Boom!
A series of violent, localized detonations continued to reverberate at rhythmic intervals through the dense, rain-slicked woodland.
Even from their position a considerable distance away, Shino and Omaeda could feel the rising, suffocating pressure of a peak spiritual clash. The heavy, volatile aura rolling across the tree line carried a distinct, terrifying edge of despair. Yet, facing that oppressive tide head-on in the center of the crater were none other than Kaito Shiba and Captain Soi Fon.
On the immediate battlefield.
Kaito could certainly feel the weight behind this Vasto Lorde's presence. To put it simply, the hollow's mechanics were slightly tedious to work around, but as far as he was concerned, his position remained entirely invincible.
Soi Fon, however, did not share his confidence.
The humanoid Hollow was covered in intricate, pulsing black patterns that glowed with a dull light whenever it initiated its spatial distortions. In theory, that glow provided a split-second window to predict its movements. The real problem arose the moment the creature submerged fully into the dimensional fold; once inside, the standard spiritual nerve detection networks utilized by the Onmitsukido were completely incapable of tracking its vector.
The translation mechanism was structurally similar to the advanced Garganta movement used by high-tier Menos, but a standard transition usually left a lingering, detectable trace the moment the boundary cracked. This specific anomaly, however, could only be sensed at the absolute microsecond it materialized to execute an attack.
Soi Fon bit her lip, a bitter frustration mounting in her chest. This entire engagement felt like swinging at shadows in the dark.
Vroom—
Right on cue, the black stripes across the Vasto Lorde's form flared with sudden intensity. Like static wiping across an old television screen, its physical form vanished from the spot.
Here it comes again!
Soi Fon's muscles locked into high alert, her sensory perception pushed to its absolute threshold to catch the exit tear.
In stark contrast, Kaito stood perfectly still just a few feet away, looking completely relaxed. His hands were lazily tucked deep into the pockets of his high-collared trench coat, his posture resembling a tourist casually taking in the sights rather than a soldier standing in a kill zone.
Buzz!
This time, the Vasto Lorde bypassed Soi Fon entirely. In its eyes, the blindfolded youth who hadn't even drawn a weapon was nothing more than an easy prey.
"Got you!"
Without a whisper of warning, the air behind Kaito's shoulder split open. The hollow lunged forward, claws extended. The moment the physical displacement occurred, Soi Fon caught the spike in spiritual pressure and spun around, her voice cutting through the clearing in a desperate warning.
"Kaito! Watch your back!"
A sudden pang of fierce regret hit her. She shouldn't have allowed him to draw the creature's aggression.
Yet, in that identical fraction of a second, the corners of Kaito's mouth curled into a sharp, knowing smirk. "Got you."
What?!
An overwhelming instinctual alarm suddenly blared inside the Vasto Lorde's consciousness. Halting its strike mid-swing, the hollow desperately forced the black patterns along its skin to ignite, attempting to snap back into the safety of the spatial rift.
"Now that you've chosen to step out, don't even think about running."
In the blink of an eye, the Vasto Lorde felt time itself come to a standstill. The blindfolded youth who had been standing before it a moment ago had vanished. A cold presence suddenly appeared behind it.
The hollow blinked, looking straight ahead. The form it had been targeting was already turning translucent, fading away into nothingness. It was a lingering afterimage left behind by sheer, unadulterated speed.
I've been caught!
'No... how can a Shinigami's raw movement outpace a spatial fold?!'
'I am the one who commands the time distortion!'
Before its panicking mind could rationalize the gap in speed, Kaito's voice rang out from directly behind its neck—cool, detached, and carrying the finality of an executioner's gavel.
"Technique Reversal: Red."
Kaito held up a single finger, a tiny, perfectly condensed bead of crimson energy igniting at the tip. In a flash, the miniature singularity expanded to its maximum mass. Before the incredulous eyes of the Vasto Lorde, the compressed repulsive force erupted, discharging a catastrophic shockwave directly into its face at point-blank range.
Soi Fon watched the detonation, her breath catching in her throat.
The sheer destructive volume of that crimson blast was identical to the display Omaeda and Shino had witnessed earlier on the perimeter. 'Is this his actual strength?' she thought, her mind racing. Has he seriously been playing dumb this entire time just to dodge responsibilities? With a spiritual pressure of this caliber, holding the rank of Third Seat in the 13th Division wasn't just modest—it was an joke.
Kaito, completely oblivious to the existential crisis brewing in his captain's mind, glanced idly toward the horizon. His primary concern was wrapping this up quickly so he could get back to the clinic. He checked his internal clock—it was already closing in on eleven o'clock in the morning.
As the blinding crimson dust cleared, the sheer violence of the "Red" output revealed its handiwork: a massive, smoking trench roughly 100 meters wide and 200 meters long had been carved straight through the undeveloped valley.
Lowering his hand, Kaito let out a casual breath. "Well, that looks like a wrap. I'll be heading back first, Soi Fon taicho."
Thud.
Before he could even take a step, a heavy mass tumbled out of a distorting ripple in the air, crashing onto the muddy ground.
Both Kaito and Soi Fon turned their gaze toward the impact site.
"It seems..." the Vasto Lorde hissed, its remaining claw gripping the earth as it slowly dragged itself upward. The entire left half of its upper torso had been utterly obliterated by the repulsive shockwave, leaving a raw, hollow cavity. Yet, within a fraction of a second, countless white, biological cells began to erupt and weave together across the jagged wound. In a single, sickening heartbeat, its massive injuries were entirely knitted shut.
High-Speed Regeneration.
"I underestimated you," the Hollow said hoarsely, fear evident in its voice. "Who would have thought the most terrifying being in this area was just a child? If I hadn't shifted my core into a spatial fold a moment before the attack hit, I wouldn't have lost only half my body. I would have been erased entirely."
The memory of that concentrated, Cero-like compression sent a genuine thrill of terror through its remaining instincts. It stared at Kaito's finger. "What do you call that technique?"
Kaito raised his index finger again, offering a brief, cheerful chuckle. "Oh, that? Since the output is highly concentrated and delivers an explosive, high-impact shockwave straight to the face, I usually just call it the 'Flame Shot.'"
Flame Shot...
The Vasto Lorde pondered the name, finding it a simple, fitting title for a technique that carried such blistering, concussive heat.
Standing slightly to the side, Soi Fon's face flushed with a mix of irritation and embarrassment. Flame Shot? This ridiculous guy is still as utterly shameless as ever, she thought dryly, recognizing the blatant lie. There wasn't a single trace of elemental fire attributes in that purely dense, repulsive spatial energy.
Tick. Tick.
As the brief lull stretched on, the sky overhead deepened into a murky, suffocating gray. A few heavy drops pierced the canopy, their frequency multiplying within seconds until a dense curtain of summer rain began to pour over the valley.
The downpour instantly soaked Soi Fon's stealth uniform, causing the blood from her minor cuts to mix with the rainwater, staining the grass around her boots.
Kaito, however, remained entirely pristine. Thanks to the absolute barrier of his Infinity operating passively around him, the torrential rain couldn't even come within an inch of his clothes or hair; the water simply sheeted off an invisible, microscopic curve around his frame.
To Soi Fon's perspective, it simply looked like her arrogant subordinate was casually wasting his high-density spiritual pressure to create a personalized umbrella just because he didn't feel like getting wet.
"Master! Don't let it fool you! It's trying to open an escape vector!"
A familiar voice shouted from the edge of the clearing. Saburo Houo hadn't fled the area at all; instead, he had quietly tracked the sound of the explosions through the brush. Although he was no longer an active member of the Gotei 13, his deep-seated instinct to protect human souls hadn't completely vanished. Hiding behind the trunk of a massive cedar, his unique telepathic trait had picked up the active, desperate intent forming inside the Hollow's mind.
Damn it!
The Vasto Lorde cursed inwardly. It hadn't expected a bizarrely dressed blind human to suddenly compromise its tactical retreat. With a sharp shhh, the black patterns across its reconstructed skin flared to life, its physical form beginning to blur as it slipped backward into the dimensional void.
"I told you," Kaito's voice dropped, his casual demeanor instantly vanishing. "You aren't going anywhere."
Pulling off his black blindfold with a swift motion, Kaito took a single step forward, crossing the distance instantly. He plunged his bare hand directly into the rippling, distorted patch of empty air.
Crack!
The spatial fabric buckled like a stone shattering a pane of glass. A few meters to the left, the Vasto Lorde was violently ejected from the collapsing rift, tumbling onto the wet grass.
"You little brat!" the hollow roared. "If you're determined to kill me, then I'll make sure you pay for it!"
Its jaws unhinged to their absolute limit, an incredibly dense, pitch-black Cero gathering within its throat, ready to detonate at zero range.
But Kaito had no intention of standing around and letting it finish.
The Hollow couldn't even react. Kaito appeared inside its guard, grabbed its throat with one hand, and drove a spirit energy-covered fist into its stomach.
BOOM!
The sheer kinetic force of that initial strike ruptured the internal pressure within the hollow's torso. The unstable Cero building inside its throat misfired instantly, the concentrated energy exploding outward through its own jaw and sides like a backfiring cannon barrel. The massive internal backlash tore through its flank, spraying dark fluids across the clearing.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
One. Two. Three.
By the time the third successive, high-frequency strike impacted its core, Kaito's hand punched entirely through the reinforced iron-skin of the Vasto Lorde's abdomen. A heavy spray of hot, dark blood erupted from the exit wound, painting the rain-slicked grass behind it a brilliant, stark crimson.
Kaito's six eyes gleamed with an icy light beneath the rain as he locked his grip inside the creature's spiritual core. He began to form a massive, high-order Kido compression within the palm hidden inside the beast's chest.
"Hadō #96: Ittō Kasō"