"You'll train here from now on," Sora brought Bambietta to Liltotto's small shop.
Since Bambietta had beaten up soldiers, Sora didn't let her stay in that district to avoid retaliation.
"Is she also the Professor's disciple?" Meninas curiously sized up Bambietta.
"Then she's my junior sister," Liltotto said nonchalantly on the surface, but inwardly, she was quite pleased about becoming a senior sister.
"Are you guys strong?" Bambietta saw that Meninas was only slightly older than her, and Liltotto was even younger, feeling a bit defiant.
"Fellow disciples must be united and friendly," Sora ruffled Bambietta's head.
"Alright..." Bambietta temporarily suppressed the thought of challenging their ranks.
"Bambi, you haven't received any training yet, right?" Sora asked.
"No, I'm not a soldier yet," Bambietta shook her head. She hadn't enlisted or received basic training.
"It seems you're using your ability purely on instinct," Sora nodded. "A very small number of Quincy have special talents. Meninas, you should have noticed it too."
"Hmm... I'm very strong..." Meninas looked thoughtful.
"I can infuse my spiritual pressure into other objects and then detonate them," Bambietta looked at her hand. "Even the air."
In the alley just now, Bambietta had used this ability to detonate the air, severely injuring those Quincy soldiers.
"These are both excellent abilities," Sora praised. "Developing your own innate talents is also a key part of training."
"Ah... am I the only one without a talent?" Liltotto raised an eyebrow.
"You're still young. If you have a special ability, it will reveal itself later," Sora chuckled.
"I think Liltotto has a talent. She can eat a lot," Meninas said with certainty.
Liltotto's gluttony ability was already showing signs. Her appetite was now even larger than Meninas's.
Meninas was in her growth period and also ate a lot, needing large amounts of food daily to intake reishi.
But Liltotto's appetite was considerably larger.
"Is being able to eat a talent?" Liltotto pouted. If she didn't have this small shop, it would probably be difficult for her to even eat her fill.
"Does the Professor have a special ability?" Bambietta asked curiously.
"I do," Sora said with a smile. "Try to move."
"I can't move!" Bambietta exclaimed in shock.
She had actually felt this sensation in the alley, being instantly immobilized.
"Me neither!"
Liltotto and Meninas also found they couldn't move.
"The shadows! Look at the shadows!" Meninas cried out, looking at the ground.
Everyone looked at their shadows.
Their shadows were very close, but the Professor's shadow had lost its human shape and was wrapped around theirs.
"My ability is related to shadows," Sora said.
His Quincy power also possessed the ability to control shadows.
However, it was somewhat different from his Shikai and Bankai's shadow abilities.
When he used 'Kage Shibari' with his Shikai before, he turned shadows into something similar to a Bakudō spell to bind the enemy's body.
But his Quincy power achieved the binding effect by influencing the opponent's shadow.
"What do you mean?" Bambietta was not one for deep thought.
"Our shadows have been caught by the Professor's shadow?" Liltotto's clever little head quickly figured it out.
"That's right. I can restrict your movements by restricting your shadows," Sora nodded gently. "I can even cause you harm through your shadows."
"It's getting tighter!" Meninas felt her flesh being squeezed and indented by some invisible force.
The next moment, the three of them felt the restraint loosen and disappear.
"What an amazing ability!" Meninas's eyes sparkled with admiration. "You can defeat opponents without even lifting a finger!"
"These special talents give us more options, but the foundation of strength still lies in basic abilities like spiritual pressure, Reishi Manipulation, Blut, and Hirenkyaku," Sora said seriously. "So, the basic training phase cannot be taken lightly."
"Bambi, I'll teach you Hirenkyaku first. After that, you'll undergo basic training with Meninas and Liltotto," Sora said.
Bambietta hadn't been trained yet and didn't even know Hirenkyaku. Sora planned to teach her that first.
New mission information also appeared on the panel:
[Current training mission added: Guide Bambietta Basterbine to complete Hirenkyaku training (In progress)]
"Okay!" Bambietta couldn't hold back her eagerness.
Sora began teaching her Hirenkyaku, while Meninas and Liltotto continued their training with the bracers.
A moment later.
A teaching accident occurred in the courtyard.
Boom—
The reishi ball Bambietta had gathered under her feet exploded.
"Ouch!" She was thrown to the ground.
Fortunately, she was used to similar explosions and knew how to protect herself with spiritual pressure, so she wasn't seriously injured. However, her shoes were blown apart.
"Why did you use your explosion ability?" Sora pressed his forehead helplessly.
"My ability isn't easy to control. If I'm not careful, it triggers an explosion... Oh no! My new boots from last week!" Bambietta took off her boots and saw the hole in them. Her heart bled; she had just bought them.
"You can't wear these anymore!"
Meninas saw Bambietta's face through the hole in the boot.
"I have new ones in my shop," Liltotto said.
Her shop wasn't large, but it sold a variety of goods, including clothes and shoes.
"I'm about to enlist soon, so I prepared some equipment in advance. My supply merit points are all spent..." Bambietta said awkwardly.
"Don't worry, your senior sister will give them to you."
Little rich girl Liltotto said calmly.
"Ah! Th... thank you!" Bambietta suddenly felt that being a junior sister wasn't so bad after all.
"Your sole is a bit red and swollen, but it's not serious. Applying ointment for ten minutes will heal it," Sora lifted her calf, checked the injury, and took out some ointment from his reishi-space pocket.
To maintain his cover, Sora had prepared many Quincy-related items in the pocket he carried on his Reigai puppet.
This ointment was made according to a traditional Quincy recipe.
He applied it to her foot. A warmth spread from the sole, dispelling the pain.
The warmth reached deep into her heart.
Bambietta had grown up alone in the Wandenreich. Although she had the merit points and resources left by her parents and didn't worry about food, she rarely felt kindness.
When she was young, the people around her had coveted her parents' belongings, always trying to take something from her.
[Bambietta Basterbine's Affinity Level has increased. Current Affinity Level is Close]
Her affinity level jumped directly from Stranger to Close!
After asking for her shoe size, Liltotto went into the shop to get new boots for her.
"Liltotto, are you okay? What was that explosion just now?"
A female military police officer with long, grass-green hair stood outside the shop. It was Candice, whom Sora had seen before.
She was patrolling nearby. The explosion just now had carried quite far and had attracted her over.
"It's nothing... just Hirenkyaku exploding," Liltotto said briefly.
"Huh?" Candice was very surprised, her eyes widening. "Hirenkyaku can explode?!"
"Are you hurt?" Candice leaned on the counter, sticking her head in to look at Liltotto's feet.
"It wasn't me who exploded," Liltotto shook her head. "The Professor was teaching Bambi Hirenkyaku."
"Professor? Since when do you have a professor?"
Candice's patrol area was around here, and she was quite familiar with Liltotto. She hadn't heard her mention having a professor before.
"Just got one," Liltotto said.
"You haven't been scammed, have you!" Candice frowned. "Teaching Hirenkyaku and causing an explosion?"
Candice had participated in the recruit training camp and had never heard of explosions happening while learning Hirenkyaku.
The training method there was very mature. The only risk was losing control while flying and falling from the sky.
"Maybe Bambi is just a little clumsy," Liltotto said vaguely, not revealing more about Bambietta.
"It's impossible for it to explode. That professor of yours must be a fraud!" Candice pulled open the counter barrier and walked in. "Trying to scam you right under my nose? I can't just stand by and do nothing!"
Candice had a straightforward personality and couldn't tolerate someone deceiving a child in the district she was responsible for.
"Eh?" Liltotto hadn't expected Candice to get involved. "He's really not a fraud. The Professor is very strong!"
However, Liltotto was young, and Candice didn't trust her judgment.
"Fraud or not, I'll find out by testing him."
Candice took Liltotto's hand and walked into the courtyard.
"So this is your 'professor'?" Candice remembered this Quincy and raised an eyebrow. "So it's you, the Quincy who returned from the human world!"
"What's wrong?"
Sora was somewhat puzzled by the aggressive Candice.
He remembered not having offended her the last time they met.
"I heard the Hirenkyaku you teach explodes," Candice sneered. "That's the first time I've heard such a joke. You're teaching complete nonsense! How many merit points did you scam out of Liltotto?"
"Liltotto has the ability to judge right from wrong."
Sora understood. Candice had been attracted by the explosion just now.
"That was my problem, it has nothing to do with the Professor!" Bambietta, seeing someone question her professor, retorted loudly like a ruffled cat.
"So she's the Bambi who was learning Hirenkyaku? She's more than just clumsy, her leg got scammed into being lame!" Candice pressed her forehead, feeling exasperated.
This person's foot injury wasn't even healed yet, and she was still defending her scammer professor!
"What did you say!" Bambietta's fists clenched.
"You worry too much. With my abilities, teaching them is more than enough."
Sora understood it was a misunderstanding. Candice was actually concerned about his disciples, so he didn't mind her offense.
"If you don't believe me, you can try me," Sora said with a smile.
"If you lose, give back the money you scammed!"
Candice took out a standard-issue spirit bow and aimed it at Sora.
"Let me see if you really have any skill!" She drew the bow, about to shoot a reishi arrow.
However, the next moment, she froze.
She had drawn the bowstring, but fired a blank arrow.
"What?!"
Candice discovered she couldn't draw any reishi from the courtyard at all.
All the reishi was flowing towards the person opposite her.
Fine beads of sweat appeared on Candice's fair cheeks. She knew she had done something incredibly stupid.
The power gap between them was too vast!
Since Reishi Manipulation controlled external reishi, at such close range, Candice couldn't compete with Sora for control of the reishi at all.
"Keep being arrogant! I already told you it was my problem, how dare you question the Professor!" Bambietta immediately kicked her while she was down.
Candice felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave and ignored Bambietta.
"I shouldn't have offended you, Lord Kurosaki," Candice recalled the name she had recorded last time, her heart pounding in her throat.
"You didn't know the details, so it's understandable," Sora nodded gently. "But..."
That single word made Candice, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, tense up again.
"This is my apology. Please accept it, Lord Kurosaki!" Candice quickly took out her money pouch and handed it over.
"Hmm... you were just trying to prevent them from being deceived," Sora nodded and accepted the apology gift.
"Are you still lacking disciples? I wish to become your disciple. My aptitude is also good, and I learn things quickly. I was always number one in the recruit training camp! From now on, I can give you all my merit points every month!" Candice gritted her teeth and suddenly said.
The strength Sora had displayed was too powerful.
It had left a huge shock in her heart.
Before this, the strongest Quincy Candice knew were the instructors at the recruit camp.
But even those instructors couldn't completely snatch control of the reishi from her.
Comparing them, the instructors paled in comparison. The difference was like heaven and earth.
This powerful Quincy had just returned from the human world and had already taken disciples. Maybe he still had the intention to take more. Candice wanted to seize this rare opportunity.
[Candice Catnipp requests to become your disciple. Accept as a direct disciple?]
"Hmm... seeing your sincerity, I'll accept you," Sora pondered for a moment and agreed. "But once you enter my school, you must be loyal and never betray it. Otherwise, I will personally clean house."
He hadn't wanted to miss out on Candice anyway, so he naturally wouldn't refuse her.
"Yes! Professor! I will be loyal to you and never betray you!" Candice's spirits lifted, overjoyed.
[Candice Catnipp's Affinity Level has increased. Current Affinity Level is Friendly]
"Lucky girl," Bambietta pouted. She hadn't forgotten Candice calling her clumsy, but this way, she wasn't the youngest anymore. "Let me hear you call me 'senior sister' a few times."
"Professor, I still have patrol duty and can't stay here long," Candice pretended not to hear.
"You should also be participating in the Sternritter recruitment, right? Why didn't you take leave to prepare?" Sora asked.
As far as he knew, many soldiers had taken leave now to prepare for the recruitment.
Moreover, the Sternritter placed great importance on this recruitment, and the soldiers' leave requests had basically all been approved.
"Military police can only take leave in shifts," Candice shook her head. "Patrol duty must be done. I'll be off duty in an hour. I'll come back later!"
------------------
The Bleach story will come to an end in December. I want to thank everyone who has been reading this project; your support has been crucial in getting to this point.
Unlock 400+ chapters across 7+ different novels on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/c/LEYI396