"You actually took on this job willingly."
"I just find this kid's situation a bit interesting. But if his performance doesn't meet my requirements, I'll still toss him back to you."
"Oh dear, is it really okay to be so cold to the son of your beloved former lieutenant?"
"As you said, he's just a former lieutenant."
The two spoke in low voices. Kisuke pulled out his folding fan from somewhere again and used it to cover his mouth. Ichigo, standing far away, could not hear them, nor could he read their lips. Then again, Ichigo would not have that ability anyway.
He was only surprised about one thing. When did Ethan get behind Shopkeeper Urahara? He had not noticed it at all.
Just as he was guessing that this person might be very strong, Ichigo was surprised to see that the Zanpakuto in Kisuke's hand had turned back into the shape of a cane.
"What? Not fighting anymore?"
"No. Your training from now on will be handled by Mr. Ethan."
"Huh?"
Before Ichigo could understand the situation, Kisuke had already moved to the side and adopted a posture like he was watching a show.
"Uh, Mr. Ethan?"
"No need to doubt it. I will be in charge of your training from now on."
Looking at Ethan standing in front of him with his arms crossed, Ichigo felt a strange sensation of being completely seen through when the other's gaze swept over him. It felt as if any secret he had would be discovered with just that glance.
"Uh, what should I do next?"
Since someone else was now in charge of his training, did that mean the bizarre fight from before was over?
"Simple."
Ethan gestured to Tessai Tsukabishi, who was standing nearby. Tessai then walked over carrying a strange board.
It looked like a very ordinary flat board. The only special thing about it was the very sharp cone fixed on it.
After Tessai placed the board on the ground, Ethan beckoned to Ichigo, signaling him to come over.
"What is this?"
"A tool to help you train." Seeing Ichigo's puzzled expression, Ethan explained, "This is a board and sharp cone made from special materials. It can withstand powerful spiritual pressure impacts."
It actually had several other functions, but those could be explained later.
"Uh... what's it for?"
"What you need to do next is very simple."
Ichigo quietly waited for Ethan to continue. Fortunately, Ethan was completely different from Kisuke. He did not use exaggerated or flamboyant expressions to explain things, but calmly described what Ichigo was supposed to do.
"You just need to do a handstand on this sharp cone."
"A handstand?" Ichigo's head filled with question marks. "On this sharp cone?"
He did not quite understand what Ethan meant. Was the sharp cone meant to stop him from falling? But what was the point of this kind of training?
"It's not what you're thinking."
Ethan immediately realized Ichigo was thinking in the wrong direction. Helplessly, he demonstrated it himself. Ethan placed his left hand behind his back, touched the sharp tip of the cone with his right index finger, and slowly transitioned into a handstand.
His entire body weight rested on his right index finger, and the fingertip stood directly on the sharp cone. The sight was shocking. It was something a person should not be able to do.
"How... how did you do that?"
It was clearly something a human could not do, yet it was happening right in front of his eyes. Ethan had demonstrated it perfectly, so there was no reason to say it was impossible. Ichigo wanted to know how Ethan did it.
"Pay attention to his fingertip."
Kisuke kindly offered a hint. If Ichigo had to figure it out himself, who knew how much time would be wasted.
With the hint, Ichigo quickly discovered the key. Ethan had concentrated a strong amount of spiritual energy at his fingertip. It was this cushioning and stabilization of spirit particles that allowed Ethan to stand steadily on the sharp cone with a single finger.
Ichigo understood the key point. Ethan then stepped down from the cone and made a gesture inviting him to try.
"Me?"
He pointed at himself. Seeing Ethan nod, Ichigo still found the idea unbelievable. He still did not know how he was supposed to do it.
More importantly, he could not figure out the purpose of this training.
"Meaning?"
Ethan shook his head helplessly.
"If you don't do this, I'll beat you to death."
"Hahaha, you really like to jo..."
Before Ichigo could finish speaking, he suddenly saw flashes of blue light in front of his eyes. Then he felt as if he had been punched countless times across his body, and he was sent flying backward.
Bang.
Ichigo crashed onto the ground. It took him a while before he managed to stand up again.
"What are you doing?"
"You only have two choices." Ichigo saw Ethan already standing in front of him. "Either train according to the method I told you, or defeat me. No, you don't even have to defeat me. As long as you can injure me, even if it is just a scratch, you won't have to train according to my requirements."
Ichigo grinned and gripped Zangetsu, which he had been carrying on his back.
"I choose... to beat you down."
The heavy broadsword slashed directly toward Ethan. It was unclear whether Ichigo exceeded his usual level due to his emotional outburst. Although the slash did not use Getsuga Tensho, the spiritual power contained within Zangetsu erupted with dazzling light.
The fierce spiritual power created strong gusts of wind, as if reminding everyone how powerful the attack was. Even Ichigo, who had launched the attack, felt the strength of his own strike. If Ethan failed to evade it, he would surely be injured.
"This is impossible."
Ethan did not dodge. He simply raised his hand and caught Ichigo's slash with his bare palm. Even the immense spiritual power within the blade had no effect on him. The powerful force scattered in all directions. Ethan stood there like an unmoving mountain. Not even a strand of his hair moved.
"It is happening right before your eyes. Why are you unwilling to believe it?"
Ethan gently closed his raised hand, gripping Zangetsu's blade. The sharp weapon felt like a dull knife in his hand. It could not even scratch the skin of his palm.
"Do you want to continue?"
Ichigo snapped out of his shock. His first reaction was to pull the blade back and continue fighting.
Seeing this choice, Ethan treated it as his answer. He applied a bit more force to his hand, and a crisp sound came from the newly born Zangetsu.
Crack. Snap.
Clear cracks spread from the place where Ethan held the blade. Ichigo could not believe that his newly obtained Zanpakuto was being crushed by someone's hand.
"Do you want to continue?"
The same question. This time Ichigo did not pull the sword back forcefully, but his conflicted silence was still taken by Ethan as refusal.
Crackle. Pop.
Ethan squeezed slightly harder. The middle section of the newly born Zangetsu shattered into fragments. The sharp tip fell to the ground, while the remaining section stayed in Ichigo's hand as he stood there in a daze.
"Do you want to continue?"
The same question came again. This time Ichigo finally responded.
"N No... I won't."
The gap between them was too great. How could he fight? Ichigo suddenly felt powerless. Facing Ethan felt even more hopeless than facing Byakuya Kuchiki.
"Alright. Then as I said, let's begin training."
"..."
Ichigo glanced at the Zanpakuto in his hand. He did not know what to do with it. Not long ago he had been communicating with his Zanpakuto, and now it had been destroyed. The situation was truly strange. He could not even describe how he felt.
Since he did not know what to do, perhaps following Ethan's instructions would make him feel better.
Or rather, once the training began, he would not have time to dwell on those chaotic thoughts.
"Concentrate your attention on your fingertip... What? You don't know how? When you fight someone, what do you think about when you punch? Just treat that cone as the enemy you need to knock down."
With Ethan's guidance, Ichigo finally learned how to mobilize his spiritual power and concentrate it at a single point.
However, compared to the spiritual power at Ethan's fingertip, which was almost invisible, Ichigo's effort was far too exaggerated. His entire forearm was wrapped in dazzling spiritual energy. Anyone could see that a large amount of spiritual power was being wasted.
Ethan did not remind him. Instead, he sat cross-legged a short distance in front of Ichigo and quietly watched.
Being stared at like this made Ichigo feel extremely uncomfortable. It was as if his entire body were covered with nails. It felt like if he swayed even slightly, those nails would stab several holes into him.
However, he did not know what to say and could only continue the handstand honestly. He still did not know what this strange training was for, but as long as he completed the assigned training, it should be fine.
At least for now, the training did not seem that difficult.
Ichigo's thoughts could not escape the notice of the sharp-minded people around him. Kisuke immediately assumed a posture of watching a show.
"Oh dear, Ichigo is about to suffer."
This training looked simple, and at first it really was simple. However, after continuing for a while, it would turn into painful torture.
Wasting spiritual power the way Ichigo was doing, he would soon realize how terrifying this training truly was.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)