The grotesque tentacle, covered in bulbous flesh, slammed against the Zanpakutō, its sheer force knocking Nanatsuki backward.
Nanatsuki skidded several meters before regaining his stance, both legs dug into the grass, carving twin tracks into the dirt.
"Sensei!"
Chijō Kana drew her Asauchi with a serious expression, shielding young Lisa Yadōmaru behind her. She could feel the powerful Reiatsu radiating from the Hollow.
Nearby, Muguruma Kensei and Hirako Shinji also drew their Asauchi.
"You all fall back. I can handle it!" Nanatsuki focused intently on the now fully revealed Hollow. Its strength wasn't something the disciples could deal with at this stage—rushing in would only lead to unnecessary injuries.
The Hollow's face wore a bony mask with twin horns. Its lower body had four spider-like legs, while its upper half bore three grotesque tentacles full of tumors. It originally had four, but one had already been severed by Nanatsuki.
Clearly, this Hollow didn't possess high-speed regeneration—its missing tentacle hadn't grown back.
Nanatsuki focused his Reiatsu into the blade, twisted his wrist, and rotated the sword. The blade immediately sank into the tumor-covered tentacle pressing down on his Zanpakutō.
Schlick—
A flash of the blade, and the tentacle was sliced into several chunks.
"RAAAGHH!!" the Hollow howled in fury, lifting its remaining two tentacles high and stabbing toward Nanatsuki.
But just as they were about to strike, Nanatsuki vanished.
Boom!
The tentacles slammed into the ground, sending dirt and debris flying.
Nanatsuki reappeared behind the Hollow's head in an instant, his body midair in a forward stance, both hands on the blade—left hand pressing the back of the sword, infusing it with Reiatsu.
The next moment, his body snapped forward like a drawn bowstring as he stepped in and thrust his sword with explosive force.
Katori-ryu: Shun Strike!
Schlick—
The tip of his Zanpakutō pierced straight through the Hollow's horned bone mask.
RAAARGHH—
A hollow, piercing scream echoed from the creature's mouth.
Nanatsuki gave it no chance. He swiftly slashed the blade downward along the wound in its skull, cleaving the Hollow clean in two.
BOOM—
The bisected corpse thudded to the ground, then slowly disintegrated into Reishi, merging back into the Soul Society.
"Sensei's amazing! That Hollow didn't even last long!" said Chijō Kana. "That final move—it was 'Shun Strike,' right? I really want to learn it soon!"
"At your pace, I'd say you'll get there pretty soon," Nanatsuki said. He twitched his right hand slightly, dispersing the remaining Hollow blood from the blade with his Reiatsu, then sheathed his sword.
"A Hollow showing up here... That's the first time I've seen one," said Hirako Shinji.
"Same here. And that one had stronger Reiatsu than me," Muguruma Kensei added.
Hollows appearing in the Soul Society was rare, especially in a top-ranked area like the Fuwai District. The closer one got to Seireitei, the more stable the space. Even though Nanatsuki had lived in the Fuwai District for a long time, this was his first encounter with a Hollow here.
"This is also my first time seeing one in the Fuwai District. I'll need to inform the Tenth Division to investigate in case something's wrong," Nanatsuki said.
Sometimes, spatial rifts could linger for a while, and in such cases, someone had to take care of it.
Since the Twelfth Division hadn't yet established a system for monitoring Reiatsu across the Soul Society, Shinigami were still responsible for reporting unusual activity they encountered outside.
The group resumed their journey, heading out of the forest. Nothing else occurred along the way.
...
The place where Nanatsuki had slain the Hollow.
After the group left, three Shinigami in cloaks suddenly appeared among the trees.
Each of them held a device used to measure Reiatsu, sweeping the area.
Moments later, the three compared the data they had gathered.
"Level Eleven Spiritual Pressure."
"Level Eleven Spiritual Pressure."
"Then that confirms it. Same on my end. Let's head back."
After pulling their hoods over their heads again, the three vanished without a trace, leaving not a single sign they had ever been there.
...
The next day, Nanatsuki received a response from the Tenth Division—there were no longer any spatial rifts in the mountain forest behind the dojo.
After returning from the forest the day before, he had immediately reported the Hollow encounter, since the woods were right behind the Katori-ryu Dojo. If a rift remained, more Hollows could have come from Hueco Mundo.
The Tenth Division had acted quickly. He had only reported it yesterday, and they already sent Shinigami to investigate.
In the courtyard, Kana thrust her wooden sword forward—thunk!—and successfully drove it into the practice dummy.
"Sensei, I did it!" Kana was practically bouncing with excitement.
Nanatsuki stepped forward to examine the dummy. The sword hadn't pierced through the head but had sunk in about one-fifth of the way.
"Your power delivery seems off. Show me again," Nanatsuki said.
Kana raised her wooden sword, pressing her left hand against the back of the blade, channeling her Reiatsu into it.
She thrust again—thunk!—and once more embedded the sword into the dummy at the same depth.
"Yeah, there's a problem with how you're generating force. Set your stance," Nanatsuki instructed.
"Like this?" Kana posed in a forward stance, pressing her left hand onto the back of the blade and focusing her Reiatsu.
"Your left hand isn't there to look cool. It's there to help build power." Nanatsuki pressed her left hand more firmly down. "Hold the blade like this—now strike."
Kana began channeling power, her hands and arm muscles tensing in preparation.
"You also need to use your waist. If you rely only on your arms, you won't even get through the dummy—let alone a Hollow," Nanatsuki noted, seeing how relaxed her core was.
Kana adjusted, her waist now firm with tension.
"Good. Now finish it with your legs. Explode forward like a bowstring. Your entire body should channel power into the thrust." Nanatsuki patted her back to signal the strike.
Kana let out a sharp breath, stepped forward, and lunged with lightning speed.
Katori-ryu: Shun Strike!
THUD!
With a loud impact, the wooden sword pierced straight through the dummy's head.
"Sensei, I pierced it!" Kana shouted, waving her sword in joy.
"Excellent. Now remember that feeling—burn it into your muscle memory. In real battles, enemies won't give you time to charge up. All those motions—you'll need to do them in a blink." Nanatsuki smiled.
Now that Kana had successfully executed Shun Strike, a notification appeared on her training interface.
[Disciple Chijō Kana has learned the sword technique "Shun Strike"]
[Guided Chijō Kana through one sword technique training (Completed)]
Nanatsuki glanced at the pop-up and shifted his attention to the completed training objective.
[Disciple Chijō Kana has completed a sword technique training. Rewards being calculated…]
[Reward acquired: 5,000 General Ability EXP]
[Reward acquired: Sword Technique – Wave Break (Beginner)]
He opened his Status Interface and noticed that the sword technique section now had a new entry: a beginner-level Wave Break.
Focusing on Wave Break, more information immediately appeared.