As an instructor, he naturally disliked students sleeping in his class.
But this problem girl's talent in Hakuda was nothing short of monstrous—there was honestly nothing left for him to teach her.
He already knew that during the morning's swordsmanship class, Kurosaki Rei had defeated Instructor Fujimoto. What he didn't know was how strong Kurosaki Rei's Hakuda was.
It wasn't that he looked down on the new student or disliked him—it was simply that, in his heart, he had to admit this much:
The child of the Shihōin clan surpassed him in Hakuda.
"Oh? A transfer student, huh…"
Yoruichi turned toward Kurosaki Rei under everyone's gaze, wiped away the trace of drool from her nap, and flashed a mischievous, devilish grin. Several nearby students instinctively backed away.
All first-year students knew this noble young lady was a walking disaster—a true little demon. There was nothing she dared not do. And in Hakuda class, everyone present, including Aizen, had been beaten up by her before.
"Rei-kun, she's from the Shihōin clan. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call her the strongest in Hakuda among the students. Be careful."
Aizen reminded him, though the faint smile at the corner of his mouth betrayed his interest.
Yes—he too had been beaten by Yoruichi. And he had to admit that, without relying on overwhelming spiritual pressure, relying purely on Hakuda, even going all out, he was still no match for her right now.
So, Rei-kun… will you surprise me even more?
"The strongest?"
As Kurosaki Rei met Yoruichi's gaze, he tilted his head slightly and bared a row of white teeth.
"Then Hakuda… I can understand it as unrestricted hand-to-hand combat without weapons, right?"
"That's not an incorrect understanding,"
the instructor replied.
Yoruichi, seeing Kurosaki Rei show no fear at all, found it interesting and stepped closer.
"So? Are you good with fists and feet?"
It was as if sparks collided in the air. The students who had been standing between Yoruichi and Kurosaki Rei quickly scattered to either side, many of them wearing excited, spectator-like expressions.
Kurosaki Rei rolled his shoulders. His bones crackled loudly.
"Calling myself 'good' would be an overstatement. I'd say I know a thing or two."
He had, of course, trained in unarmed combat. In fact, his master's collection of ancient texts included nearly every fighting technique imaginable.
It was just that, in his original world, too much of martial arts history had been lost. From a broader historical perspective, considering all the buried techniques of his world, "knowing a thing or two" was actually an accurate assessment.
"Haha, you're interesting," Yoruichi laughed. "Just from your stance and posture, I can tell you're a Hakuda expert—yet you call it 'knowing a thing or two'?"
Her eyes narrowed as she smiled.
"You're being so modest… it's making this big sister want to bully you a little."
"You look younger than me," Kurosaki Rei replied with a grin.
That was the truth. Both Yoruichi and Aizen were born in the Soul Society and had grown naturally here. Aizen already looked like a young adult, while Yoruichi looked more like a sixteen-year-old girl.
Even with her… impressive chest, calling herself "big sister" still felt strange. Perhaps this academy's little demon naturally had the heart of a mature one.
"Hmph. I'll beat you until you call me 'sis.'"
Yoruichi snorted coldly and rotated her wrists.
Unlike ordinary students, she wasn't wearing the loose dōgi. Instead, she wore a tailored white bodysuit matching the academy's color scheme, with cloth bindings wrapped around her wrists—clean, sharp, and efficient.
A belt cinched her slim waist. The tight clothing revealed her healthy abdominal lines when she moved. She made no attempt to hide her physique, proudly displaying the explosive power of her spirit body.
"Student Shihōin," the instructor reminded, "remember to control your spiritual might. Keep it at the same level as Rei—seventeen."
He wasn't worried about fairness.
He was worried Yoruichi might accidentally beat Kurosaki Rei to death.
"Oh? Seventeen levels. Not bad."
Yoruichi commented, sounding like she was praising him—but the tone was… subtle.
As the Shihōin clan's heir, she had enjoyed the best resources since childhood. When she enrolled, she already had nine levels of spiritual might—and that was only because she disliked spiritual pressure training, preferring Hakuda instead.
Seventeen levels at enrollment wasn't particularly impressive to her. What interested her was Kurosaki Rei's Hakuda.
She finished regulating her spiritual might and crooked her finger at him.
"Come on."
Kurosaki Rei didn't get angry at the provocation. He simply clasped his fists in salute.
"Please instruct me."
Under the strange gazes of Yoruichi and the other students, Kurosaki Rei moved—
Like thunder.
The distance of several meters vanished beneath his feet. A straight punch shot toward Yoruichi's face—fast, ruthless, precise.
In an instant, Yoruichi abandoned all contempt. She snapped her arms up to guard her face.
As the punch landed, she used the force to retreat—but Kurosaki Rei followed like a wolf clamped onto its prey's throat. His second punch drove toward her abdomen.
Worthy of being the Shihōin clan's once-in-a-millennium Hakuda prodigy, Yoruichi made an instant judgment. Using her incredible flexibility, she arched her upper body backward at extreme speed, letting Kurosaki Rei's punch scrape past her bodysuit without doing damage.
Then, bracing herself on one hand, she whipped a leg out in a sweeping kick, aiming to exploit the momentary instability after his forward assault.
But Kurosaki Rei had already predicted it.
He jumped in advance.
What shocked Yoruichi even more was that he didn't jump high—just barely enough to clear her sweeping leg. As they passed each other, his right foot, already raised during the jump, came crashing down in a brutal axe kick—
Straight at her groin.
Yoruichi rolled away in embarrassment and alarm, narrowly avoiding it. She tried to counterattack, but she had already been suppressed from the opening exchange.
Kurosaki Rei gave her no chance to get up.
The surrounding students were completely stunned. In the blink of an eye, Kurosaki Rei and Yoruichi had already exchanged countless blows—
And the Hakuda goddess they believed to be invincible was being ground into the floor by this transfer student.
Kurosaki Rei didn't think attacking the lower body was wrong in combat.
Martial arts were killing techniques. Showing mercy to an opponent was cruelty to oneself.
Even though this was only a spar, facing a master like Yoruichi, he had no intention of holding back. Besides, Fujimoto's example was right there—once things reached the point where he could truly injure Yoruichi, she wouldn't be able to keep suppressing her spiritual might anyway.
He couldn't actually break her defense.
Yoruichi was the heir of one of the Five Great Noble Houses. Her true spiritual might was likely well above Level 10. Put simply—even without actively using spiritual pressure, her soul density alone far surpassed his.
Converted into attribute points, Yoruichi's physical body was far tougher than his. If he didn't attack her vital points, how could he possibly win?
Yes—Kurosaki Rei loved fighting.
But he hated losing.
Even if her true overall strength far exceeded his, in the domain of martial arts, he refused to be defeated.
Boom—!
Another crushing axe kick came down, his right leg falling like a battle-axe between Yoruichi's legs.
To her credit, Yoruichi truly lived up to her reputation. Despite falling into disadvantage early, she avoided every single one of Kurosaki Rei's "lethal" attacks.
But she also understood the principle: defense alone leads to defeat—especially against a Hakuda expert like Kurosaki Rei. If she couldn't find a turning point, it was only a matter of time before she'd be struck in a vital spot and lose.
Intense movement coated her forehead in fine beads of sweat. Her mind raced, searching for a way out.
For the first time in a long while, the Shihōin clan's Hakuda prodigy became truly serious.
Time itself seemed to slow in Yoruichi's eyes.
Finally—
She caught a sliver of opportunity.
The moment Kurosaki Rei's kick missed, she explosively twisted her waist, and her long legs shot out like water serpents, coiling upward—
—wrapping around him.