A few days later.
In the southern district of the Rukongai, within the small courtyard of the Ubuyashiki estate.
Inside the spacious Japanese-style room facing the courtyard, Asuka sat cross-legged on the tatami mats, his face covered in sweat.
"...Focus your mind. Don't think about how to blast your Spiritual Energy outward, but rather how to stabilize it..."
Sitting beside him, Shinobu Kocho held a small folding fan, guiding him with a soft, gentle voice.
"Imagine your Spiritual Energy as layers of silk threads. Gently wrap that volatile power around your fingertips."
Hearing Shinobu's words, Asuka gritted his teeth and slowed his breathing once more.
Through his spiritual sight, a frantic, chaotic surge of Spiritual Energy could be seen rampaging wildly through Asuka's spiritual pathways like an untamed horse.
This Spiritual Energy carried a deep, dark red hue mixed with a brilliant gold, intertwining and churning restlessly.
It originated from Asuka's countless life-and-death battles, a power squeezed from fury and slaughter. It was far from docile.
This was also the reason his Kido progressed so slowly.
One second.
Two seconds.
Five seconds.
Finally, the mass of chaotic Spiritual Energy struggling violently at his fingertips gradually stopped its outward expansion.
A faint yet pure pale blue halo painstakingly peeled itself away from the chaos, illuminating Asuka's fingertips.
The glow was only about the size of a pea, flickering as if a gust of wind could extinguish it at any moment.
But it had undeniably taken shape, and without causing any destructive explosions.
"You did it!"
Shinobu's purple eyes instantly lit up.
This was the rudimentary form of Hado #4・Pale Lightning.
"Do you see, Mr. Asuka? You did it! It's a very pure beam of Reishi!"
"I knew it! As long as you put in the effort, something like Kido could never stump you!"
Seeing Shinobu's genuinely delighted expression, Asuka offered a wry smile, carefully maintaining that tiny speck of light for about ten seconds...
Poof.
In the blink of an eye, the pitiful blue light vanished into the air like a popped soap bubble.
"Phew..."
Asuka let out a long breath, slumping against the tatami mats in exhaustion. His tone was filled with disdain. "What is the point of this thing, anyway?"
He raised his right hand, spreading his fingers before clenching them into a fist. "In the hour I spent doing this, I could have already hacked an enemy to pieces."
"I really don't understand why the Shin'o Academy insists I learn this time-wasting parlor trick."
Watching Asuka's utterly defeated demeanor, Shinobu covered her mouth and let out a soft giggle. "After all, you are the Substitute Soul Reaper appointed by the Soul King."
She took out a clean white handkerchief and thoughtfully wiped the fine beads of sweat from Asuka's forehead and temples, her movements incredibly gentle.
"A Substitute Soul Reaper's duty isn't just about slaying Menos Grande and powerful enemies. You also have to perform Soul Burials for lost souls, and carry out missions in the fragile environment of the World of the Living."
"I think practicing Kido is more about ensuring that, alongside your destructive power, you also possess the control necessary to avoid harming innocent people."
"This is an essential training for protecting everyone."
Hearing these words, even though he still felt that those obscure incantations and precise controls were a massive pain...
...seeing Shinobu's gentle and expectant gaze, Asuka's bellyful of complaints ultimately dissolved into a helpless sigh.
Beep beep beep— Ring ring ring—
A sudden, polyphonic electronic ringtone shattered the quiet of the room.
Hearing the sound, Shinobu quickly reached into the inner pocket of her Shihakusho and pulled out a square metallic object.
The moment Asuka saw its green-and-white striped casing, the veins on his forehead couldn't help but throb.
It was a Gigai phone that Kisuke Urahara had specifically asked Yoruichi to deliver to her a few days ago, capable of cross-realm, zero-latency communication between the Soul Society and the World of the Living.
Its purpose was simple: to be able to contact Asuka at a moment's notice.
"Hello, this is Shinobu Kocho."
"My, my, what a long-lost gentle voice."
Kisuke Urahara's flippant and deliberately flattering voice immediately came through the receiver.
Even separated by two worlds, Asuka could easily picture the shady merchant waving his folding fan right now, smiling with the face of a sly fox.
"I am truly sorry to interrupt your romantic time together on such a beautiful morning."
"Say... is Asuka nearby? I have a tiny, incredibly urgent matter I'd like his help with."
Shinobu glanced at Asuka, whose face practically screamed 'I am not here, I am dead, do not bother me,' and helplessly handed the phone over.
"Mr. Asuka, it is Manager Urahara looking for you."
Asuka reluctantly took the phone and pressed it to his ear. "Spit it out, or get lost."
"Oh my, Asuka, don't be so cold. After all, we are life-and-death comrades who fought together at the Urahara Shop..."
"One more word of nonsense and I am hanging up," Asuka interrupted him mercilessly.
"Ahem... that hurts my feelings." Kisuke Urahara coughed dryly on the other end of the line, quickly dropping his joking tone.
His voice lowered a few pitches, revealing a rare seriousness.
"Asuka, can you come to Karakura Town right now?"
"No."
"Don't refuse so quickly. This matter is very simple for you..."
"I have Mr. Kinpachi's class this afternoon," Asuka declared self-righteously, tossing out an excuse that even he found absurd. "As a student currently studying at the Shin'o Academy, skipping class is bad behavior. I am very busy."
The other end of the line fell silent for a full three seconds.
Pfft...
Kisuke Urahara's laughter, which he had tried desperately to suppress but ultimately failed to contain, echoed through the phone. "...Asuka, you are using class as an excuse? Did I hear that right?"
"...Laugh one more time, and I will crush this piece of iron," Asuka threatened in displeasure, his pride taking a slight hit.
"Alright, alright, I will stop laughing." Kisuke Urahara took a deep breath, his tone turning grave once more.
"Asuka, I am not joking with you. Something has gone wrong... over here in the World of the Living."
"Over the past two days, highly unstable spatial fluctuations have been frequently appearing in Karakura Town and its surrounding areas."
"The monitoring network I set up shows that these fluctuations do not belong to a Garganta from Hueco Mundo, nor do they belong to a Senkaimon from the Soul Society."
Kisuke Urahara's voice carried a deep sense of dread. "That aura... is filled with an extremely chaotic sensation. If my guess is correct, a rift leading to an [Otherworld] has intersected with the World of the Living once again."
Hearing the word 'Otherworld', Asuka's previously careless gaze turned serious.
He subconsciously tightened his grip on the edge of the phone.
'An Otherworld rift?'
He certainly knew what that meant. Whether it was Funbari Hill or Fuyuki City, he had experienced it firsthand.
'Why is this happening again?'
'Is Aizen pulling strings in the shadows, attempting to bring in even more terrifying powers from other worlds?'
'Or could it be that Aizen's previous act of banishing Captain-Commander Yamamoto caused the world barriers to weaken further, triggering a space-time turbulence?'