A head of silvery hair, with only one streak of black remaining, bowed respectfully in front of the desk. The elderly reaper—still imposing despite his age—reported in a concise, disciplined tone the results of the mission he had just returned from.
"The rebel uprising is no longer confined to power struggles among the noble houses."
"That group of lunatics has already extended their reach into Rukongai, the Thirteen Guardian Squads, and even the Kidō Corps. According to intelligence submitted by Squad Two, there are now vice-captain-class reapers secretly colluding with the rebels."
"Although there's no definitive evidence yet, based on my years of experience… this rebellion is very likely tied to a certain captain."
When his report ended, Ogatani Genjirō, 3rd Seat of Squad One, kept his head bowed, waiting for the old man behind the desk to speak.
"You've done well, Genjirō."
The old man—Yamamoto Shigekuni—spoke with weight and authority."Not only did you suppress the rebels, you brought back enough intel for us to finally act. With this information, we may be able to wipe out those troublemakers disturbing the Soul Society once and for all."
He paused, then shifted the conversation.
"Since the mission was completed perfectly, why don't you return to your previous post here as Academy Director?"
"While you were away, I found several promising students in the Spirit Arts Academy, so I made some adjustments to their training programs."
"Among them, Kuchiki Sōjun and Kisaragi Akira warrant special attention."
Genjirō blinked, a rare flicker of confusion crossing his stern face.
"Kuchiki Sōjun is the heir of the Kuchiki clan. Raised with noble education, already seated-officer level before entering the Academy… and proficient in swordsmanship, hakuda, hohō, and kidō. Among nobles, only a few can match that level of talent."
"As for this… Kisaragi Akira, he should only be a first-year student, yes? I recall he—"
He didn't get to finish.
Yamamoto Shigekuni interrupted with a tone both weary and exasperated:
"During your absence, that boy caused quite a stir in the Academy. Forget students—compared to him, even the teachers come up short."
"In short, just keep an eye on him."
"With his talent, he may graduate from the Academy sooner rather than later."
"If he performs well, perhaps we'll even bring him into the Original Flow Unit."
"A genius of that caliber falling into another noble family's hands would be… wasteful."
Genjirō bowed deeply, committing every word to memory.
He might question the old man's methods sometimes, but he would never doubt his judgement of character.
Kyoraku Shunsui. Ukitake Jūshirō.And those were only the most famous among students this man had once trained.
After Yamamoto left, Genjirō immediately ordered his subordinates to retrieve all intelligence regarding this "Kisaragi Akira."
He read through every file carefully.
And as the reports piled up, the expression on his usually immovable face began to shift colors—blue, red, yellow, white, purple—like someone had tipped over an entire paint shop onto him.
A long silence later…
He finally exhaled and muttered in disbelief:
"Assaulted a teacher… blew up the male dormitory… invented a self-destructing Hadō cannon…"
"How… how is the Spirit Arts Academy supposed to contain a deity-level menace like this…?"
Kidō Class — Training Hall
Instructor Hanegiri Tessai stood with arms folded, his expression stern as he glared at the two boys in front of him.
Kisaragi Akira and Aizen Sōsuke.
"Today's lesson is practical kidō combat."
Tessai's deep, thunderous voice rumbled across the hall as he frowned.
"If your injuries have not fully healed, I can approve your withdrawal from today's session."
Akira quickly waved both hands, practically vibrating with energy.
"No worries at all, Tessai-sensei!"
"I recover fast—super fast. And after Captain Unohana healed me with her kaidō, I'm basically good as new."
He leaned forward eagerly.
"So? Who're we beating up first?"
Tessai's face darkened instantly—like a lump of coal had suddenly come to life.
"Combat second. Safety first."
"You will both stand inside the designated kidō barrier and exchange spells.Whoever breaks the opponent's defensive barrier first, wins."
"Since you and Aizen are practically glued together every day, I assume you're well-acquainted with each other's abilities. So why don't we start with you two?"
Akira's eyes flew open in outrage.
"Tessai-sensei, that's slander out of nowhere!"
"When did I—"
"—ever get familiar with Sōsuke's current strength!?"
Akira always spoke his mind, and from enrollment until now, Aizen had barely fought anyone. His rare appearances during practical lessons were always deliberately mediocre.
The one time he earned a commendation was because he'd schemed against Akira.
To everyone else, Aizen was Akira's quiet sidekick—great at theory, average at everything else.
But Akira knew better.
Aizen's strength?Still completely unfathomable.
The fact he could invent an entirely new kidō pattern in a single instant…That was already on par with a Divine Heart–class prodigy.Maybe even scarier.
With talent like that—and considering how ruthlessly hardworking he was—
There was no telling how far Aizen had already progressed.
Honestly, Akira wouldn't be surprised if Aizen casually pulled out a Black Coffin right here and now.
He would just… die peacefully. That's all.
Tessai's mouth twitched. He had assumed the two boys were still bothered by the Red Fire Cannon "self-destruct incident," but apparently Akira simply had no clue how strong Aizen was.
Even a genius was still limited at this early stage.
With Tessai supervising, neither could seriously injure the other.
He only needed to worry about one thing:making sure Akira didn't fire another self-detonating Hadō.
"No matter."
Tessai steadied his thoughts and said firmly:
"As long as you don't do anything reckless, nothing will go wrong while I'm here."
"Got it, Tessai-sensei!"
Akira rubbed his hands together, excitement shimmering in his eyes.
"With you watching, I can relax!"
He shot Aizen a wild grin.
"Sōsuke! Bring it on! Time you witnessed what a real mage looks like!"
Watching the boy practically bouncing with enthusiasm, Tessai suddenly felt a pang of regret.
It seemed… he had made a terrible decision.
And it was too late to take it back.
As he wrestled with that sinking feeling, the two boys had already stepped into the massive oval-shaped kidō arena.
After setting up their defensive barriers, Tessai withdrew to the edge, ready to intervene the instant things went wrong.
Across the barrier, Akira was practically glowing with anticipation.
Aizen's lips curved slightly as he spoke in a calm, almost apologetic tone:
"This may not be the most appropriate timing…"
"But since it's your wish, I suppose I should entertain you."
Akira grinned, confidence radiating from him.
"Don't underestimate me, Sōsuke."
"I'm really strong now!"