Demon Slayer: The Journey That Began When I Became Yoriichi's Sister

Chapter 704 Spiritual Power Cultivation

Shinigami are not born as Shinigami. In fact, it can be said that the vast majority of Shinigami in the Gotei 13 are students who entered the Shinigami Academy from Rukongai. After undergoing systematic training and enhancing their spiritual power, they became Shinigami.

To be honest, it's really just a difference in Zanpakuto (soul-slaying swords).

Of course, this doesn't mean the difference is small. On the contrary, the difference is so great that it's almost impossible for an ordinary person with powerful spiritual energy to compare with the Grim Reaper.

Shinigami can awaken their Zanpakuto by training their Asauchi, and can even explore the power within their Zanpakuto.

Their Shikai and Bankai, whether in terms of ability evolution or spiritual power enhancement, make them far more powerful than ordinary people.

The Quincy also possess their own unique characteristics.

Shinigami, Quincy, and even Hollows can all use different methods to manipulate spiritual energy for combat and possess different talents.

But this doesn't mean that ordinary people can't become stronger or reach a level comparable to them.

At least... it's not entirely hopeless.

Yuko walked towards the beach, her left arm crossed over her chest, her right elbow propped up, her index finger resting on her lips, her eyes somewhat vacant as she fell into thought.

If we only consider the development of spiritual power, how can we teach Long Gui to become stronger?

Simply using spiritual power to fight isn't difficult; even that comedian from Kannonji Temple can do it. Even fighting against a Hollow isn't a big deal. But catching up with Inoue and Chad is not so easy.

She had subconsciously stopped thinking about Ishida and Ichigo.

Shinigami and Quincy are somewhat overpowered; their abilities are beyond the reach of ordinary people.

Although she herself was not entirely clear about the details, she was certain that the Quincy's power was related to bloodlines, somewhat similar to the vampire system, and that pure-blooded Quincy were stronger than hybrids.

Needless to say, the Grim Reaper's Zanpakuto alone is already overpowered.

"Hey, beautiful~"

Suddenly, a light whistle pulled Yuko back to reality.

She stopped, somewhat bewildered, and looked up.

Three shadows loomed ahead, and three young men, dressed in flashy beach shorts and with tanned skin, stood with their hands in their pockets, looking like thugs who thought they were very cool.

"Are you alone? Did you have a fight with your boyfriend?" The blond guy with the parted hair in the middle leaned closer with a grin. "Never mind those guys who don't know how to appreciate beauty. How about coming over there with us for some fun?"

The blond guy on the left whistled: "The swimsuit is a bit conservative, but it looks amazing on you, especially those legs..."

As he spoke, his aggressive gaze swept towards Yuko's thigh.

Yuko didn't show any fear or disgust, and her expression barely changed.

The blond guy thought Yu Zi was terrified, so he stretched out his arm to hook up with her: "Hey, come play with us."

His hand was halfway out when a thick arm reached out from behind and grabbed it.

"You son of a bitch..." The blond-haired man subconsciously turned around and cursed, but the curse words got stuck in his throat. He swallowed hard as he looked at the tall, imposing figure behind him.

Wearing children's blue swim trunks, Jinta crossed her arms and said, "Where did this delinquent come from? He's really brainless."

Xiaoyu's little face was serious: "We can't do bad things."

Kisuke Urahara chuckled and covered his face with his fan: "That's harassment, you know~"

The blond-haired man tugged at his arm, but it wouldn't budge: "Let...let go of me."

Wo Ling Tiezhai turned to look at everyone, offered no opinion, and exerted a little force.

"Ahhh! It hurts! Let go! Let go now! My hand is going to break!" The blond-haired man screamed like a pig being slaughtered. He was forced to kneel on the beach, twisted by Tie Zhai's force. His arrogant demeanor from before vanished instantly.

Woriya Tessai casually released them. The blond-haired guy was in so much pain that snot was streaming down his face. The three of them looked at each other, realized they couldn't beat this guy, and slunk away.

Jin Tai stared speechlessly at their departing figures, muttering, "This is really terrible."

Yuko nodded slightly and looked at Tetsuzai: "Indeed, we really have to thank Mr. Tetsuzai."

"It makes me feel very safe~"

“…Ahem.” Wo Ling Tiezhai’s face flushed red, and he coughed twice.

Shen Tai's eyes showed even more speechlessness: "No, I mean they almost lost their lives."

Why did I have to mess with this pervert?

"Hmm?" Yu Zi glanced at him coldly.

Jin Tai broke out in a cold sweat and quickly shut his mouth. When he turned around, he saw that Urahara Kisuke and Katsuhishi Tessai had already retreated several steps.

That look was practically saying... Don't splatter my blood.

Shen Tai's face darkened.

Yoruichi rubbed her forehead and slung her arm around Yuuko's shoulder: "I told you this outfit wouldn't look good, right? If I had picked it out for you..."

Before she could finish speaking, Yu Zi couldn't help but retort, "Wouldn't it be even more dangerous if you had picked it?!"

"Oh, it's the ocean!"

Shen Tai let out a cry of surprise and grabbed Xiao Yu, rushing towards the sea.

Kisuke Urahara shouted from behind, "Watch out! Don't get eaten by a shark!"

"Why do you always wear that green hat no matter what you wear?" Yuko looked at Kisuke Urahara's outfit—a short-sleeved shirt, beach shorts, but with a bucket hat on his head—and thought, "Is the hat really his true self?"

Yoruichi laughed and said, "Maybe he's bald."

"Makes sense."

Just as Yuko nodded, Orihime came up to her.

"Teacher, we've finally found them... Ah, it's Yoruichi-san, the shopkeeper, and Mr. Tessai."

Kisuke Urahara smiled and said, "Oh, it's Ms. Inoue. Hello."

Yuko asked her, "Is there something you need?"

Orihime Inoue's innocent eyes suddenly turned serious: "Teacher, let's play beach volleyball! Boys' team versus girls' team, and the loser gets buried in the sand!"

"...No, I don't want to be in the sand."

Kisuke Urahara covered his face with a small fan: "This sounds interesting. Can we be included?"

"of course can!"

……

"Is this...is this heaven?!" Asano Keigo instantly knelt down, clasped his hands together, tears and snot streaming down his face. "As expected, the friend of a beauty is also a beauty."

Yoruichi looked at Ikuko with a proud expression: "Did you hear that?"

Yuko's expression remained calm: "Is it possible that he was referring to me and Masaki?"

Beside her was Masaki, who had just arrived.

They will be a little late, but only by about ten minutes.

"Which one do you fancy?" Asano Keigo and a few other boys, including Kojima Mizuiro, squatted to the side and whispered among themselves.

"As expected, it's still Ms. Yuko."

"I think that dark-skinned guy is quite nice."

Yoruichi's temple throbbed, but she held it in; at least it was a good evaluation.

"I think that orange-haired one..."

"That's my mom, you bastard!" Ichigo kicked her with a flying kick.

Yu Zi rubbed her temples: "It's all over now, these days' teenagers."

Yoruichi chuckled: "Isn't it because you taught Yuuko so poorly?"

Yuko rolled her eyes.

Just then, Orihime ran over carrying a volleyball: "Teacher, it's ready, come quick!"

Yuko was about to refuse when she suddenly heard Keigo, who was full of enthusiasm, say, "Oh! Beach volleyball with cute girls~ What kind of request should I make after we win?"

Orihime's eyes widened: "Eh? Isn't it supposed to be burying heads?"

Ryuki retorted, "Orihime, what you're saying is a bit scary."

Yu Zi took a deep breath and smiled slightly: "You've got guts, then let's have a contest."

Rather than letting them grow up and end up in prison, it's better to give them a good beating now with strict discipline.

Looking at Yuuko's terrifying smile, Ichigo suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Hey, I think we should change it..."

"Stop talking nonsense! Ichigo! Do you really think we'll lose?" Keigo arrogantly pointed at Tessai Tsukabishi to the side, "We have some muscular old man here from who-knows-where."

"Yeah, Ichigo! Don't let people look down on you." Even Kurosaki Isshin is getting along well with the boys.

Ichigo's lips twitched, and he began to wonder if his father had something wrong with his head.

It's one thing if other people don't know how formidable Auntie is, but how dare you?

……

as predicted.

boom!

ten minutes later.

A row of heads, with only their heads sticking out, appeared on the beach, including but not limited to Keigo, Mizuiro, Ichigo, Tessai, and Kurosaki Isshin. Even Urahara Kisuke was stuck in the sand by Yu with a blank expression.

"Hey, Xiaoyu, that's enough! I can't breathe!"

Orihime looked at the three of them with longing: "Teacher, Yoruichi, and Tatsuki are all so amazing."

Long Gui twitched his lips, his eyes inadvertently glancing at Yu Zi.

Buried in the sand, Ichigo couldn't help but complain, "Is that a serve that any human could catch?! That ball was practically on fire!"

Yuko lay on a deck chair, sipping her cold drink and gazing at the sea: "That's your imagination, it's probably just a reflection of the sunset."

Yoruichi narrowed her eyes: "This is a fair fight. You can only blame yourselves for not seizing the opportunity."

Without either of them using spiritual power, it's obvious to anyone with a brain that Yuko would win.

……

Happy times always pass too quickly, and the seaside trip came to an end soon enough, as for work matters...

Miyu: "Don't worry, I've already prepared a set of documents for the start of the semester for you, and I'll email it to you later."

"Because of what happened to you during the summer vacation, Yu Zi, the principal also told you to rest and recuperate in peace."

That's what she said.

Of course, Yuko didn't care much about it; it was just some of the usual safety concerns.

On the day they returned from the beach, Yuko made a promise with Ryuki in the car to meet at the dojo the next morning.

That dojo was where Ryuki and Ichigo had been training. Although it was a bit dilapidated now and there weren't many new people there, it was better for Yuuko, so she wouldn't be disturbed by others.

"drink!"

When Yuko arrived, Ryuki was already wearing his dojo and sweating it out in the dojo.

In the empty dojo, the girl's delicate shouts echoed along with the dull thuds of blows.

Wearing a martial arts uniform soaked with sweat, Long Gui threw heavy punches at the sandbag in front of him again and again.

not enough.

Not fast enough.

It's not heavy enough.

Her mind replayed the scene of the Hollow attack, when she could only watch helplessly as Orihime was attacked. That feeling of powerlessness was like a venomous snake, tightly coiling around her heart.

Yu Zi stood at the door for a while and had to admit that the child was talented in martial arts, but was limited by her female physique and could not match the strength of the boys.

"Take a break, your breathing and rhythm are all messed up."

“…Teacher?” Long Gui stopped, panting, picked up a handkerchief from the side to wipe his sweat, and walked towards Yu Zi. “I’m sorry, I didn’t even notice you came, teacher.”

"Where should we begin?" Yuko handed her a water bottle, pondered for a moment, and said, "Let's start with the fact that you can see spirits."

Long Gui was taken aback. "Teacher, you even know this?"

"Because you can see spirits, it's essentially because Ichigo can't control his spiritual power, which strengthens the spiritual power of those around him, allowing them to see spirits, and... Hollows."

"Xu..."

"That's right, it's the kind of monster you saw. You should be able to see it now, right?"

"Yes." Long Gui nodded seriously.

"After a person dies, the soul leaves the body. If the soul is not dealt with for a long time and keeps wandering in the same place, a void will form in the heart, and it will become empty."

"And the beings responsible for dealing with the Hollows are called Death Gods."

"Orihime and Ichigo, huh?"

"No, Orihime and Chad are not. What they use in battle is a special ability derived from themselves."

"But unfortunately, you don't have that ability."

Ryuki pursed his lips, clenched his fist, and suddenly realized that Yuko seemed to have forgotten to mention someone: "Where's Ishida-kun?"

"That's another type, called Quincy. They mainly rely on bloodline abilities to fight."

Long Gui couldn't help but ask, "Which kind of teacher?"

"Me? I'm a little bit of everything."

"..."

"In reality, I don't know much about either Quincy or Shinigami. Even Ichigo and Ishida are just novices."

Yuko slowly extended her hand: "And what I want to teach you is how to use spiritual power in battle."

Long Gui subconsciously looked at Yu Zi's palm: "Spiritual power..."

Soon, tiny blue specks of light appeared around them, converging towards Yuko's palm.

"These are spiritual particles hidden in the surrounding environment. By compressing them, they are gathered into spiritual weapons that can generate destructive power. This is the main fighting method of Quincy."

In her palm, a slender spiritual needle, emitting a faint blue light, hovered in the air.

“Like this.” She casually tossed the spirit needle out, which struck a piece of the training board and pierced it.

"But because Quincy have the talent bonus of bloodline, it is difficult for ordinary people to do it as well as they do."

While Ryuki looked on in surprise, Yuko asked, "In other words, you might need to put in more effort, and even then, you still might not be able to reach Ishida's level. Are you still willing to do that?"

Ryuki turned his head and nodded seriously: "Yes, I want to have the power to protect Orihime."

"...Don't blame the teacher for being nosy."

"Ok?"

"Long Gui, you don't actually like girls, do you?"