Chapter 198
Anyone below the captain level is simply killed; there's no need to consider complicated procedures like sealing them away.
You don't recognize me?
A sharp, hoarse voice rang out from the Soul Reaper opposite them.
"Do I really need to know an old man who's practically half-buried in the ground?"
Haruto retorted without any hesitation.
"Facing the unknown without fear, has the current captain of the Gotei 13 become so incompetent?"
The other party's evaluation of Haruto was equally sharp.
"That's enough."
Before Haruto could retort, the other party continued speaking to himself:
"Since you're the third captain I'm going to kill, I'll tell you my name anyway."
"!!"
The third captain?
The arrogance and hubris in his tone seemed genuine.
Even the weakest captain can defeat the strongest Adjuchas after Bankai.
This guy actually killed two Captain-level... The Gotei 13 would never send another Captain-level has been killed; in other words, he killed two captains simultaneously while being ganged up on by Captain-level.
Such a vicious and ruthless individual is involved with a seal located in the World of the Living; there must be some record of this in the Thirteenth Division's files.
"Are you Baishin?"
Haruto has seen all the information on this matter.
"Oh?"
The male Soul Reaper's smile was utterly sinister.
"Young captain, your changing expressions are quite interesting... Didn't you just say you didn't recognize me?"
Baishin.
Two hundred years ago, the captain of the Gotei 13, due to his personality, massacred all the elites of his squad, including the vice-captain and 76 Seated Officers, in one night.
After escaping to the World of the Living, the Central 46 Chambers dispatched six captains to pursue and capture him. After sacrificing two of them, they successfully sealed him away.
These materials...
That perfectly matches his self-introduction.
"I just happened to remember."
Haruto made a light swipe behind him, and a defensive barrier constructed of triple-layered Tōzanshō firmly protected Agata within it.
"We're doing action scenes and special effects here, and because we'll be using some dangerous props, you'd better step aside."
Haruto spoke to those behind him without turning his head.
"Oh oh!"
After Agata had moved a little further away...
"You have quite the gentlemanly manners."
Baishin mocked him with the expression one would use to watch a child's performance.
"Same to you."
Haruto replied in kind—he had thought the other party would take the opportunity to launch an attack.
"So..."
Baishin pinched her knuckles.
The piercing sound was more like metal rubbing against metal than bone.
"Can we start fighting now?"
"Isn't there a reason?"
Haruto wanted to get more information out of her.
If there were only one Captain-level Reiatsu in the World of the Living, Haruto would simply defeat him... or if he couldn't beat him, he would quickly run away and call for reinforcements.
However, since multiple Captain-level Reiatsu exist, this matter cannot be a simple case of villains escaping; there must be an unknown conspiracy involved.
"Does Kenpachi from the 11th Division need a reason to fight?"
"..."
Very good.
Using Kenpachi as an example, this guy is a reckless brute who starts fighting within five seconds of meeting someone, and doesn't even care if he's being used.
Since there are no objections --
"Zzz!!"
Volume 1: 120, spanning thousands of days and nights
That was the sound of Zanpakuto being drawn from its sheath.
However.
Haruto's left hand did not move; it was Haruto's two fingers that broke the sound barrier, piercing through the air and producing a sharp, mournful cry.
"Dimensional Zanka no Tachi!"
Haruto's most familiar advanced-level Hadō Zanka no Tachi.
Simultaneously unleashing sixteen slashes, sealing off all blind spots around the target, and directly tearing him apart—this enhanced Kidō, because it incorporates the Reishi condensation method of Rikujōkōrō, makes it virtually impossible for the target to dodge once locked on.
"Clang!!"
There was no tangible feeling of cutting through flesh; instead, it felt more like clashing with the opponent's Zanpakuto.
"Whoosh!"
At the same time the slash hits.
A sharper, piercing sound, even more so than the Zanka no Tachi, rang out from above.
"Flying?"
Having seen countless instances of Heilig Pfeil, Haruto was all too familiar with this kind of voice.
The left hand, freed from its sheath, gently swept from top to bottom in front of the body:
"Dankū!"
"Boom!!"
A loud, forceful drumbeat rang out from directly behind Haruto.
"That's amazing."
The attack did not come from the expected flying-type Zanpakuto, but from Baishin himself: he used his own body as a weapon and charged straight at Haruto.
--For his normally agile Shunpo to produce a sound beyond a "whoosh," his body must have undergone countless hours of Hakuda training.
"Your 'Dankū' technique clearly didn't defend against what's behind you."
Baishin said, quite surprised.
Haruto clearly intended to use the Dankū technique in front of him, but it actually prevented the sneak attack from behind.
"You'll be surprised by much more."
"Eight-Direction Dankū"
By simultaneously concentrating two techniques of Dankū through Twofold Incantations, the Reiatsu is evenly distributed to every aspect of the body for comprehensive defense, and when an attack comes, all Reiatsu is transferred to the point of impact.
Haruto hasn't mastered the Sanctuary Praise yet, but through studying this Quincy Great Spirit Incantation, he has already begun to modify the existing Kidō.
Not only that.
"Smack!"
The impact of the Baishin did not break the Dankū; the sound of shattering glass came from Haruto's deliberate armor-breaking.
"Kyōmon!"
"Boom!!"
The force of the impact from the Baishin is just as great as the recoil force it will experience now.
By simplifying the Water Heaven Kyōmon and combining and modifying it based on the Dankū, the Kōjutsu Eishō Type Kyōmon has completely eliminated the original drawback of uncertain Reiatsu consumption, and has become a practical Kidō that strikes after the opponent has acted.
Taking advantage of the moment when the Baishin were knocked back by his own strength, Haruto clenched his right hand into a gun shape, turned around, and swung it horizontally towards the location of the Baishin.
"Senju Kōten Taihō!"
Black and red Reiatsu converged along the arc drawn by his fingertips.
After a brief pause, the six fireballs, trailing long, fiery afterimages, sped towards their target.
"Boom!!"
Thick smoke rose.
"..."
Haruto didn't think he could take down the opponent that way.
The Senju Kōten Taihō is indeed used to deal with Captain-level Hadō.
But Baishin was a guy who fought back and killed two people during a siege by Captain-level; it would be too presumptuous to think he could kill someone like that.
By the way...
Haruto also knew it was for the sake of secrecy.
But since his life story is already recorded in the dossier, why not just write down his Zanpakuto's abilities as well?
--Is the cover-up to prevent newcomers from discovering the truth, or is it because they believe the Baishin can never break through that rough seal?
The Central 46 Chambers's lack of professionalism in this regard makes it hard for Haruto to imagine whether more similar individuals will emerge to cause trouble in the future.
"Call out!"
Before the complaints about Central 46 Chambers were even over, sharp blades rained down from the still-burning flames!
"Knife?"
Both its density and speed are top-notch.
Even with Haruto's keen eyesight, he could only barely make out the shape of these hidden weapons: they were Asauchi pieces without hilts or guards.
No...
In terms of sharpness, they can already be considered finished products.
"Hadō #1"
The gun finger, which had just fired the Kōten Taihō, bent into a hook and forcefully gripped the dense array of sharp blades.
"Rush!"
"Crack!"
A noisy rain of metal poured down towards the ground.
"Whoosh!!"
To counter a feint, a simple charge is enough.
Accompanied by the amplified sound of Shunpo, and a huge circular shockwave spreading behind him, Baishin charged towards Haruto once again.
"Close combat?"
Haruto hasn't seen Baishin's Zanpakuto yet—but the attack just now definitely didn't belong to the Kidō category; it can be roughly inferred that his Zanpakuto has already been Shikai, and its ability is a larger version of Senbonzakura.