Ichiro vs. Urahara!

Aside from getting stronger, two other things happened that semester.

First, Sugou was expelled by the school for harassing a female teacher. According to Ichiro's inside information, he had apparently met a grisly end in Rukongai. The whole affair was rather suspicious, so people gradually stopped bringing it up.

Second, just as Ichiro had predicted, Suzuran Yue skipped a grade not long after joining their class. She was already a fourth-year student this year, and at this rate, she would probably graduate before long.

But, well, that had nothing to do with Ichiro!

"Clang!"

"Way of Destruction No. 31: Shakkaho!"

"Sing, Benihime!"

"Shield of Crimson Haze!"

"Boom!"

In the vast underground space, Ichiro and Urahara faced off with their swords. Yoruichi watched with interest from the sidelines, occasionally tossing a snack into her mouth.

"Hey, hey, isn't using Shikai a little unfair?"

"Clang~" Urahara tapped the stone beside him, then said airily, "If you don't like it, you can use Shikai too. If you don't, then I will!"

"Explode, Benihime!"

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

Suddenly, a barrage of shockwaves shot out from the blood-red shield of light before Urahara, raining down on Ichiro.

At that critical moment, Ichiro swiftly sheathed his sword, then held his left hand out in front of him.

"...Way of Binding No. 39: Enkosen!"

As Ichiro's lips moved, a pale blue shield appeared before him, blocking every attack!

Then, without pause—

"...Way of Binding No. 21: Sekienton!"

"...Way of Binding No. 26: Kyokko!"

Ichiro unleashed three Kido spells in rapid succession with High-Speed Incantation, and his figure vanished completely from the battlefield. At the same time, the thick smoke produced by Sekienton obscured Urahara's vision, creating a double distraction!

Urahara glanced around the battlefield, his expression unusually grave. He was on full alert, nothing like the carefree man he had been moments earlier.

He had only ever heard Ichiro explain High-Speed Incantation before, never seen it in action. He had thought it sounded impressive, but hadn't truly grasped what it could do. Now that he had seen it with his own eyes, he realized he had still vastly underestimated this Kido technique!

In just over three seconds, Ichiro had fully chanted three Kido spells in succession. With a little more Reishi, he could completely overwhelm an opponent with firepower!

Fortunately, Ichiro's Reishi wasn't particularly strong, and the fight just now had already drained some of it. In other words, he could only choose to...

Ichiro moved constantly through the smoke with Shunpo. The Reishi Alchemy in his sleeve glimmered faintly, helping him leave behind Kido spells while gathering and converting the Reishi in the air to restore as much of his own Reishi as possible!

Urahara will definitely assume my Reishi is running low and expect me to fight at close range. So he'll probably switch his sword to... Which means...

"...Way of Destruction No. 31: Shakkaho!"

"Awaken, Benihime!"

"What!?"

Urahara stared in surprise at the fireballs flying toward him, his pupils contracting. He couldn't understand how Ichiro had replenished his Reishi, but the situation was already set. He could only figure out a way to deal with it.

Urahara had studied Zanpakuto extensively, and Ichiro's influence had helped him develop most of the Shikai forms seen in the original story.

"Sing, Benihime" specialized in manipulating the red Reishi extending from the blade, making it highly versatile.

"Awaken, Benihime" specialized in slashing, thrusting, and other close-combat techniques, with powerful damage at short range.

"Boom!"

However, it was better suited to offense than defense. After cutting apart one Shakkaho, Urahara had to flee in a panic, dodging the several more Ichiro fired after him.

"Sing, Benihime!"

Of course, Urahara didn't waste time while fleeing. He took the opportunity to change his Zanpakuto's form, then tossed several pills into his mouth before turning to face the Shakkaho behind him!

"Bang!!!"

To Ichiro's surprise, Urahara thrust his sword several times in an instant at the incoming Shakkaho. Every fireball he struck dissolved into Reishi!

Tsubaki Benihime could cancel out an opponent's technique by constructing a move with the same Reishi composition and properties. It was similar to the Kido technique of countering one spell with another, but much faster when done with a Zanpakuto.

Of course, no matter how fast it was, it couldn't possibly be this fast. Even Urahara from later in the original story couldn't do it.

That was because of the pills he had just swallowed. They were a heavily weakened version of Kurotsuchi Mayuri's Superhuman Drug from the original story. The Superhuman Drug infinitely enhanced the speed at which your nerves responded, making you as powerful as a superhuman!

However!

It didn't strengthen the body!

So the brains of anyone who took the Superhuman Drug would keep processing all kinds of information until their bodies lost control.

Ichiro and the others had done the opposite: they kept the effect within the limits of what the body could safely handle, maximizing its benefits. It had looked like only a few seconds, but to Urahara, who had taken a Kyoshin Pill, a full minute had passed. That was enough time for him to analyze the Reishi composition of Shakkaho.

After Ichiro fired several more Shakkaho that Urahara countered in the same way, he understood: Urahara had taken a drug. Kido had become useless. Not only did his numbered spells fail, but Urahara had also spotted and dispelled the Kido incantations Ichiro had laid on the ground as he dodged around.

Still, Ichiro had no intention of closing in for a melee fight. The effects of Sekienton and Kyokko hadn't worn off yet, so he planned to keep moving and recover some Reishi.

Urahara, however, had no intention of giving Ichiro time to recover. He plunged Benihime into the ground and called out, "Bind, Benihime!"

In an instant, bands of black-red Reishi gathered into a net, spreading out from Urahara to enclose the entire battlefield!

Faced with such an enormous area-of-effect attack, Ichiro had no way to escape. Like a spider sensing its prey caught in a web, Urahara's lips curled into a smile. He lightly turned his blade and chanted, "Play with Fire, Benihime: Bead String!"

"Dudududu~"

Instantly, bead after bead, black-red on the outside and burning with flames within, shot toward Ichiro, extending toward him as they appeared one after another!

Damn it!

Watching the beads slowly grow brighter, Ichiro's pupils contracted. The Transmutation Circle in his sleeve lit up, and at that critical moment, a white current of electricity swept through his body!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!!!"

A succession of explosions echoed through the vast space, and the scattered smoke gave way to a haze of dust.

Through the dust, Urahara smiled as he pulled Benihime from the ground. "After all those rounds, I finally got you to use that move..."

As the dust settled, Ichiro, bare-chested, tapped his pitch-black skin and smiled at Urahara without saying a word.

The fight had only just begun!

Thanks to Reader Ren for the tip and monthly tickets. Thanks for the support!

One money-losing detail about this novel: Kido incantations will only appear once unless necessary. After that, they'll be replaced by ellipses. High-Speed Incantation uses the incantation without punctuation; if the original doesn't include one, it'll be gibberish. As for asking me to write them... forget it. The Kaido incantations are enough of a hassle. Oh, and the gibberish will continue until the novel goes premium. After that, it'll only appear the first time.