Chapter 009
To be honest, Kazuki was a little angry.
It was true that he was lazy, but there was no difference between being lazy and being dead if one had no bottom line. There would always be things that could touch his temper.
For example-getting attacked out of nowhere by some lunatic who had just unleashed their ultimate move on him was not the kind of thing he could take lightly.
Besides, back when he used to read manga, this particular pervert had always annoyed him.
It was the same with Aizen's way of questioning others.
Why was it that he, someone with an idle temperament, could make so many friends in the Gotei 13? It was partly because, no matter how lazy he acted, he had boundaries and would not cause irreparable trouble-and partly because of his personality.
People said Kazuki's flaw was his laziness, but he had always stayed true to his own moral compass.
He wore many masks, but that one thing about him was genuine.
Therefore, if Aizen was the kind of villain who enjoyed releasing monsters to slaughter people, then he would have to make sure he stayed on good terms with Mayuri Kurotsuchi.
───────────────────────
As the blinding flash of light faded, Szayelaporro Granz felt the same unsettling sense of dissonance he experienced earlier.
When he looked closer, the Shinigami was standing in the same place completely unharmed-not even his uniform was singed.
...Why?
It didn't matter whether the man dodged or blocked his attack. He had released enough power to reduce human bodies to ash. So why was this Shinigami completely unscathed?
Was the figure standing there just some kind of illusion or puppet?
He wasn't the only one confused.
Feeling the state of his remaining reiryoku, Kazuki sighed inwardly, already certain of the battle's outcome.
No-I'm not winning this one.
It would be different if he used the Kidō energy he had stored up, but that reserve was for Quincy or other high-level opponents. It wasn't worth wasting here.
He hadn't mastered his Bankai, and his Kidō training wasn't at the level where he could outfight a Vasto Lorde in open combat. With his current skills, death was inevitable in a head-on fight.
However, he was only using his clone right now, so death didn't matter much to him personally.
His recovery method from the damage caused by the Cero used the ability of Nagareru-to "cut off a segment of experienced time." It was similar to, but distinct from, Diavolo's ability from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Unlike the latter, he couldn't predict the future, so his ability was less flexible in that regard, but it had its advantages. The "cutting off" of Nagareru could be predetermined-like "cutting off three seconds of my time within this hour."
He could set the "erased time" to trigger within that period, so even if he had been reduced to ash by the Cero, the effect would restore him to his state before that time was cut off.
However, there were significant drawbacks-
-it consumed massive amounts of reiryoku.
At his current level, he could only use it about six times per day. Any further would completely drain his reserves.
Kazuki's reiryoku capacity was enough to perform Hadō #90, Kurohitsugi, without incantation over ten times, which showed how costly each use of Nagareru really was.
In addition, while in Shikai, Nagareru's abilities only applied to himself. It had no external attack potential; he had to rely on Kidō to compensate for that weakness. However, given his reiryoku limit, even if he could use Hadō above #90, the power wouldn't come close to Aizen's level.
There weren't many cards left in his hand. He didn't expect to kill Szayelaporro or cause any major damage-but he did intend to leave him with at least one mark that wouldn't fade easily.
And that chance… was now.
"Hoh? Interesting ability," Szayelaporro said with amusement, stepping closer. He had watched Kazuki escape his attacks twice already and was clearly intrigued.
Exactly as Kazuki wanted.
Szayelaporro's Cero was strong, but Kazuki could have blocked it with Bakudō #81 - Dankū. Instead, he'd used the time cut to create the illusion of mystery-to make Szayelaporro hesitate, to make him cautious. That's when openings appeared.
"Do you want to fight?" Kazuki asked flatly as he floated midair, raising his hand as Kidō light began to gather around it. "I'll fight you."
Alarms went off in Szayelaporro's head instantly. He raised his hand to activate his ring and vanish from the scene-but Kazuki was faster.
"Bakudō #61 - Rikujōkōrō!"
Without incantation and skipping the name call entirely, six rods of light appeared around Szayelaporro's waist, pinning him in place before he could move.
"Bakudō #79 - Kuyō Shibari. Bakudō #62 - Hyapporankan!"
Nine black orbs manifested around the Arrancar's body, pressing down on him like invisible anchors. In the same instant, countless light spears formed-surrounding him completely and driving the bindings deeper into place.
Step one: Restraint. Complete.
Now for the attack.
"Hadō #88 - Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō!"
Kazuki shouted as azure lightning burst from his palms, forming a massive torrent larger than his own body and engulfing Szayelaporro completely. The explosion thundered through the air like the heavens tearing open.
Yet it wasn't over.
Kazuki sheathed his sword, brought his hands together like claws, and began chanting at blinding speed, his words tumbling out without hesitation.
"Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini-look upon yourself with horror and then claw out your own throat! Scatter upon the water surface and look inward-Hadō #91 - Senju Kōten Taihō!"
"Y-you-!"
Szayelaporro coughed out smoke, his form covered in burns from the lightning cannon. Enraged, he unleashed his full Vasto Lorde spiritual pressure for the first time. With one violent motion, the light rods shattered, five of the dark orbs of restraint broke apart, and the light barriers began to splinter-he was only moments from tearing himself free.
"Too late," Kazuki said coldly, finishing his incantation word for word.
"Hadō #91 - Senju Kōten Taihō!"
Dozens of pink energy spheres fired simultaneously, striking Szayelaporro before his bindings could completely break. The explosions engulfed him, lighting up the battlefield in streaks of pink and white energy.
Kazuki didn't look satisfied, even as the light faded.
"The power's too weak..." he said under his breath. As the caster, he didn't even have to see the result to know the effect. The combo looked brilliant-a spectacle of light and force-but it barely pierced Szayelaporro's Hierro. The actual damage was minimal.
And that was enough to completely infuriate his opponent.
From within the smoke and rubble, black spiritual light flared violently.
Szayelaporro's killing intent exploded outward, his reiryoku surging like floodwater tearing through stone. The next Cero he fired split the air apart, streaking directly toward Kazuki-too fast to dodge.