"Heh heh heh heh... Kid, you're still a long way from beating your master!"
His wildly arrogant laughter made him sound like a villain. As Aoto emerged from the slowly dispersing smoke, Toshiro rolled his eyes.
"Sit upon the frosted heavens, Hyōrinmaru!"
Toshiro quickly released Hyōrinmaru and froze Hainawa to pieces, then attacked Aoto again.
"Ice Dragon Orb!"
The Ice Dragon coiled around Toshiro and spat frigid ice projectiles at Aoto.
They weren't as fast as its breath, but they moved extremely quickly. One moment of carelessness could leave someone frozen in place.
"Holy crap, Shiro! That's dirty!"
Aoto was still descending leisurely! The sudden attack caught even him off guard.
Wasn't he supposed to refrain from releasing his Zanpakuto?
Rukia couldn't understand Toshiro's actions either... Was this how a disciple attacked his master?
It was the kind of attack you'd use against an enemy!
But Toshiro didn't think an attack like that could hurt his master.
Just as expected...(￣~￣) Chomp!
A swallowing sound rang out. Aoto, holding his spiked club, looked at Toshiro helplessly.
Who taught you to fight by launching sneak attacks like that?
Oh, right. I did? Then never mind!
Toshiro charged straight at him—Hungry Ghost was better at dealing with energy attacks, so close combat was more effective against him now.
However, Rukia found Aoto's Zanpakuto strange... She'd already heard from Vice-Captain Kaien that 4th Seat Hyakume's Zanpakuto had many forms, but she hadn't heard him say the release incantation just now.
Rukia muttered to herself, "Can you release a Zanpakuto without saying its incantation?"
Just then, Toshiro was sent flying back and landed beside Rukia. The Ice Dragon's head had shattered, but it was already reforming.
After briefly recovering, Toshiro looked at his master, who was holding Ryuki, and still had enough breath to explain to Rukia, "A Soul Reaper who has learned Bankai can release their Zanpakuto without reciting the Shikai incantation."
A Soul Reaper who had learned Bankai?
Rukia stared at 4th Seat Hyakume, her expression full of disbelief.
Toshiro knew what had surprised her, but continued, "This ability isn't particularly useful for the other captains. But for Master, it makes him unpredictable in battle."
In their brief exchange, Toshiro had already faced Hungry Ghost's slicing attacks, Sui Oni's blasts, and Ryuki's piercing strikes... If he hadn't gotten somewhat used to them, he would have fallen long ago.
So far, Toshiro had seen his master change his Shikai eighteen different ways... There were twelve others he'd never seen.
Though it was a little discouraging, Toshiro couldn't help feeling that even if he learned Bankai, he still wouldn't be able to beat his master using only Shikai.
The stronger Toshiro got, the more he could feel just how unfathomable his master was.
And yet a master like him didn't dare challenge Zaraki Kenpachi... It was impossible to guess how strong that captain was.
After catching his breath, Toshiro charged again... Then everything around him suddenly went pitch-black. A black orb of light emerged from Aoto's Zanpakuto and struck him, disregarding the distance between them.
Shakukuro and Black Prison...
Having lost all five senses, Toshiro immediately swept his arm around him, creating pillar after pillar of ice.
He not only shattered Black Prison's restraints, but also formed two layers of ice around himself for protection.
If those layers of ice were shattered, Toshiro would be able to sense it.
But when he emerged from Black Prison, he saw Aoto's entire body glowing.
Bad news—it was Blue Oni!
The faint blue light immediately filled the entire Shakukuro field. Toshiro's ice barriers couldn't fully reflect the light's attacks.
The blue light passed through the ice without breaking it, and flooded over Toshiro.
The temperature rose rapidly. If the Ice Dragon hadn't protected Toshiro on its own, he would have already lost.
But the ice he kept creating was vanishing even faster as the temperature around him shot up... It was far hotter than thirty-one degrees Celsius.
If he didn't come up with a solution, Toshiro would have to admit defeat.
But just then, the secret move he'd only recently mastered was finally ready.
"Ice Dragon Attraction!"
Beyond the Shakukuro field, the moisture in the sky had already gathered in great quantities. After a few ice crystals provided nuclei for condensation, it gradually formed a storm cloud.
Then, guided by a pillar of ice, a bolt of lightning finally struck down!
And its target was the entire Shakukuro field.
Though Shakukuro's effect didn't vanish when Aoto's Zanpakuto changed forms again, its defensive power was far weaker than when it had a single effect.
So when the lightning bolt struck, the Shakukuro field shattered!
With Shakukuro gone, Blue Oni's light attack spilled outward, naturally unable to keep hitting Toshiro. Toshiro's defenses gained the upper hand again, and they stopped breaking apart so quickly!
Aoto saw Rukia, who had already moved away after Toshiro warned her, and was very impressed by how Toshiro had handled things.
That was his disciple, all right. His teaching hadn't gone to waste!
In that case...
Aoto dispelled the effects of Shakukuro and Blue Oni, then smiled at Toshiro. "Looks like you've gotten a lot stronger, Shiro! You've even mastered Lightning Attraction! I guess I'll have to use a little more of my strength!"
A master couldn't let his disciple beat him. That would be far too embarrassing!
As he spoke, Aoto swiftly carved a deep line into the ground under Toshiro's more focused gaze.
"Explode, Red Oni!"
At the words of the release incantation, the line glowed like molten rock, then erupted with actual lava.
A one-horned demon with skin the color of red-hot iron crawled out.
Grabbing a stream of lava, Red Oni poured it straight at Toshiro. It had only crawled halfway out, yet it already stood nearly two meters tall.
"Holy crap!"
Toshiro, who hadn't learned his lessons from Aoto, immediately retreated with a shout... The lava pierced straight through his ice barriers, giving him no chance to react.
The lava was around two thousand degrees.
Even without accounting for heat loss, Toshiro would have to use far more ice than the lava's volume just to cool it down completely... That put him at a terrible disadvantage!
Unless he unleashed a powerful attack all at once and froze Red Oni outright!
But Aoto was still watching him like a hawk, leaving Toshiro no chance to build up his strength.
Unless... Toshiro looked at his Ice Dragon.
He could send it to restrain Red Oni, then defeat his master on his own.
Hmm... That didn't seem very reliable!
Maybe he should just admit defeat?
Losing to his master wasn't shameful!
At the same time, in the 13th Division's offices.
The newlyweds Shiba Kaien and Shiba Miyako were dealing with the many problems caused by the expansion of the division's ranks.
Once Kaien learned Bankai, the two of them would naturally become captain and lieutenant!
A bleak tomorrow awaited them.
But just then, Shiba Kaien came across a casualty report.
Two Soul Reapers had been killed by Hollows while carrying out a mission in the World of the Living!
If they'd just been two new recruits, that might have been all right, but one of them was a 15th Seat in the 13th Division.
Since a Seated Officer had been lost, the incident was serious.
But according to the report, there were no signs of a Menos Grande.
"I'll go take a look," Shiba Miyako said earnestly. "You'll need to deal with the limit on your spiritual pressure before you can go to the World of the Living, Kaien!"
"All right!" Shiba Kaien felt his wife had a good point. Shiba Miyako wasn't weak, either, so he had no reason to refuse!
"Miyako, be careful."
"I will... Don't worry!"