Staring at his bleeding foot, Rennosuke froze for a moment.
Then, as if suddenly realizing something, his face twisted in horror.
Nearby, Yasushi Takada gasped in shock:
"Shunhui Kyōraku!!"
As one of Soul Society's most veteran captains, Shunsui's Shikai ability was no secret.
Attacking from within an enemy's shadow was one of his signature techniques!
The thought that Shunsui had somehow arrived nearby without anyone noticing sent a chill down Rennosuke's spine.
Frantically, he scanned his surroundings while repeatedly checking his own shadow.
Not far away, Yasushi Takada did the same.
Suddenly, Rennosuke's heart clenched.
A strange sensation of being watched crept over him!
After confirming that Shunsui was nowhere in sight, he hurriedly looked down at his shadow.
Splurt!!
A sharp blade pierced through his back.
With the sensation of his body being impaled, a spray of blood erupted from his chest!
Staring at the sudden wound on his chest, Rennosuke's eyes widened.
At this moment, his greatest shock wasn't that he had been ambushed.
It was that, despite clearly feeling the presence of a blade filling the wound, there was nothing visible there!
He could clearly see the torn flesh of his chest, the wound gaping open in an unnatural way.
Clearly, something was lodged inside, preventing the wound from closing.
But… he couldn't see anything!
Rennosuke whipped his head around, trying to see who had stabbed him.
The next second, his scalp crawled.
There was nothing behind him!
Under his stunned gaze, the unseen blade suddenly withdrew from the wound.
"Guh!"
Rennosuke staggered, quickly pressing a hand to his injury.
Witnessing the scene, Yasushi Takada stood frozen in disbelief.
Not far away, Yoruichi and Soi Fon both wore expressions of utter confusion.
Just what... had happened?
Yoruichi instinctively looked toward Satoru.
Though there was no basis for it, her instincts told her this scene was connected to Satoru.
Yet Satoru simply stood there quietly, as if he'd done nothing at all.
Yoruichi frowned slightly.
As she puzzled over this, she suddenly noticed something.
A tremendous shock made her pupils contract involuntarily—
Under the moonlight, Satoru cast no shadow!
Was this... some kind of illusion technique?
While Yoruichi rapidly processed this, Rennosuke was experiencing something that felt like madness.
That sensation of being watched had returned!
"Damn it!!"
Rennosuke roared, wildly swinging his Zanpakutō several times around him.
Slish!
His arm was suddenly slashed, leaving a fairly deep wound.
"Damn it, damn it!"
"Shunhui Kyōraku! Get out here!"
"What, are you too scared to face me head-on?!"
As he roared and cursed, another attack came.
After a few probing strikes, an invisible slash landed on his poorly defended calf.
Cut once more, Rennosuke couldn't help but let out a furious howl.
Meanwhile, Yasushi Takada was slowly realizing something.
No…
This wasn't Shunsui's ability.
Kyōraku's "Kageoni" required attacks to emerge from the enemy's shadow—that was the rule of his Zanpakutō, an ironclad law that could never be broken.
Yet just now, standing here, he had seen it clearly.
Every slash Rennosuke had suffered appeared out of thin air—not a single one had come from a shadow!
So then… who was behind these attacks?
Almost instinctively, he looked at Satoru.
But like Yoruichi, all he saw was Satoru standing quietly in place, unmoving.
Not Satoru?
Then who?
He turned his gaze to Soi Fon.
The girl stood in the middle of the battlefield, her eyes fixed on Rennosuke, filled with confusion.
Alright, no need to think—definitely not her.
Yasushi Takada couldn't help but feel a little lost.
Compared to the two of them, Yoruichi was already certain—those strange attacks were Satoru's doing.
Just moments ago, Satoru's shadow had abruptly reappeared at his feet.
Had she not been watching closely, she might have thought it had never vanished in the first place.
And the moment Satoru's shadow returned, the attacks surrounding Rennosuke ceased.
So… this was Satoru's Zanpakutō ability?
The power to release his own shadow and create an invisible attacker?
Yoruichi's eyes gleamed with excitement.
Truly, the man she had her eye on—even his awakened ability was so… Second Division!
Satoru glanced sidelong at the shadow that had returned to his side.
Just earlier, as he stepped out of the dust, ready to fight for his life, he had suddenly heard something calling to him.
[Take hold of me…]
[Take hold of me…]
The moment he heard the voice, the word "Zanpakutō" flashed in his mind.
Based on his anime-watching experience, when a Shinigami heard such a mysterious voice, it was almost always a precursor to their Zanpakutō's release!
Yet when he looked at the sword in his hand, he realized the voice wasn't coming from it.
Following the sound, he scanned his surroundings in confusion.
Finally, his gaze slowly settled on his own shadow.
[Take hold of me…]
Gradually, Satoru realized the voice was coming from his shadow.
More precisely—from the shadow of the Asauchi in his shadow's grip.
The moment he understood this, an absurd thought struck him.
How was he supposed to pick up a shadow of a sword?
If it meant grasping the physical blade, he was already doing that.
If it meant using his shadow's hand to grab the shadow of the sword… wasn't he already doing that too?
Was he supposed to lie flat on the ground and try to grab the shadow with his hands?
The mental image nearly made him laugh.
After a moment's thought, he reached out and experimentally made a grasping motion toward the shadow.
The instant he did, his fingers touched something.
A flood of knowledge poured into his mind…
...
...
After a brief moment of confusion, Yasushi Takada's gaze returned to Satoru.
Though there was no concrete basis, he gradually became certain of it.
The problem must lie with this brat.
In that case, eliminating him would solve everything!
Yasushi Takada took a deep breath, lowered his shoulders, and assumed a charging stance.
Then, with a powerful stomp, he launched himself toward Satoru.
This time, he was fully prepared. Even if Satoru used "Sōkotsu" again, at worst, he'd only suffer some shoulder injuries that would heal after a month or two of rest.
But Satoru would definitely die!
"Kamikawa! Cover me and restrict his Shunpo!"
Hearing Yasushi Takada's roar, Rennosuke, who had been searching for his enemy, snapped back to attention.
Though Satoru's abilities had toyed with him, fueling his frustration, he was still a captain with fundamental combat instincts.
Seeing Yasushi Takada charge, he immediately understood the latter's plan.
Gripping his Zanpakutō with both hands, he slammed it into the ground:
"Entangle him! Enkō Kiryū!"
The moment his voice rang out, countless plant roots surged from the earth. Before Satoru could react, several vines had already coiled around his ankles.
Under normal circumstances, he would have had many ways to break free.
But now, Yasushi Takada's charging form was already right before him.
If he tried to free himself from the roots, he would inevitably be crushed by Yasushi Takada's rock-like charge.
And in that brief instant, more roots had already crawled up Satoru's legs.
Countless tendrils firmly anchored his lower body, like a component clamped in a vise, ready to be struck by a hydraulic hammer!
Seeing Satoru securely bound, Rennosuke couldn't help but grin.
Success!
Soi Fon tried to intercept Yasushi Takada mid-charge, but not only did she fail to break his defense, she was also sent flying by a single punch.
Her petite body spun through the air like a torn ragdoll before crashing heavily to the ground.
One of her arms twisted at an unnatural angle, the bones inside shattered in multiple places.
Yoruichi dashed toward Satoru while unleashing several high-level Bakudō spells.
But against Yasushi Takada's full-force charge, they barely slowed him down.
Watching helplessly, Yoruichi grew increasingly anxious.
Then, she suddenly noticed that Satoru's shadow had disappeared again.
Her eyes lit up.
Right—if Satoru's shadow could create invisible attacks, that meant it had physical form.
In that case, shouldn't it be able to block Yasushi Takada too?
The thought filled her with hope.
But the expected obstruction never came.
Far from stopping Yasushi Takada, the shadow didn't even harass him in the slightest.
Under Yoruichi's bewildered gaze, Satoru calmly watched Yasushi Takada charge toward him.
His eyes seemed distant, as if lost in thought.
When Yasushi Takada's massive frame was less than 20 meters away, Satoru finally moved.
His upper body, still free from the vines, tilted slightly to one side.
His hands clenched into fists.
Seeing Satoru's stance, Yasushi Takada inwardly shook his head.
So he's going for Sōkotsu again.
Too bad—this time, he would have to disappoint Satoru.
The first injury had happened because he hadn't known about Sōkotsu, leaving his vulnerable torso exposed.
This time, he was attacking with his most reinforced body parts.
Even if Satoru had Sōkotsu, or grew extra arms to use "Four Bones" or "Five Bones," victory was assured!
As he thought this, he suddenly frowned.
Was it just his imagination? For a moment, it seemed like he saw a flickering black shadow around Satoru's body.
Under Yasushi Takada's gaze, Satoru drew his fists back to his waist.
Seeing this movement, an intense sense of crisis suddenly surged in Yasushi Takada's heart.
He didn't understand why he felt this way.
He knew the power of Satoru's twin fists.
They were strong—extremely strong.
But they still fell short of breaking through the rock armor on his shoulders and arms.
Though the penetrating force would inflict considerable damage, it shouldn't have warranted the level of crisis he was feeling now.
Yasushi Takada couldn't comprehend the source of his fear.
Since he couldn't understand it, he decided to simply keep accelerating.
Attack was the best defense!
In an instant, he closed the twenty-meter gap.
Yasushi Takada's figure appeared right in front of Satoru.
In less than a fraction of a second, he would crush Satoru into a pulp.
But at that very moment, Satoru moved as well.
His fists, clenched at his waist, suddenly shot forward—
BOOM!!!!
A tremendous impact exploded against the rock armor, surging into Yasushi Takada's body.
Feeling the force of this blow, Yasushi Takada chuckled inwardly.
Just as he had guessed, Satoru's attack couldn't do much to him...
Huh?
Following Satoru's punch, another identical surge of power rushed in alongside it!
This new force was also a Sōkotsu!
The two bursts of energy, though delivered one after the other, were so tightly synchronized they seemed to merge into one.
It was as if he wasn't being attacked by one person, but two—
Two individuals perfectly overlapping, indistinguishable from each other…
Through impossibly absurd coordination and spatial overlap, the two strikes were both simultaneous and separate.
The reishi composing the rock armor instantly lost structural integrity.
Under Yasushi Takada's disbelieving gaze, the thick stone plating burst apart with a bang, scattering into dust.
Satoru's fist, unimpeded, continued its devastating trajectory and slammed mercilessly into his shoulder.
In that instant, Yasushi Takada finally understood what true terror felt like.
Despite Satoru's spiritual pressure being inferior to his own, that punch carried the weight of an apocalypse.
His shoulder exploded into a mist of blood.
His entire body, trailing a spray of crimson, was sent flying backward, painting the sky with a gruesome arc before crashing to the ground!
Rennosuke's face still bore traces of his earlier amusement, but his eyes were wide with shock. His gaze—and his head—followed Yasushi Takada's trajectory until the man hit the earth.
Yoruichi, who had been charging toward them, was so stunned that she tripped mid-step and face-planted with a smack.
Yasushi Takada lay motionless, his rock armor completely shattered, his condition unknown.
Satoru raised his arms and examined his hands.
His fingers were now unrecognizable—just mangled flesh and blood.
Despite the gruesome sight, his heart swelled with exhilaration.
Just as he'd thought—his instincts hadn't been wrong.
Sōkotsu… truly had an advanced form.
But relying solely on physical strength and spiritual pressure would never reach that threshold.
No wonder Aizen and Old Man Yamamoto had called him delusional.
Now, let's see what they have to say…
Imagining their stunned expressions, Satoru couldn't help but grin.
Then, he glanced at the vines that had nearly engulfed his upper body.
If not for their support, he would've likely collapsed mid-punch from the recoil, let alone managed to aim at Yasushi Takada.
Grateful, he turned to Rennosuke and flashed him a smile.
Seeing that smile, Rennosuke looked as if he'd seen a ghost.
With a yelp, his legs gave out, and he nearly crumpled to the ground.
At that moment, the air trembled.
New spiritual pressures had entered the barrier.
BOOM!!
BOOM!!
BOOM!!
Three captain-level figures breached the barrier.
Sensing their presence, Rennosuke's face turned deathly pale…
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