Chapter 213
"But when you're wielding five weapons at the same time—"
"His movements are noticeably less agile now."
"..."
The sweeping long staff deflected the flash of light from the exploding Kōten Taihō.
The Blanks is healing Ryudoji's injuries—although his attacks are more ferocious, they lack the defensive power of the Baishin. Relying solely on the weapon transformed from the Blanks- Gathering Technique, it is still difficult to protect himself completely.
"Is it because your skills are lacking, or Blanks not as easily manipulated as your own?"
If anyone had even studied some of the Kidō, Ryudoji wouldn't be so constrained—his mastery of two of the techniques of the Zankensōki meant that he was at a significant disadvantage in two other areas.
"You haven't won yet, Haruto."
Ryudoji's expression changed for a moment, but he quickly regained his aristocratic composure.
"Let's see who can't hold on first in a head-on attack."
"Oh."
Ryudoji couldn't help but chuckle softly.
"The Blanks here are endless."
"Then we can only..."
"Fry it even faster!"
"Call!!"
Haruto took a deep breath.
The Vortex generated by the full-force activation of the Sklaverei began to strip away Reishi from the surrounding Valley of Screams —powerful Menos Grande can directly absorb the souls of the living, Quincy Sklaverei can even absorb Menos Grande and convert them into part of its own power.
Blanks...
No matter how special they may be, their fundamental nature as being composed of Reishi remains unchanged.
As his chest cavity rapidly expanded, every part of Haruto's body continuously emitted streams of Reishi light; these streams converged and compressed around him, quickly forming miniature yet sharp arrows.
Haruto used all of his own Reiatsu to support the Blut Vene, while the massive amount of Reishi absorbed by the Sklaverei were all used for release...
"Don't even think about it!"
Ryudoji, of course, saw through Haruto's intentions.
Three weapons, accompanied by a piercing whirlwind, slashed towards Haruto's arms and throat—in order to avoid being blown to a point of no repair as Haruto had said, Ryudoji had to protect his body from serious injury.
At the same time.
Ryudoji, who had monitored Haruto's methods during the battle with Baishin, also knew that his body was different from that of ordinary Soul Reaper.
However special it may be, as long as the arms and throat that release the Kidō are severed, even if it doesn't result in instant death, the opponent can still be engulfed by the explosion of their own Kidō.
Stop this attack.
Ryudoji would never again give Haruto the opportunity to launch an offensive of this scale.
However--
Too late!
Haruto completely ignored Ryudoji's attack.
Rather than saying...
Haruto's initial goal was to lure the other party into attacking him!
Although this move looks like the Senju Kōten Taihō to Ryudoji, it is essentially something completely different.
Severed arm and head?
In principle, as long as the brain and heart are not completely shattered, it simply means that Haruto will need a little more time to regenerate.
If necessary, you can even use Ransōtengai to temporarily fix the situation.
Haruto's use of Sklaverei also consumes Reiatsu, and it's difficult to unleash such a large-scale Sklaverei a second time in a short period of time.
What he was really worried about was that Ryudoji would put a turtle shell around itself.
Now it seems...
The Kidō manipulation was successful.
"Puff!"
At the moment when the head and body are about to separate --
"Senju Kōten Taihō - Modified - Multiple Holy Arrows!"
The Heilig Pfeil filling the sky gradually moved from stillness to motion, tearing out a magnificent celestial canopy.
"Call out!!"
Hundreds of thousands of arrows were shot out, and hundreds of thousands of rays of light arrived.
--
"Boom!!"
"Thump."
The chaotic sky was tinged with white and blue.
Ryudoji's body crashed heavily to the ground.
"Whoosh."
But.
Ryudoji was not completely destroyed by the combined explosion of Multiple Holy Arrows as Haruto had predicted.
Ryudoji had a backup plan:
The instant he severed Haruto's body with three strikes, he immediately recalled all three weapons, placing them all around him in defense.
The good thing is that I didn't die, but the bad things are just as many...
The explosion's unimaginable scale and intensity not only destroyed five weapons but also affected his Bankai; although it wasn't shattered, maintaining his Bankai state became quite difficult.
So.
In the instant he was knocked down by the aftershock, Ryudoji used Shunpo to rush towards the God Sealing that had been thrown to the ground earlier:
For Haruto, who was severely injured and exhausted, one Zanpakuto was enough.
However.
The moment Ryudoji grasped the hilt of the God Sealing Sword—
"Bite."
His body froze on the spot.
"You took my Zanpakuto..."
Haruto also Shunpo not far from Ryudoji. His hoarse and off-key voice indicated that his neck was not yet fully aligned. As for his swaying arms hanging by his side, it showed that he didn't even have the strength to control the Ransōtengai.
"You read it as this?"
Yet, in the hands of such Haruto, he effortlessly held the God Sealing.
"..."
Ryudoji's body was completely immobile.
Eyes bulging with fury, pupils straining to move downwards finally revealed what they had just grasped.
The tip of a knife.
The palm rests against the tip of the knife.
That is...
Haruto used the Seisen to disguise himself as a clone.
"This is my last ripple."
Even disregarding his own recovery, Haruto used his last bit of Reiatsu to unleash the Stillness of the Seisen: Tinkle.
"I probably don't have the strength to walk over and stab you."
Haruto stopped and said with some regret.
Ryudoji's immediate action of retrieving his Zanpakuto, rather than using the Blanks -Zanpakuto to heal his own injuries, gave Haruto time to control him.
Even so, the Stillness of the Seisen lasted only two or three seconds...
That's not enough time for Haruto to kill someone.
But...
"Please, Captain Lisa."
"Zheng--"
"Puff!!"
Only after the decapitated body was torn to pieces did Lisa's response slowly emerge:
"Good."
"Clang."
Lisa sheathed her sword.
"How about it?"
He casually handed the Seisen that he had pulled from the ground back to Haruto.
"No problem."
Haruto patted his stiff neck and knocked out the bruises that had been blocked by the poorly stitched pieces.
"..."
Seeing Haruto like this, Lisa felt she should say something but couldn't bring herself to say it.
First came the Baishin.
Next is Ganryū Ryūdōji.
And then Seirin Tsunayashiro, while uncertain, most likely also died at his hands.
Three very strong Captain-level Soul Reaper have already fallen at his hands—recalling what Captain Kyōraku said when they first met, Lisa couldn't help but wonder if her judgment was really that bad.
Although these three are not as strong as those veteran captains who have been around for a century, they are definitely stronger than Lisa, Third-Class Reii Soul Reaper. They are even comparable to the current captains of the Gotei 13.
Haruto, who could kill them...
Lisa was already starting to wonder which squad leader's position wasn't so secure.
"Captain Lisa..."
Just as Haruto was about to speak, Lisa interrupted him:
Call me Vice Captain.
Lisa didn't find anything wrong with how the members of the Eighth Division addressed her, but hearing it from Haruto...
The other person clearly didn't mean anything by it, but it still sounded a bit jarring.
"... Lieutenant Lisa."
Haruto wasn't aware of Lisa's current state of mind, but since she was unwilling, he naturally wouldn't force her.
"Thanks for the finishing blow."
"That illusion just now... was incredibly powerful."
The ability that caused Ryudoji to Zanpakuto didn't come from Haruto, but rather from Lisa's divine intervention at a crucial moment:
The Book of Kidō does not record Kidō of the Illusion type, but there are similar techniques in the Kaidō, though their numbers are not high.