After a brief tea break, it was time for training.
The three returned to their usual practice area, a vast and level clearing. Suō Tsukasa and Hitsugaya Toshiro stood facing each other, separated by a distance of about a dozen meters. Matsumoto Rangiku sat on the edge of a nearby rock pillar, looking down at the two of them, taking in the entire scene from her vantage point.
"Let's begin."
Tsukasa swept two fingers across his eyes. Following the motion, his originally bright eyes suddenly dimmed, his pupils losing focus. It wasn't true blindness; rather, he had used his ability to condense a layer of blinding light-film over his eyes, completely blocking out all visible light. At this moment, his vision held nothing but pure, uniform darkness. Any shape, contour, or color had vanished from his perceived world.
"Alright."
"Tsukasa, be careful."
Toshiro gripped the hilt of the sword on his back. From this distance, he could see Tsukasa's mist-covered eyes and calm expression, and he spoke in a heavy voice.
Tsukasa gripped the scabbard at his waist with his left hand and signaled. "Toshiro, don't hold back. Just attack me as you usually do."
"Understood."
The two had already discussed their training plan the day before, so there was no need for further words.
Toshiro's feet moved, his form suddenly blurring. The sword on his back unsheathed, its blade flashing with a cold light as he closed in on the right side of Tsukasa's ribs.
The faint sound of wind. The skin's perception of air currents. The fluctuations felt through spiritual sense.
With his vision stripped away, the information received by his other senses was magnified, flooding clearly into Tsukasa's consciousness. Combined with the understanding built through long-term, fixed training sessions with Toshiro, these elements became the foundation for his judgment and actions.
Tsukasa did not retreat; he raised his left hand.
Clang—
The tsuba caught the incoming blade perfectly, his positioning flawless. Tsukasa drew his sword with his right hand, parrying the attack while simultaneously following up with a swift, sharp downward slash. A slight smile played on his lips as he spoke easily.
"Getting a few scratches is nothing. Or has your swordsmanship declined after a month without practice?"
Toshiro's gaze sharpened. He quickly retreated half a step to dodge the downward slash, but his heart skipped a beat. In that instant, Tsukasa's reaction speed and grasp of distance felt even more precise than before. Even with his vision blocked, he could still handle the attacks with such composure. It seemed Toshiro's worries had been unnecessary.
"It's still early," Toshiro replied briefly, launching his offensive once more.
He moved faster, yet the sound of his movements became much quieter. He began using Shunpo to move rapidly around Tsukasa, each pause accompanied by a strike from a tricky angle, attempting to break through the defense from different directions.
For a time, shadows interlaced in the field as sword light flickered. Toshiro's offensive was like a violent gale, every swing of his blade attempting to tear an opening in Tsukasa. However, Tsukasa's form remained steady as a rock. Sidestepping, parrying, redirecting force, and counterattacking—his movements showed no hesitation as he precisely intercepted Toshiro's blade.
But this passive response was no longer enough to satisfy Tsukasa's expectations for this session. Simply neutralizing attacks while standing still wouldn't achieve the training effect he desired.
The next moment, Tsukasa's figure suddenly vanished. The tip of the blade aimed at his body struck empty air. Instantly, Tsukasa appeared behind Toshiro, his blade sweeping in a horizontal slash. He had shifted from defense to offense.
A few strands of silver hair were severed, drifting slowly to the ground. Toshiro blurred with Shunpo, his sword-wielding form appearing at Tsukasa's rear flank. Once again, the attack hit nothing. Their positions swapped back and forth in rapid succession.
Shifting himself from static to dynamic motion presented a fundamentally different level of difficulty for Tsukasa. When he was stationary or moving within a small range to defend, his other senses could focus more intently on capturing the information generated by Toshiro's active attacks. But once he entered high-speed movement himself, the reception and processing of information became extremely complex.
Toshiro clearly caught this change as well. After dodging another of Tsukasa's counterattacks, he abruptly altered the rhythm of his Shunpo. This sudden change caused a momentary, visible lag in Tsukasa's judgment.
A gap of a single heartbeat.
Squelch—
The sword light grazed Tsukasa's left shoulder, instantly carving a long, narrow gash. Blood seeped out immediately, staining his left shoulder red. The wound brought more than just pain; it was a powerful distracting signal. It forced its way into Tsukasa's mind, interfering with the judgment of his other sensory data.
Toshiro did not miss the opportunity. Without a hint of hesitation, sword lights interlaced one after another, the sharp ringing of metal merging into a single sound. Under his tight, pressing offensive, Tsukasa fell into a disadvantage for the first time, struggling to keep up.
Ordinarily, the sparring session should have ended very quickly. However, Tsukasa's incredibly powerful physical healing instincts smoothed over the wound within just a few breaths. He rallied his strength once more, swinging his blade to force Toshiro back.
A blazing fighting spirit ignited in Tsukasa's heart. "Excellent! Continue!" he shouted with relish.
"Right!" Before Toshiro's response even faded, his form had turned into a blur.
The ensuing clash remained intense. Tsukasa gained several more new injuries, but the frequency of the wounds clearly began to decrease.
Several dozen minutes later, after forcing Toshiro back once more, Tsukasa called out while raising a hand in signal.
"Stop!"
His body was clearly sending out warning signals. To continue further would no longer be training; it would be reckless.
"Tsukasa, are you alright?" Toshiro's movements ceased instantly. He stopped in front of Tsukasa, asking with concern.
Tsukasa raised his hand, using Kido to accelerate the healing of the last few wounds on his body, then released the restriction on his vision.
"I'm fine. I just lost a fair bit of blood, so I feel a little weak. I'll be good after I take some medicine and soak in the hot spring for a while."
As his vision returned, the sudden restoration of light made him squint briefly. His eyes refocused, and he smiled at Toshiro as he replied.
Harder than I thought...
In this training session, Tsukasa knew that his probability of winning in a blind fight was essentially zero, but the difficulty had still slightly exceeded his expectations. Despite having prepared himself mentally, being truly immersed in pure darkness meant that the all-encompassing sense of lag and the pressure of judgment consumed far more mental energy than usual training.
However, the feedback was tangible, proving that the general direction of his path was correct. The injuries were worth it!
Sparring with an opponent of similar or greater strength effectively improved one's combat adaptability, psychological resilience, and tactical flexibility. Practicing with a weaker opponent was better suited for refining basic skills, and Tsukasa's gains from that would be quite limited. Toshiro, who was originally weaker than him, had brought a different kind of pressure to today's battle, effectively becoming a highly threatening and powerful enemy. This pressure translated directly into the motivation for progress.
Matsumoto Rangiku leaped down from the rock pillar, landing lightly and walking quickly toward the two. The bloody scenes from moments ago wouldn't leave her mind. Had it not been for the fact that Tsukasa's spiritual pressure fluctuations remained steady, she would have stepped in to stop them long ago. But looking at Tsukasa's smiling yet undeniably pale face and the blood-stained tears in his clothing, she couldn't help but raise her voice in reproach.
"Is this how you two usually practice?! This isn't sparring—it's way too reckless!"
"It's not usually like this. Today was a special case; Tsukasa is trying a new training method," Toshiro explained calmly as he sheathed his sword.
"That's right. Actually, we're very careful with our practice. If you don't believe me, look..." Tsukasa casually pulled aside his collar, revealing his smooth and firm left shoulder. Clear bloodstains remained on his skin, but there was indeed not a single trace of a scar.
"Eh?" Rangiku's gaze fell on the perfectly intact skin, hardly able to believe her eyes. The fact was laid out clearly before her, but she still couldn't help muttering at Tsukasa.
"Fine... but that scene just now really gave me a bit of a fright."
"It might be a bit scary, but the results are excellent. Don't look at how pathetic I seem now; I'll be fine after medicine and the hot spring." Tsukasa smiled and readjusted his collar, stretching his shoulder. He practicedly produced a medicine bottle from his robes, shook out two pills, and popped them into his mouth.
Beside him, Toshiro also produced a bottle and took a pill; he had also consumed a significant amount of energy.
Rangiku watched their synchronized movements, performed as naturally as breathing or drinking water. She finally understood. This method of training, which seemed almost cruel to an outsider, was nothing more than a common daily activity for them.
-----------------------------------------------
I handpick only the finest and most captivating novels for you. Don't forget to check out my other novels!
p@treon HongMengZi