"Boss, what is 'sword pressure'?"
"Hmm… I don't think I've seen that word in the textbook."
"Kenatsu (sword pressure) is a swordsmanship technique that goes beyond the teaching scope of the Shinō Spiritual Arts Academy, so you won't find it in textbooks, nor will teachers teach it." Facing the doubts of the four kids, Saito Arata patiently explained.
In the worldview of Shinigami, kenatsu is a very common combat skill, which in most cases manifests as sword energy being released outward.
If you want a simpler reference for comparison, that would be the Flying Slash from One Piece.
Unohana Retsu once defined Arata's 'Dark Flame Slash' as Kidō in the form of sword energy.
The reason kenatsu is not in the Academy's curriculum is because it requires a certain level of control over spiritons and sufficient total spiritual pressure, which is difficult to achieve for students of average level.
This type of skill is either picked up by a genius, or an ordinary Shinigami learns it only under the guidance of seniors after entering the Gotei 13.
Of course, there is also a special case, which is when the Zanpakutō itself possesses this property.
For example, Kurosaki Ichigo's Zangetsu has a numerical skill called Getsuga Tenshō.
Another example is Kyoraku Shunsui's Katen Kyōkotsu; after Shikai, the technique "Bushōgoma" is like a whirling blade.
Actually, there's no big difference between them. In essence, both are attacks in which spiritual pressure and power are gathered into the Zanpakutō and then released outward through a swing.
The only difference may be in the intensity of the injected spiritual pressure.
Arata first began teaching the four kids how to control spiritons, asking them to rely on the training method from Kidō: to slowly concentrate spiritual pressure in the body and then transfer it into the training wooden swords.
The batch of wooden swords he had bought was of excellent quality, and Renji and the others' spiritual pressure wasn't too high for now, so there was no risk that the swords would be damaged due to the infusion of spiritual pressure.
Arata first briefly introduced the theoretical techniques: "The first stage is concentration. Gather the spiritual pressure in your body into your palm and don't let it escape."
The overall talent of these four was the best in this generation of students, especially Kira Izuru and Hinamori Momo. Their Kidō talent far surpassed their peers.
In less than five minutes, under Arata's guidance, they completed the concentration of spiritual pressure. At that moment, the blue spiritual pressure was gathered into their palms, calm and stable.
"Senior Arata, I'm done!"
"Me too!"
"Good, well done."
Arata was not surprised. Kidō classes at the Academy had already been ongoing for some time, so it was normal for them to have mastered this skill.
Next was Rukia; her Kidō talent was slightly weaker than the previous two, but still very good, so she needed only seven minutes.
The worst was Abarai Renji.
Even with Arata's repeated instructions and hand‑to‑hand teaching, it took him twenty minutes to complete the first stage of training.
"Renji, your talent for Kidō isn't very ideal." Arata sighed. Although he already knew that, he couldn't help commenting after experiencing it firsthand.
"Uh… sorry, boss, I really tried my best to control my spiritual pressure." Renji lowered his head in shame. He himself knew that Kidō wasn't his strong point, especially spiriton control.
Renji often skipped Kidō classes. It wasn't that he didn't want to listen, but he didn't understand; and even when he did, he couldn't execute it. Over time, he lost confidence in Kidō.
"I'm not blaming you, I just think you can do better. I believe in you, and you should believe in yourself too. Come on!" Arata patted Renji on the shoulder, signaling him to keep trying.
"Alright, boss, I won't disappoint you!" With Arata's encouragement, Renji, who had been depressed moments before, instantly regained his motivation.
Arata was speechless for a moment, then laughed. This was the power of an idol.
To improve their proficiency in the technique, Arata continued guiding them through repeated training: constantly gathering spiritual pressure, then dispersing it just the same.
Although kenatsu is a relatively simple technique, it took them a lot of time to learn it from scratch and completely master it.
When two weeks had passed, Renji and his companions finally managed to attach spiritual pressure to the wooden sword and successfully release it with a swing.
[Abarai Renji's fate has significantly changed thanks to your actions, you gain 145 destiny points.]
[Kuchiki Rukia's fate has significantly changed thanks to your actions, you gain 155 destiny points.]
[Kira Izuru's fate has significantly changed thanks to your actions, you gain 124 destiny points.]
[Hinamori Momo's fate has significantly changed thanks to your actions, you gain 120 destiny points.]
Two weeks later, after Arata announced that the four had officially completed kenatsu training and saw them off, the system, which had been silent for a long time, finally released that familiar, pleasant notification sound again.
The series of destiny points earned made Arata feel incredibly fulfilled.
He had gotten rich!
He took the opportunity to open the system and saw that the destiny value on the panel had reached a very beautiful number.
[Destiny Value: 1328/1828]
The first is Arata's current destiny value, and the second is the total accumulated.
As for the missing 500 points, they were spent in the system shop in exchange for [Zanpakutō Shikai].
Speaking of Zanpakutō, Arata had been intermittently trying to communicate with Meigetsu during this period.
But strangely, no matter how much he meditated, entered a state of concentration, or even fasted, bathed, burned incense, or changed clothes, he could not enter a Jinzen state.
Failing to enter Jinzen meant that the mind could not synchronize with the Zanpakutō, making communication with the Zanpakutō impossible.
Although Arata had found no evidence, his intuition told him that his Zanpakutō Meigetsu might be angry.
Arata was very dissatisfied. He hadn't done anything to Meigetsu, yet communication was being one‑sidedly denied.
It felt just like in his previous life when he dated a girl.
Exactly, like receiving the "silent treatment."
What to do? Arata was a bit worried.
Was there any way to forcibly establish communication with his Zanpakutō?
Arata furrowed his brows.
Suddenly, an idea flashed.
Changing God Body!
Yes, that's it.
The humanoid device invented by Urahara Kisuke, former captain of the 12th Division and director of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, which can forcibly draw out the true form of a Zanpakutō and materialize it, helping the user subdue their Zanpakutō.
According to Shihōin Yoruichi, Urahara Kisuke originally developed this thing to quickly master Bankai.
And the result was as expected: with the help of the Tenshintai, Urahara Kisuke mastered Bankai within three days, something ordinary Shinigami cannot achieve even in decades or centuries.
Arata wasn't yet at the level to master Bankai. He only wanted to communicate with his Zanpakutō and ask why it was mad at him.
But then he remembered that Urahara Kisuke had been exiled from Soul Society decades ago as a criminal and should have already opened his shop in the human world.
And what legitimate reason did he have to go to the human world to find him?
Just as Arata was at a loss, the system panel before him caught his attention, and he suddenly snapped back.
Right, I have the system, I can simply look it up in the shop!
Arata immediately opened the system shop and found what he wanted.
[B‑Rank Item: Tenshintai (single use)]
[Effect: By injecting spiritual pressure into the Tenshintai, the true form of a Zanpakutō can be forcibly drawn out and materialized, helping the user communicate with the Zanpakutō. If the true form is defeated, the user can master Bankai. Automatically destroyed after one use.]
[Note: Can be gifted, cannot be upgraded]
[Exchange Requirement: 998 destiny points]
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