The outdoor arena arranged by the Shin’o Spiritual Arts Academy resembled the structure of a Roman coliseum.
At its center was the dueling platform, surrounded by tiered seating for the audience.
Unohana Retsu sat with Kotetsu Ayane and several others.
"Captain Unohana, I didn’t expect Teacher Katori to be able to invite you over. The Fourth Division hospital must not be too busy these days, huh?" said Departnt Head Yamada with a polite smile.
"The injured have mostly been discharged, and there’s not much going on lately. I thought I’d drop by and have a look," Unohana replied with a soft smile.
Tsunayashiro Vice Dean watched coldly from the side, while Departnt Head Nakano deliberately stoked the fire:
"Vice Dean Tsunayashiro, the matches have already started. Why hasn’t Teacher Tsunayashiro Tokinada arrived yet?"
Vice Dean Tsunayashiro forced a stiff smile. "Tokinada-sensei wasn’t feeling well and went back to rest."
He was secretly fuming. Tokinada had gotten upset over sothing that morning and just refused to show up.
The more attention he drew to it, the more embarrassing it beca!
’These youngsters really can’t keep their cool!’
"Captain Unohana, the upcoming match should be exciting. Muguruma Kensei is one of Teacher Katori’s disciples. He even used his Shikai in a previous bout. His opponent, Madara Ichirō, is no slouch either. He made it into the top eight during the last autumn assessnt," said Yamada while stroking his beard.
"Indeed, it’s rare to see a Shikai in a student match," Kotetsu Ayane added.
"To have already learned Shikai while still in the academy... Looks like another prodigy is about to erge," Unohana said with a smile.
On the arena—
"So shiny!"
Muguruma Kensei raised his hand instinctively to shield his eyes after stepping onto the stage.
Madara Ichirō was bald.
Several thick veins were bulging visibly on his scalp. "What did you say?!"
"I said the—uh..." Kensei hesitated for a mont and gave up teasing the man’s appearance. "The noon sun is really bright."
"Don’t think I didn’t get what you ant!" Ichirō, hot-tempered by nature, imdiately drew his Zanpakutō. "Madara Ichirō—ready for battle!"
He charged straight toward Kensei, hoping to prevent him from using his Shikai. If Kensei managed to release it, Ichirō knew he’d have no chance.
But just then, Kensei also drew his Zanpakutō—
A flash of sword light burst forth.
"Katori-ryu: Senmai-Oroshi!"
Ichirō’s expression shifted drastically. He halted abruptly and swung his blade to block.
He had watched Kensei’s previous battle against Kuchiki Sōjun. As a spectator, he’d thought Kensei’s sword style looked sharp and aggressive.
But now, feeling Kensei’s attack firsthand, he truly understood what Kuchiki Sōjun had faced!
Kensei’s sword rained down like a steady drizzle—fine, dense, and unrelenting.
Clang—shhk—clang clang—shhk!
Ichirō’s Zanpakutō felt like a worn-out, leaky umbrella. The rain of strikes seeped through every gap—impossible to block them all!
Clank!
Ichirō’s Zanpakutō fell to the ground.
A wound to his wrist had weakened his grip, and the injury on his leg made it impossible to stay upright. His entire body pitched forward.
Thud!
Kensei sheathed his blade as Ichirō collapsed.
A clean one-hit victory!
Muguruma Kensei’s strength was now on a completely different level compared to most academy students.
"Muguruma Kensei is the winner!"
Nanatsuki announced the result. Two Fourth Division dics carried Ichirō off for treatnt.
As Kensei stepped down from the platform, he was greeted by cheers from his peers.
"That was insane, Kensei-nii! You beat Madara Ichirō in one move—this is what Teacher ant by ’instant kill,’ right?!" exclaid Kobane Jin’emon.
"’Senmai-Oroshi’ really is amazing... Too bad I couldn’t master it before the assessnt started," Hirako Shinji said with regret.
"I think your sword strikes have gotten even faster," Azashiro Kana remarked.
"That’s what happens after unlocking Shikai. It manipulates wind, which deepened my understanding of sword speed," Kensei replied, rubbing the back of his head.
"Aweso, aweso! Let’s hope we all get to et in the semifinals!" Azashiro Kana said, eyes gleaming with excitent.
After a long mont of silence, the crowd erupted into chatter.
"Wait, isn’t that the guy who got eliminated in the first round last ti? How did he suddenly get so strong?" a confused student asked.
"You didn’t see his last match? He’s already awakened his Shikai!"
"What?! He learned Shikai already? Maybe I missed his match while I was in the infirmary... That’s crazy. How can soone that far behind pick up Shikai so fast?"
"Far behind? Did you see his swordsmanship? He didn’t even use Shikai this ti!"
"I still can’t believe soone from Class 2 could be this powerful..."
Though many had started expecting sothing from Kensei, his performance still shocked them.
Madara Ichirō wasn’t weak. Even making it to the top eight wouldn’t surprise anyone. But he was taken down in a single move today.
Even Unohana was surprised. "So Katori’s disciple knows ’Senmai-Oroshi’ now... Katori really is gifted at teaching."
Unohana had once been the original Kenpachi—known as Yachiru Unohana—who claid to have mastered the most sword styles among all Shinigami. She was deeply familiar with the Katori-ryu as well.
She knew just how difficult it was to learn Senmai-Oroshi, one of the hardest techniques of the Katori-ryu.
That Muguruma Kensei had mastered it was truly no small feat.
Kotetsu Ayane suggested, "For this exam, we should make sure these two students who’ve learned Shikai don’t face each other too early. It’d be a waste to eliminate them early on."
"Agreed."
"If they et in the finals, it’ll be a match to rember."
"Then let’s revise the draw rules—no repeat matchups from the earlier rounds."
"Good idea."
After just a few words, they finalized the updated lottery rules.
"Vice Dean Tsunayashiro, do you have any objections to this proposal?" Kotetsu Ayane asked.
"None. Let’s go with that," the vice dean replied.
At this point, he wasn’t even sure Kuchiki Sōjun could beat Kensei if they t again.
If Sōjun didn’t make it to the finals, Tsunayashiro Tokinada’s frequent absences would co under scrutiny. The Kuchiki Clan might intervene and oust Tokinada from the academy.
It would be better to just avoid the matchup altogether.
After everything that had happened, Vice Dean Tsunayashiro couldn’t help but lower his expectations.
Right now, the priority was to secure Tokinada’s position.
As for the competition over the position of Swordsmanship Departnt Head—
Letting Katori Nanatsuki take over for a while wouldn’t hurt.
Vice Dean Tsunayashiro knew all too well how the previous vice dean had died.
’What a hopeless ss...’ he thought, already feeling a headache coming on as he rembered having to edit Tokinada’s attendance records every day.
He had already arranged a powerhouse lineup for Tokinada:
The next head of the Kuchiki Clan, the next heir of the Ōmaeda family, a rising star from the Amamimon family, plus a group of younger nobles who valued martial strength—all of them had been assigned to Tokinada.
Such a strong starting hand, and he still managed to screw it all up!
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