Pierced Through?

Masaki looked at Lin Nan, who still appeared to be a mere youth, and did not take him seriously: "Kid, I understand your desire to protect your master, but it's not worth throwing your life away for it!"

As he spoke, he drew the short blade from his waist and threatened, "If you die, those noble lords won't pay your family a single cent in compensation. Get lost!"

Lin Nan remained calm. In a flash, he rushed directly in front of Masaki and raised his leg, kicking straight toward Masaki's crotch.

Masaki was more than a head taller than him; rather than attacking his upper body, it was better to strike his vital point directly.

Masaki let out a cry of surprise and hurriedly jumped backward: "Baka! What a sinister brat!" He swung the short blade in his hand, hacking toward Lin Nan's neck!

Lin Nan, unhurried, raised his left hand. To Masaki's astonishment, he lightly blocked the short blade with his forearm.

Not a scratch.

What a joke. Even Unohana's sword couldn't cut my arm; what could a petty kidnapper like you possibly do to me?

Taking advantage of Masaki's shock, Lin Nan struck decisively, landing an uppercut on Masaki's chin.

Masaki's chin took a heavy hit; his head buzzed, his footing faltered, and his body uncontrollably stumbled back two steps.

"Kid, remember, this move is called 'Shoryuken'!" Lin Nan treated the opponent as a common thug, fighting with extreme ease. "And this move is called 'Foot-to-Foot Root-Remover'!"

With that, he flew his right foot out, landing a solid kick squarely on Masaki's crotch.

"Awoooooo!~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

Masaki created the first male soprano performance in the history of the Soul Society before collapsing on the spot.

Lin Nan turned his gaze toward Kuramoto, a cold glint appearing in his eyes: "That child on your back—what did you do to him?"

Kuramoto was so frightened by his gaze that he took a step back, subconsciously replying: "He's just unconscious..."

Learning that Kyoraku was not in mortal danger, Lin Nan looked at the dumbfounded Kuramoto with a half-smile: "So, are you going to put him down now, or should I come over and do it myself?"

Kuramoto's face turned green. He truly hadn't expected that a "common lackey" of a noble young master could instantly take down the burly Masaki.

For this mission, the boss had valued his Shunpo ability and sent him to act alongside Masaki, who excelled in Hakuda, to make tracking the target easier. When it came to Hakuda, Kuramoto knew he was far from being Masaki's match.

But now that the team's muscle had finished his high-pitched solo and passed out, what was he supposed to do?

"Y-you, you aren't a lackey... you're a bodyguard, aren't you?!" he stammered while retreating.

"I..." Upon hearing this, Lin Nan's brow furrowed sharply. He rolled up his sleeves and walked forward:

"A lackey?! It seems I didn't leave a deep enough impression on you, or I'd have torn that mouth of yours off already!"

Seeing Lin Nan approaching with such aggressive momentum, Kuramoto retreated repeatedly, unsure whether to drop the hostage or not.

After taking two steps, Lin Nan raised an eyebrow as a line of small text suddenly appeared in his mind, mirroring the screen in the Playback Room:

Kido: Novice; Kido Growth: +1; Total Kido Points: 1.

Since I've reached the novice level, then... why not try it out on this short kidnapper?

He stared intently at the short, stout body before him. In his mind, the dense lattice of points and arrows representing reishi movement from the Playback Room screen emerged, along with the image of the Byakurai that had just slanted toward the sky.

Using Kido for the first time, I should probably go with a simple one to ensure a higher success rate, right?

Lin Nan fixed his eyes on Kuramoto, feeling a faint, tingling sensation on his fingertips, while a strange, unprecedented feeling surged through his heart and body simultaneously.

It was the "tactile sensation" brought about by manipulating reishi for the first time—the positive feedback given to him by the reishi itself.

It worked.

"Way of Destruction No. 4, Byakurai!"

Accompanied by Lin Nan's steady voice, a bolt of white light as thick as a thumb, trailing wisps of faint electricity, shot out from his fingertips and streaked toward Kuramoto!

Kuramoto's astonished eyes reflected the bright light of the Byakurai; his body forgot to dodge. He knew this Kido too, but the lightning he could emit was only as thick as a thread.

How could these youths, who weren't even fully grown, be more ferocious than the last when using Kido? Is this what a genius is?

Kuramoto's next thought had barely formed when the bolt of lightning rushed toward his abdomen.

It's over. I'm going to die.

Just as the lightning was about to pierce Kuramoto's abdomen, a low voice sounded: "Way of Destruction No. 1, Thrust!"

An invisible shockwave of reishi struck from the side, instantly knocking the stunned Kuramoto aside and narrowly dodging Lin Nan's Byakurai.

From a corner nearby, a very sturdy man walked out, dressed in inconspicuous, simple work clothes, his eyes as sharp as an eagle's, locked firmly onto Lin Nan.

"To think the Kyoraku House still has such a young expert; how did we never notice they possessed such strength before?" The man walked over with great ease, his tone as calm as if he were chatting about daily chores.

Kuramoto, off to the side, struggled to climb up from the ground. Ignoring Kyoraku, who had fallen nearby, he hurriedly knelt and bowed his head: "Thank you, Boss, for saving my life!"

Seeing that the man's aura was completely different from the two kidnappers, Lin Nan couldn't help but get serious: "And who are you? Are you with these two kidnappers?"

"Kidnappers? Heh, you underestimate us." The man chuckled softly. "A mere lackey couldn't possibly have this kind of strength. What is your relationship with Kyoraku Seishu, that you can serve as his brother's bodyguard at such a young age?"

Lin Nan's face twitched involuntarily: "There's no need for that. You're the lackey! Your whole family are lackeys!"

The man paused, thinking of the Iwamoto House his family had served for generations, and nodded slightly: "What you say isn't entirely wrong. Loyalty to the head of the house is my honor."

Lin Nan: ???

"I am Iwamoto Raizo." The man drew a short blade from behind his back as he walked. "After hearing this name, you only have two choices."

"Let me guess: get beaten, or get beaten to death?" Lin Nan asked with a mocking expression. Facing blades, he felt no panic at all.

Iwamoto was not the least bit annoyed; a faint, imperceptible smile tugged at the corners of his unremarkable face. "Either be killed by me, or pledge your loyalty to me."

"Once you know my name, those are the only two paths you have to choose from."

As he spoke, he pinched the short blade between two fingers, looking at Lin Nan with a hint of mockery as he tilted his head. "Which do you choose?"

Lin Nan instinctively sensed a dangerous aura and narrowed his eyes. "I choose... to make your father bury his own son!"

Without waiting for the other to react, he lunged forward, his Thrust punch aimed directly at the man's face.

His intuition told him that this person was not to be mentioned in the same breath as the two bandits on the ground; he had to strike first to gain the advantage!

Iwamoto remained unhurried, shifting his body to the rear right, appearing to dodge Lin Nan's straight punch with ease.

But Lin Nan's punch was a feint; his body twisted halfway in mid-air, his right leg flying out toward the back of Iwamoto's exposed head!

Iwamoto chuckled softly again. "Good technique!" Before the words had even faded, his figure suddenly vanished.

Lin Nan was slightly startled, immediately realizing this was Shunpo.

The next second, Iwamoto's figure appeared to Lin Nan's left, the short blade in his hand striking like a bolt of lightning toward Lin Nan's armpit while he was still in mid-air!

Lin Nan sensed the attack but did not care; he had confidence in the durability of his body. As long as he tanked this blade, he could counter his opponent!

He reached out with his left hand toward the man's wrist, intending to seize his form the moment the blade touched him and trap him like a rat in a cage.

However, the man's figure flickered slightly, and Lin Nan felt his hand grasp nothing but air. After a moment of disorientation, he suddenly felt a strange, icy chill in his abdomen, followed by a wave of intense pain.

Looking down, he saw that Iwamoto's short blade had plunged into his abdomen, the entire length of the blade buried deep inside.

Lin Nan's pupils dilated instantly. He actually... pierced through?!

This guy actually broke my defense?! Are you on the same level as Unohana?

"Binding Spell #30, Beak-Piercing Triple Flash," Iwamoto said calmly.

Lin Nan's body was instantly sent flying over a dozen meters away, pinned by three massive, beak-shaped beams of light. The beams acted like wooden shackles, locking his hands and waist tightly, pinning him firmly to the ground.

The knife wound in his abdomen, combined with the violent impact on his body, caused Lin Nan's vision to go black instantly.

Before losing consciousness, he saw, in the dim light of the setting sun, over a dozen masked men in black slowly emerging from the nearby woods and approaching him.

"Tie him up and carry him back," Iwamoto ordered calmly.

"Yes!"

This was the last sentence Lin Nan heard before a hand struck his neck heavily, causing him to lose consciousness instantly.

The men in black dispersed, helping the fallen Kuramoto and Masaki to their feet, while binding the unconscious Kyoraku and his companion together to be carried away.

Iwamoto watched his subordinates work with cold eyes, instructing, "Don't pull the blade out of that kid yet, lest he lose too much blood. I still have use for this one."

The leader of the men in black nodded in acknowledgment, leading his subordinates at a brisk pace toward a building on the outermost edge of the residential district.

Iwamoto turned around, gazing at the Rukon District as the sunlight gradually faded, a silent smile curling his lips.