You Call This an Ordinary Soul Reaper?

"Hadō #4: Byakurai!"

With Vice-Captain Sasakibe's announcement, the fight began.

Dōsan didn't hesitate. He extended a finger, and white lightning shot from its tip.

Lightning sprang from thin air, and the air rumbled as though a giant eardrum were vibrating.

Nemu had never imagined that Dōsan's bearing and attacks would be so composed and effortless. Faced with such an efficient Byakurai, Nemu, who had only just taken her stance, was clearly caught off guard.

Her face grave, Nemu flipped backward to dodge, swinging her right arm behind her and planting her left hand on the ground. Byakurai struck beside her hand, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Nemu reacted quickly as well. Pushing off with her left hand, she used the force from her wrist to launch herself forward and charged.

"Hadō #4: Byakurai!"

A second time, the same move.

Such fluid Kidō?

At such close range, Nemu couldn't react in time. All she could do was move her vital points out of its path.

Byakurai pierced Nemu's left shoulder with a thunderous crack. A small patch of her shoulder was scorched black, and blood sprayed from the burn, soaking the area around it moments later.

But the girl before him merely clutched her wound without making a sound.

She was remarkably tough.

Even her Shunpo is inferior to mine, and her Kidō is far worse.

Dōsan remained calm. Pity was a luxury only the victor could afford.

After that exchange, Nemu clutched her shoulder, her chest rising and falling as she panted softly.

Her stamina isn't good either.

But seeing how poorly Nemu had performed, Dōsan knitted his white brows, his dark eyes not daring to leave his body for a moment.

That was precisely what was wrong.

If she were an ordinary opponent, Rangiku wouldn't have gone out of her way to ask him for help.

Yet so far, Nemu's performance had been far too mediocre.

Nemu charged again like a fool.

By definition, as long as one maintained an output of Spiritual Pressure while moving, it could be called Shunpo. But hers was terrible!

Dōsan fired off several more Kidō spells in succession. Though they didn't achieve their full effect, they still inflicted meaningful damage.

But this time, Nemu didn't dodge. Taking quick little steps, she assumed a stance, closed in, and struck at Dōsan's chest with her palm.

Here it came.

He would test the last thing—Hakuda.

But with Shunpo that poor, could the girl's Hakuda really be exceptional?

Dōsan moved after Nemu but seized the advantage, catching her wrist in his clawed right hand. He twisted and lifted it, then channeled Spiritual Pressure into his leg and kicked her in the side of the waist.

This is Hakuda. It's over!

"Ah!"

Nemu finally couldn't hold back a cry. Blood sprayed from her mouth, her eyes bulged slightly, and Dōsan's kick sent her flying.

Her Hakuda is mediocre too.

Dōsan had easily kicked Nemu away. He hadn't held back in the slightest; the solid blow had broken every one of her ribs.

Her abdomen was already a complete mess.

He had been worried Nemu might have some little trick up her sleeve, so he had remained on guard during their close-quarters exchange, breaking away as soon as they made contact.

But there was no need to test her anymore!

Dōsan raised a white brow, his eyes bright. "Bakudō #9: Geki!"

Nemu was lying sideways in midair. That close-range kick had caused his internal organs to start bleeding, and there was hardly a part of the weakened Nemu's body left unharmed.

A red glow now spread across her body, and Dōsan bound her down to every last hair.

"Hadō #11: Tsuzuri Raiden!"

Lightning raced across the ground, tearing up the entire surface and sending sand and stones flying. The instant it touched Nemu, it erupted like divine punishment.

Nemu's entire body was buried in a sea of lightning. It exploded in an instant, and a shroud of dust blocked her vision.

Whether judged by the force of the attack or Nemu's remaining Spiritual Pressure,

this blow had already decided the match.

Soi Fon shot Isshin a sidelong glance. Inside, she was as sour as if she'd knocked over several bottles of vinegar, but outwardly she was perfectly composed. Her words were measured, as though she were speaking up for Mayuri Kurotsuchi.

"Though those were only low-level Kidō spells, a combination like that makes it quite a stretch to rank him below a Seated Officer!"

He actually has a subordinate like that? Isshin's luck is far too good!

Kyōraku held down his straw hat and added his own praise. "Impressive Kidō. Perhaps he and Little Nanao from our squad would become good friends."

"Heh heh." Isshin gave an awkward laugh, at a loss for words. He hadn't expected Dōsan's Kidō to have become so formidable after just one week apart. What else could he say? All he worried about now was that Dōsan would be disqualified for being too strong.

"Actually, he's just an ordinary Soul Reaper. It's mostly thanks to my excellent instruction."

Isshin glanced at Kurotsuchi. You can't say I broke the rules.

Rangiku rolled her eyes. What a shameless captain.

"Captain Kurotsuchi, I'm afraid the fight is over."

Although Nemu's Spiritual Pressure was still present, it was too faint.

At that level, it was a candle flickering in the wind.

Kurotsuchi didn't react at first. A few seconds later, he tilted his head and cupped a hand to his ear as if listening. Looking at Isshin, he said in a wildly exaggerated tone, "What? What? You're using your tumor to analyze my greatest masterpiece?"

As if she had heard Kurotsuchi's call, Nemu rose amid the dust, covered in wounds, like the last female warrior fighting to the death on a battlefield.

"Are you still going to fight?"

Dōsan murmured softly and started to reach out to finish him with one last Byakurai.

But as the thought occurred to him, he realized his right hand had stiffened and wouldn't rise. Dōsan's white brows shot up in surprise.

"When?"

He had been careful enough. He had known from the start that this fight wouldn't be simple, and even after Tsuzuri Raiden struck Nemu, he hadn't let his guard down, keeping watch from a short distance away.

But unexpectedly, he'd still fallen for it.

And even now, Dōsan couldn't figure out what had gotten him.

Was it because my hand touched her earlier, or has she already planted poisonous Reishi in the air?

His right hand had lost all sensation. It wasn't paralysis, but an empty feeling, as though he might forget his arm existed unless he deliberately focused on it.

It was like a blind person's world not being completely black, because black was a color too.

His right arm now felt as though he had never possessed it.

"Captain Isshin, could you use your ordinary brain to make another guess at the outcome of the fight?"

"Was it that contact just now?"

Unlike Dōsan, Isshin spotted the key to the problem at a glance.

But Dōsan couldn't be blamed. Apart from Mayuri Kurotsuchi and Nemu Kurotsuchi, there was no third example of this unusual form of attack in Soul Society.

So whose fault was it?

Matsumoto's, of course. Didn't that woman know to warn Dōsan about this beforehand?

He turned his head and saw that Matsumoto's eyes were practically glued to Gin.

This feeling?

No way!

Isshin felt as though he'd discovered a little secret about his subordinate.

Isshin was stunned and couldn't believe it. Matsumoto, are you thinking of replacing me as your captain too?

"Wait, Kurotsuchi. Perhaps you should continue watching what's happening in the arena first." Retsu Unohana, a beauty like a Yamato Nadeshiko, spoke calmly for the first time.

Once Unohana had spoken, the foul-mouthed Kurotsuchi fell silent and turned to watch the situation in the arena.

Dōsan stood opposite Nemu and used Shunpo to widen the distance again. His left hand glowed faintly green as he pressed it to his right arm.

"Kaidō?"

Kurotsuchi turned his head a full hundred and eighty degrees in a most bizarre manner to look at Isshin.

He had never imagined that this thick-browed, wide-eyed man could be so shameless!

You call this an ordinary Soul Reaper?