"Oh, right, Toshiro, I almost forgot the main thing. These are some documents that need immediate handling. Look..." Sojiro placed the documents he had been carrying since entering on the table in front of Toshiro, then said somewhat hesitantly.
Originally, Sojiro intended to give these documents to Isshin and Rangiku. But upon entering the Captain's office, he found neither the Captain nor the Lieutenant there. Instead, Toshiro was sitting there.
Having graduated from the Shin'o Academy and joined the 10th Division for a year now, Sojiro already knew how lazy the Captain and Lieutenant were. Previously, the 10th Division's affairs were handled by Toshiro.
Now, with the Captain and Lieutenant nowhere in sight, these documents likely had to be given to the newly returned Toshiro.
Toshiro rubbed his temples, then frowned. "Put them there for now. I'm a bit hungry. I'll handle them after eating something."
Hearing Toshiro was hungry, Sojiro immediately said enthusiastically, "Toshiro, wait a moment then. I'll get you something to eat."
Then Sojiro went out to get food for Toshiro.
After Sojiro left, Toshiro murmured to himself, "Kusaka Sojiro... I never expected to meet him again. Fate is truly ineffable."
This lifetime, Toshiro originally didn't plan to have much interaction with Sojiro. Unexpectedly, they kept meeting.
Two years ago, when Sojiro was attacked by a Hollow on his way to the Shin'o Academy, Toshiro saved him. Originally, Toshiro didn't plan to stay in contact, but Sojiro joined the 10th Division specifically to repay the favor.
"Well, go with the flow. At least for now, we won't become enemies like in the original work..."
Afterwards, after eating something, Toshiro continued handling the backlog of division work. In the evening, Rangiku and Ashido finally returned. So, as agreed, Toshiro took Ashido to attend the gathering hosted by Kyoraku and Ukitake for them.
Since Toshiro resigned as commander of the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force and returned to the Soul Society, everything developed steadily. Aside from Kaien's sacrifice and Sojiro joining the 10th Division surprising Toshiro, nothing else happened. Everything progressed smoothly.
Thus, in the following period, after finishing the backlog of 10th Division's work, Toshiro began a new round of training.
In Hueco Mundo, after breaking through to beyond Captain-level, killing a Vasto Lorde, and defeating Baraggan, Toshiro inevitably felt somewhat proud and complacent.
But the subsequent battle with Aizen sobered him up. He realized that although he was strong, compared to truly top-tier existences like Yamamoto and Aizen, he still had a long way to go.
To avoid being as pitiful as the original version of himself, he had to keep training hard.
10th Division's Training Ground.
Clang!
Toshiro drew Hyorinmaru from his back and began practicing swordsmanship.
Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hoho, Kido… the four major Shinigami skills.
Among the four, none was absolutely superior, but Zanjutsu was the most frequently used.
Since basically all Shinigami fought with Zanpakuto, Zanjutsu became the most commonly used of the four major skills.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Sword lights flickered sharply.
Simultaneously, a desolate, cold aura spread.
Although Toshiro didn't use Hyorinmaru's abilities, the surrounding environment made one involuntarily feel cold.
Toshiro was now at the 9th Dan of Zanjutsu, having long comprehended his own path. But he still had a way to go before reaching the highest level, the 10th Dan.
Currently, in the entire Soul Society, only two people were known to have reached the highest 10th Dan in Zanjutsu. One was Yamamoto, the other was Unohana.
Unohana Retsu, originally Unohana Yachiru, was an unprecedented villain in Soul Society's history. She claimed to have mastered all sword styles and schools, hence naming herself [Yachiru]. (T/N: Eight Thousand Styles)
Later, she was subdued by Yamamoto and became the Captain of the 11th Division in the first generation of the Gotei 13, the first Kenpachi.
Although her overall strength was inferior to Yamamoto's, purely in swordsmanship, even though both were at the highest 10th Dan, Unohana might be slightly stronger than Yamamoto.
Besides these two, there might be another person who had reached the 10th Dan in swordsmanship.
That person was Aizen. Toshiro had briefly fought Aizen in Hueco Mundo.
To avoid exposing his identity, Aizen didn't use any special abilities, only some simple sword techniques and Reiatsu pressure to completely suppress Toshiro.
During the fight, Aizen's simple moves possessed the power to transform the ordinary into the miraculous, no less sophisticated than Toshiro's full-force swordplay.
If Aizen wasn't using his full swordsmanship prowess then, it meant Aizen might also have reached the highest level in swordsmanship.
After practicing swordsmanship for an hour, Toshiro started practicing Kido.
"Seeping crest of turbidity. Arrogant vessel of lunacy. Boil forth and deny. Grow numb and flicker. Disrupt sleep. Crawling queen of iron. Eternally self-destructing doll of mud. Unite. Repulse. Fill with soil and know your own powerlessness! Hado #90, Kurohitsugi!"
As Toshiro finished chanting, a purple-black sphere of reiatsu suddenly appeared in his palm, then transformed into a massive black cube resembling a coffin, enveloping the space before Toshiro.
"Only this much power?" Toshiro said somewhat dissatisfied.
Although successfully performed, its power was only one-third of the normal level.
Although Aizen's Kurohitsugi in the original work was also only one-third powerful at first, that was after omitting the incantation.
Now Toshiro strictly followed the incantation step by step, yet the result was still only one-third of normal power.
"It seems Kido above the 90th is indeed hard to master," Toshiro sighed.
Due to transmigration, Toshiro's soul and mental power were extremely strong, and he could control and guide Reiatsu with ease. This made Toshiro's progress in learning Kido extremely rapid.
At Lieutenant-level, after simple study, Toshiro fully mastered all Kido below the 90th. As for Kido above the 90th level, Lieutenant-level Reiatsu couldn't perform them.
But after breaking through to Captain-level, Toshiro focused on Reiatsu training and didn't work on Kido. So the Kido Toshiro currently mastered was the same as when he was Lieutenant-level… all below the 90th.
Originally thinking even Kido above the 90th wouldn't be difficult given his talent, Toshiro now realized, after starting practice, that Kido above the 90th were indeed powerful techniques that could seriously threaten Captain-level opponents. Even with his talent, fully mastering them wasn't easy.