Kaien Shiba.
He was the lieutenant of the Thirteenth Division of the Gotei 13 and, based on how he was depicted in the original story, a fairly important character.
At this point in time, he was also the head of the Shiba Clan, one of the Five Great Noble Clans. He was such a powerful Soul Reaper that he had been singled out to succeed Jushiro Ukitake as captain of the Thirteenth Division.
And he would die before Ichigo, the protagonist of the original story, was even born.
His death would leave Rukia Kuchiki, who could be considered Bleach's secondary protagonist, with terrible trauma and guilt. It would ultimately become the trigger that led her to transfer her Soul Reaper powers to Ichigo, whose face resembled his.
That was right. This Soul Reaper would die within the next thirty years—after becoming one of Aizen's test subjects, no less.
And Aizen had introduced me to a Soul Reaper he might end up killing with his own hands.
Oh, please.
I desperately hoped there was no connection between those two things.
Aizen was currently playing the role of a good person, so perhaps he had merely introduced me to the person best suited to become my teacher.
"...And that's why I became your teacher."
While I furiously ran that optimistic line of reasoning through my head, Kaien finished introducing himself.
"So... in exchange for teaching me spearmanship, you want me to join the Thirteenth Division after I graduate from Shin'o Academy. Is that what you're saying?"
"I'm not forcing you. It's just..."
Kaien scratched the back of his head for a moment before continuing.
"The Thirteenth Division is short-staffed right now. Captain Ukitake suffers from a chronic illness, so he's often confined to bed. We're desperate for every capable subordinate we can get."
"You're placing an awfully high value on a mere student."
"Well, the fact that you've already achieved Shikai practically guarantees you a seated officer position, doesn't it?"
Joining the Thirteenth Division...
"All right."
"Oh? That was fast."
Joining the Thirteenth Division had been my goal from the start.
It wasn't because of some grand ambition to save Kaien, who was destined to die in the original story.
It was simply because the Thirteenth Division's primary duty was managing spiritually significant areas in the World of the Living. If I was going to carry out missions as a Soul Reaper, I figured those would at least be somewhat enjoyable.
I had adapted fairly well to Soul Society, but even so, I still missed the World of the Living.
Moreover, Jushiro Ukitake, captain of the Thirteenth Division, was kind even to his ordinary soldiers. If I asked him for help with various things in order to grow stronger, he seemed likely to agree without hesitation.
Aside from the Thirteenth Division, the divisions I had considered joining to become stronger were the First and the Eleventh.
However, an appointment to the First Division was only possible after building up a certain amount of experience, while the Eleventh Division was out of the question because my Zanpakuto was a Kidō-type.
The problem with joining the Thirteenth Division was that I would inevitably become entangled with Aizen at least once, but...
No. This might actually be for the best.
The anxiety that had been building since yesterday had caused me to lose my composure for a moment upon meeting Kaien, but this situation wasn't necessarily that bad.
Metastacia, the Hollow that would attack the Thirteenth Division, had an annoying special ability, but it wasn't an exceptionally powerful Hollow in its own right.
So if I had already caught Aizen's eye, it might actually be easier to deal with an incident I knew about than to join another division and face an incident I knew nothing about.
"Well, now that we've finished talking, as for your training..."
Kaien paused to choose his words, then spoke with a bright smile.
"I can't pass down my spearmanship to you."
"...?"
"It's not because I'm too stingy to teach you. Here, I'll demonstrate it first, so watch closely."
Kaien drew his Zanpakuto from his waist.
[Rankle the Seas and Heavens, Nejibana]
With the release command, Kaien's Zanpakuto transformed into a three-pronged spear.
Even the shaft was made of metal, making the entire weapon gleam silver, while a blue tassel hung just beneath the spearhead.
He raised his spear, Nejibana, over his head and began spinning it rapidly around one wrist.
His stance was almost reminiscent of a dance.
"My spearmanship is based on centrifugal force. You could call centrifugal force one of the fundamentals of spearmanship, but...!"
Boom!
Before I knew it, the spearhead had thrust forward, unleashing an overwhelming torrent of water that easily shattered a nearby boulder.
It happened in a mere instant, and Kaien had already drawn the spear back and resumed spinning Nejibana in his original stance.
It was as if not a trace of force had been lost in the process of smashing the boulder.
"The centrifugal force you gain by mindlessly spinning a spear around usually vanishes entirely after a single thrust."
He released his Shikai, sheathed his Zanpakuto, and continued.
"The reason I can still use this as a practical combat technique is..."
"Nejibana. You're using the power of a flowing-water-type Zanpakuto, whose flow never ends."
"Exactly. I reduce the loss of force from transitioning between movements to nearly zero, then convert the recoil from each impact back into centrifugal force."
I had effectively interrupted him, but he didn't seem to mind.
"You figured that out after seeing it just once? I knew I had a good eye for talent."
"Please don't lay it on so thick..."
"Don't get the wrong idea. I was praising my own judgment."
Kaien folded his arms and shamelessly continued.
"Anyway, I didn't come here just to show off. I said I couldn't teach you my spearmanship, not that I had nothing to teach you."
"Teaching my subordinates is my specialty, you know," he muttered as he held out a wooden staff he had prepared.
"Take it. What I'll teach you are the fundamentals of spearmanship and how to use them to create techniques of your own."
Come to think of it, Rukia's techniques had also been created together with Kaien.
"Prepare yourself. Just because I'm teaching a prospective subordinate doesn't mean I'll go easy on you. My lessons will be hell."
"...Please don't use such intimidating words."
Honestly, that was terrifying.
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