Bleach: Teaching Makes Me Stronger-Chapter 157: Instant Kill

Chapter 157: Chapter 157: Instant Kill
(T/N:
Second Chapter for today!
)
The
Shinigami
were stunned by the terrifying presence of the blazing golden giant.
"What is that?!"
Ashido
exclaimed.
"That’s one of Sensei’s sword techniques!"
Azashiro Kana
replied.
Although the blazing golden giant looked completely different from the last time—much larger and more fearsome—she could still sense it. That
Reiatsu
unmistakably belonged to their teacher.
"You call that a sword technique?!"
Ashido
extended his
Reiatsu
perception, and sure enough, it was the spiritual pressure of
Katori Nanatsuki
.
He glanced down at his own
Zanpakutō
, suddenly feeling a little less confident. He couldn’t help but wonder if he’d been learning swordsmanship all wrong.
At the center of the golden giant’s flaming breastplate,
Nanatsuki
stood, controlling its movements.
Now that he had reached the level of a captain, he could fuse three sword techniques at once.
What he had just unleashed—
Flamebound Armor of Thunder and Dust
—was a fusion of
Raikiri
,
Dust Blade
, and
Crimson Tide
.
It was essentially layering a "
Thunderfire Wild Blaze
" effect over the blazing armor giant. In this giant form, "
Thunderfire Wild Blaze
" could be maintained for much longer.
The remaining
Gillian
instinctively recoiled, attempting to flee.
But the golden giant raised its massive blazing blade and smashed it down onto the retreating
Gillian
.
Boom
—six
Gillian
were obliterated on the spot.
The terrifying heatwave sent the lesser
Hollow
nearby flying. These standard-sized ones couldn’t even survive the aftermath. Their bodies carbonized midair, then disintegrated into
Reishi
and scattered on the wind.
The giant withdrew its flaming blade, leaving behind molten lava in its wake. The intense heat had melted the stone into magma.
With a wide horizontal sweep, the golden giant shredded a swath of
Gillian
—not even their corpses remained, as they were vaporized by the heat into
Reishi
.
Wherever the blade passed, no
Gillian
survived.
The scene of the golden giant slaughtering the
Gillian
left a deep, unforgettable impression on the hearts of the
Shinigami
.
"That giant wiped out a whole group of
Gillian
with a single slash!"
Saitō Akane
smacked her dry lips, her mouth parched.
The presence of the blazing giant had raised the ambient temperature in the entire area. The
Shinigami
were all feeling a bit dried out and dehydrated.
"Sensei’s strength is truly unfathomable,"
Muguruma Kensei
remarked.
"That golden giant seems even stronger than the one we saw in the
Valley of Scream
," said
Kobane Jin’emon
.
"What we saw in the
Valley of Scream
was the
Flamebound Armor of Dust
, a fusion of
Dust Blade
and
Crimson Tide
,"
Hirako Shinji
added, stroking his chin. "This new technique must be even more advanced—and it still involves
Dust Blade
."
Since
Nanatsuki
had taught
Shinji
both
Dust Blade
and
Crimson Tide
, he had some understanding of what he was seeing.
"That was incredible! We’ve got a long way to go,"
Azashiro Kana
said. "There’s still so much we have to learn!"
A sparkle lit up in
Kuchiki Sōjun
’s eyes as his thoughts drifted to the child still in swaddling clothes.
’Once Byakuya grows a little older, I must beg
Katori-sensei
to take him as a disciple...’ he thought.
Like
Kobane Jin’emon
,
Kuchiki Sōjun
had married before entering the
Shin’o Spiritual Arts Academy
.
While the others chatted,
Nanatsuki
finished clearing out the remaining
Gillian
.
With a thought, he dispersed the golden giant, letting it fade into
Reishi
particles.
At the same time, the
Shadow Space
rapidly vanished, and
Kagehime
returned to
Nanatsuki
’s hand.
Whoosh
—he used
Shunpo
and appeared before the group.
"Sensei, that move was so cool!"
Muguruma Kensei
asked excitedly, "What technique was that?!"
"That was
Flamebound Armor of Thunder and Dust
. It’s a fusion technique using
Raikiri
,
Dust Blade
, and
Crimson Tide
,"
Nanatsuki
explained patiently.
"Three techniques in one?!"
Hirako Shinji
groaned. "Just combining
Dust Blade
and
Crimson Tide
is already a nightmare—I still haven’t pulled it off yet."
Ashido
led the expeditionary team of
Shinigami
over and bowed in gratitude. "We’re truly indebted to
Katori-sensei
. Without his help, we would’ve been in grave danger."
It wasn’t hard to imagine—without reinforcements from
Soul Society
, they would never have been able to handle so many
Menos Grande
.
Just thinking about it made
Ashido
feel incredibly fortunate. If
Katori Nanatsuki
hadn’t been here, he wouldn’t have been able to save nearly as many comrades.
He was strong, yes—but not strong enough to swiftly crush an entire army of
Menos
.
"Thank goodness
Katori-sensei
was the one overseeing this year’s graduation exam from the
Spiritual Arts Academy
. Otherwise, the consequences would’ve been unimaginable!"
Saitō Akane
said with heartfelt relief.
Unknowingly,
Katori Nanatsuki
had already changed so many things.
A few years ago, when the
Kasumioji Clan
targeted
Nanatsuki
in
Karakura Town
, they had dragged
Flash Goddess Yoruichi
into the mess.
To divert attention, the
Kasumioji Clan
blamed the incident on the
Quincy
, which led to the
Onmitsukidō
locating the
Quincy
base in the
World of the Living
far earlier than they should have. As a result, the
Quincy War
broke out prematurely.
Now, the surviving
Quincy
in the human world had gone fully underground. They no longer actively clashed with the
Shinigami
, and the last two years had been relatively peaceful.
This was why
Kotetsu Ayane
had arranged for
Kuchiki Sōjun
and the others to have their early graduation exams held in
Hueco Mundo
.
Otherwise, their exams would most likely have taken place in the human world.
"I’m just glad everyone’s safe."
Nanatsuki
smiled. "Now that the
Menos
army is gone, let’s return to camp and detoxify those who were poisoned by the
Hollow Poison
."
"Thank you,
Katori-sensei
!"
Ashido
replied gratefully.
Both he and
Nanatsuki
had intentionally lured the
Hollows
away from the camp to avoid collateral damage. As a result, the injured
Shinigami
at the camp had remained unharmed.
When those at the camp saw them return, they finally breathed a sigh of relief. Though they had sensed terrifying
Reiatsu
surges from afar, they hadn’t known what had happened.
"Captain
Ashido
, was the
Menos
army defeated?" a guard asked. Even in his weak state—face pale, lips blackened, barely able to stand—the excitement in his eyes was unmistakable.
"We took care of them,"
Ashido
nodded. "Now
Katori-sensei
will detoxify the
Hollow Poison
. Group yourselves by severity—those most affected go first."
Tears of joy welled in the
Shinigami
’s eyes, quickly turning into a roar of cheers.
A tent was promptly set up in the camp so
Katori Nanatsuki
could begin treating the
Hollow Poison
.
The
Adjuchas
responsible for the poisoning had intentionally kept the toxin relatively mild. It wanted to spread the poison widely, so making it too lethal would have caused
Shinigami
to die too quickly, hindering its spread.
Its goal was to incapacitate, not kill outright—ensuring the infection went unnoticed in its early stages.
But with
Nanatsuki
’s
Kaido
skills, curing such a level of
Hollow Poison
was a trivial matter.