Chapter 28

His opponent could use Dankū, and Haruto's Zanka no Tachi had a very limited range. No matter how unexpected a sneak attack was, it would be hard to achieve the same effect as before.

So.

Before the Reiatsu gathered for Zanka no Tachi completely dissipated, he might as well look for an opportunity to make her attack first. Naa Ichihara had just taken the initiative to show goodwill in her attitude toward the great nobles, which meant she wanted something from Haruto.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have given him such a precious treasure.

In that case, Haruto felt he could go a step further... She was only at Sixth-Class Spiritual Pressure, after all.

"I suppose that wouldn't be impossible."

Naa Ichihara rose from her soft, silk-woven cushion and tapped the still-burning end of her pipe against the smooth porcelain dish a second time.

As it struck, flecks of ash scattered beyond the dish.

Clang.

Even the front half of the pipe came away with the movement, though it hadn't been a heavy one.

An elegant, deadly black curve quietly emerged from within: a strangely shaped blade resembling a military spike. The mechanisms connected inside made the blade far longer and slimmer than Haruto had expected.

"Since you're so confident, young Haruto."

Naa Ichihara returned to the way she had addressed Haruto earlier.

"Then first, use your life..."

"To prove your worth."

Black mist flowed over Naa Ichihara's Zanpakuto, completely concealing its already slender blade.

That was right.

Naa Ichihara's pipe-shaped Zanpakuto had already been in Shikai before Haruto entered the room.

Caution was an essential quality for anyone who could attain her position.

Shing!

With a clear ringing of the blade.

The black mist on its surface suddenly rose like flames.

In the blink of an eye, the seemingly living mist transformed into countless pitch-black butterflies with fluttering insect wings, instantly filling half the room.

Then—

"Heavenly Wing Insect Hunt, Black Swallowtail!"

The black tide surged down at Haruto!

Without a doubt, this was Naa Ichihara's Zanpakuto ability.

As for whether it was a direct-attack Kidō type or an illusion that could bewilder the mind like the one he had encountered before, it didn't matter to Haruto.

Things were unfolding just as he had expected. All Haruto needed to do was, the instant the Black Swallowtails reached him—

Overwhelm finesse with force!

"Hadō number seventy-eight: Zanka no Tachi!"

A golden radiance instantly lit up the room around them. Even the windows of the entire fifth floor shone from within, blazing like the sun in the hazy night.

Boom!!

A quarter of an hour later.

"Hmm..."

In the spacious, comfortable room on the fourth floor, Haruto quietly admired the two Kidō Orbs on the table.

"They say fortune favors those who take risks, but being too greedy is dangerous."

Haruto looked away from them and down at his sturdy arm. Though his muscles didn't look outwardly powerful, his physical condition had been improving constantly over the days he had been taking the Heavenly Bedding Pill.

"Compared to the day I sparred with Byakuya, I've gotten stronger since learning Zanka no Tachi, and my body's improvement has made me stronger too."

"But..."

"Acting so recklessly today wasn't like me."

Haruto frowned and muttered to himself.

"I acted rashly without knowing what she was capable of..."

"The Heavenly Bedding Pill."

Haruto deliberately swallowed.

"Did the negative emotions belonging to the Hollow in the Vasto Lorde's Reiatsu fragment affect my mind without my noticing?"

Very few numbered Kidō involved illusions. Most abilities of that type came from a Soul Reaper's Zanpakuto.

In other words.

Although it was highly likely that Naa Ichihara was a Soul Reaper who had mastered her Zanpakuto's Shikai, Haruto had still tested her in a way that could be called "provocation."

It was clearly a very unwise thing to do.

"..."

"Luckily, I noticed it early enough. From now on, I'll have to be extra careful whenever I need to make a decision."

Haruto was reflecting on himself as he habitually did, but that didn't stop a smile from appearing on his lips.

A second Kidō Orb.

His usual self definitely wouldn't have been able to obtain this extra reward.

"Come to think of it."

"Manager Ichihara probably wasn't shocked because I used Eishōhaki to cast number seventy-eight, Zanka no Tachi."

"It was because her Zanpakuto didn't work on me."

When they clashed earlier, Haruto's Zanka no Tachi had only fifteen percent of its power left, and he couldn't project its Reiatsu beyond the blade at all. The Black Swallowtails that touched the edge had indeed melted away instantly like snow in the sun, but the swarm covered nearly half the room. Clearly, a single slash couldn't clear them all away.

As for the rest...

About a third of the Black Swallowtails had "crashed into" Haruto's body without slowing down once Zanka no Tachi's light disappeared.

Then—

Nothing happened.

That was right.

Haruto didn't know what had happened either. After a brief bout of paralysis that lasted less than two seconds, he had quickly returned to normal.

It was precisely because of that moment that uncontrollable shock had appeared on Naa Ichihara's face.

That was probably also why she had given Haruto the second Kidō Orb.

"That clearly wasn't a physical attack."

"My body has gotten a lot stronger recently, but at best I'm only at the level of an ordinary student. There's no way I could take a hit from a Zanpakuto in Shikai without getting hurt."

"Come to think of it, I've never fought an opponent who specialized in illusions before."

Haruto reached around the back of his long neck and patted his head.

"Is this effect, which could be called immunity against opponents of the same level, an ability my soul always had, or a mutation caused by taking the Heavenly Bedding Pill?"

His impulsive behavior earlier was closely related to the mental domain involved in illusions.

"Judging by Naa Ichihara's reaction, her illusion clearly wasn't weak."

"Maybe in the future..."

"No, no, no!"

Haruto hurriedly dismissed the unreliable thought that had surfaced in his mind.

He had instinctively thought of Aizen just now and had nearly slapped himself awake. Aizen was the one who was truly powerful, not Kyōka Suigetsu. If the current Fourth Seat of the Fifth Division had received Ryūjin Jakka or Hyōrinmaru... no, even Gonryōmaru, Soul Society's history would probably have been rewritten ahead of schedule.

"..."

Whatever Naa Ichihara's Zanpakuto did, it no longer mattered to Haruto.

"Either way, I got what I came for."

"Bakudō: Kyōmon."

Kyōmon.

Haruto had heard of this Bakudō. During the Ryoka invasion in the "future," Captain Tō... Hitsugaya had used Kyōmon to protect Momo Hinamori. It reflected all attacks from outside the barrier.

Haruto had reason to suspect.

If he hadn't appeared here, Naa Ichihara's Kidō Orb for Kyōmon would definitely have ended up in the Tenth Division's hands—

He had thought it was a Kidō Tōshirō Hitsugaya had created himself.

Of course, with how well Tōshirō got along with mature women, he definitely hadn't obtained it through fighting and killing.

At the same time.

According to the information Naa Ichihara had provided, though Kyōmon wasn't among the numbered Kidō, its training requirements and effects surpassed even number eighty-one, Dankū. It was good enough to rank around number eighty-five.

"A barrier that reflects all external attacks."

"Very strong..."

"But the difficulty of learning it and its prerequisites are far too high. No wonder it wasn't included among the numbered Bakudō."

The requirements for casting Kyōmon were extremely strict:

First, successfully casting Kyōmon required at least Fifth-Class Reii, which was already equal to the requirement for using a Kidō Orb. Without that level of Reiatsu, it was impossible to construct a complete barrier.

Second, besides the enormous Reiatsu requirement, casting Kyōmon took an exceptionally long time. Reciting the full incantation alone took over a minute. This harsh condition essentially ruled out Kyōmon's use in a fierce battle.

As for Eishōhaki...

Leaving aside the complexity of Kyōmon itself, which made Eishōhaki almost exponentially more difficult than for Kidō of the same level.

The additional Reiatsu consumption alone was more than an ordinary Soul Reaper could handle.

"Kyōmon."

Its full effect was described as follows:

It reflected attacks below the level of Reiatsu released by the caster.

To reflect an opponent's attack, the caster needed to pour enough Reiatsu into Kyōmon while creating the barrier.

The balance was extremely difficult to judge. Too much Reiatsu was wasted, while too little would allow the opponent to break through it cleanly and directly, preventing the reflection effect from working at all.

And with Kyōmon's Eishōhaki...

A Kyōmon weakened to a third or even a tenth of its effectiveness meant using three or even ten times as much Reiatsu to reflect an opponent's potential attack.

Even Aqua would know that was a bad deal.

"Kyōmon is flawed. You could even call it half-finished."

"As expected, an unnumbered, self-created Kidō places outrageous demands and restrictions on its caster."

"Of course."

"If I use Kyōmon as a basis and gradually modify it... it might become a usable Kidō in the future."

"..."

"I got it for free. How can I complain so much?"

Haruto reached his final conclusion.

"However you look at it, it's a high-level Kidō above number eighty, the kind of good thing you normally couldn't find even if you went looking for it."

"With my talent for Kidō, maybe I'll be able to use it once I reach Sixth-Class Spiritual Pressure."

"It's better than Hakuda or Shunpo. Even if a secret technique in either of those were worth just as much or more, who knows when I'd be able to master it? At least with Kidō, I can see results in a short time."

Haruto's body was gradually getting better.

From traveling recently, he could clearly feel that his grasp of Shunpo was steadily improving.