Bleach: Getting Stronger Starting from Teaching at the Spiritual Arts Academy

"Shikatori-kun?"

July suddenly opened her eyes and saw Unohana's gentle smile.

Gentle my foot!

It almost turned into March 5th!

He was blinded by greed and actually agreed to spar with Unohana.

However, he remembered that before losing consciousness, he used the advanced level of "Shunpo Iai".

For some reason, Unohana did not choose to block the sword, but instead launched a counterattack in an instant.

Unohana's counterattack nearly cut him in two.

In July, she quickly checked her body, fearing that something might be missing.

His shirt had been ripped off, and his abdomen was wrapped in several bandages.

The abdominal injury was likely treated by Unohana and is not serious.

"Don't worry, I've almost healed your injuries, and there won't be any lasting problems," Unohana said gently.

"Thank you, Captain Unohana." July breathed a sigh of relief, no longer worried about turning into 3.5 months.

It was only then that July realized that this was not the Fourth Division's medical room, but a bedroom.

"This isn't the medical room, is it?" July asked curiously.

The bedroom was simply decorated, with a painting hanging on the wall and some seasonal flowers in a vase by the window, their fragrance making the room smell pleasant.

This floral scent seems familiar...

No, the bed he's sitting on is so far from the window, how could he possibly smell the flowers?

July took a deep breath, recalling that she seemed to have smelled this scent before she lost consciousness—the scent she smelled on Unohana during their close combat.

“The medical room is a bit far from the yard, and I don’t think Shikato-kun can hold on until then.” Unohana said with a smile what chilled Nanatsu to the bone. “My bedroom is right next to the yard, so I brought you here for treatment.”

July realized that the smell he was smelling was from the bed and pillows.

That means he's now lying in Sister Hua's bed!

"Ah... So this is Captain Unohana's room?" July was slightly embarrassed, not expecting to be lying on Unohana's bed.

No wonder it smells so good!

"Why is Shikatori-kun's body so tense? Relax a little, or it will affect your injury. Don't worry, I've already got a pretty good grasp of your swordsmanship."

Unohana paused, then continued, "However, it's truly remarkable that someone with such poor Shunpo skills could master 'Shunpo Iai' so well. If your Shunpo skills could also improve, that sword strike could probably seriously injure me."

The premise Unohana mentioned is that it will only happen when she suppresses her spiritual pressure.

If she hadn't suppressed her spiritual pressure, July's sword probably wouldn't have even been able to pierce her skin; the difference in their spiritual pressure was simply too great.

"My Shunpo (flash step) has indeed deteriorated a lot; I've been focusing my energy on practicing Kendo," July said helplessly.

He also knew that his Shunpo skill level did not match his swordsmanship level, because the advanced level of "Shunpo Iaijutsu" was improved using skill scrolls.

However, the skill at the Grand Master level was indeed very effective, and it was even able to injure Unohana, who was suppressing her spiritual pressure.

In July, I took the opportunity to check out Unohana's stats.

【Unohana Retsu】

[Talent: S+]

[Spiritual Pressure: lv98]

Reputation Level: Friendly

[Status: Pleasant and cheerful]

Retsu Unohana's spiritual pressure is the most terrifying among all the Shinigami that Nanatsu has ever seen. There are probably very few people in the entire Soul Society whose spiritual pressure is higher than hers.

"Can I get up?" July asked.

He can't feel anything in his abdomen right now, so he doesn't know how well his injury has healed. He's a little afraid that if he gets up now, half of his body will fall off.

“You can walk now. My sword didn’t hit your spine, and your injury has basically healed. However, you need to rest for a few days. Don’t do any strenuous exercise during these days. I will prescribe some medicine for you, which will be kept separately from the medicine from Baiyunzhai. Remember to take it when you get back.” Mao Zhihua said, picking up a bag of medicine from the table.

I got up in July and tried it out, but I didn't find any problems.

July quickly put on his clothes, grabbed the medicine, and left. He didn't want to linger in front of Unohana; she might get into a mood and call out to him while waving her Zanpakuto.

Unohana watched Nanatsuki's hasty departure and whispered, "I'm getting more and more excited about your growth, Shikato-kun."

...

July stared at her screen, lost in thought.

He noticed that a faintly visible entry had appeared on his panel's properties panel at some point.

[Born Warrior (Activating): Glory belongs to the born warrior! Reduce the impact of injuries on your actions, and you will fight with ever-growing ferocity, until death do you part!]

This entry, "Born to Fight," is different from the entries "Cooking Master" and "Persuasive and Guiding."

The term "Born to Fight" appeared intermittently, and there was also an "Activating" message.

By focusing on the entry in July, I learned more information.

"Born to be a warrior" is a hidden trait he possesses.

It activates as he focuses on combat, increasing the number of times he is injured.

However, the entry that is currently in a semi-activated state still has some effects, making it easier for him to concentrate when he is injured.

I never expected that sparring with Unohana would yield such an unexpected reward.

I returned home in July.

"What! Unohana actually dared to hurt you!" Ba Yunzhai was furious and rolled up his sleeves to draw his sword.

July pressed down on her shoulders and forced her onto the stool.

"It was just a friendly sparring match. Take your medicine first," July said helplessly.

Ba Yunzhai's injuries have improved somewhat. Today, Mao Zhihua prepared a different prescription for the medicine, which tasted very bitter, so she drank it slowly.

Ba Yunzhai hung his head and said dejectedly, "Could you add some sugar? It's too bitter!"

"It's already been added..."

"Add more!"

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Chapter 11 Shikatori-ryu Training Method

"Teacher, I'm coming in!"

The sound of Cilantro from Zhicheng echoed in the courtyard.

When I peeked out in July, I saw that the cilantro had climbed up the courtyard wall again.

"The dojo has a main gate," July reminded her.

"Teacher, what are we eating today... oh no... what are we practicing today?" Cilantro climbed down from the courtyard wall and asked the question that concerned her the most.

"You still need to refine your fundamentals and do some targeted training," July said.

"But... I've already learned the stances and footwork, do I still need to learn these?" Kana waved her hands, demonstrating the sword techniques July had used in class. "When can I learn sword techniques?"

"The sword technique I use in class is 'Instant Strike,' which I will teach you. However, you still need to hone your basics. Otherwise, even if you learn the sword technique, it will only be superficial and you won't be able to unleash its full power," July said.

In fact, he himself also faces this problem: his Shunpo level is not enough to fully unleash the "Shunpo Iai" at the master level.

"Then how do I practice?" Cilantro asked curiously.

"We need some auxiliary tools." July took coriander to the warehouse to retrieve the tools for cultivation.

The warehouse is in the room to the left of the kitchen.

When the warehouse door was opened in July, a layer of dust fell from the door frame.

I've been practicing swordsmanship lately and haven't been here for quite a while, so it's accumulated a lot of dust.

The warehouse was filled with many things, and it was somewhat messy.

“This place hasn’t been cleaned in a long time. I need to find where I put ‘Sailfish.’ I remember it was over here…” July looked at the things in the warehouse and felt a bit of a headache.

Some of the items in this warehouse are older than the history of the Gotei 13, making them difficult to organize. So, they are simply placed wherever there is an empty space.

Fortunately, I remembered July correctly and quickly found what I needed.

"Why are these wooden knives so big?" Cilantro was a little shocked. This row of wooden knives had particularly thick blades and varied in size, some even taller than her.

“These ‘sailfish’ aren’t ordinary wooden knives. Try them out.” July pulled out a wooden knife with a blade ten centimeters wide, which looked like a large cleaver.

These wooden knives are called "sailfish" because when laid horizontally, their shape resembles a sailfish. The blade is much larger than the handle, which looks like the spines on the sailfish's head, while the blade resembles the sailfish's body.

"What are these wooden knives... They're so heavy!!!" Cilantro took the wooden knife with one hand, but it was much heavier than she had expected. She quickly put her other hand over it, but she still couldn't lift it.

Then her center of gravity shifted, and she fell towards July.

July reacted quickly, pressing down on Xiangcai's forehead and lifting her up before she could fall on him.

Cilantro froze in place in an odd posture, her hands gripping the heavy wooden sword, her body bent at a sixty-degree angle, as if she were bowing to July.

"It's so heavy!" Cilantro cried out.

"You can let go." July said helplessly, realizing that her apprentice was a bit stubborn.

"Oh right!" Cilantro finally realized, released her hands, and let the wooden knife fall to the floor.

thump—

The wooden knife fell to the floor with a heavy thud, shaking the dust off the roof.

"Cough cough—" Cilantro stood up and covered her mouth and nose, "This is definitely not a wooden knife!"

"It's definitely not a wooden knife; it just looks like wood. It's a special composite material."

July picked up the swordfish knife with one hand, leaving coriander speechless.

"Teacher, are you really that strong?" Cilantro exclaimed incredulously. "You can even hold it with one hand!"

"'Sailfish' is used to practice spiritual pressure." July swung the sailfish wooden sword in her hand, testing its feel. "Its material is very special; when you inject spiritual pressure, its weight becomes lighter."

"I see. Let me try." Cilantro took the swordfish knife from July again, infused it with spiritual pressure, and found that she could indeed lift it.

“Take this ‘Swordfish’ wooden sword to the dojo. You’ll use it to practice your spiritual pressure from now on. You need to practice spiritual pressure for an hour today,” July reminded her. “Don’t think it’s easy. You need to maintain the flow of spiritual pressure to swing it.”

Many of the sword techniques of the Shikatori school require the spiritual pressure to be condensed and attached to the blade.

There are quite a few techniques involved; you can't simply inject your spiritual pressure into your swordsmanship and expect to unleash the Shikatori-ryu style.

By practicing spiritual energy with a special sailfish, one will naturally learn the techniques of attaching, condensing, and compressing spiritual energy onto the blade.

Cilantro had no idea what she was about to face. She thought it was easy to do; it was just practicing vibration, what was so difficult about that?

After I finish training, I can get a free meal here!

Cilantro was already looking forward to what delicious food she would have for dinner.

...

"Huff—Teacher—Huff—Is it enough—an hour—now?" Cilantro Mochi asked, panting.

Cilantro's face was flushed, and her forehead was covered in sweat, with beads of sweat constantly sliding down her fair and delicate skin and into her white clothes.

The plain white cross-collar shirt was already soaked with sweat, and the damp clothes revealed glimpses of skin.

"It's still early, only 20 minutes have passed~" July's face was full of smiles. When he was laying the foundation, he had suffered a lot at the hands of Qiyu Suzhen. Now it was his disciple's turn.

Su Zhen simply uses the most basic slashing motion, constantly swinging a wooden sword, to let the body remember the feeling of slashing.

Ordinary spiritual practice is nothing for a Shinigami's physical spiritual practice, but if you are practicing spiritual practice with a sailfish-shaped wooden sword, you need to continuously inject spiritual pressure in order to swing the sword, which will consume a lot of energy.

If you don't plan carefully and squander your spiritual pressure and physical strength when you're at your peak, you simply can't last long.

Cilantro found itself in this predicament.

When she first started practicing Sujin with the sailfish wooden sword, she didn't take it seriously, thinking that practicing Sujin was not difficult. She didn't pay attention to allocating spiritual pressure and physical strength. By the time she realized what was going on, it was too late.