Both Kyōraku Shunsui and Hitsugaya Toshiro wore their unmistakable captain Haori, the squad numbers clearly visible. It was no surprise the other party had identified them as captains of the Gotei 13 at first glance.
"You're drawing too much attention, kid." Kyōraku said, narrowing his eyes. "It's hard for us captains not to notice when something this loud happens in Rukongai."
There was no doubt-the other party's method of training relied on increasing spiritual pressure by absorbing spirit particles from the surrounding atmosphere.
That technique relied on external spirit particles. It was clearly Quincy in origin.
Shinigami, on the other hand, trained through internal development of their own Reiatsu. Their strength was tied to the potential of their soul. Once that potential was reached, breaking past it was immensely difficult.
It was the natural limit of the Shinigami path. One that required transformation to overcome.
"Are you Shinigami? Or Quincy?" Kyōraku asked. "Are you a friend or another storm on the horizon?"
Yuta smiled faintly. "What difference does it make? Whether it's Shinigami or Quincy?"
"Whether one draws from within or draws from without-it's all cultivation. And the goal is always the same… strength."
Kyōraku pressed down on the brim of his straw hat, shadows covering his eyes. "Is it all really about getting stronger?"
He vanished the moment he finished speaking, leaving behind only a fading afterimage. When he reappeared, he stood face to face with Yuta, Zanpakutō already unsheathed, blade shining white as it slashed downward toward him.
To Yuta, the world slowed down instantly.
He saw it-the flow of spiritual pressure in Kyōraku's body during the Shunpo step, the burst point where it activated, the changes in posture and muscle tension…
The motion of attack-the turn downward into the slash, the grip tightening on the hilt-the lazy eyes sharpening into something focused and unflinching.
He saw everything clearly in that moment.
"So this is Shunpo…" Yuta whispered with a slight smile curling his lips.
[Through observing Kyōraku Shunsui's pace and spiritual power, you have comprehended the rapid movement technique of Shinigami: "Shunpo."]
Flash-
Kyōraku's blade passed through empty air as Yuta blurred and vanished before he struck.
"An afterimage?!"
Kyōraku froze in disbelief. He had taken nearly a month to learn Shunpo at Shin'ō Academy and this newcomer had not only understood it instantly but mastered it enough to feint with afterimages on first use?
Even among elite Shinigami, few dared use Shunpo that precisely in battle. If Yuta had mistimed it by so much as half a breath, it wouldn't have been the afterimage getting cut-
-it would've been his own body.
Before Kyōraku could fully process what had happened, his instincts screamed danger. He turned quickly and blocked with his blade-
Clang!
It rang out violently, two forces colliding with bone-shaking resonance.
Yuta had already stepped behind him. With only a subtle shift of stance, spiritual particles swirled together in his hand and shaped themselves into a blue spiritual blade.
His body dropped lower. The twist through his waist and abdomen carried every ounce of power up through his arm and into the weapon-which he hurled at Kyōraku in one seamless motion.
It wasn't cleanly formed-not fully stable-but its speed exceeded anything that should've been possible for a first-time construct.
The barely finished blade shimmered as it spun forward, trailing bright blue spirit threads from its tail as it struck Kyōraku's Zanpakutō again with brutal force-
Bang!
The spiritual pressure ignited in violent release as Kyōraku was forced backward across the rocky crater floor, gouging two deep ruts beneath his feet as he skidded to a halt.
In the center of the desolate pit stood three distinct figures-and none of them dared move first.
Kyōraku raised his head slowly toward Yuta, who stood there as though perched on the peak of a world emptied of everything but wind and battle. The sword in his hand pulsed with blue spiritual energy while atmospheric reishi continued to gather at its edge.
Yuta moved again before thoughts could finish forming-
"The fallen leaf blade," he said without emotion. "Like autumn wind."
The next strike followed immediately. And the next. And another after that.
There was no rhythm to it, it was simply endless pressure from every angle at once. Perpetual winds of cutting steel. As soon as Kyōraku opened any distance or made the smallest error, he risked being frozen completely by overwhelming spiritual control.
He couldn't catch his breath and he realized suddenly that he wouldn't be able to without pushing back now and hard.
Kyōraku flared his spiritual pressure violently outward in all directions-a balloon bursting from overload-to buy himself space between attacks in desperation.
Yuta rose calmly into the air with perfect balance on nothing but reishi underfoot.
With comprehension of Shunpo behind him, it was almost inevitable now that he'd understand what came next: Quincy movement techniques born from manipulating external spirits directly underfoot instead of within oneself-
[You have analyzed Quincy movement arts through observation and your own comparison to Shinigami's methods. Tactic learned: "Hirenkyaku"]
It felt smoother than Shunpo somehow…
And Yuta wondered what might happen when both were combined together in perfect synergy.
Before those thoughts could continue-the Kidō chant echoed sharply across the empty crater floor:
"The thunder carriage… the gap in the spinning wheel… light clutches and divides into six!"
Kyōraku's hand stretched outward-the spell already complete:
"Hado Sixty-One: Six Rods Light Prison!"
Six golden beams shot toward Yuta from multiple directions and slammed around him in sequence-the seal locking him midair without effort or delay.
Finally able to exhale, Kyōraku lowered his blade slightly in relief-but kept his guard up tight regardless of how exhausted he felt.
Six rods were enough. No matter how fast or strong this man was-they would restrain him fully now that he'd been caught off guard midair-
Except-
Yuta didn't struggle at all with them.
In fact...he looked excited.
"Interesting," he grinned. "Very interesting. So this is how Shinigami operates?"
[You observed Kyōraku Shunsui using Hado 61: Six Rods Light Prison. You analyzed its spiritual construction and internal chant structure. Technique acquired: "Six Rods Light Prison."]
[Attempting Kidō application without full chant structure... Initiating Destruction Chant Analysis...]
Yuta lowered his gaze for only half a moment before whispering aloud:
"Hado Sixty-One: Six Rods Light Prison."
Kyōraku's victory lasted less than five seconds before six golden rods locked around him instead-with twice the intensity as before-
"What...the hell…?"
His arms refused to move. His legs froze beneath him where he stood.
"He learned Binding Spell 61...after seeing it once?"
"He skipped the chant entirely and succeeded??"
Even among veteran Kidō users that was unheard of. Unthinkable-even dangerous to try mid-combat unless mastered across years of training...
Kyōraku couldn't speak further.
He was too busy watching every next horrifying thing unfold before him with mounting disbelief.
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