Chapter 7

Yami swung his blade once more in an effort to bisect the training dummy but his sword was deflected and knocked out of his hands. Yami looked down at his bloody hands and frowned.

'No matter how many times I try to cut this thing, it is impossible.'

Yami started to use kaido to heal his own hands over the next few minutes. After his hands were recovered, he walked over to pick up his sword before sitting down cross-legged and laying the sword on his legs.

Yami closed his eyes and began to enter his inner world to try to calm his nerves while also connecting with his Zanpakuto spirit.

When Yami opened his eyes, he was in another place. No longer was he in the dimly lit training room.

Instead, he was in the middle of nowhere. There were dead trees all around. The ground was grey. Dark clouds loomed overhead. Several cenotaphs could be seen lined up far into the distance. A large, red torii sat in the middle of the land.

On top of the red gate was a beautiful woman wearing a traditional red kimono. Her lipstick and eyes matched her kimono while her curly hair fell down her shoulders. The woman looked both sexy and elegant.

"Oh, you've returned. How's it going, partner?"

The woman's voice was seductive and would captivate anyone who heard it for the first time. Unfortunately for the woman, Yami had been listening to the same voice for the past 4 years and had grown immune.

"Training dummy."

The woman smiled at seeing her partner's distressed face. She knew that he had been trying to cut the training dummy in half for nearly a year with no success. The woman floated down from the gate and landed before Yami, smiling at him.

"Why not ask that mentor of yours for advice?"

Yami shook his head. He didn't want to both Yoruichi with this matter. It wasn't like it was something that needed to be done immediately but he couldn't help but get angry at himself. He had always been moving at a fast pace and had yet to meet a true roadblock.

Nobles who had been raised to be shinigami? He crushed them in the academy.

Onmitsukido members who had been veterans for over 50 years? He had surpassed them in less than 2.

Even Yoruichi's other student was no match for him as he beat her the first day they met with the gap only widening since.

Yami continued to talk with his spirit for another hour before deciding to leave his inner world. But as he exited, he was shocked to see a pair of golden eyes staring at him.

Yami's instinct was to jump away and pull his sword into his hands but he was able to stop himself when he remembered that the golden eyes belonged to Yoruichi.

"Finally. I was wondering how long you were gonna be in there," Yoruichi complained before sitting down in front of Yami. "Tell Onee-sama what's been bothering you, Yami."

Yami wanted to shake his head but he then thought twice about it.

'She's already here. May as well tell her and see if she has any solutions.'

So Yami told Yoruichi about his issue. Yoruichi listened and thought that Yami was being insane. Even she had only managed to crack that thing once and that was while using her full power.

But she didn't want to let down her second disciple so she decided to give him some motivation.

Yoruichi stood up and took off her captain's haori before walking in front of the training dummy.

"Do you know why my uniform has been modified as such?"

"Cause you're an exhibitionist," Yami subconsciously replied

"I don't know. Why?" After getting a swift bonk on the head, Yami changed his answer.

"Because I developed a new technique. One that I haven't even perfected yet. But once I do, it will allow me to defeat bankai with my bare body."

Yami listened with interest. When he asked her why she no longer used her zanpakuto, she simply said that she and her zanpakuto spirit were incompatible. But even without using it, she had the combat ability to beat most captain's using their shikai.

'To develop a technique that can even rival a bankai? Is that even possible?'

But Yami immediately erased that thought from his head. Yoruichi was someone who did the impossible. She was a captain without a zanpakuto. She combined the 2nd Division and the Onmitsukido, leading both without issue. She gathered elites all around her yet kept it secret from Soul Society.

If someone could develop a technique that could rival a bankai, it was Yoruichi.

"Watch carefully. I will only be performing it once."

Yoruichi stretched out her right arm. White lightning began to emit from both of her arms destroying the floor of the training room. Splinters of wood cut Yami's face but he didn't dare to turn away. He was afraid that he would miss a moment of what was about to happen.

The lightning soon stopped firing off randomly and gathered on Yoruichi's entire body, focused mainly on her back, legs, and arms.

The next moment, Yoruichi disappeared for a moment before reappearing in front of the training dummy. She struck out with her palm but stopped right before it landed on the dummy, instead, unleashing a massive blast of lightning at the target.

The blast was so bright that it was blinding so Yami had no choice but to close his eyes. When he opened them, he saw the head of the dummy had been completely destroyed by Yoruichi's attack.

'This is the incomplete version of it? This should already rival weaker bankai. What kind of power will it have when it's completed?'

Yami was just imagining how strong Yoruichi could get. Then he thought of his goal and knew that he had been getting ahead of himself.

If he wanted to catch up to her, he wouldn't be able to do it within a few years.

'But if she were that easy to catch up to, she wouldn't have been my goal in the first place,' Yami thought to himself, the corners of his lips slightly rising unconsciously.

Yoruichi turned around and had a bright smile on her face.

"How was it? Pretty impressive for an incomplete technique, right?"

'Praise me! Call me, 'Onee-sama'! Haha, worship me!'

Yami gave her a bright smile.

"It was pretty good. As expected of my captain."