Chapter 53: The Most Feared Thing
Two more days passed.
The cicadas' cries grew sharper, sawing through the air. Under the blazing sun, the streets of Seireitei shimmered, the white stone glowing like polished jade.
In these restless days, not everything was bad news.
After lunch, Shimiya Takeru was lying in the shade of a tree on the Spirit Arts Academy lawn, hands pillowed behind his head, ready to nap.
The moment his fingers laced together, brushstroke characters appeared before his eyes.
[Friends, brothers… bonds that do not change for a thousand years accompany many through their lives.]
[Under your careful guidance, your companion, like other children of destiny, has successfully learned to coexist with the demon inside him. In the eyes of the world, your evil and your greatness now overshadow that demon. The machine soul is greatly pleased.]
[In order not to die early like the other "teachers" who help children of destiny become stronger, you slowly absorb their failures, and resolve to become stronger yourself.]
[You comprehend Black Flash.]
For an instant, Takeru felt a chill lance across his lower back.
The next moment, it was as if a surge of current rushed through his body, ramming new memories of a technique into his mind and twisting his body into a new, instinctive state.
"…"
Takeru could not help but stand up. He clenched his fist experimentally, a thoughtful light flashing in his eyes.
So Ichigo had done it.
He had managed to persuade the Hollow inside him and join forces against Zangetsu.
That was why the machine soul was feeding back a reward now.
"Black Flash, huh."
Takeru felt a little conflicted.
First Seven Flash, then Only Flash, and now Black Flash.
None of them were actual flash step type techniques.
It was like the universe itself was mocking that old brag of his about being "the strongest flash type Zanpakuto."
That being said.
Takeru had no intention of looking down on any power that could make him stronger.
He narrowed his focus slightly, and in that instant fully grasped the essence and mechanics of this new move.
It was a technique that fused hand to hand combat with Kido.
By making a physical strike grind against his own Kido infused spiritual pressure, he could generate a spiritual particle phenomenon known as "spatial distortion," causing his destructive power to explode upward.
The increase was at least 2.5 times.
If normally, fists or feet plus Kido spiritual pressure produced a destructive value of 10…
Then after this amplification, it would jump to roughly 316.
The impact jumped to more than thirty times the original.
Moreover, this sudden eruption of power would feed back into the user as well, forcibly rousing their combat instincts and pushing them past their limits.
At first, Takeru had not thought much of this move. Its prototype came from a comparatively weaker world, after all.
But after the machine soul's "remastering," he no longer dared to underestimate it.
"If all it needs is a physical hit… can I trigger Black Flash with a sword strike?"
"Seven Flash might be tricky, but Only Flash… could I stack them?"
Ideas flashed through his mind one after another.
The last one in particular made his fingers itch.
If Only Flash in Shikai could trigger Black Flash…
And if that destructive power was multiplied more than thirtyfold…
Zaraki Kenpachi might be the first one to come crashing down on his doorstep, even before Retsu Unohana finished with Ichigo.
"Speaking of which, Brother Kurosaki has taken his first big step. He should be able to clear the 'submission' stage in the next day or two."
"There is still more than a week left until the execution. Once he masters Bankai, he will have some time to get used to it."
"But I am not exactly slow either…"
Takeru tilted his head a little, gaze focusing on the lawn in front of him.
There, in the sunlight filtered through the leaves, stood a hazy silhouette. The grass around her glowed green gold, and even from behind, her mood felt bright and pleased.
"How does it feel, being in the World of the Living?"
"I like this feeling of standing in the sun. It is very similar to when I activate my power, sparkling everywhere…"
"…"
The Mushroom Woman's words made the corner of Takeru's mouth twitch.
Only he knew how many times he had been blown up in the past few days just to force this woman to materialize.
It was fine to self destruct in the inner world.
Once, he had even been unable to resist using the technique himself. The result had still been him blowing himself to pieces.
The move Endonemī had proposed, Takeru had thought of long ago. Of course he had. He would have been more surprised not to.
But a technique that guaranteed mutual destruction with the enemy was meaningless to him.
He fought to win.
At worst, he could accept a result like Ichigo's, temporarily losing all his power.
Dragging the enemy down to die with him? Absolutely unacceptable.
"There is still time. Forget sunbathing. Taking you to the Human World for a proper sunbath is easy."
Takeru looked at her lazily.
"As long as you cooperate with me and finish Bankai."
"I have always been very cooperative with your demands."
Her voice was light and teasing.
"Yes, 'materialization' is over. Next it is my turn to 'submit,' correct?"
The Mushroom Woman slowly turned around. Her smile was playful and sweet, her beauty almost surreal, yet beneath it you could clearly sense mischief and danger.
"Bankai is, in essence, the vast power accumulated by its owner."
"To harvest that power and truly claim it, the Zanpakuto must be 'subjugated'."
"Normally, that means violence, pure and simple… because it is very much like a predator digesting its prey."
"But we have no need to do that."
"After all, we have been beating each other up for far longer than most."
"From the way you are talking… sounds like you are not planning to drag me to the World of the Living for one last showdown?"
Takeru raised an eyebrow.
"Indeed not. All I need is an answer to one question."
The Mushroom Woman smiled, expression soft as a picture scroll, though the words she spoke felt more like a blade.
"Master, can you tell me… what is the thing that has frightened you the most in your life so far?"
"…"
Takeru went still.
After a moment, he replied quietly, "I cannot remember."
"Then think carefully."
She giggled.
"When you figure it out, tell me."
"…What, are you planning to make my Bankai take the form that counters my answer?"
"Why would it not be fixed from the start?"
"?"
Before Takeru could ask anything else, the Mushroom Woman dissolved like smoke in the wind.
He stood alone beneath the tree for a long time, saying nothing.
…
A stroll.
That was never something that appeared on Suì Fēng's schedule.
Today, she was out overseeing the Patrol Corps.
Recently, the number of complaints had gone down.
And it was not just the Patrol Corps.
The Second Division as a whole seemed to be gaining a new sort of respect.
It had nothing to do with Ōmaeda trying to win hearts by selling laxatives on the side. The real reason lay in the carefully calibrated rules and guidelines Suì Fēng had spent so much effort drafting.
Improving efficiency no longer depended solely on harsh orders and brutal speed.
Sometimes, skillful communication did the job just as well, if not better.
There were also a few clever methods she had learned from books from the World of the Living. After adapting them carefully to fit Seireitei's reality, she had rolled them into their intelligence gathering system.
Old practices were quietly being replaced.
Thanks to this series of reforms, the Second Division had suddenly taken on a deeper, more unfathomable air in the eyes of the other squads.
Suì Fēng was very satisfied.
It was not as if she had been unaware of the bad reputation the Onmitsukidō carried, the one Ōmaeda had grumbled about.
She had simply thought it unavoidable.
And something she should be prepared to endure.
As long as the mission was accomplished and duty fulfilled, what did a little infamy matter?
But now, it seemed there was far more room for improvement than she had ever imagined.
From disgust and rejection, to solemn respect…
Suì Fēng felt as if she had seized the true essence of justice. Under her leadership, the Onmitsukidō and the Second Division would surely thrive, far surpassing the era under her predecessor.
Buoyed by that sense of accomplishment, Suì Fēng's gaze happened to land on the very talent who had given her so many of those ideas.
"Takeru?"
He was wandering down one of Seireitei's main avenues, head lowered, clearly lost in thought.
Suì Fēng's brows knit slightly. She waved her attendants away and strode forward, coming to a stop right in front of him.
"Shimiya Takeru."
Her cool voice cut into his thoughts.
"What are you doing, suddenly wandering into Second Division territory?"
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