Just as Arata expected, the truly strong players were mostly concentrated in the first group, while the battles in the remaining three groups were largely one-sided massacres.
In the final of the second group, Kusaka Sojirō's solid foundation amazed the entire audience.
Most opponents didn't even have a chance to resist, as he bulldozed them with his wild, explosive zanjutsu techniques.
Only the opponent in the group final put up some resistance, but it only took a bit more effort, and in the end, first place still went to Kusaka.
The fourth group brought no surprises. Rukia defeated all her opponents with ease using a perfect combination of Kidō and zanjutsu.
Only the third group was worth watching. Close friends Renji and Kira each defeated their opponents one by one and finally faced each other in the final.
The two of them delivered an extremely exciting match and competition. In the end, Renji took first place in the third group thanks to his outstanding physical strength and resilience.
As the sun set, the list of the top four was officially announced. Four younger students – Toushirou, Kusaka, Renji, and Rukia – unexpectedly caused an upset and directly took the top four spots in the academy group.
This was undoubtedly a slap in the face to the older generations.
The academy group included 256 students, of which seventy percent were from the third, fourth, and fifth years. In the end, they still couldn't surpass this quartet. How shameful to explain to others.
But Arata, as someone who has the perspective of a "god above the story," knew very well that there was actually a serious generational gap among the students of Shinō Spiritual Academy.
In the hundreds of years since the school was founded, except for a few generations, the vast majority of graduates were ordinary shinigami, at best, nameless officers and cannon fodder.
Even the weak Yamada Hanatarō of the 4th Division would have been considered an elite graduate in most Shinō Academy classes, not to mention the six kids who would grow into captains and vice-captains in the future.
For them to take the lead now was only natural.
It was a pity that Rukia spent a bit more time in the final matches, so her total combat time was five seconds longer than Kusaka's, causing her to miss third place.
Thus, the final selection of those who would represent the academy group and advance to the official group fell to Toushirou, Kusaka, and Renji.
It's worth mentioning that in the original competition plan submitted by the Kasumiōji family, a team competition and matches for the first, second, and third place were also prepared for the academy group.
To leave more time for the more exciting matches of the official group, Yamamoto Genryūsai ordered these two parts of the competition to be canceled, and neither the Kasumiōji family nor the captains objected.
In their view, the academy group battles were really just child's play – excluding two of Toushirou's matches.
After all the contestants rested for a night, the official group competition would begin tomorrow.
As night fell, the lights of Shinō Spiritual Academy swayed in the wind.
"Rangiku, you've been slacking off for so many days already, it's time to go back and finish reviewing those documents!"
"Eeeeh, Captain, let me play for a few more days…"
"Hahaha… if I let you play a few more days, the Tenth Division might as well disband!"
Half pulled, half pushed, Rangiku was taken back to the Tenth Division by Shiba Isshin, but even as she was leaving, she didn't forget to blow a kiss to Arata.
"Don't forget to come pick me up~" She waved the folder in her hand, and her golden hair flew over her shinigami kimono. "If you dare let me walk alone at night…"
"Don't worry, I'll definitely come pick you up."
Arata smiled and waved, watching the two of them disappear from his sight.
When he turned around, Toushirou and Hinamori Momo were already standing obediently in front of the medical tent, and the boy was still tightly holding the promotion medallion he won in the tournament.
"Come on, I'll take you to the infirmary for a checkup." Arata ruffled both of their hair. "Even if you don't look injured on the surface, your spiritual pressure is overly depleted and needs proper treatment."
"Yes! Arata-sensei!"
The temporary quarters of the medical team were located at the former site of the 12th Division's laboratory, and the distinctive light green curtains of the 4th Division swayed gently on both sides of the hallway.
Kotetsu Isane was just recording inventory in front of the medicine cabinet and suddenly turned around when she heard footsteps, causing the glass bottles on the tray to clink.
"A-Arata-kun?" Her voice was an octave higher than usual, and she unconsciously tugged at the hem of her medical uniform with her fingertips. "Where's the injured person?"
Arata's gaze briefly passed over her red ears, and a tremor stirred in his heart. He forced himself to look away and gently pushed the two children forward.
"Sorry, Isane-san, they both need a full examination."
"A-ah… alright!" Isane quickly pulled out the record book, but her pen slipped to the floor.
As she bent down to pick it up, her medical unit cap nearly fell off her head; she was flustered like a frightened rabbit.
Toushirou tilted his head, whispering in confusion, "Lieutenant Kotetsu is acting strange today…"
"Pssst!" Hinamori Momo secretly pinched the back of his hand. A girl's sharp intuition immediately picked up on the subtle changes in the air, and her gray eyes flicked several times between Arata and Isane.
Even so, the checkup went extremely smoothly. Once Isane entered work mode, she regained her usual efficiency. The healing energy gathered at her fingertips precisely swept over the spiritual bodies of the two children.
"Hitsugaya-san's reiatsu flow is stable, only the muscles are slightly fatigued and overstrained." She pointed to the blue waves on the reiatsu monitor. "Probably a side effect from excessive use of high-intensity shunpō and zanjutsu techniques."
Hinamori Momo's condition was more complicated. Continuous use of high-level Kidō techniques had caused the spiritual pressure in her body to dry up as if scorched by flames. Isane had to use several high-ranked Kaidō techniques, such as Kyūen, to slowly warm and restore it.
When the light green aura wrapped around the girl's wrist, Hinamori Momo suddenly sniffled from the pain.
"Momo, does it hurt?" Toushirou's face immediately grew serious, his palm hovering over her scratched wrist.
Isane shook her head, her voice gentle as if comforting a child: "Don't worry, this is a normal reaction during spiritual body regeneration… Please endure just a little more, Hinamori-san."
After the examination, Isane hurriedly handed each of them a few vials of nutritional medicine. "Be sure to drink it after every meal. It will help you recover your strength faster."
"Okay, I, I have to go do a ward inspection now!" After saying that, she ran off holding the medical record book, the hem of her white coat leaving a small swirl in the corner of the hallway.
"Lieutenant Kotetsu is so gentle…" Hinamori Momo sighed as she shook the vial of elixir, only to suddenly receive a flick to the forehead from Toushirou.
"Silly Momo, think about how you're going to cheer me on tomorrow." The white-haired boy frowned, but quietly unscrewed the cap on her bottle.
Arata watched with a smile as the two bickered, but his eyes unconsciously drifted toward the back of the hallway.
After a brief hesitation, he patted them on the shoulder and said, "Head back to the dorms first. Your teacher has some things he still needs to take care of."
"Okay, see you tomorrow, Arata-sensei!"
As he walked down the long corridor, the scent of herbs gradually faded into the coolness of the night.
As if possessed, Arata headed toward the break room at the far end. The wooden door was ajar, and warm yellow light spilled through the narrow gap.
When he pushed the half-open door, the hinges creaked softly.
Kotetsu Isane was asleep, slumped over the desk, her short silver-gray hair scattered across her cheeks.
She wore only the thin uniform of the medical unit; because of her position, the collar had shifted slightly, exposing a large area of snow-white skin.
Most striking was the pair of seductive fruits pressed against the surface of the table, molded into a shape that would raise anyone's blood pressure, gently rising and falling with her breathing.
Arata's Adam's apple moved unconsciously. Last night's intimate moments with Rangiku were still fresh in his mind, and now, faced with such a scene, the suppressed fire quietly rekindled.
He quietly approached Isane, his gaze lingering on her sleeping profile – her eyelashes cast soft shadows beneath her eyes, and her lips were slightly swollen from the pressure, appearing softer than usual.
"Isane-san?" Arata called to her softly, his fingers hovering in the air, hesitating whether to touch her shoulder.
In that moment of hesitation, Isane suddenly let out a faint moan and unconsciously turned to the other side.
That movement caused her collar to slip even lower; the fabric on her right shoulder pulled away almost completely, revealing her rounded shoulder and half of a black strap.
Even more devastating was that the fruits previously pressed against the table now lifted off the surface due to the motion, forming seductive waves beneath the thin fabric.
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