"Tsunayoshi, hurry! Let us see what your Quincy power looks like!"
Ichigo asked with an excited expression. Having just gone through his own awakening, he understood that a Quincy Cross capable of causing such a huge commotion definitely had to possess extraordinary power.
"Perfect. Tsunayoshi, fight Ichigo and let us see for ourselves," Tatsuki chimed in from the side.
No one could help being curious about the new powers their two friends had obtained.
Tsunayoshi had no objection. However, when he looked at his house, which had already been reduced to ruins, his head began to ache.
He sent Urahara a message, asking him to find someone to help repair the house and, by the way, to lend them the training ground beneath the Urahara Shop. The cost could be deducted from the salary he received from the Seireitei.
Although Tsunayoshi did not care much about his position as a Shinigami instructor, Yamamoto had never shortchanged him on benefits. Apart from giving him a house, he also paid him a monthly salary.
Originally, Tsunayoshi had no idea where he could even spend Soul Society's wages. Now they could be used to repair his house.
"Let's go. We'll return to the World of the Living and head to the Urahara Shop," Tsunayoshi said.
"Huh? Why go back to the World of the Living? Wouldn't it be more convenient in Soul Society?" Ichigo asked, puzzled.
If they were only sparring, then finding an open space here should be more convenient.
"Of course, it's so your Schrift A can be put to proper use."
Tsunayoshi turned to Uryū and said, "Once we return to the World of the Living, have your father come to the Urahara Shop."
Everyone understood. Tsunayoshi wanted Ichigo to help Ryūken Ishida awaken the power of his Schrift.
"That feels a little inappropriate, doesn't it?"
Ichigo scratched his head and narrowed his eyes, but the smile on his face could not be hidden no matter what. The thought of shooting Uncle Ryūken with another arrow made him somewhat happy.
Everyone knew exactly what Ichigo was thinking.
Even Uryū did not think there was anything wrong with giving Ryūken an arrow. Who told that bastard father of his to give all his gentleness to his mother? When it came to Uryū's education, Ryūken had always been incredibly strict.
The group quickly returned to the Urahara Shop.
As soon as they stood in the underground space beneath the shop, Ichigo could no longer wait. He changed into his Quincy outfit, stepped onto Hirenkyaku, and slid a long distance away.
"Come on, Tsunayoshi! Let me see what your Reishi bow is!"
Ichigo raised his manji-shaped bow and shouted.
"Unfortunately, even after obtaining my Schrift, I still can't fight with a bow and arrows like a normal Quincy," Tsunayoshi said as he walked out, loosening his body.
"What? Can a Quincy who doesn't use a bow and arrows still be called a Quincy?" Ichigo questioned.
"You'll see. In the future, there will be plenty of Quincies who don't use bows and arrows."
"Tch. Then taste my power first!"
Ichigo drew his bow. A crimson arrow resembling a miniature Tensa Zangetsu appeared in his hand. The moment he released the bowstring, the arrow transformed into a streak of red light and attacked Tsunayoshi.
Ichigo's attack method was still immature. He had not been learning Quincy abilities for long. If they ignored raw power and judged purely by archery skill, Uryū could completely crush Ichigo.
But unfortunately, this person was Ichigo.
The power of his attacks could not be ignored.
The red light flashed past Tsunayoshi's cheek and produced a violent explosion behind him. He turned his head and looked. The crater Ichigo's arrow had left in the ground was not much different from one made by Getsuga Tenshō.
Getsuga Tenshō, which originally required a slight charge, had become an ordinary arrow in the hands of Quincy Ichigo.
So his special move had become a basic attack, and its power had not even decreased.
"Scared now? I can shoot as many arrows like that as I want~" Ichigo said with a grin.
"That really is impressive," Tsunayoshi calmly agreed.
A hexagram pattern appeared in his eyes again. He was also going to try out his new power.
Under Tsunayoshi's control, Reishi gathered behind him and formed the shape of a hexagram. A patch of light constantly rotated and flickered across the six points before finally stopping on a pattern made up of four small circles.
This was the power of the Swamp Flame.
The four small circles symbolized atoms. Combined together, they represented the fermentation characteristic of the Swamp Flame, which could ferment everything into an inorganic form.
To put it simply, anything struck by the Swamp Flame would melt into a soft, swamp-like mass.
It was very abstract. Even Tsunayoshi felt it was very abstract.
The hexagram shrank and branded itself onto Tsunayoshi's back. Eight brown spider legs, formed from Reishi and radiating a metallic luster, extended from behind him.
They were practically identical to Eight Spider Lances.
Uryū could no longer sit still. He stood up and looked in Tsunayoshi's direction in surprise, muttering, "Vollständig?"
Ever since learning that the form condensed by the Sanrei Glove was a semi-Vollständig, the Ishida family had been researching what a true Vollständig looked like.
The Reishi fluctuation Tsunayoshi had just emitted was extremely similar to the results of Uryū's family research.
In other words, Tsunayoshi's current form was very likely a Vollständig form!
Tsunayoshi heard Uryū and smiled as he explained, "That's right. Although I can't normally use a bow and arrows, once I use my power, it manifests directly in Vollständig form. Ichigo, Vollständig: Swamp Spider Lances, at your service."
When Tsunayoshi used his Quincy power, the hexagram behind him simulated the way Quincies released Vollständig. However, because he was only using part of his power, the hexagram-shaped Quincy Cross shrank accordingly.
Only when Tsunayoshi wanted to use that crossbow bolt would his Quincy Cross become as huge and dazzling as before.
"Wait!"
Ichigo opened his palm and asked, "This isn't just one of your powers, is it?"
Ichigo had seen the six points of the hexagram flickering earlier. It looked as though Tsunayoshi had been choosing which power to use.
"How did you know my Quincy power also has seven types of power?" Tsunayoshi asked curiously.
Ichigo felt a mouthful of blood clog his chest.
Seven types.
Again, seven types.
Grinding his teeth, he said, "Tsunayoshi, you really deserve to die!"
After saying that, Ichigo raised his hand and fired six arrows in succession, focusing on sealing off every possible path of retreat.
He did not care anymore. Today, he had to teach Tsunayoshi a proper lesson.
All six arrows were aimed at Tsunayoshi. Ichigo had also prepared for Tsunayoshi to dodge. No matter how Tsunayoshi evaded, he would have to take at least one arrow.
However, Tsunayoshi had no intention of dodging at all.
The eight Swamp Spider Lances behind him fully extended, and a brown flame ignited at the tip of each spider lance.
Eight Swamp Flames shot out toward Ichigo's Heilig Pfeil. Six of them struck the six arrows Ichigo had fired.
Under the influence of the Swamp Flame, the crimson arrows immediately melted into clumps of mud and fell to the ground. The Swamp Flame continued to ferment them, peeling away the Reishi within the arrows bit by bit until they no longer posed any threat.
Ichigo was somewhat dumbfounded.
His attack had been neutralized that easily?
He casually fired two more arrows at the remaining two flames. The result was the same as before. The moment the arrows collided with the Swamp Flame, they turned soft and limp.
However, this time, observing at close range allowed Ichigo to discover the Swamp Flame's characteristic.
Anything wrapped in those flames was gradually being transformed into Reishi.
Ichigo became serious. He was just about to ask Tsunayoshi about it when he heard Tsunayoshi's voice come from above.
"The characteristic of the Swamp Flame is fermentation!"
Tsunayoshi leapt high into the air and lunged at Ichigo like a giant spider. Ichigo hurriedly used Hirenkyaku to dodge, but the corner of his clothing was still brushed by one of the spider lances.
Just like the arrows earlier, that piece of clothing turned into swamp-like sludge and stuck to the ground.
Ichigo secretly swallowed.
He silently decided that he absolutely could not let those spider legs touch his Reishi bow. If something went wrong, he might actually lose his bow.
Tsunayoshi continued pressing his advantage. The eight Swamp Lances rapidly launched thrust after thrust at Ichigo.
Caught off guard, Ichigo condensed a Heilig Pfeil to parry Tsunayoshi's attacks.
A series of clanging sounds rang out. With every collision, Ichigo lost one Heilig Pfeil. However, he did not care at all. He had plenty of power to condense new arrows.
And as it happened, Ichigo's Heilig Pfeil was still a miniature version of Tensa Zangetsu. It had simply shrunk from a long sword to the shape of a short blade, which did not hinder him from using it.
This was Tensa Zangetsu, the weapon he was most familiar with.
"Heh, Tsunayoshi, didn't expect this, did you? Using Quincy powers doesn't stop me from using my Zanpakutō."
Ichigo proudly swung "Tensa Zangetsu." He could not help feeling glad that he had learned how to swing his blade from White Ichigo back then. Thanks to that, he could now use the length of the chain to make up for the shortcomings of this shortened "Tensa Zangetsu."
"You seem pretty happy about that. But with that size, isn't your blade basically a Quincy Seele Schneider?"
Tsunayoshi looked at Ichigo with amusement. Only in front of him and Tatsuki would Ichigo show this somewhat childish side.
"Seele Schneider…"
Ichigo curled his lip and said sarcastically, "You can use a Seele Schneider too. Let's see whether you have more Seele Schneider, or I have more Heilig Pfeil."
Although he said that, Ichigo did not relax at all.
Tsunayoshi, barehanded and using only those spider legs, had already put him in trouble. If Tsunayoshi used a Seele Schneider to block his "Tensa Zangetsu," then Ichigo would have to directly face those spider legs.
Quietly, Ichigo slid back quite a distance with Hirenkyaku.
Quincy combat still required a certain amount of distance.
Tsunayoshi smiled.
"Ichigo, you don't really think I don't have a Seele Schneider, do you?"
Tsunayoshi drew a rectangular object slightly longer than a pair of chopsticks from behind his waist. This Seele Schneider had been a graduation gift from Uncle Ryūken Ishida, and Tsunayoshi had always kept it hidden beneath his Zanpakutō's sheath.
This was a trump card Tsunayoshi had kept hidden all along. He had thought that if one day he was forced into a desperate situation, this Seele Schneider might prove useful.
However, Tsunayoshi had not expected his power to overwhelm most opponents all this time. As a result, the Seele Schneider had remained hidden beneath his Zanpakutō like an unnoticed decoration.
But after hearing Ichigo's words, Tsunayoshi suddenly had an idea.
One of his Quincy powers was extremely suited to the Seele Schneider as a medium.
In any case, this was a test of Tsunayoshi's seven Flames of the Earth.
Now, he was ready to use Ichigo to test his blade!
The seven Flames of the Earth all belonged to Schrift E, and their characteristics were as follows:
Schrift E — Ground: Earth: Gravity.
Schrift E — Swamp: Fermentation.
Schrift E — Stream: Piercing.
Schrift E — Forest: Sharpness.
Schrift E — Mountain: Eruption.
Schrift E — Glacier: Freezing.
Schrift E — Desert: Illusion and Reality.
Author's Note: Some of the characteristics of the Flames of the Earth were not clearly stated in the manga, so part of this was made up by me.
For example, Stream was derived by combining Kaoru Mizuno's drill weapon with the image of a stream capable of piercing through mountains and rivers, resulting in the characteristic of "piercing."
Just read it for fun. That's all.
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