"Hey, Urahara!"
"What was that just now!?"
On the rooftops of Karakura Town, Urahara Kisuke and a black cat were leaping from building to building.
As they ran, the black cat asked, "What exactly is that boy's power? How can he purify a Hollow that came from a fallen human soul?"
She couldn't believe what she had seen.
Normally, once a soul turns into a Hollow, there's no going back. That's one of the unshakable truths of Soul Society.
That's why the Visoreds were hunted down by Seireitei after becoming part Hollow.
Even now, they're forced to stay in hiding.
Meanwhile, even though she and Urahara Kisuke were also considered traitors and had left Soul Society, the Seireitei seemed to ignore them.
Urahara Kisuke answered, "That boy's eyes were made with the Hōgyoku. His power is basically Hollow in nature—kind of like Hirako Shinji and the others. He must have a unique ability."
"Hirako Shinji… I see…"
The black cat gave a slow nod, then glared at Urahara.
"So it's your Hōgyoku causing trouble again."
A hundred years ago, the Hōgyoku led to many Shinigami captains leaving Soul Society.
Now, a century later, it's created another strange human.
Urahara gave a small, awkward laugh.
The black cat didn't bother arguing and continued, "If that boy's power is really like that… can't he just turn Hollows back into normal souls?"
"No." Urahara shook his head and glanced at Inoue's brother, who was slumped over his shoulder.
"The reason he succeeded is because the person's soul hadn't completely merged with the Hollow yet. And he didn't destroy the Hollow—he only weakened its power to a certain level."
The black cat nodded, thinking.
"Hearing that… I'm even more curious about that kid…"
As she spoke, the black cat licked her paw.
"When I see him again, I'll have to test him. I want to know exactly what those eyes of his can do…"
The next morning.
Creak...
A closet door opened.
Rukia Kuchiki stepped out, yawning. She rubbed her eyes and looked at Nanaya with mild surprise.
"Nanaya, why are you up so early?"
She had been staying at Kurosaki Ichigo's house for two days now. Nanaya usually didn't wake up until almost dinner time. This was the first time he was awake so early.
"I need to talk to you," Nanaya said seriously.
After yesterday's events, he realized something: he wasn't ready to handle powerful enemies.
His strength wasn't the issue—it was how limited that strength was.
The abilities he got from the Mangekyō Sharingan included Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, Flame Control, and Hypnosis.
But most of those were either extremely destructive, like Amaterasu, or didn't cause any harm at all, like Tsukuyomi or Hypnosis.
Flame Control and Hypnosis weren't useful for direct attacks.
In the Uchiha Clan back in the world of Naruto, that wouldn't be a problem—he could have just learned other jutsu to make up for it.
But here, in the world of the Shinigami, things were different.
So Nanaya decided it was time to learn something new.
"…You want to learn Kidō!?"
Rukia Kuchiki stared at Nanaya in shock, not understanding why he'd say something like that.
"Is it impossible for humans to learn?" Nanaya asked.
"That's not the issue…" Rukia replied, shaking her head. After thinking for a moment, she added, "Kidō is a special power that only Shinigami have. It's really hard to learn, and it takes a long time."
She thought back to her own training.
It had taken her two whole months to master even the most basic Hadō spell.
It took several more months just to learn Red Fire Cannon, the 31st Kidō.
Shinigami live a long time, so they can spend years practicing.
But for a normal human, learning something like the 36th Kidō might take up most of their life.
"That's okay. I still want to learn," Nanaya replied firmly, a small smile on his lips.
He already knew it would be hard.
Kidō above the 90th level were on the same level as a Shinigami's Bankai.
But he wasn't going into this without confidence…
He reached up and touched his eyes.
His scarlet Sharingan eyes.
Back when he only had the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, he already had the power to copy ninjutsu.
Now, with Mangekyō Sharingan and new powers awakened, he figured he might be able to copy Kidō too.
Rukia could see he was serious and sighed.
"…Alright. But don't say I didn't warn you."
In her mind, Nanaya was just being reckless.
Soon, the two of them stood in an open training area.
Rukia flipped through a small notebook, then began explaining to Nanaya:
"Listen carefully. Kidō is split into three main types: Hadō for attack, Kaidō for healing, and Bakudō for binding…"
"I'm guessing you want to learn Kidō because of what happened yesterday…"
"In that case, I'll teach you a Bakudō spell. It can hold the enemy in place—kind of like what I did to Ichigo…"
Nanaya remembered how Ichigo had been frozen in place, his hands pinned behind him, unable to move.
Rukia thought for a moment and decided on a slightly more advanced spell. She raised her right hand, gathering spiritual energy, and began to chant:
"Disintegrate, black dog of Rondanini! Look upon yourself and burn! Tear away your own throat!"
"Bakudō #9: Geki!"
As she chanted, her hand traced a pattern in the air with red energy.
When she finished, the pattern shot out and struck a tree in front of them.
"This is Bakudō Nine. It can bind someone—or even a Hollow. It's more advanced than the one I used on Ichigo…"
She then waved her hand.
"Alright, you stay here and practice. I'm going to go change clothes."
After Rukia left, Nanaya closed his eyes and replayed everything he had just seen in his mind.
While Rukia performed the spell, he had used his Mangekyō Sharingan to track her every move.
The way she spoke the incantation.
The way her arm moved.
The way she handled her spiritual power.
He remembered all of it clearly.
After replaying the scene in his mind several times, Nanaya opened his eyes, raised his hand, and pointed it toward a black cat in the distance.
He began chanting:
"Self-destruct… Rondanini's black dog… read it once… burn it all away… cut your own throat…"
As he performed the Bakudō, the black cat in the distance arched her back and let out a lazy yawn.
She watched Nanaya casually, clearly uninterested.
Bored, she even laid down, quietly observing the red glow in Nanaya's scarlet eyes. She couldn't help but think to herself:
"Those eyes... they're not like Hirako Shinji's. The Hōgyoku's influence makes them different…"
"…Maybe I should fight him someday…"
Just as she was deep in thought, Nanaya finished the incantation and shouted:
"Bakudō Number Nine: Geki!"
A flash of red light shot forward.
"Meow!?"
Startled, the black cat's eyes widened as the red energy sped toward her.
She could have dodged it easily—but she had been too focused on Nanaya's eyes… and, well, she was in her cat form.
Bottom line: she didn't dodge.
The red light hit her with a snap. In an instant, the black cat flopped onto her back, legs stiff in the air, belly exposed, completely immobilized.
"Meow… meow…"
She squirmed and struggled, flailing her paws, but without spiritual energy, it was no use—the Kidō had her completely bound.
"Seriously!? This is the same Bakudō I just used!?" she thought, practically screaming inside her head.
She tried using a bit of spiritual pressure—but it still wasn't enough to break free. The Kidō held tight.
She couldn't release any more power though—not without alerting the Seireitei and risking exposure.
Even at this level, her spiritual energy was about the same as a Fourth Seat in Seireitei's ranks—and yet she still couldn't break the binding spell.
What kind of monster was this kid!?
He just learned that spell!
How could he possibly use it this well on his first try!?
"…"
As Nanaya calmly walked over, the black cat remained on her back, stuck and defeated, letting out a string of pitiful meows:
"Meow… meow meow… meow meow…"
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