Sora noticed that Rangiku Matsumoto's talent status displayed the state of "Incomplete Soul".
It seemed that the event where Sōsuke Aizen's subordinates took away the "Soul King Fragment" still happened.
Back then, parts of the divided "Soul King Fragments" were scattered throughout the Three Worlds. After these "Soul King Fragments" fused with souls, they circulated within the Three Worlds along with the souls.
Therefore, some humans born in the World of the Living, spirit bodies born in the Soul Society, and Hollows born in Hueco Mundo naturally carried "Soul King Fragments". They usually possessed Reishi aptitude surpassing ordinary people and might even have some innate special abilities.
Rangiku Matsumoto was an individual carrying a "Soul King Fragment".
The "Soul King Fragment" had already become a part of her soul. Now that the "Soul King Fragment" had been forcibly separated, it was equivalent to missing a part of her soul.
Sora thought it was a pity. If Rangiku Matsumoto's soul were still complete, she would have had at least an S-rank talent.
With an incomplete soul, Rangiku Matsumoto's talent dropped to A+ rank.
Although there seemed to be only one grade difference between A-rank and S-rank talent.
In reality, the difference was on a whole other level
Sora had seen many Shinigami with A-rank talent, and they all shared one common point—they had not mastered Bankai.
S-rank talent could be said to be the basic threshold for mastering Bankai.
"She is a freshman enrolling this year. she learns things very quickly. She mastered the stance I taught her as soon as she started. She has great potential!" Jin'emon Kotsubaki felt that Rangiku Matsumoto was a promising talent for swordsmanship, so he wanted to introduce her to Professor.
Rangiku Matsumoto bit her lip, looking a bit nervous: "Captain Katori, I am Rangiku Matsumoto from Class 1, Year 1!"
She had gained a lot of knowledge after coming to the Spiritual Arts Academy and knew very well that this was an extremely rare opportunity.
Sora Katori in front of her was not only the master of the Katori Dojo, but also a true Captain of the Soul Society—someone standing near its very pinnacle.
Taking such a strong person as a master would save her from taking many detours on the path of growth.
"Did your spirit body suffer a very heavy injury?" Sora asked gently. "And an injury that left you weak for a long time?"
Rangiku Matsumoto's expression changed slightly. She didn't expect this Captain Katori to see through her problem at a glance.
She was a bit worried that she would be turned away because of this, but she didn't dare to lie in front of this Shinigami Captain who saw through her instantly. She hesitated and said, "Yes, that is indeed the case. I suffered a heavy injury when I was in the Rukongai. It took several years of recuperation to recover..."
When Rangiku Matsumoto was injured back then, she didn't even see clearly what attacked her, nor did she know what she had lost.
"Do you want to learn Kendo from me?"
"Yes!"
"If you want to learn Kendo from me, you have to promise me one request."
"No problem!"
Rangiku Matsumoto nodded firmly.
"The injury you suffered in the past damaged the foundation of your soul," Sora smiled.
"I am somewhat interested in your problem. There might be a possibility to repair the foundation of the soul. At that time, I will conduct some spirit body experiments on you."
The hope for Rangiku Matsumoto, with an incomplete soul, to master Bankai was extremely slim.
However, Sora had deep research into spirit bodies and didn't lack "Soul King Fragments" on hand. It wasn't hopeless to complete Rangiku Matsumoto's soul.
Even with her foundation damaged, the system gave Rangiku Matsumoto an A+ talent rating.
Sora was curious about what level Rangiku Matsumoto could reach if her foundation was completed.
Seeing that Rangiku Matsumoto was a bit afraid of the spirit body experiments, Jin'emon Kotsubaki persuaded her, "Professor cares very much for his disciples. He won't let you be wronged!"
Sora added, "I can prioritize ensuring the safety of the experiment. I won't let your soul suffer further damage."
Rangiku Matsumoto knew well that she had no room to bargain. She gritted her teeth and decided to seize this rare opportunity: "Please let me follow you to train!"
"From now on, you are a disciple of my dojo." Sora nodded gently. "There is no rush for the experiments. Let's wait until your Spiritual Pressure increases a bit.."
Conducting spirit body experiments after Rangiku Matsumoto's Spiritual Pressure became stronger would allow for more margin for error.
When a spirit body grows, it needs to consume a lot of food. When Rangiku Matsumoto was in the Rukongai, she often didn't know where her next meal was coming from, and her foundation was damaged, so her Spiritual Pressure growth was relatively slow.
However, this phenomenon could be improved to a certain extent when Reishi replenishment was sufficient. Next, she would enter a period of Spiritual Pressure growth.
...
"So hungry. I wonder what delicious food I can eat today."
After Rangiku Matsumoto became a disciple of the Katori Style, she would come to the Katori Dojo to train as soon as school was over.
This also became the thing she looked forward to most every day.
Because she could eat the delicious food prepared by Professor at the dojo!
These days, Professor specially prepared medicinal cuisine for her to help nourish her body.
She never expected that Professor's culinary skills were not weak at all compared to his strength. Even a seemingly ordinary bowl of noodles could be made incredibly delicious.
When she was in the Rukongai, she had never eaten such delicious food.
Thinking of the medicinal cuisine she would eat later, Rangiku Matsumoto started drooling, and her pace quickened a bit.
When she arrived in front of the dojo, Rangiku Matsumoto saw a figure wearing a hat standing at the door and couldn't help but become vigilant.
The person turned her head, a grilled mochi stuck between her teeth, and mumbled,
"Oh? Are you the new junior?"
Rangiku Matsumoto didn't lower her guard. "And you are…?"
She was sure she had never seen this woman before.
On the second day after becoming a disciple, the Professor had gathered all the other students at the dojo for a team-building event, so Rangiku already knew who her seniors were.
But the green-haired woman in front of her wasn't one of them.
"I'm one of your seniors!" Nelliel said with a cheerful laugh.
"I heard the Professor accepted a new student, so I came to meet you~"
Nelliel had been in Hueco Mundo during that event, so this was her first time meeting Rangiku.
"You're a senior?" Rangiku asked skeptically. "Then why haven't I seen you before?"
"I was in Hueco Mundo!"
Nelliel suddenly pushed a grilled mochi into Rangiku's mouth, cutting her off.
"Here—try it!"
"Thank you…"
Since this was the entrance of the Katori Dojo, and no one would dare fake being a disciple here, Rangiku accepted her explanation.
The two walked into the courtyard together.
Rangiku took a bite of the mochi, and her eyes lit up.
"This is really good!"
"Right?! The mochi from Sugar Heart House is amazing!" Nelliel grinned.
"The Professor bought it for me once and I've been obsessed ever since. Every time I return to the Soul Society, I go buy more!"
"Do you stay in Hueco Mundo for missions for a long time?"
Rangiku assumed Nelliel was a Shinigami stationed there.
"Are you part of the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force?"
"I'll tell you a secret."
Nelliel took off her hat, revealing the twin horns on her forehead, and whispered:
"I'm actually a Hollow~"
Rangiku froze, staring at the horns.
"A Hollow?!"