In the Soul Society, Just Looking to Coast into Retirement

Tricks were still just tricks. Reiatsu was everything.

The next second, Baraggan vanished and appeared directly in front of Yamabuki Chidori. His massive axe came crashing down. Yamabuki Chidori alternated between Flash Step, Flying Crane Legs, and Sound Steps, but all three abilities ultimately depended on his own Reiatsu. The stronger his Reiatsu, the faster his Flash Step and Sound Steps.

Suddenly, Yamabuki Chidori's shoulder sank. Baraggan's Sound Steps had slipped past his sensory nerves, and he grabbed Yamabuki Chidori by the shoulder.

"Brat, the game is over!" Baraggan squeezed with his huge hand, instantly cracking the bones in Yamabuki Chidori's shoulder. Yamabuki Chidori swung his blade backhandedly to force Baraggan away, then hurriedly used Kido to repair his damaged body.

Through his research into Kido, Yamabuki Chidori had also discovered its weakness. Recovery required time. Even the most advanced Kido could not change that. If the injured person's life ebbed away faster than they could be healed, Kido would be useless.

Just like in the Thousand-Year Blood War, when Retsu Unohana's Kido could not save the heavily injured Byakuya, Rukia, and Renji.

Still, repairing his shoulder now was not much of a problem.

"Brat, are you still going to struggle? I'll give you a chance. Kneel at my feet and call me king. If I'm in a good mood, I might spare your life!" Baraggan believed victory was already in his grasp. Yamabuki Chidori might have many tricks, but his Reiatsu itself was insufficient. He could not pose much of a threat.

It was like a level-four mage who had learned every skill still barely scratching a level-fifteen tank fighter in full divine gear.

This was not a matter of technique. The gap in their base attributes was simply too vast.

As Yamabuki Chidori repaired his shoulder, he stared coldly at Baraggan. The Reiatsu inside him had already reached a limit. If he took just half a step further, he could completely break into captain-class. At that point, even if he could not defeat Baraggan, he would at least have room to maneuver.

But would Baraggan give him that chance?

"Just looking at your eyes tells me you're unwilling. This old man isn't some demon, so I'll give you a quick death!" Baraggan raised his massive axe, used Sound Steps to appear behind Yamabuki Chidori in an instant, and chopped down at him.

At that moment of certain death, the Reiatsu gathering within Yamabuki Chidori finally broke past its limit!

"Fuck you! I finally have captain-class Reiatsu! Die!"

Perfect Sanctification

The world was silver-white.

Yamabuki Chidori looked utterly bewildered. What was going on? Wasn't he just fighting the King of Despair in Las Noches? How had he ended up in this damn place in the blink of an eye? Had the King of Despair beaten him to death? He was still so young! He did not want to die yet! He was clearly the Child of Destiny!

"Idiot! You're not dead yet. I dragged you in here!"

A very pleasant girl's voice came from above him. Yamabuki Chidori looked up and saw his Blade Spirit sitting atop that giant Rubik's Cube, glaring down at him.

That scared the hell out of me! So she dragged me into the Inner World. I thought I was already dead!

"Long time no see! Your skirt is still just as short. Aren't you afraid of flashing someone?" Yamabuki Chidori said in an extremely punchable tone, lowering his head as he spoke to peek into the absolute territory.

The Blade Spirit kicked him right in the face!

That familiar feeling!

Not bad, not bad!

"You're about to get beaten to death, and you're still in the mood to joke around? How about I let you out right now and see if you can block one axe strike from the King of Despair!" the Blade Spirit said with a haughty look.

Yamabuki Chidori grinned. "I knew you'd have a way. Is it another transformation where you fight for me, like last time?"

"Fight for you, my ass! The timing is about right now. Your Reiatsu has barely reached captain-class, so it's time I told you my true name." The Blade Spirit wore a haughty expression. "It's not because I'm worried about you or anything!"

"I get it, I get it."

"But before that, you still need to undergo a little test. If something comes too easily, you won't cherish it. Aren't men exactly that kind of creature?" The Blade Spirit looked proud.

Sure enough, it was time for the beloved segment where he fought himself again!

"Since you put it that way... sneak attack!" Yamabuki Chidori used Sound Steps to appear directly behind the Blade Spirit, but she seemed to have eyes in the back of her head and effortlessly blocked his ambush.

"I know everything you know. Little tricks are useless! Come fight me head-on and conquer me with your own strength." The Blade Spirit looked haughty.

"By the way, what if I lose?" Yamabuki Chidori asked.

A strange expression appeared on the Blade Spirit's delicate face. "If you lose, you and I will switch places. King and horse—aren't they worlds apart?"

A sense of danger surged through him!

A voice in Yamabuki Chidori's heart told him the Blade Spirit was not lying. If he lost this battle, his body might truly be taken from him.

The external threat had yet to be resolved, and now internal trouble had arrived too!

"Come! I've waited a long time for this day. This battle will determine which of us takes the dominant position." The smile on the Blade Spirit's face shifted from haughty to crazed. Silver Reiatsu erupted, and a terrifying pressure crashed toward him!

Yamabuki Chidori took a deep breath, cast aside every distracting thought, and silently watched the girl before him.

The hardest enemy in the world to defeat was oneself.

It seemed there was no avoiding this time!

"Flash Blossom!"

"Flash Blossom!"

They both activated Flash Step at the same time and used identical dual-blade techniques. A tremendous boom rang out in the silver-white space, and Yamabuki Chidori discovered that he was actually weaker than a girl in raw strength!

"Way of Destruction #88, Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō!" Yamabuki Chidori unleashed his most frequently used Kido with a backhanded swing.

"Bakudo #81, Splitting Void!" The Blade Spirit calmly responded with Kido.

Their Reiatsu collided!

As their battle intensified, the surrounding space changed from silver-white to blood-red!

"Cero!" Yamabuki Chidori gathered a silver Cero at his fingertip and fired it in an instant!

"Holy Spirit Arrow!" The Blade Spirit directly used a Quincy ability.

"That's not right! Aren't you the Blade Spirit of a Zanpakuto? In theory, you should only be able to use abilities corresponding to a Zanpakuto. Why can you use Quincy powers? That makes no sense!" Yamabuki Chidori exclaimed in shock.

"When did I ever say I could only use the powers of a Soul Reaper?" The Blade Spirit giggled and lightly wiped her face with one small hand. A Hollow mask appeared over her face.

Hollowfication!

In an instant, her Reiatsu, speed, and destructive power all received a complete boost!

Yamabuki Chidori Flash Stepped into the air, raised his hand, created five Spirit Bows, and fired them all at once!

The Blade Spirit extended her left hand and gathered a Cero.

But her Cero was not silver-white. It was half red and half white, two completely different kinds of Reiatsu twisting and intertwining together to form an extremely bizarre, chaotic power!

"Cero!"

The twisted red-and-white Cero instantly engulfed half the space, blasting all five Spirit Bows to pieces!

"What the hell! Your Reiatsu should be the same as mine, so why can't I use your skills?" Yamabuki Chidori shouted.

Theoretically, they had learned exactly the same skills, yet the other side clearly knew things he did not!

That was impossible!

It was like two Yasuos facing each other, and one of them suddenly cast Demacian Justice! That was absurd!

"What nonsense are you talking about? Those are all your abilities! You just haven't realized it yet! If you don't have any more trump cards, then sorry! This body is mine now!" The Blade Spirit gave a wicked smile.

"Fuck off!" Yamabuki Chidori's body rapidly absorbed spirit particles.

If the Blade Spirit could Hollowfy, then he should be able to do it too, right?

He lightly wiped his own face, and a white bone mask slowly appeared over it.

At the same time, the Reiatsu within him became violent and frenzied.

But if he wanted to defeat the girl before him, he had to develop a new ability on the spot!

The Blade Spirit did not seem eager to end the battle. Instead, she watched from the side with great interest.

"Since I've gained Quincy power, that means I should be able to reach that form too, right?" Yamabuki Chidori's face beneath the mask twisted with madness. Hollowfication affected not only his Reiatsu, but his personality as well!

He spread his arms and wildly devoured spirit particles.

Previously, there had been a limit to how many spirit particles he could absorb. He could not exceed the total amount of his Reiatsu.

But what if... the limit of spirit particles he absorbed far surpassed his Reiatsu?

A small guess arose in Yamabuki Chidori's mind.

This was his own Inner World anyway. No matter how recklessly he messed around, he would not die! At worst, his body would be taken away, and he could think of a way to take it back later!

The Blade Spirit's delicate brows furrowed slightly, but she soon guessed what Yamabuki Chidori intended to do. Not only did she not stop him, she watched with even greater interest!

An enormous amount of spirit particles gathered. Yamabuki Chidori felt as though his body was about to burst apart, yet he did not stop. Instead, he continued absorbing spirit particles madly.

Finally!

His body seemed unable to bear it any longer. Two horrifying wounds split open across his shoulder blades, but what erupted from them was not blood, but two wings of light!

At that instant, Yamabuki Chidori seemed to transcend himself!

His Reiatsu, strength, reactions, and control over spirit particles all reached an entirely new height!

"I finally unlocked a new form!" Yamabuki Chidori tightly gripped the blade in his hand. "Let's give this new form a name. How about... Perfect Sanctification."

Reverse, Silver Radiant Angel!

At this moment, Yamabuki Chidori's perception of the world reached an unprecedented height!

"Hahaha! Interesting!" the Blade Spirit laughed wildly.

The next second, Yamabuki Chidori's speed directly broke past her detection limit. He grabbed her by the head and viciously slammed her into the ground, dragging her along it!

The Blade Spirit's calf snapped up and kicked Yamabuki Chidori in the lower abdomen. She then flipped backward to her feet and gathered a Cero in her left hand!

That bizarre red-and-blue light gathered again, but before she could fire it, Yamabuki Chidori grabbed her hand. Their fingers interlocked, and the Cero's light instantly dissipated!

Under the effects of Hollowfication, Yamabuki Chidori had completely lost any inclination to be gentle with women. Besides, his strength now surpassed hers. Still gripping the Blade Spirit's hand, he flung her up and smashed her into the ground like a sledgehammer!

"Cough, cough!"

And he did not forget to follow up!

The Zanpakuto in his hand came crashing directly down toward the Blade Spirit's forehead!

The Blade Spirit hurriedly raised her own Zanpakuto to block. The enormous force drove her straight into the ground!

When strength and speed reached their limits, all technique became meaningless!

Yamabuki Chidori's blade came down like a raging storm, every strike carrying terrifying force. The Blade Spirit was like a flower constantly battered by a tempest. The wounds on her body multiplied until she was finally kicked in the stomach and sent flying dozens of meters away!

"You really are reckless!" The Blade Spirit raised a hand and wiped the blood from her face. That trace of blood did not diminish her beauty in the slightest. Instead, it made her look even more bewitching. But before she could finish speaking, Yamabuki Chidori charged at her again!

"Holy Spirit Arrow!" Realizing she could not beat him in close combat, the Blade Spirit immediately switched to long range.

But when the spirit particle arrows flew toward him, the two wings of light behind Yamabuki Chidori absorbed them directly.

"Looks like my control over spirit particles is superior now!" Yamabuki Chidori lightly waved his hand, and dozens of Spirit Bows appeared in midair, firing simultaneously.

The Blade Spirit was shot into frantic leaps and dodges, like a rabbit being hunted!

Yamabuki Chidori once again appeared before the Blade Spirit at an undetectable speed. His Zanpakuto slashed down fiercely. Their blades met, and the Blade Spirit was blasted far away. Yet before she could land, a large hand had already seized her slender neck!

"Isn't it time you told me your name?"

The Blade Spirit's face turned pale under his grip, but she still laughed. "How ironic. You call yourself a Soul Reaper, yet the first power you awakened was Quincy power. Hahaha, I really wonder what your colleagues would think if they saw you like this?"

"Your name!!!" Yamabuki Chidori tightened his grip, making it even harder for the Blade Spirit to breathe.

"Hahahaha! You really do like me. Even now, you still haven't forgotten to ask my name. Since you want to know so badly, I'll tell you! But don't you dare regret it!" The Blade Spirit suddenly swung her sword at the arm Yamabuki Chidori was using to hold her neck, forcing him to retreat instantly.

Using her sword as support, the Blade Spirit rose shakily to her feet.

"You really do look like a good man this way! Not bad, I'm very satisfied! In that case, there's no harm in telling you my name!" The Blade Spirit held her Zanpakuto before herself and softly spoke her Shikai command. "Reverse, Silver Radiant Angel!"

The Blade Spirit's Zanpakuto was released into a silver-gray Saber. In that instant, the Reiatsu around her underwent an earth-shaking change!

Slowly raising the Saber, she said with a lovesick expression, "Do you remember that slash? Open your eyes wide and watch carefully. You must dodge it! Otherwise, if your head falls off, I won't help you put it back on!"

The blade fell!

Yamabuki Chidori dodged at the fastest speed of his life!

Crack!

Even so, one of the wings of light behind him was cleanly severed!

What happened?

The distance had clearly been so great, and there had not been any Reiatsu fluctuation at all. How had she attacked him?

Could his earlier guess have been correct? This blade's ability was...