Chapter Seventeen: Taking Action
Chojirou raised his hand and aimed at Ichino Tadakatsu, red light gathering in his palm growing ever brighter. At that moment, Chojirou began his incantation.
“O Sovereign! Mask of flesh and blood, all things, wings that beat, those crowned in the name of man! Twin lotuses engraved upon the wall of azure fire, the distant heavens wait in silence for the maw of great conflagration!”
"Wha…"
“Way of Destruction No. 73—Twin Lotus Azure Fire Crash!!”
A blast of crimson flames surged straight toward Ichino Tadakatsu, who was still bound by the Six Rods of Light Prison. That roaring energy seemed determined to utterly consume him, impossible to face head-on.
Chojirou poured every ounce of his strength into this number seventy-three destructive spell. He was confident—apart from unique existences like Shigekuni Yamamoto, no Shinigami without an iron skin could withstand this, not even those at the captain’s level.
Let alone Ichino Tadakatsu, who had only just reached captain class and had no way to defend himself.
A thunderous boom—crimson flames engulfed Ichino’s figure, erasing even a trace of him.
Chojirou’s breath came in ragged gasps, sweat streaming down his face. The immense drain on his spiritual pressure left his body reeling, and his stamina had plummeted into the red from unleashing such demon arts.
“Is it over…?” Chojirou shouted silently in his heart, again and again—over! Over! Over!
He didn’t want to keep fighting battle maniacs like Ichino. It was too exhausting. This relentless, no-retreat style of fighting was the very opposite of his own philosophy—if they weren’t enemies, there was no need to wager one’s life.
Unfortunately, even if he was a transmigrator and the protagonist, today the god called “author” would not take his side.
“Never thought I’d end up so battered…”
The smoke from the Twin Lotus Azure Fire Crash’s explosion slowly dissipated, revealing Ichino hit dead-on by the spell.
His upper body uniform was completely incinerated, his skin scorched black, clearly badly wounded. There was no blood—his wounds had been charred before they could even bleed. The lower half fared little better; apart from one crucial area, he was almost entirely stripped.
It seemed Ichino Tadakatsu had nearly exhausted his physical strength and spiritual power.
“I didn’t expect even my ‘Shell of Chaotic Fire Karma’ couldn’t withstand your destructive spell…”
“Shell of Chaotic Fire Karma? Don’t tell me that’s your Bankai…”
Chojirou gave a helpless laugh, utterly speechless. Even his Twin Lotus Azure Fire Crash hadn’t rendered this man incapable of fighting?
“Impossible… I haven’t yet mastered Bankai… but…”
Ichino narrowed his eyes, fixing Chojirou with an intense stare.
“I know all about your Bankai…”
“You knew about my fight with Master Hanaya, so it’s expected you’d know that too…”
Struggling to stand, Chojirou failed and once more knelt on the ground.
“We’re in similar shape—so this will be the last blow. Therefore…”
Ignoring the pain in his wounds, Ichino braced himself, roaring triumphantly as his spiritual pressure surged anew.
“Let’s put everything we have into this final strike!!”
Is he kidding? That spiritual pressure, and he calls this his last attack?
Crushed by the nearly uncontainable force of Ichino’s spiritual energy, Chojirou inwardly cursed him out.
“Tch… there’s no other way…”
This truly would be the final blow.
Chojirou knew full well that, even if he gathered every shred of spiritual pressure and strength left in him, he likely couldn’t stop Ichino—he might not even manage to slow him down.
Would he be cleaved in two?
His heart pounded, but he didn’t retreat. Not a single step!
“Raaahhh!”
“Haaaah!”
Black flames and golden lightning surged forth with no restraint, colliding headlong.
“Stop!”
A tremendous crash—at the instant their attacks struck, a black figure appeared between them, taking the brunt of both blows.
“Ugh…”
“You… you’re…”
When the two finally saw who had interrupted their duel, their eyes widened in disbelief.
“Kazunori Anba!”
Vice-Captain of Squad One, Kazunori Anba!
He had seized Chojirou’s wrist with one hand and blocked Ichino’s wild flames with his blade in the other—easily nullifying their match-deciding strikes.
He hadn’t even released his Zanpakuto.
What terrifying strength!
With an unreleased blade and his bare arm, he had effortlessly halted the all-out clash of two powerhouses, and he himself was completely unscathed.
Kazunori Anba was clearly far more formidable than he let on.
“My apologies, Lord Chojirou, for having you caught up in this.”
Kazunori gave Chojirou a nod of apology, then released his grip and, in one swift motion, slammed Ichino to the ground.
“So you vanished at dawn just to pull a stunt like this?”
“Tch… meddlesome…”
Brushing off Kazunori’s hand from his head, Ichino sat up with a resigned sigh.
“What I do is none of your business, is it?”
He shot Kazunori an aggrieved glance, then, gathering his strength, slowly stood and slid his restored Zanpakuto back into its sheath.
“So, what brings you here?”
“You know Lord Yasuda is leaving the Court of Pure Souls. As Third Seat, you run off instead of helping with affairs…”
“That’s enough!”
Unwilling to listen further, Ichino cut him off with a shout, showing no respect for a vice-captain.
“With you managing Squad One, there shouldn’t be any problem. As for my reason for coming here…”
He cast a glance at Chojirou, who was staring blankly at their argument.
“I wanted to see what kind of strength the future vice-captain of Squad One possesses.”
“Wha…”
How did he know that? Could it be that Ichino Tadakatsu was a transmigrator too?
“Vice-captain of Squad One? What nonsense is this…”
“You’re leaving the Court with the old man. As his right hand, it’s only natural he becomes vice-captain, isn’t it?”
Ichino pointed at Chojirou, then, a look of lingering excitement in his eyes, said, “That last strike—I absolutely would have won. But if you had used your Bankai, perhaps you would have. Let’s call it a draw for now. Someday…”
“I will burn all your lightning to ashes with my own hands.”