Chapter 19 - Tournament Finale

The crowd roars in applause as Itachi makes his way back to the waiting room.

"I can't believe he actually cut through that bakudo so easily!"

"Now I want to believe that he let himself get caught." Some students discussed amongst themselves.

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VIP Area

Aizen remained silent with a smile on his face. He looked at the disappearing kido that Itachi had cut through. When he walked out there was no change in his eyes. 'So even after that, she still wasn't able to force him to use his eye technique'

Byakuya remained silent. Although he was somewhat disappointed at Akemi's loss, he knew her opponent was far stronger. However, she had still managed to surprise him with her final technique. To be able to use such a level of kido after a year at the academy showed her potential.

Soifon looked towards the exiting Itachi. 'His final shunpo was flawless. With his technique and demeanor, he would be an exceptional recruit for the 2nd squad.

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Once the match is done, the announcer declares the winner and sets a 30 minute break for both participants to rest.

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"Itachi!!" A voice calls out from behind him. Itachi turns around and sees Itsuki standing at the doorway. Itsuki takes a seat next to Itachi.

"I knew you would make it to the final round! And I know you'll win this! Although that sixth year looks kinda tough too. Nothing you can't handle though right?"

Itachi replies with a nod and looks back up at the monitor which was now displaying the final bracket. He looks at Eiji's picture and remembers him occasionally meeting with Tatsumi sometimes. Suddenly two medical shinigami barge through the entrance to the breakroom.

"You can't leave the medical ward so early! You haven't been fully checked yet!" One of them scolds Itsuki while the other one grabs him. Itsuki gets dragged out of the break room as Itachi watches him struggle and waves goodbye.

Suddenly another person takes a seat next to him where Itsuki originally was sitting. It was Hideki Eiji.

"I look forward to our match Uchiha." Hideki comments.

"Likewise." Itachi replies. Hideki gets up and walks to the other side of the break room while Itachi enters a trance-like state as he remembers the previous matches Eiji was fighting in. Just like Itachi, Eiji had also won his matches easily without using his asauchi or kido.

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"LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, THIS IS THE FINAL MATCH OF THE FIRST SHINO ACADEMY TOURNAMENT. YOU CAN JUST FEEL THE TENSION IN THE AIR BETWEEN THESE TWO COMPETITORS. THEY BOTH MADE IT THIS FAR WITHOUT BREAKING A SWEAT! BUT THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE WINNER. WHO WILL IT BE? FIRST YEAR UCHIHA ITACHI OR SIXTH YEAR HIDEKI EIJI! LET THE MATCH BEGIN!!" The announcer yells out.

Neither Itachi or Eiji make a move as the match starts. The two of them lock eyes and the crowd grows silent as they feel the tension in the air. Eiji starts to slowly ramp up his reiatsu and Itachi does the same.

From the VIP stand, Ounabara and the captains have surprised looks on their faces from the reiatsu they were feeling.

"This doesn't feel like a fight between two students. This feels more like a fight between two seated officers.

'Could this be the fight?' Aizen grins.

Both of them stop flaring their reiatsu. The instant they stop, they disappear from the arena. They reappear again, with blades drawn out and clashing swords. They both disappear again, leaving behind a dust cloud. This continues several more times before they stand back in their original places.

"I think that's enough for a warm up don't you agree? I know you and Tatsumi were sparring partners and Tatsumi always spoke highly of you. I thought he was just exaggerating your strength at first but after seeing your performance and witnessing it firsthand, I can finally believe it." Eiji holds his blade out in front of him with one hand and puts his other hand on the back end of the blade.

"I was already pretty strong before but after Tatsumi died, it opened my eyes and I trained even harder. Uchiha, you are the only student in this entire academy who this is worth using this on!" Eiji's reiatsu flares up even higher and Itachi's eyes widen as he sees Eiji's sword glowing.

Eiji flashes into Itachi and the two of them clash blades. Itachi could feel the heat emanating from the blade and his hands started to shake from the difference in raw power. Itachi flashes backwards to retreat but Eiji does not let up and keeps slashing at Itachi, forcing him on the defensive.

'I won't beat him with raw power alone. I need to find out what his shikai does while outmaneuvering him.' While clashing with Eiji a few more times, Itachi thinks of a plan in his head. He suddenly feels his Asauchi crack and decides the time to execute it is now.

"Bakudo 21: Sekienton!" A huge cloud of black smoke erupts from where Itachi is standing, covering a large section of the ring. Itachi suppresses his reiatsu as Eiji tries to sense him out to no avail.

"Bakudo 4: Hainawa." Two wire strings made from reiatsu latch onto Eiji's legs. Eiji looks to where the ropes are connecting to. 'So that's where he is.' Eiji thinks to himself. Eiji raises his sword in front of him with the face of the sword pointing to where Itachi is standing.

"Tendou no Yari!" A large ray of reiatsu shoots from the sphere in the sword. The wire strings from the Hainawa burn away as the beam travels above the ground. The beam hits the ground and the shockwave clears most of the smoke from the arena. Eiji looks into the dust cloud made from his blast but still can't sense Itachi.

"Hado 31: Shakkaho!" A red orb of energy comes at Eiji from his left side. Eiji reacts fast enough to block it with his blade. As the hado makes contact with his zanpakuto, an explosion of red smoke is created by the collision. Itachi suddenly appears on Eiji's left side and delivers a side kick. Eiji blocks the kick with the face of his sword but is sent flying back from the force. He lands on his feet and the two of them stare each other down again.

Itachi raises his arm out in front of him with his palm facing Eiji. Eiji puts his sword out in front of him again.

"Hado 33: Sokatsui!" A blue blast of reiatsu is shot out towards Eiji.

"Tendou no Yari!" Eiji shoots out another blast from his zanpakuto. Itachi's hado is completely overwhelmed by the blast and Itachi raises his other arm up.

Eiji breathes heavily as he looks at where Itachi landed. As the dust settles, Itachi's figure is seen standing up. His Asauchi was broken into two pieces and his right arm was bleeding and burnt. Itachi sheathes what's left of his Asauchi and walks out from the rubble.

'He's powerful but he lacks stamina. He doesn't seem very good at reiatsu control when his shikai is active. Based on his previous reaction to blocking my hado, I know how to handle this now.' Itachi thinks as he observes Eiji.

"Bakudo 21: Sekienton!" A black cloud of smoke erupts from Itachi's position and covers half of the ring. Eiji jumps back to the clear other half of the ring and watches for where Itachi might come from.

Suddenly a red light is seen from inside the smoke. From the red light, a red sphere of reiatsu is launched at Eiji. Eiji blocks it with his sword, creating a large cloud of smoke upon impact. Eiji notices movement in the corner of his eye and turns to his right to see something emerging from the smoke. Instinctively, Eiji swings at it, only for his face to turn to shock as he realizes what he just swung his sword at. He sees Itachi's broken zanpakuto emerge from the smoke, floating in the air from part of his shihakusho that he ripped up and tied to the handle.

Itachi appears behind Eiji who was now completely wide open. Itachi jumps up and delivers a solid spinning kick to the back of Eiji's head. Eiji's zanpakuto reverts to its unreleased state as Eiji lets go of it while being sent flying across the ring and lands in the ground head first. Eiji's limp body remained lying on the ground for a few moments without a single movement.