Chapter 294: Asauchi

Ichiro Urahana ran through the air, his charred, bleeding arm trailing behind him as he stepped on spiritual energy. His face was etched with fear, his eyes wide with horror.

Before coming here, he never imagined that the child who killed his brother would possess such monstrous abilities. The boy could replicate a spell after seeing it only once, performing it faster and improving it immediately.

What kind of monster was this? What kind of freak?

He couldn't suppress H'el with his spiritual pressure, couldn't control spiritual energy as well as him, chanted spells slower than him, and was inferior in swordsmanship. Ichiro's back was drenched in cold sweat.

He turned his head to glance back and saw H'el running through the air, expressionless and calmly chasing him. H'el didn't seem the least bit tense, as if he intended to exhaust all of Ichiro's strength before finally killing him.

After all, a fully trained Shinigami had considerable power and spiritual energy, likely far more than H'el.

In fact, a Shinigami's strength and spiritual energy were at least sixty times greater than H'el's.

Yet despite this disparity, Ichiro felt only despair.

He couldn't understand the level of control H'el had over spiritual energy. What kind of skill was needed to defeat someone like him, with fifty years of relentless training?

"What do you want?" Ichiro couldn't help but turn his head again, his fear palpable.

H'el was even closer than before.

Ichiro shouted in panic, using a large amount of spiritual energy to perform Shunpo and increase the distance between them.

"Your Asauchi," H'el replied without hesitation.

He had great interest in the Asauchi, the "weapon of unlimited potential" crafted by "Sword God" Ōetsu Nimaiya.

These proto-Zanpakutō, imbued with the owner's spirit and beliefs, become unique Zanpakutō.

Such weapons, developing various extraordinary abilities, were incredibly special.

H'el was curious about what his Shikai would be.

He had an inkling, but wanted to confirm it.

Originally, he planned to teach Gin and Rangiku while passing through the Rukongai to Seireitei, enrolling in the Shin'ō Academy to learn more about Kido and the dissection of spiritual energy. And, of course, he intended to obtain an Asauchi to unlock his own Shikai.

Now, obtaining an Asauchi in advance was not a problem for H'el.

As for Ichiro Urakawa's life, it no longer needed to exist.

Thinking he could escape after offending him?

"Bastard!" Ichiro seethed with anger.

The Asauchi in his hand had been infused with his spirit, beliefs, and hopes for decades. It represented his aspiration for Shikai and his dream of becoming an officer. Even in death, he couldn't abandon it.

His desire for Shikai had become a demon in his heart.

He would rather die than give up this Asauchi.

H'el's covetousness for his Asauchi made Ichiro's anger flare up. He gripped his Asauchi tightly with one hand, gritting his teeth as H'el closed in.

"Hadō #11: Tsuzuri Raiden!" Ichiro chanted quickly, and his Asauchi crackled with intense lightning.

He turned, slashing at H'el.

The Asauchi, entwined with Hadō #11: Tsuzuri Raiden, released a web of lightning like hundreds of serpents spreading through the air, the crackling sound resembling the chirping of a thousand birds.

This was Ichiro's most proud, familiar, and powerful move, honed for over thirty years. Even typical seated officers couldn't withstand this web of lightning.

In his hopeful gaze, H'el was enveloped by the lightning.

"Got him!"

Ichiro felt a surge of joy, his eyes lighting up with triumph, only to see the lightning pass through H'el's dissipating figure.

H'el's image vanished within the lightning.

The tip of H'el's sword, Sakura Fall, pierced through Ichiro's chest, streaked with blood.

H'el stood behind Ichiro, his expression calm as he held the sword that impaled him.

Ichiro's combat skills weren't particularly exceptional. He relied mainly on his well-practiced Kidō and swordsmanship.

But for H'el, it was easy prey.

"You... how... how is this possible?" Ichiro's voice was filled with unwillingness as blood welled up in his throat. He looked down at the sword tip protruding from his chest.

This time, he didn't even touch the hem of H'el's clothes and wasted his strongest, most practiced move.

H'el shook his head. "It was just a matter of using the residual spirit particles from Shunpo to interact with sunlight, creating a light and shadow effect to leave behind an afterimage."

H'el explained briefly, not finding it particularly noteworthy.

However, the technique was executed flawlessly.

When Shunpo is activated, spirit particles burst out uncontrollably, making it seemingly impossible to perform what H'el described.

Ichiro, understanding the principles of Shunpo, realized the sheer difficulty of what H'el had done.

"So that's how it is! The gap... *cough*~~~"

The gap is this wide.

Even something like this can be done!

Ichiro coughed up a large amount of blood, his face contorted in misery as he leaned forward, his body convulsing from Sakura Fall's blade. His spirit energy lost control, making it impossible for him to stay airborne, causing him to fall from the sky.

Clutching his Asauchi tightly, he looked back at H'el as he fell.

Suddenly, he threw his Asauchi at H'el, his lips forming a bloody, tragic smile as he plummeted.

"Show me... the sight of Shikai."

He smiled bitterly, falling, hitting tree branches repeatedly, and finally landing on a rocky ledge, his lifeless body lying there, eyes filled with desolation.

H'el glanced at him indifferently, catching the Asauchi. It trembled slightly in his hand, shedding all the spirit, belief, and intense desire for Shikai that Ichiro had imbued in it.

Everything about him vanished with his death.

In H'el's hands, the Asauchi gently shimmered as his spirit particles washed over it, emitting a faint glow.

A feeling almost akin to his soul speaking directly to him rose in H'el's heart.

Holding the Asauchi vertically before him, he glanced at it briefly before lowering it, stepping through the air back toward the village.

In no time, he reached the village.

At the battleground, a charred crater had formed, and many villagers anxiously watched H'el's return from a distance.

"Hmm?"

H'el's gaze sharpened as he noticed the arrow left by Gin Ichimaru.

°°°

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