Moonlight draped like sheer silk, scattering evenly across the tranquil courtyard. The *sōzu* in the center of the yard rhythmically clacked, *thunk, thunk, thunk*.
Inside this traditional Japanese courtyard, two men faced each other with swords drawn. However, they had no intention of fighting to the death. Both wielded ordinary wooden swords; it appeared to be nothing more than a sparring match.
"When gripping a sword, you must never show fatigue. Have you memorized this, Kōe?"
The speaker was a bald, bare-chested old man with white eyebrows and a silver beard. Two purple ribbons bound his long facial hair, keeping it neat and disciplined.
But anyone foolish enough to underestimate him as just an ordinary old man would suffer dearly. The dense network of scars crisscrossing his body served as a testament to the resentment and regret of the souls who had perished beneath his blade.
In truth, no one would ever dare underestimate him. He was the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13—Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni. The oldest and strongest Shinigami in existence. Everyone in the Seireitei knew this, and Kōe Shihouin was naturally no exception. In fact, he knew even more than most.
"Nor can you allow your mind to wander!" Seeing Kōe's blank expression, Yamamoto closed the distance with a single sliding step and delivered a heavy overhead strike right to the boy's head. A large lump swelled up at a visible rate.
"Ow, ow, ow!" Kōe, who looked to be only around ten years old, clutched his head with both hands. His childish face twisted into a disgruntled pout. "I get it, Master!"
Even though he had been in this world for over two decades, Kōe still occasionally spaced out whenever he saw these characters from his past life's anime standing right in front of him in the flesh.
Who could have imagined that simply staying up late to play video games would lead to sudden death? Alright, he had to admit he stayed up a bit *too* late—a full week, to be exact—but just dropping dead like that still felt a bit too unceremonious.
Honestly, the whole dying experience hadn't felt real. It was as if he had just blinked, and suddenly he was in a different room, complete with a new body and a new name.
In his previous life, he was Kō, a miserable code monkey. When he opened his eyes, he had become a child named Kōe Shihouin, an abandoned newborn in the Rukongai.
*"Kōe, you are a genius. Therefore, I shall take you as my final disciple."* An even more miserable life had been looming right around the corner, but thanks to those words from Yamamoto, Kōe's social status skyrocketed. He instantly became one of the most privileged second-generation elites in the Seireitei. However, that didn't mean he could just slack off and wait to die. On the contrary, his childhood was more grueling than anyone else's.
Seeing Kōe's pitiful expression, Yamamoto's voice softened considerably. He knelt down, gently rubbing the lump on the boy's head, and spoke in a quiet tone. "You are a genius. But do you know why I have always told you this, rather than choosing to hide it from you?"
"Sigh." Kōe let out a soft breath, replying helplessly, "You've said it many times, Master. A genius requires confidence. A genius without confidence is worse than an ordinary person."
Yamamoto nodded. He was highly satisfied with the young disciple before him. Though nominally a student, the boy was closer to him than a biological son.
Kōe was a genius—a once-in-a-millennium prodigy. Yamamoto had known this from the very moment he first laid eyes on him in the Rukongai fifteen years ago.
He possessed spiritual power that far surpassed ordinary people, and even most geniuses. One had to remember that back then, he was just an ordinary child in the Rukongai who had yet to receive any orthodox training.
More importantly, it was as if there was a second soul residing within Kōe's body. This granted him double the learning capacity, comprehension, and spiritual power reserves of anyone at his level.
In other words, Kōe inherently had twice as much time as anyone else. To say he yielded twice the result with half the effort would be an understatement; his growth rate was entirely beyond anyone's estimation.
Thus, Yamamoto made an immediate decision to bring the child into the Seireitei and take him as his final disciple. He intended to dedicate his life's energy to raising the boy as his own. He wanted to see with his own eyes as this child became Soul Society's most impenetrable fortress and its most terrifying blade.
Over the past fifteen years, Kōe's performance had left him deeply satisfied. Of course, the boy still had a few minor flaws—flaws that could prove fatal. If he could correct those, Yamamoto would be even more pleased.
"Indeed. A genius requires confidence, but not arrogance." Seeing Kōe's thoughtful expression, Yamamoto continued, "Whether facing friend or foe, you must possess the absolute confidence to win, but you must also harbor a reverence for defeat."
"Despise the enemy strategically, but respect them tactically! I know that much!"
Kōe curled his lips in a slightly dismissive manner. *'Sure, you might be the strongest Shinigami, but when it comes to philosophy, you don't necessarily make more sense than a modern transmigrator like me.'*
Yamamoto didn't get angry at this. He lightly tapped Kōe's forehead with his right hand and chuckled. "You speak with such grand rhetoric, yet why do your actions differ so drastically?"
"Ahem! Well, you see, it's just..." Kōe's face flushed bright red at the question. Though he tried his best to cover it up, anyone with eyes could see he had just metaphorically slapped himself in the face.
"I was just thinking about some things earlier. Kidō! Right! I just had some new ideas for developing a new Kidō!"
He had finally found an excuse, one so perfect that he even managed to convince himself. "So, Master, you actually just interrupted my train of thought!"
"The enemy cares not whether you are on the verge of a major breakthrough. Merely interrupting you is not their goal; they only care about how to take your head back to claim their reward!"
Seeing that Kōe wanted to argue, Yamamoto raised a hand, cutting off the boy's thoughts. He continued, "A dead genius is no genius at all. They do not even possess the right to be mourned!"
"Do you know why?"
"Because once you're dead, you're useless." Although Yamamoto's tone hadn't changed much, the sheer aura radiating from him made Kōe's heart tremble, causing his voice to shake along with it.
"It is not that they are useless. Dying in battle on the field is always of use."
Kōe shook his head. He wasn't denying what Yamamoto had just said; rather, he simply didn't understand why a dead genius lacked the right to be mourned.
Sitting up straight with his legs crossed, he bowed his head deeply. "Please enlighten me, Master!"
"Because of foolishness, Kōe," Yamamoto continued softly, stroking his beard. "They should have had a brighter future. They should have protected countless more lives."
"To carelessly throw away your life out of foolishness—you do not merely fail yourself. You fail the multitudes in the future who might have lived, but instead will die in battle!"
"To cast the responsibilities upon your shoulders onto others out of foolishness, failing even to repay those who protected you... If you die in such a manner, even a death in battle is a heinous sin!"
Each sentence was sterner than the last, each word more earth-shattering. It was as if what started as gentle waves lapping against his body had swelled into a towering tsunami. The world spun around him, leaving Kōe in a daze.
*'So being adopted by the Captain-Commander carries such a heavy weight.'*
"No matter how my disciples may present themselves, they are all sufficiently cautious. To die carelessly would be their greatest disgrace!"
"And as for you, Kōe!" Yamamoto raised his wooden sword and slammed it down heavily, producing a deafening crack.
Kōe felt the very earth tremble beneath the blow. He looked up to see that Yamamoto, whose eyes were usually narrowed, had opened them wide. A breathtaking light blazed within his gaze, as if it would never dim.
"You cannot die, nor will you die! Your future must be utterly radiant!" Veins bulged on Yamamoto's neck as he roared, "Do you understand, Kōe?!"
"I understand, Master!" Kōe straightened his posture and roared back with equal fervor. "I am Kōe Shihouin! When I break free from my cocoon, I will be an eternal butterfly in the sky!"
"My future will absolutely be radiant!"