After eating and drinking well in Rukongai, Saito brought Renji and the others back to the Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy, thus officially announcing that the four kids had officially joined the Kendo Club.
After a brief discussion, both sides agreed on a more suitable plan.
It was small-group, private lessons.
Unlike teaching dozens of members at once during the day, Saito was preparing to provide high-quality lessons to four members at a time.
One-on-four instruction was far more efficient and of much higher quality than one-on-ten or more.
This greatly pleased Renji and the others, and they all thanked Saito for his consideration.
The next evening, the four of them arrived at the Kendo Club precisely on time, where Saito was already waiting for them.
Renji, who had previously attended a session, took on the role of guide and helped Rukia and the others choose suitable wooden swords.
They thought that Saito-senpai, as before, would begin with basic theory, but Saito unexpectedly changed his usual approach and got straight to the point.
"You're just first-years, and your swordsmanship level is different from those who've been here for years."
"That's why I've adjusted my teaching methods for you accordingly…"
Saito was also holding a wooden training sword and stood at one end of the field himself.
"All four of you, attack me at once. The only rule is: you may only use sword techniques. You're not allowed to use other abilities like Kidō or Shunpō."
He had come to this conclusion after thinking it over the entire previous night. Just like how Unohana Retsu had guided him, real combat was the best way to assess someone's level, as well as the best way to identify problems and shortcomings.
Rukia was the first to ask, "Senior Saito, is this really okay?"
Saito shook his head. "I know you're worried you might hurt me, but that concern is unnecessary."
"Though it may sound harsh, even if the four of you were twice as strong as you are now, you still wouldn't be able to harm me in the slightest."
"Uh… those words are really discouraging. Is the difference between us and Senior Saito really that huge?" Hinamori Momo widened her eyes, clearly shocked by what Saito had said.
"Hmpf! No matter how big the gap is, you never know until you try. Senior Saito, watch out!" Renji was the first to launch an attack, gripping his wooden sword tightly and charging at Saito.
However, twenty minutes later, the situation had completely turned.
Hinamori Momo, utterly exhausted, was the first to collapse onto the ground, followed by Rukia and Kira, and Renji was the last to fall.
"Hah… hah…"
Renji collapsed to the ground with arms and legs spread wide, gasping heavily, his uniform soaked with sweat as if he had been pulled out of water.
The other three were in even worse shape, so exhausted they couldn't even speak, and Hinamori, who had the weakest physical condition, nearly fainted.
Luckily, Saito used Kaidō in time to restore some of her strength, so she didn't lose consciousness on the spot.
Saito himself was a little surprised. The basic knowledge he had learned out of curiosity from the members of the Fourth Division turned out to be useful much earlier than expected.
Renji and the others never imagined that after only twenty minutes of such training, they'd be this exhausted.
And this was while Senior Saito was only receiving their attacks. If the roles had been reversed, they probably wouldn't have lasted even a minute.
Was the gap between them and Senior Saito really that enormous?
Renji felt a deep sense of helplessness in his heart.
During drills, he could somewhat keep up with the opponent's rhythm, but in the just-finished free attack round, twenty full minutes, hundreds of frontal strikes, ambushes, coordinated duo and group attacks…
In the end, not a single attempt succeeded.
Even with combined efforts, they couldn't even graze the edge of Saito's uniform.
Remembering the strange footwork Saito used, Renji felt completely lost.
It looked like an old man and old woman strolling slowly through a garden, with countless gaps in the stance, but when they actually attacked, every strike would mysteriously miss, and no matter how fast they swung, they would only cut through air.
"So… so terrifying…"
"Is this the gap between us and someone who's been here for six years?" Rukia, having regained some strength, couldn't help but speak. Those brief twenty minutes completely overturned her worldview.
The other three also looked at Saito. They too wanted to hear the answer to that question.
Hearing that, Saito smiled slightly, a bit mischievously.
"You're overthinking it. If every sixth-year at the Spiritual Arts Academy were as strong as me, Soul Society would've overrun Hueco Mundo ages ago. There'd be no need for a once-in-a-century expedition like the one going on now."
Speaking of which, it had been nearly a hundred years since the last expedition to Hueco Mundo.
Who knew what had become of that red-haired Shinigami, Ashido, who had been trapped in the Forest of Menos.
Saito pulled his thoughts back to the present. "Even though I'm a sixth-year, in reality, I've already reached the level of a Gotei 13 member. It's completely normal that you can't beat me."
"Most of those in the same year as me are only slightly better than you, so there's no need to feel inferior."
To avoid unnecessary complications, Saito simply told them he was at squad member level.
Even so, Renji and the others sighed in awe: "Senior Saito really is a genius who took first place in the class two years in a row. I didn't think you had already reached such heights!"
"Becoming top of the class is something you can all do too." Saito waved his hand casually and appraised them with a nod. "I can see you all have great potential. As long as you find the right path and train diligently, you'll definitely become outstanding Shinigami."
"Senior Saito, you really believe in us?!" As soon as he heard that, Renji jumped up with excitement, as if all the fatigue had vanished from his body in an instant.
"Of course, there's no reason for me to lie to you about that."
"Rukia, did you hear that?! I told you I'm a genius!"
"Renji, stop jumping around! Everything hurts!"
Watching them joke and bicker together, Saito had a relaxed smile on his face.
It's nice to be young.
Of course, it would be even nicer if their fate brought him a bit more destiny points.
---
In Soul Society, in an unknown secret laboratory.
"Of course, we still need to observe up close if we want the most accurate data."
"Just watching recordings isn't enough to provide the necessary information."
Aizen Sōsuke was staring at the electronic screen in front of him, on which footage of Arata killing the invisible Hollow during his internship was looping.
Although some time had passed since then, Aizen's interest in this young man who had shown talent during the internship hadn't waned at all, in fact, it had only grown stronger.
Even though Kaname Tōsen had obtained some results from the data on the invisible Hollow, in Aizen's eyes, he was still far less important than Arata Saito.
"Captain Aizen, if you want to get close to him, now is a very convenient opportunity." Ichimaru Gin approached from behind him, always with those half-closed eyes.
"Gin, you're referring to the teacher training seminar?" Aizen gently adjusted the frame of his glasses on his nose and asked with interest, "Even though it's a course intended for instructors of the Spiritual Arts Academy, it seems there's no explicit rule prohibiting students from attending as auditors."
"That's indeed a good opportunity."
"Exactly. If we apply now, we can probably still grab the last few slots. The only question is does Captain Aizen want to go?" Ichimaru Gin smiled, as if a plan was already forming in his mind.
"Of course."
"But before we go, we need to prepare a gift for this interesting child."
"Captain Aizen is still as generous as ever."
"Gin, since when did you become so witty?"
"Ah, I thought I'd held back enough. My apologies, Captain Aizen."