With Ikkaku and Yumichika defeated in just two or three exchanges, Inaba's expression turned utterly foul. He could not hesitate any longer. He had to act and seize Nozomi Kujō.
"Dance wildly, Raikū."
Inaba's Zanpakutō transformed into a long-handled double-bladed weapon. The shaft was yellow, and the blades were inverted against each other. This Zanpakutō was precisely the trump card that gave Inaba the confidence to personally come to the World of the Living and capture his target.
Inaba launched an attack at Tsunayoshi. Tsunayoshi, with the Forest Blade sliding into his palm, showed no fear either. He raised his blade and slashed toward Inaba.
However, Inaba had no intention of clashing blades with Tsunayoshi. The instant Tsunayoshi struck, Inaba rotated his Zanpakutō clockwise, and a black space about three meters wide appeared in front of Tsunayoshi.
Tsunayoshi's slash cut through empty air.
As for Inaba, he slipped directly past Tsunayoshi and rushed toward Nozomi Kujō. His goal had always been simple: Nozomi Kujō.
But how could Inaba, a researcher who had spent years among Squad 12 , possibly match Tsunayoshi in speed? With a single step of Shunpo, Tsunayoshi appeared beside Nozomi even faster than him.
He grabbed Nozomi by the wrist. Under her somewhat startled gaze, Tsunayoshi flung her into the air. Tatsuki appeared at just the right moment and caught the freely flying Nozomi in her arms.
Seeing Sawada Tsunayoshi once again standing in his way, Inaba gritted his teeth and rotated his Zanpakutō counterclockwise. At the same time, Tsunayoshi released more Forest Flames and slashed at Inaba.
Clang.
Then came a metallic symphony, followed by the dense rustling sound of countless leaves colliding.
Tsunayoshi saw another version of himself appear in front of him. That person was holding the same Forest Blade and clashing against him.
Tsunayoshi recognized the way the person before him swung his blade. It was exactly the same posture Tsunayoshi had used earlier when slashing at Inaba. Combined with the fact that he had emerged from the black space, Tsunayoshi was certain this was the version of himself from just now.
At that moment, Tsunayoshi also remembered what Inaba's Zanpakutō ability was.
When rotated clockwise, it could create and record space. When rotated counterclockwise, it could read that recorded space.
That was why Inaba could briefly duplicate an opponent's attack ability, which was why two Tsunayoshis ended up slashing at each other.
This move of Inaba's had indeed caught Tsunayoshi off guard. The wide-area sharp cutting ability of the Forest Flames forced Tsunayoshi to use the power of Blut Vene.
"You came knocking on my door first thing in the morning, and you even tore up my clothes. Nicely done."
Tsunayoshi casually tore off the tattered remains of his upper clothing, his gaze filled with displeasure.
"Heh. You can try me." The brief clash just now gave Inaba enormous confidence. With his Zanpakutō in hand, at the very least, he would not fall into defeat.
What Inaba did not notice was that, while he was mocking Tsunayoshi, the six-pointed star in Tsunayoshi's eyes had already turned into a solid hexagram pattern.
Boom.
A sudden tremendous force pressed down on Inaba's body. He had no choice but to bend over, and he nearly lost his grip on his Zanpakutō.
Move! Hurry up and move!
Inaba watched Tsunayoshi walk toward him step by step in terror. Unable to rotate his Zanpakutō, he immediately fell into a disadvantage.
Gravity.
Seeing the ground by his feet sink along with him, Inaba immediately judged that the change was being caused by gravity. Damn it. Under the weight of this gravity, he was almost unable to even lift his Zanpakutō.
Tsunayoshi walked toward Inaba with a cold expression. At some point, the Forest Blade in his hand had switched into a metallic silver armguard. What he was using was the power of the Flame of Earth. The attribute of the Flame of Earth was gravity.
In just one exchange, Tsunayoshi had already thought of a way to counter Inaba.
A crimson Flame of Earth ignited on Tsunayoshi's right hand. Gravity continuously gathered around his fist. Inaba was the mastermind behind the Invading Army arc, and Tsunayoshi had never intended to let him go. He was preparing to finish him directly with a single gravity punch.
Inaba also understood what Tsunayoshi intended to do. That unrestrained killing intent made it clear that Tsunayoshi had no intention of hiding his thoughts at all.
Damn it.
Watching Tsunayoshi's flaming fist grow larger and larger in his vision, Inaba, despite his terror, suddenly revealed an eerie smile. As a researcher, he was accustomed to making multiple preparations. Otherwise, how could he personally step onto the battlefield?
Just as Tsunayoshi's fist was about to strike his face, a red pill identical to those used by Ikkaku and Yumichika slipped from beneath his tongue and was swallowed into his stomach.
Boom!
Tsunayoshi's punch contained an immense amount of gravitational force. When it smashed into Inaba's face, it directly crushed his head into powder.
A headless Inaba knelt before Tsunayoshi.
What shocked Tsunayoshi was that behind this Inaba, who looked like a corpse, another Inaba appeared. He was smiling happily. Having escaped the gravity field, he was once again able to use the power of his Zanpakutō.
Rotate. Unlock.
Long before he came to the World of the Living, Inaba had already found the impostors he had created and sealed away a portion of the techniques belonging to them. Now, they happened to be useful for escaping.
Two wind blades shot out from the black space.
It was clearly Shunsui Kyōraku's Bushōgoma!
Inaba looked at Nozomi with lingering reluctance. He was going to flee. Nozomi could only be captured next time.
It was also precisely because Nozomi was present that Inaba did not dare use techniques sealed with even greater power. If Nozomi died because of those techniques, he feared he would anger himself to death.
Seeing those two fierce gusts, Tsunayoshi ignited flames in both hands and built a gravity wall in front of himself, blocking them.
He could have dodged Bushōgoma and given chase, but if he dodged, his house could not. In order to protect his home, Tsunayoshi had no choice but to let Inaba delay him this once.
And with that single obstruction, Inaba had already vanished without a trace.
Tsunayoshi had no intention of chasing Inaba. He was nothing more than a clown. As long as Nozomi remained on their side, Inaba would show himself sooner or later. When they met next time, he could simply crush him then.
Tsunayoshi glanced at the sunken ground in front of him. Fortunately, they had not fought much. This was the only damage to his home. After casually using gravity to level the ground, he released his Quincy power.
"He got away. What a pity," Tatsuki said as she landed beside Tsunayoshi while holding Nozomi Kujō.
"That guy came prepared. He used a Modified Soul as a substitute and had it take my attack for him," Tsunayoshi explained.
"A Modified Soul?"
"This." Tsunayoshi crooked his finger, and the two red pills that had fallen to the ground flew into his hand. "These are Modified Souls that guy created using Ikkaku and Yumichika's Reishi."
"They really are Modified Souls. They look very real, and their strength is similar too. They just can't keep up with the current version," Tatsuki commented.
"This is the technology sealed away by Central 46. Those noble lords are terrified that someone could replace them at any moment. And now, that man named Inaba has succeeded, hasn't he?"
Tsunayoshi's final words were directed at Nozomi Kujō.
Nozomi looked at Tsunayoshi in surprise. "How do you know?"
"It's nothing major. Let's go back and eat breakfast. I'll contact Uncle Ryūken. I won't go over to his place for the next few days. I'll stay home and protect you."
Tsunayoshi yawned and walked back toward the house.
"Relax. If Tsunayoshi says that, then it definitely isn't a big deal."
Tatsuki patted Nozomi on the shoulder, then chased after Tsunayoshi and asked, "You still haven't said how that bad guy escaped."
"He hid a Modified Soul in his mouth. As for which Shinigami that Modified Soul was copied from, I don't know. Still, he acted pretty decisively."
"That's ruthless. He can even use his companions like that?" A fierce glint appeared in Tatsuki's eyes. She hated people who did not respect their companions most of all.
"Companions? To him, they're all just tools. Nozomi included," Tsunayoshi said indifferently.
"Nozomi?"
Tatsuki looked back and saw that Nozomi was still standing in place at a loss. Only now did Tatsuki understand why Nozomi had always looked so timid and unapproachable.
"Nozomi, from now on, we're your companions. Come in!"
Tatsuki ran back, grabbed Nozomi Kujō, and led her into the house.
As Tatsuki pulled her along, Nozomi Kujō's lifeless eyes seemed to gain a faint trace of light.
Was there someone who cared about her too?
Companions…
Perhaps this world was not so unworthy of lingering in after all.
After a hearty meal, Tatsuki still had to return to school. Tsunayoshi, who had nothing else to do, stayed at home according to plan to protect Nozomi Kujō.
Just as Tatsuki was about to leave, the doorbell of Tsunayoshi's house rang again.
Tsunayoshi and Tatsuki exchanged a glance.
What was going on?
Ever since Tsunayoshi's parents had gone on a business trip, no unrelated people should have come here. Even when Ichigo and the others came over to hang out, they would notify him in advance. There was no need to knock at all.
Was everything just happening all at once today?
Tsunayoshi gave Tatsuki a look. As before, he would go open the door. If anything seemed wrong, Tatsuki would take Nozomi and leave first.
He opened the front door.
Tsunayoshi was somewhat dumbfounded. Without saying a word, he immediately closed the door. After waiting one second to refresh his vision, he opened it again.
Good grief. Tsunayoshi had not seen wrong.
Standing outside were once again Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika Ayasegawa.
No, seriously, was Inaba ever going to stop?
"Yo—"
Ikkaku was just about to greet Tsunayoshi when Tsunayoshi immediately punched him in the abdomen, then followed up with a kick that sent Yumichika flying as well.
Enduring the pain, Ikkaku retreated and shouted, "Tsunayoshi, what the hell? You don't have to beat me up the moment we meet, do you?"
Tsunayoshi's hand, which had been about to draw his blade, stopped.
The way Ikkaku addressed him sounded familiar. Ikkaku had always been rough and straightforward. After becoming familiar with him, he called him directly by name, unlike other Shinigami who would add honorifics such as "sir."
"So you updated the version this quickly?" Tsunayoshi muttered as he walked out of the house.
He had just mocked Inaba earlier. Unexpectedly, after a single breakfast, Inaba had already updated the data for these impostors.
"Mr. Tsunayoshi, we are the real Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika Ayasegawa."
Hearing Tsunayoshi's words, the sharp-minded Yumichika immediately understood that he had taken a kick for nothing. Holding his forehead, he explained helplessly.
"The real ones? Why would it just so happen to be you two knocking at the door?"
Only now did Tsunayoshi react. Had he really hit the wrong people?
"It is not only us who came. The captains have also arrived," Yumichika said.
At that moment, a series of Shunpo sounds rang out.
Before long, Tsunayoshi's courtyard was filled with Shinigami. All of them wore white haori.
The Gotei Thirteen had all come?
Only then did Tsunayoshi understand. No wonder Ikkaku and Yumichika had been the ones to knock on the door.
In front of this group of people, the two of them really were the lowest-ranking ones.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789