"Sosuke, you'll never inherit my estate!"
Kisaragi Akira stepped forward with his sword, looking incensed. Only just now had he suddenly realized why Aizen had changed his usual low-key style.
So that was what he'd been waiting for.
A mutual appreciation between geniuses?
Bah. The guy was just trying to screw him over!
Feeling the surprised gazes gathering around him, Aizen sighed helplessly. It seemed his earlier actions had done more harm than good.
He'd ended up putting himself on the line just to test this guy's true strength.
But he couldn't suppress the curiosity in his heart.
As his only friend at the Spiritual Arts Academy.
Akira, let me see your true limits.
Standing across from Captain Unohana, Kisaragi Akira's face drooped. He muttered miserably:
"Captain Unohana, I was just running my mouth a moment ago."
"Actually, I don't know the first thing about Kendo..."
Unohana Retsu replied with a smile. "That's all right. True Zanjutsu doesn't lie."
As soon as she finished speaking,
Kisaragi Akira saw Unohana switch from holding her sword in one hand to holding it in both.
The hint of gentleness in her bearing vanished, replaced by an utterly razor-sharp, bone-piercing edge.
Her gentle smile slowly faded. Unohana Retsu opened her eyes a little wider, and her kind face turned cold and grim as a demon. A tremendous killing intent poured from beneath her robes.
It was as if endless darkness spread beneath her feet. The dojo became Hell, a bone-deep chill swallowed everything, and a terrifying pressure blanketed the space before her.
The instant he met Unohana Retsu's calm gaze, Kisaragi Akira's Danger Instinct sounded an unprecedented warning. Its shrill alarm seemed ready to snap every nerve in his body.
In Kisaragi Akira's eyes, the bamboo sword that had seemed utterly harmless was now covered in thick, mottled blood.
Drip, drip, drip...
Unohana Retsu wore a smile, but none of her usual warmth remained.
In its place was a fierce killing intent!
Without much hesitation, the moment Kisaragi Akira tightened his grip on his bamboo sword, Unohana Retsu launched an attack. She tapped the ground with her toes, shooting forward like an arrow loosed from its string.
Her bamboo sword swept out.
The air groaned as if it could no longer bear the strain, seeming to split apart as the currents parted to either side.
Without releasing even a trace of Reiatsu, Unohana Retsu displayed astonishing Zanjutsu, relying solely on her understanding of Kendo and her wealth of combat experience.
In the blink of an eye, her bamboo sword was right before him!
Kisaragi Akira's pupils contracted. His mind had no time to think. His Danger Instinct erupted like a volcano, prompting him to unleash his full strength on instinct.
The bamboo swords collided, cracks ringing out one after another!
The two passed each other, and Unohana Retsu's steps halted.
Her light toes pivoted on the dojo floor. The instant she turned, she used the momentum of her spin to channel all her strength into her bamboo sword and slash down diagonally!
She hadn't unleashed too much power, keeping it at roughly the same level as Kisaragi Akira's.
Otherwise, she would have crushed him without question in their very first exchange.
Even so, Unohana Retsu was surprised by Kisaragi Akira's performance.
The strength he unleashed was far beyond what someone at his stage should have been capable of. Even without using Reiatsu, the boy's Zanjutsu felt overwhelmingly powerful.
It was as if what came crashing down wasn't a bamboo sword, but a stone pillar!
Kisaragi Akira's contracted pupils hadn't relaxed. He'd received the first attack, but the second Zanjutsu strike followed immediately, leaving no time to catch his breath.
The flat bamboo sword looked like an incredibly sharp nail in his eyes, thrusting straight for his throat.
Kisaragi Akira instinctively held his breath and leaned his neck back. The bamboo sword just barely grazed his skin as it flew past.
Only after narrowly dodging that Kendo strike did he realize that he couldn't assume he would perform like the other students had.
Otherwise, things would end very badly for him.
After only a brief exchange, the students watching from behind were already dumbfounded.
Their meager minds couldn't begin to understand what they were seeing.
Not long ago, Aizen and Unohana Retsu's Kendo match had already been beyond the reach of these elite students.
Now, Kisaragi Akira and Unohana Retsu's Kendo match was even more heart-stopping.
Unohana Retsu had abandoned her role as an instructor. The path of her bamboo sword was vicious and merciless; the slightest mistake could cost someone their life beneath its blows.
A keen interest rose in Aizen's eyes.
So this was your true level?
Reiatsu, Kaido, Kendo, Hakuda, communicating with Asauchi, Amulet...
Akira, just how many secrets are you still hiding?
At that moment, Aizen's curiosity had reached its peak.
The Kendo match continued.
Unohana Retsu gave Kisaragi Akira no time to rest. She lightly tapped the ground with her toes and immediately charged at him.
This time, she changed her method of attack.
At the instant she drew near, her swift bamboo sword abruptly slowed.
As the first clash rang out, the rhythm of Kendo spread through the dojo.
It was as if a weighty, ancient melody had begun to play.
Low notes and ringing highs alternated, their vivid texture spreading throughout the dojo.
A heavy rhythm, wrapped in an ever-present, genuine killing intent, drifted outward like a slowly spreading mist.
Just as Kisaragi Akira had finally grown accustomed to Unohana Retsu's attack rhythm,
the blade of her bamboo sword suddenly shifted. The melody soared, growing fierce and swift.
The blows of the bamboo sword became a ceaseless storm of sound, battering the eardrums of the watching students.
By this point,
Kisaragi Akira felt the pressure multiply. Every time he blocked one of Unohana Retsu's Zanjutsu moves, his arms trembled and his palms went numb.
Fortunately,
Heart of the Divine was working constantly.
Though he couldn't completely learn Unohana Retsu's Kendo techniques or style, absorbing a tiny bit of knowledge from them was no trouble.
At that moment, Kisaragi Akira was like a shrunken, dried-out sponge.
He greedily soaked up the Kendo knowledge Unohana Retsu was carefully teaching him.
[Kendo: lv32, lv43, lv47, lv52, lv56...]
His Kendo level was rising at a breakneck pace.
Unohana Retsu noticed it, too.
From barely managing to block at first to moving with effortless fluidity later,
Kisaragi Akira's Kendo had leapt from above average to the highest tier!
[Kendo: lv60!]
In just a few short minutes, his Kendo ability had climbed several major ranks, reaching a level that even Seated Officers and Vice-Captains could hardly attain!
When their bamboo swords crossed, the two stood evenly matched.
The corners of Unohana Retsu's mouth lifted slightly. She suddenly realized that the boy before her was a true, undisputed Kendo genius!
At that thought...
The heart that had long since fallen silent flared to life once more!
Before you continue