Chapter 291: Monster

Ichiro Urahana's face was stern and angry as he slowly drew his Asauchi, and his spiritual pressure grew even more overwhelming, pressing the ordinary villagers to the ground, trembling in fear.

His Asauchi was beautiful, with dark red patterns on the blade that glimmered like blood in the sunlight.

Despite his anger, Ichiro Urahana's eyes were cautious.

He was astonished that this child could withstand his spiritual pressure. Even though the child's spiritual pressure was insignificant, he stood firm under Urahana's overwhelming force. What kind of technique allowed him to dissipate the pressure so effectively? What was this advanced method that made him immune to it? Ichiro Urahana didn't understand.

Despite his anger, he remained as cautious as ever—a trait even Aizen admired.

Though he hadn't yet achieved Shikai, Urahana possessed qualities revered by most Shinigami: bravery, determination, loyalty, caution, diligence, and responsibility. These made him a reliable figure among his peers.

But in the Soul Society, strength often outweighed these admirable traits.

"Let me see how skilled you are with the sword," he said.

With his spiritual pressure pressing down on the kneeling villagers around him, Ichiro Urahana stepped forward like a surging tsunami, ready to strike at H'el.

H'el gripped the hilt of his sword, Sakura, drawing it from its sheath. He held it horizontally in front of his chest, his left palm against the back of the blade. Spiritual particles flowed intricately from his hands, forming a supportive structure.

As their swords clashed, a burst of energy exploded, and they stood in a stalemate.

The sight of Ichiro Urahana's towering figure against H'el's small stature was jarring. Urahana was surprised that H'el could withstand his strength. Sakura's blade glowed faintly with spiritual energy, arranged in a way that produced a formidable resistance against Urahana's attack.

'He has a unique technique to counter my strength.' Urahana thought, his eyes flashing with surprise and murderous intent. This child was extraordinary, manipulating spiritual particles with an expert's precision to create a defense beyond Urahana's understanding.

In an instant, Urahana's sword strikes surged like waves in a tsunami, the flashing blade overwhelming everyone's vision.

H'el remained calm, his eyes bright, and Sakura glowed with spiritual energy. He deflected and absorbed Urahana's strikes from impossible angles, constructing an impenetrable shield.

In the eyes of the onlookers, Urahana seemed to be relentlessly slashing at H'el, whose calm deflection of each strike created a storm of sword clashes.

Gin Ichimaru quickly pulled Rangiku away, their eyes wide with awe at the spectacle.

"Hado #1: Sho!" Ichiro Urahana suddenly found an opening amidst the sword fight and aimed his palm at H'el, casting a spell.

A powerful shockwave burst from Urahana's palm.

H'el's eyebrows twitched, his eyes flashing. He quickly brought Sakura back in front of his chest to block the Hado spell.

'Boom!'

The immense force of the spell crashed into H'el's sword, making his grip tremble. H'el was pushed back by the impact of Hado #1: Sho.

H'el's legs were pushed back across the ground, his straw sandals carving deep grooves in the dirt as he was shoved back seven or eight meters.

Before H'el could regain his footing, Ichiro Urahana used Shunpo, instantly closing the gap and appearing at H'el's left side. He mercilessly swung his Asauchi towards H'el's shoulder, intending to sever his left arm.

"Hado #1: Sho!"

At that moment, Ichiro Urahana heard the familiar incantation of Hado #1: Sho. The powerful force of the spell struck his sword-wielding hand directly.

The strong impact of Hado #1: Sho slammed into his fingers, causing him to grimace in pain. His grip faltered, and the trajectory of his slash wavered.

H'el smiled faintly, casually twirling Sakura to deflect the Asauchi aimed at his arm.

Ichiro Urahana immediately used Shunpo again, retreating several meters away from H'el. His hand trembled as he held his sword, his face filled with shock. "How do you know Hado?"

Learning Hado wasn't easy.

Among the four essential skills that Shinigami must master—swordsmanship, Shunpo, hand-to-hand combat, and Kido—swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat could be learned through physical training.

Shunpo was slightly more difficult.

But Kido, which involved converting spiritual energy into spells through specific incantations, was a complex skill to master.

The fact that this child had advanced swordsmanship and could use Shunpo didn't surprise Ichiro Urahana, but his ability to use Kido did.

Kido wasn't something an ordinary person could learn or use.

Without formal training at the Shin'o Academy, learning Kido was nearly impossible, and even then, it required extensive practice to master and minimize incantation times.

However, for someone like H'el, mastering the control of spiritual energy was no obstacle.

"I just learned it from watching you," H'el replied with a smile, casually flicking Sakura and softly chanting, "Hado #1: Sho!"

In an instant, a force wrapped around H'el's sword hand, extending along the blade of Sakura, covering it with an invisible layer of impact energy, stirring the surrounding air currents.

In that brief moment, H'el had already modified the power of Hado #1: Sho to suit his own use.

He bound the force of Hado #1: Sho to the blade of Sakura, allowing it to collide and release impact energy, significantly conserving over eighty percent of his spiritual energy.

"Impossible!"

Ichiro Urahana couldn't believe it.

How could someone possibly learn Hado #1: Sho just by seeing it once?

This wasn't just an insult to the efforts of all the Shinigami in the Soul Society, but a devastating blow to Ichiro Urahana personally.

Just as his brother couldn't believe H'el had learned Shunpo by watching it a couple of times, Ichiro Urahana couldn't believe H'el had mastered the Hado spell after a single glance.

Even if it was just Hado #1: Sho, the most basic and simplest of Hado spells.

Seeing H'el use Hado #1: Sho again, applying it to Sakura, with the impact energy swirling around the blade, gathering the surrounding energy, Ichiro Urahana's eyes widened in shock, his jaw dropping in disbelief.

What kind of monster was this?

H'el had not only learned Hado #1: Sho in one glance but had immediately modified it into a sustained, weapon-bound impact force.

"Impossible!"

Ichiro Urahana's eyes remained wide with shock, still unable to believe it. His hand trembled as he gripped his sword tightly, ignoring the pain in his injured hand, and swiftly slashed towards H'el.

He needed to cut down everything he was seeing as if it were a mere illusion.

°°°

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