Benihime and Silver Rend

Kisuke Urahara also stepped forward. "Yoruichi, that was an incredible fight. Could you tell us about that move you just used?" Although

Ye Yang had given him a rough explanation, he still couldn't help asking Yoruichi.

Yoruichi smiled brightly. "It was an idea I came up with before. I wondered whether I could combine Hakuda and Kidō, so I concentrated the Kidō

in my hands and feet. When someone uses the completed technique, their back and shoulders are wrapped in highly concentrated, compressed Kidō, so the clothing around their shoulders bursts

apart. Then the explosion fuses the Kidō with their limbs for combat. Honestly, I didn't expect to succeed on my first try."

Kisuke Urahara was still astonished. "Amazing! Combining Hakuda and Kidō like that is a first in Soul Society."

Yoruichi grinned. "Don't think you can dodge this. I've passed now, so who's next? I've taken quite a beating these past few days. Little

brother, Kisuke, which of you is going first?"

Ye Yang pointed at Kisuke Urahara. "Him, of course. I'm the grand finale."

"But there isn't much time left to use the Tenshintai today. We've only got half an hour," Kisuke Urahara said.

Ye Yang gave Kisuke Urahara no chance to make excuses. "That's fine. We just want to see your Zanpakuto."

Seeing the siblings both looking at him, Kisuke Urahara could only say helplessly, "I guess I have no choice. I'll go first, then."

Kisuke Urahara drew his Zanpakuto and shouted, "Sing—Benihime!" Then he plunged his Zanpakuto into the Tenshintai.

Ye Yang and Yoruichi both stared wide-eyed at the Tenshintai. They wanted to see what Kisuke Urahara's Zanpakuto looked like in materialized form. A

brilliant red light suddenly shone so brightly that no one dared look straight at it. When it faded, a woman in red stood before them.

The woman wore a red kimono. She carried herself with exceptional grace and elegance, her lips crimson and her teeth white. Her nearly flawless face was like a lotus emerging from water.

She smiled faintly at Kisuke Urahara. With that one glance and smile, she was utterly enchanting!

Ye Yang and Yoruichi stared fixedly at Benihime until a faint blush appeared on her face, making her look even more captivating. It

left both Yoruichi and Ye Yang dumbstruck.

Kisuke Urahara, meanwhile, wore an expression that said, "I knew this would happen." He put a hand to his forehead and said, "This is my Zanpakuto—Benihime."

Ye Yang recovered from his shock and spoke first. "Kisuke, you're really lucky with women, having such a beautiful Zanpakuto. Sigh! Why

can't I be that lucky?" Ye Yang immediately thought of the aloof Silver Rend. Looking back at Benihime, he couldn't help sighing inwardly: *We're both men,

so why is there such a huge difference?*

Just then, Benihime spoke, her ethereal voice a delight to hear. "Kisuke, why did you call me out? Do you want me to teach you Bankai again? You're

still no match for me," Benihime said bluntly.

Kisuke Urahara was immediately embarrassed. "Give me a little face in front of my friends," he said unhappily. "I only called you out so you could meet them today. As

for Bankai, we can talk about that tomorrow."

Benihime looked at Ye Yang and Yoruichi. "I'm Kisuke's Zanpakuto, Benihime. Pleased to meet you."

Ye Yang smiled. "Hello. I'm Kisuke's good friend, Ye Yang Shihoin. This is my older sister, Yoruichi Shihōin."

Yoruichi said nothing. She hadn't spoken since Benihime appeared, and no one knew what she was thinking as she stood with her head lowered in thought. Normally, the carefree

Ye Yang would already have been teasing Kisuke Urahara. He didn't know what was wrong with her now, so he tugged at her to bring her back to her senses.

Yoruichi was briefly startled and realized she had lost her composure. She soon returned to her usual self and began loudly teasing Kisuke Urahara, but

for some reason, Ye Yang felt there was something different about her smile.

Before long, the Tenshintai's time was up, and Benihime disappeared. Ye Yang and Yoruichi left, but before they went, Yoruichi walked over to Kisuke Urahara

and whispered in his ear, "Kisuke, don't go summoning Benihime whenever you please from now on."

"Why?"

"Cut the questions! Or you're dead."

"All right, all right"...

The next day, Ye Yang and Yoruichi both came to the underground base to watch Kisuke Urahara fight. Yoruichi claimed she wanted to see him get beaten up, but she was disappointed.

Although Kisuke Urahara was no match for Benihime at first, he defeated her on the third day, a full seven days faster than Yoruichi! The result left

Yoruichi deeply hurt, and it was enough to show Kisuke Urahara's monstrous talent! Learning Bankai in three days was arguably the fastest anyone in Soul Society's history

had ever done it.

After passing Benihime's test, Kisuke Urahara put away his Zanpakuto and said to Ye Yang, "I've passed. I wonder what your Zanpakuto

looks like, Ye Yang? I can't wait to see." Seeing the smug, sleazy look on his face, Ye Yang wanted nothing more than to slap him.

Yoruichi looked curious too. "Yes, I'm also curious whether my monstrous little brother's Zanpakuto is as monstrous as he is."

Ye Yang couldn't help saying, "If I'm a monster, what does that make you?"

"Cut the nonsense! Hurry up," Yoruichi urged.

Yoruichi and Kisuke Urahara stared intently at Ye Yang. Helplessly, he drew his Zanpakuto. "Break free of your bonds—Silver Rend!" Silver light

flashed, and a formidable double-edged sword appeared. Ye Yang immediately thrust Silver Rend into the Tenshintai, and silver light blazed forth!

When the light faded, a man in white stood in the center. His clothes were white as snow, and everything about him was silver-white: his hair, his clothes,

even his eyes. His face was handsome enough to inspire envy, yet it wore an expression of complete indifference, as if nothing in the world concerned him and he did not belong

to it. His eyes focused on nothing, and he looked at everyone with the same detached expression.

"Gulp!" Yoruichi swallowed and whispered to Ye Yang, "Little brother, your Zanpakuto really is something special. He looks like he thinks heaven comes first,

earth comes second, and he comes third."

"That's why I don't like letting him out."

Silver Rend suddenly spoke two words. "What is it?"

Ye Yang replied solemnly, "For Bankai, of course!"

"You're not strong enough to master Bankai. You haven't even fully mastered Shikai, so what makes you think you can talk about Bankai?" Silver Rend's expression remained

unchanged.

Ye Yang grinned. "Try me before you say that."

"Is that so?" Silver light flashed in Silver Rend's hand, and an ordinary longsword appeared. He tossed it to Ye Yang, then an identical longsword appeared

in his own hand. "You want to prove yourself? Simple! Defeat me with that sword."

Ye Yang took the longsword and swung it a few times. "Then let's fight!"

Ye Yang charged straight at Silver Rend. Not daring to be careless against him, Ye Yang opened with Wudang Swordsmanship. Its movements combined speed and slowness, hardness and softness,

offense and defense. His sword moved with his body, his body guiding the blade. In motion, he was like a flood dragon rising from the water; at rest, like a nimble cat stalking a mouse.

Though Ye Yang's swordsmanship was superb, Silver Rend was even better. He did not retreat, countering every move as it came. His swordplay followed no discernible pattern,

yet it broke every one of Ye Yang's attacks. No matter how Ye Yang varied his assault, he could not make Silver Rend retreat half a step. Their swords clashed, sending

countless sparks flying. Ye Yang's assault surged like sea and sky overturning together, while Silver Rend was like a reef by the shore, standing

unmoved no matter how the waves battered it. No overwhelming force or earthshaking strength could do anything to him!

Seeing that Wudang Swordsmanship could not overcome him, Ye Yang immediately changed to the Tai Chi Sword Technique. The Tai Chi Sword Technique had evolved from Tai Chi Chuan,

combining the characteristics of Tai Chi Chuan and swordsmanship. It used the sword in the hand as a weapon, and the sword could leave the hand, extending and withdrawing freely over any distance. It gathered the energies of yin and yang.

Regardless of the sword's weight, it could extend and withdraw freely over any distance, light and supple, flowing without end, emphasizing intent over force.

As soon as Ye Yang used the Tai Chi Sword Technique, he guided Silver Rend's sword with gentle force and briefly seized the initiative. Ye Yang pushed the Tai Chi Sword Technique to its limits,

catching Silver Rend off guard. Silver Rend was no longer as composed as he had been at the start and began fighting Ye Yang faster. With that, the two were

evenly matched again.

After several hundred exchanges, silver light suddenly blazed around Silver Rend. He looked down at Ye Yang from above and said, "These sword techniques are good, but they're all

nothing but illusions!"

With that, he swooped down from above, his sword aimed straight at the top of Ye Yang's head. Unafraid, Ye Yang used the Tai Chi Sword Technique to meet him, but when their swords

met, Ye Yang felt immense pressure. He could clearly sense that the strike exceeded the limits of what he could withstand. The Tai Chi Sword Technique

was famous for using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds, but could four ounces deflect ten thousand pounds? Clearly not. The force of this strike exceeded what the Tai Chi

Sword Technique could redirect.

The instant their swords made contact, Ye Yang judged that he could not take the strike head-on. He rapidly retreated downward,

shedding some of its force, then vanished into thin air on the spot. An outer garment fluttered in the air, proof that Ye Yang had been there. His speed was simply too fast!

Even Yoruichi had barely seen a shadow.

Ye Yang now stood on the ground, gasping for breath, not because the fight had exhausted him, but because he was grateful the strike had not hit him. If it

had, even if he survived, he would have been seriously injured and would have had to spend some time in the Fourth Division. Thinking of Captain Unohana of the Fourth Division, Ye Yang couldn't help breaking into a cold

sweat. That captain, who looked like a saintly mother, was actually extremely devious, and Ye Yang had suffered plenty at her hands.

Silver Rend murmured to himself, "Interesting."

Kisuke Urahara, meanwhile, asked Yoruichi, "Did you see how Ye Yang avoided that strike just now?"

Yoruichi said gravely, "Only a little."

"What was that?"

"The third of the Shihoin Stealth Steps—Utsusemi! I didn't expect him to have learned that too," Yoruichi said in surprise.

Kisuke Urahara was a man who was good at noticing details. He asked, "'Too'? So you can use it as well, Yoruichi?"

Yoruichi did not deny it. "Utsusemi is when you move so quickly that your visual afterimage makes the enemy think they've stabbed you, when in

fact they've only pierced your outer clothing and you've escaped. It's like a cicada shedding its shell."

"Utsusemi and Senka are both Stealth Steps. Your family really is formidable," Kisuke Urahara said.