Body Transmutation—Full Body Spirit Iron Transmutation!
This was an advanced form of Body Transmutation that Ichiro had developed by combining his knowledge of the Soul Society with what he knew from his previous life!
In his previous life, Ichiro could only transmute parts of his body into iron. If too much of his body became iron, the excessive weight would interfere with its natural functions. His enemies wouldn't even have to do anything—he'd be dead on his own.
Second, the human body didn't contain that much iron, so he had to bring his own. He also had to replace some of his flesh, which meant that if he replaced too much, he'd end up dead all the same.
On top of that, the side effects were severe. After a battle, he had to spend a great deal of time restoring his body. If he kept that up for long, he'd be dead again.
So in his previous life, Ichiro only used this technique at critical moments. Most of the time, his marksmanship was enough to deal with the majority of his enemies. After all, not many people could evade an assassination by gun.
But things were different now. The Spirit Iron he used for the transmutation was a high-strength biomimetic material he'd developed himself. It was hard enough, and even replacing his entire body with it wouldn't interfere with his bodily functions.
The only catch was that he couldn't keep it up for too long.
"Awaken, Benihime..."
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
"Clang!"
After a brief exchange came Urahara's flurry of slashes and thrusts, like a raging storm!
"Clangclangclangclang!!!"
Yet just like the sound suggested, Urahara's attacks couldn't pierce Ichiro's armor! This Spirit Iron was custom-made by Ichiro. Why would he use it if it weren't strong enough?
Ichiro grinned and, weathering Urahara's attacks, threw a brute-force punch!
"Boom!"
Unfortunately, there were pros and cons. His Spirit Iron Transformation still wasn't perfect. Though it greatly increased his defense, it inevitably added to his weight, slowing him down. Unless he used Absolute Reason to unleash his muscles' full strength.
But Ichiro had other ways to make up for it. As Urahara watched in puzzlement, Ichiro began throwing punches on the spot.
"Did his... brain turn to iron too?"
"Whoosh!"
Urahara's pupils narrowed. Ichiro, who had been punching from a distance just moments ago, suddenly appeared right in front of him!
"Pfft!"
"Boom!"
Caught off guard, Urahara couldn't react in time. Ichiro sent him flying, slamming him hard into a jutting rock wall!
"Cough, cough... Using Shunpo to make up for the speed disadvantage while making your attacks more deceptive? Just like you, Ichiro! Ptui!" Spitting out the blood in his mouth, Urahara grinned. He vanished from where he stood, dodging Ichiro's follow-up attack.
"Boom!"
"Whoosh!"
"Clang!"
After dodging Ichiro's attack, Urahara took advantage of his brief "recovery" after the strike and used Shunpo to move behind him. Gripping his sword with both hands, he brought it down in a fierce slash!
It still couldn't break through Ichiro's defenses, but the tremendous force sent him crashing into the crater it had made!
Before Ichiro could react, Urahara flashed away, then flashed back in and attacked again. After repeating this six or seven times, Ichiro finally gave up with a helpless look, dispelled his Spirit Iron Transformation, and raised both hands in surrender.
He couldn't even land a hit. What was the point of fighting?
"Whoosh~"
Urahara appeared in front of Ichiro. Holding his sword in one hand, he reached out with the other and pulled him to his feet.
"Full Body Spirit Iron Transformation is too cumbersome. A partial transformation might work better."
"Yeah, but it's difficult. In combat, it would probably cause injuries. I'll look into it more. I know the combat techniques, but... it hurts a bit..."
As he spoke, the tiny Transmutation Circle on his trouser leg glimmered faintly. A current of energy surged, and a fresh school uniform appeared on him.
Seeing that, the dust-covered Urahara's eyes lit up. He looked at Ichiro expectantly, but Ichiro just smiled, pretended not to notice, and turned to leave!
That's what you get for beating me!
Yoruichi, who'd been watching from the sidelines, burst out laughing. She put away her snacks, jumped down to stretch, and got ready for her turn to spar with Urahara.
Urahara had only just recovered his spiritual pressure when Yoruichi dragged him straight into a fight. She'd been itching to join in while watching from the sidelines.
Meanwhile, Ichiro took Yoruichi's place and sat on a stone pillar to watch them fight.
Their fight was different from the one he'd just had with Urahara. Ichiro and Urahara had focused on tactics, using one carefully connected move after another to defeat their opponent, like hunter and prey!
Urahara and Yoruichi's fight leaned more toward technique. Hakuda, swordsmanship, Shunpo, and Kido flowed seamlessly from one to the next, making the sparring match spectacular!
Ichiro watched, completely absorbed. Hand-to-hand combat wasn't his strong suit. Even in his previous life, when he'd kept it as a trump card, that was only because he fought under Absolute Reason. In terms of technique alone, he was decent, but nowhere near exceptional.
After all, a person only had so much energy. He had too many research projects to work on. He could rely on his exceptional comprehension and the various bizarre ideas he'd picked up online in his first life for Kido and the like, but close-combat techniques were another matter. They took time to master.
And time was what Ichiro lacked most...
After watching the two of them fight for a while, Ichiro went off to one side, transmuted two pistols, and began practicing with a steady "bang, bang, bang."
No matter how talented you were, the only way to improve your marksmanship was to put in the rounds. It was also a way for Ichiro to clear his mind. Using a special form of meditation, he poured his negative emotions out with each bullet. After every practice session, he felt as if his spirit had been cleansed, and his thoughts became much clearer. Over time, the benefits added up.
So, once Ichiro had discovered this in his previous life, he'd practiced every single day without fail. Now that he'd made himself a gun again in this life, he naturally picked up the habit once more.
That night, after a full day of practice, Ichiro and Urahara washed up and flopped onto their beds, quietly staring at the ceiling. After a while, Urahara suddenly spoke.
"Ichiro, there's something I want to ask you. You've seen a lot."
"Sure, go ahead."
"So, a few days ago, my cousin told me something." Hearing this familiar setup, Ichiro turned his head and glanced at Urahara in surprise, but didn't interrupt. He let him continue. "He has a childhood friend he's known since they were little. They're together practically every day, and now he's suddenly asking me whether what's between them is love or just friendship."
"Emmm, that's a little complicated. Let's make an assumption first. You! You're the cousin!"
Urahara froze, then reluctantly nodded.
"You grew up together?"
"...Yeah, my cousin and she grew up together."
"You're together most of the time?"
"...Yeah, they're together most of the time."
"Isn't the answer obvious?"
"Really? Then I guess..."
"Of course you're best buddies!"
"Right... Huh? Best buddies?" The answer was not what Urahara had expected. He stared at Ichiro in shock.
"Yeah! You're together every day, so of course you're best buddies. Have you ever seen a couple that spends every single day together?"
"But... but they train together all the time!"
"How could a couple train together all the time? Who'd want the person they like to see them drenched in sweat?"
"Even... even so, when they're apart, they still think about each other, don't they?"
"Sometimes I think about you too, bro. That's normal between friends."
"And..."
This time, before Urahara could finish, Ichiro cut him off with a single sentence, leaving him sunk in deep thought.
"Don't you already have your answer? You—no, wait, your cousin! He doesn't want to be just friends with her..."
"...Is that so..."
"Yeah~"
"Then... what does she think?"
"Ask her yourself. I'm going to sleep."
The next afternoon, when Urahara skipped class again to go work on his experiments, Yoruichi stayed behind for once instead of going with him. After class began, a note was passed to Ichiro's desk.
'Ichiro, can I ask you something? My cousin has a childhood friend she's known since they were little. They're practically glued together every day. She asked me to ask you whether what they have is love.'
"..." Faced with words that sounded all too familiar, Ichiro fell silent. Was making people jealous by showing off couples twice in a row a trend these days?
Thanks to I-Ai Xiaoyuan for the tip!
Thanks to Bookworm Ren for the monthly ticket!
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