Of course, that was just a joke. Yoruichi and Kōe were no longer children; how could they possibly fight over such a bizarre reason?
At this moment, if she couldn't break the seamless offensive and defensive synergy between Kōe and Byakuya, it would be nearly impossible for Yoruichi to escape with Ichigo.
Though she loathed to admit it, both Kōe Shihouin and Kuchiki Byakuya were quite proficient in Shunpo.
Moreover, opening a gap through Kōe was easier than going through Byakuya. After all, she understood Kōe far too well.
Given his refusal to ever take a loss, he would absolutely pressure her while ensuring Ichigo's safety. Either Yoruichi dropped Ichigo and left immediately, or neither of them would leave. Either way, Kōe would achieve his goal.
This meant that Kōe wouldn't easily use wide-range Kidō. His only options were Zanjutsu and Hakuda. And given the nature of his Zanpakutō, Kōki, there was virtually no difference between his Zanjutsu and Hakuda.
If both sides fought with no restrictions, Yoruichi wouldn't have the absolute confidence to defeat Kōe. But since this was a contest of Hakuda, she had a chance—a very large one at that...
"You actually dare to use Hakuda against me?"
"You're carrying a person and giving me a one-arm handicap. I'm still somewhat confident." Kōe spoke with complete sincerity, not looking the least bit embarrassed.
Yoruichi scoffed coldly. In the past, she had always thought that Kōe's lack of stubbornness was a virtue. But now, no matter how she listened to it, it just sounded like the shamelessness of someone willing to use any means necessary.
Yoruichi leaned forward slightly, her slightly bent left arm exerting force again at blinding speed.
*'Hit and run?'* Kōe seemed to completely read Yoruichi's mind. Although Yoruichi's Hakuda was indeed far superior to his, carrying someone and fighting him one-handed was still beyond her limits. After all, he, Kōe Shihouin, wasn't some clueless brat from the Shin'ō Academy!
*'Under these circumstances, using my force to create distance and giving Byakuya a chance to intervene actually makes it easier for her to escape. As expected of Shihōin Yoruichi. She saw at a glance that Byakuya and I can't truly coordinate, which is why she was advancing and retreating like that earlier.'*
It was a pity she was still one step behind. Kōe similarly bent his right arm, but instead of exerting force like Yoruichi, he suddenly retracted his strength, allowing her to lunge forward. At the same time, he threw a punch with his free left hand straight at Yoruichi's head.
His intention was obvious: either drop Ichigo, or both of them stay!
Who would have thought that this retraction of force would actually help Yoruichi? It was as if she had anticipated Kōe pulling his punch. Her only available left hand grabbed Kōe's wrist like lightning. As she yanked him backward, she threw her entire body sideways into Kōe's embrace.
In an instant, Yoruichi's left sleeve was blown to shreds. Alarm bells blared in Kōe's mind. *'Shunkō! I fell for it!!'*
If the previous Yoruichi had an opening because she was carrying Ichigo on her right side, then there were no openings now that she was using her entire left arm to attack. Her fist, elbow, and shoulder were all weapons—weapons that Kōe absolutely could not block without Kōki.
*'Once Yoruichi's shoulder slams into me, I lose. Kōki can only manifest partially at one time. If I choose to protect my heart, lungs, and Saketsu, my right arm will probably be crippled. If I choose to protect my right arm, I might be crippled entirely...'*
This choice wasn't actually difficult. He wanted to keep both his arm and his life!
"I didn't expect you to be so passionate," Kōe teased, tilting his head as his right hand pressed firmly against Yoruichi's shoulder. "If you admit your mistake and put down that brat who's ruining our relationship, my embrace will always be open to you."
Frankly, he truly hadn't expected Yoruichi's move to be a feint, allowing her to seize the initiative. However, this advantage wasn't fatal. He had a chance to rectify his mistake, whereas Yoruichi only had one shot. If she couldn't finish him off in one strike, she had no follow-up.
But was that really the case?
"If you weren't so arrogant, I wouldn't just throw myself into your arms; I might even give you a passionate kiss." Yoruichi's lips curled into a heavily mocking smile as she suddenly threw her head back. "But right now..."
"No, you've got to be kidding me..."
A delicate chin, thin lips, a high-bridged nose—Yoruichi's exquisite face flashed rapidly across Kōe's field of vision from bottom to top. Finally, he was met with Yoruichi's furious eyes.
And a smooth, rock-hard forehead. *'I have to say, her skincare routine is really paying off...'*
Kōe only heard a loud *clang* ring in his ears, and a goofy, blue, bald figure seemed to float before his eyes. A tingling scalp? No, it felt as if his entire skull was about to fly off. He couldn't stand steady no matter how hard he tried.
*'Is she serious?!'*
This wasn't the first time such a thought had crossed Ukitake and Byakuya's minds. Ever since Yoruichi blocked Kōe's Shikai with her bare fists, they had suspected that this guy was deliberately going easy on her.
Of course, that thought lasted for less than a second. If Kōe wanted to go easy on her, he could have done so much earlier. It was obvious that he genuinely wanted to capture Yoruichi.
Ukitake watched as Kōe swayed dizzily and tumbled off the roof. Truly, it was evident that he had tried his best. A headbutt was indeed quite a novel Hakuda technique.
Unlike Ukitake, who reached out to catch Kōe, Byakuya leaped toward the roof the moment Kōe stepped on empty air and lost his balance.
*'This pair is truly unreliable. There's no telling when they might suddenly do something jaw-dropping and drag you down with them.'*
*'It doesn't matter now. Not only have I avoided the disgrace of a two-on-one fight, but I've also sidestepped the inevitable accidents that come with it.'*
"S-Save me..."
Kōe's feeble voice suddenly rang in his ears, but Byakuya ignored him. If possible, he would have gladly added a kick of his own. Let Yoruichi go for Kōe's sake? Impossible!
Just as Byakuya struggled to keep his inner disdain from turning into a smirk on his face, he suddenly felt a looseness at his waist. It was as if something was being slipped away—a truly familiar and detestable feeling...
If Yoruichi could hear Byakuya and Ukitake's inner thoughts right now, she would definitely advise Byakuya to learn from his senior. *Novel techniques*—that was the correct phrase to describe her recent combat style! If it didn't catch everyone off guard, how could it possibly work against a guy like Kōe Shihouin?!
However, she still had to thank Kōe's sudden retraction of force for perfectly accommodating her. As expected of the man who turned Hakuda into handing out freebies.
Of course, she wasn't feeling too great right now either. She and Kōe had never actually competed to see whose head was harder before. She had simply relied on the stubborn belief that a Hakuda practitioner would never lose a test of physical durability to a Kidō user, and thus won this crucial bout!
Tapping her head twice to force herself awake, Yoruichi was just about to leave when she suddenly heard Byakuya's furious scolding from below. The target of his reprimand was Kōe, which piqued her curiosity.
But as she looked down, she unexpectedly locked eyes with Byakuya. Even though she reacted quickly and slapped a hand over her mouth, she couldn't stop her joyous laughter from slipping out.
And that single laugh struck a heavy blow against Byakuya's supposedly impenetrable heart...