That night, in the dormitory, Kurosaki Rei sat in deep thought.
He had listened carefully to Aizen's analysis, and after weighing it against the upper limit of difficulty for this mission, he had to admit—Aizen was probably right.
If nothing unexpected happened, old man Yamamoto would most likely assign a captain to "educate" him.
And if the exam required him to defeat a captain at the same spiritual-pressure level, then that was absurdly difficult. It would naturally result in him being kept at the Shin'ō Academy.
All under the noble pretense of: "It's not that we didn't give you a chance—you just weren't good enough."
The Head Captain's intentions were good…
If Kurosaki Rei were truly a native of this world.
But in reality, he was a traveler cast into this world by the Terminus Space. If he failed this speedrun, he wouldn't get a chance to "continue his studies" at the Shin'ō Academy—
He would be erased.
"Sou-suke," Kurosaki Rei asked, breaking the silence, "who do you think will be my special examiner?"
Aizen didn't brush it off this time. After some thought, he said,
"Judging by recent schedules, I think there are three captains who are most likely."
"Which three?"
Kurosaki Rei asked with interest.
"First, the captain of the Fifth Division. I'm fairly familiar with one of their seated officers. He mentioned recently that the Fifth Division has been quite idle, so their captain might be available to serve as an examiner."
Aizen continued calmly,
"He also said that their captain is very strong—a pure combat type. If you run into him, it'll be troublesome."
The current Fifth Division captain was someone Kurosaki Rei had never heard of in the original story—Akimoto Yoshitaka.
As for the seated officer Aizen mentioned, Kurosaki Rei did know him. He'd seen him at the Academy not long ago—
Hirako Shinji.
At this point in time, Hirako was still just a seated officer. He wouldn't become a captain until about a hundred years later—and would then get thoroughly screwed over by Aizen.
"And the others?"
Kurosaki Rei pressed.
"The second is the Eleventh Division's captain—Kutsugashira Kenpachi. According to my information, he isn't busy either."
Aizen's expression grew more serious.
"But the Eleventh Division is full of battle-crazed maniacs. They never pull their punches. If he's the one assessing you, that's a terrible draw."
Aizen wasn't exaggerating. Anyone who carried the title Kenpachi was never weak. Rumor had it that Kutsugashira Kenpachi had once slain a Vasto Lorde-class Hollow single-handedly, and had even received an invitation from Squad Zero.
"That actually sounds pretty great,"
Kurosaki Rei nodded.
"So is there an excellent draw?"
Aizen gave Kurosaki Rei a strange look. He'd almost forgotten—his roommate was also a battle-crazed lunatic. Maybe he really would get along well with the Eleventh Division's madmen.
After thinking for a moment, Aizen continued,
"There is one. Recently, the casualty rate among Gotei personnel has been low, so the Fourth Division isn't busy either. You can tell from how often Captain Unohana has been coming to teach."
He reasoned,
"Captain Unohana has a gentle temperament and is a support-type captain. Her combat ability probably isn't very strong. If she were the examiner, it should be much easier for you."
Kurosaki Rei's expression turned… complicated.
An excellent draw?
In what universe was that an excellent draw?
In a sense, she was an opponent he liked—but when it came to how hard someone hit, Captain Unohana was downright terrifying.
"Combat ability probably isn't very strong," my ass.
Among the current Gotei Thirteen, aside from the Head Captain himself, the strongest was very likely Unohana Retsu, the original Kenpachi.
Even Kyōraku Shunsui, at this point in time, wasn't seasoned enough yet. Whether he could defeat Unohana was highly questionable.
Seeing how seriously Aizen was analyzing things, Kurosaki Rei knew Aizen wasn't trying to mess with him. It could only mean one thing—
Even Aizen wasn't omniscient.
At least not yet. As a student, he clearly didn't know about Captain Unohana's "dark history."
After some thought, Kurosaki Rei asked another question.
"Sou-suke, what kind of format do you think the assessment will take?"
"Other than spiritual pressure restrictions," Aizen replied,
"most likely unrestricted combat to the death. That's why I keep advising you to give up on early graduation."
He elaborated,
"If they want to fully assess you, the captain will be asked to fight seriously. And with how strong your combat abilities are, that's actually not a good thing."
Kurosaki Rei understood what he meant.
Because his combat ability was too strong, even a captain wouldn't be able to hold back.
Swords had no eyes. It was entirely possible he could be killed directly during the assessment.
Even if the Head Captain admired him, this was the path he had chosen. If he died during the examination due to insufficient strength, then he would simply become a footnote in the Academy's history.
A dead genius had no value.
By choosing to participate in the special graduation assessment, he was effectively signing a death waiver.
"At sixteen-grade spiritual pressure,"
Kurosaki Rei mused,
"a captain can still use Shikai, right?"
Aizen nodded.
"Of course. As for Bankai, you don't need to worry—without third-grade or higher spiritual pressure, it can't be released."
Kurosaki Rei now truly felt the crushing difficulty of this "nightmare" scenario.
As Aizen had explained before, even if a captain suppressed their spiritual pressure, the invisible bonuses brought by their physical attributes wouldn't disappear.
Their outward speed and strength might appear similar to his—but they could still see through every one of his movements, react instantly, and counter perfectly.
Under such conditions, defeating a battle-hardened captain was practically impossible.
And if he drew Captain Unohana?
That would be nightmare difficulty stacked on top of nightmare difficulty.
Kurosaki Rei had always trusted his martial skill and combat instincts. But to clear this task, he needed something more.
Time was running out. If he wanted a meaningful boost in such a short span, there was only one place left to look—
His Zanpakutō.
And although Aizen hadn't mentioned it outright, historically speaking, every genius who graduated early had one thing in common:
They had all mastered Shikai.
That was likely an unspoken requirement.
"Sou-suke…"
Having made up his mind, Kurosaki Rei looked up at Aizen.
"Can you show me your Shikai?"
He had thought it through.
No matter what Aizen would become in the future, right now their relationship was solid. There was no reason for Aizen to harm him.
Whether or not Aizen would place him under Complete Hypnosis was secondary. Even if he did, once Kurosaki Rei returned, the Terminus Space should be able to remove the effect.
But if he failed this mission?
He would be erased outright. There wouldn't even be a chance to worry about Kyōka Suigetsu afterward.
Right now—
He had to master Shikai.
"So you finally remembered,"
Aizen said with a gentle smile,
"that you still have a hidden trump card."
"Don't worry. I'll find a way to teach you Shikai within these two days."
As he spoke, the Zanpakutō resting across his knees slid free of its sheath. The blade flowed like water, reflecting the moonlight outside the window with a soft, liquid beauty.
"Shatter—Kyōka Suigetsu."
As Aizen murmured the release command in his magnetic voice, mist began to coil around the blade. Light refracted through drifting water currents, irresistibly drawing the eye—
—and lulling the mind into enchantment.
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