Complicated Shikai

Under the Urahara Shop, Tsuna came as usual to practice his Shikai. Many days had passed like this, and his opponent had never changed—Yoruichi.

"Kid, I've been waiting for you. Let's see what new tricks you've got today!" Yoruichi said through gritted teeth.

The reason Yoruichi was willing to be Tsuna's training partner was that his Sun Gloves piqued her interest. When they first sparred, Tsuna was no match for her, but the moment she let her guard down, he switched to the X Gloves and landed a solid hit on her. From then on, a grudge was born.

In the days that followed, Yoruichi had to adapt to Tsuna's fighting style of switching between two Shikai forms. Just when she got used to it, he pulled out another new Shikai to gain the upper hand.

This drove Yoruichi crazy. As a senior Soul Reaper, she should have been teaching the rookie a lesson with ease, but instead, she'd been caught off guard.

And today was the day Tsuna still hadn't used his final Shikai form, which was why Yoruichi came in so aggressively from the start.

"Then I'll begin." Tsuna finished his warning and chanted his Shikai release, "Misty Illusion, Mist!"

A long-handled trident appeared in Tsuna's hand. Yoruichi saw through his fighting style at a glance and commented, "A mid-range weapon? I'm the natural enemy of that kind of weapon!"

The moment Yoruichi finished speaking, she was already in front of Tsuna. Against a close-combat fighter like her, a long-handled weapon was at a complete disadvantage.

Yoruichi threw a punch, but the impact she expected never came. Her hand passed straight through Tsuna's body. Only then did she remember his Shikai release—Misty Illusion. It was an illusion!

"Yoruichi-san's reflexes really are impressive."

Tsuna's voice came from behind her. He swung the trident with full force, the shaft slamming into Yoruichi's back and sending her flying.

Tsuna didn't use the trident's tip—this was just training, and there was no need to injure someone with an illusion sneak attack. That was also why he had saved the Mist attribute for last.

Yoruichi twisted in midair to recover her stance. She could tell Tsuna was mocking her for acting without thinking. Just as she was about to teach him a lesson, she saw a long blade wrapped in blue flames flying toward her face.

Shigure Soen Ryu, Third Form: Leaving Rain.

Yoruichi punched the blade's flat side, knocking it away, but that single contact slowed her movements.

It was the effect of the blue Rain Flame coating the blade—Sedation.

Then Yoruichi saw a barrage of red projectiles hurtling toward her. Tsuna had already switched to the Storm-attribute C.A.I. System. Those were High-Mobility Homing Missiles, infused with both Storm and Sun Flames, striking at incredible speed.

Yoruichi gritted her teeth so hard they might crack. This wasn't the first time she'd fallen for this combo. If this kept up, she'd be trapped in Tsuna's endless storm of attacks again.

A massive surge of Kido Reiatsu erupted from her. Flash Cry!

Sensing the Reiatsu from Yoruichi, Tsuna immediately switched the C.A.I. System's ammunition. Red-violet flame beams burst from the launchers, splitting and multiplying in a spreading pattern, instantly covering the area Yoruichi had just occupied.

That was an attack combining Cloud and Storm attributes. The Cloud attribute's trait was multiplication, and together they formed Infinite Multiplication Rail Beams.

A series of explosions rang out. When the smoke cleared, Yoruichi was nowhere to be seen. Tsuna wasn't surprised at all. If she couldn't dodge those attacks, she wouldn't deserve the title Flash God Yoruichi.

Tsuna didn't even bother looking for her. He switched his Zanpakuto's attribute again. A powerful strike—Lightning!

A pair of short horns appeared on Tsuna's head, and fine green lightning enveloped his entire body. The next moment, Yoruichi's fist slammed into that lightning.

This was the weakness of a close-combat style. Tsuna didn't need to guess Yoruichi's position—she would always appear right next to him.

And the reason Tsuna switched to the Lightning attribute was its trait: Hardening. This ability was perfect for defense.

Seeing her attack blocked, Yoruichi realized how troublesome Tsuna was. This green lightning was disgusting for someone like her, who specialized in Hakuda.

Using the lightning's force to block, Tsuna quickly created distance. He didn't bother attacking Yoruichi with Lightning—the Electric Horn's short-range strikes would be a free hit for her.

He switched attributes again. A pair of Floating Cloud Tonfas gripped tightly in his hands, Tsuna took the initiative to attack Yoruichi.

Even though Tsuna was far slower than Yoruichi, she didn't charge at him. She stared warily at his tonfas. Last time, she'd been injured by the Meteor Hammer hidden inside them. She had no idea what else he had stashed away.

"What's wrong? What is Yoruichi-san afraid of?"

"You little brat, still running your mouth!"

Yoruichi immediately clashed with Tsuna. With Flash Cry's boost, Tsuna was instantly at a disadvantage. His Shikai was still no match for Yoruichi, who could go toe-to-toe with Bankai in her Flash Cry state.

Yoruichi fought faster and faster. She'd also figured out how to deal with him—overwhelm him with relentless speed, preventing him from even chanting his Shikai switch, and suppress him from start to finish.

Tsuna noticed this too. This was exactly when the weapons hidden in his Floating Cloud Tonfas came into play.

A row of spikes popped out from the tonfa shafts. With the Cloud Flame's multiplication boost, the spikes rapidly extended into a line of long thorns, blocking Yoruichi's fist.

Fist and thorns met and separated. A bloody hole appeared on the back of Yoruichi's hand, forcing her to halt her assault.

"Sneaky little brat!" Yoruichi spat, pulling back.

Seizing the momentum, Tsuna switched his Shikai again. The long blade appeared in his hand. He stepped forward and swung horizontally. Shigure Soen Ryu, Eighth Form: Bamboo Shoot Rain!

The powerful slash sent four water pillars rising around Tsuna. Yoruichi still dodged, relying on her peerless Flash Step. But pulling back like that made it troublesome to launch another attack—she'd likely face another barrage of Tsuna's long-range strikes.

"Yoruichi, let's take a break. It's time for lunch~" Urahara Kisuke's figure appeared, holding a steaming bowl of noodles in his hands.

"Kisuke? What's going on? Eating this early?"

Yoruichi walked over suspiciously, looking at the food in Urahara's hands. She sensed something off. Urahara wasn't the type to be careless—why would he bring only one portion for two people?

"Who are you really?"

Yoruichi's expression turned wary. The Urahara in front of her didn't answer. Instead, he grinned viciously and shouted a technique name.

"Maximum Sun!"

Urahara's form melted away. It was Tsuna, wearing his Boxing Gear. His straight punch fired a sun-like energy blast at Yoruichi. Forced to gather her Reiatsu, she clashed fists with him.

Boom! A thick cloud of dust engulfed the entire area. Yoruichi couldn't help but curse, "You little brat, so many dirty tricks!"

If the Tsuna from before was just versatile, then the Tsuna who now wielded illusions was downright treacherous. Just weaving one illusion into the mix made it impossible to guard against.

At this moment, Yoruichi understood why Tsunayoshi had hit her with an illusion right from the start—if she hadn't been prepared and had taken that same move from Urahara just now, she would definitely have been severely wounded by Tsunayoshi.

She decided to retreat from the smoke cover and regroup, but before she could move, she felt a punch coming her way.

Years of Hakuda experience let Yoruichi instinctively block, and only then did she see the X Gloves burning with flames.

Tsunayoshi had used the smoke as cover to launch an attack on Yoruichi, and as fists and feet clashed, she could only rely on her experience to endure his strikes.

How dare he? Yoruichi couldn't understand it—this was the first time she'd been at a disadvantage in Hakuda, even if her opponent had the upper hand in visibility.

Visibility? Upper hand?

As the smoke gradually cleared, Yoruichi was shocked to see Sawada Tsunayoshi with his eyes closed. He had been attacking her in the smoke with his eyes shut, relying not on sight but on instinct to pinpoint her location amidst the dust.

This was the Vongola's Hyper Intuition!

As the smoke dissipated, Yoruichi's expression slowly calmed. Once she regained her vision, Tsunayoshi's attacks posed no danger to her, a master of Hakuda.

What Yoruichi could think, Tsunayoshi also understood. How could he give up the advantageous terrain he'd worked so hard to create by trading blows with her?

With a kick, Tsunayoshi twisted his body, both hands blasting out Sky Flame. He spun himself around, using the powerful airflow from the rotation to stir up the muddy battlefield once more.

X Airflow! The dust and smoke gathered again.

Seeing Tsunayoshi about to push his luck, Yoruichi dropped all pretense. Her overwhelming Reiatsu exploded across the entire field in an instant, blowing away all the lingering smoke, and then she sent Tsunayoshi flying with a single punch.

He crashed through several mountain peaks before finally stopping, his Shinigami Uniform tattered and torn. Fortunately, Yoruichi had pulled her punch at the last moment, so he wasn't seriously injured.

"That's too much, Yoruichi-san." Tsunayoshi launched himself back to her side with a burst of flame, protesting.

They had agreed that Yoruichi wouldn't overuse her overwhelming Reiatsu, mainly to help Tsunayoshi get familiar with Shikai. But she'd lost her composure and instantly unleashed Captain-level Reiatsu to blast him away.

Faced with Tsunayoshi's protest, Yoruichi was a bit embarrassed. Her actions just now seemed like she couldn't handle losing, but she still stubbornly said, "Who told you to be so slippery? Your already complicated abilities become even more varied with the addition of Illusions."

"Go ask around—whose Zanpakuto has as many abilities as yours?"

Yoruichi slapped Tsunayoshi's shoulder in dissatisfaction, still thinking that if this Zanpakuto were hers, she wouldn't have had to struggle to combine Hakuda and Kido to create Flash Cry.

"Doesn't the shopkeeper's Zanpakuto also have many abilities? Depending on the release command, the abilities change." Tsunayoshi immediately gave an example.

"Can Kisuke count? His Zanpakuto has been modified by him so many times that..."

Yoruichi suddenly stopped mid-sentence. She looked at Tsunayoshi with a complicated expression. Urahara's Zanpakuto abilities had never been explained to Tsunayoshi, and she didn't believe he had retained his wits during Hollowfication to remember Urahara's powers. That left only one conclusion—this kid Tsunayoshi already knew about Kisuke's power.