"Sajin's Shikai is so cool, no matter how many times I see it. Such a huge Shikai!" Isshin Shiba exclaimed.
Besides Sōsuke Aizen, he and Sajin Komamura were among the first of the contestants to learn Shikai.
They had both seen each other demonstrate their Shikai releases.
Even though this wasn't the first time Isshin had seen Sajin Komamura release his Zanpakutō, he was still amazed.
A Zanpakutō brimming with such a sense of power fit his personal taste perfectly.
On the stage, Tetsuzaemon Iba was also startled by the massive arm.
"That's incredible!" Tetsuzaemon Iba quickly closed in on Sajin Komamura. "But the size of a Shikai doesn't equal strength!"
Sajin Komamura's Zanpakutō was huge, but such a weapon often had a fatal flaw—it wasn't flexible enough!
If he could get in close, it would be difficult for his opponent to wield it.
Swoosh—
The sound of something slicing through the air rang out.
Tetsuzaemon Iba was forced to stop.
The giant blade of Tenken in the air had suddenly slammed down!
"So fast!" Tetsuzaemon Iba was shocked and quickly jumped to the side.
Boom—
The giant blade of Tenken smashed into the ground, carving a deep trench.
"'Tenken' moves in sync with my actions," Sajin Komamura said slowly. "Meaning, the faster I move, the faster 'Tenken' moves."
"There's a saying from my professor that I strongly agree with—"
"You have to build a good foundation to go further."
"I practice thousands of swings every day, rain or shine..."
"All to make my sword faster and stronger!"
Just as Tetsuzaemon Iba scrambled up from the ground, he saw the giant blade of Tenken sweeping towards him from the side.
The terrifying wind pressure stirred up by the giant blade tore up the ground itself.
"This is too terrifying!" Tetsuzaemon Iba didn't dare to face it head-on and immediately used Shunpo to leap into the air.
"Hah!!!" Sajin Komamura quickly flipped his blade and swung it upwards.
The giant arm in the sky mirrored the movement, slashing towards Tetsuzaemon Iba in the air.
The wind pressure from the giant blade kicked up the ground, forming a dust storm in the air.
Tenken: Dust Blade!
Sajin Komamura had unleashed 'Dust Blade' through 'Tenken'.
At that moment, it was as if a hurricane was raging across the arena, like a divine punishment.
The large-scale dust storm left Tetsuzaemon Iba with no place to dodge, and he was instantly affected by the blinding effect of 'Dust Blade'.
Tetsuzaemon Iba's vision went black, and he couldn't see anything.
The spiritual pressure filling the terrifying sandstorm also affected his spiritual senses, forcing him to rely solely on instinct to dodge the incoming giant blade and debris.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—
Relying on his intuition, Tetsuzaemon Iba dodged repeatedly in mid-air.
His Zanpakutō, 'Kinshara Uminakitsuri', had the ability to enhance his intuition, allowing him to avoid fatal danger.
But that also had its limits!
With his vision and spiritual senses impaired, it was difficult to avoid such a large-scale attack based on intuition alone.
Tetsuzaemon Iba was soon hit by countless pieces of debris.
Just then, the sky darkened.
The giant blade of Tenken had, at some point, reached the very top of the dome and was now slashing down towards Tetsuzaemon Iba.
Although Tetsuzaemon Iba couldn't see clearly, the 'Kinshara Uminakitsuri' in his hand was constantly sending him warnings of danger.
Swoosh—
Tetsuzaemon Iba used Shunpo to dodge the terrifying slash, but before he could breathe a sigh of relief, the giant blade of Tenken changed direction.
The giant blade of Tenken curved, turning its flat side to strike Tetsuzaemon Iba.
Bang—
Tetsuzaemon Iba crashed against the flat of the blade and was sent flying into the distance like a batted baseball.
"Tetsuzaemon Iba is out of bounds! Sajin Komamura wins!"
Sōsuke Tanuki clicked his tongue. He hadn't expected Tetsuzaemon Iba to lose to Sajin Komamura by being knocked out of bounds again.
"Medical team, go find the injured!"
Tetsuzaemon Iba was sent flying a long way. Sōsuke Tanuki estimated he was likely knocked unconscious and had flown outside the Academy grounds.
The Shinigami of the medical team immediately headed in the direction Tetsuzaemon Iba had flown to search for him.
Meanwhile, the guests in the stands were amazed by Sajin Komamura's performance.
"He slacks off on his training and now embarrasses himself here!" Chiyari Iba spoke harshly, but she was actually a little worried about Tetsuzaemon Iba.
She left the guest seats to go look for Tetsuzaemon Iba.
"With this level of strength... Sajin Komamura could graduate directly and become a seated officer in my squad!" Kenpachi Kuruyashiki felt that Sajin Komamura's fighting style was a good fit for the 11th Division.
"Sajin Komamura is improving way too fast!" Kyōraku Shunsui was very surprised.
He was there the day Katori Sora took Sajin Komamura as his disciple.
He had watched Katori Sora test Sajin Komamura's strength.
At that time, Sajin Komamura had some combat experience, but his strength was only slightly better than that of an ordinary Shinigami squad member.
But now, Sajin Komamura clearly possessed the strength of a high-ranking seated officer.
He might even be stronger than some vice-captains!
The difference was like night and day!
"Professor Katori is truly skilled at teaching his disciples. Such a huge change in less than a year!" Jūshirō Ukitake praised.
Beside them, Ginrei Kuchiki's heart stirred, wondering if he should send his grandson, Byakuya Kuchiki, to the Katori dojo.
But Byakuya was still too young. Sending him over now, he probably wouldn't learn much.
Besides, this was the age to learn noble etiquette; it wasn't the time for training yet.
"In a few years, I'll ask Katori Sora to take Byakuya as a disciple..." Ginrei Kuchiki thought to himself.
"Sajin works very hard. He deserves this progress," Sora remarked with some emotion.
Sajin Komamura's strength was indeed improving rapidly.
To grow to this level in less than a year was impressive.
Sajin Komamura had a rather stubborn personality.
But when such a personality was applied to training, his level of effort would far exceed others.
A hint of satisfaction flashed in Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni's eyes.
He had originally converted the Genryū dojo into the Shin'ō Academy to discover and cultivate more talent for the Gotei 13.
Now, the Academy's True Sword Trial provided a stage for these talents to display their abilities.
With more and more talent emerging from the Academy, the captain vacancies in the Gotei 13 would likely be filled in another hundred years or so.
The Quincy war of the past had severely weakened the Gotei 13, and many captain positions were still vacant, with vice-captains often acting as substitutes.
A Gotei 13 like this was too weak and couldn't withstand any major challenges.
Now, finally seeing hope of filling the captain ranks of the Gotei 13, Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni couldn't help but feel a sense of relief.
Chiyari Iba and the Shinigami from the medical team found the unconscious Tetsuzaemon Iba in a small wood outside the Academy and took him back for treatment.
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