Bleach : I Need To Rizz To Become Stronger ?!-Chapter 85: Division Duel: 2,300 Reishi Threads!

Yamada Kiyosuke's notebook was filled with personal insights—loosely structured, scattered in logic, unlike any standard pharmacology or Kaidō text. This made it all the more difficult for Shin to master.

He supplemented his study with a mountain of reference materials, dedicating nearly all his time over the next few days to deciphering the dense tome.

It wasn't just for the duel. The notebook itself was a priceless resource.

And just like that, the week Unohana had allotted came to an end. On the appointed day of the match, Shin arrived early at the 4th Division's largest training courtyard.

A sizable crowd had already gathered. Closer to the front stood the seated officers—including Iemura and the man himself: Shingyōji Ōgi.

Though Shin technically served under him in the 1st Advanced Emergency Unit, they'd rarely interacted. Fieldwork was usually led by Iemura.

Shingyōji bore a calm, unreadable expression as Shin approached. No hostility, no contempt—just a faint nod of acknowledgment.

"I heard you've been locked away studying Kaidō. I gave Iemura permission for your leave," Shingyōji said mildly. "How's your preparation?"

He retained the composure befitting a senior. Not a hint of resentment over the challenge.

"Passable, I hope. I'll be counting on you to go easy, Senpai," Shin replied with a grin.

A quiet hum of speculation rippled through the onlookers. But the noise quickly died down as Unohana appeared, Kotetsu Isane at her side.

Several division members set up two long tables, each bearing a strange white sphere—hollow and faintly luminescent.

Shin's eyes fell on the device. He'd been briefed the day before: these were inventions of the 12th Division's R&D department, specifically designed for Kaidō aptitude testing.

Isane wasted no time with introductions.

"Today's duel between Division Member Tachikawa Shin and Third Seat Shingyōji Ōgi will be judged in three categories. Results will be evaluated by Captain Unohana and the top ten seated officers of the 4th Division, with all present members bearing witness."

"The first round: Kaidō. Before you is the Reishi Reconstructive Conduit. It contains 2,300 simulated reishi channels—2,000 of which are ruptured. You will have one hour to repair as many as possible using Kaidō. The total count and execution efficiency will determine your score."

The crowd erupted.

Two thousand?!

The mere thought was staggering. Even healing a single damaged spiritual channel within a living soul required surgical precision and deep Kaidō knowledge. To restore 2,000 simulated threads in a fixed time... Was that even humanly possible?

Eyes turned toward Shin with a mixture of skepticism and awe. Did this greenhorn from Shin'ō Academy even know what a reishi conduit looked like?

Both contestants were permitted to inspect the devices first.

Shin stepped up to the sphere. Upon close inspection, he saw an intricate network of impossibly thin filaments—barely visible to the naked eye.

These were the "reishi chains"—each channel emerging from pinprick-sized apertures.

Shin pressed a palm to the orb, channeling raw reishi. Instantly, the device flared with light.

Switching to Kaidō output, the glow shifted to a softer, red hue. He focused, attuning his senses to the flow of reishi inside.

He quickly grasped the principle: each damaged conduit had to be reconnected without overlapping existing paths. A single misstep could destroy multiple threads. The more one fixed, the more crowded the internal space became—like playing surgical pick-up sticks with laser wires.

Two thousand...

After several minutes of analysis, Shingyōji announced he was ready.

Shin stepped back as well.

Unohana gave a faint nod. Isane placed a simple mechanical timer on the table between them.

As the ticking began, all fell silent.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Both men activated Kaidō simultaneously.

Shin started cautiously. The device wasn't simulating a full spiritual body, so he didn't need to factor in organ alignment or energy flow. Just the threads.

He estimated he could restore five to six hundred if he maintained full focus for the entire hour.

But the deeper challenge wasn't speed. The more chains you fixed, the harder it became to find room for new ones. Without mapping a precise route ahead of time, you'd soon find yourself boxed in by your own repairs.

After a few minutes, Shin slowed his pace.

Shingyōji's Kaidō was clearly superior. If this became a race, Shin would lose.

He made a decision.

Dispelling his current spellwork, he switched back to raw reishi output.

Immediately, the orb burst with red light as all previously repaired threads—including the 300 pre-existing intact ones—collapsed.

Gasps echoed. The observers didn't understand what had just happened. Had Shin fumbled? Broken the device?

Even Shingyōji looked up briefly—but quickly returned to his task.

Isane's face went pale.

He's botched it! Was he not trained on the device? Is his Kaidō too weak to maintain stability?

But Shin wasn't panicking.

He switched back to Kaidō.

And this time, he incorporated his Zanpakutō's ability.

He wasn't trying to rebuild thread by thread. He was going to create a central "nexus"—a spiritual node that would anchor the entire network, linking all 2,300 ports simultaneously.

A relay hub.

But the process was absurdly delicate. The reishi threads were fragile; any overlap would trigger mutual destruction. Building a stable core that linked every conduit without direct contact... should've been impossible.

Even Shingyōji couldn't do that.

More red flares appeared as Shin worked—sparking murmurs from the audience.

He's failing again! Hasn't he fixed a single thread?

Still, the red stopped after a few attempts.

From that point on, his orb remained calm—only the soft glow of Kaidō energy radiating outward. free𝑤ebnovel.com

Isane breathed a sigh of relief.

At least he stabilized it. It would've been humiliating if he ended with zero.

Riiiing!

The alarm rang sharply. Time's up.

Both men withdrew, stepping back from their orbs.

Tension gripped the courtyard.

"We will now evaluate the results."

Isane approached Shingyōji's orb first. Peered inside. Then turned a dial.

The white sphere split apart with a crack, expanding into a suspended globe.

A stunning web of white light filled the air—reishi threads interwoven into a complex lattice. The sight alone drew gasps.

Over a dozen officers approached to verify.

"1573 threads repaired. Added to the original 300: total of 1873."

Applause. Whispers. Awe.

Shingyōji remained calm. Had he not focused on speed, he might've finished all 2,000.

"Impressive as always, Shingyōji-senpai," Shin said with genuine admiration.

A modest nod was the only reply.

Now Isane turned to Shin's device.

She took one look—and froze.

"Vice-Captain Kotetsu?" Shin prompted gently.

She didn't respond.

Murmurs spread. Had he really failed to repair even one?

Isane blinked, reached for the dial with trembling fingers.

Click.

The orb split open.

And revealed something no one expected.

Every single thread—2,300 of them—radiated in perfect harmony, aligned in outward symmetry. Each strand was evenly spaced, clean, almost mathematical.

All of them connected to a single glowing white core.

A heart.

A pulsating, reishi-forged heart.

Silence fell like snow.

Even Unohana's gaze locked in place, unmoving.

She had chosen this test to give Shin an advantage, suspecting his Zanpakutō could "rewind" damaged structures. She'd even personally sabotaged the threads beforehand to level the field.

But this...

How did he do this?!

Those familiar with the orb's mechanics were stunned. The threads were never meant to interlink at a single point. Doing so should've destroyed the entire network.

"Vice-Captain Kotetsu?" Shin asked again.

Isane blinked, dazed.

"Shouldn't we count them?"

But there was no need.

Each port was connected. Every last one.

Total threads repaired: 2,300.