The Sword and Shield Initiative
The Sword and Shield Initiative is the elite task force of the Fourth Division. Members of this Initiative are split up into two parts. Half of the Division members are placed under the Sword Department, while the other half is placed on the Shield Department. In order to join the Sword and Shield Initiative, one must have a minimum of fifty years of experience as a member of the Gotei 13 and show promise in the shinigami arts, including zanjutsu and kido. Those who eligible to join, must undergo a mandatory forty year training, as they refine their skills in kido, hakuda, zanjutsu, the medical arts and undergo serious physical conditioning.
Known to be perhaps the most brutal training program for shinigami, a good 57% of those who join the training program drop out within the first year. Due to such the high drop out rate in the training program, only a total of 500 soldiers make up the Sword and Shield Initiative. There are 250 Swords and 250 Shields. Each Sword is paired up with a Shield, as they work in unison with each other. The purpose of this pairing is to help protect those shields who are working to heal while the partnered Sword can protect said shield on the battlefield.
Another key thing to note is that members of the Sword and Shield Initiative are incredibly skilled. Those who are swords in the division are notoriously known for their swordsmanship and skill in hand to hand combat. As for the Shields, they're rumored to have the same level of performance of four normal Fourth Division members. If anyone is interested in joining the Initiative, please send me a private message for more details about the initiative.
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