The night was heavy with silence. Despite Kaizen's order to rest, no one could truly relax. The looming eliminations hung over them like a guillotine.
Renji Kurogami stood alone in the training ground, the cool night air brushing against his skin. His muscles screamed for rest, but his mind refused to settle. The match earlier still burned in his thoughts — the intensity, the unpredictability… and his frustration.
I didn't dominate.
He tightened his fists. That was what bothered him the most. He had made an impact, sure. But others had too. Mori, Amagi, Riku — they'd all shined. Renji didn't want to just shine. He wanted to eclipse them.
He closed his eyes, the familiar weight of exhaustion pushing against him. But that wasn't enough to stop him.
"Still here?"
Renji turned to see Eiji Kobayashi walking toward him. The old legend's eyes glimmered with interest. Behind him, Seiji Nakamura followed, arms crossed, his expression unreadable.
"Couldn't sleep," Renji said simply.
Kobayashi grinned. "That's what I like to hear."
"Let's see how much of what we taught you actually stuck," Nakamura added, his voice sharp.
The next hour passed in a storm of movement. Renji pushed his body past its limits — his Phantom Step slicing through the air, his Void Strike creating deadly angles, his Specter Drive moving him with impossible fluidity.
But that wasn't enough.
"Too slow," Nakamura barked, cutting off his approach. "You're thinking too much. You want instinct. Make your body move before your mind catches up!"
Renji gritted his teeth and adjusted. Again and again, he attacked, and again and again, they crushed him. But he adapted. Every failure sharpened him.
And then it happened.
As Kobayashi lunged for the ball, Renji's vision expanded — his spatial awareness surged. His body moved without hesitation, his leg snapping forward.
"Eclipse Cut!"
The ball sliced through the air like a bullet, bypassing both legends and smashing into the net.
For a moment, there was only silence. Then Kobayashi burst into laughter. "Now that's more like it!"
Nakamura just nodded. "You're starting to get it."
But Renji knew — this was just the beginning. He wasn't just evolving. He was transcending.
Tomorrow, when the eliminations were announced, he wouldn't just survive.
He would rise.
To be continue...