At the moment the Gillian appeared, panic and wavering instantly swept through all the students; this is human instinct, but the reaction that follows is what truly reveals a person's capability and courage.
The students from the Branch Campus immediately began to tighten their formation. Teams that were originally scattered instantly integrated, and several team leaders walked directly to the forefront, forming the first line of defense.
"Students of the Kidō Squad, begin attacking immediately! Let the students of the Kaidō Squad move to the very back first!"
As one of the most outstanding graduates of this class, Rukia immediately began to arrange things in an orderly manner. Meanwhile, Renji had already drawn his blade and walked to the very front; although his face showed nervousness, it also carried an eagerness to try his hand.
In contrast, the performance of the students from the Main Campus was somewhat poor. The vast majority of them began to flee in a chaotic uproar, and the few who maintained their reason could not calm the others down no matter how hard they tried.
Byakuya Kuchiki had originally felt gratified by Rukia's performance, but the behavior of the Main Campus students immediately caused his brows to furrow.
It was not strange to feel fear when facing a Gillian-class Menos Grande, but when compared to those from the Branch Campus, the difference was simply too great—had the teaching at the Main Campus truly deteriorated to this level?
This was actually a bit unfair to those teachers. This was the first batch of students from the Branch Campus; aside from reserves for the Inspection Team like Rukia, many had been pulled directly from the Yellow Turbans to enroll. The spiritual power talent of these people might not necessarily be very high, but their combat experience was certainly not something those greenhouse flowers from the Main Campus could compare with.
Suzuki Makoto was very satisfied with the reaction of this batch of students, though this made those with other intentions feel slightly awkward.
"Captain Aizen, the performance over at the Branch Campus is a bit too strong. It seems this makes it difficult to see the quality of the students from the Main Campus."
Kaname Tosen lowered his voice and spoke to the figure in front of him.
"Indeed, Suzuki-kun's students are truly far too outstanding."
Sosuke Aizen looked at Rukia and the others, who were engaging the Gillian in combat in an orderly fashion, making no attempt to hide the look of appreciation in his eyes.
"However, there are still a few students performing quite well."
His gaze fell upon the body of a petite girl.
"Hadō #31: Shakkahō!"
The fully incanted Shakkahō struck the Gillian's body, the power of the explosion clearly far exceeding the Hadō used by the others.
"It's effective! Hinamori, can you still chant?!"
"I can!"
Momo Hinamori did her utmost to adjust her breathing and immediately began the next incantation.
"Hisagi-senpai, let's hold the Gillian back together! My Zanpakuto can make the opponent bear double the weight, suppressing their speed. I'll trouble you with the rest!"
Izuru Kira shouted to the Shinigami squad member who had come to lead the team.
"Alright! Branch Campus, fall back first! Our Zanpakuto have crowd-control abilities!"
"Hah? No need! You guys just get ready for combat."
Renji Abarai had no intention of yielding his combat position, and the others shared the same attitude.
"Um, our battle formation is already complete. If we switch now, it will disrupt the combat rhythm of the rear guard, so could I trouble you to maintain vigilance for the time being?"
Because of her contact with Byakuya Kuchiki, Rukia's attitude toward the Seireitei side was not as hostile as the others. She revealed an apologetic smile, dissolving some of the stiffness between the two sides.
Shuhei Hisagi subconsciously shifted his gaze to the Kidō Squad chanting not far away. Bakudō and Hadō were constantly landing on the Gillian's body, and these attacks were able to precisely avoid Renji and the others fighting in close quarters at the front. clearly, this was not their first time coordinating in battle.
"Alright then, we will act as the second line of defense."
Looking at the sparse number of people around him, he gave a bitter smile. He proactively stepped aside from the battle with the Gillian and turned to start dealing with those ordinary Hollows.
"Senpai, is this really okay for us?"
Izuru Kira was somewhat worried, but seeing the battle over at the Branch Campus proceeding with such vigor and success, he also felt that there was no way to intervene.
"If we participate now, we will only disrupt their original battle rhythm; it might even be counterproductive."
As a squad member who had already joined the Gotei 13, Hisagi naturally understood how rare this kind of coordination was. If outsiders stepped in and disrupted the rhythm, it would instead lead to the collapse of the entire situation.
"Let's go deal with the other Hollows first, then have those students come back. It's truly too shameful..."
"Truly shameless!"
Byakuya Kuchiki's expression had already become somewhat ugly. Those fleeing Main Campus students had absolutely no intention of looking back. Even though the Branch Campus students had already pinned down the Gillian and were steadily suppressing this Menos Grande through tactical cooperation, these people only thought of fleeing back into the Senkaimon, not daring to even glance back once.
"It seems the Main Campus should increase its practical combat studies, especially adding some pressure training for facing high-level Reiatsu. At the very least, they shouldn't reveal such an ugly state in front of a Gillian."
Suzuki Makoto casually offered a suggestion. He hadn't expected Rukia and the others to achieve this level either. Originally, he thought he would need to step in himself, but judging by this rhythm, this Menos Grande shouldn't require the two of them to worry about it.
He wondered if Aizen would be able to find suitable personnel over there—but wanting his subordinates? That wouldn't do.
"I will report this matter to the Captain-Commander, including your opinion."
Suppressing the anger in his heart, Byakuya Kuchiki turned to focus on Rukia's state. Her current performance was enough for him to completely abandon the thought of bringing her into the Kuchiki family.
The result did not exceed their expectations. Although it was difficult, this Gillian ultimately fell at the hands of Rukia and her group. Even though most of the students sustained injuries in the subsequent battle, being able to defeat a Gillian was already enough for them to be proud.
"You can contact the other side now. I'll go fulfill the duties of the 4th Division first."
Although Suzuki Makoto had not stopped fighting since joining the Gotei 13, as the Lieutenant of the 4th Division, his Kaidō proficiency was second only to Retsu Unohana.
Renji Abarai, who was sitting on the ground panting, suddenly felt his stinging wounds turn cool. His exhausted stamina also began to slowly recover at this moment.
"Didn't the Kaidō Squad run out of Reiatsu?"
He looked up in confusion, which immediately turned into shock, and then a face full of wild joy.
"Lord Suzuki?"
The man suspended in mid-air dispersed rays of gentle light from his hands, falling upon everyone. Their wounds began to heal rapidly, and not only their stamina, but even their thoroughly dried-up Reiatsu began to slowly recover.
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