Ranged Combat Is My Talent, but Melee Is My Passion / Turning into a Cat Is a Shihōin Family Tradition

That necklace ended up in Shunshun Shidō's hands.

Chapter 256: Ranged combat is my talent, but melee is also my hobby.

"When...?" Apollo's face darkened. He never expected the other party to reach out so quickly, snatching his necklace before he even noticed.

"Here you go!" Shunshun Shidō waved his hand lightly, returning the necklace to Apollo. "I've already seen your weakness. You Quincy all use bows and arrows, but you become helpless when someone gets close! What a coincidence, I'm best suited for close combat!"

Hearing Shunshun Shidō's words, Apollo's expression remained unchanged. He put the necklace back around his neck and was just about to fire from a distance when Shunshun Shidō appeared in front of him like a ghost and thrust his elbow toward his throat.

Apollo reacted quickly, hastily using his Hirenkyaku to dodge Shunshun Shidō's attack.

But Quincy are ultimately beings made of matter, and no matter how fast the Hirenkyaku is, it can't outrun the Flash Step.

Shunshun Shidō appeared before Apollo like a ghost and punched Apollo in the face.

But the next second, Shunshun Shidō's expression also became quite interesting, because Apollo actually stretched out one hand and easily caught Shunshun Shidō's fist.

"Do you have some misunderstanding about Quincy?" Apollo said calmly, "Rapid ranged combat is our talent, but melee combat is my personal hobby! Since you're good at melee combat, then I'll play melee combat with you!"

Apollo suddenly turned around, his entire shoulder rotating as if it were a mountain.

Iron Mountain Lean!

Caught off guard, Shunshun Shidō was sent flying, crashing through a building before finally coming to a stop.

"Cough cough cough! Are you kidding me? A Westerner comes to Japan in the Far East to cause trouble, but uses China martial arts?" Shunshun Shidō pressed his hand to his chest; he had almost coughed up blood from the impact.

Apollo stomped his foot hard on the ground and charged at Shunshun Shidō like a tiger.

Shunshun Shidō hates enemies who use flashy abilities the most. As long as the opponent uses conventional attack methods, no matter how strong they are Shunshun Shidō has never been afraid.

Of course, the Zanka no Tachi is a nuclear weapon, not a conventional attack method.

The two were truly evenly matched, like two equally talented generals facing off.

The towering white jade pillar encountered the sea-stretching purple-gold beam.

The speed of their attacks and defenses was so fast that the Shinigami and Quincy fighting all around were dazzled, and if they weren't careful, they would be caught in the storm of punches and kicks.

"Ora ora ora ora ora!"

"Wood big wood big wood big wood big wood big!"

His fists were like lightning, his feet like a storm.

Shunshun Shidō's eyes widened in surprise. This Quincy had actually managed to block all of her attacks—was this really a human body?

The human body is made up of atoms, while the body of Death is made up of Reishi.

In terms of the overall tone of this world, a body composed of Reishi is clearly on a higher level, because people in the ordinary material world cannot see the Grim Reaper; only when a person's spiritual power reaches a certain concentration can they see the Grim Reaper and Hollows.

That's why Shinigami and Hollows are physically stronger than ordinary humans, but now, this human is actually fighting to a standstill with him using only ordinary fists and feet.

Apollo laughed heartily. The Quincy's fighting style was far too elegant, not befitting his type of burly man.

In order to achieve a suppressive effect, he has activated the Blut Arterie ability, which greatly increases his speed and attack.

Even so, she could only manage a draw against Shunshun Shidō in her normal state.

"Is this the strength of a Death God Captain-level? Amazing!" Apollo laughed loudly, maximizing the power of his Blut Arterie and exchanging a punch with Shunshun Shidō.

The two's powerful Reiatsu shattered the surrounding buildings!

"You are the first truly evenly matched enemy I have ever encountered! You deserve my respect!" Apollo said in a high-pitched voice.

"But you haven't made me use my full strength! You're not worthy of my respect!" Suddenly, a bright light shone from Shunshun Shidō's arm, Shunkō...

Shunkō can instantly increase the power of punches and kicks by dozens of times. Even though Apollo is powerful, he cannot resist the Shunkō, which has been enhanced dozens of times. He was blasted away and crashed through a bunch of buildings.

As fate would have it, he landed right next to that group of huddled, trembling Great Sage.

These Sage had completely lost their former arrogance; they only hoped that the Captain of the Gotei 13 would quickly wipe out the enemy.

"Help! The enemy is coming this way! Help!"

These old fogies screamed in terror when they saw the enemy charging towards them, forgetting who had just said they didn't need the Gotei 13 to protect them.

Shunshun Shidō stood quietly watching this scene from a distance, making no move to stop it. Yamabuki Chidori had already made it very clear that the Central 46 were meant to be used as bait. As soon as Apollo attacked these useless Old Man, Shunshun Shidō would immediately launch a surprise attack.

On the battlefield, life and death hang in the balance. A sneak attack is necessary, a trick is necessary; where is there room for so much morality and righteousness?

Who would fight you to the death on the battlefield?

But after Apollo rose from the ruins, he didn't even glance at those useless Old Man, completely ignoring them. Now, Apollo only had one person left in his eyes: Shunshun Shidō.

"It seems I am indeed no match for you in terms of martial arts. But then again, it's only natural that a human being would be at a disadvantage in a head-on clash with Death." Apollo said cheerfully, but then his gaze turned very serious. "Do you know why my name is Apollo?"

"Do you like to eat pineapple?" Shunshun Shidō asked.

Apollo's face fell. How could the Japan of this era possibly know about Ancient Greece mythology?

"In the mythology of a certain civilization, Apollo is the name of the sun god, also known as the god of light. I only changed my name to this after His Majesty bestowed upon me these abilities!" Apollo said with a hint of pride.

Shunshun Shidō stared intently at Apollo. He had learned from Yamabuki Chidori Kichijou that each Sternritter was granted a special superpower, some of which were quite troublesome!

Just like that Self-Harm M, Justin.

It can transfer the damage from self-harm to a designated target.

If he hadn't died in Hueco Mundo long ago, who knows how many Shinigami would have suffered.

"I can control the scorching sunlight! In this world, the sun is the most perfect being! All life grows because of the sun! And I am the man who can control the sunlight!" Apollo raised his hands high, embracing the sun in the sky, and then his body emitted a brilliant golden light.

"I am the sun's choice!"

"Sun, melt him! Heavenly Sun Wave!!!"

Chapter 257: Transforming into a Cat is a Tradition of the Shihōin Clan

Golden light, capable of melting everything, erupted instantly from Apollo's hands. Shunshun Shidō moved swiftly, dodging the terrifying sunlight attack in the blink of an eye.

The buildings touched by the golden light melted instantly.

"Do you see that? This is the power that the sun god has bestowed upon me!" Apollo said with great joy.

Shunshun Shidō muttered under her breath, "I understand your gratitude towards the sun, but why did you give your technique such a chuunibyou name? Heavenly Sun Wave? Just reading it out loud is incredibly embarrassing! How did you manage to shout that name so openly?"

Despite the criticism, this move is undeniably powerful!

Several Grim Reapers who couldn't dodge in time were instantly burned to ashes by this attack, leaving not even bones behind.

"However, in the end, this is just a ranged attack! It doesn't change the fact that I have the advantage." Shunshun Shidō moved swiftly, constantly dodging the bombardment of the golden sunlight. This was practically a super-large-scale AOE bombardment skill. Sending you to be an assassin was a waste of your talent.

Suddenly, Shunshun Shidō accidentally stepped on the corpse of one of his companions, slowing his movements by a fraction of an inch.

"Now! Heavenly Sun Wave!" Apollo spread his arms, and golden light instantly pierced through Shunshun Shidō's chest, causing Shunshun Shidō to instantly turn to ashes due to the extremely high temperature.

Seeing that his formidable enemy had been slain, Apollo removed his hat from his head and bowed slightly in the direction where Shunshun Shidō had died. "You were a worthy opponent, and I will remember you forever."

"It's not a good thing to be remembered by you!" Shunshun Shidō's very unbeatable voice sounded from the side. Apollo hurriedly turned around, a trace of panic flashed in his eyes. He was very confident in his own ability. How could he still be alive after being hit by his ability in the front?

As soon as he turned around, he was punched hard in the face and flew dozens of meters away!

Shunshun Shidō stood there smiling, watching him. He had just used the Empty Zen Footwork to create afterimages in place, which fooled Apollo's eyes and created the opportunity for this sneak attack.

At the critical moment, Apollo activated his Blut Vene, greatly increasing his defense. Although the punch broke his nose and blood gushed out uncontrollably, he was generally not seriously injured.

"A fabricated illusion? I underestimated you!" Apollo covered his nose, panting heavily.

"Your ability to control sunlight is indeed very powerful, I admit that, but ultimately, it's just a ranged ability. If that's your trump card, you're doomed," said Shunshun Shidō with a chuckle.

Apollo's eyes turned terrifying as he wiped the blood from his nose with his sleeve. "If that's really what you think, come here, and I'll show you my true power!"

With a light tap of his feet, Shunshun Shidō's body moved with lightning speed, delivering a punch straight at Apollo. He had already used Shunkō to deliver this punch, and judging from Apollo's previous performance, he absolutely could not withstand it.

However, Apollo began to emit golden light all over his body, and then all the golden light condensed on his wrist, and he threw a merciless punch at Shunshun Shidō.

Although the four fists of Kaede Sennatsu were enveloped by the Reiatsu of the Kidō, they still felt an unbearable the Heat coming from their arms. They hurriedly stepped back, looked down at their fists, and found that the backs of their hands were already blistered from the heat.

"To concentrate excess power into a single point in an instant... What terrifying control!" Shunshun Shidō hadn't expected the opponent's reaction speed to be so fast.

"What abilities one acquires is a matter of fate. But I believe that whatever ability it is, as long as one persists in training and developing it, it will definitely become a powerful force. Shinigami, you are far too arrogant; your arrogance will be your downfall." Apollo said, "I know you Shinigami possess the power of Zanpakuto. Aren't you going to unleash your own Zanpakuto? Wouldn't that increase your strength?"

Shunshun Shidō's expression froze instantly.

He certainly possessed Zanpakuto, and had already mastered Bankai.

But unless absolutely necessary, he really didn't want to use his Zanpakuto ability; if others saw him, they would laugh their heads off.

"Death, now you know how vast the difference in strength between us is, don't you? Use all your power! Don't die with regrets!" Apollo seemed to have truly transformed into the sun god, looking down on everyone.

"There's really no other way, I have to use such a shameful ability." Shunshun Shidō said with a helpless expression, drawing a short sword from her waist.

Apollo watched Shunshun Shidō.

A Shinigami who has unleashed their Zanpakuto Zanpakuto on a completely different level from one who hasn't.

Shunshun Shidō tapped her toes and took off her shoes.

"Stop sleeping in, Stray Cat!" Shunshun Shidō whispered, and the sword in his hand turned into a wisp of dust and entered his body.

The next second, Shunshun Shidō's body underwent a tremendous change.

Downy hairs grew on the back of his hands, making them incredibly cute, and his fingers transformed into sharp claws.

The paws have even been transformed into a cat's hind paws.

Most importantly, he actually grew a pair of cat ears on the top of his head!!!

This is so cute!

We've found a cat, folks!

Apollo hadn't expected that Shunshun Shidō's transformation after releasing his Zanpakuto after 12 days would be so drastic; he had actually turned from a human into a strange creature that was half-human and half-cat.

The key thing is that those ears can move!

Can I call a temporary ceasefire and go over there to get some massage?

Apollo really loves kittens!

Unfortunately, because I've lived in Hueco Mundo for a long time, I haven't had the chance to keep a cat.

So when he saw Shunshun Shidō transformed into a giant cat, he burst out laughing.

"Don't laugh!!!!" The usually calm and collected Shunshun Shidō suddenly exploded.

The reason he doesn't use his Zanpakuto's abilities in front of his companions is precisely this.

If the other Captain saw this, they would absolutely laugh themselves to death!

Moreover, the Bankai ability is even more outrageous.

"I'll show you!" Shunshun Shidō vanished from his spot in an instant, and Apollo could no longer laugh, because he realized that the other party's speed had surpassed his sensory perception.

"Behind me?" Apollo turned around hastily, but missed Shunshun Shidō charged from the side at an extremely tricky angle, her sharp cat claws piercing Apollo's ribs like daggers.

Apollo swore he would never say cats were cute again!

That's terrifying!

Chapter 258: Who doesn't love cats?

Thanks to Apollo's ability to instantly activate Blut Vene, the claw attack caused him to bleed considerably, but he did not die from it.

The only option is to use the Flying Crane Legs to quickly retreat.

Just as Shunshun Shidō was preparing to give chase, he suddenly found his cat ears being rubbed by a pair of hands.

Shunshun Shidō turned around speechlessly and found Katoru Hatsunoya rubbing his ear with a serious expression.

"These ears are actually real! That's amazing! No wonder you've never used your Zanpakuto's abilities in front of us. Of course, actually, I don't really like cats." Although Katoru Hatsunoya refused verbally, his hands were anything but still, rubbing Shunshun Shidō's cat ears nonstop.

"That's enough! There's still a war going on, don't you have your own enemies too? Get back to the battlefield right now!" Shunshun Shidō was so angry she was about to explode.

Katoru Hatsunoya's enemy was a chubby-looking little girl who raised her hand and asked, "Can I rub your ears later? They look so cute! Don't worry, I won't hurt you."

What kind of outrageous talk is this? We're enemies now, don't you have any self-awareness?

Are girls' thought processes really this bizarre?

Apollo coughed twice. "Laila, we're enemies now. I'll capture him alive after I defeat this enemy, and then you can rub his ears however you want."