Boxer's Intuition

Following Kukaku Shiba into the warehouse, Tsunayoshi saw the same dirt-and-rock environment as the underground space of the Urahara Shop. Unsurprisingly, this place also bore Urahara's handiwork.

Walking toward him were two men—one with a yellow bowl-cut and one with a white buzz cut. The first wore a strange smile, his thoughts unreadable, while the other had a face full of irritation, looking quick-tempered.

Tsunayoshi recognized them at once: these were Hirako Shinji and Muguruma Kensei of the Visored.

"Kukaku, since when did your shop take in another brat?" Just from his tone, one could sense his carefree attitude. Hirako Shinji clearly mistook Tsunayoshi for another kid like Koume and Jinta from the Urahara Shop. "Spit it out, what does Urahara want from us this time?"

"This Humble One is merely acting on Sawada-sensei's behalf. The one who truly seeks you is Sawada Tsunayoshi-sensei." Kukaku Shiba stepped aside, yielding the main position to Sawada Tsunayoshi.

"Oh?"

Hirako Shinji had just voiced his confusion when he heard Tsunayoshi's blunt opening: "Shinji Hirako-san, could you let me see your Hollowfication?"

Hirako's eyes narrowed into slits. First, the reversed name order, then Hollowfication—had that bastard Urahara Kisuke spilled all their information to this brat in front of him?

Kensei wasn't as patient as Hirako. As one of the first to undergo Hollowfication, that word was always a wound in his heart. If only he had been a little stronger back then, he wouldn't have dragged so many people down with him.

"Brat, don't think I won't hit you just because you're young. Get the hell out, and I'll pretend I didn't see you!" Kensei crouched in front of Tsunayoshi, his face full of anger, veins already bulging on his fist. One more inch and it would land on Tsunayoshi's face.

Tsunayoshi paid no attention to Kensei's threat. He was pondering whether Muguruma Kensei could truly live up to his reputation as the unit of measurement "Kensei," and how many "Kensei" his own current strength amounted to.

Seeing Tsunayoshi ignore him, Kensei scowled at Kukaku Shiba. "Hey, Kukaku, is there something wrong with this brat's head you brought?"

"Kensei, I'm the one coming to you today. Leave Kukaku-san out of this."

Muguruma Kensei suddenly felt a tremendous force pressing down on the hand pointing at Kukaku Shiba, followed by a dense Reiatsu appearing at his side.

"Watch out!"

Kensei barely heard Hirako's warning before a pale fist appeared in his field of vision. The fist grew larger and larger, yet he couldn't even dodge—one of his hands was already caught by Tsunayoshi.

Tsunayoshi's fist slammed solidly into Muguruma Kensei's cheek. Caught completely off guard, Kensei was knocked to the ground.

"Hey, Sawada brat!" Hirako Shinji's voice dropped low in accusation. "Is this how you treat people when you come asking for a favor?"

Tsunayoshi spread his hands, his expression helpless. "What can I do? You wouldn't just show me your Hollowfication for nothing, would you? To avoid wasting time, I had to use some means."

Hirako was speechless. Even though Tsunayoshi was right—they wouldn't casually reveal their Hollowfication trump card to anyone—the brat's habit of throwing the first punch on arrival felt like picking a fight.

"Hirako, don't bother." Muguruma Kensei sprang up and crouched on the ground, his eyes already tinged with red, fighting spirit surging in his heart. "Brat, you've got some punch! Can you take mine..."

"...with one punch?!"

The next instant, Kensei Flash Stepped in front of Tsunayoshi and threw a straight punch at his face. His mind held only one thought: to return the favor in kind.

Facing Kensei's furious strike, Tsunayoshi calmly opened his palm and caught Kensei's fist. Only then did Kensei realize that this brat he looked down on was radiating Reiatsu no weaker than his own.

"Interesting!" A grin immediately spread across Kensei's face. In the hundred years they'd been hiding in the World of the Living, everyone else had found their own amusements, but he'd only trained every day, his life boring him to tears. Why wouldn't he welcome someone picking a fight?

"Hirako, move! Someone's here to cause trouble!" Kensei's face was practically blooming with joy. He leaped back to create distance, then kicked Hirako out of his combat zone.

"Hey, hey, don't go too far." Hirako said that, but he quickly retreated to Kukaku Shiba's side. He wanted to see what this brat who'd come knocking was capable of.

"Don't worry, this won't take long!"

Kensei excitedly reached behind him and drew his Zanpakuto, then let his Reiatsu run wild, releasing it without restraint.

It was a dagger-sized Zanpakuto with a square hilt and a small ring above it. Perhaps still haunted by the Hollowfication experiments of the past, Kensei had trained his Zanpakuto to remain in its Shikai state year-round since coming to the World of the Living.

Kensei spun the Zanpakuto in his hand twice with practiced ease, then gripped it properly, assuming a boxing stance. He said to Tsunayoshi, "The blade's name is Tondemo. Brat, I'll let you make the first move!"

"Do you Visored always enjoy telling your enemies your secrets?" Tsunayoshi deadpanned. If these guys talked less during fights, their track record wouldn't be so pathetic.

"Brat, take this!"

Muguruma Kensei's face darkened two shades. Announcing his name was a sign of respect for his opponent. Since Tsunayoshi didn't want respect, he didn't need to show any courtesy. Captain-level Reiatsu filled the entire warehouse as Kensei, gripping Tondemo like a boxer, threw a punch at Tsunayoshi.

"Kensei really..." Hirako, watching from the sidelines, didn't know what to say. Muguruma Kensei's temper was just that explosive. Hirako worried that if Kensei's punch broke the guest, it wouldn't be easy to explain to Urahara Kisuke.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the warehouse, the other Visored.

"That idiot Kensei's Reiatsu? I'll go check it out." A green-haired girl in a white-and-orange tight-fitting suit, already obsessed with the World of the Living's superheroes, vanished in a flash.

"Shiro, honestly... let's go too..."

Fist met fist. The air currents from the Reiatsu explosion blew away all the dust. Staring at Sawada Tsunayoshi, now wearing boxing gloves and wreathed in yellow flames, Muguruma Kensei's excitement grew even stronger.

"Man, maybe we'll get along surprisingly well!"

Exchanging two more excited punches with Tsunayoshi, Kensei's hand gripping the Zanpakuto suddenly gathered a mass of high-density Reiatsu. His entire right hand blazed with intense light. Under the cover of his left hand, Kensei pressed the attack.

"Bomb Rush!"

The Reiatsu gathered on Kensei's hand was like a bomb ready to explode at any moment. As he struck, the Reiatsu detonated instantly, unleashing tremendous destructive power.

Maximum Sun!

An even more intense light blazed across the entire field. It was Tsunayoshi's strike in his Sun Attribute Shikai state—the same high-density Reiatsu, the same brilliance—colliding in an instant with Kensei's Bomb Rush.

White light flooded the entire space, blinding everyone. When the light faded, Hirako saw Kensei and Tsunayoshi wildly exchanging punches in rapid succession, wounds appearing on both of them to varying degrees.

This was the instinct of two boxers. Neither waited for the explosion to end; instead, they seized the moment of the blast to attack each other simultaneously.

"What a rush!" Kensei shouted. "Stop for now, brat. My Tondemo is a Wind Attribute Zanpakuto—it's not just for close combat!"

Thin cyan threads drifted around them. These were the wind-woven threads controlled by Tondemo, each one razor-sharp. If Kensei wrapped these threads around Tsunayoshi, the brat would lose.

Kensei didn't want to seriously injure the young opponent he'd just met. If Tsunayoshi spoke up, he'd stop. Finding a suitable sparring partner wasn't easy.

But Kensei didn't hear Tsunayoshi beg for mercy. He only saw Tsunayoshi yawn, his eyes somewhat vacant as he said, "How boring."

Suddenly, Tsunayoshi's Reiatsu flooded his entire body, yellow flames appearing alongside it. His wounds visibly healed at a speed the naked eye could follow.

The instantaneous shift made Kensei instinctively mobilize all the threads drifting around him—a sandbag in a gale. An opponent bound by wind-threads couldn't move freely; they could only take a beating like a sandbag.

But Sawada Tsunayoshi clearly had no intention of being Kensei's sandbag. He took another step toward Kensei, charging straight through those razor-sharp threads.

The moment the threads sliced wounds into Tsunayoshi's body, yellow Sun Attribute flames ignited there. As his injuries healed, Tsunayoshi's movements grew faster and faster, until Kensei could barely keep up with his speed.

This was the characteristic of Sun Attribute flames: Activation. Using Sun Attribute flames to boost cell activity to heal wounds, then leveraging that activation to increase both striking power and speed.

Tsunayoshi's attack speed accelerated relentlessly. Suddenly, Kensei felt as though his eyes had blurred—three Sawada Tsunayoshis appeared before him, all throwing punches at once. There was no time to block.

Maximum Machine Gun!

Three fists struck Muguruma Kensei simultaneously. He hit the ground and rolled in one fluid motion; in just a few exchanges, Kensei was downed by Tsunayoshi.

"What a terrifying young man. When did Soul Society produce someone like this?" Hirako asked Tessai beside him. Even though Tsunayoshi's outfit looked more like a modern uniform than a Shinigami Uniform, Hirako recognized him as a Shinigami from his Reiatsu fluctuations.

"Sawada-sensei isn't from Soul Society. He's from the World of the Living," Tessai explained. In the hundred years since, they had never revealed the Visored's whereabouts to Soul Society, much less brought a Soul Society member to their base.

"The World of the Living, huh?" Hirako clicked his tongue, lost in thought. Now that Kensei had lost, maybe they could have a proper talk?

Hirako had just lifted his foot when he heard Tsunayoshi's voice: "Muguruma-san, if you won't use Hollowfication, you don't even have a 'six-car' to your name."

Hirako withdrew his extended foot. Knowing Muguruma Kensei as he did, this fight probably wouldn't end here.

Sure enough, upon hearing Tsunayoshi's provocation, Muguruma Kensei flew into a rage. "Hollowfication? Hollowfication? I'll show you a power even stronger than Hollowfication!"

"Bankai! Tekken - Danpū!"