Following Arata's orders, the sound of wooden swords clashing suddenly echoed through the dojo.
The match between Toushirou and Kusaka was particularly eye-catching. Their movements grew faster, and the strikes of their wooden swords were as dense as raindrops.
Arata stood to the side and watched, quietly admiring them inwardly.
The talent of these two young men truly far surpassed that of ordinary people. In just one lesson, they had managed to grasp the coordination between breathing and sword strikes.
Especially Toushirou, every one of his attacks carried an innate sense of stability.
Although he hadn't yet reached the level of monsters like Kenpachi Zaraki and Unohana Retsu, who were born to wield swords, he could already be considered among the top geniuses.
"Ding!"
At that moment, the sound of the system reminder suddenly rang out in Arata's head.
[Fate Mission: Enlightenment of Ice and Snow 2 (Refreshed)]
[Type: Side]
[Mission Target: Hitsugaya Toushirou, Kusaka Sōjirō]
[Mission Requirement: Accompany the two to the Kidō classroom and observe the lesson.]
[Deadline: Today]
[Mission Reward: 200 fate points]
Arata paused slightly. He hadn't expected the system to issue a task at this moment, and to display a refreshed side mission at that.
Then he recalled that yesterday afternoon, when he led everyone to retrieve their Asauchi, he had completed a side mission named [Enlightenment of Ice and Snow].
Today's mission carried the same title, it was clearly a continuation of that task.
"Saito-sensei!"
It was unclear how much time had passed when Toushirou's voice brought him back to reality.
"We've finished one round of sparring! What are we learning next?"
Arata snapped out of it and realized the two had already stopped sparring and were looking at him full of anticipation.
The other students had also finished their matches in the meantime and were waiting for Arata's next instructions.
"All right, today's kendo class ends here. You may leave early." He clapped his hands.
"Yay!"
The students left the dojo in pairs, with Toushirou and Kusaka walking at the very end.
Arata noticed that the two young men were quietly chatting as they walked, as if discussing the techniques they had just learned.
A true example of talent and effort existing side by side.
When they reached the hallway, Toushirou suddenly turned and looked at Arata: "Saito-sensei, this path leads to the Kidō classroom. Isn't your office in the opposite direction?"
Arata smiled and replied, "That's because I've decided to attend your Kidō class, to see how you're doing in subjects other than kendo."
Toushirou and Kusaka exchanged glances, clear surprise on their faces.
"Really? That's awesome!" Kusaka said excitedly. "If Saito-sensei is there, we'll definitely pass the test!"
"Huh?" Arata asked with a trace of surprise, "Is the Kidō test really that hard? Even you're worried about passing?"
Toushirou and Kusaka were the top two students of their year. Logically, they should be thinking about getting full marks.
So how did simply "passing the exam" become something they looked forward to?
"Saito-sensei." Toushirou's expression was a bit strange. "Do you know who our Kidō instructor is?"
Arata shook his head. He really hadn't looked into it in detail. "No. Doesn't it say on the schedule?"
"It does." Kusaka answered from the side. "Head Professor of the Kidō Department – Aizen-sensei."
Arata was slightly surprised when he heard that, but after a brief moment of thought, everything clicked into place.
Out of all six classes at the Shinō Spiritual Academy, the highest-achieving group was the newly enrolled first-year students. As the head professor, it was only natural that Aizen be assigned to Class A of the first years, where Toushirou belonged.
"So, is there something problematic about Aizen-sensei?" Arata asked calmly.
Kusaka hesitated for a moment. "Not exactly problematic, it's just… Aizen-sensei's classes are extremely difficult. Almost ninety percent of the class failed the introductory test yesterday."
"We just started learning Kidō on the first day, and he already wants us to memorize a double-digit number of Kidō incantations, or we won't pass."
"Besides me and Kusaka, who managed to grasp some of it because we prepared in advance, everyone else felt like he was speaking a foreign language." Toushirou shook his head, his face full of frustration.
Before entering the academy, he'd listened to Momo bragging that Kidō wasn't a hard subject at all, and as soon as he arrived, he was hit with the harsh slap of reality.
Arata nodded thoughtfully. It seemed Aizen's teaching style was completely in line with his character: outwardly gentle and relaxed, but inwardly extremely strict, with extremely unreasonable standards.
"Don't worry." Arata reassured them quietly. "As long as I'm there, Aizen-sensei won't push you into too awkward a position."
The tension on the faces of the two teenagers visibly eased when they heard that.
The three of them walked together toward the Kidō classroom.
The Kidō classroom was located on the eastern side of the Shinō Spiritual Academy. It was a very spacious training hall, two to three times larger than the First Kendo Dojo.
Arata completely understood this. The power and destructive potential that Kidō could produce far exceeded what occurred during the basic stage of sword training.
If the space wasn't open enough, students could easily hit each other if they made a mistake in reciting the incantation.
He would here mention one male shinigami who didn't even know how to properly fire a red fireball.
When Arata arrived together with Toushirou and Kusaka, the classroom was already packed with students.
Surprisingly, besides the students of Class A, there were also many students from other classes who had come to attend the lesson.
"This many people… It seems Aizen-sensei's class is truly popular." Arata sighed quietly.
Toushirou curled his lips in disdain. "Most come because of Aizen-sensei's reputation. Very few actually understand what he's teaching."
Arata simply smiled and made no comment. He found a seat at the back row of the classroom, while Toushirou and Kusaka sat at the front.
Not long after, the classroom doors quietly opened and a brown-haired man with black-rimmed glasses slowly entered, Captain of the Fifth Division, Aizen Sōsuke.
Still, in the Shinō Spiritual Academy, perhaps it was more appropriate to address him as "Aizen-sensei."
Today he wore the standard shinigami kimono, with the white captain's haori draped over it, and his entire presence exuded gentleness and refinement.
"Good day, everyone." Aizen's voice was neither too loud nor too soft, but could be heard perfectly clearly throughout the entire classroom.
"Today we will continue studying the theory of low-level Kidō. Please open to page twenty-five."
Arata noticed that Aizen's gaze lingered on him for a moment as he passed through the classroom.
Although it lasted only a fraction of a second, the feeling as if someone had completely seen through his soul immediately ran down his spine like a cold wind.
"Before we begin, I'd like to invite one student to demonstrate the fourth Kidō incantation from Hadō, White Lightning, which we learned yesterday."
Aizen's gaze swept across the classroom and finally stopped on Toushirou. "Hitsugaya-san, please come forward and demonstrate."
Toushirou was clearly momentarily taken aback, but he still stood up and walked over to the wooden dummy placed in the center of the hall.
He took a deep breath, extended his right hand, and pointed his index and middle fingers toward the dummy.
"Hadō number four: Byakurai!"
As he released his spiritual pressure, a thin lightning bolt shot from the space between his two fingers, leaving a blue trail in the air.
Boom!
The wooden dummy in front of Toushirou was pierced by the lightning, leaving a small hole at the impact point, its edges charred, with a thin wisp of smoke rising from within.
Although the power wasn't overwhelming, the process of releasing the Kidō was exceptionally smooth and for a student only on his second day at the academy, it was truly astonishing.
The next moment, applause echoed through the classroom, and even Arata inwardly marveled at Toushirou's performance.
This kid is truly incredibly gifted.