Chapter 178
"Schubert."
"Even though Yhwach has not yet awakened, you have already willingly walked into the trap he wove a thousand years ago."
As these transparent spiritual artifacts shattered one by one, almost solid Reishi began to gather towards Sōken Ishida's shoulder.
Such immense power.
"It neither seeks the origin of the soul like the Soul Reaper, nor does it follow our path of cultivation, accumulating it slowly from nature."
No halo, no wings.
--The radiance of a single wing of Reishi still filled half the sky.
"So, the source..."
"Isn't it just 'borrowing' all it can be?"
"Call!"
The cape on his shoulders was torn to shreds by the Reishi light, and even Sōken Ishida couldn't maintain absolute stability of his power in this form.
This is, after all, --
"Quincy: Letzt Stil!"
"Boom!!"
The power of the Hadō #91 was completely confined within a small polyhedron.
Compared to when he killed Kōten Taihō Satō Tsunayashiro, Haruto's understanding of "introverted explosiveness" has become much deeper at this point.
The combined use of the two "No. 91" techniques, Bakudō and Hadō, is enough to eliminate a captain- Captain-level Third-Class Reii cultivator in a single blow.
Without using the Seisen water, this is already the most powerful move Haruto can use; and even if he were to unleash his Zanpakuto, it would be impossible to create a greater impact... if we only consider destructive power.
But!
Haruto's expression did not lighten even after Senju Kōten Taihō hit him.
Just as the infinitely compressed explosion erupted from the multifaceted shield formed by the Shisō Kekkai—
"Bankai!"
"!!!"
Seirin Tsunayashiro's voice came from the center of the explosion with perfect clarity.
The explosion, powerful enough to instantly flatten a village, disintegrated into harmless Reishi that scattered across the sky the instant the sound rang out!
Immediately afterwards--
"Call out!!"
Every unclaimed Reishi was frantically converging towards the center of the explosion.
"Without a trace of light or shadow, the silvery glow flows."
"This is the Bankai you wanted to see—"
The half-black, half-white Zanpakuto, like an endless glutton, devoured the vast and boundless Reishi.
"Hoshihami."
Volume 1: Chapter 108, Let's see whose blade is faster!
Hoshihami.
Judging from the name and its performance just now, it's probably Zanpakuto related to Reishi absorption.
Furthermore, most Soul Reaper's Bankai are advancements from their Shikai, so this sword's sharpness should also remain intact.
Places that are too bright or too dark will enhance their attributes.
Why aren't you saying anything?
After Bankai, Seirin Tsunayashiro did not immediately launch an attack on Haruto.
"You were just so eager to see my Bankai?"
"If you'd like to explain its capabilities, I wouldn't mind chatting a bit longer."
Haruto's smile carried a hint of mockery.
Intelligence is of paramount importance in battle. The reason the Gotei 13 fought so fiercely during the Thousand-Year Blood War was because the Wandenreich had seen right through them—after watching them for a thousand years, how much of their secrets could possibly remain?
Haruto is facing the same situation now:
Bankai whose abilities you don't know is far more difficult to defeat than one who is stronger than you but whose abilities you know all about.
"Give you another chance to set a trap?"
Seirin Tsunayashiro was equally unwilling to back down verbally.
"It's clearly you who likes this kind of style, isn't it?"
"Zanpakuto are reflections of Soul Reaper souls, and you say our swords don't have good compatibility—"
Haruto always placed his left hand at the end of the hilt of the sword, and quietly moved it downwards to touch the rope wrapped around the hilt.
"The people are about the same."
The blade, slowly drawn from its sheath, gleamed with a cool and clear, chilling light.
"... You've finally decided to draw your sword?"
"No."
Haruto shook his head.
"I must say, my knife has finally piqued my interest a little."
"... How arrogant!"
Seirin Tsunayashiro managed to keep her expression straight, but Haruto's even more sarcastic remarks clearly diminished her interest in toying with her opponent.
Why don't you try it and see?
"..."
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
The two simultaneously used Shunpo to create an even greater distance between them.
Haruto's Shunpo is faster, while Seirin Tsunayashiro's is more stealthy.
And regardless of which--
"Defect!"
Seirin Tsunayashiro lightly Zanpakuto.
A flash of light, too fast for the naked eye to see, approached rapidly, accompanied by a piercing shriek.
"Splash."
A watery halo flowed across the blade.
"Seisen!"
The flowing water, mixed with sharp Reiatsu, condensed on the narrow and sharp blade, forming a unique Kidō blade.
"Severing Flow!"
The Flow energy empowers the Zanka no Tachi.
As one of Haruto's most familiar advanced Kidō, this move is quite cost-effective. Although the range of Seisen prevents Zanka no Tachi from attacking targets at a great distance, it still manages to break free from the original Shibari of only being able to perform close-range slashes.
The technique developed from this is called the Severing Flow -Severing Blade Aura Slash.
"Call out--"
To confront the tangible with the intangible.
"Bang!!"
The interrupted Severing Flow created by this slash was instantly shattered into a shower of water by the sword light of Seirin Tsunayashiro!
"Really."
When Reiatsu is similar, using Shikai to counter Bankai is ultimately somewhat ineffective.
Seirin Tsunayashiro's Bankai is already quite proficient, and the amplification of Reiatsu has been completely stabilized at seven times.
This is almost at the threshold of Second-Class Spiritual Pressure Might level combat power.
"Dankū!"
"Smack!"
Haruto's broken Dankū, the Void Break, only bought him a brief opening for Shunpo... accompanied by strands of hair falling from his forehead and bright red blood shooting from the corner of his eye.
"Whoosh."
Haruto had stopped his Shunpo, closed his right eye.
Even though the wound had healed quickly, the thick blood made him somewhat unaccustomed to the loss of his vision.
"Do you know anything about Hoshihami?"
"Whoosh!"
Trash talk?
No, no, no.
In his Bankai state, Seirin Tsunayashiro gave Haruto no chance to catch his breath and adapt.
Upon discovering that he could react to ranged slashes, they immediately used Shunpo to close the distance between them—even the original disadvantage in Shunpo speed was caught up or even surpassed by the advantage brought by Bankai.
"Clang!!"
The clash of blades.
The shockwave from the explosion created a gale, and the powerful impact separated the two people facing each other.
Then--
"Clang clang!"
"Your knife is clearly not as fast as mine, yet it hasn't developed any nicks or chips yet~"
Seirin Tsunayashiro's sword swings became faster and faster, and the angles of her thrusts became increasingly tricky. Haruto couldn't even spare the energy to argue with her.
Until...
"Got it."
The blade, which had just separated, stabbed at Haruto's unsuspecting lower back with twice the speed of the previous instant.
"Puff!!"
"!?"
Haruto's body was instantly torn to pieces.
"Succeed?"
That was not his true form, but a phantom composed of flowing water, mist, and lightning.
"Hazy!"
Substitute Kidō, Raimeisan (Modified)!
Immediately afterwards.
The shattered water elemental transformed into a net spreading in all directions, a dense array of water whips, surrounding Seirin Tsunayashiro's body at point-blank range!
"Taki!"
Sajō Sabaku - Modified!