"You want to train in swordsmanship with ?" Katori Nanatsuki crossed his arms, sizing up the black-haired young man brought over by Kobane Jin’emon.
[Shiba Isshin]
[Talent: S]
[Reiatsu: |v45]
[Reputation Level: Stranger]
[Status: ntally Refreshed]
"Yes, sir!" Shiba Isshin nodded repeatedly. "The swordsmanship of the Katori-ryu Dojo is amazing—I want to train under you!"
Shiba Isshin showing up like this was an unexpected gain from the recent live-blade duels.
Several of Nanatsuki’s disciples had perford excellently in those matches, which boosted the Katori-ryu Dojo’s reputation significantly.
As a result, many people had recently shown interest in learning swordsmanship there. Isshin, too, had taken a strong interest in Katori-ryu and ca to request training.
"You’re not the only one who wants to co train here lately, but I don’t take just anyone in," Nanatsuki said.
"You’ve got so foundation, I hope?"
He turned to his disciple. "Kobane, test him. See what he’s capable of."
Nanatsuki wanted to get a look at Shiba Isshin’s basics.
Judging from his Reiatsu, he wasn’t a novice—he must’ve trained at ho.
The Shiba Clan placed great emphasis on martial training, so Isshin’s fundantals in Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hohō, and Kidō were likely solid.
"Yes!" Kobane Jin’emon turned to Isshin. "Co with ."
The three of them headed to the sword training room.
Kobane tossed Isshin a wooden sword. "Co on—show the teacher what you’ve got."
Isshin caught the sword and gave it a few swings to test the weight. "All good."
Once both took their stances, Isshin made the first move.
Thud, thud, thud—he charged forward, both hands raised as he delivered several slashes. But each one was blocked by Kobane Jin’emon.
Nanatsuki watched from the sidelines and quickly saw that Isshin did indeed have a solid foundation.
His footing was steady, and he knew how to put force into his strikes.
He was even better than many of the academy’s first-year students.
With just a bit of polishing, he could improve quickly.
Suddenly, Kobane used Shunpo to appear behind Isshin, catching him off guard. Isshin instinctively dodged aside, barely evading a sweeping kick from behind.
"Hey, I thought this was a sword match! What’s with the kicks?!" Isshin shouted.
"The teacher told to test your skills—not just your swordsmanship. So show everything you’ve got!" Kobane said, clearly feeling he’d followed the instructions just fine.
"I thought the Katori-ryu Dojo was all about swordsmanship?" Isshin asked, confused.
"It’s just our specialty. The teacher can teach anything."
As Kobane spoke, he had already flashed to Isshin’s right and launched another kick.
Isshin responded with Shunpo, leaping away to avoid it.
"Hadō #4: Byakurai!" Isshin raised his index finger—lightning flared from the tip.
The two were too close—Kobane couldn’t dodge in ti.
But just before it struck, Kobane let out a loud shout and slashed forward with his wooden sword.
The bolt of lightning stopped midair—cut cleanly by the blade.
Isshin stared in disbelief—his Kidō had been blocked by a wooden sword?
The next mont, Kobane’s kick connected, sending him flying. He hit the ground with a thud.
"Ow—damn, old man, you don’t pull punches!" Isshin groaned, rubbing his backside.
Veins bulged on Kobane’s forehead. "Sounds like I went too easy on you."
"Not bad," Nanatsuki nodded. "You’re qualified to be my disciple."
"I want to train at the Katori-ryu Dojo! Please take as your student!" Isshin said imdiately—he had just gotten a very clear taste of the gap between himself and a Katori-ryu disciple.
[Shiba Isshin has requested apprenticeship. Accept as direct disciple?]
"From now on, you’re my student. As long as you respect your teacher and train diligently, I’ll pass the way of the sword to you," Nanatsuki said with a nod.
[Successfully accepted Shiba Isshin as a direct disciple]
[Shiba Isshin’s reputation level has increased. Current level: Friendly]
"Yes, teacher! I’ll train hard!" Isshin said earnestly.
"Your basics are solid—we can skip a few steps and go straight to Reiatsu control training." Nanatsuki took him to the storehouse and picked out a suitable flagfish wooden sword.
[New training task added: Guide Shiba Isshin through Interdiate Reiatsu Control (In Progress)]
That night, Nanatsuki left the dojo alone.
He still hadn’t gone to inspect the [Sekkiseki Vein] he’d obtained the map for last ti.
He planned to check it out tonight.
The ore vein was close—just a few kiloters away in a desolate mountain near the dojo.
Nanatsuki already owned that mountain. It was one of the land deeds gifted to him by the Azashiro family as a token of gratitude.
The mountain had low Reishi density, little vitality, and no signs of prior excavation.
The location on the Vein Map was clearly marked, and Nanatsuki quickly found it.
Since it had never been mined, there was no entrance.
The Sekkiseki was buried underground—but as a Shinigami, that posed no issue.
"Hadō #31: Shakkahō."
A sphere of red light ford in Nanatsuki’s palm.
Boom! The ground exploded, leaving behind a wide crater.
Because Sekkiseki blocks Reishi, regular Kidō wouldn’t harm it—so Nanatsuki wasn’t worried about damaging the ore.
He kept casting Shakkahō, blasting open the earth.
Boom boom boom—after a while, a patch of white rock erged from the dirt.
It looked similar to white quartz, but it had survived multiple Shakkahō blasts without a single mark.
Nanatsuki pulled out the shovel and hoe he’d prepared in advance and started digging.
He compared the stone to the Vein Map.
When unfolded, the map gathered nearby Reishi to project a 3D image of the vein’s layout, which could be zood in and out, showing the exact position of each ore deposit.
"This thing updates in real ti?" Nanatsuki was surprised—it was clearly a sophisticated piece of Reishi tech. It released detection Reishi into the area, actively scanning the state of the ore vein.
The Sekkiseki blocked detection, so on the map it appeared as empty holes. Once Nanatsuki removed a piece of ore, that spot would fill in with Reishi, and the 3D map would update accordingly.
After confirming the location of the ore vein, he continued digging.
Nanatsuki didn’t want Seireitei knowing he had access to this much Sekkiseki. As a material that blocked Reishi, it was considered a strategic resource—and knowledge of it would attract unwanted eyes.
Thanks to Kidō, he could clear a path and mine it on his own.
And even if the mine collapsed, it couldn’t trap soone of his power.
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