Thus, the next day, Class 1 gained another new student.
Soifon patted Tōshirō Hitsugaya on the back. Taking the hint, he stepped forward and introduced himself to the students: "I am Tōshirō Hitsugaya. Please look after me."
Another newcomer—and one who looked even younger than the Rukia from yesterday.
A few students from noble backgrounds looked at Tōshirō with gleaming eyes. For such a small child to be personally brought in by Captain Soifon, he surely possessed some extraordinary talent.
'At the very least, he's guaranteed to become a Seat Officer, right?!'
'If I can recruit Tōshirō Hitsugaya into my family, then by the time he joins the Gotei 13 after graduating from the Shin'ō Academy, wouldn't our family gain a powerful ally at the Seat Officer level...?'
Restrained by Soifon's presence, they could only entertain these thoughts privately, waiting for school to end to find an opportunity to approach him.
"One more thing," Soifon added. "The Shunpo teacher is on leave today. The class has been changed to Jinzen. Follow the teacher now to report to the Jinzen room."
'What? So the teacher is just taking a leave of absence...'
'Wait!'
'Are you saying that you, Teacher Soifon—who is already standing right here in front of the training ground—are taking a leave of absence?!'
As soon as the words left her mouth, Soifon's figure vanished from the training ground, leaving the students no chance to voice their confusion.
Meanwhile, the Jinzen teacher, who had been standing by on the side, led them inside toward the Jinzen room with a beaming smile.
Tōshirō Hitsugaya was the primary focus of the Jinzen teacher's attention today.
It was the classic case of the PE teacher calling in sick so the students had to take math instead.
Students at the Shin'ō Academy generally disliked Jinzen classes because the vast majority simply couldn't communicate with their sword spirits. Even up until graduation, they would remain as mere rank-and-file soldiers in the Gotei 13, wielding nothing but Asauchi.
Sitting idly in the Jinzen room for half a day without any intuitive sense of their strength increasing was exactly why everyone hated it.
...\
Simultaneously, inside a room reinforced with Seki-Seki Stone within the Second Division barracks.
"Don't be in such a rush. I'm starting the Jinzen now."
Soifon unfastened the Zanpakutō from her waist and gently stroked the scabbard, soothing the sword spirit.
Ever since she received the mission reward from Tōshirō yesterday, Suzumebachi had been pestering her to perform Jinzen. She was likely planning to reveal the second stage of her Bankai's form.
Back when Soifon had first reached the 2nd Spiritual Rank, Suzumebachi had always played the mysterious card, saying "the time is not yet right."
Was this the essence of what 'Talent' truly meant?
Hyōrinmaru would call out to Tōshirō in his sleep, and Suzumebachi would pester Soifon for Jinzen. It was truly fascinating.
Sitting cross-legged on a futon with her Zanpakutō resting across her knees, Soifon closed her eyes and began to meditate.
Her consciousness felt as though it were sinking into a deep pool. Her surroundings blurred, and a breeze carrying the scent of vegetation brushed against her cheeks. The air was filled with the fresh aroma of earth and flowers.
Soifon opened her eyes. She had returned once again to this familiar forest.
Unlike last time, the grass beneath her feet was no longer muddy; it hadn't rained here in a long time.
"Long time no see, Soifon!"
Suzumebachi's playful voice echoed through the dense woods. A golden stream of light darted out from between the trees, circling Soifon once before floating in front of her.
"Long time no see..." Soifon rolled her eyes. "I looked for you earlier this year, but you were the one who refused to see me."
Suzumebachi landed on a tree branch and swung her legs, pretending not to hear the latter half of the sentence.
"Ahem. I don't know how you managed to compress the warhead after Bankai, but you now possess the strength to use the complete Bankai."
She held up a slender finger on her left hand, her expression becoming more serious. "The complete form of Bankai requires the absolute pinnacle of compression and control."
"Compression and control..."
Soifon was lost in thought.
—Wasn't that exactly the 'wool' she had plucked from Byakuya Kuchiki?
"Exactly!"
"It's about shackling that violent, destructive power within a tiny bullet, then shaping, compressing, and triggering it at will."
"Before, Soifon, you were always just a tiny bit away."
Suzumebachi raised her left hand, gesturing a tiny gap between her index finger and thumb.
[Image: Fingertip Galaxy.JPG]
Then, she raised her right hand, which was covered by a golden blade. Golden Spirit Particles peeled away from the blade, gradually condensing in her palm into a golden spiritual energy warhead the size of a bullet.
Was this a bullet?
From within this compressed spiritual bullet, Soifon could sense a terrifying Spiritual Pressure. The damage it would unleash would likely be no less than that of the original missile warhead.
"Now... Soifon, you're surely going to ask: how do you fire it if you have the bullet but no gun?"
Suzumebachi withdrew the golden bullet and stood on the branch with her hands on her hips, looking down at Soifon with her smooth chin tilted up.
Blinking, it took Soifon half a second to catch on to her meaning.
Clearing her throat, Soifon played along perfectly. "Mm, yeah... how do we fire it without a gun, Suzumebachi?"
Hearing the response she wanted, Suzumebachi let out a proud little hum.
"Bankai, Soifon!" she shouted, pointing at Soifon below. "This time, I will cooperate with you to complete the true Bankai."
And so...
Zzt— Zzt—
A brilliant golden Spiritual Pressure erupted within Soifon, and a golden light began to manifest and spread across her right arm.
However, the feeling this time was entirely different.
As the golden light climbed up her arm, Soifon could clearly sense Suzumebachi guiding her Spiritual Power to reshape itself.
The silhouette of the massive missile launcher blurred. In its place, a more slender golden stream of light lengthened and took shape in Soifon's hand.
It was a sword of moderate length and unique design.
The body of the blade was a deep dark-gold, engraved with the same Hornet's Crest found on Suzumebachi. A trigger-like mechanism had been added to the hilt, and a barrel-like device was embedded above the blade.
The complete form turned out to be a Gun-blade. (This was likely inspired by the Gun-blades in Warframe, though those aren't as pretty. I chose a design similar to the Gun-blades in Final Fantasy.)
The Spiritual Pressure rising within Soifon was sealed by the Seki-Seki Stone room. When the Bankai in her hand finally took its true form, her Spiritual Pressure broke through its previous limits once more, advancing further along the path of the 2nd Spiritual Rank.
The Spiritual Pressure leaking from her body whipped up a gale, slamming against the walls of the secret room with a buzzing roar.
At the same time, the knowledge of how to use the complete Bankai flooded into her mind.
Being slashed by the blade of this Bankai would still leave the Hornet's Crest, maintaining the 'Death in Two Steps' rule.
By pulling the trigger, she could fire highly compressed Spiritual Pressure bullets with an auto-tracking function. These bullets would inject 'Hornet Venom' into the enemy and explode.
It was a Bankai that combined close-quarters assassination with long-range strikes, perfectly aligning with the principles of the Stealth Force.
Extremely devious, and extremely powerful.
"Good, I've spent ten minutes fully understanding our Bankai," Soifon said, deactivating the Bankai and releasing Suzumebachi. "I'm heading back now."
"Wait... you're leaving already?!"
Before the Suzumebachi spirit could say another word, the Soifon in the real world had already opened her eyes.
[Mission Triggered: True Form]
[Mission Completed]
[Mission Reward: Indivisible Soul (Your connection with your Zanpakutō has grown tighter; your Spirit Body strength has increased once more)]
She clenched her fist, silently sensing the change.
—Her Spiritual Pressure had grown stronger again.
_____
New Story: Starting from Their Seventeen Years Old
✅ Access up to 40 advanced chapters of ALL stories!
✅ Receive exclusive content and updates!
Help us hit our community goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone
🚀 140 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters of ALL STORIES!
👻 P - Walnutchan