"It's over!!!"
"The spiritual shuriken are splitting into more and more!"
"They may be smaller than the original, but there are dozens—no, tens of times more than before!"
"If this keeps up, the Dankū barrier is going to collapse any second!"
Outside the transparent light wall—
The sixth-years under its protection could clearly see what was happening inside.
But when instinct drove them to flee—
They discovered, in sheer terror, that their legs felt like they'd been filled with lead.
At this point, forget turning around and running—
Even lifting a foot became unbearably difficult.
Without outside help, they simply couldn't take a single step against that soul-deep fear.
"Hah…"
"If we'd known Bai Chen was this monstrous, why the hell did we even bother with an assessment?!"
"This is literally gambling with our lives!"
Trapped in panic, the sixth-years were full of regret.
If they'd known Bai Chen was that kind of ruthless freak, they would've been scrambling to latch onto his coattails—
Not clinging to old rules and deliberately making things hard for a "newcomer."
Bai Chen wasn't a student at all—
He was a monster with captain-level combat power.
Thankfully, before long—
The nearly despairing sixth-years were rescued by the academy instructors.
One after another, they were escorted out through the arena gates.
By the end—
So they wouldn't drag the captains down—
Even the instructors bailed as well.
Only the four Shinigami captains remained, still pouring reiatsu into the Dankū barrier.
"Good thing the faculty and students evacuated in time…"
"We're close to our limit too…"
Kyōraku Shunsui gritted his teeth.
Bulging veins stood out across his body—clear signs of extreme reiatsu drain.
He was riding the edge of his limit.
Meanwhile, inside the barrier—
The spiritual shuriken were everywhere.
After repeated splitting, they nearly filled every bit of air.
"Everyone…"
"They're all safely evacuated. It's time to cut off the reiatsu supply."
"Without the barrier, the blast will spread instantly…"
"But with the Sekkiseki resisting it, the aftermath shouldn't be too severe."
Unohana Retsu spoke with a grave expression.
To her, as long as no one died, nothing else mattered.
Even if the entire arena was reduced to rubble—
It could always be rebuilt later.
"Heh…"
"This is the first time I've ever been made this miserable by a single Kidō."
"Bai Chen's tricks really are impossible to guard against."
Ichimaru Gin's gaze pierced the white barrier, locking directly onto Bai Chen inside.
At this moment—
Unlike them—
Bai Chen was the very man who had created this "nuclear bomb."
Yet with absolute control over his technique, he stood there calmly, unhurried, not moving an inch—
As if he wasn't worried at all about the spiritual shuriken detonating and injuring him.
And the truth was—
He really wasn't worried.
With Unsealed Healing, perfect reiatsu control, and Wood Release techniques…
He had too many ways to resist damage.
He could even stand still and let his body tank the blasts—no problem.
No matter how many explosions occurred,
They would never outpace the rate at which his cells and wounds regenerated.
So—
In Gin's and Kyōraku's eyes,
The Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique—something that nearly drained them dry and left them looking pathetic—
Was, to Bai Chen…
Nothing more than tossing out a string of firecrackers.
All noise. No danger.
Then—
When the shuriken count exceeded what the Dankū barrier could withstand—
The four captains cut off their reiatsu supply in the same instant.
And so—
The moment they vanished with Shunpo—
The chain explosions began, one after another, like dominoes toppling—
Wave after wave, surging outward!
Next—
BOOM!
The light wall shattered.
It broke apart completely.
Some fragments of the barrier fell in chunks.
Others were instantly pulverized into dust within the smoke and shockwaves.
In the blink of an eye—
The towering Dankū barrier was gone without a trace.
And then—
With no sealing or restriction—
The explosion raced through the air, detonating reishi as it went,
And swept across the entire combat arena!
In the end—
The destructive force was too great.
Even though the structure was primarily made of Sekkiseki—
This ancient arena, standing for centuries, finally collapsed under the endless blasts—
Reduced to a field of ruins.
Not long after…
As time passed, the incident was finally brought under control.
However—
The shuriken were too numerous.
The blast radius reached into nearby "safe zones."
So even though the instructors and sixth-years had taken shelter early—
They were still unlucky enough to get injured.
Fortunately—
With Unohana Retsu, a top-tier healing master, present—
And with no critical injuries—
Everyone's wounds were treated one after another, and disaster-level casualties were avoided.
"Hah…"
"Unohana-taichō, thank you. That must've been exhausting."
"Thank goodness you were here… otherwise I'd be taking the blame for this."
Even though it had been a while since the incident ended,
Just recalling the destruction caused by the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique still made Kyōraku's back go cold.
Sweat slid down his face and forehead nonstop.
"Kyōraku-taichō, there's no need."
"Saving lives and treating wounds is a physician's duty. I only did what I should."
Unohana nodded gently, her voice calm and soft.
Kind-hearted as she was,
She didn't want to see anyone hurt.
"By the way—aren't you going to act?" Kyōraku suddenly asked.
"Act…? What do you mean?" Unohana replied.
"Heh… do I even need to spell it out?"
Kyōraku laughed brightly.
"Send Bai Chen an invitation to join your squad."
"And… a little swordsmanship sparring and 'discussion,' too."
As he spoke, Kyōraku deliberately raised an eyebrow—
And shot Unohana a meaningful look.
A clear hint at her past identity as the First Kenpachi.
Truthfully, Kyōraku had already seen it during the first test—
Unohana's excitement.
If so—
What was she waiting for?
In a face-to-face situation, Kyōraku didn't believe Bai Chen would refuse Unohana easily.
"An invitation…"
Unohana's eyes flickered—she was clearly tempted.
But—
Just as she hesitated—
Kyōraku coughed lightly, then added another pointed reminder:
"Don't say I didn't warn you."
"Aizen-taichō already went to speak with Bai Chen."
"If nothing unexpected happens…"
"He's probably giving Bai Chen a recruitment invitation right now."
◇ I'll drop one bonus chapter for every 10 reviews (leave a review/comment!)
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 60 chapters ahead on P@treon: patreon.com/KageNaruto