Not long after noon, the rain stopped and the sky began to clear. Vast stretches of white clouds drifted above Seireitei, like pieces of smooth, pristine jade suspended in the air.
Inside Training Hall No. 4 at Shin'ō Academy, the instructor responsible for teaching Shunpo, Miyamoto Bunzō, demonstrated the technique several times in front of the students before explaining:
"Shunpo is a skill that allows a Shinigami to move their body instantaneously—traveling at a speed imperceptible to the enemy and appearing at any location. However, this requires exquisite control over one's body and precise manipulation of spiritual power!"
...
Fūjin Taichi knew that every use of Shunpo consumed a certain amount of spiritual power in exchange for instantaneous movement.
Ordinary Shinigami dared not use it repeatedly in combat—once their spiritual power was depleted, the one who would die was unquestionably themselves.
Perhaps Captain-class Shinigami, due to their vast reserves of spiritual power, could use Shunpo without strict limits on distance or frequency—but even then, performance varied greatly from person to person.
For example, although both were Shunpo users, the former Captain of 2nd Division, Yoruichi Shihōin, was universally acknowledged as the "Flash Goddess", the fastest being in Soul Society!
The second fastest was likely the current 2nd Division Captain, Soi Fon, who after years of training had nearly reached parity with Yoruichi in terms of speed.
Then there was Byakuya Kuchiki, who had mastered the advanced Shunpo technique Utsusemi. Its drawback, however, was that every activation required shedding an outer layer of clothing—until only a single pair of undergarments remained…
That said, according to records in Seireitei's Great Spirit Library, both a Hollow's Sonído and a Quincy's Hirenkyaku surpassed Shinigami Shunpo in speed and efficiency.
This was likely because Sonído was an almost space-rending footwork technique; when mastered to the extreme, it could even create up to five afterimage clones.
Meanwhile, Hirenkyaku relied on forming reishi beneath one's feet for high-speed movement, meaning Quincies did not need to worry about spiritual power depletion the way Shinigami did.
"Alright! From here on, everyone will practice Shunpo freely!"
Miyamoto Bunzō shouted.
"Yes, sir!"
The students responded and began their practice.
—but learning Shunpo was far from easy.
The core principle of Shunpo was compressing spiritual power beneath one's feet to the extreme, then releasing it all at once to achieve instantaneous movement.
Just compressing spiritual power alone stumped many students. Maintaining that compression and releasing it properly from both feet was an even greater challenge.
On top of that, one also had to adjust their body mid-release to control direction—forcing a Shinigami to multitask at a level most could never easily achieve.
...
Time flew by, and another night quickly passed.
Early the next morning, the more than eighty students of First-Year Class One gathered at Training Hall No. 1 to study Zanjutsu, one of the four foundational Shinigami disciplines—Zan, Ken, Sō, and Ki—under their swordsmanship instructor, Tachibana Ishikyō.
"The first lesson I will teach you,"
Tachibana said in a low voice,
"is never treat your Zanpakutō as a mere weapon!"
"Because a Zanpakutō is forged using the Shinigami's soul as its template—it possesses its own thoughts and personality!
Although all Zanpakutō begin in the form of an Asauchi, once a Shinigami learns to call its name, they can release far greater power!
Remember this: after release, a Zanpakutō's abilities, form, and size are determined entirely by your soul. So—train hard!"
And so, all the students began drilling—wielding their Asauchi and wildly slashing at humanoid wooden targets, shouting "Aaaah!" and "Hyaaah!" as though yelling alone could boost their combat power.
Before long, the afternoon arrived.
The students of First-Year Class One finally returned to their spacious classroom, as the next several lessons were all theoretical.
To avoid being "caught in the crossfire" again, Fūjin Taichi chose a seat in the very last row—but soon Abarai Renji squeezed in beside him with a grin.
Then Rukia, Hinamori Momo, and Kira Izuru all crowded over as well, the four of them cramming around a single desk and nearly coming to blows just to claim more space.
"Ahem!!"
Not long after, Ōunabara Gengorō entered the classroom carrying a thick stack of textbooks. After scanning the room, he nodded and said:
"Students, next I will be lecturing on 'The Origins of Soul Society' and 'History of the Seireitei'.
Please turn to page one. The title is 'What Is Soul Society?' So—what exactly is Soul Society? To answer that, we must begin with an ancient legend…"
Soon, the absurd yet content-packed theoretical class came to an end.
After hastily eating dinner, Fūjin Taichi rushed to the abandoned Training Hall No. 38, where he continued swinging his blade ten thousand and ninety-nine times—one more than the night before.
Time passed swiftly, like flowing water.
Just like that—
six years went by.
That same year, Hitsugaya Tōshirō finally enrolled in Shin'ō Academy—much earlier than in the original Bleach timeline.
Earlier that year, Rukia had already been adopted into the Kuchiki Clan by Byakuya Kuchiki, becoming Kuchiki Rukia.
As a result, she enjoyed the privileges of a great noble—exempted from graduation exams and division entry tests, and directly "recommended" into 13th Division.
As for Fūjin Taichi, he became a Sixth-Year student, successfully passed Shin'ō Academy's final evaluations, and was awarded the black Shihakushō—
officially becoming a Shinigami.
At noon that day, the sky was cloudless for thousands of miles. The blazing sun poured its scorching light evenly over the land.
Every so often, a whirlwind swept in from the wilderness, carrying with it searing heat as it passed through Soul Society—and through Shin'ō Academy as well…
"Taichi! Taichi! We got invitations from 5th Division!"
Abarai Renji burst into the classroom clutching a Division Invitation Letter, rushing over to Fūjin Taichi in a single stride and shouting excitedly.
"We?"
Taichi frowned slightly.
"Who else?"
"Hinamori and Kira—"
After speaking, Renji lowered his head mysteriously and whispered,
"I heard those two high-and-mighty nobles, Tsunayashiro Tokio and Kasumiōji Hoko, were invited too!"
"Oh… congratulations."
Taichi replied calmly, then wrote '10th Division' on the "Division Application Letter" in front of him.
"Huh?"
Renji suddenly noticed a crumpled paper ball under the desk, with the faint words 'Invitation Letter' still visible on it.
"Taichi, what's this about…?"
"Renji, if I wanted to…"
Taichi hesitated.
"What?"
"If I asked you to give up joining 5th Division—would you agree?"
"Huh?! Why?!"
Renji was completely confused. He plopped down across from Taichi and questioned him repeatedly.
"For Shinigami like us with no background to be recruited before graduation assignment—this is an honor!"
"Yeah… maybe."
Taichi frowned. He didn't want his friends joining 5th Division, yet he couldn't bring himself to say outright that it was because of Aizen.
"Taichi, what's wrong with you?!"
Renji glared, staring straight at him.
"It's nothing…"
Seeing Hinamori Momo and Kira Izuru gathering around, Taichi shook his head and said quietly,
"Maybe someday you'll understand."
"Taichi…"
Renji stared at him for a long moment—then suddenly did something shocking.
Rip.
The 5th Division invitation letter in his hand was torn to shreds.
"Renji?! What are you doing?!"
Hinamori cried out in alarm.
"Sorry, Hinamori, Kira."
Renji leaned back in his chair boldly and pointed at Taichi.
"Looks like I won't be going to 5th Division after all."
"I've still got a little brother to look after."
"Y-You've got to be kidding, Renji!!"
Kira exclaimed.
"That's Captain Aizen we're talking about! He once saved us in the Human World!"
"Sorry. I'll repay that debt someday."
Renji said loudly.
"But right now—I can't afford to lose another friend."
...
Taichi knew Renji was talking about Kuchiki Rukia.
Ever since she had entered a great noble house, her status, standing, and rank had changed dramatically—an unspoken pain Renji could never quite put into words.
"Hinamori, Kira… if possible, I hope you'll choose a different division as well."
Taichi sighed.
"What?!"
Hinamori and Kira were utterly shocked. They couldn't understand why Taichi would abandon honor that was practically in his grasp, choosing instead to wait for standard assignment like everyone else.
"Because Captain Aizen is a man,"
Taichi said half-jokingly,
"and I happen to be allergic to men."
"What?!"
Renji scoffed disdainfully.
"Isn't Captain Shiba of 10th Division also a man?!"
"What?!"
This time Taichi was the one who was shocked.
"Shiba Isshin isn't dead?!"
Did I remember the Bleach timeline wrong…?
Is Shiba Isshin still the captain of 10th Division right now?!
"Huh? Taichi, what are you talking about?"
Hinamori said in surprise.
"Captain Shiba has always been alive and well!"
"Ah…"
Taichi froze.
"Then… maybe I won't go there after all…"
He crossed out '10th Division' on the application form, picked up a new sheet, and solemnly wrote:
"13th Division."