After hearing Shihouin Yoruichi's explanation, Akira didn't intend to adopt her techniques wholesale—but he didn't mind listening. With the pride he held in his self-developed White Hits (白打), accepting formal instruction was out of the question. That same pride had led him to skip Shiba Kaien's White Hits classes entirely, proclaiming that his own martial path, honed through instinct and self-study, could match and eventually surpass any traditional doctrine.
But if it was an exchange, rather than a lecture—well, that was different. He had no qualms about sparring ideas. And if that exchange happened to leave Yoruichi slightly frustrated or emotionally off-balance, so much the better. A blow to her pride might make her just a little easier to pull into his orbit.
So Akira listened carefully as Yoruichi elaborated on the Si-Fēng (四楓) clan's secret martial arts—how their Shunpo wasn't merely fast movement but a discipline integrated with unique stances, kinetic redirection, and stealth-based body manipulation. Her breakdown of the clan's footwork was thorough, even esoteric, as if she were hollowing out the very foundation of the Si-Fēng legacy for him.
[Your White Hits has absorbed and adapted the insights from the Si-Fēng footwork. Despite finding it lacking in raw potential, it offers refinement. You've now reorganized and refined the original Shinigami Six Styles based on Reiatsu integration, creating a combat form that bridges spiritual and physical planes. Designation: Shinigami Six Styles – Version 1.0.]
[New Techniques: Fist Spear (拳槍), Razor (剃), Swift Axe (斧迅), Golden Body (金躯), Cloud Walk (云步), Mirage (幻身).]
As expected.
Akira wouldn't accept traditional tutelage, but reinterpretation and evolution were fair game. And after witnessing the prototype of his Shinigami Six Forms—already capable of defeating Yoruichi—it seemed she not only acknowledged his genius but contributed as well. On the spot, she suggested optimizations that led to a revised, more stable version: Shinigami Six Styles 1.0.
Unlike the original version, which functioned primarily through raw physical application or spirit body mechanics, this revision was integrated with Reiatsu flow and spiritual body resonance. The improvement wasn't marginal—Reiatsu amplification could boost each technique severalfold. It shifted the styles from purely martial forms into expressions of spiritual dominance.
After all, the Four Pillars of a Shinigami—Zanjutsu, Hakuda (White Hits), Hohō (Shunpo), and Kidō—were all built around Reiatsu as the anchor. Yoruichi's own White Hits and flash steps were powerful, but only because her Reiatsu was molded into each strike and movement.
"In terms of martial potential," Akira murmured to himself, "White Hits is undoubtedly the supreme form within Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hohō, and Kidō."
To create not just one, but two martial disciplines in a single day—each seamlessly blending Reiatsu, spirit-body mechanics, and kinetic leverage—was something no ordinary Shinigami could achieve.
For example: the original Geppō (Moon Step), which inspired the old version's air-walking technique, simply used air compression to create temporary footholds. It had physical limits. But the 1.0 revision—Cloud Walk—let Akira manipulate Reiatsu as semi-tangible matter, essentially "walking on clouds" of spiritual pressure, resisting wind, changing vector mid-step, and even ascending in controlled arcs.
Where Geppō was for jumping, Cloud Walk was for flight.
Fundamentally different.
"Akira," Yoruichi called, noticing his prolonged silence. "What's got you so thoughtful? Did something in the Si-Fēng style confuse you?"
"No," he said casually. "You said earlier the only flaw in the original Shinigami Six Forms was the lack of Reiatsu integration."
"Well… yes," she replied, narrowing her eyes.
"I thought about it—and revised the set again. Just created another version of Shinigami Six Styles. A bit more stable. More refined."
Yoruichi's eye twitched.
"Again?" she muttered.
The worst part was, she believed him.
Ever since meeting Akira, she'd witnessed him demolish conventional logic more times than she could count. And he wasn't lying. Not once. It wasn't arrogance—it was just reality for him.
Every time he said he created something, he had.
Yoruichi bit down on her lip and thought of Hirako Shinji. Her teeth ground a little tighter.
She had merely come to offer insight into White Hits and maybe flirt a little.
She ended up becoming a stepping stone to yet another of Akira's unreasonable upgrades.
"Are you okay?" Akira asked, noting the way her expression tensed into frustration and pity.
"Fine," Yoruichi exhaled. "I just realized… Shinji's an idiot."
"Shinji?"
"A warrior," she corrected dryly. "A brave, noble idiot who challenged you. It must've taken centuries of blocked circulation in his brain to make a decision that dumb."
Akira chuckled.
Shinji Hirako? He had already forgotten him.
He didn't bother remembering the ants he stepped on. He only considered whether their corpses served a purpose.
Time passed swiftly.
In the blink of an eye, a full month had passed since Akira had enrolled at the Spiritual Arts Academy.
Shiba Kaien, after witnessing his performance—and hearing from Yoruichi that Akira's White Hits rivaled his swordplay and spellwork—stopped calling him to class altogether. Instead, he personally approved more than 20 days of leave for independent study.
Clearly, Shiba understood: trying to force Akira to attend classes like an ordinary student would only slow him down. Geniuses like Akira—true once-in-a-millennium phenomena—didn't fit into standardized molds.
Whether it was Zanjutsu, Kidō, or Shunpo, after observing Akira's comprehension for a single session, Shiba allowed him to study on his own.
And now, exactly one month after enrolling, Akira submitted a request to graduate early.
The courtyard buzzed with stunned whispers.
Several prominent figures gathered—Shiba Kaien, vice-captains, instructors, even Captain Gotei 13's Kyouraku Shunsui, who'd heard rumors and came out of curiosity.
"Graduating after a single month?"
"That's unprecedented in the past 2000 years of the Academy's history!"
"The first class of the Spiritual Arts Academy has stricter graduation requirements than any other… it's unthinkable to graduate this quickly!"
"But didn't he supposedly defeat a seated officer in his first Zanjutsu class? Nailed him to the dojo wall?"
"Hah… if that's true, maybe he's earned it."
Shunsui chuckled behind his straw hat, half-lidded eyes gleaming.
"Well now," he murmured to Ukitake, who had appeared beside him, "we might be watching the rise of a monster."
Ukitake nodded silently. He had seen talent—but never like this.
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