Omniverse: The Martial Artist

That evening, in the dormitory, Hao sat deep in thought.

He had listened to Aizen's analysis, and when he considered the upper limit of difficulty for this upcoming mission, he had to admit Aizen made a lot of sense.

If nothing unexpected happened, Old Man Yamamoto might really assign a captain to test him.

If he was expected to defeat a captain of equal spiritual pressure during the exam, it would be nearly impossible. And that would serve as a convenient reason to keep him in the Spiritual Arts Academy.

With a nice-sounding excuse, of course. "It's not that we didn't give him a chance — he just couldn't cut it."

The Captain-Commander meant well… if Hao were really someone who belonged to this world.

But in truth, Hao was a traveler sent here by the Terminal Space. If he failed this speedrun challenge, he wouldn't get to stay in the academy and continue studying—he'd be wiped out completely.

"Sōsuke, who do you think they'll send as my special examiner?"

Unable to think of a good answer himself, Hao decided to ask his smarter roommate.

This time, Aizen didn't brush him off. After a brief pause, he said, "Based on the current schedule, I think there are three captains who could be your examiner."

"Which three?" Hao asked, curious.

"First, the Captain of Squad Five. I know one of their seated officers—he told me recently that Squad Five hasn't had much to do. Their captain might be free to take on the role."

Aizen continued analyzing calmly. "He also mentioned that their captain is very strong, the battle-hardened type. If you face him, Hao-kun, it'll be troublesome."

The current Captain of Squad Five was someone Hao didn't recognize from the original timeline—Akimoto Noritaka. But the seated officer Aizen referred to, he did know. It was Shinji Hirako, who had visited the academy a while back.

Shinji was still just a seated officer for now. He wouldn't become captain until about a century later—and even then, he'd be betrayed by Aizen himself.

"And the others?" Hao pressed.

"Second possibility is Kenpachi Kuryashiki from Squad Eleven," Aizen said with a serious expression. "From my intel, he hasn't been too busy either. But Squad Eleven is full of bloodthirsty maniacs. They never hold back in combat. If he's the one evaluating you, Hao-kun… that's the worst-case scenario."

Everyone in Soul Society knew how fearsome Kenpachi Kuryashiki was.

Anyone who held the title of "Kenpachi" was a monster. There were rumors that he had once single-handedly slain a Vasto Lorde and was even scouted by the Zero Division.

"Sounds great, honestly," Hao said with a nod.

Aizen gave Hao a strange look. He'd nearly forgotten—his roommate was also one of those battle junkies. Maybe he'd actually get along well with the brutes in Squad Eleven.

After a moment's thought, Aizen went on. "There is a best-case scenario. Lately, the Gotei squads haven't had high casualty rates, so Squad Four isn't too busy. You can tell from how often Captain Unohana has been teaching classes. She's gentle by nature and leads a support division. Her combat ability probably isn't that high. If she's your examiner, things should be relatively easy for you."

Hao's expression turned odd. That's the "best-case scenario"? Really?

Sure, in a certain sense, Unohana was the kind of opponent he liked facing. But when it came to whether she would hold back or not—wasn't she the scariest of all!?

"Combat ability probably isn't that high," my ass.

Aside from the Captain-Commander himself, wasn't Unohana—the original Kenpachi—likely the strongest in the entire Gotei 13?

At this point in time, Kyōraku Shunsui wasn't yet as seasoned—whether he could even match Unohana was still uncertain.

Hao glanced at Aizen's serious expression. It was clear Aizen wasn't trying to mess with him—just that even someone like Aizen wasn't omniscient.

At the very least, Aizen, still a student right now, had no idea about Captain Unohana's dark history.

After thinking for a moment, Hao asked again, "Sōsuke, what kind of format do you think the exam will take?"

"Besides spiritual pressure, it'll most likely be an unrestricted battle," Aizen replied. "That's exactly why I tried to dissuade you from graduating early."

"If they plan to give you a full assessment, then the captain will be told to go all-out. And Hao-kun, your combat ability is so high, that's actually a problem."

Hao understood what Aizen meant—his strength in battle made it impossible for the captain to hold back.

Blades had no eyes. It was entirely possible he could die during the assessment.

Even if the Captain-Commander seemed to appreciate him, this was a path Hao had chosen himself. If he failed the test and died, he'd be nothing more than a brief footnote in the Academy's long history.

A dead genius had no value.

If he chose to take the special graduation exam, it was the same as signing a death waiver.

"If your spiritual pressure is at Level 16, captains can still use Shikai, right?" Hao asked, deep in thought.

Aizen nodded. "Of course. As for Bankai, you don't need to worry. Without at least Level 3 spiritual power, Bankai can't be activated."

At this point, Hao truly began to feel the nightmare-level difficulty of the situation. Based on Aizen's previous explanations—even if a captain suppressed their spiritual pressure—the passive buffs from their attributes wouldn't disappear.

Their speed and strength on the surface might not seem far from his, but they could still see through all of his movements and react accordingly.

In that kind of scenario, beating a seasoned captain was nearly impossible.

And if he ended up with Captain Unohana as his examiner? That would be a nightmare among nightmares.

Hao had always believed in his own martial instincts and combat talent—but to complete this mission, he needed something more.

Time was running out. If he wanted to make any real improvement, his only shot was to focus on his Zanpakutō.

And even though Aizen hadn't mentioned it directly, Hao knew—every genius who'd graduated early in Soul Society's history had one thing in common: they all achieved Shikai before leaving the Academy. That was probably a silent requirement.

"Sōsuke…"

With that in mind, Hao looked up at Aizen and made a firm decision. "Can you show me your Shikai?"

He'd made up his mind. No matter what Aizen became in the future, right now their relationship was solid, and there was no reason for Aizen to hurt him.

And even if Aizen did try to put him under Complete Hypnosis, the Terminal Space should be able to help him recover afterward.

But if he failed this mission, he'd be erased outright—he didn't have the luxury of worrying about Kyōka Suigetsu's tricks.

Right now, what he needed was to master his Shikai!

"Hao-kun, you finally remembered—you've got a hidden trump card."

Aizen smiled. "Don't worry. I'll find a way to teach you how to unlock Shikai within the next two days."

As he spoke, the Zanpakutō resting on his knee slid from its sheath. The flowing blade caught the moonlight through the window, gleaming with a soft and mesmerizing beauty.

"Shatter—Kyōka Suigetsu."

With Aizen's magnetic voice murmuring the release command, a mist formed over his blade. Water-like refracted light danced through it, luring the eyes—drawing the mind deeper and deeper into a trance.

°°°

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