"Maybe my Zanpakutō is just special. Even though I failed this time, thanks anyway, Sōsuke."
Gusion got up to wash up. He felt that during this recent 'communication' with his Zanpakutō, he'd faintly grasped some information, so it wasn't a total loss.
After a quick shower, Gusion stepped out of the bathroom and looked at Aizen, who was already dressed in his school uniform and about to leave for class. "Sōsuke, could you help me try again? I think this hypnosis method works."
Aizen paused. "Not going to class?"
"No. The Captain-Commander won't be showing up either. There's only so much you can learn in class. The most urgent thing for me now is to master Shikai."
At the academy, attendance isn't taken, and perfect attendance doesn't guarantee you pass—only the final exam matters.
"This method is dangerous. You should have experienced that yourself, right, Gusion-kun? Even so, you still want to keep trying?"
Aizen looked at Gusion seriously.
Gusion met his gaze and nodded. "Sōsuke, passing the assessment is very important to me. More so than you think."
"Alright then. I'll train with you in the dorm."
Aizen put down his bag containing calligraphy tools, looking helpless. "But let's agree on this: if your spiritual pressure gets out of control, I'll call a teacher."
Gusion grinned. "Thanks, Sōsuke. I owe you one."
Aizen smiled too. "Well, you already owe me a lot."
…
…
…
"Still not working?"
Aizen glanced out the window. Dawn was almost breaking, and today was the day of the final exams.
For the past two days, he'd been using Kyōka Suigetsu to hypnotize Gusion in their dorm, guiding him into the depths of his soul again and again, but every time, Gusion said he was 'kicked out'.
From what Aizen understood about awakening a Zanpakutō, it was less like Gusion was being kicked out and more like he was choosing to leave on his own.
His initial view remained unchanged—Gusion was resisting that power.
Aizen considered himself somewhat knowledgeable about psychology. Based on Gusion's descriptions, he thought the cage symbolized Gusion's closed-off heart, and the imprisoned demon represented Gusion's self-imposed restrictions—a sealing of his strength.
"Gusion-kun, if you can't resolve your inner conflict, no matter how strong your spiritual pressure becomes, I'm afraid you'll never achieve Shikai."
Aizen sighed. He hadn't expected this outcome. He'd thought with his help and Gusion's talent, Shikai would come easily.
He looked at Gusion with a hint of regret. He'd thought he'd finally met another genius with no weak points, someone like himself, but in the end, Gusion couldn't awaken his Zanpakutō. In a way, that meant Gusion's future as a Shinigami was already capped.
Gusion was silent for a moment, then waved it off. "No worries. You've already helped me a lot, Sōsuke. I think I'm starting to understand what's up with my Zanpakutō."
Aizen was pleasantly surprised. "Oh? Did you finally communicate with it? There's still some time—want to try again?"
But Gusion shook his head. "No, I want to rest while I still have time, get myself into the best state. I don't even know who my special examiner will be today."
"True. Rest up then. You can still sleep for about three hours. I'll grab you some food from the cafeteria."
Aizen didn't think Gusion had given up. He was curious whether Gusion could break through this assessment.
"Thanks, Sōsuke."
Gusion didn't bother with more formalities and fell right asleep. He'd be facing a tough battle today and needed to be at his peak.
…
Three hours later, Gusion woke up on time. The desk was covered with the food Aizen had brought, but Aizen himself was gone—he must have headed to the exam hall early.
Gusion quickly washed up, then wolfed down the food to refuel.
After eating, he checked the time and jogged to the exam hall.
Yesterday, a dorm teacher informed him that even though he was challenging early graduation, he still had to take the regular exams. Only after completing all required courses could he face the final trial.
Just as he'd expected, besides the final trial, to graduate early he had to achieve one more thing: Shikai.
Even if he passed the examiner's trial, if he didn't learn Zanpakutō's true name and achieve Shikai, he still couldn't graduate.
Gusion looked at the asauchi at his waist with its black scabbard and white hilt, thinking to himself how hard it was to obtain.
Items obtained in mission worlds can't be taken out unless they're mission rewards.
To take this asauchi with him, he needed to learn his Zanpakutō's true name and achieve Shikai—basically, bind the asauchi to himself.
Entering the exam hall, Gusion checked his current stats:
[Explorer #40404040]
Constitution: 18 (+1)
Strength: 17 (+1)
Agility: 18 (+1)
Spirit: 24 (+2)
Charisma: 6
Luck: 1
[]
He'd spent most of the month working on his Zanpakutō, so his physical stats hadn't improved much, but his spirit had risen by two points. He now counted as a solid 16th-level spiritual pressure.
"So, this is the genius challenging early graduation? You sure are taking it easy, showing up so late," came a teasing voice—it was Yoruichi.
Gusion loosened up. "It's not a timed written test, so being late doesn't matter."
The first exam was Hakuda, scored directly by the examiner.
Soon, it was Gusion's turn. The Hakuda teacher looked at Gusion with a complicated expression and, without even testing him, gave him the highest score.
Gusion wasn't surprised. In class, he'd sparred with this teacher—and won.
Next was Kendo—again, a perfect score.
Hado—full marks.
Bakudo—full marks.
Kaido—full marks.
Shunpo—full marks.
Spiritual pressure—16th rank.
Many classmates were waiting to see the show, so they let him go first. Even so, by the time he'd finished all the exams, it was already afternoon.
Following the final examiner's instructions, he headed to the top floor of the teaching building—the final exam hall.
The top floor was rarely visited mostly teacher offices. Besides those, there were some locked empty rooms no one could enter.
Gusion now stood before such a door. Above it hung a large, ancient-looking plaque with two bold characters: "Genryū".
After knocking, the sliding doors opened sideways, revealing the room—and a woman seated cross-legged at the tea table.
Squad 4 Captain: Unohana Retsu.
Gusion couldn't help but smile. He felt his battle blood boiling.
From a mission standpoint, this was the worst possible draw, but he felt it was the best.
His 1 point of luck must be pretty high.
Gusion took off his wooden sandals, stepped into the tatami-matted room, and the door closed and locked behind him.
He sensed a strange force in the room—most likely the work of 12th Squad's Kirio Hikifune.
Once inside, your spiritual pressure is capped at level 16, unless you forcibly break the mechanism with a burst of pressure.
The Captain-Commander had made sure everything was fair—no risk of being crushed by an overexcited captain.
Under Unohana's gaze, Gusion sat at the tea table, calm.
"This is the exam room I picked. It's also one of the Captain-Commander's tea rooms," Unohana said gently, expertly preparing the tea set.
Gusion looked around. The Captain-Commander's fondness for tea was well-known. He often held tea gatherings with Squad 1 members.
But this wasn't his usual tea room. The space was large—about 200 square meters—but only a single tea table sat in the middle.
On the wall hung a giant painting of a fierce tiger and an evil demon, powerfully drawn and full of murderous energy.
"Ancient tales of dragon-tiger battles, now tiger-demon carnage," Gusion thought.
He sat on the tiger's side, watching Unohana prepare the tea in silence. The room was utterly still.
Unohana's every move was elegant, almost artistic. She wiped each item with a silk cloth, warmed the bowls, rinsed the utensils...
It felt less like an exam and more like a tea ceremony between friends.
The fragrant tea simmered over the fire, smoke rising gently between them. In this little space, there was no smell of blood, only peace.
She slid a cup of tea to him. Neither spoke. The atmosphere was silent.
Gusion took the tea, blew on it, and then drank it in one shot, setting the cup down.
The sound seemed to break the silence—and deepen it.
Unohana didn't drink her tea. She started heating a new pot of water, eyes half-closed, then opened them to meet Gusion's gaze across the table.
It was like two ancient swordsmen meeting by chance, their auras already clashing.