Fire and Ice

"Bakudō #30 - Beak-Piercing Triple Flashes!" Tōshirō chanted, and a triangular net of Spiritual Pressure rushed toward Yamamoto. However, the difference in Spiritual Pressure between the two was too great. Yamamoto simply waved his hand, and the seemingly huge net of Spiritual Pressure shattered in mid-air.

This was something Tōshirō hadn't expected. He thought that the 30th Bakudō would buy him some time to chant a more advanced Hadō. But at that moment, Yamamoto's finger suddenly pointed at Tōshirō. "Hadō #4 - Byakurai!" An aged voice came from Yamamoto's mouth, and a faint bolt of lightning shot out.

Fortunately, Yamamoto deliberately controlled his strength; otherwise, Tōshirō would have been in danger. "Bakudō #39 - Enkōsen!" An oval-shaped Spiritual Pressure shield formed in front of Tōshirō, blocking the Byakurai.

At this moment, Yamamoto spoke up, "Your use of Kidō is also quite good. You can make good use of Bakudō and Hadō below number forty. But you should have more than that, right? Your Zanpakuto doesn't look like Asauchi."

Tōshirō, slightly out of breath, said, "As expected of the Captain-Commander, you saw through me."

"What's its name?" Yamamoto asked, because he seemed to sense the restlessness of his Ryūjin Jakka, and Ryūjin Jakka told him that the sword in Tōshirō's hand was making it restless. Yamamoto was naturally shocked, not expecting that Tōshirō had not only found the name of the Zanpakuto, but also that it was an extraordinary Zanpakuto!

"Its name is... Seated atop the frost-covered sky— Hyōrinmaru!" Tōshirō unleashed his Zanpakuto, causing the air temperature to plummet. A layer of white mist clung to the blade of Hyōrinmaru in Tōshirō's hand, and a chain with Getsuga attached to its tail.

Yamamoto stared intently at Hyōrinmaru, a hint of seriousness flashing across his face. Ryūjin Ryūjin Jakka had just told him that Hyōrinmaru was the strongest ice-type Zanpakuto, while his own Ryūjin Jakka was the strongest fire- Zanpakuto. No one could say for sure which Zanpakuto was stronger.

Everyone below, including the captains, was astonished. It wasn't just because Tōshirō Shikai his Zanpakuto; everyone could sense Hyōrinmaru's extraordinary abilities. Several captains simultaneously turned their gazes towards Ye Yang.

Ye Yang chuckled softly, surprised that this wasn't all. There was more to come!

Yamamoto finally showed a hint of seriousness. "Then let me see your Zanjutsu!"

"Please take a look, Captain-Commander!" Tōshirō said, but instead of rushing forward, he leaped into the sky, chanting, "Flock of Birds: Ice Pillars!"

Suddenly, the temperature in the sky dropped sharply, and the water vapor in the air condensed into ice crystals. At Tōshirō's command, all the ice crystals began to fall from the sky, their dense, numerous numbers causing a headache.

However, this was not enough to cause Yamamoto any trouble. He simply set up a barrier around himself. As a result, the ice shards that hit the barrier disappeared instantly. In fact, the barrier was not very strong, but the Flock of Birds: Ice Pillars was a wide-range attack move, which determined that its attack power was not strong and could only play a disruptive role for the enemy.

Seeing that his first attack had failed, Tōshirō gripped Hyōrinmaru tightly in his right hand and swung it heavily in Yamamoto's direction, shouting "Ice Dragon Tail Spin!" White mist appeared on the blade of Hyōrinmaru, drawing a beautiful crescent shape.

As the crescent-shaped slash struck, ice rapidly formed in front of Yamamoto's location. Yamamoto frowned slightly. It wasn't because the attack was difficult to counter, but because Yamamoto disliked this environment. His Zanpakuto Ryūjin Jakka a fire-based weapon, so he preferred the heat of summer to the cold of winter.

With a light leap, Yamamoto left the ground, but Tōshirō had already anticipated this. "Ice Dragon Tail Spin: Severing Void!" An ice dragon shot out from the tip of Hyōrinmaru's sword, charging menacingly towards Yamamoto.

Yamamoto was taken aback, not expecting the Ice Dragon Tail Spin to have a follow-up, but this was no problem for him. He dodged the Ice Dragon with a quick movement and landed steadily on the ground.

A slight smile appeared on Tōshirō's lips, bearing a resemblance to Ye Yang. Yamamoto instinctively sensed something was amiss, but it was too late. A formation of six ice shards surrounded Yamamoto. In an instant, the six ice formations froze Yamamoto, revealing a large block of ice before everyone's eyes.

However, the good fortune didn't last long. After being frozen for about a second, the ice shattered, and Yamamoto walked out unharmed, looking at Tōshirō with a strange gaze. He had indeed been careless, because he hadn't expected a child of that age to be so meticulously planned and tactically Muken.

First, they used the Flock of Birds: Ice Pillars to distract the enemy and set up a formation without them noticing. However, because the Flock of Birds: Ice Pillars had fallen earlier, there was ice everywhere on the ground, so the enemy couldn't see the formation made of ice at all.

Then, using the Ice Dragon Tail Spin, he forced his opponent to leave his original position and step by step walk into the formation he had previously set up, finally delivering a fatal blow! If it were an ordinary enemy, they would have been dead long ago.

The people below were speechless with astonishment. None of the captains had expected that Yamamoto would fall for Tōshirō's trick. Even though it was only for a second, it was still astonishing enough, something that had never happened before in Soul Society.

Tōshirō frowned slightly. It seemed the difference in strength was still too great. He turned to look at Ye Yang, asking for his opinion, "I'm going to use that one."

Ye Yang smiled slightly and nodded, indicating that he could use it. So what if he showed off his talents? With Ye Yang as his solid backing, no one could do anything to him. Only a mediocre person wouldn't be envied...

Tōshirō spoke up, "Captain-Commander, I have one more move, but it's not finished yet; it's still in its immature stage."

Yamamoto waved his hand and said, "Use it." In fact, Yamamoto was very happy. He originally thought that was his limit, but he did not expect that Tōshirō had another move, and it seemed to be his strongest move.

Tōshirō slowly closed his eyes, his body gently floating upwards, his hand tightly gripping Hyōrinmaru. At that moment, the sky began to change color, and soon dark clouds filled the sky.

The crowd simply watched silently, not out of surprise, but because they had become numb. This young man had brought them too many unexpected events today, and with so many surprises, they had grown accustomed to them.

The humidity in the atmosphere increased significantly, and snowflakes began to fall from the sky at some point. It was April, yet snowflakes were falling. However, the snowflakes did not fall to the ground, but instead slowly gathered and eventually formed a huge ice dragon in the sky!

Tōshirō stood atop the ice dragon, his eyes snapping open, filled with icy coldness. "This is one of Hyōrinmaru's fundamental abilities, and also his most powerful. Subjugation of the Heavens! And this is the strongest move I can currently use!"

Yamamoto's relaxed expression vanished, because he could sense from the massive ice dragon that this attack was absolutely earth-shattering. This was a move that no student of the Shin'ō should possess; anyone who could steadily withstand this attack would be at Captain-level. If a vice-captain were here, even if they managed to withstand it, they would be severely injured.

"Ice Dragon Breath!" Tōshirō chanted slowly, and instantly the ice dragon in the sky opened its huge mouth and spewed out a frost-covered dragon breath. The cold wind blew out with the dragon breath, as if it would freeze the heavens and the earth!

Yamamoto watched the dragon's breath hurtling towards him, a hint of seriousness flashing across his face. Although he was somewhat prepared, the power of this attack still exceeded his expectations. No wonder he said he hadn't fully mastered this move yet; it was definitely not something Tōshirō. It truly lived up to its reputation as the strongest ice-type Zanpakuto.

Amidst the howling wind and the soaring roar of a dragon, people clearly heard Yamamoto's aged voice. "All things in the universe will turn to ashes, the Ryūjin Jakka!"

At this moment, Yamamoto no longer held that cane, but a Zanpakuto burning with raging flames— Ryūjin Jakka! He was not afraid of the raging flames and frost dragon breath. Ice and fire are natural enemies. The flames want to evaporate the frost, while the frost wants to freeze the flames. The two cannot coexist.

Yamamoto stared in astonishment at Ryūjin Jakka in his hand. It wasn't that he wanted to unleash it, but rather that his Zanpakuto was calling for his release. The strongest fire-type Zanpakuto had met the strongest ice-type Zanpakuto—who would emerge victorious?

With a dragon's roar, the icy dragon breath collided with the raging flames. This was no longer a test for Tōshirō and Yamamoto, but a contest between two Zanpakuto. What followed was now under their control.

The scorching heat clashed with the extreme cold of frost, neither giving an inch. For a moment, the frost froze the flames, but soon the flames broke through the ice and enveloped the frost instead.

Yamamoto watched this scene quietly, while Tōshirō fainted after unleashing this attack. This attack exhausted all his Spiritual Pressure, and he fell from the sky out of control. Ye Yang quickly stepped forward and caught him steadily.

The battle between ice and fire quickly came to an end. Although Tōshirō's Ice Dragon Breath was powerful, it was not enough to threaten Yamamoto. Moreover, Ryūjin Jakka had Yamamoto's powerful Spiritual Power as a backing, while the Ice Dragon was powerless after Tōshirō fainted. Therefore, the frost only fought against the flames for a few seconds before running out of steam and was quickly vaporized by the flames. After letting out an indomitable roar, the Ice Dragon was also swallowed by the flames.

Yamamoto quickly deactivated his Zanpakuto and stood quietly, addressing the sleeping Tōshirō in Ye Yang's arms. "I hereby declare that Shin'ō, the sixth Tōshirō Hitsugaya, has passed his graduation exam!"

A cheer erupted from the crowd. No one had expected Tōshirō to be able to do something like this, even the Captain-Commander had unleashed his Zanpakuto. Keep in mind that the Captain-Commander hadn't unleashed his Zanpakuto in nearly a hundred years!

Shunsui patted Ukitake on the shoulder, "Ukitake, how many years has it been since I've seen such blazing flames? I never expected to see one today. Ye Yang has truly taught an extraordinary disciple!"

"Yes, perhaps a hundred years from now, he will have grown to the same strength as us," Ukitake said with a sigh.

Shunsui simply shook her head slightly, as if talking to herself, "Maybe it won't even take a hundred years. We really are getting old."...()