Chapter 366: BSUS - 369: The Clever Youth — Shiba Kaien

To possess such overwhelming suppressive power while facing an Espada alone—Kaien’s performance was undoubtedly a massive confidence boost for everyone.

Over the past month, Kaien had absolutely been the hardest worker among them. Not only did he focus on improving his own strength, but he also paid close attention to everyone’s taut nerves, promptly regulating the atmosphere within this temporary little team to prevent conflicts from arising or escalating.

Truth be told, there were several times when the seemingly endless, fruitless training made Rukia feel lost. Could they really win this war?

If it hadn’t been for Lord Kaien, she might have truly turned into a mindless puppet, twisting her body aimlessly without a single thought of her own.

After all, when failures turned into an infinitely growing number, it became numbing. Like water wearing away stone, it eroded your willpower before you even realized it.

But there was an indescribable magic about Kaien. Without needing too many words, he could give people strength. He made you realize that at the end of the dark, abyssal tunnel, there truly was a sunlit exit, and that someone had already touched that warm beam of light—and his hand was holding yours.

He wasn’t a leader who made you want to rely on him; he was a sincere comrade. He wasn’t a deity to be looked up to, but a tangible existence of the same kind. He might possess things you lacked, but he wasn’t so distant that you could only sigh in admiration. Instead, he gave you the feeling that you could draw closer to him, that you could possess those things too.

*Is this pure, wholehearted beauty what Big Brother Chōzuka saw?* Rukia didn’t know if she and Hiroe were looking at the same scenery, but even if it was different, she believed there had to be similarities.

There had to be similarities. Although Hiroe couldn’t witness Kaien’s growth with his own eyes at this moment, he could already guess the general state of the battle from the clash of Reiatsu that felt like a lone sail piercing through the waves.

As expected of Shiba Kaien. Even though a century of his time had been stolen by Aizen and himself, the genius demeanor he possessed when he first stepped out of the Shin’ō Academy was still incredibly gratifying to behold.

Honing combat skills, changing styles, and increasing Reiryoku all required time to temper. Someone who could drastically shorten that time was a genius. Ichigo was such a person, and so was Kaien.

Of course, there were still differences between the two. As enviable as Ichigo’s talent in Reiatsu was, his talent in other areas was equally atrocious. To call him a completely hopeless case wouldn’t be an exaggeration at all.

Kaien was different. He was extremely balanced in all aspects. To be able to comprehensively elevate himself to his current state in just one month... even the picky Yoruichi had expressed her surprise during their communications, never expecting the seemingly goofy Kaien to have such a quick mind.

It wasn’t Yoruichi’s fault for not expecting it, because Kaien wasn’t someone with outstanding combat instincts like Ikkaku, Kenpachi, or Ichigo. Hiroe felt that Kaien was very much like him—the type who could rapidly hone and perfect their own combat techniques. Setting aside his previously dance-like spearmanship, his current growth alone verified this viewpoint.

And generally, people like this didn’t have slow minds. Hiroe and Urahara both belonged to this category, and as the Commander of the Onmitsukidō, Yoruichi barely qualified as this type as well.

Some might argue that Yoruichi’s mind wasn’t that quick either, but acting carefree didn’t mean she was stupid. If you thought the head of an assassin organization was purely a reckless brute, you were far too naive.

It was true that Yoruichi was simple, but she could also be complex. Urahara was like this, Hiroe was like this, and Shunsui was the same. They were all a bunch of old folks who lived with a relatively clear understanding of the world.

Kaien was different again. A guy who could figure out that spearmanship on his own was definitely no idiot, but in certain aspects, he acted like a complete fool. That goodwill devoid of prejudice and self-interest, that integrity that was deeply tolerant and never forced upon others—these things could indeed be called beautiful.

But sometimes, living with too clear an understanding wasn’t a good thing. Balance, stability—for the sake of these two words, smart people could discard too much justice and tolerate many "insignificant" mistakes. Such actions couldn’t be judged as simply right or wrong; those two concepts were too extreme. For this type of approach, there was only appropriate and inappropriate.

Compromise and exchange were signs of maturity, but this maturity was too rational and cold, completely devoid of romance.

Hiroe had had enough of such compromises. It was true that strong medicine couldn’t be used casually, but in some places, a heavy dose was absolutely necessary! Since he was determined to tear open a breach, this breach couldn’t be filled back in by their own people!

He had to hand this spring of vitality over to Shiba Kaien. It couldn’t be the next Urahara Kisuke, Kyōraku Shunsui, or even Ukitake Jūshirō. It could only be Shiba Kaien!

Fortunately, up to this point, Kaien had left him very satisfied. According to Urahara, the fact that people like Ikkaku could spontaneously band together so cohesively was largely thanks to Kaien’s assistance from within. He would definitely leave him satisfied.

He had originally thought Urahara was exaggerating a bit, but looking at it now, Urahara had actually held back. Hiroe was more than just satisfied; he was downright pleasantly surprised!

He had even briefly wondered just now: if there had been no Aizen, if there hadn’t been that century of wasted time, what kind of surprises would Kaien be giving him right now?

Such thoughts vanished as quickly as they appeared. Although he didn’t want to admit it, the unfortunate truth was that if Aizen truly didn’t exist, he, Chōzuka Hiroe, might still be in Hueco Mundo, or he might have returned to the Shihōin clan, forced to be a stay-at-home husband. Tearing open a breach? If he even touched that sensitive barrier, a whole crowd of people would jump out to accuse him of committing this or that crime...

And without this chaotic situation giving him an opportunity, what chance would Kaien have to make friends outside of the Shinigami? Even if Ukitake intended to hand the Thirteenth Division over to Kaien, he would likely just be a Captain strictly guarded and monitored by Central 46.

Of course, perhaps Kaien could have used his own methods to slowly open a breach through the Thirteenth Division, but whether you asked Hiroe or Urahara, the probability of success was close to zero.

This was also the difference between them and Kaien. In their eyes, there were thousands of paths between the correct starting point and the correct destination. Whether the process was correct or not was only temporary; it wasn’t important.

But in Kaien’s eyes, the starting point was important, the destination was important, and the process was equally important!

Perhaps such a person was what it meant to be a youth. Someone like Ichigo, who was a bit foolish and would hold your hand no matter what, even if it were the end of the world—that reckless bravery was youth.

Someone like Kaien, who had weathered the years and endured hardships, whose sharp edges should logically have been mostly smoothed out, yet who would still smile and lead you to chase the footsteps of the sun—that hopelessly romantic nature was also youth.

Hiroe looked in the direction where Kaien was, a glimmer of light flickering in his eyes, as if he were anticipating something.

But this anticipation vanished in a flash. A youth was ultimately a youth sometimes. They had a long road ahead of them, and there were mountains they couldn’t cross on their first try—just like the 10th Espada Kaien was currently facing, Yammy Llargo.

The violent Reiatsu in the distance grew even more oppressive. Even with old folks like them around, the youth’s path wouldn’t be easy, nor should it be.

It was just that the falls taken while learning to walk were what first taught us to be strong.

Whatever does not destroy me will ultimately make me stronger.

*You will grow stronger too, won’t you, Kaien?*