Six Realms and Five Rings: Kurikara / Bankai

"Clang—boom!!!"

An explosive metallic crash, loud enough to shatter eardrums, thundered through the crystalline sea of trees!

The white leopard's steel-like claws struck the precise point where the two blades crossed. The terrifying force made Xuanxin bend his legs, diverting the overwhelming power into the ground.

Feeling the force traveling through his arms, Xuanxin did not shrink back. Instead, a fervent grin spread across his face.

"Come on, beast! Show me what you've got, to serve as the test in my trial."

Then he heaved, sending the leopard flying, and took up an offensive stance once more. The battle was about to erupt.

Chapter 34: Six Realms and Five Rings: Kurikara

"Screech—!!"

With a sharp metallic scrape, Xuanxin's battle with the leopard officially began.

Though Xuanxin was brimming with fighting spirit at first, he had not forgotten Kuruyashiki's warning. He knew full well that a gap remained between him and an Adjuchas.

So Xuanxin probed at every opportunity and proceeded with caution. His series of decidedly "steady" tactics gave the invisible Musashi something of a headache.

[Xuanxin! Slash him! Are those two swords in your hands for stoking a fire?!!]

[Set him on fire, set him on fire! Can you do anything besides use that fireball and that lightning? How about I introduce you to another white-haired guy? You could definitely learn True Magic from him!]

[Come on, man...]

Musashi's running commentary surrounded Xuanxin's ears in 3D. But Xuanxin automatically switched on his filter and continued probing.

After a series of probes, Xuanxin was pleasantly surprised to discover that this Adjuchas's level was probably the most suitable "whetstone" for him.

Stronger than a Gillian, weaker than a veteran Adjuchas. He really had no idea how such an airheaded woman had found him such a suitable opponent.

"Thank you, Miss Musashi."

With that, Xuanxin abandoned his defensive stance and bared his fangs at the leopard for real.

[Oh~ that's more like it! I went out of my way to...]

It seemed Musashi had nearly let some crucial information slip, and she abruptly cut herself off halfway through.

By then, Xuanxin was already locked in combat with the leopard and had no attention to spare for Musashi's little slip.

"Bang... bang... slash."

After Xuanxin struck the same spot several times in succession, Mumyō finally cut through the Adjuchas's Hierro.

At the same time, however, the upper half of Xuanxin's shihakusho was torn to tatters by the air pressure generated by their clashes.

"Whew~ as expected of an Adjuchas. You really are tough."

Xuanxin caught his breath for a moment, then closed in again. This time, however, Shingon appeared in his right hand.

"Hum—!"

Azure flames suddenly flickered to life along Xuanxin's two blades.

With the flames augmenting his attacks, a defense that had originally taken several strikes to breach could now be torn apart in three.

Whenever a wound appeared on the leopard, the Sōkatsui Reishi at the wound would viciously trigger a small explosion deep within it.

[Is that Sōkatsui? A nice application, but... it's still not enough.]

It was as if Musashi's words carried the force of heaven's decree.

No sooner had she said it was not enough than the leopard suddenly lunged through the explosions, slipped past the crossed swords Xuanxin held before his chest, and slammed a paw into him, sending him flying.

When Xuanxin struggled to his feet again amid the smoke, three wounds, deep enough to expose bone, were clearly visible on his muscular chest. Warm blood sprayed out like a fountain.

"Cough, cough."

Xuanxin spat out a mouthful of blood. To be honest, this was the first time he had suffered such injuries in "reality."

Without hesitation, Xuanxin let the blue flames on his blades vanish, replaced by a flickering emerald-green light.

He slashed the glowing blade at his own arm. But the expected pain did not come. Instead, he felt the same warmth as Kaidō.

"Hiss... it really works. If I make it back alive, maybe I should just ask Sister Hana to let me switch paths and learn Kaidō."

Xuanxin's lips twitched as he managed a strained, bitter smile. Just then, Musashi's voice rang out again.

[All right, these little tricks really aren't bad. You can develop them further, but isn't it a little late to start now? All right, let me see that sword strike you learned.]

Xuanxin froze at her words. He knew Musashi was reminding him.

So Xuanxin switched the weapons in his hands once more. The light on the blade quickly faded, replaced by a restrained black edge.

By then, the leopard also seemed to have recovered, and it pounced at Xuanxin once more.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Man and beast clashed again in an extremely perilous exchange.

After several exchanges, both had sustained wounds of varying sizes. Though the wounds on his body kept multiplying, the fire in Xuanxin's eyes burned ever brighter.

Then Xuanxin tore the remaining strips of cloth from his upper body and tossed them aside, before taking the stance for the move he had honed for so long.

He muttered, "Six Realms and Five Rings: Kurikara · Lesser Tenshō."

As the words fell, Xuanxin perfectly fused all the essence, energy, and spirit within him and swung at the bony mask on the leopard's face with the strike he was most confident in so far.

Crack~

A brilliant flash of steel passed, and a sharp cracking sound suddenly came from the mask on the leopard's face.

Hearing it, Xuanxin raised his head in delight, but what he saw left him somewhat disappointed.

A clear crack had indeed appeared on the mask, but it was still a very long way from being completely shattered.

Seeing Xuanxin standing there in a daze, Musashi, who had fallen quiet, spoke up again.

[Hmm... nice body, but there's still some hesitation in that strike. What exactly are you hesitating over?! Without pure resolve, your sword won't cut through anything!]

At her words, Xuanxin looked thoughtfully at the two swords in his hands. Am I still hesitating? But what am I hesitating over?

While Xuanxin was thinking, the leopard seized the opening and attacked him.

"No time!"

Xuanxin could only put his thoughts aside and once again throw all his Reiatsu wholeheartedly into the fight.

The sound of thick bone plates colliding with blades rang out once more. Musashi's voice rang out alongside it, but this time there was not a trace of teasing in it. Instead, it carried a measure of frustration at his failure to do better.

[Hesitation! Hesitation! You're still hesitating!!]

[A sword is such a pure thing that there's no room for even the slightest stray thought, yet you still have time to hesitate!]

Hearing Musashi's words, Xuanxin suddenly saw everything clearly, as if the fog before his eyes had been torn away.

"That's right. The sword is pure, so even the slightest stray thought will affect its path. What I need to do is simple: cut through that mask!"

At that thought, Xuanxin heaved with all his strength and once again forced away the leopard entangled with him.

Then he took that familiar stance once more, but this time his eyes were utterly clear, without a single stray thought.

Now Xuanxin had only one thought. It had nothing to do with victory or life and death; he simply wanted to cut through that mask.

Then, in an instant, Xuanxin's movements perfectly overlapped with Musashi's movements in his memory, and he called out that name once more.

"Six Realms and Five Rings: Kurikara."

As his words fell, a vast surge of Reiatsu soared into the sky! Behind Xuanxin, the towering figure of a six-armed Wisdom King slowly rose into the clouds. The Wisdom King held a treasured sword and took the same stance as Xuanxin.

"Lesser Tenshō!!"

Then Xuanxin and the Wisdom King behind him swung the same sword stroke in perfect unison.

A flash of light swept out, bright enough to illuminate the entire stone forest. The Adjuchas before him was cut in two along with the mask on its face before it could even scream.

Xuanxin opened his eyes and saw the scene before him, a satisfied smile appearing on his face. Yes, he finally understood this sword stroke. It was a pure stroke, an ordinary stroke, but it possessed the power to cut through anything.

[Hmm... not bad, not bad. Your talent really is impressive. I'll count the first stage as passed.]

As Musashi's voice faded, the corpse lying on the ground turned illusory.

Then, under Xuanxin's shocked and astonished gaze, it slowly vanished.

In just a few moments, no Adjuchas remained before him. Only the sword mark on the ground bore witness to everything that had just happened.

Xuanxin stared blankly at the empty space ahead, then abruptly looked down. There was no trace of any injury on his body.

"Miyamoto Musashi!! You'd better give me a proper explanation!! What on earth is going on?!"

Chapter 35: Bankai

Xuanxin's indignant demand echoed through the entire stone forest.

Musashi's dashing figure appeared in the middle of the clearing once more. She raised her little finger and made a show of cleaning out her ear, then said without a shred of guilt:

"Oh, come on, why are you shouting~? You nearly made me deaf!"

"Besides, didn't I already tell you? This was a trial I carefully 'prepared'! Otherwise, did you think a Hollow that suited you perfectly would be so easy to find? I'm only a sword spirit right now, not a Heroic Spirit!!"

"But there's still something to be said about that Hollow. You should know that I found that white leopard in this forest. And to make it feel real for you, I even recreated the pain of its attacks with perfect accuracy! Well? Wasn't that thoughtful of me?!!"

After saying that, she deliberately winked at Xuanxin and puffed out her chest, as if waiting for his praise.

Seeing this, Xuanxin fought to suppress the urge to hit her. Besides, if they really fought, he could not beat her anyway.

Having talked himself down, Xuanxin had already given up on reproaching Musashi. But just then, a breeze blew past, and he suddenly felt a chill.

Xuanxin looked down at his upper body. There was no sign of the earlier wounds, not even a red mark, but the upper half of his shihakusho had vanished.

Xuanxin took a deep breath and said to her through gritted teeth:

"Fine... I can understand all of that. An illusion trial, tempering myself between life and death, I accept it all. But! Where are my clothes?! Why did they really turn into strips of cloth?!"

At his words, Musashi's previously cocky pose faltered for a moment.

Then Musashi guiltily averted her gaze, deliberately looking up at the sky and whistling awkwardly.

"Ahem... well, what's wrong with having a look? It's not like you're losing anything."

Xuanxin did not know whether those words convinced him, but they certainly convinced her.

After saying that, Musashi's guilt instantly vanished. She turned around and looked at Xuanxin's physique even more brazenly, saying as she did:

"I already call you Master, and I've even become your sword spirit. What's wrong with letting me see your upper body?! It's not like you're losing anything. Besides, it's just one piece of clothing. You're about to become the wife of the Shihoin Clan head. Are you really short of one piece of clothing?"

"..."

Hearing Musashi utter such outrageous words without the slightest reservation, Xuanxin felt a profound, profound, profound sense of helplessness well up from the bottom of his heart.

It was said that a Zanpakuto was a manifestation of a Soul Reaper's soul and true nature.

Looking at the airheaded, lecherous, and somewhat roguish sword spirit before him, Xuanxin doubted himself for the first time in his life.

"Could it be that, subconsciously, I'm a huge idiot like that too?!!"

"Phew—"