Whether magic and Kidō were truly the same kind of power still required further verification. For now, the most important goal was to teach the Sawada couple how to use Fullbring.
At home, Tsunayoshi had already guided his parents into finding the objects that their Fullbring power was attached to. The object chosen by both husband and wife's Reiatsu was the wedding ring on their hand: the most portable option, and something that would never fall off.
Since it happened to be the weekend, Iemitsu Sawada did not need to go to the company yet. Early the next morning, Tsunayoshi dragged the whole family to Xcution's café. Noel was no exception. It was also a perfect chance for Tsunayoshi to observe this so-called power of magic in detail.
"Little Tsuna, is this place run by one of your friends?" Nana curiously looked around the café. This was her first time seeing Tsunayoshi's friends outside of his classmates.
"That's right. Everyone here is a Fullbringer. Starting today, Mom, Dad, you'll come here every day to train until you master your abilities," Tsunayoshi said seriously.
The Sawada couple would not be back for very long. With Tsunayoshi's involvement, one month should be enough time for them to grasp the power of Fullbring.
After briefly greeting Shūkurō Tsukishima and Riruka Dokugamine, Tsunayoshi led everyone underground beneath the café. This place contained a special underground space made by the Urahara Shop.
"Yo, Tsunayoshi. You're pretty early." Jackie was already waiting underground. Beside her stood a large, muscular man.
"Chad came too?" Tatsuki curiously leaned close to Tsunayoshi's ear and asked.
"I called Chad over. I'm planning to have him spar with Niihashi-san and test the power of magic." Tsunayoshi gave Tatsuki a hint. "Don't forget what Chad's Fullbring is."
Once Tsunayoshi said that, Tatsuki understood what he meant. In the past, Tsunayoshi had guessed at the nature of Chad's ability. Chad's Fullbring medium was his skin. Chad could reflect the powers he had fought against onto his skin and form them into power unique to himself.
The Right Arm of the Giant represented Chad's Fullbring, while the Left Arm of the Devil represented the power of Hollows.
After coming up with this theory, Chad had taken on the role of sparring partner, hoping that one day he could reflect the powers of Shinigami and Quincy as well.
"Didn't he fail?" Tatsuki muttered.
"How do you know he failed?"
Tsunayoshi smiled faintly. Just because something had never been used in a formal setting did not mean the earlier experiment had failed. Otherwise, Tsunayoshi would not have called Chad over to try his luck.
After briefly introducing Chad and Jackie to his family, the Fullbring lesson officially began.
Using the Mist-attribute Shikai, Tsunayoshi conjured several ordinary Hollows commonly seen in the World of the Living and said to his parents, "Mom, Dad, your task is to defeat those Hollows by any means you can think of."
"You don't need to worry about safety. Jackie and Tatsuki will stay by your side as sparring partners, so you can go ahead and try boldly."
In truth, at this stage, Jackie and Tatsuki's accompaniment was completely unnecessary. The ordinary Hollows were all created by Tsunayoshi's illusions and could not actually harm Iemitsu and Nana.
However, in order to let the two of them train with peace of mind, Tsunayoshi openly arranged two sparring partners beside them.
When Nana saw the Hollows appear, her face could not help turning slightly pale. So Tsunayoshi had been fighting monsters like these all along. The next moment, her gaze became resolute. She could not become a burden to her husband and son.
Iemitsu did not show much change in expression. Although these Hollows looked a little more terrifying than Western Dragons, they were not impossible to accept.
Iemitsu and Nana separately extended their Reiatsu into their rings, hoping to draw out their power from the rings according to Tsunayoshi's instruction. At that moment, the ordinary Hollows had already charged toward them.
No longer watching his parents' training, Tsunayoshi handed everything over to Tatsuki and led Noel and Chad toward an empty area on the other side.
"Niihashi-san, could you show us the power of your magic?" Tsunayoshi asked.
"If I say no, does that mean I won't be able to leave this place?" Noel asked expressionlessly.
"Of course not. If nothing else, just because you saved my father several times, I have to guarantee your safety while you're in Japan."
"I want to try learning this Fullbring you mentioned," Noel stated her condition.
"I haven't avoided letting you hear my teaching since yesterday, have I? I assume you've already tried the Fullbring training method yourself, right?" Tsunayoshi asked directly.
Noel fell silent. Just as Tsunayoshi said, after returning to her room, she had tried all sorts of methods, wanting to find an object that carried her emotions. But no matter what she tried, she failed.
"That means you simply haven't reached the conditions needed to train in Fullbring," Tsunayoshi continued. "Or rather, your Reiatsu is completely at the level of an ordinary person. It's nowhere near the level of the Dragonclad you mentioned."
From the moment Tsunayoshi saw Noel, he had already noticed that the Reiatsu inside her body was not particularly different from that of an ordinary person. The strange thing about her actually came from that broom-like Hollow.
"Choose another condition. Show me the power of magic, and depending on your abilities, I'll see if I can teach you a power suited to you."
Only Tsunayoshi had the capital to say such a thing. Having mastered four different types of power, he could absolutely develop an ability that belonged to Noel herself based on her own circumstances.
Noel stared at Tsunayoshi for quite a while.
"All right. I agree. Before that, I need to send a message."
Noel took out her phone and opened the chat window labeled "Little Ninny." First, she sent her location, then added a message saying that she was here.
This was the only thing Noel could do. Following the Sawada couple was her duty, but now she was surrounded by unfamiliar people with supernatural abilities. Considering her own safety, this was her final struggle.
After putting away her phone, Noel removed the equipment from her full thigh. It looked both like a gun and a horn, but in truth, it was a flute, because Noel belonged to the Piper Squad.
"Come on. I'm ready."
Tsunayoshi nodded to Chad. Chad very consciously moved some distance away, allowing Noel to freely cast her magic.
"Just aim all your magic at Chad. Do your best and attack with everything you have," Tsunayoshi said, pointing at Chad.
"But…" Noel hesitated somewhat. Her past opponents had all been Dragons. This was the first time she would truly use magic to attack a person.
"Don't worry. You won't be able to hurt Chad." Seeing that Noel's expression still had not eased, Tsunayoshi called out to Chad, "Chad, show our new friend a little of your defensive ability."
"Understood."
Today, Chad was wearing a red sleeveless shirt with a cross pattern. After he answered, a cross pattern likewise lit up on his chest. Immediately afterward, silver light flashed, and in moments, Chad's body was covered in a set of plate armor shaped like a cross.
It did not end there. Blue radiance spread from the intersection of the cross as its core, extending in all directions across the plate armor. In an instant, the complete and attractive set of plate armor turned into something that looked shattered and fragmented.
"You can attack freely. My defense can withstand a captain's full-power attack," Chad explained to Noel. Although the strength of captains varied, Chad's standard of measurement was Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō.
"A captain?" Noel looked at Tsunayoshi in confusion.
"You have a governing organization over there too, right? You can understand it as Chad being able to defend against an attack from someone at the highest level of management," Tsunayoshi explained.
Noel measured her own magic slightly, then said with relief, "In that case, I really can go all out."
The power Chad was currently using was called the Knight's Armor. Its ability was also very simple: the Quincy techniques Blut Vene and Blut Arterie.
Although the ability was simple, it suited Chad extremely well. Blut Vene granted Chad powerful defensive strength, allowing him to approach enemies more easily. When Blut Arterie spread to both arms, it was even more terrifying, bringing a fearsome boost of power to both of his arms.
What Chad was now displaying was the power of Blut Vene. Paired with his Knight's Armor, it was practically the perfect turtle shell.
Noel began chanting the incantation for her magic. Having entered a combat state, she did not notice the messages constantly arriving on her phone at all.
[Why did you go there?]
[Did you discover traces of a Dragon too?]
[Wait for me. I'm coming right now!]
[Reply to me, Noel!]
[Damn it, you're not fighting a Dragon, are you?]
[Wait for me!]
"Tsk, tsk. This so-called magic may look a little similar to Kidō on the surface, but in reality, it has absolutely nothing to do with it."
A slightly frivolous voice rang out. Beside Tsunayoshi now stood a man in a striped bucket hat holding a folding fan. Kisuke Urahara had slipped out at some unknown point.
"Yo. What wind blew a busy man like you over here?" Tsunayoshi asked.
"Well, didn't I hear you mention the existence of a so-called magic power system? Such a rare opportunity would be a shame to miss with my own eyes." Kisuke Urahara stared intently at Noel as she released magic at Chad.
"So, Urahara , what's your expert opinion?"
"Hmm. Rather than saying this is like Kidō, it would be more accurate to say it resembles the Quincy's combat style. Unlike Quincies, who manipulate Reishi to form bows and arrows, this Witch uses a wand as a medium to control Reishi and activate various kinds of magic." Urahara's eyes were frighteningly sharp, and he immediately discovered the special characteristics of magic.
The "wand" Urahara mentioned was the weapon in Noel's hand. Without that flute in hand, Noel had no way of releasing those strange spells.
This also explained why Tsunayoshi had not sensed anything unusual when he first saw Noel. Noel's abilities were not driven by Reiatsu, but achieved through a method of controlling Reishi. Noel's own Reiatsu was not very different from that of an ordinary person.
"So does that mean Witches and Quincies have the same ancestor?" Tsunayoshi asked.
"It's very possible. A thousand years ago, the King of the Quincy invaded Soul Society. But at that time, where exactly could the Quincy have trained such an elite army?" Urahara pointed his folding fan at Noel's back. "I had suspected before that the Quincy from a thousand years ago may have come from the western side of Soul Society — in other words, the West Branch."
"The West Branch?" Tsunayoshi frowned slightly. Why did that name sound so familiar?
Urahara noticed Tsunayoshi's confusion and answered directly, "The Seireitei has another name: the East Branch. As for the West Branch, that should be the organization currently governed by the Witches, correct?"
"Both of these names are hidden deep within the Great Archive. They haven't been mentioned for so many years that almost no one knows of them. I only remembered the name because I specially slipped in and searched again before coming here."
Nowadays, the family managing the Great Archive had already been wiped out, so the Great Archive was no different from Urahara's backyard. He could come and go entirely as he pleased.
"That's why I suspect that this power of magic and Heilig Pfeil share the same origin. A thousand years ago, those willing to invade the Seireitei formed an army and came to the East Branch."
"The West Branch, having lost the King of the Quincy, spent a thousand years freeing itself from the influence brought by the king's departure. Using that ability to control Reishi, they walked another path. And that path is magic!"
A sharp gleam flashed in Kisuke Urahara's eyes. If he had not been caught up in troublesome matters like Aizen and the Wandenreich, he would already have gone to visit the West Branch. An unknown power from the West was an endless treasure trove for a curious researcher.
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