Katori Nanatsuki glanced at his Status Interface.
[Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto]
[Talent: SS]
[Reiatsu: lv100]
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's Reiatsu level had reached an astonishing 100!
His strength had clearly hit the peak of what a Shinigami could achieve.
Even though the detailed Status Interface wasn't visible, his overwhelming power could be felt—it wasn't just that his Reiatsu stood out, but that he was overwhelmingly strong in every aspect.
Even now, with his Reiatsu suppressed to roughly the same level as Nanatsuki's, he was still nearly impossible to handle.
"You reacted quickly. I had originally aimed for your waist," Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto said slowly.
Nanatsuki's eye twitched. 'What is it with these veterans and going for the kidneys? First Unohana, now him?'
Thankfully, he had reacted fast enough to shift his stance and block with his arm. If that strike had landed on his waist, he would've been out of the fight on the spot!
Ordinary swordplay clearly wouldn't cut it anymore—he had to bring out something real.
He lowered into a forward stance, raising his wooden blade with his left hand braced against the spine of the sword. Sparks of lightning danced along the blade and over his body.
The next instant, he lunged forward and thrust out his sword.
Shun Strike: Raikiri!
"Not bad!" Yamamoto's eyes gleamed as he stepped forward as well, raising his wooden sword vertically in front of him, bracing it with his other hand.
Bang—
Nanatsuki's blade slammed against Yamamoto's, and the massive impact shattered his wooden sword.
Cracks spread out like spiderwebs from the point of impact all the way down the blade.
Even Yamamoto's wooden sword had developed a visible fracture where it had absorbed the strike.
Yet despite this, neither of their weapons broke apart!
Both had forcefully held their wooden swords together using pure Reiatsu control.
The floor behind Yamamoto erupted violently under the pressure, but his body remained unmoved—solid as a mountain.
"Hey hey! Don't forget there are other people here too!" Kyōraku Shunsui leapt out of the way, dodging the debris.
"That was a fine move," Yamamoto praised. "But I've never seen it in the Katori-ryu Dojo. Did you invent it?"
As he spoke, he swung his right leg around in a sweeping kick toward Katori Nanatsuki.
But Nanatsuki was no beginner like the other disciples—he hadn't put all his power into that one move.
Pushing off the ground with both legs, he used the point of contact as a pivot to leap into the air, narrowly avoiding the sweeping kick and flipping back to land half a zhang away.
"Yes, I created that technique myself. I call it Raikiri, and I combined it with the Katori-ryu's Shun Strike!"
As he finished speaking, a sudden inspiration struck him.
Reiatsu surged; the temperature in the room skyrocketed. His sword and body burst into roaring flames.
Crimson Tide!
Nanatsuki's eyes glowed red as the intense heat rapidly evaporated the moisture in his body. Even his skin began to crack open.
The heatwaves radiating from him distorted the surrounding air.
The fractured wooden sword couldn't withstand the temperature and rapidly carbonized, but under the pressure of his Reiatsu, the blade stayed whole—held together by force.
At the same time, arcs of lightning burst forth from his body once again.
Raikiri!
Flames and lightning intertwined, and under the light of the lightning, the fire turned into golden flame!
Nanatsuki struck again. His boiling blood and the arcs of lightning coursing through his body pushed his speed to an entirely new level.
Thunderfire Wild Blaze: Shun Strike!
Yamamoto's eyes widened in fierce excitement. He roared: "Good!!"
Gripping his wooden sword with both hands, he unleashed a thunderous slash to meet Nanatsuki's thrust head-on.
Boom—
The walls and roof of the sword training room collapsed in a deafening explosion.
Thick dust filled the air, obscuring the scene inside.
"Good thing I dodged in time… My clothes would've been ruined," Kyōraku Shunsui muttered as he wiped his forehead. "Honestly, we're just sparring, not demolishing the place. Don't you think so, Vice-Captain Sasakibe?"
Sasakibe Chōjirō had come over upon hearing the commotion.
"The Head-Captain always has his reasons," Sasakibe said, raising a hand to signal to the 1st Division squad members that there was no danger.
The dust began to settle—
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto stood atop the ruins, wooden sword still in hand.
As he let his Reiatsu fade, the wooden sword disintegrated into dust.
He looked down at Katori Nanatsuki lying on the ground. His injuries were horrific—his entire body blackened and charred.
In truth, most of those injuries came from his own technique.
"A brilliant technique... but also extremely dangerous."
To withstand it, Yamamoto had to use more Reiatsu than Nanatsuki.
"Chōjirō, fetch Captain Unohana..."
He paused.
"Wait."
At that moment, he saw a faint glow of Kaido emerging from Nanatsuki's body.
Yamamoto's eyes flickered with surprise. Nanatsuki's sword technique had already impressed him, but now he was using Kaido?
Under the influence of Kaido, Nanatsuki's wounds began to slowly heal.
Groaning, Nanatsuki sat up. His body itched and stung too much to stay lying down.
Despite the severity of his injuries, he hadn't lost consciousness.
His Battleborn Berserker trait had activated!
[Battleborn Berserker: Glory belongs to those born for battle! Reduces the impact of injuries on movement. The more you fight, the stronger you become—fight to the death!]
The damage this time was actually worse than when he fought Unohana, and yet he hadn't blacked out.
Soon, the scorched and blackened skin began to peel away, revealing fresh, tender skin underneath.
His surface wounds healed quickly, but the internal damage from heat and electricity would take two or three days to fully recover.
Nanatsuki checked his Status Interface—a new beginner-level sword skill had appeared: Thunderfire Wild Blaze.
His swordsmanship level had also risen to 65.
"Your Kaido is even better than your swordsmanship," Yamamoto commented.
In all his years of experience, he had never seen a Kaido technique like this—he assumed Nanatsuki had developed it himself.
Excellent with the sword and highly skilled in Kaido—that was Yamamoto's assessment of Nanatsuki.
Kyōraku Shunsui whistled in amazement. "I heard Nanatsuki learned Kaido from Captain Unohana. Seems like the student surpassed the master!"
Nanatsuki's face twitched. Worried this might earn him unwanted enemies, he quickly said, "There's no way my Kaido is better than Captain Unohana's. What I'm using now is just a technique I developed based on my own physique."
"Still impressive. To develop something like this, your Kaido level must be very advanced." Yamamoto nodded. This kind of self-developed technique clearly required deep mastery of Kaido.
"However, your Hakuda is clearly a weak point. Once the Azashiro family's trial is over, stay here and work on your Hakuda."
Yamamoto's sharp eyes had seen through Nanatsuki's weakness in close combat during their brief exchange.
"Yes, sir!"
With someone like Yamamoto personally training him, Nanatsuki certainly wouldn't refuse. Spending time here would also make the Head-Captain feel like half a mentor going forward.
"Nanatsuki-kun," Kyōraku suddenly grinned. "With the way you look right now, walking beside old man Yamamoto, you two might just be mistaken for father and son."
"You insolent brat!!" Yamamoto chopped Kyōraku into the ground with a hand strike.
Nanatsuki blinked, then touched his scalp.
It was smooth.
His hair… had been completely burned off!
Thunderfire Wild Blaze was far too dangerous—until he mastered it, it must be sealed away.