The area covered by the ice mist was not large, with a radius of only a few meters.
Isane could control this mist with considerable precision, dedicating most of her concentration to it.
"If my Spiritual Pressure is stronger than my opponent's, the mist can even freeze their organs directly... but my opponent is Sōsuke... I have no advantage in Spiritual Pressure, in fact, I'm the one at a disadvantage... at most, I can probably just restrict his movements."
Isane thought to herself.
The ice mist released by her Zanpakutō was not simple.
Its true danger was not the damage it caused to the opponent's body surface.
Rather, it could enter the spiritual body through the respiratory tract and directly cause frostbite to the organs.
If the opponent's Spiritual Pressure was not enough to resist the frostbite...
It could quickly incapacitate them, or even deliver a fatal blow.
Isane swung her Zanpakutō, directing the ice mist to press towards Aizen.
Aizen also swung his sword. A stream of water gushed from the blade, forming a huge wave that crashed towards the mist.
The next moment, the wave and the mist collided.
The giant wave froze rapidly, turning into an ice sculpture.
"See, I told you Aizen's Zanpakutō ability is average. A water-type is completely countered by an ice-type. I bet he won't even make it to the finals!"
A student said indignantly.
Someone had been bragging about Aizen's strength in front of him just now, which had annoyed him.
Aizen was just a little better at Shunpo and Kidō, a far cry from Lisa Yadōmaru and Sajin Komamura.
Lisa's Spear of Thunder and Sajin's ability to create a sandstorm with his sword were both much stronger than any of Aizen's moves.
"What do you know? President Aizen hasn't even used his ultimate move, 'Dankū', that's a high-level Bakudō!"
A young man with glasses retorted.
Most of the students supporting Aizen were members of the calligraphy club.
Aizen was good at managing it. After only a few months as president, he had gained a considerable reputation in the Academy, which also earned him many supporters.
On the stage.
Seeing the effect of the ice mist on the water, Aizen instantly judged its power.
Swoosh—
Aizen's figure flashed as he quickly retreated, creating distance between himself, Isane, and the ice mist.
Seeing this, Isane immediately directed the mist to chase after him.
But the mist's movement speed was much slower than Aizen's Shunpo.
No matter how she directed it, the mist couldn't catch up to him, unable to even touch the corner of his clothes.
"It would be better if you controlled the mist while using Kidō to force my movements."
Aizen looked relaxed, even having the time to give Isane pointers.
"But it seems you're still struggling to control the mist. You need to practice your Zanpakutō ability more, Isane."
Aizen was right. Isane needed to focus to control the mist, leaving her no room to use Kidō.
In just a short while, she was already panting slightly, a clear sign that maintaining the mist was also a significant drain on her.
"Bakudō #4. Hainawa."
"Hadō #4. Byakurai."
Dual Incantation was an advanced Kidō technique that allowed two spells to be combined and cast simultaneously.
Aizen used this technique to release 'Hainawa' and 'Byakurai' at the same time.
A rope of light formed from spiritual particles bound Isane.
Before she could break free, a bolt of lightning followed.
Distracted by controlling the mist and bound by the rope, Isane was completely unable to dodge the attack.
Boom—
The lightning exploded on her body. She was instantly sent flying, crashing more than ten meters away.
Swoosh—
Just as she hit the ground, Aizen's footsteps followed, and he appeared beside her with Shunpo.
He brought his sword down.
Clang—
Isane gave up on maintaining the mist and quickly raised her sword to block.
But the lingering paralysis from the lightning strike made it difficult for her to exert her strength.
The Zanpakutō in her hand was slowly being pushed towards her.
Isane gritted her teeth. Since she couldn't block it, she wouldn't.
She couldn't free a hand to cast Kidō directly at him. She slightly adjusted the position of her left hand, which was pressing on the back of her blade, and aimed it at Aizen's sword.
"Hadō #21. Enbakuhō!"
Isane cast the Kidō at top speed.
Spiritual particles gathered in her left hand, and a blast of fire exploded directly in her palm.
Boom—
Isane bore the brunt of the explosion's damage.
Because the sword was being pressed towards her, the explosion was closer to her body.
The impact sent pain through her entire body.
Her left hand, which had cast the spell, was now a bloody mess.
But the explosion successfully pushed Aizen's sword away.
Aizen retreated ten meters.
He was completely unharmed, calmly looking at Isane, whose left hand was mangled.
Aizen's Shunpo was even faster than the shockwave from the explosion.
He had already retreated to a safe distance before the shockwave could reach him.
"Even casting Kidō at such close range can't hurt Sōsuke...?"
A hint of despair was in Isane's voice.
She lifted her still-functional right hand and wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth with its back.
She then used Kaidō to perform emergency first aid on her injuries to prevent a rapid loss of combat effectiveness due to blood loss.
At this moment, Isane clearly felt the gap between herself and Aizen.
He was a master of Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Shunpo, and Kidō. She could find almost no weaknesses in him.
Even with her best effort, she couldn't touch the hem of his clothes.
Before she had learned Shikai, she could comfort herself with the fact that she hadn't mastered it yet.
But now she had, and the gap didn't feel like it had shrunk at all.
There was still an almost insurmountable gulf between their strengths.
"You need to be even faster to hit me."
Aizen said with a smile.
Isane was not one to give up easily. She hadn't given up yet.
After stopping the bleeding, Isane crouched down and cast a Kidō.
"Hadō #22. Chiretsu!"
The ground beneath Aizen's feet suddenly split open, revealing a pit.
But before he could fall in, he had already used Shunpo to leave the spot.
"Still not fast enough. It's time to end this."
Aizen appeared at Isane's side.
However, after casting the Kidō, Isane had immediately jumped away.
She and Aizen's Zanpakutō barely missed each other.
"Did she predict my movement...?"
Aizen was somewhat surprised by her decisiveness.
After retreating a few steps, Isane suddenly raised her Zanpakutō.
There was also a pit where she had been standing.
After she moved away, Aizen was now standing right in front of that pit.
In an instant, the long-hidden ice mist erupted from within the pit!
The mist was the true purpose of her creating the pits with 'Chiretsu'!
She had used the pits as cover to get the mist close to Aizen by surprise.
The next moment, the ice mist froze Aizen into a pillar of ice.
"Did I freeze him...?"
Isane panted softly.
This was her last resort. The explosion had made it difficult for her to grip her Zanpakutō, and she couldn't hold on for much longer.
"You've improved during the battle... you can now use Kidō while controlling the mist."
Before Isane could breathe a sigh of relief, she heard Aizen's voice from behind her.
"However, my 'Kyōka Suigetsu' is a water-type Zanpakutō. It can use mist and water currents to create mirror reflections and confuse the enemy's vision. The one you froze was just an afterimage created from water mist."
"I missed!" Isane's pupils contracted.
The next moment, she felt a cold sensation on her neck.
Aizen's Zanpakutō was already resting there.
Isane looked intently and saw that the 'Aizen' frozen in the pillar of ice was indeed an illusion.
"I lose. Your Shunpo is too fast. I can't keep up with you at all," Isane said with a bitter smile.
She had lost.
Having a blade at a vital point was an automatic loss.
"Sōsuke Aizen wins!"
With a large audience today, Sōsuke Tanuki was in high spirits.
"Let's thank both students for a wonderful match! Sōsuke Aizen's Shunpo speed is truly breathtaking! To be honest, it's much faster than my own!"
"Of course, Isane Kotetsu's performance was also spectacular. Whether it was the point-blank 'Enbakuhō' or the ice mist hidden with 'Chiretsu', both were decisive, match-winning moves!"
"Unfortunately, Aizen's Shunpo was simply too fast. He dodged all of Isane's killing blows with his masterful movements!"
"Let us congratulate Sōsuke Aizen on successfully advancing to the finals!"
Thunderous applause erupted from the audience. The skills displayed by the two were quite extraordinary, even by the standards of the Gotei 13.
"The students at the Academy are getting stronger and stronger! After graduation, those two could at least become seated officers!"
"Actually, it's not that the students are strong, it's that Katori Sora's disciples are strong... Didn't you notice... all four semi-finalists are his disciples!"
"Hiss—if I go back to the Academy now, do I still have a chance to become his disciple? I want to be a seated officer too!"
"You want to be a seated officer? I think you'd have a better chance if you got reincarnated... Katori Sora is very strict about accepting disciples!"
The performance of Aizen and Isane sparked a lively discussion among the watching Shinigami.
Many squad members felt they wouldn't stand a chance if they went up there.
One Shinigami sitting next to the student section cried out in despair:
"My freshly paid salary!"
He had just listened to the misguided advice of several students and bet on Isane to win.
"Didn't you all say Aizen was overhyped?! There's clearly a huge gap!"
The Shinigami questioned the students next to him.
"Well, Aizen is only good at Kidō and Shunpo... Isane couldn't win because she couldn't catch him."
"He may be fast, but is he faster than lightning?! Lisa Yadōmaru is obviously stronger!"
"Yeah, and can his Shunpo outrun a sandstorm that covers the whole stage?! Sajin Komamura is the real favorite to win!"
The students were unwilling to easily change their opinions.
"You all underestimate President Aizen's strength! Didn't you see him use the 'Dual Incantation' technique just now? That's something only a Kidō master can do. His strength is far beyond what you imagine!"
The members of the calligraphy club were very dissatisfied with the others' remarks.
"Putting that aside... who's stronger, Sajin Komamura or Lisa Yadōmaru?"
The Shinigami, unwilling to give up, wanted to get an advance on next month's salary to try and win his money back.
"Of course it's Sajin. You must not have seen the top-eight match. That punishment-like sandstorm was terrifying!"
"Can a sandstorm be stronger than Lisa's Spear of Thunder? Lisa is the strongest!"
The students who had been united in talking down Aizen now split into two factions, attacking each other.
Jirō Obana slapped his forehead. It was getting noisy, and he regretted asking that question.
"Wait... Shinji Hirako is also Katori Sora's disciple, right? They're from the same school! I should go ask him!"
Jirō Obana left his seat again.
The guest section was also lively.
They had entered the recruitment phase.
"Director Kotetsu, your daughter is both wise and brave! I think she would be a great fit for the 6th Division. How about letting her become a seated officer here after she graduates?"
Kuchiki Ginrei was sincere. The Kotetsu family was a minor noble clan, and her skills were at the seated officer standard. He felt she would be a good fit for the noble-led division.
"That will still depend on Isane's personal wishes. I won't interfere with her career choice... but she is quite fond of Kaidō and seems to want to join the 4th Division."
Director Kotetsu shook her head.
"Captain Kuchiki, you shouldn't try to steal people from me!"
Retsu Unohana said with a smile. The 4th Division didn't even have a suitable lieutenant yet; there was no way she would let a Kaidō talent like Isane go elsewhere.
"Sigh... what a pity. It's a shame to miss out on such an excellent student!"
Ginrei sighed lightly.
He was old and wouldn't be a captain for much longer. Once Sōjun Kuchiki could stand on his own, he would choose to retire.
At that time, Sōjun would also need an excellent subordinate.
Isane Kotetsu was an excellent choice. With a little nurturing, by the time Sōjun became a captain, Isane would also have the ability to serve as a lieutenant.
As for Sōsuke Aizen, his performance was too outstanding.
Ginrei had a faint feeling that Sōjun might not be able to control him.
Making Aizen Sōjun's subordinate might not be the right choice.
Moreover, he felt that a genius like Aizen should have higher aspirations.
He might not be interested in a 6th Division lieutenant position.
Such a genius would likely prefer the squads with captain vacancies.
Currently, the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, and 10th Divisions were without captains, with their duties temporarily handled by the lieutenants.
Serving as a lieutenant in these squads was functionally no different from being a captain.
Therefore, these squads were more favored by geniuses confident in their ability to serve as lieutenants.
After the Kidō teachers quickly repaired the stage, Sajin Komamura and Lisa Yadōmaru stepped up.
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Hey guys, I want to apologize for not uploading any chapters lately. My mother passed away a week ago, and honestly, I just didn't have the energy to do anything. The chapters that were uploaded were the ones already scheduled.Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your patience and for still being here. Starting tomorrow, uploads will return to normal.