The busy Thames churned with traffic as a battered cruise ship barely managed to stay afloat on the river's surface.
Kisaragi Shūsuke's earlier Tsui En Ryūga (Falling Flame Dragon Fang) hadn't struck Higashino Shuuichi, but it had succeeded in isolating him on a shattered section of the cruise ship's remains.
"Shūsuke-kun, be careful. This Quincy who calls himself Kabuno Takuya is really strong—Rangiku was almost killed by him before she even had time to release her zanpakutō!"
Crouched behind Kisaragi Shūsuke, Nagasawa Satomi cradled Matsumoto Rangiku in both arms. Feeling the other woman's faint but present heartbeat, she let out a small breath of relief.
"Yeah."
Kisaragi Shūsuke nodded, eyes locked onto Higashino Shuuichi.
"I don't care who you really are. You dared lay hands on Sayako-san and Satomi while I wasn't here. Today, I'm not letting you walk away."
"Heh… good. I'd like to see exactly how you plan not to let me walk away."
Higashino Shuuichi spoke lightly as he raised his hand toward Kisaragi Shūsuke, fingers shaped like a gun. A white Shinsei Metsuya (Holy Arrow) once again formed at his fingertip and shot forth.
"Kariretsu Honō! (Flame Rift!)"
Facing Higashino Shuuichi's attack, Kisaragi Shūsuke concentrated his spiritual power into the blade of his Bakkōtō. Its temperature climbed sharply, and within that scorching air—hot enough to seem like it might burn the very atmosphere—Shūsuke swung Bakkōtō Raika down in front of him.
Sparks blossomed along the blade's arc in midair. But instead of fading as the blade moved away, those sparks were gathered up by the superheated environment created by Bakkōtō Raika's thunderous flames, fusing into a massive wave of fire that roared forward.
The Shinsei Metsuya shot by Higashino Shuuichi was completely swallowed the moment it hit the wall of flame, vanishing without a trace.
So he's already developed this move…
Seeing that ability—which, in his memories of the "original timeline," Kisaragi Shūsuke was supposed to master only much later—Higashino Shuuichi felt a quiet satisfaction.
Especially when he recalled the first move Shūsuke had used when he appeared—a technique that had never shown up in any of the abilities Shūsuke used in those future memories.
At least it proved that Kisaragi Shūsuke, unlike the perpetually slacking Matsumoto Rangiku, had actually trained and developed some new tricks during the years Shuuichi wasn't around.
It also confirmed something else: Shūsuke might be hopeless at kidō, but when it came to developing his Bakkōtō's abilities, he clearly had decent talent.
But from the perspective of Higashino Shuuichi, currently occupying Kabuno Takuya's body, this level still wasn't nearly enough.
"Shōseikyū! (Little Holy Bow!)"
Standing sideways on the chunk of ship wreckage bobbing with the current, Higashino Shuuichi gathered reishi between his left palm, shaping it into the form of a longbow.
His right hand then reached out into empty air, drawing back an invisible bowstring.
Fingers loosened. The string thrummed. Arrows flew.
A volley of Shinsei Metsuya surged forth from the longbow, and the assault didn't stop there.
Even after Higashino Shuuichi stopped making the motion of drawing the bow, the longbow still continuously spat out new Holy Arrows, raining them toward Kisaragi Shūsuke.
This was something Kabuno Takuya had developed under Higashino Shuuichi's guidance, based on the "Great Holy Bow" that future Yhwach had used in Shuuichi's memories—a downgraded imitation.
Compared to that terrifying, heaven-rending power Yhwach had once displayed, the Shōseikyū (Little Holy Bow) Higashino now wielded was vastly weaker in both presence and power.
But his opponent wasn't the Royal Guard that Yhwach would one day face.
The wall of fire Kisaragi Shūsuke had created hungrily devoured the Holy Arrows Higashino Shuuichi loosed.
Yet its own solidity couldn't keep up. Under the ceaseless barrage of arrows that followed, it was perforated like a sieve.
It hadn't even managed to fully span the narrow stretch of river between Higashino Shuuichi and Shūsuke before its structure collapsed and it dissolved in midair.
"This strength is… terrifying…"
Watching the Holy Arrows surge toward him like a pack of hungry wolves, Kisaragi Shūsuke finally believed what Nagasawa Satomi had told him.
This Quincy man really was something else.
He had encountered Quincy before in the World of the Living.
But someone who could so easily punch through his flame wall with just a handful of Holy Arrows—that was a first.
"In that case—Kasen Ensatsu! (Flame Jet!)"
Kisaragi Shūsuke aimed his already Bankai (Final Release)-released Bakkōtō's tip at Higashino Shuuichi. Flames once again spilled along the blade's surface. This time, though, instead of merging into a single wave, they coiled in spirals along the edge of Bakkōtō Raika's thunder-flames.
Under Shūsuke's mental control, those flames twisted into a tornado-like vortex, not only consuming the Holy Arrows that had broken past the wall of fire, but continuing on to sweep toward Higashino Shuuichi's position.
"Not a bad way to handle it. If I were just an ordinary Quincy, I might really be in a bind here… but unfortunately…"
Watching Shūsuke's reaction, Higashino Shuuichi couldn't help a trace of regret.
To counterattack and immediately respond with an appropriate defensive method—that meant that in the time Shuuichi had been gone, Kisaragi Shūsuke had indeed accumulated a fair amount of combat experience.
In the past, from what Shuuichi remembered of him, Shūsuke would've chosen to dodge a counterstrike of this intensity, not meet it head-on.
That wasn't just about raw strength. It was about battle experience.
To correctly gauge the upper limit of the enemy's attack and choose the most advantageous response—that was the style of combat Higashino Shuuichi had always admired most.
Hirenkyaku, Shinsei Metsuya: Ransō! (Flying Scythe Step, Holy Arrow: Wild Burst!)
Higashino Shuuichi's Quincy movement technique, Hirenkyaku, exploded beneath his feet with a speed nearly equal to a Hollow's Sonído, almost like spatial teleportation. Once again, it shook Kisaragi Shūsuke to his core.
"Humans… can move that fast?"
Shūsuke reflexively raised Bakkōtō in front of him to block.
But Higashino Shuuichi was still faster.
Just as his right hand was about to slam into Shūsuke's chest—like he'd done to Matsumoto Rangiku before—Shūsuke's raised blade forced him to compromise. Instead, he thrust his palm forward from a short distance away, unleashing Shinsei Metsuya: Ransō (Holy Arrow: Wild Burst) there.
As a result, the move didn't achieve the effect in Shuuichi's original plan.
The arrowheads only carved a few shallow marks across Kisaragi Shūsuke's chest.
Behind him, Alpha—the mechanical hound from Mirai Kyokō: Alpha (Future Fabrication: Alpha) that Higashino had created earlier—had quietly padded over amid their fierce exchange. Just as Shūsuke was about to press the offensive, Alpha snapped its jaw wide and swallowed the continuously surging flames in one gulp.
By the time Kisaragi Shūsuke glanced back, Alpha was already burping.
"What in the world is that supposed to be…?"
His reaction was exactly the same as everyone else's the moment they first saw Alpha—completely stunned.
Still, he handled it better than Matsumoto Rangiku had. Instead of freezing, he kept up the pressure on Higashino Shuuichi even as he struggled to understand Alpha.
"Gōen Ryūga! (Roaring Flame Dragon Fang!)"
Bakkōtō Raika's thunder-flames plunged into the ship's deck beneath their feet. Even though they were on the river, several pillars of fire still erupted skyward from below, spearing into the clouds.
They encircled Higashino Shuuichi, and more pillars constantly burst from the raging flames around his feet, trying to drag him down into a searing purgatory.
Forced to choose, Higashino had to abandon the nearly point-blank Shūsuke and tap lightly off the already unstable deck, opening a brief distance between them.
At the same time, Kisaragi Shūsuke's move had another purpose—splitting the already-ruined cruise ship even further.
Previously cut in two and barely kept from sinking by spiritual power alone, it was now broken into smaller sections.
This time, Kisaragi Shūsuke completely isolated Kabuma Sayako and Nagasawa Satomi from the battlefield.
"Oh? So you do want to get serious with me?"
Seeing this, Higashino Shuuichi smiled faintly.
Why was it that Shūsuke was sluggish when training under him, but once separated, he'd suddenly developed such a similar style?
Once he confirmed the enemy had no way to slip past him and threaten others, he proactively split the battlefield off.
That was exactly the tactic Higashino Shuuichi himself had often used in the past.
"Hmph. I don't need to get serious to deal with the likes of you!"
Kisaragi Shūsuke's mouth was stubborn as ever.
His body, however, was far more honest.
Gōen Ryūga: Bakuen! (Roaring Flame Dragon Fang: Explosive Blaze!)
Kisaragi Shūsuke didn't shout the name aloud, but Higashino Shuuichi only had to skim his memories to see straight through his intent.
Sure, sure, "no need to get serious"—but if that's true, then don't pull out your strongest standard move, why don't you?
Shuuichi had to admit it: even the little tricks he used mid-battle, like bluffing and misdirection, had been thoroughly picked up by Shūsuke.
The pillars of fire around Higashino shifted all at once, spitting sideways and fanning out. Within the already cramped reiatsu-concealed space, they wove into a titanic net that collapsed inward toward him.
Even the gaps within that blazing mesh were crammed with flickering sparks, leaving Higashino Shuuichi no room to slip through.
And he knew that even if he wanted to slowly grind open a path, with this Quincy body's current limits, it was basically impossible.
The river around him erupted with more flame pillars, gushing up from beneath the surface.
All of those pillars were ready to plug any opening at a moment's notice.
So Higashino Shuuichi had only one option—to tear apart that fiery net in an instant, with speed too fast for it to repair.
"A bit tricky… but that's fine. If I can't use this body's core ability right now and you've still pushed it this far, Shūsuke, there won't be many Shinigami in the future who could stand against you."
Feeling the tightening heat of the fire net close around him, its scorching breath lashing his face, Higashino Shuuichi remained perfectly calm.
Outside the burning mesh, Kabuma Sayako watched that direction, curiosity in her eyes.
When Kisaragi Shūsuke had first descended onto the scene, she'd wanted to tell him outright that Kabuno Takuya was actually Higashino Shuuichi.
But when she'd seen that same battle hunger ignite in Shuuichi's eyes, she'd hesitated.
Her instincts told her that Shuuichi-kun was looking forward to this match—one fought while Shūsuke remained in the dark about his true identity.
So she'd only moved her lips slightly, saying nothing more.
Instead, she'd walked over to Nagasawa Satomi, crouched down beside her, and checked the steadily strengthening rhythm of Matsumoto Rangiku's heartbeat.
That only confirmed her suspicions further.
"But, Shuuichi-kun, Shūsuke-kun's grown a lot while you've been gone. If you don't reveal yourself and use your Shinigami abilities soon, you just might end up eating it at his hands, you know~"
For some reason, Kabuma Sayako found herself kind of looking forward to Kisaragi Shūsuke winning this little "sparring match" between master and disciple.
Just imagining Shuuichi's embarrassed expression afterward made her feel light.
After all, she'd rarely ever seen him look that way.
Unfortunately for her, she was destined for disappointment.
Within the fire net, turquoise flames flared to life. Before Kisaragi Shūsuke's disbelieving eyes, the intricate structure he'd spent so much effort weaving melted before that azure blaze like paper in a bonfire.
They were both fire-based attacks—but did the difference have to be so shameless?
If this were a game, and there were a report button, Kisaragi Shūsuke would definitely be slamming it right now on this cheating Quincy.
But even if there were such a button, it wouldn't do him any good—because that turquoise "flame" wasn't truly fire in the first place.
It was a special variation Higashino Shuuichi had created by imitating the reishi-compressed flames Yhwach would use in the future—Reishi Nōshuku Kaen Shūsoku (Reishi Compressed Flame Cluster).
He compressed enormous amounts of reishi into a single line, igniting it entirely in an instant so that both ends of that line could unleash overwhelming destructive power.
It was like the difference between pressure and pressure per unit area.
Kabuno Takuya's Quincy body didn't possess the overwhelming spiritual pressure Yhwach once had; the reishi he could draw on was limited. So he had to reduce the area of effect to amplify the destructive force.
And Higashino Shuuichi had aimed his attacks precisely at the key nodes of Kisaragi Shūsuke's fire net.
The flames still burned, and the turquoise streaks left only a few dozen brief afterimages in the air—like shooting stars—before vanishing.
But the net that had been closing in around Higashino Shuuichi was gone without a trace.
In that moment, Kisaragi Shūsuke abruptly recalled his own state more than a decade ago.
Back then, with his zanpakutō destroyed and only clumsy kidō to rely on, he had usually been unable even to join the front lines—in most battles, he'd been more hindrance than help.
It wasn't until he conquered Bakkōtō Raika that things finally changed.
He'd thought that from then on, his life had entered a new chapter. But now…
Kisaragi Shūsuke tightened his grip on the Bakkōtō, regret flaring.
He regretted not reviewing his kidō and swordsmanship over all those years, even if he had no talent for them. He should've pushed through anyway. That way, when his Bakkōtō's abilities failed, he wouldn't be left with so few ways to fight back.
"Gōen Ryūga! (Roaring Flame Dragon Fang!)"
But what else could he do?
Regret was useless now. Gritting his teeth, Kisaragi Shūsuke once again hurled an attack at Higashino Shuuichi. Even if it was almost certain to be broken again, he had no other choice.
"All right, that's enough, Shūsuke. I've got a good grasp of your strength now~"
But no matter how much Kisaragi Shūsuke wanted to keep going, Higashino Shuuichi had already decided to stop.
This wasn't a death match. The moment he saw Shūsuke use Gōen Ryūga again, Shuuichi knew Shūsuke had run out of options.
That wasn't Shūsuke's fault. It was just that this "Quincy version" of Higashino was simply too far ahead of the curve. Against any other Quincy alive today, Shūsuke wouldn't be struggling this much.
And Kisaragi Shūsuke was specialized to fight Shinigami—battling Quincy or Hollows had always felt less natural to him.
"You… know me?"
Hearing Higashino Shuuichi's words, Kisaragi Shūsuke didn't lower his guard, but he did look over with wary curiosity.
"Of course. This body is one I crafted myself, specifically to adapt to Quincy abilities.
As for my main Shinigami body, that's in Soul Society right now—it's not convenient for it to come here."
Higashino Shuuichi answered calmly.
With it spelled out that clearly, even Kisaragi Shūsuke couldn't miss it.
"You're… Shuuichi-sama?!"
Shūsuke blurted out, eyes shining.
Behind him, Kabuma Sayako wore the expression of someone whose suspicions had just been confirmed.
As for Nagasawa Satomi, who hadn't figured out anything from start to finish, her pupils were practically shaking. She looked at Higashino Shuuichi, then at Kabuma Sayako, then down at Matsumoto Rangiku in her arms—and finally noticed the faint smile at the corner of Rangiku's lips.
So it was just me and Shūsuke-kun who were kept in the dark, huh?
Rangiku—you're awful!
Sayako-san… you're awful too!
Of course, the worst of all was that Shuuichi-sama.
What kind of person even does something like this?
Taking in the colorful array of expressions across from him, Higashino Shuuichi smiled softly.
"It's a bit late to say this now, but I still want to tell you all—
I'm back~"
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