"Naturally." Ganryū adjusted his glasses, his gaze sharp. "Makoto-kun's Shunpo and Zanjutsu have likely reached a unique level of mastery."
"Taking that final step shouldn't be difficult now."
His tone was calm, but inwardly, Ganryū was reeling.
To master both Zanjutsu and Shunpo to such a degree at such a young age... No wonder the Captain-Commander holds him in such high regard.
Even Unohana's... excessive training methods were allowed.
For an ordinary Shinigami—even a so-called "genius"—it would take at least a century or two to reach this point.
Maybe longer.
And Makoto-kun...
Ganryū didn't dwell on it.
Compared to natural geniuses with immense Reiatsu, a soul that could improve at such a breakneck pace was the real "monster."
Fujimiya blinked, then asked hesitantly:
"Captain Ganryū, if I master all four combat arts before reaching third-class Reiatsu, what would happen?"
Instantly, Ganryū's eyes gleamed with intense interest. He narrowed his eyes, speaking cautiously:
"Your combat power would likely skyrocket to match upper-third-class—maybe even second-class Reiatsu."
"After all, this would represent true, all-around growth of the soul itself."
"However..."
"Your other two skills..."
Ganryū trailed off, probing.
Fujimiya responded with a mysterious smile.
Immediately, the principal lost all desire to ask further.
Too depressing.
"Alright!"
Kifune, completely uninterested in the technicalities, slapped Fujimiya on the back with her usual wild grin.
"Who cares about 'all-around' or not?!"
"Winning is all that matters!"
"Let's go!"
"I'll show you what I'm really capable of this time!"
Her smile was bright.
Kiyo's finally grown enough to make me take him a little seriously!
Time to show him the gap between him and a real veteran!
"Then I'll..."
Kamui instinctively moved to follow, her usual timid smile in place.
"Captain Kamui—"
Ganryū's sidelong glance and drawn-out tone stopped her cold.
"At your level, you're more than capable of operating solo, no?"
"Don't slack off during a military operation."
Kamui froze.
Behind her glasses, a dangerous red glint flashed in her eyes as she stared at the "principal."
Ganryū stood his ground, hand resting calmly on his sword hilt.
He simply watched her.
"Y-Yes~"
Seeing his unwavering stance, Kamui reverted to her lazy, meek demeanor with a sigh.
"Captain Ganryū is so strict~"
Though her tone was resigned, she ultimately headed in a different direction.
Ganryū watched her leave, muttering under his breath:
"What a troublesome bunch of youngsters."
"Who knows how long this old man can keep up..."
---
So... I'm already that close to "captain-level"?
Fujimiya's thoughts were a jumbled mess as he followed Kifune's Shunpo with steady steps.
The surreal feeling of being treated as an equal by these "veterans" was still hard to process.
The memory of that day—when he couldn't even scratch Unohana-sensei despite her holding back—felt like it had just happened.
That sense of powerlessness was seared into his bones.
But then again...
That was Unohana Yachiru.
Even now, he'd probably only last one strike against her.
His emotions were complicated.
But as he pondered, something suddenly felt off.
"Wait, wait!"
"Kifune!"
"Why is your route the same as my [Auto-Processing Device]'s?!"
"Huh?" Kifune turned, confused. "If we're together, the Menos we encounter will be the same!"
"That can't be right?!"
Fujimiya stopped dead, examining the displays on both their devices.
The red dots (target Menos) and green dots (allies) on their screens were identical.
But...
"How?" Fujimiya muttered.
He'd specifically planned to "cheat" by teaming up to avoid Senjumaru and Unohana-sensei's traps.
The moment the words left his mouth, a chibi version of Senjumaru's face popped up on the device's screen.
The miniature Senjumaru was oddly cute, smiling sweetly as she spoke in a gentle voice:
"Makoto-kun, no cheating~"
"If the [Auto-Processing Device] detects you and an ally moving in the same direction, it will sync your displays to your unique identifier."
"For everyone's sake, please work hard on your own, okay?"
With that, the chibi Senjumaru bowed and vanished, leaving only the faint sound of geta clacking behind.
Fujimiya looked up, meeting Kifune's single-eyed stare.
"We're screwed."
"Ha! You idiot actually tried to cheat using me?!"
"That's bad, right?!"
---
While Fujimiya was busy lamenting his foiled plans...
On the other side of the desert, a life-or-death chase was underway.
A figure darted through the sands like a fish through water, pursued by an even smaller silhouette closing the distance with terrifying speed.
Then, in an instant—
The humanoid Menos swung its arm, releasing a pale arc of light that split the distant dunes.
"Harribel."
"You can't escape."