"Simulated group combat exercise?"
"Huh? Don't tell me it's that simulation group I'm thinking of…"
"Are they going to send us to fight against Hollows?"
"What are you scared of? We've all done internships already. Who here hasn't killed at least two Hollows?"
"…"
As soon as Yamamoto Genryūsai finished his speech, a discussion immediately broke out in the student section of the audience.
Six students were whispering among themselves. Some were extremely nervous about what was coming, while others weren't paying attention at all.
"Today's lesson is different from the usual." Captain Yamamoto slammed his staff heavily against the ground, his old yet resonant voice sounding like thunder.
Just as Yamamoto Genryūsai finished, a huge circular hole suddenly opened in the middle of the training ground floor.
From below came the sound of metal gears turning, and a dark cage slowly rose from the depths.
"Captain Kurotsuchi, commence." Yamamoto slightly inclined his head and addressed Kurotsuchi Mayuri, who was seated in the side section.
"As you command, Captain-General." Kurotsuchi Mayuri, who had been called, replied cheerfully. His eerily pale, nimble hands flew over the portable control screen, ten fingers like a spider weaving its web.
Shiba Isshin beside him couldn't help but swallow hard.
"Hey, Captain Kurotsuchi… Captain Kurotsuchi, what are you planning to do?!"
Kurotsuchi Mayuri had no intention of paying attention to Shiba Isshin and instead focused solely on the control panel in front of him.
Clack—
When Kurotsuchi Mayuri pressed the final button, a sharp sound of metal scraping came from the black cage.
The heavy gate slowly lifted, and at that very moment, a foul stench flooded the entire training ground.
"Ugh—" Several first-years in the stands immediately covered their mouths and noses, their faces going pale.
"This is… the Hollow from the textbooks?!" Tōshirō's emerald pupils shrank as he stared at the massive creature slowly emerging from the cage.
It was a creature about three meters tall, lizard-like, with a pale bone mask covering its distorted face. A long, thin tongue constantly flicked in and out, and corrosive saliva dripped onto the ground, eating into it and leaving small pits.
"Specimen 9527, mid-sized Hollow of the lizard subtype, classified as a standard soldier." Kurotsuchi Mayuri's voice echoed throughout the area via loudspeaker. "Its saliva is extremely acidic, so avoid getting 'licked'."
Then, at Yamamoto Genryūsai's instruction, he pulled a bracelet-like device from his pocket and tossed it to Arata on the field.
"Professor Saito, please put the Soul-Sealing Bracelet on your right wrist. It will automatically suppress your spiritual pressure to one-third of a percent, roughly at the level of a regular soldier," Kurotsuchi Mayuri said deeply.
That Soul-Sealing Bracelet was a special device he invented within two weeks after Captain Yamamoto requested such a thing over a month ago.
Its sole function was to forcibly suppress the spiritual pressure of its wearer.
The original bracelet could only suppress one-tenth of spiritual energy. After a series of upgrades and modifications, it evolved into the current version, which could suppress spiritual energy down to one three-hundredth.
Arata was quite surprised when he saw this new toy from the Department of Technological Development.
As expected of Kurotsuchi Mayuri – he could create something like this too.
When it comes to tools for killing, I, Arata, can only tip my hat to you.
He thought for a moment and immediately understood the purpose of the device. It was most likely specifically made to fit this public practical lesson.
"Of course, no problem." Arata readily agreed. Since old man Yamamoto had given him approval with a glance, he didn't mind playing the leading role and showing off his strength.
Clack—
As soon as the Soul-Sealing Bracelet was fastened on his right wrist, a pale blue light instantly surged through his body.
He clearly felt the overwhelming spiritual pressure within him suddenly drop to less than one percent of its original strength, like a beast locked in a cage.
It was as if an entire ocean had evaporated, leaving only a small puddle.
"This feeling of weakness…" Arata flexed his wrist, a smile appearing on his lips. "Reminds me of myself when I had just enrolled in the academy."
The lizard in front of him suddenly let out a piercing screech, slamming its thick tail against the metal bars, sending off sparks.
Its blood-red eyes were fixed on the only living being on the field, saliva dripping down its fangs, corroding the floor and sending up white smoke.
"Everyone, please pay attention." Arata's voice was clearly transmitted throughout the area via loudspeaker. "When facing a special type of Hollow like this, the first thing you need to... "
Before he could finish his sentence, the lizard had already lunged at him!
A body three meters tall moved with astonishing speed. In the blink of an eye, it was in front of Arata, snapping its foul, bloody jaws toward his head!
"observe."
Arata controlled his step and suddenly sidestepped, the lizard's sharp teeth snapping into empty air with a click.
A cry of surprise rose from the stands. In the next instant, he was already behind the lizard's body, gently touching its tail with his right index finger.
"An enemy's weakness is often hidden in the places you least pay attention to." Arata's voice was calm and firm. "For example, this lizard Hollow has highly developed salivary glands, but its eyes are underdeveloped, so it mostly relies on spiritual pressure to track its prey."
As if to confirm his words, the lizard suddenly swung its long tail at him, but he easily dodged it by simply shifting his body slightly.
The thick tail slammed into the protective barrier at the edge of the stands, causing a wave of spiritons.
"When an enemy has a particularly prominent ability... " Arata suddenly used the momentum of the lizard's tail swing, using that force to leap onto its back. "we must first destroy that advantage!"
A faint trace of spiritual energy gathered at the tip of his finger and pierced precisely into the bone gap at the back of the lizard's head.
With a soft shhh, it punctured the Hollow's salivary gland, and a large amount of corrosive liquid burst out like a punctured balloon, leaving scorched holes in the floor from which white smoke rose.
"Rooaar!" The lizard Hollow roared in pain and began thrashing wildly, trying to shake the Shinigami off its back.
However, Arata, light as a falling leaf, sprang upward, drawing a graceful arc in the air.
"Now it's lost its most powerful weapon." He landed ten steps away and calmly faced the enraged Hollow. "The next thing we need to do is... "
The lizard Hollow suddenly leaped and swung its front claws downward with a tearing sound.
Arata coolly stepped half a pace to the side, just enough for the tips of the claws to graze the bridge of his nose.
"Prediction." He spoke as he moved in a semicircle around the Hollow. "Before evolving into Menos classes, Hollows mainly attack by instinct. After a few observations, you can find a pattern in their attacks."
As if demonstrating a textbook example, he deliberately slowed his movements, baiting the lizard into a constant stream of attacks.
Each time, he dodged at the last moment, his robe fluttering like a dance of death.
Abarai Renji unconsciously clenched his fists, his pupils reflecting the figure on the arena freely toying with his opponent.
"Senpai Arata is so strong… I didn't even know Shinigami could fight like this…" he muttered to himself, memories of their days training together in the Kendo Club flooding his mind.
"Everyone, watch carefully." Arata suddenly raised his voice.
He lowered his right hand and shaped his fingers into a sword form; spiritual pressure concentrated into a light blade as thin as a cicada's wing at his fingertip. "When the enemy shows weakness, there is only one thing we must do... "
The moment the Hollow lizard's movement slowed from the series of missed attacks, a blue flash sliced through the mask on its face like a meteor.
The bone mask cracked with a soft crunch.
"One strike – certain death."