Chapter 148
As the grayish-white ash scattered, it transformed into countless butterflies fluttering in the sky.
"Heavenly Wing Insect Hunt, Black Swallowtail!"
"..."
"Thump."
In the blink of an eye.
All the Soul Reaper surrounding Sakai Shukugo were now unconscious.
"Despair!"
Although Sakai Shukugo managed to take a step and steady himself, the light in his eyes was now completely covered by pure black.
Naa Ichihara wields the illusion-type Zanpakuto, Black Swallowtail, which has the ability to induce dreams in targets touched by the butterfly.
It can actively construct dreams or enter the dreams of others; and all the damage the body suffers in the dream will be truthfully reported to the brain... a method that ultimately leads to brain death.
Naa Ichihara did not kill these Soul Reapers.
Since the incident occurred in Yoshiwara, it wasn't her intention to attract the attention of the Gotei 13. She only needed to erase their memories with her dreams and then hand them over to the Ninth Division on charges of massacring civilians.
As far as Naa Ichihara knew, this Captain of the Ninth Division had always been very averse to nobles.
But.
That's it?
"!!"
Naa Ichihara a Shunpo to widen the distance again.
Just moments ago, Sakai Shukugo had been motionless, but now he slowly turned his head, the blackness in his eyes dissipating like wisps of smoke.
"A rather interesting Zanpakuto."
"I'm sorry..."
Sakai Shukugo pointed to the two horns on his forehead with his long fingernails; these two things were clearly not decorations.
Meeting me wasn't just a matter of luck.
"In fact, from the very beginning, I was prepared to deal with your Zanpakuto —although I haven't been here for a long time, intelligence gathering... no, it concerns the experimental records of the lab rats; scientists wouldn't make a mistake."
Sakai Shukugo laughed heartily.
"... Is that so?"
Naa Ichihara's tone remained flippant, but her expression had become considerably more serious.
"Hadō #54: Haien!"
A slight tremor of the wrist.
In Naa Ichihara's hands, the Zanpakuto transformed back into a pipe. As she took a deep breath into the mouthpiece, purple flames shot out like a fiery dragon!
"Bakudō #62: Hyapporankan: Hyapporankan!"
Facing Naa Ichihara's attack, Sakai Shukugo stretched out his arms and slammed his loosely clenched hands down on his feet!
"Clang!"
The Bakudō, which was supposed to be used to block the enemy's movement, instantly solidified into a cage-like, intricate fence in front of him!
"Sizzle!!"
The scorching Haien, capable of incinerating a person with just a tiny bit of ash, found themselves unable to penetrate the Hyapporankan.
Take this opportunity—
"Hadō #65: Gaki Rekko!"
With one hand gripping its claw, Sakai Shukugo aimed at Naa Ichihara from afar, and a deep blue beam of light pierced through the flames, shooting towards his opponent!
"Hadō #57: Daichi Ten'yō!"
The earthen wall, with its restrained metallic sheen, rose from the ground, piercing directly through the ceiling of the wooden building... and perhaps even destroying the underground space as well.
"Sizzle!!"
The power of the Gaki Rekko failed to penetrate this iron-like defense.
However.
Is that all you're capable of?!
Sakai Shukugo's attack was not over yet.
Immediately following the Gaki Rekko, he raised both palms flat in front of him, his thumbs and forefingers forming a symmetrical rhombus.
"Hadō #72: Hizakura Ōkasen!"
"Whoosh!"
A rainbow-colored, blade-shaped beam of light shot out, and in the blink of an eye, the earthen wall's defenses crumbled upon contact.
"Bakudo #81!"
Before severing the head through the Hadō aimed directly at the throat—
"Dankū!"
"Boom!!"
――――
The pervasive fumes gradually dissipated.
Neither player's offensive or defensive maneuvers resulted in any substantial damage.
However...
Naa Ichihara was far more exhausted than Sakai Shukugo.
The opponent wasn't exaggerating; he did indeed possess the combat strength of Vice-Captain-level at the Fourth-Class Spiritual Pressure... But this wasn't the reason why Naa Ichihara was at a disadvantage—even against an opponent whose illusions were ineffective, her Kidō arts were endless.
It will never be like this again, where I'm out of breath after just one missed Dankū.
"Poison?"
Naa Ichihara asked in a deep voice.
"... You understood it quite quickly."
Sakai Shukugo was also shocked by her reaction speed.
"If you had just used Shunpo to leave from the start, I really wouldn't have been able to do anything to you."
Sakai Shukugo turned his neck and looked around at the dilapidated building.
"Even if we fought in a different arena, I might not be able to win so quickly."
The Zanpakuto at Sakai Shukugo's waist had long since disappeared, replaced by a gourd that was a deep blue-purple color.
"My Zanpakuto, 'Shuten Shuten,' can release a toxin that accelerates the depletion of Reiatsu, affecting all living beings within its range except myself—"
Sakai Shukugo extended his snow-white palm.
"They will consume Reiatsu at five times the rate."
Four fingers simultaneously retracted from the outstretched palm.
"And when my Reiatsu drops to less than one-fifth of my Reiatsu..."
"Cough!!"
A large mouthful of conspicuous crimson was spat onto the ground by Naa Ichihara.
"That's right."
"Then it will enter the stage of poisoning and death."
Sakai Shukugo wasn't worried at all about Naa Ichihara being able to turn the tables; he had complete confidence in his Zanpakuto.
"No matter how powerful you are, Vice-Captain-level unleashes five consecutive Dankū... how much Reiatsu will be left?"
"..."
Naa Ichihara was not careless.
She came here fully prepared:
With her unique illusion-type Zanpakuto, her astonishingly brilliant Kidō skills, and her formidable strength at the Fifth-Class Reii, most lieutenants wouldn't dare to fight her head-on—the consequences of such a large-scale arrest operation in Rukongai without orders from the Central 46 Chambers or Captain-Commander Yamamoto would be extremely severe if exposed.
Especially the Twelfth Division.
This team wasn't known for its combat prowess to begin with, and with both the old and new lieutenants restricted from coming, Naa Ichihara was confident of victory; who could have imagined that such a guy was hidden within the Twelfth Division...
According to Naa Ichihara's information, this Zanpakuto, equipped with Fourth-Class Spiritual Pressure, is even stronger than the former lieutenant of the Twelfth Division who was arrested.
"Very good."
The gourd at his waist transformed back into his Zanpakuto form.
I like your attitude.
"A guy with a clear understanding of the battle situation is far better than those idiots who just babbled on before they died."
"Despair."
Sakai Shukugo mentioned that he had arrived in front of Naa Ichihara.
"Pity."
"Intelligent people are often not very loyal."
"Call out!"
Swing the knife —
"Puff!"
Then his arm, along with his Zanpakuto, flew off.
"!?"
Sakai Shukugo, clutching his shoulder, quickly retreated.
"Manager Ichihara."
The person arrived before the voice.
A faint mist of water vapor condensed quickly around Naa Ichihara, forming a blurry human figure.
"Whoosh!"
"I feel now..."
"You made a killing on that investment back then."
"!!"
The somewhat familiar voice made Naa Ichihara look up at her side.
"Haruto?"
"Doesn't the store manager at Ichihara always call me 'little brother'?"
Haruto gently placed his hand on Naa Ichihara's shoulder, and a surge of Reiatsu began to subside.
To eliminate the toxins in her body.
During his Konsō internship, Haruto learned three simplest Kaidō from Mutsuki- sensei: replenishing Reiatsu, healing injuries, and dispelling toxins.
The most basic poison dispelling techniques certainly wouldn't be enough to counter Zanpakuto's abilities, but Haruto didn't need to go through that trouble: the opponent's Zanpakuto ability was only suitable for one-on-one combat in confined areas, and if someone could help his teammates restore their Reiatsu, the lethality of this sword would be greatly reduced.
Certainly.
The premise for saying this is that one must have a Reiatsu reserve as large as Haruto's.
Otherwise, the conversion rate of ten to one for Kaidō alone would be enough to trap Kaidō users in Vortex which they cannot extricate themselves.
"Doesn't that sound too distant? We've been through thick and thin together by the time we met."
As expected of the big sister who runs an entire district, Naa Ichihara is quite skilled at riding a donkey downhill.
"It's just one-sided."