In the blink of an eye—
Just as Gekkō Senpū's strike was about to land, Fūjin Taichi activated Shunpō without hesitation.
His figure vanished instantly right before both of their eyes.
Thud!
With Taichi gone, Gekkō's wooden sword continued its downward swing—straight into Kibune Makoto's face.
A dull crack echoed through the arena as Kibune was smashed backward and collapsed flat on the ground, completely knocked out.
"H-How did this happen?!"
Gekkō stared in disbelief.
At that moment, he suddenly sensed something—
Someone had appeared behind him.
"It's over, Gekkō."
Taichi's calm voice sounded from the air.
Though he was still descending from mid-air, his wooden sword had already begun its downward arc.
THUD!
The strike landed squarely.
Gekkō Senpū crashed face-first into the ground and instantly lost consciousness.
"An exceptionally clean Shunpō."
At the judging table, Saitō Jūshirō watched with gleaming eyes.
He leaned slightly toward the two assistant examiners and spoke in a low voice.
"Based on that Shunpō alone, I think he deserves a perfect score."
The two assistant examiners nodded immediately.
"Saitō-sensei is right."
They circled 100 points on their scoring sheets for Taichi before returning their attention to the arena.
Meanwhile, Fujiwara Tatsuma had already defeated Hokuto Jirō.
After seeing Taichi finish off his two teammates, he casually picked up his wooden sword and walked toward him.
"Nicely done, Taichi."
"You're not bad yourself, Tatsuma."
Taichi knew Fujiwara was a genius on the same level as Shiba Kaien, so he raised his guard to the utmost.
His eyes never left Fujiwara's movements.
"Relax, Taichi."
Fujiwara lifted his wooden sword and casually flicked it twice with his fingers.
"We were desk mates once, after all."
"How about we settle this with one move?"
"Fine by me."
Taichi tightened his grip on his wooden sword.
"Let's go!"
Without hesitation, he dashed forward first.
"I'm coming too!"
Fujiwara raised his sword beside his ear.
His body bent low at the waist, his posture resembling a drawn bowstring.
Then—
He launched forward.
The two figures rushed toward each other.
In Taichi's mind, a familiar voice suddenly echoed.
Heavenly No-Mind One-Sword Style — Flying Thunder God.
It was the voice of the woman in red.
But Taichi ignored it.
He maintained his original attack posture and continued charging straight at Fujiwara.
Then the voice rang out again.
Heavenly No-Mind Two-Sword Style — Tiger Ravine Leap.
This time, Fujiwara had already flashed to Taichi's flank.
But Taichi still refused to follow the instructions.
Instead—
He subtly exposed a gap in his defense.
From the outside, it looked as if he intended to take Fujiwara's strike head-on and lose the match.
But in that split second—
A strange smile appeared at the corner of Fujiwara's mouth.
Suddenly, he leaned forward.
And before Taichi could react—
Fujiwara deliberately thrust the back of his head into Taichi's descending wooden sword.
CLACK!
Fujiwara collapsed onto the ground with an oddly satisfied smile on his face.
Meanwhile, Taichi's expression darkened instantly.
Inside his mind, he roared in fury.
Fujiwara, you damn bastard!
You want to stay low-profile, so you shove me out there as the lightning rod?!
But do you have any idea…
I'm also a fake who can't afford to stand in the spotlight either!!!
"The winners—Team Three!"
Saitō Jūshirō slammed his hand on the table and announced the result.
"Next match—Team Four versus Team Twenty-Four!"
Several staff members quickly carried away the incapacitated students as the examination continued.
...
Elsewhere…
The sky was gloomy.
A silent island stood in the distance.
Dark ocean waves rolled beneath heavy storm clouds.
Nearby, broken swords and shattered blades lay scattered across the white sand.
Together, they formed the bleak and oppressive world of Jinzen space.
The woman in red stood with her arms crossed.
"You did that on purpose, didn't you?"
Her tone carried clear dissatisfaction.
"You could've defeated him easily using the swordsmanship I taught you."
"So why didn't you?"
Taichi sat quietly at the edge of a cliff, watching the tide slowly recede.
"I…"
He hesitated before answering.
"I just… don't want to attract attention yet."
The woman in red snorted.
"Afraid of attention? That's your excuse for holding back?"
"Every year, the Shin'ō Academy admits at least three thousand new students."
"Among them, there's no shortage of geniuses like Fujiwara Tatsuma."
"And you—"
"I know what you're getting at." Taichi sighed.
"Compared to those people, I'm basically just an insignificant nobody."
"I shouldn't act like I'm the protagonist."
"But…"
He lowered his gaze.
"I'm still a fake with an unknown background."
"If I attract too much attention, someone might start digging into my past."
"And if that happens…"
"Our Fūma clan's revenge might never be fulfilled."
"But... you still won in the end."
"That's because Tatsuma set me up!" Taichi shouted angrily.
"That idiot literally shoved his head into my sword just to make me win!"
The woman in red quietly repeated the name. "Fujiwara Tatsuma…"
Yet the name meant nothing to her.
Leaning casually against a crooked old tree, she gazed silently at the gloomy sky in the distance.
After a moment, Taichi suddenly turned toward her.
"Oh right… hey, sis."
"When exactly are you going to tell me your name?"
"Oh."
The woman in red tilted her chin toward the island.
"When you manage to break half of the swords stuck around this island, I'll tell you my name."
Taichi followed her gaze.
All across the island, countless swords and blades were stabbed into the ground like a forest of steel.
He inhaled sharply.
"…Why are there still this many left?!"
After a moment, he waved it off with a helpless shrug.
"Whatever. Fine."
"Let's get to work, sis."
"As you wish."
The woman in red drew the long blade from her waist.
In the next instant, the two clashed.
Clang!
Clack!
Crash!
Their blades collided again and again, sparks scattering across the gray shore.
The fierce duel continued for what felt like an eternity.
...
Seven Days Later
Major adjustments were made among the first-year classes at the Shin'ō Academy.
Students who had failed the standards of the Special Advancment Class were reassigned to Classes 2 through 20 according to their performance.
After all, these students still possessed strong spiritual power. Eliminating them outright would be a waste.
But keeping them in the elite class was unrealistic.
So the academy took a compromise—sending them to the regular classes.
Meanwhile, students from Class 2 who failed were redistributed randomly among Classes 3 through 20.
And as for those who failed in Classes 3 through 20—
They were eliminated according to academy rules, though they were granted the opportunity to reapply next year.
At the same time, the top student from each class (2–20) would be promoted into the Special Advanement Class, gaining access to superior resources and priority placement into the Gotei 13 in the future.
"That concludes the list of students reassigned to other classes."
Papers rustled as names were called.
Students whose names appeared quietly packed their things and left the room.
Once they were gone, Saitō Jūshirō pulled out another notice and addressed the remaining members of Class 1–2.
"I would also like to congratulate our class's top student—Fūjin Taichi."
"He has been exceptionally admitted to the Special Advanement Class."
"Of course, the rest of you shouldn't be discouraged. Keep working hard."
The classroom immediately erupted into applause.
Fewer than fifty students remained now.
They all turned to look at the last row, their expressions filled with a mixture of admiration and jealousy.
"Congrats, Taichi."
Beside him, Fujiwara Tatsuma patted his shoulder sincerely and whispered with a grin.
"In the advancement class, the guys are handsome and the girls are gorgeous."
"There's bound to be one that suits your taste."
"Shut up, Tatsuma."
Taichi leaned closer and muttered angrily into Fujiwara's ear.
"You screwed me over this time."
"How could that be?"
Fujiwara burst out laughing.
"Everyone expected you to take first place."
"My total score this time was only 81 points."
"I almost failed!"
"…Heh."
Taichi glanced briefly at Fujiwara's score sheet but said nothing.
Instead, he grabbed his Asauchi and books and quietly left the classroom.
After Taichi left, Fujiwara's smile faded.
He looked down at his own report card and fell into thought.
In the last test, his scores had been:
Theory: 34
Practical: 40
Daily performance: 7
Total: 81 points.
Just barely above the passing line.
Yet somehow, that score ranked him around the middle of the class.
When Fujiwara first learned this, he had been shocked.
Later he discovered the reason.
More than twenty students in the class had scored exactly 80 points.
Over ten students had scored 81 points.
Fujiwara sighed quietly.
"No wonder…"
"This really is a remedial class."
Shaking off his thoughts, he looked up.
Saitō Jūshirō had already filled the blackboard with dense notes.
Fujiwara straightened up and refocused on his studies.
...
After the placement examinations ended, life at the academy seemed to move much faster.
Before anyone realized it, three more months passed.
Autumn arrived in the Soul Society, painting the world in golden hues.
Along the streets of Rukongai, leaves fell from the trees in great swaths—
Like an adult's hair shedding in clumps.
Rustle…
A gust of autumn wind swept through the streets.
Dry yellow leaves swirled upward before drifting back to the ground, fluttering like swarms of restless butterflies.
Every year around this time, the academy held a special event for its new students—
A first meeting between the freshmen and the captains of the Gotei 13.
As usual, the academy would send invitations throughout Seireitei, and each captain could choose whether or not to attend.
However, rumors said that the current captain of the Fifth Division, Sōsuke Aizen, was practically a regular visitor to the academy.
Ever since taking command, he had frequently appeared there.
And he would often bring along his vice-captain—
The man whose eyes always curved into narrow slits whether he was smiling or not—
Gin Ichimaru.
During these visits, Aizen would even generously demonstrate his Shikai in front of the students, leaving the new recruits both awestruck and inspired.