As the saying goes: a single tree does not make a forest!
The soul body Makoto Senju possessed after transmigrating was by no means top-tier in talent.
It could even be described as thoroughly ordinary, barely enough to let him pass the entrance exam for the Shin’o Spiritual Arts Academy.
If nothing unexpected happened, Makoto would likely become just another mediocre member of the Gotei 13, eventually dying in some accident and bringing an end to his mundane life as a Soul Reaper.
After all, Makoto knew very well that for a Soul Reaper, the ability of a Zanpakuto might determine their lower limit, but what truly determined their upper limit was the spiritual power and Reiatsu within their body!
Even though Makoto’s awakened Zanpakuto, Shinra Bansho, was quite peculiar, possessing various plant-manipulating abilities that in some ways closely resembled the Wood Release from his memories of his past life…
The spiritual power talent of his soul body was simply too low.
He couldn’t possibly grow to the height of a captain-level Soul Reaper, nor could he maintain the Reiatsu required to truly fully release Shinra Bansho.
Because of this, Makoto used his awakened Zanpakuto, Shinra Bansho, to specifically develop the “Forest Seed,” which could fuse with other soul bodies.
In a sense, the Forest Seed was like a seed rooted in the earth, capable of slowly and subtly absorbing spiritual power from a soul body, then transferring it into Makoto’s own soul body using Shinra Bansho as a transit point.
Of course, the Forest Seed posed no danger to the host soul body.
Being only the size of a single Reishi particle, it couldn’t actively force-drain spiritual power; it mostly absorbed the spiritual power that the host passively dissipated into the air at all times.
And because every soul body’s talent and strength differed, the yield obtained by the Forest Seed varied drastically.
Just after the Forest Seed completely merged into Kenpachi Zaraki’s soul body, Makoto immediately felt a distinct difference!
If the spiritual power he had previously gathered from numerous students at the Shin’o Spiritual Arts Academy could be compared to single drops of water, then the spiritual power he was drawing now was almost like a partially opened faucet.
The sheer quantity was more than tenfold higher!
‘As expected, even the combined natural leakage of spiritual power from hundreds of Shin’o Spiritual Arts Academy students can’t compare to a captain-level Soul Reaper!’ Makoto’s eyes imperceptibly brightened.
His gaze couldn’t help but fall on Yachiru Kusajishi, who was lying on Kenpachi Zaraki’s shoulder, sucking her thumb while looking at Kenpachi’s abdomen.
‘Kenpachi Zaraki is an absolute monster, and this pink loli Yachiru Kusajishi isn’t bad at all either.
Looks like I need to find an opportunity to plant a seed in Yachiru Kusajishi as well…’ Makoto thought to himself.
Unfortunately, the Forest Seed was essentially a special Reishi particle with far too many limitations.
To truly fuse it with a soul body, it had to be “planted” through a wound; otherwise, it would easily be rejected by the soul body itself.
Furthermore, creating a Forest Seed was quite troublesome.
Currently, Makoto could produce at most one Forest Seed per day.
Kenpachi Zaraki, naturally, had no idea that in just a few short moments, thousands of thoughts had flashed through the mind of the gentle, sunny youth in front of him.
Instead, he pulled open his Shihakusho, exposing the spot where his wound had been.
However, in just a few breaths, the wound had completely healed!
At this moment, not only did Kenpachi Zaraki’s eyes light up, but even the surrounding squad officers watching were immensely surprised.
Although it was just a simple wound that hadn’t damaged internal organs, this speed of recovery was already fully comparable to a Soul Reaper proficient in Kaido giving it their all.
More importantly, Makoto’s healing ability stemmed from his Zanpakuto, which meant it possessed the potential for wide-area healing and continuous treatment during large-scale battles.
‘An extremely rare ability…’ ‘If this kid’s Reiatsu is enough to maintain his Zanpakuto for a long time, it can be considered a strategic healing ability that could alter the course of a local war.’ ‘I wonder how effective it is for serious injuries?’ For a moment, the eyes of several squad officers flickered, clearly recognizing the potential shown by Makoto’s Shinra Bansho.
Kenpachi Zaraki slapped his fully healed abdomen hard, and the bloodthirsty, ferocious expression on his face gradually turned into a somewhat incongruous smile as he declared, “Very good, kid.
I approve your squad application.” Beside him, Ikkaku Madarame slapped Makoto’s shoulder excitedly and laughed loudly.
“Ahaha!
Awesome, Makoto!
From now on, you’re one of us in Squad 11!
I’ll definitely protect you well in the future!” Yumichika Ayasegawa, looking like a handsome flower boy, also showed a pleasant yet charming smile and said, “Makoto, what a magnificent result.
I hope we’ll have a chance to get to know each other more deeply later.” “Um…” Makoto slowly raised one hand, his face showing a touch of apology and regret as he said, “The squad I want to join is Squad 4.” “Hmm?!
Kid, what did you say?” Kenpachi Zaraki narrowed his eyes and stared at Makoto.
An invisible pressure of Reiatsu surged over Makoto like a tidal wave.
Makoto felt his body sink slightly.
The Reiatsu emanating from Kenpachi in front of him vaguely took the shape of an evil spirit or wild beast roaring at him.
Compared to Kenpachi Zaraki, Makoto looked like a fragile, tiny blade of grass that could be snapped at any moment.
Yet Makoto’s expression didn’t change from start to finish.
He merely repeated once more, “I’m sorry, Captain Zaraki.
My dream is to join Squad 4 and become a medic.” Several breaths passed.
While a significant portion of the surrounding graduates had already been forced to their knees by the invisible Reiatsu leaking from Kenpachi Zaraki, gasping for air with difficulty as the whole hall fell into obvious chaos, the Reiatsu pressure originating from Kenpachi suddenly vanished.
Then, Kenpachi patted his empty shoulder, a terrifying grin appearing on his face as he offered, “Kid, I underestimated you just now.
Come to Squad 11, and I’ll give you a status equal to Yachiru’s.
If you’re worried about getting hurt in battle, just sit on my shoulder whenever we go on missions.
I’ll cover you.” ???
Makoto Senju.
At this moment, hearing Kenpachi’s words, Makoto’s mind went blank for a second, and then the scene Kenpachi described gradually took shape in his mind…