Chapter 112: Targeting
"Sit upon the frozen heavens, Hyorinmaru!"
"Illuminate Ten Thousand Blades, Kikou!"
The underground space's environment abruptly transformed.
Two Shikai release commands nearly simultaneously echoed through the underground space, spiritual pressure erupting.
In an instant, the world split in two.
Around Hitsugaya, bitterly cold air exploded outward. Airborne moisture condensed into ice, forming a dragon shape encircling him. A chain with crescent-moon blade extended from the hilt, swaying like a dragon's tail.
With Hyorinmaru's release, surrounding air temperature plummeted. Ground centered on Hitsugaya rapidly spread intricate frost patterns.
On his opposite side, Kikou in Suoh's hand bloomed with entirely different radiance.
Gentle yet pure light poured from his surroundings. Where light reached, Hitsugaya's created frost domain was quietly divided.
The boundary between light and ice stood clearly distinct. Two different worlds met here.
Relying on Suoh's Kaidō confidence, recent combat drills all employed zanpakuto release.
"Tsukasa, be careful!"
"Ice Dragon Spinning Tail!"
Hitsugaya's eyes focused sharply, form suddenly moving.
Hyorinmaru swept horizontally. Everywhere the blade edge passed became frozen. Following the blade tip's direction, frozen areas would extend additional ice blades for attack.
Facing this swift, massive-range freezing slash.
Suoh's eyes remained calm, swinging his blade to meet it.
Dazzling radiance flashed, completely dissolving ice blades.
He concentrated light in one location, dispersing low temperatures and suppressing ice crystal formation, neutralizing this attack.
Ice crystals turned to water, mist rising.
Ice Dragon Spinning Tail's residual power still shook the air. Intricate ice crystals continued spreading toward Suoh.
Against equal-level combatants, Hyorinmaru's inherent weather manipulation held significant advantage.
Suoh sensed plummeting temperature around him and slightly sluggish body movements. Radiance flowed across his form.
Standing at the boundary between light and ice.
In an instant, the crescent chain tail from Hyorinmaru's hilt shot from mist, coiling toward Kikou in Suoh's hand.
"Hadō Number Four: Byakurai."
Suoh looked toward the dancing crescent in midair. His left hand slightly raised, fingertip shooting white lightning deflecting the approaching crescent.
Lightning passed shoulder-to-shoulder with Hitsugaya.
He lowered his body carrying the blade still charging forward, completely unaffected by Byakurai, speed extremely fast, leaving a frost afterimage in place.
Hyorinmaru thrust upward from below, blade tip's cold gleam targeting Suoh's neck and shoulder.
Suoh reacted extremely quickly. The instant Hitsugaya emerged from mist, he understood the tactical intent.
Toes pivoting, blade slashing diagonally rightward.
"Oh?"
"New technique."
No expected blood spray occurred.
Sensing the feedback transmitted through his blade, Suoh raised an eyebrow.
Hitsugaya's figure before him shattered, transforming into fine ice crystals. A thin layer of ice spread along the blade tip toward Suoh's right arm.
Precisely at this moment.
"Sennen Hyōrō!"
A barrage of sharp, cold-emanating ice projectiles rained down toward Suoh.
"Good thinking."
Suoh smiled faintly, shattering ice on his body into powder suddenly falling groundward.
Sword light whirled, completely pulverizing the oncoming barrage.
Several seconds later.
"Ice Prison!"
Hitsugaya reappeared, blade tip pointing directly at Suoh's feet. Ice pillars abruptly rose, released freezing air continuously eroding his spiritual pathways and muscles.
"Ice Prison formation speed increased another ten percent from yesterday."
Suoh inwardly praised, yet his face showed no panic.
He gathered partial light radiance to both legs, repeatedly struggling against frost.
A sharp flowing radiance directly targeted Suoh's front.
Penetrating through Suoh's figure, it only stirred light-shadow ripples.
Hitsugaya's pupils suddenly contracted, alarm bells ringing in his heart.
The stabbing attack missing that instant, he knew trouble, twisting his form attempting to retreat.
But already too late.
Kikou's blade tip flashed before his eyes.
Vision before him turned white. Hitsugaya's sight was temporarily stripped away by Suoh.
Relying on training accumulated during this period, he barely sustained several exchanges.
"Let's stop here for today."
When blade settled on Hitsugaya's shoulder, Suoh's voice also reached his ear.
Previous combat adaptation training had long since concluded. Recently their combat drills basically all ended at appropriate points.
Hitsugaya closed his eyes, standing in place without movement.
The sensation of vision deprivation hadn't completely faded yet.
Those few exchanges after losing vision, relying solely on other senses and muscle memory to barely sustain—though time proved short, it consumed even more mental energy than before.
"When did your Kikou gain the ability to strip vision?"
Slowly exhaling turbid air, Suoh's sheathed figure appeared before his eyes. He asked with confusion.
Cold air on Hyorinmaru silently receded. Frost patterns spreading across ground transformed into moisture.
"More accurately, just flash blinding—similar to staring directly at midday sun, but more concentrated, more sudden."
"Within extremely brief time, using high-frequency intense light covering your eyes, causing short-term blindness."
"Duration depends on opponent's physical constitution. For you, probably only around ten seconds of effective disruption."
"In actual combat, this time completely suffices."
Hitsugaya blinked eyes still retaining some circular light spot residue, sighing emotionally.
Suoh paused briefly, tone growing more serious.
"Normally our battles basically rely on five senses for judgment, lacking targeted training."
"Like how you used ice clones today as control chain activation—precisely exploiting my vision."
"I have a concept: conducting combat practice while sealing certain senses. What do you think?"
"Growing accustomed to such interference, when facing other similar abilities or sudden situations in future, responses will prove much more composed."
"Okay, specifically how?"
Hitsugaya nodded inquiringly.
Suoh had already conceived this, answering smoothly.
"Progressive advancement."
"Starting with vision—this is what we most depend on, also most easily produces vulnerabilities. Overcoming it, other senses' acuity and coordination will be forced to improve."
"After establishing solid foundation, gradually seal other five senses until fighting primarily with spiritual perception."
"What we need training isn't using spiritual perception to replace five senses, but tempering it into a deeper instinct."
"When information from spiritual perception and other senses conflict, even just an instant's hesitation and confirmation—that proves crucial."
Spiritual perception could remotely detect enemy locations, but battlefield effectiveness wasn't so obvious.
Both sides engaging closely with spiritual pressure clashing, battle breath mixed chaotically—spiritual perception struggled obtaining much useful information.
Suoh didn't clearly understand what state falling under Kyoka Suigetsu's complete hypnosis felt like, but he knew spiritual perception represented the only pathway for detecting Kyoka Suigetsu's abnormalities.
In the original story, Unohana Retsu—under five senses deception—still relied on spiritual perception discovering Aizen's corpse abnormality.
Suoh didn't want someday his blade piercing his own friends' and family's bodies. For this, some targeted training proved imperative.
"When do we start?"
Hearing this, Hitsugaya had already decided, nodding decisively.
"No rush. First build mental preparation. We'll discuss it in a few days."
"Don't be fooled because I proposed this plan—honestly I'm uncertain how effective it'll prove."
"We might arduously train for extended periods achieving nothing, wasting time pointlessly."
Suoh's face revealed some helplessness, speaking candidly.
"No problem. I'll accompany you."
Hitsugaya held absolute trust in Suoh, expression calm, speaking firmly.
"Thank you."
Suoh suddenly felt, within such a gaze, his concerns seemed somewhat excessive.