Chapter 010
Soul Society, inside the Eighth Division barracks.
Kazuki, who had been lying in the captain's resting room, suddenly convulsed and sat up coughing violently. The spiritual pressure within his body plummeted sharply in an instant.
Shunsui, who had been working while leisurely puffing on his pipe, immediately stood up in alarm. He rushed forward, placed one hand on Kazuki's back, and helped him stabilize his breathing. Concern filled his tone as he spoke.
"Kazuki, what's wrong? Did… did anything happen in Hueco Mundo?"
"Probably… cough... a Vasto Lorde..."
Kazuki gasped for air, sweat beading and running down his face, but he insisted on giving his report.
"I was ambushed… but it's fine... just lost some reiryoku. I'll... cough... recover soon."
Shunsui exhaled in relief and gently helped Kazuki lean back against the wall.
"Rest for now. I'll notify the Fourth Division to send someone."
Kazuki gave him a weak nod. Without hesitation, Shunsui turned and left the room in long strides. Outside, he spotted one of his seated officers and sent them to fetch Fourth Division assistance immediately.
"Mmh… A Vasto Lorde… That's not someone to take lightly."
For once, the ever-laid-back Captain Kyōraku bore a grim expression.
–––
Hueco Mundo.
As expected from one of the techniques that only top-level Menos could unleash-the Cero Oscuras fired by the Adjuchas-class Arrancar tore through Kazuki's triple-layered Tengai Hadō and continued its course unstopped, scattering reishi across the dunes as it blasted upward into the sky.
Even the residual pressure from the attack was enough to pulverize the ground into cracked fragments, demonstrating the sheer destructive force behind it.
However, the obstruction caused by his triple-layered air barrier gave Kazuki the briefest of openings. He immediately used Shunpo to move out of the line of fire, appearing further across the sandy surface.
Controlling two bodies at once was troublesome. Even if one was merely lying down and speaking while the other fought, maintaining that balance demanded precision. To truly increase combat efficiency using this technique would require far greater mastery.
Feigning clumsiness had its advantages though. Acting oblivious served as its own form of defense.
Nagareru Tsuki's ability was "interference with time." It currently possessed three forms, each corresponding to one of its release commands: "Break," "Cut," and "Surge." However, the records accessible in the Central 46 Chambers only documented the ability of "Break."
Within the limits of "Break," Kazuki could create up to two clones outside his main body. During activation, he could control each body simultaneously and freely distribute his reiryoku among them. This allowed him to fabricate the illusion of "a clone's death and subsequent loss of spiritual pressure" that had been witnessed by Shunsui in Soul Society.
Yet this power came with significant drawbacks. Splitting one consciousness to execute multiple series of actions while processing separate streams of sensory data was far beyond the human mind's natural limits. It was like trying to draw a square with one hand and a circle with the other-but far worse. Every time Kazuki used it, his thoughts grew fragmented, and he feared that extended use might permanently fracture his psyche.
Fortunately, Kyōraku Shunsui was not the talkative type. If the captain had lingered and tried striking up conversation, coordinating two minds like this would have been far riskier.
Szayelaporro Granz-the Espada known for his intellect and cruelty-was by far the strongest opponent Kazuki had encountered since his arrival in this world. Carelessness was not an option.
Instinct screamed in warning. Every nerve in Kazuki's body tightened as he sensed imminent danger. Without hesitation, he brought his Zanpakutō up in defense, slashing toward the threat behind him.
Szayelaporro had appeared out of nowhere, his blade cutting forward with terrifying force.
At this point in time, before splitting his brother's soul using his Tragedia del Arreglo, Szayelaporro's combat style was far removed from the clinical precision of his later self. The scientist's body now moved with crude aggression and violent intent-his blade rumbled through the air, slicing trenches into the sand that stretched tens of meters across. Though the technique's destructive power couldn't rival his Cero Oscuras, its speed and adaptability made it deadlier in close combat.
However, his blade failed to cleave Kazuki in two.
Instead of resistance or clash, Szayelaporro's weapon struck what felt like pure steel.
"Puzzled?" Kazuki tilted his head slightly, his smile mocking. "Go ahead. Take a guess-what did you actually cut?"
Szayelaporro's eyes narrowed. He wasn't foolish enough to respond-but the provocation clearly irritated him, his reiryoku rippling in frustration.
In truth, the barrier deflecting his strike wasn't Nagareru Tsuki at work, but Kidō-specifically, Bakudō #81: Dankū.
Normally, the transparent wall generated by Dankū could repel most high-level spiritual attacks but offered little mobility and only blocked in one direction. That limitation rendered it impractical for sustained combat-until now.
Through extensive experimentation, Kazuki had dissected Dankū's structure and developed new applications for it. By condensing the wall's energy and reducing its size to fit his exact defensive needs, he reinforced its density exponentially while minimizing reiryoku consumption.
Used in conjunction with the rapid incantation-nullification technique granted by Tongtianlu, it became the foundation of a new form of close-range Kidō-one that merged offense and defense seamlessly.
It was his first time deploying it against so formidable an enemy, and so far, it was performing perfectly.
Yet Kazuki was not done.
After parrying the blow, his lips moved just enough for the words to escape in the faintest whisper-words only he could hear.
"Run, Nagareru Tsuki."
Szayelaporro reacted instantly, swinging his blade again out of pure instinct-but then realized, too late, that the speed of his opponent had doubled.
Impossible.
His analysis of the Shinigami before him was clear-the boy's reactions had been sluggish, his offense predictable. Once Szayelaporro seized momentum, victory was inevitable.
And now that balance had shattered in the span of seconds.
Lightning and blade clashed under the silver hue of Hueco Mundo's skies. Kidō exploded in flashes of crimson and blue.
Szayelaporro Granz, once the hunter, found himself driven onto the back foot-overwhelmed by the same Shinigami he had just dismissed moments before.
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