Chapter 103

"Daitenta."

"I've avenged you, so please forgive my unintentional words earlier."

Haruto bowed respectfully.

Although it was their first meeting, Haruto truly owed him a debt of gratitude—if it weren't for cooperating with Yamakaze to force out Miralles's Ransōtengai, Haruto might have had to pay a terrible price to see this trump card.

After all...

This is an ability that both Mayuri Kurotsuchi and Kisuke Urahara, two of the most intelligent figures in Soul Society, have suffered from.

"..."

His breath, carrying the smell of rust, was exhaled as a thin white line.

Along the street where bustling activity and desolation coexisted, Haruto casually found a rooftop and sat cross-legged.

The number of sixth-year students from the Shin'ō Academy who died tragically here alone is in the dozens. And then there are the Konsō training teams scattered in various cities... Judging from Haruto's speed in rescuing people, even if Mutsuki- sensei can rescue all the rest, the total number of survivors in the end will probably be less than half of the original number.

Principal Mitarai's work is definitely out of the question, and the Thirteenth Division will be directly held accountable by the Central 46 Chambers.

Considering the role the Quincy played in this operation, the Gotei 13, especially the 11th Division, will likely take even more aggressive actions in the future.

"Soul Society, the World of the Living, and Hueco Mundo..."

"Things are likely to get even more chaotic lately."

Chaos symbolizes danger, but it also signifies opportunity.

For example, this internship on Konsō.

Although Haruto didn't obtain any useful spiritual tools from these Quincy, the experience gained from actual combat was definitely substantial.

More life-or-death battles.

He might be able to advance to the Fifth-Class Reii before graduation.

Furthermore, Haruto obtained information related to the Quincy's Reiatsu and personally witnessed the two advanced combat spiritual techniques Ransōtengai and Sklaverei.

In the future, when encountering Quincy, I will be able to deal with them with greater ease.

As for the Kidō...

Haruto's use of the Kidō was already quite proficient.

Aside from the Senju Kōten Taihō, which he had only recently mastered, he could use all other Kidō flexibly and freely in battle.

"Zankensōki."

Haruto muttered to himself the four basic abilities of the Soul Reaper.

"I've reached the bottleneck in the current stage of the Kidō."

"Although I haven't mastered any secret techniques with Shunpo, it's sufficient for combat... The reason I can't catch up with Hirenkyaku is due to Shunpo's inherent limitations."

Soul Reaper can only release Reiatsu outward through their hands, which fundamentally limits the speed ceiling of Shunpo, making it something Haruto can't simply improve at will.

"..."

"The weakness really lies in Hakuda and Zanjutsu."

"My physical abilities have caught up, but my close-combat skills are clearly lacking. Otherwise, even if the Quincy faster than me, I wouldn't have been so easily overpowered... I need more strategies."

"It would be even better if you had a secret technique for Hakuda contact."

Haruto let his imagination run wild for a moment.

"At last."

"A topic that's been discussed countless times..."

Haruto touched the Zanpakuto at his waist.

Putting everything else aside, the sturdiness of this knife is truly top-notch; after fighting with it for so long, I haven't seen any wear and tear.

If Haruto remembers correctly, many Soul Reaper's Zanpakuto require frequent maintenance and upkeep...

Even if these people's knives were never released.

Haruto's fighting style is primarily Kidō, but his actual performance is more like that of Soul Reaper than Quincy. He needs close-quarters combat techniques when Kidō is difficult to utilize.

The modified Raikōhō and the Zanka no Tachi are both attempts in this direction.

But!

None of these are as direct as the Zanpakuto itself.

Take the battle just now, for example. If Miralles hadn't been able to close the distance, which was Zanpakuto by Daitenta's Zanpakuto, Yamakaze Ten, he probably wouldn't have given the latter a chance to send a message at all—this shows just how important Zanpakuto are to Soul Reaper.

"Zanpakuto..."

Haruto placed the sword flat on his knees.

When will you be able to show some promise?

Volume 1: Chapter 65, May Your Tricks Never Be Exposed

"Teacher."

When the snowflakes had stopped falling, Haruto finally saw Mutsuki Shōkaku had arrived late.

"Haruto..."

Mutsuki Shōkaku stopped, panting, and saw Haruto all alone there.

You don't need to look anymore.

Her gaze had just shifted elsewhere when Haruto called her back.

"Including Daitenta of the seven seated students here, none survived the six years... When I arrived, Daitenta- senpai was on his last breath."

Haruto truthfully recounted his experiences.

"... Where is the enemy?"

"There."

Haruto pointed to the frozen bits of meat in the corner of the roof.

Although the clothes weren't easy to put together, it was still quite simple to Quincy identity.

"Quincy at the Vice-Captain-level."

"His ability is to transform his Spirit Bow into a melee weapon, and his Hirenkyaku Kick is incredibly fast... In any case, my Shunpo can't catch up with him."

Haruto casually offered a couple of explanations.

Have you encountered Quincy of the same level?

"Without..."

Ms. Mutsuki shook her head.

Vice Captain?

Mutsuki Shōkaku has made great progress recently. Although his ranking has not changed, his actual level is approaching that of a vice-captain.

Even so.

She wasn't confident of defeating the vice-captain either... her own vice-captain, Ika, or Kaien Shiba, whom she had met before.

Mutsuki had great faith in Haruto's abilities; otherwise, she would have arrived here immediately after meeting up with Isane or Nanao.

However, according to her original plan, Haruto and Daitenta, the seventh seat, should have fought side by side to defeat the Quincy attacked the place.

Who would have thought?

They actually encountered Quincy at the Vice-Captain-level.

Most incredibly, the Vice-Captain-level, who used to be someone you had to look up to, is now in Qing...

In the population, it seemed to have transformed into cabbages that could be seen everywhere.

"Then it seems they were the masterminds behind this attack."

Haruto nodded.

"Judging from your arrival at this time, you must have already met with Isane and Nanao."

"I've taken down one like that before; the 'they' I was referring to earlier were these two."

Judging from Mutsuki- sensei's expression, Haruto roughly understood her condition throughout the journey.

"Mutsuki- sensei."

"... Um?"

Mutsuki was still processing the information she had just received when she was suddenly called upon and couldn't react immediately.

"Senkaimon."

Haruto pointed to the empty sky.

"Can it be opened now?"

Unlike the Senkaimon, this "main portal" is the best coordinate for contacting Soul Society.

"We'll have to wait."

Mutsuki shook her head.

"... I contacted the Twelfth Division Soul Reaper stationed in the World of the Living world; they are analyzing the structure of the Quincy's barrier."

How did you manage to get in touch with them?

"I flew southwest to seven cities... Guess where all my Reiatsu went?"

Mutsuki said with a hint of helplessness.

Dealing with the Quincy didn't take much effort; she used all her Reiatsu to travel— the Quincy's barrier had a limited range, and as long as she was far enough away, the Hell Butterflies could re-establish contact.

Why not use the Senkaimon of the Twelfth Division?

Haruto asked, puzzled.

These Quincy don't have the ability to block the Senkaimon. Wouldn't it be simpler to just have the Soul Society send people over?

"Because there is no precedent for this."

"... bad habits."

Mutsuki's answer was truly unacceptable to Haruto.

However, considering that Reverse London has already implemented a parliamentary system, it is not incomprehensible that the Seireitei still maintains the feudal aristocracy that has remained unchanged for millions of years. If the nobles were willing to change, it would be hard to say whether Aizen would become a villain.

This isn't a matter of being pedantic or not.

Even Mutsuki offered a couple of explanations.

"Konsō training has always been conducted in cooperation with the Thirteenth Division; requesting assistance from the Twelfth Division is already breaking the rules."

"If it weren't for my decent relationship with Hiyori from the Twelfth Division, they might not have been willing to help."

Hiyori?

Haruto heard a familiar name.

However, at this time, Hiyori Sarugaki was not yet the vice-captain of the Twelfth Division.

"Teacher, you have quite a wide network of connections."

"... Thanks to Lieutenant Ika."

Whether or not you can get help from other squads depends heavily on your network of friends – if it were the 11th Division, they certainly wouldn't be so accommodating.

Although all the divisions are under the jurisdiction of the Gotei 13, they each have their own responsibilities within their respective areas of duty.

The subjectivity is still quite significant.

Captain-Commander Yamamoto's deterrent power has always been at its peak, but apart from military and educational matters, his domestic affairs are really not that great.

"It's one thing that the Senkaimon can't be used, but why not just contact them directly using the Hell Butterfly over there?"

Thirteenth Division?