Is This Cousin You're Talking About You?

Body Transmutation—Full Body Spirit Iron Transmutation!

This was a higher level of Body Transmutation that Ichiro had developed by combining knowledge from the Soul Society and his previous life.

In his past life, Ichiro could only transmute parts of his body into iron. If the specific gravity became too high, it would first interfere with his body's natural functions; he would end up dead before the enemy even made a move.

Secondly, the human body didn't contain enough iron, so he had to provide it himself. At the same time, he had to displace a portion of his flesh, which meant that if he transmuted too large an area, he would kick the bucket.

Furthermore, the side effects were severe. After a battle, he had to spend a great deal of time recovering his body, and if it took too long, he would kick the bucket again.

Therefore, in his past life, Ichiro only used this technique at critical moments. Under normal circumstances, his marksmanship could resolve most enemies; after all, few people could dodge an assassination by firearm.

However, things were different now. The Spirit Iron Ichiro was currently transmuting was a high-strength bionic material he had researched. It possessed sufficient hardness while allowing for full-body replacement without affecting the body's functional operations.

The prerequisite was that it could not be maintained for too long.

"Awaken, Benihime..."

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

"Clang!"

After a brief exchange, Urahara unleashed a storm of slashes and thrusts!

"Clang, clang, clang, clang!!!"

Yet, just as the sound suggested, Urahara's attacks failed to pierce Ichiro's armor! This Spirit Iron was specially crafted by Ichiro; if the strength wasn't sufficient, why would he have chosen it?

Ichiro grinned, braced himself against Urahara's onslaught, and threw a brutal punch!

"Boom!"

Unfortunately, there were pros and cons. The current Spirit Iron Transmutation wasn't perfect yet. While his defense had increased significantly, his own weight had inevitably increased as well, which caused Ichiro's speed to drop—unless he used Absolute Reason to unlock his muscle power.

But Ichiro had other methods. Under Urahara's puzzled gaze, Ichiro began swinging his fists in place.

Has his brain turned to iron too?

"Whoosh!"

Urahara's pupils constricted as Ichiro, who had been swinging his fists in the distance just a moment ago, instantly appeared before him!

"Pfft!"

"Boom!"

Facing this sudden strike, Urahara couldn't react in time. He was instantly sent flying by Ichiro, slamming heavily into a protruding stone wall!

"Cough, cough... Using Shunpo to mitigate the disadvantage in speed while making your attacks more deceptive? As expected of you, Ichiro! Ptooey!" Spitting out the blood in his mouth, Urahara smirked and vanished from where he stood, dodging Ichiro's follow-up attack.

"Boom!"

"Whoosh!"

"Clang!"

After dodging Ichiro's attack, Urahara took advantage of Ichiro's "post-attack stiffness" to Shunpo behind him, holding his sword with both hands and delivering a fierce downward slash!

Although it still didn't break Ichiro's defense, the immense force sent Ichiro sinking into the large crater he had created!

Before Ichiro could react, Urahara Shunpoed out and then back in again. After repeating this six or seven times, Ichiro sighed in frustration, deactivated the Spirit Iron Transmutation, and raised his hands in surrender.

He couldn't even touch the guy; what was the point of fighting?

"Whoosh~"

Urahara Shunpoed in front of Ichiro, holding his sword in one hand and reaching out with the other to pull Ichiro up.

"Full Body Spirit Iron Transmutation is too cumbersome. Partial might be better."

"Yeah, but the difficulty is higher. Using it in battle basically causes damage. I'll look into it. I'm familiar with the combat methods, but... it hurts a bit..."

As he spoke, a miniature transmutation circle on Ichiro's pant leg glowed faintly. Amidst a surge of electricity, a brand-new school uniform appeared on his body.

Seeing this, the dust-covered Urahara's eyes brightened, and he looked at Ichiro with anticipation. Ichiro smiled, pretended not to notice, turned around, and walked away!

That's what you get for beating me!

Yoruichi, who had been watching the show from the sidelines, let out a "pfft" of laughter. She put away her snacks and jumped to the ground to stretch her body; next, it was her turn to spar with Urahara.

Urahara's Reiatsu had only just recovered before Yoruichi forcibly dragged him into battle; she had been itching for a fight while watching from the side.

On the other side, Ichiro took Yoruichi's place, sitting on a stone pillar to watch their duel.

Their battle was quite different from the previous one. The fight between Ichiro and Urahara leaned toward tactics—defeating the opponent through interlocking layouts, like a hunter and prey!

The battle between Urahara and Yoruichi leaned more toward technical skill. Hakuda, swordsmanship, Shunpo, and Kido were used in fluid alternation, making the entire duel incredibly spectacular!

Ichiro watched with intense focus. Close-quarters combat wasn't his strong suit. Even if he had used it as a trump card in his past life, that was built upon the state of Absolute Reason. In terms of pure technique, he could only say he was decent, far from excellent.

After all, a person only had so much energy. He had too many research projects to handle. He could rely on his excellent comprehension and the chaotic, clever ideas he'd seen online in his first life for things like Kido, but he was helpless when it came to melee techniques; that required an investment of time.

And time was the one thing Ichiro lacked most...

After watching their fight for a while, Ichiro walked to the side, transmuted two pistols, and began practicing his shooting with a rhythmic "bang, bang, bang."

Regardless of talent, the only way to improve marksmanship is to pile up the rounds. For Ichiro, this was also a way to empty his mind; through a special form of meditation, he would pour his negative emotions out with every bullet fired. Each time he finished training, his spirit felt as if it had been baptized, and his thoughts would become much clearer. Over time, the benefits were far from insignificant.

Therefore, when Ichiro discovered this in his past life, he practiced shooting every single day without fail. After forging his gun again in this life, he naturally picked the habit back up.

That evening, after a full day of training, Ichiro and Urahara washed up and collapsed onto their beds, staring silently at the ceiling. After a while, Urahara suddenly spoke up.

"Ichiro, I have a question for you. You're quite knowledgeable about these things."

"Mm, go ahead."

"Well, a few days ago, my cousin told me something." Hearing this familiar script, Ichiro turned his head in surprise to look at Urahara, but he didn't interrupt, letting him continue. "He has a childhood friend he's known since they were little, and they're basically together every day. Now he's suddenly asking me: is it love between them, or just simple friendship?"

"Hmm, that's a bit complicated. Let's make an assumption: you! You are the cousin!"

Urahara choked, then nodded with difficulty.

"You grew up together?"

"...Yeah, my cousin and she grew up playing together."

"You're basically always together?"

"...Yeah, they're basically always together."

"Does that even need asking?"

"Is that so? Then as I thought..."

"It's definitely just bros!"

"As I thought... Huh? Bros?" The answer was somewhat unexpected, and Urahara stared at Ichiro in astonishment.

"Yeah, always together? That's definitely just bros. Have you ever seen a couple that spends every single day together?"

"But... but... they also train together all the time!"

"How could a couple train together all the time? Who wants to let the person they like see them covered in sweat and smelling like that?"

"Even if... even if that's true, what about when they aren't together? They're always thinking about each other, right?"

"I think about you sometimes too. Between brothers, that's normal."

"And there's also..."

This time, before Urahara could finish, Ichiro cut him off with a single sentence, leaving him in deep contemplation.

"Don't you already have the answer? You—oh, wait, your cousin!—doesn't want to just be friends with her..."

"...Is that so..."

"That's right~"

"Then... what would she think?"

"Ask her yourself. I'm sleeping."

The next afternoon, when Urahara skipped class again to conduct experiments, Yoruichi uncharacteristically didn't follow him, choosing to stay behind instead. After class started, a note was passed onto Ichiro's desk.

'Ichiro, let me ask you something. My cousin has a childhood friend she's known since they were little, and they're basically inseparable every day. She asked me to ask you: does this count as love?'

"..." Looking at the eerily familiar words, Ichiro fell into a heavy silence. Is it the trend these days to kill the single dogs twice?

Thanks to Wo Ai Xiao Yuan Zi for the tip!

Thanks to Kan Shu De Ren for the monthly ticket!