Chapter 142

At the same time, the Shin'ō Academy started, Tōshirō naturally entered with the highest score in the entire academy. He was quickly crowned with the title of genius and was hailed as a genius that appeared once in a hundred years in Soul Society. Not only was his Spiritual Power, but his Zankensōki were also first-rate. In particular, his Hakuda and Shunpo were so powerful that even the teachers were impressed.

Soon, those unaware of the situation began investigating Tōshirō's background. Everyone wanted to recruit this genius to their side, but after some investigation, they were disappointed. Ye Yang's identity was definitely not something they could get their hands on, so they quickly gave up on such plans.

Whenever others met Ye Yang, they would mention him and congratulate him on having such a fine disciple. Ye Yang would just smile faintly at this, there was nothing to be modest about, taking Tōshirō as his disciple was indeed the best thing he had ever done.

Such geniuses have appeared before in history, such as Gin Ichimaru. Everyone is speculating whether this highly anticipated new student can break the record that has stood for more than fifty years.

As expected, a month after Tōshirō enrolled, he applied to skip a grade and jumped directly to the third-year students. Skipping two grades at once is extremely rare. People were worried about whether this genius could keep up with the third-year students' curriculum. They hoped he wouldn't be too ambitious, and some even said that Tōshirō was arrogant and ignorant.

But the facts silenced them completely, because even after skipping a grade, Tōshirō remained one of the top students in his class, and even the strongest student from the original three cohorts couldn't compare to him.

While people were still in shock, three months later Tōshirō proposed skipping a grade again, saying that he had already learned everything the third-year students had learned and there was no point in staying any longer.

Such a genius even forced Captain-Commander Yamamoto to take him seriously. Yamamoto personally came to watch Toshiro's grade-skipping assessment. But then something even more astonishing happened: after watching Tōshirō's grade-skipping assessment, Captain-Commander Yamamoto made an astonishing decision—to let Tōshirō skip directly to the sixth grade, stating that Tōshirō's strength was already sufficient.

This event caused a Seireien, because a new record was about to be set. Tōshirō would definitely graduate in a year at most, even though Gin Ichimaru only graduated the following year.

Now that Yindu has taken the captain's position, people seem to be able to foresee a future captain rising up. They will witness the growth of a genius.

Furthermore, Tōshirō has completed the first five years of the Shin'ō's curriculum in just four months. In fact, what the sixth-generation students need to learn is very simple: to find their own Zanpakuto. Tōshirō had already accomplished this, but Tōshirō deliberately concealed it before, and even after becoming a sixth-generation student, he did not immediately take out his Zanpakuto.

With Tōshirō's strength, even if he jumped to the sixth generation of students, he would definitely not fall behind. On the contrary, Tōshirō would still be one of the top students in the class. If he hadn't concealed his true strength, he would probably have firmly held the number one spot.

After that, Tōshirō remained quiet for a long time. People thought he wanted to graduate with the other graduates, but the truth still surprised everyone.

After six months of silence, Tōshirō submitted his graduation application to the school, which immediately shocked the entire Seireien. If Tōshirō really passed the graduation exam, graduating in just ten months would be a legendary achievement, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a once-in-a-millennium genius.

This matter also alarmed Yamamoto, so Yamamoto personally designated this graduation exam. He wanted to see just how much strength this genius really had, since such a genius was the future top fighting force of Soul Society, and he had to take it seriously. What is the decisive factor in whether a species can continue? It is not the existing strongmen, but the young people, that is, the potential stars.

The time was set for three days later. Ye Yang called Tōshirō into his room and asked, "Are you confident about this assessment?"

"Of course," Tōshirō's eyes gleamed with confidence. He was confident that with his current strength, even if the person he was fighting was the vice-captain, as long as it wasn't Ye Yang, he was quite confident that he could at least last a few dozen rounds against the vice-captain. In that case, even if he lost, he would still be able to pass the test.

Ye Yang grinned. "So, do you know what the assessment will cover?"

"Didn't you say that Captain-Commander Yamamoto personally appointed him? How would I know? Could it be that you know?" Tōshirō looked at Ye Yang with a questioning expression. Based on his understanding of Ye Yang, he knew that Ye Yang would never say such useless things.

"Well, I don't have accurate information, but I can get pretty close to the truth," Ye Yang said with a smile.

Tōshirō asked excitedly, "What is it?"

Ye Yang: "If I'm not mistaken, the person you'll be competing against is none other than Captain-Commander Yamamoto himself; otherwise, he wouldn't have arranged it personally."

Tōshirō's composure crumbled instantly. "Huh? The Captain-Commander is personally testing me? What am I going to do? Won't I be defeated in just a few moves?"

Ye Yang shook his head. "No, if Captain-Commander Yamamoto were to use his full strength, he could defeat you in just one move, but..."

"But what?"

"However, since he's personally testing you, he definitely won't go all out. He just wants to understand your full strength. So, just do your best and use all your skills. If necessary, you can consider using that 'Celestial Phenomenon' Subjugation of the Heavens." Ye Yang smiled. Sometimes you need a little spice in life. He really wanted to see what kind of transformation Yamamoto would produce.

Tōshirō nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

Three days passed quickly, Tōshirō was about to undergo his graduation exam arranged by Captain-Commander Yamamoto. Many people from the Shin'ō came today. After all, there hadn't been any major events in Soul Society for a long time, and if Tōshirō graduated successfully, he would be considered a legendary figure. So all thirteen captains except for the captains of the eleventh and twelfth divisions were present.

Ye Yang naturally stood with Soi Fon, quietly watching Tōshirō's test. Even though they already knew the result, they were still worried. Over time, Ye Yang and Tōshirō Soi Fon come to regard Toshiro as their own child. What parent wouldn't worry about their child?

Tōshirō stood quietly on the stage. Since the test hadn't started yet, he was resting with his eyes closed. There wasn't a trace of nervousness on his face; he seemed to be full of confidence in the upcoming test.

Once everyone had arrived, Yamamoto stood up and slammed his cane, which held his Zanpakuto, heavily on the ground. "Now, the graduation exam for Tōshirō Hitsugaya officially begins! The content of this exam is a duel with me. Of course, I won't ask anything of him; as long as Tōshirō Hitsugaya demonstrates his abilities, I consider him qualified to pass this exam!"

[Wow!] A commotion immediately erupted below. The Captain-Commander hadn't taken action in who knows how many years. Was he going to make an exception today? Was this highly anticipated newcomer really that extraordinary? He had actually prompted the Captain-Commander to take action personally. Although it was just an assessment, it was still enough to surprise everyone.

Only a few captains showed no surprise, as if they had expected this outcome. Soi Fon and Ye Yang already knew, while Unohana's smile remained unchanged. Aizen looked curious, though it was unclear whether he was genuinely curious about Tōshirō or just pretending. Shunsui nodded slightly with a smile, as this result was exactly what he had anticipated.

Yin maintained his playful demeanor, but beneath his eyes, no one noticed a flicker of nostalgia. Seeing this child reminded him of himself back then—the same genius, the same exams, the same youthful arrogance, the same unwavering determination. How similar were the two of them?

The only difference might be the burdens they carried. Gin saw no burden in Tōshirō's eyes, only pure joy; he was like a passionate lion, while he himself was a cold-blooded viper! He even felt a pang of jealousy.

Tōshirō muttered something to himself, and if anyone were nearby, they would have heard him say, "Tch, just as the teacher predicted."

"Then, the test for Tōshirō Hitsugaya will officially begin!" Yamamoto said with great enthusiasm, and everyone on the stage immediately left, leaving a large arena for the two of them.

Tōshirō stared intently at Yamamoto, then bowed deeply. "Then, Captain-Commander, please enlighten me."

Yamamoto nodded slightly. "Mm."

"Hah!" Tōshirō shouted and quickly drew his Zanpakuto. In a Shunpo, he appeared directly to Yamamoto's side. Ye Yang had once said that if he were to fight Captain-Commander Yamamoto, rushing in front of him would be suicide!

Almost instantly, the Zanpakuto towards Yamamoto with a whooshing sound. Its speed was undeniably fast, considering that Tōshirō's Shunpo was personally taught by Soi Fon. However, this was only relative. For a student, such speed was already incredible, but in Yamamoto's eyes, it was still not enough.

He didn't even take out his Zanpakuto from his cane; yet, somehow, the cane was already resting on Tōshirō's blade. Yamamoto narrowed his eyes slightly. "Not bad Shunpo. As expected of Captain Soi Fon's training."

Seeing that his attack had failed, Tōshirō chose to retreat. Although Tōshirō's Zanjutsu and Hakuda were both good, fighting Yamamoto in close combat was simply suicidal. Yamamoto did not stop him; he wanted to see what Tōshirō would do next.

He clasped his hands together and chanted, "Hadō #33 - Sōkatsui!" Instantly, a white burst of flame erupted from Tōshirō's hands, hurtling towards Yamamoto. Toshiro simply jabbed his cane forward; the white flame struck the tip of the cane, the Roar, but the aged cane remained unmoved. Ultimately, the flame dissipated into a puff of white smoke, failing even to explode. (...) The Fallen Leaves of Death