Chapter 231

"It's me who needs to prepare."

Yoruichi was holding a book in one hand and gesturing in the air with the other.

"... All right."

The so-called preparation involved the examiners looking at the exam questions on the spot... I must say, that's very Yoruichi's style.

Can't we reveal the details first?

"Shunkō."

"Um?"

Yoruichi put down the ancient book in her hand... the kind whose pages were so tattered and weathered that they were crumbling into dust.

"You've passed the Shunpo."

"The rest is just Hakuda --"

The Shihoin Clan has never lacked geniuses; those who are granted the surname are basically strong individuals with considerable strength, and Captain-level is merely the most basic requirement.

"In a one-on-one Hakuda demonstration, the test is to master the most basic Shunkō before I defeat you."

"What if..."

Haruto instantly thought of another possibility.

You can't beat me.

Yoruichi said without looking up.

What if?

"I'll make it for you."

"..."

What Yoruichi said is actually correct.

Hakuda- to-hand combat) and Shunpo) are the domains that the Shihoin Clan excels at. In battles of equal or even superior skill levels, if they cannot overwhelm their opponents with these techniques... then they should indeed relinquish their position as head of the family.

Haruto is truly an exception.

Certainly.

Compared to the troublesome position of head of the Shihoin Clan — Haruto guessed that Yoruichi didn't really want it.

He was actually more interested in Shunkō.

Zankensōki.

Haruto's Kidō is about to reach a point where he can't progress any further. Unless his basic strength reaches the Third-Class Reii, there won't be any breakthroughs.

The only thing lacking in Shunpo and Zanpakuto is the time to hone their skills; there are no special shortcuts—unless Kisuke Urahara to use his "Tenshintai," but that's a bit like forcing growth, and Haruto thinks it's better to hone them slowly.

Only in the realm of Hakuda...

He definitely still has room for improvement.

Because of his fusion with the Soul King Hakusui, the Shihoin Clan's secret technique "Shunkō" is the most useful of all known secret techniques for him.

Volume 1: 139, Shunkō

"Alright."

Yoruichi casually tossed the old book she was holding aside.

Looking at the debris flying everywhere, Haruto even felt a little sorry for it... After all, it was an ancient book with a long history.

It seems we won't see the full version next time.

Let's begin.

Yoruichi gently tugged at the ribbon around her neck, and it drifted away like a light willow catkin in the wind.

"..."

"Yoruichi- sensei!"

Haruto raised his right arm high in a gesture.

"... This student may speak now."

Yoruichi adjusted her non-existent glasses and replied, "When it comes to improvisation and role-playing, there are few in the entire Seireitei who are better than me."

"Is Shunkō a secret technique passed down through generations of the Shihoin Clan?"

"No, I invented it."

Yoruichi shook her head decisively, and the trailing off of the "no" sounded rather endearing.

"... What were the assessment criteria for the Shihoin Clan in the past?"

"The patriarch's most proficient Hakuda technique."

Yoruichi said it as a matter of course.

"Shunkō isn't just Hakuda, is it?"

"There's a tiny bit of insignificant Kidō technique involved."

"..."

The conversation flowed so smoothly that Haruto was almost unable to join in.

So, does this count as increasing the difficulty?

"I guess so."

Yoruichi nodded.

"But it's also an opportunity to learn more advanced techniques... Don't you want to learn, Shunkō?"

"..."

"It seems he is thinking about it."

I could see Haruto's obvious hesitation.

Yoruichi wore a delighted expression, her mouth even forming a wide, wish-like shape.

"Then come up here."

Yoruichi walked to one side of the training ground first.

Bare feet touched the ground, moving with the lightness of a cat's steps, making no sound whatsoever... until the flashing lightning began to leap.

"I'll demonstrate it for you first. The rest depends on how much you can grasp in battle."

Yoruichi stopped in her tracks.

The tight-fitting night suit began to move automatically without wind, as the electrostatic field surrounding the body took effect.

Look carefully.

"Sizzle!"

Yoruichi bowed slightly forward.

With arms crossed in front of the chest, wrists touching, "shackles" made of lightning...

From appearing and disappearing to gradually collapsing and breaking free.

"Shunkō!"

"Boom!!"

A loud explosion echoed throughout the entire training ground.

Lightning-attribute Reiatsu, in its complete Kidō form, erupted from his shoulders and back, forming a surging "loop" between his arms and legs.

This is a technique created by Yoruichi, combining her family's secret Hakuda (hand-to-hand combat) with Kidō arts), and breaking through the physical limitations of Soul Reaper).

"Shunkō"

This is a truly groundbreaking feat.

Yoruichi doesn't have Soul King Hakusui within her body. If she rashly "opens a hole" without a complete understanding of her body, the lightest injury would be for her Reiatsu to dissipate and she to become an ordinary person... Her soul being scattered would probably be commonplace.

Come on, give it a try!

A hand, sharp as a knife, pointed towards Haruto from afar.

Although Yoruichi did not unleash her Zanpakuto, this single Shunkō, Shunho, increased her Reiatsu by more than three times—exceeding the enhancement level of most Shikai and nearly reaching Bankai.

"... good."

Haruto could see Yoruichi's Reiatsu Flow trajectory perfectly clearly.

The spiritual pressure of Shinigami was originally absorbed and extracted in a single thread, with the only instance of Shunpo being described as cyclical. However, Yoruichi further amplified and perfected this cycle by continuously strengthening her body, allowing the spiritual pressure to be released from parts that were originally insufficient to withstand the impact of Kido, thus forming a complete external spiritual pressure loop.

With more outlets for Reiatsu, the amount of Reiatsu released also increases, and combat power naturally improves accordingly.

This is the essence of Shunkō.

Haruto can easily release part of his Reiatsu.

What he really needs to understand is how Reiatsu "flows" to achieve the desired effect of Shunkō.

It has to be said.

Yoruichi's demonstration was indeed quite detailed, so much so that Haruto didn't even need to learn it beforehand using a secret technique—of course, whether there's a secret technique for this is another matter; it might all be versions taught by Yoruichi herself.

Now...

Haruto doesn't need to use the starting stance.

The method of compressing Reiatsu and then releasing it simultaneously from both the front and back sides is not suitable for Haruto, whose Reiatsu is already at its limit; he only needs to connect the Reiatsu channels in the front and back, just like when releasing Kidō.

In an instant.

"Instant boom!"

"Whoa!!"

The roar of surging waves echoed inside and outside the arena, and the originally violent and intense lightning was instantly suppressed back to Yoruichi's half of the arena.

"!?"

Yoruichi stared in disbelief.

"... That should count as finished."

Haruto glanced at the torrents encircling his arms.

His Reiatsu attribute is water, there's no doubt about that.

--After all, his surname was "Yu" in his previous life.

Haruto carefully sensed the change in Reiatsu after Shunkō. Although it couldn't compare to Fuujin in terms of offensive power, it was clearly superior in the field of defense: Haruto's Shunkō was more like a defensive ability than Yoruichi's or Soi Fon's later abilities.

Do we even need to fight?

"..."

The assessment requirement was to learn how to use Shunkō during the martial arts demonstration—not to mention before being defeated—but Haruto had already figured it out before the fight even started, which really left Yoruichi, who had just reviewed the rules, somewhat bewildered.

Let's go find that book on the floor now and see if there's a solution for any special circumstances.

That would be far too undignified.

"Cough!!"

Yoruichi cleared her throat very forcefully.

... the kind of cough that almost made me cough up my vocal cords.

"Very good, Haruto!"

I can't speak for other things, but this praise is absolutely from the heart.

Only Yoruichi herself knows how much suffering she endured in inventing Shunkō —if it weren't for the fact that her Zanpakuto's attributes were so incompatible with her own, she wouldn't have had to put so much effort into Hakuda... Even with the support of her family's Hakuda, it was still an absolute labor of love.

"Your talent is indeed remarkable; you've mastered the first half of Shunkō so quickly."