The Shinigami were stunned by the terrifying might of the golden flame giant.
"What is that?!" Ashido exclaimed in shock.
"It's a sword technique unleashed by our professor!" Kana Azashiro said.
Although this golden flame giant was completely different from the one she had seen before—much larger in size and far more terrifying in power—she could sense that it was her professor's spiritual pressure.
"You call that a sword technique?!" Ashido used his spiritual sense to check and found that it was indeed Katori Sora's spiritual pressure fluctuation.
He looked down at his own Zanpakutō and suddenly felt a lack of confidence, beginning to wonder if he had ever properly learned swordsmanship.
Sora, at the center of the golden flame giant's chest plate, controlled its movements.
After reaching the captain-level, he could now fuse three sword techniques.
The "Dust-Binding Lightning-Flame Armor" he was currently using was a fusion of "Raikiri," "Jintō," and "Sekichō."
It was equivalent to applying a "Raihi Ryōgen" state to the armored giant, and in this giant form, the state could be maintained for much longer.
The remaining 'Gillians' instinctively retreated, trying to escape.
The golden flame giant lifted its long golden flame sword and slammed it down on the fleeing 'Gillians.'
BOOM—
Six 'Gillians' were directly smashed to pieces.
The terrifying heatwave sent the normal Hollows near the 'Gillians' flying. These conventionally-sized Hollows couldn't even withstand the aftershock; they were carbonized in mid-air and then dissipated into reishi.
The giant drew back its flame sword, leaving behind pools of lava on the ground where the terrifying heat had melted the rock.
The giant swung its sword in a horizontal sweep. A swath of 'Gillians' was torn apart by the blade, their very corpses vaporized into reishi by the high temperature.
Wherever the blade passed, not a single 'Gillian' was left alive.
The sight of the golden flame giant slaughtering the 'Gillians' left an indelible and profound impression in the hearts of the Shinigami.
"That giant wiped out a whole group of 'Gillians' with one swing!" Akane Saitō licked her lips, her mouth feeling exceptionally dry.
The presence of the giant had raised the temperature of the entire area significantly, and all the Shinigami felt their mouths go dry.
"The professor's strength is truly bottomless," Kensei Muguruma said with emotion.
"This golden flame giant seems much more powerful than the one we saw in the 'Valley of Screams'," Jin'emon Tsubaki commented.
"The one we saw in the 'Valley of Screams' was the 'Dust-Binding Flame Armor,' a combination of 'Jintō' and 'Sekichō.' What the professor is using now should be an even more powerful technique, but it's likely also related to 'Jintō'," Shinji Hirako said, stroking his chin.
Sora had also taught Shinji "Jintō" and "Sekichō," so he had some understanding of them.
"So amazing. We still have to work harder. There's so much more we need to learn!" Kana Azashiro said.
Sōjun Kuchiki's eyes shone with a strange light. He couldn't help but think of his son, who was still in his infancy.
"When Byakuya is a little older, I will implore Professor Katori to take him as a disciple..." Sōjun thought to himself.
Like Jin'emon, Sōjun was already married before entering the academy.
While the group was talking, Sora had already finished cleaning up the remaining 'Gillians.'
With a thought, the golden flame giant gradually dissolved into reishi and dissipated into the air.
At the same time, the shadow space rapidly vanished, and Kagehime returned to Sora's hand.
Whoosh—
Sora used Shunpo to appear in front of everyone.
"Professor, that move just now was so cool!" Kensei quickly asked, "What sword technique was that?"
"This is 'Dust-Binding Lightning-Flame Armor.' It requires the combination of 'Raikiri,' 'Jintō,' and 'Sekichō' to be used," Sora explained patiently.
"It's a combination of three sword techniques!" Shinji said with a troubled look. "Just combining 'Jintō' and 'Sekichō' is already very difficult. I still can't do it yet."
Ashido approached with the Shinigami of the expeditionary force and said gratefully, "We owe you our thanks for your help this time, Professor Katori. Otherwise, the expeditionary force would have been in grave danger."
One only had to think for a moment to understand that without reinforcements from the Soul Society, they would have been completely unable to handle so many Menos.
Thinking of this, Ashido felt extremely fortunate. If not for Sora's help, he wouldn't have been able to save so many of his comrades.
Ashido was strong, but he did not possess the ability to quickly overwhelm the Menos army.
"Thankfully, the academy's graduation exam was led by Professor Katori this time. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable!" Akane Saitō also felt very lucky.
Katori Sora had unknowingly already changed many things.
Several years ago, the Kasumiōji family's targeting of him in Karakura Town had dragged Yoruichi Shihōin into the mess.
The Kasumiōji had diverted the blame onto the Quincies, leading the Onmitsukidō to find the Quincy encampment in the human world early, which had advanced the Quincy war by a significant amount of time.
Now, the remaining Quincies in the World of the Living had gone completely into hiding and no longer actively clashed with Shinigami. The human world had become much more peaceful in the last two years.
It was precisely for this reason that Ayane Kotetsu had decided to arrange the early graduation exam for Sōjun and the others in Hueco Mundo.
Otherwise, their exam would most likely have been held in the World of the Living.
"As long as everyone is alright," Sora said with a smile. "Now that the Menos army is dealt with, let's return to the camp and detoxify the Shinigami who were poisoned."
"Alright. Then we'll be counting on you, Professor Katori!" Ashido said sincerely.
Earlier, both Sora and Ashido had intentionally led the swarm of Hollows away, preventing the battlefield from reaching the camp, so the Shinigami with limited mobility had not been harmed.
The Shinigami who had remained in the camp breathed a sigh of relief when they saw them return. They had sensed the terrifying spiritual pressure fluctuations in the distance but didn't know what had happened.
"Captain Ashido, has the Menos army been dealt with?" a Shinigami on guard duty asked. Even though he looked to be in very bad shape—pale-faced, with blackened lips, and swaying on his feet—he couldn't hide the excitement in his eyes.
"They've been dealt with!" Ashido nodded. "Now, Professor Katori will be helping to remove the Hollow poison from your bodies. Split into groups. Those who are most severely poisoned will go first."
The Shinigami in the camp wept with joy, and then erupted into loud cheers.
Afterward, a tent was cleared out for Sora to treat the poisoned.
When the Adjuchas had administered the poison, it had aimed for the widest possible spread, so the toxicity was not set very high. If the poisoned Shinigami died too quickly, it would have hindered its spread.
It had only wanted to use the poison to incapacitate the Shinigami. This way, it would be harder to detect in the initial stages and easier to spread.
With Sora's level of Healing Kidō, treating this degree of Hollow poison was no trouble at all.
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