Puff!
Suddenly, the sharp sound of a blade piercing flesh rang out.
Aiyan lowered his right hand in front of him. Hirako Shinji was bitten back mid-attack, and the Reiatsu dragon he'd launched scattered instantly.
Then, an unbelievable scene unfolded.
There, nailed to the wall of the Shin'o Kendo Hall, was the captain of the 5th Division, Hirako Shinji.
His right shoulder had been pierced straight through by a Zanpakutō, pinning him like a lifeless painting against the wall. From afar, it looked like some sort of grotesque art scroll—one that sent chills down the spine just by looking at it.
The scene was too shocking for words.
From nobles to ordinary students, every spectator stood frozen, eyes wide and minds blank. No one could believe what they were seeing.
Tick… tock…
After a while, the only sound that broke the silence was the quiet drip of blood falling to the ground.
Only then did the crowd slowly begin to snap out of their trance.
"That… that's a captain of the Gotei 13!"
"Aiyan pinned him to the wall with just three sword strikes!"
"Am I hallucinating? Did someone cast an illusion on me?"
"Is Aiyan too strong, or is the captain just too weak…?"
Gasps echoed throughout the training hall as everyone began to process what they had just witnessed.
"This Aiyan..."
"Didn't he just enroll in the Spiritual Arts Academy a few days ago?"
"How did he develop such terrifying swordsmanship so fast?"
Even Hirako Shinji himself was dumbfounded.
In his hundreds of years as a Shinigami, he had seen many masters of the sword.
From the strongest Shinigami of the millennium, Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni, to the terrifying hidden monster Unohana Retsu, he witnessed legends.
But not even they had shown sword talent like Aiyan.
Sure, Yamamoto and Unohana were stronger. But they had spent thousands of years honing their skill—fighting in war after war, forging their mastery with blood, corpses, and endless battles.
But Aiyan?
Just a first-year student at the academy.
Yet here he was, defeating a captain in pure swordsmanship, and nailing him to the wall like a dead dog—with just three strikes.
Even worse, Shinji could tell Aiyan had held back. The blade avoided his vitals. If Aiyan had intended to kill, the wound would have been fatal.
Suddenly, Hirako remembered something Aizen had said earlier:
"Brother, don't go too far. Don't beat Shinji-sensei to death."
He had laughed it off at the time.
But now?
Now he was terrified.
If this had continued as a pure sword fight, he might really have been killed by Aiyan.
[Your Swordsmanship saw you perform the feat of pinning a captain like a painting to the wall with your Hundred-Step Flying Blade. Overjoyed, it has decided to teach you the technique you've been trying to grasp these past few days—"Kendō: Hachiken Hishō (Way of the Sword: Eight Swords Soaring)."]
Aiyan's heart leapt with joy when he heard the system's voice.
As expected.
All of his "abilities" were like show-offs who only worked hard when watched.
The more dazzlingly he performed, the more enthusiastic "they" became in rewarding him.
This time, he had humiliated a Division Captain—a major figure in Soul Society.
And sure enough, Kendo came rushing forward joyfully, slapping him in the face with a freshly-baked sword technique: "Eight Swords Soaring."
All it wanted was for him to use swordsmanship more in battle.
By contrast, if Aiyan focused on other Shinigami arts like Zanjutsu, Hohō, Kidō, or Hakuda, while they'd still improve, their progress would be... dismal. New techniques would develop slowly, and sometimes not even be handed out unless he really pushed for them.
Tap!
A figure suddenly appeared with a loud step in the middle of the damaged Kendo Gym—its wooden floor cracked and splintered from the fight.
It was Shiba Isshin.
He had moved like he teleported, arriving in an instant.
"Shinji, you bastard!"
"You let your Lieutenant trick me!"
"If anything happened to Brother Aiyan, I swear I'd have drawn my sword and cut you down!"
Shiba Isshin roared internally as he looked around in panic.
Thankfully, both Aiyan and Aizen were standing safely, completely unharmed.
He sighed in relief.
Then, his gaze shifted to Hirako Shinji—and his jaw dropped.
That expression was the same stunned look that Yoruichi, Urahara Kisuke, and the others had shown earlier when Aiyan nailed Shinji to the wall.
"Ah… what the hell?!"
"Shinji! What did you do?!"
"You nailed yourself to the wall!?"
Shiba's voice was full of disbelief.
"Oh, right," Aiyan replied with a casual tone. "Mr. Shinji said he would substitute for you today. He also invited me to assist in demonstrating what a real Kendo duel looks like."
"So others could understand the essence of swordsmanship."
As Aiyan spoke, he gently waved his hand. The Zanpakutō pinned to Shinji's shoulder trembled, then flew back into his grasp like it had a mind of its own.
"Hm. That's about it."
"If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now. Since Captain Isshin is back in good health, this substitute teacher is no longer needed."
Hirako Shinji let out a slow breath.
Now that Shiba had returned, there was no point in dragging things out.
He was already embarrassed beyond belief. In front of Aiyan, the students, and even fellow captains, he'd completely lost face.
As much as he wanted to analyze what went wrong, all he wanted now was to get away and reflect on what happened.
"You're lucky today didn't escalate further."
"So I won't report this to the Captain-Commander."
"But only this once."
"If I ever catch you using any tricks or excuses to harm my students again, I won't be so lenient."
Shiba Isshin blocked Shinji's path, his tone deadly serious.
It was clear he was furious.
And rightfully so.
Earlier, on his way to the Kendo class, Sarugaki Hiyori had told him that the 5th Division was under attack and Shinji was missing.
Though it wasn't his squad, as a fellow captain, Isshin didn't hesitate and went to help.
As it turned out—he'd been tricked.
Thinking back to Shinji's sudden warning last night about Aizen being dangerous, it all made sense now.
It was a trap.
Sarugaki Hiyori had lured him away so Shinji could confront Aizen directly.
"Thanks for your generosity, Captain Isshin."
Hirako Shinji's expression stayed calm, but his eyes darkened.
He didn't hold a grudge against Isshin. In fact, he felt a little guilty for dragging him into this.
But Aiyan…
The weight that Aiyan carried in Isshin's heart—it truly shocked Shinji.
All this fuss, all this protection—for one student?
Even a regular academy class was treated like a top-tier mission.
That kind of influence, that level of trust and authority...
Shinji couldn't deny it anymore
Aiyan was more than just a talented swordsman.
He was someone you couldn't afford to underestimate.
[Small Challenge for you guys, If we hit 10 new comments on today's chapters, I'll drop 5 extra chapters later today]
[Let's aim for it before 7 PM UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) ]