Chapter 67 ⥤ I Have Three Hobbies—And None of Them Are Painting!

What is art?

Akira had heard many answers.

Some say it's eternal, others say it's aesthetic.

But a genius with yellow hair and a mouth in his hand had an idea that truly resonated with him.

Art is... an Explosion!

With his current mastery of Kidō, developing multi-functional Bakudō required more knowledge — a process that needed time. For now, Hadō had become the perfect way to verify his "Unique Insight".

Building on his experience with creating the Raienken (the sword), Akira began developing new Hadō.

Hadō #1: Shō ⥤ Thrust

Hadō #11: Tsuzuri Raiden ⥤ Bound Lightning

Hadō #12: Fushibi ⥤ Ambush Flare

Hadō #20: Tenkyūtama ⥤ Celestial Orb

Hadō #26: Shinku Fūin ⥤ Crimson Seal

Hadō #32: Ōkasen ⥤ Yellow Fire Flash

Hadō #33: Sōkatsui ⥤ Blue Fire, Crash Down

Besides Byakurai and Shakkahō, which had become second nature to him, these were all the Hadō taught at the Shin'ō Academy.

Thanks to his natural talent and deep interest, Akira could cast these spells effortlessly.

Having chosen the path of artistry, he knew he needed to master its fundamentals. Above all else, destructive power was key.

"Looking at Kidō's nature, Sōkatsui and Ōkasen share the closest similarities. When used together through dual incantation, their power multiplies. Perhaps their incantations could be deconstructed and merged to create entirely new Kidō?"

He attempted to merge the two spells.

He not only rearranged the Reiatsu patterns but also revised the incantations and hand signs to align with his previous theories.

"Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, all things in nature, burn and incinerate..."

⤫ Hadō #?: Aokōsen ⥤ Blue Fire Flash! ⤬

Intense blue flames erupted from his palm, surging toward the small mountain ahead. The explosion thundered, its shockwave rippling outward as fierce winds howled through the air.

When the dust settled, Akira frowned at the scorched scene.

The power fell short of his expectations — even weaker than a fully-chanted Sōkatsui. The only difference was that it inherited Ōkasen's precision, manifesting as a focused blue beam rather than a widespread explosion.

Creating new Kidō proved more challenging than anticipated. Despite multiple attempts, success remained elusive.

With no other options, Akira shifted his approach, attempting to create entirely new Hadō using basic hand signs and incantations.

Another series of attempts followed.

"This isn't working." He frowned deeply, setting the idea aside for now.

Despite his maxed-out talent, his current knowledge and skill level made creating entirely new Kidō too ambitious.

The Soul Society had existed for a million years. Even accounting for the first few hundred thousand years of development, countless geniuses had come and gone in recent millennia.

Yet Kidō had only evolved to include two or three hundred spells — a testament to how challenging innovation truly was.

"Not bad at all."

As Akira conjured another orb, its exterior wreathed in flames and its core crackling with lightning, an approving voice spoke from behind.

"I didn't expect you to be so devoted to Kidō that you'd skip your final exam to practice."

He turned stiffly, meeting the dark-skinned girl's gaze with startled eyes.

"Isn't the final exam tomorrow?"

Yoruichi crossed her arms, raising her delicate eyebrows in surprise.

"If I recall correctly, it was yesterday and today."

"Tch—" Without another word, Akira turned to leave.

Though passing was impossible now, failing would still be better than not showing up at all. Shin'ō Academy was pleasant enough, but he couldn't remain there forever.

"It's too late now." Yoruichi said, "The exam finished ten minutes ago. I just came from the hall."

Hearing this, Akira's face fell. He could already imagine Uruoi's thunderous rage.

Skipping class was one thing, but missing the exam was another entirely. His chances of graduating from the Academy seemed impossible now. He might even become the first student in history to fail all theory courses.

In a way, that was making history too.

"Mah, don't worry about it." Yoruichi walked up to him, nudging his chest with her elbow, "It's just one exam. Even if you fail all the theory courses, the Second Division will still welcome you with open arms. When the time comes, I'll just need to use a little bit of influence..."

Hearing this, Akira's eyes lit up. There was always a way out!

He'd almost forgotten that this young woman belonged to one of the Five Great Noble Families of the Soul Society. With her authority, she could ensure his graduation with just a wave of her finger!

"By the way, you didn't come just to tell me about missing the exam, did you?" He tried to steer the conversation back on track.

Yoruichi shook her head, her teasing expression turning serious.

"I just heard some things about you and wanted to try my luck."

"Luck?"

"I want you to do a divination." She looked at him intently, "Those rumors about you have been circulating around the Academy for a while. I didn't believe them at first, but others spoke of you as something extraordinary. As it happens, I've run into some issues lately, so I thought I'd give it a try."

Hearing this, Akira immediately perked up.

As everyone knew, he had three hobbies: ritual ceremonies, exorcism, and divination.

Last time, his divination for Genryūsai had failed, nearly shattering his confidence in his infallible technique. This time, he could restore his reputation with this dark-skinned girl.

"Tell me what you want to know."

He smoothly pulled a new turtle shell from his empty pocket, his left hand igniting a low-powered Shakkahō as he struck an impressive, intimidating pose.

Yoruichi hesitated, pondered for a moment, then took a deep breath.

"It's about my Zanpakutō, about its future."

Akira felt a headache coming on.

Why did everyone ask for such vague predictions about the future? Couldn't they just focus on the present?

Considering she might be a premium client, he reluctantly began the divination. He went through the familiar process as the cracks on the turtle shell revealed a new pattern.

After analyzing the pattern's meaning, he spoke with surprise.

"This time there's actually no problem. The divination is clear — you're not in its future."

Beside him, Yoruichi's expression froze. Her brows furrowed in confusion.

"Please explain, what do you mean I'm not in it? Weren't you divining—" Halfway through her sentence, realization struck, and astonishment spread across her delicate face, "My Zanpakutō's future has nothing to do with me?!"

Akira sighed and gazed at the girl with a distant look.

"Though it seems absurd, this is indeed what the divination shows. In the future scene, a voluptuous mature woman...punched a Hollow's head to pieces."

⤫⤬⤫

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