The two had locked limbs, and Yoruichi's cheeks were slightly flushed.
Her dark skin made the blush hard to see, but her expression showed that she had reached the height of excitement.
Then came a crisp cracking sound.
Crack!
Yoruichi's expression froze, and she instinctively released her legs.
Just as she was about to make her next move, Kisaragi Akira sucked in a sharp breath and bared his teeth.
"Don't move!"
"It's broken! Call someone!"
Their skills had been evenly matched, sending Shihoin Yoruichi into a state of exhilaration. In her excitement, she'd failed to restrain her Reiatsu and strength.
That brief outburst had crushed Kisaragi Akira without mercy.
Even though he'd sensed something was wrong at the last moment and promptly unleashed all his Reiatsu,
he was still no match.
Seventeen levels of spiritual pressure.
A standard Shinigami soldier had twenty levels of spiritual pressure, a lieutenant had four to five, and three or higher was Captain-level (according to the original setting, the Hell Verse).
Kisaragi Akira's current personal panel put his Reiatsu at lv. 20. With the maximum level set at one hundred, that came to exactly seventeen levels of spiritual pressure.
Perhaps that made him one of the best among the academy students, but compared with Shihoin Yoruichi, the gap was immense.
The instant Yoruichi unleashed her Reiatsu,
Kisaragi Akira experienced firsthand what an uncrossable chasm was, what a true gulf between them meant!
As their Reiatsu clashed, he seemed to see towering mountains collapsing and an endless avalanche of mud and rock rushing toward him, sweeping away his desperate resistance with overwhelming force.
Yoruichi seemed to realize she'd lost control, too. With an awkward smile, she let go of Kisaragi Akira's right arm, which had been twisted into a knot.
His entire arm was bent at a grotesque angle. Her overwhelming Reiatsu and strength had crushed the bones and muscles within, leaving the skin a shocking shade of deep purple.
Kisaragi Akira tried to move his right hand, but it didn't respond at all.
"Little Right, you can't die!"
His expression was exaggerated, with a trace of pain. Most of it was an act, but it only deepened Yoruichi's guilt, and she even avoided meeting Kisaragi Akira's eyes.
Aizen's expression stiffened at the over-the-top performance.
He suddenly realized that being friends with this guy might not be something to be proud of.
Omaeda Kaneshiro appeared in front of Kisaragi Akira. Frowning, he lifted the limp, twisted arm and carefully examined it.
After a while, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's not severe enough to require amputation."
"But the academy's doctors probably can't handle an injury this serious."
Omaeda Kaneshiro turned to the lectern and quickly wrote up a referral, carefully describing what had happened.
"Take this to the General Infirmary in the Fourth Division Barracks. Captain Unohana will treat you herself."
"Aizen Sosuke, go with him."
Aizen nodded helplessly.
Shihoin Yoruichi raised her hand, seemingly wanting to go with them.
But when she saw the pleading look in Omaeda Kaneshiro's eyes, she pouted and reluctantly gave up the idea.
After the two left, Marechiyo signaled for everyone else to leave and dismissed the class.
Soon, only the two of them remained in the classroom.
He let out a heavy sigh and looked at the dark-skinned girl, who showed no remorse.
"Lady Yoruichi, you promised me you wouldn't do anything reckless."
"That boy was lucky this time. He only broke an arm. But if you'd locked your legs around his head, things could have gotten messy."
Yoruichi defended herself. "I wasn't being reckless. I just got carried away."
"When we first started fighting, his Hakuda skills were pretty average. But as the fight went on..."
The girl furrowed her brow, suddenly realizing something terrifying.
She'd devoted herself to Hakuda because of her Zanpakuto, and she'd achieved remarkable results. Even Seated Officers were far behind her in that regard.
But the boy's progress during their fight couldn't be described as merely astonishing.
It was as if he were cheating.
Every Hakuda move she used became his in an incredibly short time, and he performed each one even more perfectly.
A genius like that could easily beat the Shihoin Clan's other members!
Even a captain couldn't compare!
As she fell silent in thought,
Omaeda Marechiyo sensed that something was off and cautiously spoke up.
"Lady Yoruichi?"
The dark-skinned girl abruptly raised her head, her eyes shining.
"Marechiyo, what do you think..."
"About bringing that guy into the Shihoin Clan as a live-in son-in-law?!"
Shihoin Yoruichi's sudden leap in logic made Omaeda Marechiyo's eyes widen. He sucked in a sharp breath, feeling a stabbing ache between his teeth.
But the headache he felt at that moment was worse than the toothache.
From what he'd heard about Kisaragi Akira exorcising and blessing his female classmates, the guy was every bit as lecherous as the Eighth Division's captain, Shunsui Kyoraku—if not more so.
If Lady Yoruichi offered herself to the tiger, he'd definitely accept!
At the thought, his burly body shuddered, as if he could already foresee a terrifying future.
After all, the Omaeda Clan was closely connected to the Shihoin Clan!
On the path to the Fourth Division Barracks, two boys in Spiritual Arts Academy uniforms walked along.
It was a perfectly peaceful scene,
if you ignored the embarrassing fellow who kept wailing.
"Sosuke, do you think my Little Right can really recover completely?"
"With Captain Unohana's medical skills, it should be fine."
"That's great. Little Right is my dearest friend, my own flesh and blood, my brother. Even if I die, nothing can happen to it!"
Aizen sighed helplessly at the sight.
Wouldn't a normal person be crying out from the pain of such a serious injury?
Why was this guy so fixated on whether his right arm would recover?
And what kind of strange name was Little Right?
Since the word "right" was part of his name, every time Kisaragi Akira wailed about "Little Right," Aizen felt there was something odd about it.
It was as if Kisaragi Akira wasn't mourning his right hand, but himself.
As the corresponding image came to mind, even Aizen, whose nerves were as steady as a rock, couldn't help shuddering. He quickened his pace toward the Fourth Division Barracks.
The Seireitei was so vast that even at their fastest, the two of them took nearly a full day to reach the Fourth Division Barracks.
After they showed the referral from Omaeda Kaneshiro, the guard Shinigami let them through and even assigned someone to show them the way.
Before long, they arrived at a clean hospital room.
The instant Kisaragi Akira stepped inside, a familiar voice sounded in his ear.
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