Clang!
Steel rang against steel.
Unohana Retsu, body twisted at an unnatural angle, caught Higashino Shuuichi's sudden strike.
An opening? No. Only when it is seized does an opening truly exist.
She wondered briefly why he had appeared behind her instead of from the same angle as that kidō blade—but she would never waste time asking questions in battle.
His tactical instinct surpassed ordinary Shinigami. That much was clear.
She spun, blade sweeping in a horizontal arc, and with perfect technique deflected his zanpakutō aside.
"Bakudō no 30, Shitotsu Sansen (Beak-Piercing Triple Beam)!"
Shuuichi had no illusion that his feint could truly threaten her. The moment his blade was diverted, his left hand thrust forward. Three glowing fangs of light spiraled into being, darting toward her wrists and waist.
"Hmph."
Unohana's eyes narrowed as she recognized how keenly he exploited gaps in her movement. A flick of her wrist, three sharp cuts—each fang split cleanly into two halves, fading in sparks.
But in that instant, she saw the smirk at the corner of his lips.
Another trick?
Her heart clenched. Cold chains snapped around her legs.
Bakudō no 63, Sajō Sabaku (Locking Bind Chains)?! Impossible—he had no time to cast again! And the chains weren't coming from his position at all, but from deep within the concealing mist.
"Your zanpakutō's Shikai… those reishi constructs can cast kidō?"
If it happened once, she might think it sleight of hand. Twice, and it could only be his ability.
And indeed, from what she knew of his zanpakutō, it fit.
His form visibly weakened, his earlier strike lacking the weight his reiatsu promised. Clearly, inside the mist of Raikōhō, he had released Shikai, cut himself, and conjured his reishi clones.
"This is a new use of my power I discovered after reaching captain level."
Shuuichi admired her sharpness. Only two exchanges, and even with his heavy effort to mask his constructs, she had already guessed the truth.
Still, guessing was one thing. Unless she released her true power, relying only on zanjutsu would not be enough.
"Bakudō no 79, Kuyō Shibari (Nine Sunflower Bind)!"
He landed lightly, finger pointing. Nine crimson spheres of reiatsu bloomed around her, eight forming a circle, one above her head, all closing in like wolves.
Slash! Slash! Crack!
Unohana's blade shattered the chains on her legs again and again. But no matter her speed, the broken halves instantly recoiled, rewrapping her ankles.
Sacrificing range for sustained input—so the bind could not be broken in the short term.
She saw it for what it was: a refinement made to counter high-power, low-mobility fighters.
And she had played straight into it.
"But it can only hold me for a moment!"
She raised her eyes to the descending spheres. Against such reiatsu, a few strikes would be enough—
Then she frowned.
Even shackled, she should have easily destroyed them before they closed. But now—
A hiss.
Her blade stabbed into the ground for balance. One of the spheres slipped past.
Not faster kidō—her movements were slowing!
Why? Something was dragging her down.
Her eyes hardened, but Shuuichi gave her no pause.
His next strike came wreathed in Hadō no 33, Sōkatsui (Blue Fire Crash Down), bursting into flames. Wrapped in the shield of Bakudō no 39, Enkōsen (Round Shield Fan), he cut through like a figure of fire.
"Hadō no 88, Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō (Flying Dragon-Striking Heaven-Shaking Thunder Cannon)!"
Unohana abandoned restraint. If her body lagged, then zanjutsu alone would not suffice. She unleashed kidō, casting aside her initial intent to teach him with swordplay alone.
Strangely, her intuition whispered that he had been waiting for exactly this.
Across the field, seeing her turn to kidō, Shuuichi felt satisfaction. Years of work had borne fruit. Even if she was stacked with debuffs, he had forced her hand.
But satisfaction had its price.
Boom!
Her Raihō struck, and though he dodged partially, he was blasted aside. His body crashed into the edge of the arena, zanpakutō flying from his hand and clattering ten meters away.
In its wake, the blast carved a smoking trench into the ground that seemed to stretch forever.
Even without chant, with her reiatsu suppressed, the spell's power was beyond reason.
Shuuichi admitted to himself: even at his peak, with full chant, his own Raihō might barely reach this level.
Meanwhile, far away at the western gate of Seireitei, Yamada Seinosuke paused on his way to gather herbs in Rukongai. His orders from Unohana forgotten, he turned sharply toward the 4th Division.
The pressure…
"What is it, Yamada-fukutaichō?" asked the 6th Seat, puzzled by his sudden halt.
"Did Shuuichi-san receive the same orders we did?" Seinosuke's voice was low, shadowed.
"I… I thought so, but when we left, I didn't see him. Maybe he did? Eh? Fukutaichō—where are you going? Fukutaichō!"
Before the words could finish, Seinosuke was already striding back toward the 4th Division, eyes dark and grim.
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