A square wooden platform had been added to the center of the swordsmanship hall.
The first match was between Ōmaeda Kishinosuke from Class 1-1 and Kiryu Ichirō from Class 1-2.
Ōmaeda Kishinosuke inherited the signature features of the Ōmaeda family—broad face, wide chin, a tall and sturdy build, and a thick gold chain around his neck. He stood out clearly in the crowd.
Standing across from him, Kiryu Ichirō wasn't as tall, but he had a well-built physique. His slicked-back hair was tidy yet slightly unruly, with prominent sideburns and a neatly groomed goatee, giving him a far more mature look than the average student.
Not all students at the Shin'o Spiritual Arts Academy were youthful spirits.
The Gotei 13 was originally founded as an assassination unit by the current Captain-Commander, Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni, and the Academy itself began as a training ground for assassins.
Because of this, there were no age restrictions for enrollment at the Academy.
As long as one possessed the potential to become a Shinigami and passed the entrance exam, they could study at the Academy.
This round's referee was Nanatsuki, who stood between the two students and announced the rules.
"Today's swordsmanship match is simple—strike your opponent to earn a point. First to two points wins."
"Also, leaving the platform means automatic loss."
"Begin!"
Nanatsuki stepped off the stage. The two students slowly approached each other and bowed.
"If you surrender now, you won't have to lose so disgracefully," Ōmaeda Kishinosuke said while cracking his neck, sounding completely casual.
Kiryu Ichirō snorted and quickly stepped forward, raising his wooden sword and swinging it at Ōmaeda's neck.
"You're really not taking advice, huh?" Ōmaeda grinned and swung his own wooden sword, blocking the attack.
Thud—
A strange sound echoed the moment the swords clashed.
Kiryu Ichirō's heart jolted. In just that one instant, his wooden sword had already snapped!
He didn't understand what had just happened—but the instructors watching from the stands immediately saw the reason.
"Tsunayashiro-sensei, your student is impressive. He's just entered the Academy, yet already knows how to use spiritual pressure augmentation," said Danmu Zōsuke.
What Danmu referred to was the Reiatsu Blade technique. Ōmaeda Kishinosuke had been trained by experts from the Onmitsukidō since childhood. Before even enrolling, he had already mastered Reiatsu control and the Reiatsu Blade.
Tsunayashiro Tokitani merely nodded silently in response.
Danmu felt the awkwardness of the moment, but Asido quickly stepped in, glancing at the two and easing the tension. "That Kiryu Ichirō has good battle instincts. His positioning is precise. He must have solid combat experience."
Asido was right on the mark. Kiryu Ichirō came from the Kusajishi District of Rukongai—one of the worst areas in terms of public safety. People there lived like wild dogs. Murder, arson, theft, and kidnapping were everyday occurrences. You needed skill just to survive.
Seeing his wooden sword snap, Kiryu didn't hesitate. He rolled to the left just in time as Ōmaeda's wooden blade sliced through the air above his head and swung to the right.
Kiryu Ichirō used the opening as Ōmaeda turned his back, lunging forward and thrusting with the broken hilt in hand.
He had predicted Ōmaeda's move based on his battle experience and found the perfect moment to counterattack—but the difference in their power was simply too great!
Ōmaeda's wooden sword slammed into the platform, splintering the wood beneath. He spun, swinging the blade in a wide arc. It shattered the floor into countless wooden shards, which scattered alongside his sword toward Kiryu Ichirō.
Thud—
Crack—
The sword struck Kiryu's right shoulder, and a clear sound of bone fracturing followed.
Then, like a rubber ball swatted away, he was sent flying off the platform and into the crowd.
The surrounding students scrambled to dodge, and Kiryu crashed into the floor, leaving a crater in the wooden surface.
"Ugh…" Kiryu Ichirō coughed up blood, and everything went black as he lost consciousness.
"Kiryu Ichirō has left the platform. Ōmaeda Kishinosuke wins," Nanatsuki declared.
"Told you—if you'd surrendered early, you wouldn't have had to eat dirt," Ōmaeda said with a shrug, hoisting his wooden sword as he jumped down from the stage.
There were no rules against injuring opponents in the assessment matches, so Nanatsuki couldn't really say anything. After announcing the result, he quickly approached Kiryu to check his condition.
Kiryu's arm was fractured, and several ribs were broken. Fortunately, this was the Academy—injuries like these could be healed with Kaido, and weren't considered too serious.
Nanatsuki's hand lit up with a soft Kaido glow.
Kobayashi-sensei also approached—she was responsible for healing in this round of matches.
"Katori-sensei, leave the treatment to me. You can continue hosting the matches," she said.
"Much appreciated, Kobayashi-sensei," Nanatsuki nodded.
He returned to the front of the stage, where the next pair of students had already stepped up.
This time, it was an internal Class 1 match—both students were from the same class.
When Nanatsuki announced the start, the two began trading blows evenly. Watching from below, Class 2 students began to feel discouraged. The gap in fundamentals was simply too wide.
They could only hope not to get matched with someone like Ōmaeda—getting knocked out in seconds would be too humiliating.
Worse still, losing consciousness meant losing the chance to enter the loser's bracket.
Students who lost in the first round had one more chance to enter the loser's bracket.
After all, the matchups were drawn by lot. If two strong students got matched early, one of them had to lose.
Without a loser's bracket, a strong student might get eliminated in Round One, which would make the final rankings unreliable.
A few minutes later, one student landed two hits first and won the match.
"Nikaidō Yui wins. Next match, please step onto the stage," Nanatsuki announced.
In the following rounds, every time a Class 1 student faced a Class 2 student, Class 1 emerged victorious. Only matches between students of the same class were evenly matched.
'At this rate, Class 2's average performance over the next three years will be terrible...' thought Division Head Asido.
As a skilled swordsman himself, he could tell the truth at a glance: Class 1's students hadn't built their foundations in the past month or two—they had already trained extensively before joining the Academy.
Normally, such students would be evenly distributed across classes. But this year, someone had deliberately packed them all into one class to pave the way for Tsunayashiro Tokitani.
'Sigh… Still, I'm sure Headmaster Kotetsu is aware. Even if Katori-sensei's class underperforms, it shouldn't cost him his job,' Asido shook his head. He disapproved of this blatant favoritism toward Tsunayashiro, but there was nothing he could do.
"Moriyama Natsuko wins. Next match, please step onto the stage."
Hirako Shinji and Kasumioji Gojō stepped onto the platform.