Chapter 66: Hesitation Leads to Defeat

The explosive collision between the Asauchi and the spear caused the entire empty classroom to echo with a dull roar.

As Madarame Ikkaku retreated, his boots stomped spiderweb-like cracks directly into the wooden floorboards. Seeing this, Shin's brow twitched involuntarily—he was probably going to have to pay for those damages!

The next instant, a visible barrier of spirit particles erupted outward from around Shin’s body, enveloping the entire classroom.

At this sight, Madarame Ikkaku immediately braced himself as if facing a formidable enemy.

However, the spirit particle barrier merely swept past him effortlessly, without producing any other anomalies.

"What did you do?" he demanded.

"Nothing, just a barrier. I wanted to prevent our fight from being disturbed. After all, this is a school, and too much commotion might attract others," Shin said. "Now you can release your spiritual pressure without holding back."

Hearing this, Madarame Ikkaku let out a loud laugh, and the next moment, a visible cyclone of spiritual pressure burst forth from his entire body.

Ever since releasing his Zanpakuto, Madarame Ikkaku's attacks had grown even wilder and more ferocious. Even though neither of them was injured, Shin faintly caught a scent of blood, carried over and pressed down by Madarame's spiritual pressure.

Madarame leaped up abruptly, wielding his spear and thrusting fiercely toward Shin from mid-air.

Shin merely sidestepped slightly and easily dodged the blow.

The tip of Hozukimaru slammed into the ground, but this time it failed to cause any damage to the floor. However, Madarame Ikkaku's attention was entirely focused on Shin. Seeing that his strike missed, he quickly landed, steadied his stance, raised the spear, and thrust again.

Hozukimaru held the absolute advantage of a long weapon, unleashing a dense flurry of attacks that forced Shin to maintain a distance of two meters away from him.

Seeing this, Madarame Ikkaku laughed frantically, "What's wrong, kid? Where's that imposing manner you had just now!"

Though Shin appeared to be forced back and unable to close in, he dodged through Madarame Ikkaku's onslaught with complete ease and grace.

Madarame Ikkaku probably hadn't achieved Bankai yet, and even if he had, he presumably wouldn't unleash it here.

Shin had initially thought the other man would make a decent opponent, but in reality, this style of combat failed to meet his expectations. A crude and primitive fighting style was indeed effective for easily suppressing opponents lacking in swordsmanship, but when faced with someone of exceptional skill, it was no different from a monkey playing with a sword.

Hozukimaru's thrust missed yet again, and irritation welled up in Madarame Ikkaku's heart. It looked as though he was suppressing Shin by virtue of his long weapon's advantage, but the sheer ease with which Shin avoided his attacks made him feel as though the other man was toying with him.

Why isn't this guy counterattacking?

Madarame Ikkaku's mind raced, unsure whether the other was failing to find the right opening or something else. Being on the offensive for so long without results made him hesitate over whether he should change his tactics first.

Yet, in his heart, he feared that changing tactics casually would cause him to lose the initiative. He remained wary of Shin closing the distance, still haunted by that tricky and intricate slash from earlier.

Still, continuing like this was getting him nowhere at all.

He was going to die of frustration!

Madarame Ikkaku's eyes revealed a towering fierceness. After missing another thrust, he abruptly changed his attack from a thrust to a slash.

Yet the moment he suddenly altered his move, Shin firmly blocked Hozukimaru with his blade. In the next instant, the edge of Shin's weapon grazed tightly along the spear's shaft, rocketing toward Madarame Ikkaku at blinding speed.

Damn it!

Madarame Ikkaku's heart shook violently—the opponent had accurately seized the opening once again!

In its spear form, Hozukimaru lacked a handguard, making it entirely incapable of blocking the approaching Asauchi. At this rate, Madarame Ikkaku's entire hand would likely be sliced clean off on the spot!

Yet regret was utterly useless now. The blade advancing along the spear shaft seemed to force him to abandon his weapon.

Gritting his teeth, Madarame Ikkaku exerted force horizontally and roared at the same time:

"Split apart, Hozukimaru!"

The Hozukimaru in his grip changed once more, transforming from a spear into a three-section staff. Seizing the momentary loss of momentum from Shin caused by the weapon's transformation, Madarame Ikkaku quickly pulled Hozukimaru in, attempting to trap and entangle the Asauchi in Shin's hand.

The idea was wonderful, but the moment Hozukimaru transformed, the blade in Shin's hand suspended itself mid-air. Madarame Ikkaku's vision blurred; Shin moved like a phantom, sidestepping the attack vector of Hozukimaru and deftly retrieving his Asauchi from amidst the three-section staff.

A cold gleam flashed in Madarame Ikkaku's eyes as that blinding edge drove straight toward his throat.

Swish!

A bone-chilling coldness struck his neck. He stood frozen in place, holding a section of Hozukimaru in each hand while maintaining his retreating posture.

Holding the Asauchi pressed against Madarame's throat, Shin smiled faintly and said, "Hesitation is defeat, 3rd Seat Madarame."

Madarame Ikkaku swallowed hard with difficulty. The first time, Shin had caught his opening; the second time, not only had he caught his opening, but he had also executed a flashy technique that was completely beyond his imagination—letting go of the blade, twisting his body to retrieve it...

Was this really swordsmanship taught by the Shinigami Academy?

Why had he never witnessed this from anyone else!

Slowly, Shin moved the Asauchi away from his throat, smiling as he said, "It seems I guessed wrong. Vice-Captain Shiba found me the wrong opponent."

Hearing this caused blue veins to bulge on Madarame Ikkaku's bald head, though he had no temper to vent.

Having been subdued consecutively—even if it was just a sparring match, and he wasn't someone who couldn't accept losing—he could only let out a cold snort.

What Shin said was actually the truth. Through this battle, he discovered that the opponents he truly wished to spar with were Shinigami who could flexibly incorporate Kido and Shunpo into their combat, rather than someone like Madarame Ikkaku.

With a flourish of his wrist, Shin spun the Asauchi into a fancy arc before smoothly sliding it back into its scabbard.

The spirit particle barrier covering the entire classroom quickly retracted back into his body.

"Good match."

"..."

Madarame Ikkaku readjusted his posture, his gaze complex. The three-section staff in his hand had also reverted to the appearance of an ordinary Asauchi.

Pondering for a moment, he said, "Tachikawa Shin, you'll be graduating soon, right?"

"Next year," Shin replied. This semester was almost coming to an end, making next year his final one at the Spiritual Arts Academy.

Madarame Ikkaku didn't pry into why someone with Shin's strength wasn't graduating this year. Instead, he stated, "Come to our 11th Division. With swordsmanship like yours... our 11th Division is a combat division, which makes it the most suitable place for you."

Every successive captain of the 11th Division held the title of "Kenpachi," meaning the Shinigami with the strongest swordsmanship.

Therefore, Madarame Ikkaku's claim that the 11th Division suited Shin best was by no means an exaggeration.

However, Shin replied, "I'm sorry, but due to some special circumstances, the division I'll be joining after graduation has already been decided."

Madarame Ikkaku paused slightly at these words, though he didn't find it overly strange. With Shin's strength, it was completely normal for him to be scouted early by other divisions. Their own captain and vice-captain never bothered with annual division recruitments, and as a 3rd Seat, he didn't care to meddle either; thus, recent additions to the 11th Division were purely volunteers.

Even so, owing to the 11th Division's reputation as the premier combat division, numerous members joined every year—so many that they even had to distribute a portion of the roster to other divisions.

Thinking it a pity, Madarame Ikkaku casually asked, "Which division?"

"The 4th Division."

Madarame Ikkaku thought he had misheard. "Which division did you just say?"

"The 4th Division."

"..."

Ayasegawa Yumichika, who had stood quietly to the side without interrupting or speaking the entire time, was also left dumbfounded.

The 11th Division possessed an intensely martial culture. The Zanpakuto of its members were mostly of the direct-attack type, placing little emphasis on Kido, and some even harbored an aversion toward those who fought using Kido.

Because of this, Ayasegawa Yumichika had always concealed the true ability of his Zanpakuto, which belonged to the Kido type.

Yet, compared to fighting with Kido, the 11th Division looked down upon one specific kind of person even more.

Members of the 4th Division, who managed logistics and medical rescue!