Fairy Tail: Shinigami
Chapter 245: Training, part 2.

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[Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto. POV.]

As the sun began to rise, casting a warm golden hue over the Seireitei, I found myself atop one of the watchtowers, observing the horizon. My thoughts, however, were not on the picturesque landscape, which I had seen more times that I could count, but on the young man I had just finished training.

Adam.

I had seen countless shinigami come and go throughout my tenure as Captain-Commander. Some showed potential, some were mediocre, and a rare few were truly extraordinary, like Shunsui and Jushiro. But Adam... he was something else entirely.

A category of his own. Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ NƟvelFɪre.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

It was not just his raw power, which was undeniably formidable, that much I could admit. It was his impressive adaptability, his unyielding spirit, and his thirst to grow, peace and battle, a weird combination. Every training session would end with him being stronger than the last, this being a testament to how much potential he had. With every spar, every lesson, he absorbed knowledge and technique like a sponge. And the rate at which he was progressing was nothing short of astonishing.

In our evening sessions, he faced off against Unohana, with a resilience I had seen in very few, most by now, would've asked for mercy, for Unohana to be removed from their training.

And despite what most would think, I understood why, I was harsh with those I trained, but with Retsu Unohana, things were different, she wasn't harsh, she was lethal.

With her was a dangerous dance, one that could easily end in tragedy if she deemed him unworthy of fighting again. But despite all this, Adam held his own, despite dying multiple times, he kept fighting her, to the point he is now matching her strike for strike, adapting to her unpredictable style. He bore the weight of her blade with a smile on his face, taking her challenges head-on, in turn growing stronger with each encounter.

That was not to say she was his only sparring partner.

The two of us had our fair share of clashes as well.

My Ryūjin Jakka, an embodiment of raw destruction, tested the mettle of any who faced it. Yet, Adam stood firm. Even when overwhelmed by the searing heat, even with his flesh melting, or the sheer force of my strikes, he would rise again, ready for another round, his spirit unbroken.

His fighting spirit was such that I couldn't help but smile during our encounters, and how could I not? I was enjoying them!

For the first time, in far too long, I felt the possibility of being challenged rising in the horizon.

And this possibility came in the shape of a young man, whose soul was barely reaching his sixties, who despite everything would face, me, The Captain-Commander, someone feared even by my own subordinates without flinching, who despite clearly not wanting the job, had willingly accepted a position within the Gotei 13 despite the hurdles, doing an exceptional job in it.

It was no small feat, and the respect I held for him grew with each passing day.

Lost in my musings, I was brought back to the present when I felt a familiar reiatsu approach. Shunsui, always the carefree spirit, greeted me with his trademark lazy smile.

"Watching the sunset, old man?"

I simply nodded in acknowledgment.

"He's something, isn't he?" Shunsui mused, his gaze distant. "Adam, I mean."

"Yes," I replied simply. "He truly is."

Shunsui chuckled, "Going to make us all obsolete at this rate."

A faint smile tugged at the corners of my lips. "Perhaps. You could always train with us, if you feel like you're being left out."

"Most appreciated old man, but I respectfully decline such an offer," Shunsui replied, a sigh leaving him.

I sighed, if only all of my pupils had the same thirst for improvement as Adam, maybe then threats like Aizen would never have the opportunity to grow.

"Well, see you later, Yama-ji," Shunsui smiled, waving at me. "I will go ahead and see how Adam is doing. You know how it is, being a Captain is hard, and he needs my expert support."

As if I would believe such a terrible lie, has Shunsui learned nothing about me? Or does he simply not care that I can read him so easily?

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[Adam C. POV]

My entire body ached, and that was putting it mildly. The strain of constantly sparring with Unohana, and the Old Man were taking their toll. However, with the pain came progress; and with progress came dopamine, or the soul equivalent of that.

Either way, the point was that I felt stronger, more attuned to my surroundings, and more connected to my Zanpakuto than ever before.

And that was a sensation that I would have every day. I was stronger than yesterday, weaker than tomorrow, so far, an endless cycle.

As I wrapped up the final spar for the evening with Unohana, wiping the sweat from my brow, I decided to head back to my office in the fifth division. Perhaps I could sneak in a few minutes of rest before diving into the ever-growing stack of paperwork that being a captain entailed.

Honest to God, I have no idea why there's so much paperwork, when all my division does is patrol some areas, and kill Hollows.

I could understand this level of paper coming for the specialized divisions, but… this one? It felt like it was there to torture their Captains, at the very least, it was certainly torturing me.

Opening the door to my office, I was met with a sight that was both surprising and somewhat annoying. Urahara Kisuke, with his signature hat tilted at just the right angle to shadow his eyes, sat casually in one of the chairs, the one behind my desk to be precise. Beside him were Yoruichi, her arms crossed and an amused smirk on her lips, Toshiro, who I had no idea why he was here, his serious gaze scrutinizing every corner of the room as if looking for something to complain, and Shunsui, lazily sipping on what I assumed was sake.

I raised an eyebrow. "Quite the gathering we have here."

Urahara offered a cheery wave. "Adam! My friend! My brother from another mother! Good to see you. We thought we'd drop by and update you on a few... developments."

I took my seat behind the desk, tossing Urahara to the other side of the room, before indicating for him to continue.

Urahara leaned forward, his jovial demeanor fading to one of concern. "Things in Hueco Mundo are starting to move faster than we anticipated, it seems Aizen deems you enough of a threat to change some of his plans."

I smiled at the thought. Aizen, deeming me a threat, was actually an enjoyable thought, though him moving his plans forward wasn't as enjoyable.

"Well, that can't be good, right?" I sighed, rubbing my temples. For once, I had wanted things to go according to canon, according to what I knew, because it meant things would be easy to deal with, in terms of planning.

But… alas, shit never goes according to plan. Good thing I had kind of anticipated this, which is why I was training so much.

Urahara nodded. "Indeed. From the intel we've gathered, he's quickly amassing an army of Arrancar. And with the Hogyoku at his disposal, we can only imagine the monsters he's capable of creating."

I gripped the edge of my desk, knuckles white. If he fused with the Hogyoku before we invaded Hueco Mundo, before I was ready, things would go back, very bad.

No amount of training would be enough to deal with someone capable of evolving as he had in the anime.

Had it not been for Urahara in the original timeline, who had made a sealing spell just for him, taking into account Ichigo's Final Getsuga, Aizen would've won without much of a problem. And while like Ichigo, I have Urahara on my side, he had yet to make notice about having such a spell.

Seeing my tense state, Yoruichi chimed in, "We believe that as soon as you finish your training, launching an assault on Hueco Mundo would be our best course of action."

"Invading the hollows in their home turf? Mah, that sounds fun, I'm in," Shunsui declared, swirling the liquid in his cup. "I owe it to you, after all," he added with a wink.

Owe it to me? For what?

We have barely interacted.

Toshiro's face was a mask of anger. "I'll be joining this mission as well. Aizen's betrayal... what he did to Lieutenant Hinamori... I can't let that go."

Ah, so that's why he was here. He was revenge.

I nodded in understanding. Despite it being obvious he stood no chance against Aizen should they fight, I understood how he felt, at least to some level. The pain and betrayal he felt for what happened to Momo ran deep.

He needed this closure, perhaps more than most.

"Welcome aboard then," I replied.

Urahara smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Time's ticking, Adam. Train hard. We need you at your best, none of us here can defeat Aizen."

He could. If it wasn't for the fact he was under Aizen's Kyoka Suigetsu, Urahara would be more than capable of defeating the man.

This didn't mean he was stronger than Aizen, in terms of spiritual power, Urahara came lacking compared to Aizen, but because this man was a genius, a terrifying one at that.

Given enough time, he could defeat almost anyone. That's how good of a strategist he was.

Saldy, Aizen knew this as much as I did, which is why he had made sure to have every possible threat under the spell of his blade.

I met his gaze. "I'll be ready."

I had no idea how strong Aizen truly was, heck, the anime had never shown his Bankai, but I was certain that when the time came, I would be ready to face him.

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