Bleach: Reborn — Chapter 143 - One Month

Time in the academy flew by. A month passed like a small boat drifting down a swift current.

In that month, Wayne never saw Aizen return. Not surprising, really. Coming once to hypnotize the class was enough. As for himself, Wayne figured he wasn't yet worth Aizen's attention. He put the thought aside and focused entirely on improving himself, that was the only thing that mattered.

During his days at the academy, Wayne never stopped working on his Reiatsu. With Soul Absorption as a constant aid, he had quietly taken in several times more Reishi than his classmates, compressing it all and storing it within his body. But precisely because of that compression, his total Reiatsu didn't appear dramatically larger than anyone else's.

To outside eyes, this so-called genius of Class A wasn't leading the pack by much when it came to raw Reiatsu volume. Combined with his blindness, the student who should have been shining brilliantly at the academy had instead become remarkably inconspicuous, gradually overtaken in reputation by other talented students.

Reputation was something Wayne couldn't care less about. In truth, he was very satisfied with a month's worth of progress. Measured by Soul Society's own standards, Wayne's total Reiatsu had already reached the level of an elite Gotei 13 soldier. In swordsmanship class, instructors no longer dared to pit their Reiatsu against his directly, he would crush them. Only by abandoning Reiatsu entirely and competing on pure technique could they hold out against him for twenty exchanges, and after twenty, it was anyone's guess.

As for the Reiatsu he could put out in a burst, it was now pressing close to the level of a top-ten seated officer. Earlier, when 4th Division 7th Seat Mizusue provided Wayne with the tournament participant files, she had asked him to demonstrate his strength. The moment Wayne let his edge show, Mizusue immediately headed back to her division to borrow money and pool her betting funds. She intended to make a killing.

Beyond Reiatsu growth, Wayne gained a great deal in swordsmanship as well. Beyond what the instructors taught in class, he focused more on weaving that sword knowledge into his own techniques, refining Shadow Step, Shattering Slash, and the other skills that were truly his. As for Thunderstrike, a Reiatsu-intensive skill, and Zero-Form Tempest, an ultimate technique, neither could be replicated at his current level. Those would have to wait until his Reiatsu grew strong enough in the future.

In boxing, Wayne treated it purely as physical conditioning, a way to harden his body and strengthen his soul's endurance. He wouldn't make it his primary focus, but it was worth learning. What if an opportunity arose where he could catch someone completely off guard with a punch instead of a blade? After all, all paths lead to the same summit, at the highest level, everything comes down to Reiatsu versus Reiatsu. When his raw power was strong enough to overcome any technique through sheer force, elaborate moves would be nothing but unnecessary flourish. If one punch could finish an opponent, why bother reaching for the sword at your hip?

Regarding Shunpo, Wayne always thought it was worth learning to a functional level, nothing more. There was no need to pursue mastery. Running fast while lacking the power to back it up would just be scratching the enemy. Unless Wayne could develop a one-hit-kill ability like Soifon's Shikai and choose to specialize in speed, deep investment in Shunpo simply wasn't worth the trade-off.

As for Kidō... after a full month of study, Wayne still felt absolutely nothing. Every other student had made at least some progress, but Wayne seemed to have a blocker switched on, not a single trace of Kidō feedback reached him.

In contrast, his talent for Kaido was genuinely exceptional.

With powerful Reiatsu control at his disposal, Wayne found himself thoroughly absorbed in Kaido. It was, in essence, a form of high-speed regeneration, just much slower. The Reiatsu of a Shinigami flows in an ordered structure, after all. To integrate it properly, the output had to be carefully regulated step by step before any healing effect could be achieved. A Hollow's Reiatsu, on the other hand, was wild and chaotic. A massive release of power alone was enough to trigger ultra-speed regeneration. To put it in numbers: if a normal Hollow's limb regeneration speed is 1, then Kaido sits at 4 to 6, high-speed regeneration at 8, and ultra-speed regeneration at 10. That ability to recover from wounds in an instant, Wayne missed it deeply.

To replicate his former ultra-speed regeneration, Wayne had been continuously researching methods to apply Kaido at high speed. He even pulled Mizusue into the project. As it happened, Mizusue was already preparing a new research topic for the year, so she simply brought Wayne along. He had to mention something about this relentless woman, in the name of testing Kaido's limits, she had no hesitation slashing herself to personally experience how fast the healing kicked in. That kind of drive was wasted outside the 12th Division.

Not that Mizusue lacked a safety net. Her Zanpakutō, "Golden Hairpin Princess," was a rare healing-type Zanpakutō. Even if she suddenly lost too much blood, she could use her own Zanpakutō to pull herself back from the brink, no risk of losing consciousness from blood loss.

Over this one month, Wayne had gained exposure to every aspect of a Shinigami's abilities. He also learned the current state of affairs from Mizusue. Shinji Hirako, Kensei Muguruma, Love Aikawa, and other captains and lieutenants remained completely missing in the vanishing spirits case. Kisuke Urahara had been framed by Aizen and fled from Seireitei. Wayne remembered that back when he was still a Vasto Lorde, he had crossed blades with Shinji Hirako and Kisuke Urahara. He had hinted at certain things about Aizen during that encounter. Unfortunately, even forewarned, those living under the hypnosis of Aizen's Kyōka Suigetsu had still fallen into Aizen's hands. From Mizusue's account, Wayne learned that the original plot had not changed. Those who had undergone Hollowfication should have been rescued by Kisuke Urahara to the World of the Living, just as in the original story, with Yoruichi Shihōin leaving Seireitei alongside them. Nothing had changed. The trap Wayne had laid was utterly powerless against Kyōka Suigetsu.

"I'll have to break Kyōka Suigetsu myself after all," Wayne thought, while pouring warmed sake into the cups of Ikkaku and Iba, who sat across from him, drinking together.

"Tsukishiro, kid, you only just entered Shin'ō Academy. Isn't it a bit reckless to go entering the Ranking Tournament already?" Ikkaku raised his cup and let out a belch.

Over the past month, Wayne had made a habit of stopping by the tavern every few days, always in the mornings. He would sometimes run into Ikkaku and Iba on their days off. He had also run into Yumichika Ayasegawa, who was often with Ikkaku. At this point in time, Yumichika didn't yet wear feathers between his brows. With his long hair, he genuinely carried a certain soft, graceful elegance from a distance. Though when Wayne thought about the future, when Yumichika would cut his hair short after a battle, that look honestly didn't hold a candle to his current image as a flowing-haired gentleman.

One visit led to another, and Wayne had grown close with the two older brothers. They often ate and drank together. Even though Wayne could only catch the tail end of their time each visit, and never for long, it didn't stop the two from looking after this agreeable younger brother.

"Exactly. You haven't even gotten your Zanpakutō yet." Iba raised his cup as well, gesturing toward Wayne with it, signaling to the kid not to let youth make him reckless. "The academy doesn't issue Zanpakutō until the second year at the earliest — the initial form, an Asauchi. After that, you cultivate it until it awakens. The program is six years, but if a Zanpakutō fails to awaken, you either return to the Rukongai or join the Gotei 13 on the strength of your other subjects' scores. Naturally, with your ability, Tsukishiro, I'm not worried about you. But don't underestimate the sixth-year students — almost every one of them has an awakened Zanpakutō, just waiting out the time until they can join the Gotei 13."

"I hear you, both of you. Still, I want to give it a try." Wayne continued refilling their cups. In truth, despite the real bond that had formed between them, Wayne had never revealed his true strength to the two men. Ikkaku was always going on about wanting to have a match with Wayne to test his level, but Wayne kept deflecting, citing a busy schedule and the fact that mornings were too short for a proper fight. Eventually Wayne promised that once he awakened his Zanpakutō and joined Seireitei, they could have a real bout, and that finally got Ikkaku off his back. So far, only Mizusue knew Wayne's actual combat strength, and even that was while Wayne hadn't gone all out. The techniques he had replicated, he hadn't used a single one.

"In fact, I've already obtained — through certain channels — a partial participant roster and their six-dimensional combat charts. I even know some of the Zanpakutō abilities involved. So it's just a challenge match. I don't think I'll lose."

"If it's only about challenging the top 64 among the second and third years, I'd say Tsukishiro has the ability to pull it off." Ikkaku took a long pull from his cup. "He did defeat a full member of the Gotei 13 in two moves, after all."

"Ah." Iba picked up a piece of food from his dish. "If you make the top 64 challenge bracket, there should be some rewards for that. I recall that the top-64 reward from last time was a Reishi Spring developed by the 12th Division — apparently it could allow someone who had burned through a large amount of Reiatsu to recover it instantly. The technology is limited, though. It only works on those below the seated officer level, since some of those talented students already have vast amounts of Reiatsu by the time they reach the seated officer tier. Still, as a reward given to students, it's quite fitting."

"That thing probably isn't useful for me anymore." Wayne took a small sip of his own drink. "With a full burst of Reiatsu, I should be able to hold my own against a seated officer."

"Kid, don't go underestimating seated officers." Ikkaku was clearly a little put off by Wayne's confident talk. "Anyone ranked in the top twenty seats is a genuine elite of the Thirteen Squads. And from the tenth seat on down, they don't even bother ranking themselves by combat power anymore. Take Yumichika — he doesn't like the number four, so he simply took the fifth seat instead. And Iba here holds the eighth seat, but his fighting strength is nothing compared to mine..."

"Ahem." Iba let out a well-timed cough, cutting Ikkaku off.

"I understand." Wayne's reply carried a double meaning, but he didn't elaborate. "In any case, the reason I'm bringing this up today isn't to get your advice or fill in the details. What I want to ask is whether the two of you would be willing to put a bet on me."

"Oh?"

"Hm?"

Iba and Ikkaku both spoke up with surprise at the same moment. Wayne then began explaining his actual purpose to the two of them. The reason he hadn't come to find them the moment he heard the news was that he feared his Reiatsu at the time hadn't been high enough to back up his confidence. Now that a month had passed and his Reiatsu had grown considerably, he felt ready to raise the question.

"Hmph. Looks like these brats have been running private betting pools all along." Iba was visibly indignant about the whole gambling arrangement, though there wasn't much he could do about it. After all, he was the 8th Seat of the 11th Division, his reach didn't extend that far. Perhaps that was partly why, later on, he would end up serving under Komamura.

And for now, if you can't beat them, you join them.

"I'm fine with it either way. But if you lose, Hinamori, you're buying drinks for the next two months." Ikkaku scratched his bald head and made a joke at Wayne's expense. He genuinely trusted this blind student in front of him. Eye condition aside, his combat power and current Reiatsu level were the real deal. With a full burst, never mind taking one second-year challenge match, he could even have a shot at going up against the fifth and sixth years.

"That's only fair." Wayne raised his cup. "Then as we just agreed: you two bet freely. If I lose, I cover drinks for the next two months. If I win, we split eighty-twenty, and the tournament reward goes to me."

"Deal!"

After reaching the agreement with the two of them, Wayne returned to the academy. Three days from now was the Ranking Tournament. Aside from the first-year students, all the upperclassmen were steadily preparing for the matches.

For these few days, Wayne and the other first-year students would have no classes. All the instructors were busy helping the school organize the Ranking Tournament. The first-year students were granted a rare stretch of free days.

Momo said her goodbyes to Wayne and headed home to check on Shiro-chan and Granny. Wayne, having told Momo he intended to enter the tournament, would not be going back. He asked her to bring back some food from Seireitei as a gift. He himself would use these days to prepare for the matches.

Shin'ō Academy's six years combined had close to twenty thousand students. Even if not everyone participated, each year had several thousand students. As a result, the tournament would begin by cutting each year's pool from 2,048 students. Wayne's target was simply to make the top 64, a simplified advancement path by any measure.

Yū Nakai, because Wayne wasn't leaving campus, couldn't leave either. Even though he knew by now that Wayne no longer needed him to move freely around Seireitei, he had a responsibility, and he intended to see it through to the end.

Wayne's so-called preparation amounted to sitting in the dorm room absorbing Reiatsu, or heading over to the 4th Division barracks to review student files with Mizusue. As for three meals a day, Nakai conscientiously packed up the food and brought it back to the dorm for Wayne every time.

Three days of quiet accumulation wasn't enough to produce a dramatic change, but it gave Wayne complete confidence. Having gone through the records of past Ranking Tournaments, he found that the number of students who could pose a real threat to him could be counted on one hand. And they were all sixth-year students on the verge of graduation. On this point, Wayne discussed with Mizusue that, if the betting odds weren't wildly different, he could skip placing bets on these few individuals. If the odds offered a return of several times over, Wayne might fight hard to win even against them.

Ranking high wasn't what mattered. Getting the reward he wanted, that was the whole point.

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➤ Next: The Tournament Begins