teaching at the academy.
Two years ago, he had learned Bankai and had been transferred to the 7th Division by Yamamoto and promoted to captain.
"Sorry... are we late?" Love Aikawa touched his head apologetically.
"Not yet. Ukitake isn't here yet,"
Shunsui Kyōraku said with his hands in his sleeves. He had arrived early and had been waiting for a while, so he was lazily leaning against a pillar.
A moment later, Jūshirō Ukitake also arrived. He handed a scroll to Yamamoto.
"Head Captain, this is the latest intelligence," Ukitake's expression was extremely serious. "It has been confirmed. There are no survivors at the Naruki station."
"No survivors? It seems... this is a big deal," Shunsui said. "What happened?"
"THUD—!"
Yamamoto lifted his cane and slammed it on the ground. "Be serious! This is an important meeting!"
"Er..." Although Shunsui was a bit frivolous, he wouldn't disrespect the old man in front of so many people. He obediently left the pillar and walked over.
Yamamoto read the scroll and looked up again, his eyes filled with a terrifying rage.
"Intelligence has come from the front lines. Another Shinigami station in the human world has lost contact!" Yamamoto said coldly. "This must be related to the resurgent Quincy. Go back and have your divisions prepare for war immediately!"
In recent years, Quincy had often appeared in the human world.
At first, they only hunted Hollows and tried to avoid conflict with the Shinigami.
But after several clashes, if a Shinigami and a Quincy met in the human world, a fight was almost inevitable.
"How dare they attack a Shinigami station!" Kenpachi Kuruyashiki's face darkened, and he volunteered, "Head Captain, let me lead a team to exterminate them!"
"We have many young people in our ranks now. Captain Kuruyashiki, let's give them some opportunities to gain experience," Sora suggested. "Many of us here have no experience in commanding large-scale battles. Why not take this opportunity to train them?"
Sora wanted to secure a chance for his disciples to go to war.
Perhaps Shinji Hirako and the others just needed one more push to master Bankai.
"Hmm..."
Yamamoto thought for a moment and felt that many of the captains and lieutenants indeed needed more experience.
He was getting old. The Gotei 13 would have to choose a new leader sooner or later.
Yamamoto had originally intended to choose between his two disciples.
But Shunsui Kyōraku had repeatedly made it clear that he did not want to take on this heavy responsibility.
And Jūshirō Ukitake's health was poor. He could not be overworked. If he were to become Head Captain, he would probably die of illness within a few years.
Neither of them was a suitable candidate.
Yamamoto had high hopes for Katori Sora.
He looked around. More than half of the divisions now had Sora's disciples in key positions.
This gave Sora the ability to command respect directly.
In addition, Sora's strength was also commendable.
Given time, he would surely be able to bear the heavy responsibility of Head Captain.
However, to do so, he still needed to be tempered by blood and fire!
"Captain Katori, you will command this battle."
----------------------
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