51 Chapter 51: Training

LazyXalien: "Thank you very much, 'Javier Astro,' for being my first Patreon supporter. It means a lot to me."

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The Nest of Maggots housed a total of 32 dangerous individuals. The oldest among them was a 243-year-old man named Haruki Kimura, who also held the record for the longest confinement period at 120 years. His imprisonment was due to his open opposition to the existence of nobility and his desire to abolish the noble system in the Seireitei.

In the Seireitei, the nobility was divided into three categories: the Great Noble Families, the Upper Noble Families, and the Lower Noble Families. Nobles had a higher status than common citizens, with the Upper Nobles considered more prestigious than the Lower Nobles. The heads of the contemporary noble houses had the right to inherit their noble status.

Branch heads were considered secondary and had the right to assume the position of the main house head when the main house had no heir.

Haruki Kimura believed that the nobility was useless, enjoying immense resources while being considered parasites in the Seireitei. In reality, the Second Division was controlled by one of the Great Noble Families, the Shihoin family. They had been protecting the Seireitei for generations, and even the Lower Noble Family, the Fēng family, had members who served in the Gotei 13, with Suì-Fēng's five older brothers having all perished in the line of duty.

Additionally, the Sixth Division was led by the Kuchiki family, also one of the Great Noble Families, with an impressive track record in protecting the Seireitei.

Moreover, Kyoraku Shunsui was of Upper Noble descent, while Nanao Ise came from the Ise clan, a Shinto family lineage. The Ukitake family was considered a Lower Noble Family but had fallen on hard times, and Ukitake Jushiro, along with his eight siblings, had struggled to make ends meet.

Although the once-prominent Shiba clan had declined in recent years, two of its members, Kaien Shiba and Miyako Shiba, still served in the Gotei 13 as Vice-Captain and 3rd Seat, respectively.

In the Gotei 13, one-fourth of the Captains and Vice-Captains were of noble descent. Speaking of which, the nobility played an essential role in the Seireitei. Or it might be more accurate to say that they had made significant contributions to the Seireitei in the past.

Of course, it could not be denied that they possessed considerable resources and held high authority.

In private, many Shinigami probably discussed this matter, but Haruki Kimura's views were somewhat extreme. He even advocated the use of violence to change this disparity, and before he could put his ideas into action, he was apprehended and imprisoned.

Haruki Kimura was the oldest and had been confined the longest. On the other end of the spectrum was a man named Shizuka Nagarekawa, who was only 80 years old but had been imprisoned for 20 years. He had repeatedly approached the Sokyoku Hill and investigated data related to the Sokyoku. This data included methods for destroying the Sokyoku stone.

The Sokyoku Hill was a place where serious offenders were held. While it might not compare to the prisoners confined in Muken(Central Great Underground Prison), it still generally violated the significant rules of the Soul Society.

Shizuka Nagarekawa's actions were likely intended to save someone. But before he could execute his plan, he was incarcerated(imprison).

The individual with the shortest confinement time was a man who was 110 years old and had been imprisoned for 12 years. He believed that Hollows caused significant sin and should not be dealt with using Zanpakuto but should be entirely annihilated, leading to the extinction of their souls. He even conducted such experiments during the process of exterminating Hollows.

This was essentially the ideology of the Quincy, but such actions would cause an imbalance in the souls of the World of the Living and the Soul Society, resulting in disorder along the boundary.

According to the Seireitei's regulations, large-scale extermination of Hollows would be punishable.

However, he had only killed three or four Hollows before being investigated and arrested.

Yamahiko looked through their profiles, and for the most part, they didn't meet the criteria for criminal activity; they were just potential threats to the Seireitei. After reviewing the files, Yamahiko left the underground detention facility.

Being a captain in the Detention Unit was actually less demanding than being a vice-captain in the Patrol Corps. Back then, he had to change security points and establish rotation lists. Now, he only needed to visit the  Nest of Maggots in the morning to verify the list.

His other responsibilities included monitoring, but in reality, it took over a decade to apprehend a single person, and there weren't many individuals worthy of arrest.

Nevertheless, this worked in his favor, as it allowed Yamahiko more time to experiment with his abilities.

....

Outside the Seireitei, Yamahiko appeared on the Mt. Koifushi in western Rukongai. This location was the closest he'd found to the Seireitei, and it was rarely visited by anyone. Thus, he believed he wouldn't be discovered here and wouldn't affect anyone else.

Standing on the open mountaintop, Yamahiko clenched his Zanpakuto in his right hand and softly chanted, "Descend, Raijinmaru."

As he spoke, the sky filled with dark clouds, lightning flashed, thunder rumbled, and with a loud crash, a bolt of lightning descended directly into Yamahiko's hand, transforming into a short spear.

Yamahiko gripped the short spear and channeled his reiryoku into it. The weapon converted directly into electrical energy, which then coursed into his body and converged into two lightning wings on his back.

The wings flapped, and in an instant, Yamahiko disappeared from view. The next moment, he reappeared in the distance.

This movement speed was much faster than Shunpo, even rivaling Senka.

Of course, the size, placement, and energy consumption of the lightning wings all required some experimentation to select the most suitable combination.

Yamahiko adjusted the wings for a while, depleting more than half of his reiryoku.

While the speed of the lightning wings was impressive, their energy consumption was too high. He could sustain them at full strength for only five minutes. Yet, for a battle, five minutes were more than enough. Moreover, this method's energy conversion efficiency was even higher than Shunko.

Yamahiko's own Shunko could only be used a few times, even when used at full strength, it could be maintained for three to four minutes, thanks to his sixth-level reiryoku.

Whether it was Shunkō: Raijin or the lightning wings, both gives extreme speed. In most battles, it would be over within one or two minutes, and he didn't need to consider long-duration engagements.

Of course, his reiryoku wasn't sufficient to sustain the consumption of Raijinmaru. After allocating reiatsu to the lightning wings, it would shorten the conversion of other abilities.

So, increasing his reiryoku was a must. It took him nearly two years to elevate from the Fourth to the Fifth level. Advancing from Fifth to Sixth rank took five years.

To reach Seventh-level reiryoku, it would take at least another decade or more. Hence, there was no need to rush.

After using the lightning wings, Yamahiko began experimenting with the evolution of his second ability, 'Raisoukei' (Thunder Shape Shaping).

Yamahiko's right-hand short spear transformed reiryoku into electrical energy. As spiritual power flowed, the energy converted along the shaft of the spear, encircling his arm, and transferring to his left arm.

In the next moment, Yamahiko's left hand produced a thunder-shaped staff. The staff gradually elongated to more than five feet.

Yamahiko spun his left hand, causing the staff to rotate along his arm, making it appear like an ordinary metallic weapon. However, it consumed a significant amount of reiryoku.

Yamahiko gripped the long staff, then looked at the mountaintop in the distance. He transformed one end of the staff into a spearhead, and it became a long spear.

He hurled the long spear with a swoosh, flying towards a distance. However, it didn't travel far, exploding in the air, about three meters away from him.

Boom!

A blue light shrouded the surroundings, encompassing Yamahiko's body. The ground was blasted open, and the soil was sent flying high. Trees around the area were hit and toppled.

When the smoke cleared, Yamahiko was seen with a blue shield in his left hand, a shield created from lightning energy, which absorbed all the heat and shockwaves produced from the explosion.

Yamahiko dispersed the shield and noticed a large crater not far away. The pit was more than a meter deep with a diameter of about six meters.

Although it didn't match the power of the Hadō # 88. Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō  or the range of the Hadō # 63. Raikoho, it didn't consume much Reiryoku. It was nothing like the lightning wings, which required a continuous supply of lightning energy.

This lightning spear only required one-tenth of his Reiryoku and had power comparable to the Raikoho. It was already quite impressive.

However, the only drawback was that the lightning spear would explode once thrown into the air.

This happened because the form created by his lightning energy wasn't stable enough, there were structural issues, and his reiryoku wasn't strong enough to maintain the energy's stability once it left his body.

It seems like he needs to change the structure of his lightning energy shaping while simultaneously enhancing his control. All of this requires some gradual practice; there's no need to rush for now.

Just as Yamahiko was preparing to solidify the long spear for another round of experiments, a voice spoke out, saying, "Stop right there."

Yamahiko, startled upon hearing the voice, realized he had been too engrossed in his experiments and someone had approached behind him.

Yamahiko turned his body and, as he caught sight of the other person, he had yet to speak when the individual, with an angry expression, exclaimed, "Aren't you the youngster who fought with Captain Kenpachi Zaraki not long ago? Judging by the surrounding, you've ruined my training ground."

~End of the chapter~

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LazyXalien: Waking up at 5 am, I always check my phone for my crush's message. When I saw the Patreon message from 'Javier' joining as a paid member, it really excited me. I even did more reps in my workout. The funny thing is, I completely forgot to wish my crush 'good morning' like I do every day. I also managed to do more pull-ups somehow. It's amazing how a good mood can positively affect your workout. Thanks again, Javier, for making my day so much better.

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