Just as Yoruichi was about to speak, the voice emerging from the drifting smoke made her brow lift slightly.
"Hoo…"
Senya slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.
The breath shot forward like an arrow before dispersing.
He casually shook his right arm—the one that had taken the brunt of Yoruichi's Shunkō strike.
A series of faint crack sounds rippled through his joints.
A minor injury.
Yet instead of solemnity, there was playful amusement on his face.
"It's getting late,"
Senya said lazily, as if the devastating battle that had reduced half the street to rubble had merely been a stretch before dinner.
"Warm-up's over."
"…Warm-up?"
Yoruichi's golden, cat-like pupils instantly narrowed into razor-thin slits.
The wild smile froze at the corners of her lips—
then shattered.
Pure rage ignited.
"Brat," she snarled, purple lightning flaring violently,
"your bones are tough—but your mouth is tougher!"
"That strike wasn't a warm-up, and you know it!"
Before her words finished—
She vanished.
This time, her speed surged even higher.
Yoruichi was genuinely furious.
The dignity of the God of Flash had been trampled.
And she would reclaim it.
Whoosh!
A violent tearing of air screamed beside Senya's ear!
Yoruichi appeared to his left like teleportation itself, her furious punch ripping forward—
fast, vicious, and perfectly angled—
aimed straight at his irritatingly calm face!
This was no probing blow.
It carried all the speed and power unleashed by a truly provoked Yoruichi.
And yet—
Senya's movement changed.
No head-on clash.
No violent counter.
His body seemed to lose weight entirely, drifting half a step backward at an angle so subtle it defied intuition.
That single step—
caused Yoruichi's sure-kill punch to graze past his sleeve.
The punch wind detonated behind him, collapsing what little remained of the shattered wall.
"Not good!"
Yoruichi's instincts screamed danger.
Her strike had missed—and the moment it did, she tried to retreat.
But Senya was already there.
In the instant where her old force faded and her new force had yet to form—
his arm moved.
No explosion.
No tearing sound.
Like a willow branch brushing water, his hand gently settled on Yoruichi's wrist.
"Cloud Hands."
Two simple words.
Yet the moment he spoke—
Yoruichi felt it.
A strange, coiling force wrapped around her wrist.
Not violent.
Not heavy.
But endlessly rotating—soft, adhesive, continuous.
She exploded her Spiritual Pressure, trying to shake it off—
only for her own power to be guided along its flow.
Her terrifying strength, enough to shatter steel, was redirected—
pulling her body forward instead!
Her footing slipped.
Her balance collapsed.
For the first time in years—
Yoruichi felt like a puppet with its strings yanked.
"What the hell is this?!"
Shock and fury erupted together as she struggled.
Senya moved with her effortlessly.
His steps traced invisible arcs, rotating naturally, as if following the flow of heaven and earth itself.
His hand never left her wrist.
His other palm settled lightly against her elbow.
"Lǚ."
The instant the word left his mouth—
Yoruichi felt it.
Her elbow went numb.
Her strength vanished.
The power she had just gathered dissolved into nothingness, swallowed by that gentle palm like water poured into the sea.
A soft yet irresistible force pressed forward—
and her entire body tilted backward uncontrollably.
It was maddening.
She had overwhelming power—
yet couldn't use any of it.
"Damn it!"
Yoruichi roared, frustration boiling over.
Her left leg snapped backward like a scorpion's tail—
a vicious, lethal kick aimed straight at Senya's groin!
An utterly ruthless move.
One she never used.
But she no longer cared.
Senya seemed to expect it.
The hand on her elbow remained unmoved—
while his body hinged impossibly backward, pivoting on that very contact point, narrowly evading the kick.
At the same time—
the hand on her wrist guided again.
"Go."
Her own kicking force—
her momentum—
her center of gravity—
were layered, amplified, and redirected.
Yoruichi's eyes widened.
Her body was flung by her own strength, completely out of control—
like a sandbag hurled through the air—
straight into the crumbling wall beside them.
BOOM!
The wall disintegrated.
Dust and debris exploded outward.
Yoruichi burst from the rubble moments later, dirt and stone clinging to her body.
Scratches lined her bronzed skin.
Her purple hair was coated in dust.
She panted—not from exhaustion—
but from sheer rage.
Her golden eyes locked onto Senya, who hadn't moved an inch, breathing evenly, a faint smile lingering on his lips.
What was that technique?
That soft… sticky… slippery fighting style?
Her speed.
Her strength.
Her Hakuda.
Her Shunpo.
All of it was rendered meaningless.
Every exertion of power was neutralized.
Borrowed.
Turned against her.
This humiliation cut deeper than any direct defeat.
"You bastard!"
Her voice shook with fury.
"What kind of twisted technique is that?!"
Senya slowly settled his stance.
Hands relaxed.
Yin embracing Yang.
The smile on his face deepened, unmistakably pleased.
"Twisted?" he said lightly.
"This is called Tai Chi."
He paused, eyes glinting.
"It's made specifically for reckless brutes who only know how to charge and smash."
"…Reckless brute?"
Yoruichi's Spiritual Pressure exploded.
Purple lightning roared skyward, rubble lifting into a violent vortex around her!
She—Shihōin Yoruichi—
being called a reckless brute?!
Her body sank.
Purple electricity wrapped around her form.
Thunder God horns manifested above her head.
Behind her, a ring of six Taiko Magatama symbols formed, radiating divine authority.
The air screamed as it ionized.
A pressure far greater than before crushed the surroundings.
"Shunkō — Thunder God Battle Form!"
Her voice thundered like judgment from the heavens.
She vanished.
Only a streak of purple lightning tore through space.
Facing the fully unleashed God of Flash—
Senya's smile finally faded.
In its place—
calm focus.
Yet the stance he assumed remained slow, smooth, unhurried.
The Tai Chi Opening Stance.
"Now that's more like it,"
he murmured, Sharingan spinning violently.
Stillness like deep water met raging thunder.
The next instant—
Purple lightning collided with flowing clouds.