Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Yato’s Graduation Season
Chapter 33: Yato’s Graduation Season
One year later.
The Shin’o Academy’s martial arts arena was packed to the brim.
Students and teachers from all six grades had gathered here almost in their entirety.
They stared intently at the center of the arena, using their skin to feel the tearing sensation of Spiritual Pressures clashing.
Tonight was the final academy duel between Yato Uchiha and Byakuya Kuchiki. In just a few days, this batch of sixth-year students would officially graduate and go their separate ways.
In the future, it would likely be very difficult to witness a duel between such geniuses again.
The battle inside the arena had reached a fever pitch.
Cherry blossoms filled the sky. Tiny, countless blades surrounded Yato Uchiha, continuously grinding and slicing.
Even the tough hide of an Adjuchas-class Menos Grande would be reduced to minced meat within seconds under this assault.
However, such a ferocious offensive couldn’t even sever a single hair on Yato’s head.
Because a skeletal frame burning with a purple aura was blocking the tens of thousands of cherry blossom blades from the outside!
Byakuya Kuchiki was already very familiar with the sight before him. His Spiritual Pressure erupted, and the cherry blossoms swirled, completely enveloping the skeletal frame of Susanoo along with the boy inside.
From a distance, it looked as if Yato Uchiha had been encased in a pink coffin.
"Carriage of Thunder, Bridge of a Spinning Wheel. With light, divide this into six! Bakudo #61..." Byakuya chanted rapidly, pointing from afar toward the cherry blossom coffin:
"Rikujo Koro!"
Six beams of light pierced through the gaps in the cherry blossom blades, pinning Susanoo down and binding Yato in place.
Even for Byakuya Kuchiki, under such intense Spiritual Pressure consumption, his lips couldn’t help but turn pale.
But he didn’t dare to rest. Instead, he took a deep breath, and after a few seconds of silence, began a slow incantation.
"Limit of the thousands hands, respectful hands, unable to touch the darkness. Shooting star unseen by heaven, the road that sheds light..."
With every word Byakuya Kuchiki chanted, his face grew a shade paler, and his lips began to tremble, as if he were burning his very life force.
And as he chanted, the surrounding students and teachers couldn’t help but gasp in shock.
The reason was simple: the Kido Byakuya Kuchiki was chanting was none other than the super Hado ranked 91st, Senju Kojoten Taiho!
Due to its immense power and the extreme difficulty of casting it, even though Byakuya Kuchiki had now reached a Class 5 Rei-i—equivalent to an ordinary Lieutenant—and had his family’s profound legacy to draw upon, he still had to be extremely careful, not daring to make the slightest mistake.
Using Senbonzakura and a high-level Bakudo to suppress Yato’s Susanoo, and then bombarding it with a devastating Hado—this was the combat strategy Byakuya Kuchiki had devised.
Firstly, although Susanoo was incredibly powerful, it was relatively cumbersome and incapable of high-speed movement, making a restraint-based approach a viable counter.
Secondly, using the Shikai’s cherry blossom blades as a smokescreen could block Yato’s line of sight, preventing him from looking directly at Byakuya and defending against a Genjutsu attack.
Although the strategy was simple, being able to execute these two steps was something not even an ordinary Seated Officer in the Gotei 13 could pull off, let alone a student at the Shin’o Academy!
Yato, you should be making your move by now. If it’s you, you shouldn’t let me finish my incantation...
Despite thinking this, Byakuya Kuchiki’s tongue didn’t stop for a fraction of a second. The incantation for Senju Kojoten Taiho had reached its final stage.
However, right at that moment, a muffled boom echoed from the tightly bound Susanoo.
Bone after bone materialized from the void. This time, it wasn’t just curved ribs that appeared, but also teeth, a skull, a sternum, clavicles, humeri...
The upper half of a giant’s skeleton descended with a thunderous crash!
This power was as overwhelming as a massive mountain. It shattered Rikujo Koro, and the tens of thousands of cherry blossom blades were blown away by the ensuing hurricane.
"Incredible power, Yato, but it’s too late!"
Having estimated the distance between them, Byakuya Kuchiki didn’t retreat. Instead, he chose to continue releasing the Kido.
Threads of light gathered in the noble youth’s palm. He extended his arm straight out, pointing from afar at Yato Uchiha:
"Hado #91, Senju..."
Yato also didn’t flee.
He cast an appreciative glance at Byakuya Kuchiki. The giant skeleton enveloping him then made its move.
Its massive, coarse arm stretched backward, five fingers loosely gripping the air. Its other hand reached forward, forming the perfect angle to generate force, looking like an ancient deity about to hurl a javelin of thunder.
Yato didn’t have thunder, but he had fire.
"Amaterasu! Kagutsuchi!"
The six-pointed Mangekyo spun rapidly. A five-meter-long javelin of black flames was tightly gripped by Susanoo’s skeletal hand.
Boom!
In the next moment, before Byakuya Kuchiki could successfully unleash Senju Kojoten Taiho, the spear of Amaterasu hurled by Susanoo whistled past his ear.
It tore through the air, shattered stone pillars, and pierced through buildings!
It wasn’t until it crossed the entire martial arts arena and blasted away half of the teaching building on the opposite side that the spear of Amaterasu finally slammed into the ground, blasting a deep crater.
"...I yield." Feeling the searing heat lingering near his ear, Byakuya Kuchiki took a deep breath and deactivated his Shikai.
"You shouldn’t have surrounded me with Senbonzakura." Yato Uchiha shrugged, using the power of his right eye to recall the burning black flames from afar.
"Although your intention was to seal off my Genjutsu, doing so also blocked your own line of sight. You couldn’t see what I was doing inside."
—Roughly a year had passed since the live combat exercise in Hueco Mundo concluded.
Over the past year, in the duels between Yato and Byakuya Kuchiki, Yato had won far more than he had lost.
Susanoo, unlocked after achieving his Stage Two Shikai, severely countered Zanpakuto like Senbonzakura, which possessed slightly weaker single-target attack power. Although Byakuya Kuchiki had specifically intensified his training in advanced Kido and managed to clinch a few victories, for the vast majority of the time, he was completely helpless against Susanoo.
The two summarized the fight as they left the martial arts arena under the respectful gazes of the academy students. Only the Shin’o Academy staff, looking at the collapsed and burning building, wanted to weep but had no tears left to shed.
Thank goodness they’re finally graduating. We’ve been repairing buildings every single day lately. Our budget requests are about to be denied...
Yato and Byakuya parted ways at the dormitory. While packing his things alone, Yato occasionally glanced out the window at the blooming trees, feeling quite emotional.
With graduation approaching, all the courses at the Shin’o Academy had concluded. The final assessments were finished, and the grades had been distributed. For the next few days, there was nothing else to do but wait for their assignments from the Seireitei.
To complete all the Shin’o Academy courses in just two years and graduate with top honors in all four disciplines of Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hoho, and Kido—it was nothing short of genius.
More importantly, Yato had long since accomplished the goals he had set for himself, and had even surpassed them by quite a margin.
In terms of Spiritual Pressure, he had reached a Class 6 Rei-i, attaining the level of a "Lieutenant’s Assistant."
He had mastered the usage of his Zanpakuto’s Stage Two Shikai. Amaterasu and Kagutsuchi were as natural as moving his own limbs, his manipulation of the black flames was incredibly adept, and Susanoo could now manifest its entire upper-half skeleton.
Unexpectedly, his Kido proficiency had also seen a massive boost. His understanding of incantations had improved by leaps and bounds compared to a year ago. He could even make minute adjustments to his Kido casting based on the condition of his own soul, exploring deeper levels of technique!
For this, he had Sosuke Aizen to thank. Aizen would occasionally impart relevant knowledge to Yato Uchiha. As the premier Kido master in the Soul Society, even just a few words from him inevitably struck right at the core essence, benefiting the boy immensely.
Yato Uchiha finished packing his dorm room and lay down on his bed:
"I wonder which Division the Seireitei wants to send me to?"
"Normally, I’d probably go to the 10th Division, which is responsible for patrols and public security. But the 3rd Division, which specializes in support, isn’t bad either. Come to think of it, wouldn’t the Kido Corps actually suit me best? There’s barely any work on regular days, so I could slack off..."
However, what Yato didn’t know was that while his thoughts were wandering, a discussion deciding his destination was taking place within the 1st Division barracks.
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