Chapter 134
Haruto responded calmly.
"... Soul Reaper, you were so arrogant just now, I thought you were capable of going head-to-head with me."
"Heh, who was it that couldn't wait to throw out Cero just because they heard I was going to make the first move?"
"..."
Adjuchas shut up.
Strength is the foundation for empty talk.
Given that the situation is not significantly different, this Adjuchas, who has lived for an unknown amount of time, is no match for Haruto in terms of taunting skills:
Half of his soul was spent in intense online battles; how could Adjuchas, who only associated with the dim-witted Gillian, possibly be a match for him?
"It would be a waste for someone with such a strong curiosity not to take the postgraduate entrance exam."
Haruto glanced down at the sword in his hand.
"However, I can still mercifully tell you."
Haruto stepped out with his right foot, drawing a small arc beside him.
"This Zanpakuto..."
"The ability is to attach water-based Reishi to a target within a small area."
The once dry and barren ground was now noticeably damp.
"What you just saw was an ability derived from the Quincy's Hirenkyaku, combining Shunpo with Shikai."
"You could call it migration..."
"No."
Haruto, realizing that plagiarism was wrong, chuckled and shook his head.
"Taki"
"--The name I just came up with, doesn't it sound pretty good?"
"..."
Adjuchas chose to remain silent.
If you only listen to Haruto's explanation, then this move is nothing more than an enhanced version of Shunpo, and there's nothing to worry about at all; but if you knew what he just did, anyone would be on high alert.
From charging up the launcher to hitting the target.
The Cero gave Haruto less than two seconds.
In that mere second and Hanza, Haruto teleported four coordinates, grabbed the net-like Tsuriboshi to gather the heavily injured Kiyone and the others, and pulled them away from the blast radius of the Cero; he even returned to his original position afterward and deployed the Tōzanshō to protect everyone within it.
It flowed smoothly and seamlessly, completed in one go.
Although its absolute speed cannot match the Sonído, its graceful agility is far beyond Adjuchas' Sonído can match.
Can you achieve this speed by stepping on water?
Are you kidding me!
"You don't seem to believe it very much?"
Haruto didn't actually take a step, but his body was definitely moving forward, as if something was supporting him from beneath his feet.
"That's true."
Haruto nodded thoughtfully.
"After all, this isn't the 2.5 film set next door; to be honest, there's no added effect."
"Isn't it better to experience it firsthand after all?"
Haruto turned the blade, the blue that was originally pointing towards the ground, now aimed at Adjuchas's throat.
"This time..."
"Am I really going to do it now?"
Haruto was earnestly asking Adjuchas for his opinion.
"The defenses behind you won't withstand the aftershocks."
"Adjuchas threatened."
This is a tactic only the weak would resort to. After witnessing Haruto's speed just now, Adjuchas's resolve had begun to waver.
"Don't worry, that Tōzanshō is an enhanced version. If you really want to compare..."
Haruto tilted his head and pondered for a while.
"If what you exposed earlier was a plastic bag for takeout, this is the homogeneous steel armor of a tank."
"We'll see."
"You really think you're..."
"Whoosh!"
That was the sound of waves crashing against the rocks.
"You can get distracted while fighting me?"
"!?"
Haruto's figure was still reflected in Adjuchas's vision, and there was not even the slightest abnormality in his perception of Reiatsu.
But the second half of that sentence... came from behind Adjuchas!
"Mix--"
"Waaah!"
Adjuchas's body is protected by Hierro.
Although it hasn't undergone further training and isn't as sturdy as a modified Arrancar, in terms of defensive strength, it's only slightly weaker than Quincy's Blut Vene of the same level—given a two-level advantage in Reiatsu, Soul Reaper simply cannot break through its defenses.
However.
A knife slashing sound, like the cry of a toddler, rang out.
"Puff!!"
Crimson Storm!
The injuries can no longer be described simply as massive bleeding.
The blade merely grazed Adjuchas's face, and the latter nearly met the same fate as Louis XVI—
Even so, it was only Adjuchas' timely Sonído and dodge that this happened.
"Hiss."
Flesh and blood separated into upper and lower parts.
Like a stringy tentacle, it is trying its best to piece itself back together.
With blood splattered all over the ground, Adjuchas took a big step back, decisively widening the distance between himself and Haruto.
With a sharpness as fine as cutting Hierro tofu—compared to the previous acceleration of flowing water, what is being displayed now is probably the true power of that Zanpakuto.
But.
Maintaining distance does not guarantee safety.
The figure that had just struck him had vanished into thin air, turning into mist.
Instead, what Adjuchas initially thought was an afterimage... Haruto had unknowingly switched his real location again.
By choosing to create distance, just like his opponent, Haruto meant that he didn't intend to strike Adjuchas again.
On the contrary--
"Hadō #91"
His left hand, which wasn't holding a knife, clenched into the shape of a pistol, and the deep black tip of his fingertip magnified rapidly in Adjuchas's eyes.
"Senju Kōten Taihō"
The high-level Hadō, the Eishōhaki!
This was also a small breakthrough brought about by Haruto increase in Reiatsu.
"You are--"
"Hiss."
Adjuchas stomped his feet hard on the ground.
The interlocking sharp teeth suddenly opened, the pitch-black maw aimed directly at the trajectory of the approaching Kōten Taihō.
"You underestimate me!?"
"Gulp."
The Kidō Bullet, formed from highly concentrated Reiatsu, was swallowed whole by Adjuchas without any suspense.
Immediately afterwards—
"Bang!!"
Return it to its original source!
Even the ninety-something-level Hadō couldn't break through Adjuchas's spatial abilities.
But...
"No, that won't happen."
Haruto slowly unfolded his left hand, which was holding a gun.
"Bakudō - Kyōmon"
A silver mirror, nearly two stories high, was placed in front of Haruto.
"What!?"
In Adjuchas's wide-eyed gaze, the Senju Kōten Taihō was completely absorbed by the Kyōmon, and then shot out again at an even faster speed than it had come!
Rebound Kidō?
Haruto also uses the same technique.
Before his promotion, Haruto couldn't use the Kyōmon to return the Senju Kōten Taihō —the latter consumed so much Reiatsu that only two shots could be used, and the prerequisite for the Kyōmon to take effect was an equal or even higher amount of Reiatsu, which was not only difficult to operate but would also deplete one 'Reiatsu in one move.
Things are different now.
Even if Haruto alternates between using Senju Kōten Taihō and Kyōmon, Haruto Reiatsu is enough to sustain a complete battle.
"Trying to defeat me with the same move..."
"Boom!!"
A dark red mushroom cloud bloomed in the forest, its size not much smaller than Adjuchas's Cero.
Who is looking down on whom?
"Whoosh!"
Haruto charged straight into the thick smoke.
Cero can injure Adjuchas, then Senju Kōten Taihō can do the same; although the latter doesn't have the ability to ignore spatial reflection, Haruto had already figured out Adjuchas's skill cooldown times after the battle just now.
Thump!
As Adjuchas used the Sonído of the explosion to escape its radius and retreated from the swirling smoke and dust...
"Whoosh!"
Haruto was already waiting there.
Swing the sword, slash—
"Puff!!"
――――
"..."