Bleach: Soi-Fon's Challenge Begins with Ultra Instinct

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Dong, dong, dong—the knock on the door echoed with deliberate calm, a sound that pulled Yamamoto from his quiet musings.

Without a hint of surprise, he replied in a steady tone, "Enter."

The door creaked open, and a young man stepped into the room. The moment Yamamoto laid eyes on the visitor, a faint lift of his brow and a rare, genuine smile betrayed his recognition.

"So soon?" His voice carried warmth, and within his stern gaze rested an unmistakable fondness for the one who stood before him.

Su Li offered a wry smile and shook his head, a gesture of reluctant amusement. "Teacher, your senses are sharp as ever. Seems I can't keep anything hidden from you."

Yamamoto chuckled, and a rare flicker of pride appeared on his otherwise stoic face. He relished these moments when his student, so composed in battle, looked slightly cornered by his own legacy. However, the smile soon faded, giving way to a quieter look, one tinged with complex emotion.

"Ali, don't blame this old man for being ahead of the rumors. What you've accomplished would've reached my ears sooner or later. I just happen to have learned of it a little earlier than most."

He allowed the weight of his words to settle before continuing with deliberate clarity. "The White Killing Technique—a completely new evolution of Hakuda, already adopted across the entire Secret Mobile Unit…"

A faint smile curled his lips. "You're truly something, Ali."

Yamamoto's gaze sharpened with sudden intensity as he posed the obvious question that weighed beneath the admiration. "Do you realize the kind of shock this will send rippling across the Seireitei?"

Unfazed by the gravity in his teacher's voice, Su Li let out a low laugh. "Teacher, you're clearly delighted, yet you're pretending to be grave? I understand now why Senior Kyōraku joked that you're becoming more like a mischievous old street urchin."

With that, his eyes lit up with boyish charm, prompting Yamamoto to burst into genuine laughter.

"You brat. That level of nonsense fits Shunsui's mouth perfectly."

But the levity soon ebbed, and the Head-Captain's gaze sobered once more.

"Ali, tell me plainly—did you develop this White Killing Technique on your own?"

Su Li shook his head, offering an honest response. "No. It's an evolved form that took shape during my White Hits training last night. The technique still relies on Hakuda's original foundation, but I've restructured it to be far more streamlined, efficient, and deadly."

At this, Yamamoto exchanged a startled look with Sasakibe. The implications were staggering—one night of contemplation had given birth to a technique potent enough to reshape an entire combat doctrine?

Yamamoto's expression became increasingly conflicted, caught between disbelief and awe. "Ali… sometimes, I'm tempted to split your skull open just to see how much raw genius you've crammed in there."

He shook his head slowly, his voice full of reluctant admiration.

Su Li responded only with a quiet smile. He had grown accustomed to such reactions. Talent, after all, came with its share of burdens, and praise was merely another weight to carry.

Yamamoto's stern demeanor softened as he looked at Su Li again, his eyes no longer critical but full of genuine affection. The boy's intellect was dangerous, yes—but his heart remained in the right place. And that was what made him precious.

The longer Yamamoto observed him, the more deeply satisfied he felt.

"You've rendered a great service to Soul Society," he said at last. "So tell me, what reward do you desire?"

Caught off-guard, Su Li blinked, his expression unreadable. "Teacher, are you truly so confident in the White Killing Technique? Do you really believe it'll be of such value to Seireitei?"

Yamamoto offered a steady nod. "I don't need to see it in action to know you wouldn't introduce anything half-baked. Your instincts don't lie, and if you deemed it worth pursuing, then I already know it's going to change things."

The old man's belief in his student was absolute, immovable, and without conditions.

Su Li exhaled slowly, murmuring with almost embarrassed gratitude, "…You really do spoil me."

And yet, beneath his surprise, he recognized the rationale behind Yamamoto's faith. The technique's quality alone would bring glory not just to him but to his teacher as well. And if Su Li could exert control over Xing Jun's training core, that meant Yamamoto would indirectly diminish the Shihouin family's lingering influence.

In this dance of power, both stood to gain, and neither was naïve.

Clever old fox, Su Li mused with mild amusement. Still, a beneficial outcome for both sides deserved no resistance.

With that thought, his eyes gleamed mischievously. "Teacher, didn't you just promise me a reward?"

"I did," Yamamoto said without missing a beat. "What is it you want?"

Su Li's answer came in a composed, measured voice. "I want the Yuanzi School."

The temperature in the room dropped sharply. Both Yamamoto and Sasakibe's expressions underwent an immediate transformation.

"Have you lost your mind?!"

Sasakibe's voice cracked as he leapt to his feet, face stricken with alarm.

Yamamoto raised a hand, signaling for calm. "Let him speak."

"I want to use the Yuanzi School as a secluded training ground," Su Li explained with crisp clarity.

That phrase—"secluded training"—caught both men off guard. Few understood Su Li's ceaseless hunger for strength like these two did, and after a heartbeat of stunned silence, understanding began to dawn.

"How long are you planning to stay in retreat?" Yamamoto asked.

Su Li offered a faint smile, enigmatic as ever. "Until the time is right."

Yamamoto's eye twitched in irritation. "Give me a real number."

Without a word, Su Li raised four fingers.

"Four months? That's manageable. The Yuanzi School has long been dormant—"

"Forty years."

The words struck like a bolt of lightning.

Both Yamamoto and Sasakibe stood frozen, utterly shaken.

"…Forty years of closed-door training? What kind of training requires four decades?!"

Their disbelief hung in the air, but Su Li remained silent, refusing to elaborate. There was no way he could explain that forty years from now, Aizen would rebel and reshape the entire order, and this fleeting peace would vanish entirely.

Instead, he simply smiled with a calm that revealed nothing.

"Sorry, teacher. I can't say."

Yamamoto's eyes narrowed in suspicion, his brow furrowing in thought. Yet after a moment, he let out a deep breath. Every man carried his secrets, and Su Li, brilliant as he was, had his reasons.

So long as the end goal was the strengthening of Soul Society's future, Yamamoto saw no cause to obstruct him.

"…Very well."

The temperature in the room cooled further as Yamamoto's tone dropped a degree.

"I'll leave the preparations to Sasakibe. But tell me—who will oversee the Second Division in your absence?"

Su Li responded without hesitation. "Let Sui-Feng take over. She's more suited to it than I am anyway."

Yamamoto nodded with approval. "Good choice. When do you plan to begin?"

"The sooner the better," Su Li said flatly.

"Then it's settled."

The weight of the decision loomed, but Yamamoto remained composed. In the grand lifespan of a Shinigami, forty years was but a blink, and both he and Sasakibe found themselves accepting the decision with surprising ease.

Still, Yamamoto's sharp eyes gleamed once more as he leaned forward ever so slightly.

"But before you vanish behind those gates, I have one small request."

Su Li tilted his head, curious. "A mission?"

Yamamoto's grin widened with subtle amusement. "Yes. I need you to visit the World of the Living."

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