"This isn't good..." Isshin Shiba gasped for breath.
Sōsuke Aizen walked slowly out of the smoke and dust, completely unscathed.
'Sekichō: Getsuga Tenshō' was his most powerful move!
It was a special technique he had developed specifically to defeat Aizen.
Yet, it had been effortlessly blocked.
What was worse, the move consumed a great deal of energy. After using it, his combat effectiveness had dropped significantly.
Sōsuke Aizen vanished in an instant.
Clang—
Isshin quickly raised his sword to block but was knocked back several meters.
"My strength really has dropped a lot... If it were just 'Getsuga Tenshō', I could use it multiple times... but using it in the 'Sekichō' state unleashes almost all of my Spiritual Pressure at once..."
Isshin's heart sank. The single strike he had gambled most of his power on had failed to achieve the desired effect. His chances of winning were now infinitely close to zero.
"Sōsuke... is this your true strength...? So you've been holding back all this time!"
Isshin anticipated Aizen's position and slashed towards an empty space to his right.
Clang—
Aizen parried the blow.
He quickly spun around and delivered a whip kick to Isshin's abdomen, sending him flying.
Isshin tumbled in the air and landed in a half-kneel on the ground.
"I still have one more move... I just don't have very good control over it..." Isshin grinned.
"Oh? You still have a trump card?" Aizen chuckled. "I look forward to it!"
"Watch closely!" Isshin bit his finger and smeared his own blood on his lips, then spewed a wide-area burst of fire from his mouth.
These flames seemed to act as a fuel accelerant for his Zanpakutō, 'Engetsu', causing its fire to flare up intensely.
At that moment, arcs of lightning appeared on Isshin's body.
"You've even learned the professor's 'Raihi Ryōgen'?" Aizen raised an eyebrow. Seeing Isshin use both fire and lightning, he thought he was about to use that technique.
"I can't use 'Sekichō' and 'Raikiri' at the same time yet," Isshin said slowly. "But my 'Engetsu' is a fire-type Zanpakutō, so I only need to release 'Raikiri' and combine it with the flames from 'Engetsu' to merge the two powers!"
The lightning power surging from Isshin's body flowed through his arms and into his Zanpakutō.
The next moment, the flames on 'Engetsu' intertwined with the lightning arcs, turning into a golden blaze!
The intense heat radiating from the longsword instantly evaporated the moisture in the air.
The oncoming wave of hot air made Isshin feel as if his hair was starting to curl, and the skin on his hands began to crack.
"I see..." Aizen's eyes narrowed as he analyzed. "The professor's 'Raihi Ryōgen' is more of a self-enhancement, adding lightning-flame power to his attacks. This move of yours... you're planning to release it in the same way as before, aren't you?"
"You guessed right!" Isshin raised his longsword. "My body can't handle this level of enhancement. If I let this power into my spiritual body, it would probably destroy me... But I can use 'Getsuga Tenshō' to project all of this power outward!"
By releasing this power in the form of a Getsuga Tenshō, his spiritual body wouldn't have to bear too much pressure; the pressure would be on his Zanpakutō.
And his Zanpakutō could withstand far more than his spiritual body.
"Getsuga Tenshō!"
Isshin swung his sword forward.
A terrifying crescent-shaped slash of golden energy cut through the air.
"A very impressive move..." Aizen used Shunpo to appear behind Isshin. "But compared to when the professor uses 'Raihi Ryōgen', the preparation time is a bit too long..."
"What!" Isshin was stunned.
He then felt a strong push from behind.
Isshin was sent flying.
On the other side, the golden crescent slash struck the spiritual particle barrier and exploded violently.
BOOM—!!!
Even with the barrier, the students watching from the outside were affected.
"The tremor is so strong!"
The barrier couldn't isolate the vibrations traveling through the ground, and the students were knocked over by the violent shaking.
They only got back up after the tremors subsided.
"If Professor Katori hadn't been blocking that, we would have been blown to ashes!"
"Aren't those two just junior students? This is too terrifying!"
"I think they're stronger than a lot of seated officers..."
"Are all of Professor Katori's disciples this strong...? It's a shame the Katori dojo's admission is so strict, otherwise I'd love to train under him!"
The students were still shaken.
The battle they had just witnessed was on a completely different level for them.
The dust cleared, revealing Isshin Shiba lying on the ground.
He no longer had the strength to stand.
After using two ultimate moves in a row, he had exhausted all of his Spiritual Pressure and didn't even have the strength to get up.
The referee, Sōsuke Tanuki, quickly ran over to check on his condition. Confirming that he could no longer fight, he announced the result:
"Sōsuke Aizen wins!"
Isshin tried to push himself up but found he couldn't. He gave up and continued to lie on the ground.
Aizen walked over, lifted him up, and placed him on a stretcher brought by the medical team.
"I still couldn't beat you... Sōsuke!" Isshin lamented.
"If you could have released that move a little faster, you might have been able to beat me," Aizen said with a smile of encouragement.
"That's true. This is a special move I developed by imitating the professor's 'Raihi Ryōgen'!" Isshin's spirits lifted again, and he decided to practice the move diligently when he got back.
On the other side, Katori Sora returned to the guest seats.
"Hahahaha, Lieutenant Shiba, don't leave too quickly later!" Kyōraku Shunsui was very happy; someone was buying drinks today.
"You...! If you keep laughing, I won't treat you!" the Lieutenant was very unhappy. It was bad enough that his favored junior had lost, but now he had to be fleeced by Kyōraku.
"Was that move of Isshin's taught by Professor Katori?" Jūshirō Ukitake was curious. "It was a very powerful technique!"
The move Isshin had unleashed was quite powerful; even some of the Lieutenants present might not have been able to block it.
"That move is very similar to one you've shown before, Katori-kun," Retsu Unohana mused. "But your move is used more for self-enhancement, whereas Isshin's focuses the power into the slash."
Unohana had also witnessed Sora's 'Raihi Ryōgen' before.
"That was something new Isshin developed by combining the sword techniques I taught him. It's quite creative," Sora explained.
Isshin's move had also given him some inspiration.
'Getsuga Tenshō' could unleash the power of 'Raikiri' and 'Sekichō' all at once, and its power was considerable.
In fact, Katori Sora also knew 'Getsuga Tenshō'.
The reward for guiding Isshin to complete his Shikai training had been that very technique.
"The few students who made it to the final four are all quite excellent. Isshin Shiba, Tetsuzaemon Iba, Munehiro Kyōraku, and Maki Ichinose are not weak either..." Ukitake pondered. "I even think their skills have already reached the standard for a seated officer."
"Yes, the top eight this year are all outstanding! To keep them in the Academy is a bit of a waste, and my squad is very short-staffed! How about..." Kenpachi Kuruyashiki grinned. "We let them all graduate?"
Shinigami are long-lived, and their growth is relatively slow.
The 11th Division had suffered the most losses in the Quincy extermination war a few years ago. Kuruyashiki was eager to add some seated-officer-level Shinigami to his squad.
"If we follow the original rules, only the champion gets the right to graduate. Wouldn't doing this be unfair to the winner and reduce the incentive?" Ukitake hesitated.
"That makes sense... It's a reward for the champion student," Kuruyashiki scratched his head.
"How about this? We keep the champion's reward; the winner gets to graduate directly," Sora suggested. "Then we add an extra reward: students who perform exceptionally well will get the right to apply for early graduation."
Graduating directly and getting the right to apply for early graduation were two different things.
Direct graduation required no further assessment.
Getting the right to apply meant they would have to complete an assessment mission to graduate early, just like Kakyō and the others.
"The Academy normally doesn't approve early graduation applications for junior students; only high-achieving senior students are eligible," Director Kotetsu nodded in agreement. "But as a reward for outstanding performance in the Shinken Taiketsu, it seems reasonable."
"These students have performed very well. If they can graduate early, their rankings in the competition can also be a factor in their squad placement," Retsu Unohana, who had her eye on Isane Kotetsu, also wanted her to join the 4th Division sooner.
Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni thought for a moment. These students, who had distinguished themselves from the entire Academy, indeed did not need to waste any more time there.
"This is feasible," Yamamoto nodded.
With no objection from the Captain-Commander, the matter was settled.
The students who reached the top eight would be granted the right to apply for an early graduation assessment.
...
After receiving treatment, Isshin and the others returned to the dojo and learned the as-yet-unannounced news from their professor.
"Everyone in the top eight gets to apply for an early graduation assessment?" Isshin was overjoyed. "Does that mean I got the right to apply too?!"
"That's great. We all have a chance to graduate early," Aizen Sōsuke said with a smile.
He had just lost to Aizen and thought he had no chance of graduating early this year. He didn't expect to still get the qualification.
"You all performed exceptionally well, and the captains were very impressed. Your rankings in the competition will be an important consideration for future squad assignments, so don't slack off just because you got the right to apply!" Sora chuckled.
"Hahaha! In that case, I must pass the graduation assessment!" Isshin laughed loudly. "Sōsuke, just you wait! I'll definitely become a captain-level powerhouse faster than you!"
This competition had made him realize that Aizen had never used his true strength in their previous spars. The gap between them was much larger than he thought, which was hard for him to accept.
But he was not one to give up easily.
"Does that mean I'm the only one who can't graduate early?!" Sōya Azashiro's face fell as he cried out in despair.
"If you're weak, you just have to train more," Lisa Yadōmaru patted his shoulder expressionlessly.
The disciples had not only learned swordsmanship from their professor but also some vocabulary that didn't exist in this world.
"I was wrong! I'll train hard!" Sōya clutched his head in frustration.
The comparison was painful. Everyone else had earned the right to apply for early graduation, while he had been eliminated in the group stage.
It was too embarrassing.
"The soup is ready~" Isane Kotetsu came out of the kitchen carrying a steaming pot.
Over the years, Isane had also learned some cooking skills from Sora.
She was particularly good at making desserts, and her skill level was already close to his.
"Isane made soup!" Lisa, who loved sweets, was the first to rush over.
"It's too hot, and it's so hot in the summer..." Isshin made an impractical request. "It would be perfect if it were cold..."
"Where are you going to get ice in the middle of summer!" Lisa sneered.
"Isn't Isane's Zanpakutō..." Isshin gestured for her to help.
"I've only just mastered Shikai, I can't control it well yet..." Isane said shyly. "If I use 'Kōten', I'll freeze the whole pot solid!"
She had just learned Shikai and her control over her Zanpakutō 'Kōten's' ice ability was not yet precise.
"You want ice... there's a way." Sora remembered a Kidō he had learned at the Saitō residence.
A Saitō ancestor had enjoyed researching "life hack" type Kidō and had created many interesting ones.
Sora also found them interesting and had memorized them.
Sora pointed at an empty bowl. The spiritual particles in the air condensed into shaved ice, filling the bowl.
"That Kidō can make shaved ice!" Isane's eyes lit up.
"Iced water, shaved ice, ice cubes, it can do it all. A very useful Kidō," Sora said with a smile.
"I want to learn!" Isane thought that learning this might help her adapt to her Zanpakutō's ability faster.
"I'll teach you later," Sora said, taking a sip of the soup.
"Ah, soup is definitely better with ice!" Isshin said with satisfaction after taking a sip of the cool soup.
"They're eating without me!" Batsu'unsai Katori had just woken up and saw everyone in the courtyard eating.
To minimize her Spiritual Pressure consumption, she often slept to reduce it, spending most of her day asleep.
"I've prepared some for you too, Master," Isane ran back to the kitchen.
"Isane is the best!" Batsu'unsai followed her with a grin.
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