"Bankai...——!!"
Activating Bankai, I adjust my grip on the sword with its new appearance.
During Shikai, only the blade turned black, but this time it has become completely pitch black.
What I am holding now is a sword that is entirely black from the tip of the blade to the pommel.
At a glance, it probably looks like nothing more than a black stick or something rather than a sword.
A black sword with no decoration or charm, rugged, and crudely made as if it were a mass-produced item—that is the sword I hold in my hand now.
"Now, I've shown mine... Next is your turn, Ikkaku?"
"...How did you know?"
"How, you ask...? Oh, you mean that you learned how to use Bankai?"
He seems to have given up.
Since he asked for the trick, I told him while giggling.
"Well, you just performed 'Shikai' without saying the 'release command', didn't you? If you learn Bankai, you can Shikai without a release command, so I knew right away."
"Tch! So that's it..."
"Were you perhaps intending to hide it? If so, you should have chanted the release command properly. Or were you just carried away by acquiring Bankai? Well, you finally learned it, after all. Did you want me to notice?"
"Shut up!!"
Although he's shouting, his face is a little red.
Judging from this reaction, he originally wanted to keep it a secret. But he's filled with embarrassment that it was easily exposed. Is that how it is?
"Also, let's see. When you learn Bankai, your aura changes somehow. It feels like you've shed a layer and gained dignity. I felt that from you too, that's another reason."
"Heh! Thanks for that."
'As expected of my Liege!! Saying "shed a layer" and "peeled" to a man... this is! This is synonymous with inviting him!! It reeks of contrarianism!!'
Yes, yes, I knew you'd bite.
More importantly, the opponent will probably use Bankai from now on too, so be careful. Getting injured... well, it's probably pointless to tell you, but keep your guard up.
'To think you would worry about me!! Please rest assured! This Nubatama will recover with momentum exceeding maximum HP if you desire!!'
No, really be careful.
Facing him, I finally remembered, but Ikkaku's Bankai is surely...
"If it's exposed, there's no need to hide it anymore!! But! If you tell anyone, I'll kill you!!"
...Here it comes!
Ikkaku's presence intensifies fiercely, enough that if I relax, I might be swallowed by the momentum alone! The killing intent piercing my whole body is painful.
Judging from his demeanor, he should have just learned it, yet to emit this much presence...!!
"Bankai! Ryumon Hozukimaru!!"
What appeared were three gigantic and heterogeneous blades.
Each hand holds a large sword like a Chinese cleaver, and a gigantic blade like a monk's spade floats on his back.
These three blades are connected by chains, and combined with their gigantic size, they had a truly ominous appearance.
"So that is Ikkaku's Bankai..."
"Yeah, that's right... though I'm still not serious yet—yo!!"
He was itching to show it off and couldn't hold back anymore.
As if to say so, he swung the large cleaver in one hand.
However—
"Too slow."
—I could dodge that strike with ease.
"Not yet!!"
Relying on momentum, he unleashes continuous attacks, but naturally, these won't hit.
His sword speed isn't much different from his Shikai—in fact, because the weapon became gigantic, it's unwieldy and even slower in some aspects.
Since he's swinging a gigantic weapon around, the wind noise echoes in my ears, perhaps with the aim of inciting fear... but for me, who knows Captain Unohana and Captain Zaraki, well...
"Kuh! It won't... hit!!"
"Rather, did you intend to hit me? I thought you were sticking to containment."
"Whaaat!?"
While continuing to dodge the barrage, I explain to him.
"If you face such a gigantic weapon, unless you're a complete idiot, you won't think of blocking first. It's natural to think of sticking to evasion and striking at the opponent's opening, right? Besides, big weapons naturally become unwieldy; even if it's a one-hit kill if it lands, it's meaningless if it doesn't hit."
"S-Shut up!!"
"Then shouldn't you fight by using those wide swings as a tactic to corner the opponent, making it impossible for them to escape, and then unleash the decisive blow... or something like that?"
"Guh...!!"
Ikkaku made an expression like "You hit where it hurts!"
...Just in case, I had devised escape routes and evasion methods considering that possibility, but to think he was just swinging his sword without a plan... I feel like an idiot...
"Also, even if you concentrate your consciousness only on the attacks with both hands, you could fly the monk's spade on your back to attack... it has chains attached for a reason, right? Use more ingenuity in how you fight..."
"I know that without you telling me!!"
He curses, but he listens to advice obediently.
He manipulated the chains skillfully and flew the blade on his back. However, its trajectory was honestly straight, the momentum was unreliable, and it felt full of unfamiliarity.
"Well, you just learned it, after all."
I run towards the approaching blade, parry it with my sword as it is, jump in one step, and thrust my sword at his throat.
"Okay, match over with this—right?"
"...Guh!"
At the sensation of the blade pressed against him just enough to cut a thin layer of skin, Ikkaku stopped moving as if sewn in place.
"That Bankai seems to have attack power... attack power only. But seeing that the owner's Reiatsu hasn't risen at all, are you diverting the Reiatsu that should have risen into attack power... is that correct?"
Based on vague knowledge and information gained from the current situation, I say so.
"...Yeah, that's right! I'll teach you while I'm at it. This guy is a sleepyhead; unless I hit or get hit and the dragon crest on my back turns red, he won't put out power."
Right, right, it had that setting. I remembered.
Normally, when you use Bankai, the owner's Reiatsu rises by an average of five to ten times.
But this Bankai doesn't have that.
Because it diverts even the portion of Reiatsu that should have risen solely into strengthening attack power.
In other words, attack power rises, but nothing else rises at all.
Even if you have stupidly high attack power, it's impossible to hit the enemy unless you work hard with your own physical ability.
I'll say it again, but Reiatsu doesn't rise even with Bankai.
If Reiatsu gets high, physical ability is also strengthened, but you can't expect that.
On top of that, even the attack power, which should be the main feature, cannot be demonstrated properly immediately after Bankai.
By exchanging blows, cutting and being cut, the power is gradually released.
The degree of that release is displayed on the dragon crest carved on the axe on his back, and it reaches full power when this is completely dyed red.
In other words, how serious he is right now is completely visible to the enemy too.
So if they attack appropriately to inflict damage and then defeat him at once with a major technique, he can be defeated without even having time to fully release it.
"Too troublesome of a Bankai..."
...Yeah, how should I put it...
I understood well the reason why I thought "Zanpakuto gacha failure" when I saw Ikkaku before...
Why this kind of ability!!
Sure, I admit the romance!?
Becoming stronger as you fight is interesting as a story topic!
But this is too much.
Above all, this ability has a fatally bad compatibility with Bankai...
Why such a stupid ability? Was Hozukimaru a masochistic pervert!?
...No, let's believe that's not the case.
I believed, okay!!
"Let me add as a bonus. Normally it's a sword. Shikai makes it a spear, but actually a three-section staff. Just when you think you've finally become able to use it, Bankai adds training for super-heavyweight weapons... can you really master it?"
"Shaddap!! I know that without you telling me!!"
Having too many forms is something to think about too. It's a question of how much you can raise your weapon proficiency.
Nubatama, who stays just a sword, is really a good child.
'Gufufu, I was praised...!'
"Well, mastering a Bankai you just learned and lack practice with is a task for the future. I look forward to your next challenge—is what I want to say, but..."
"Aah?"
"Since it's a precious Bankai, I'll keep you company a little. Let's restart, come at me with full power!!"
"...Are you serious?"
He's getting a little irritated.
He probably thought I said that even if he learned Bankai, he's not scary with that level of ability.
"Just come. Don't worry. I'll let you swing that Bankai until your arms tear off."
"Bring it on, dammit!!"
It seems his fighting spirit has been uplifted, and he attacked again.
"Here we go, Nubatama."
'Leave it to me anytime!! Because I have a devoted personality that matches the opponent's tastes!!'
"First, let's see how things go—"
"Tch!"
When I thrust my sword into the ground, walls made of multiple metal sheets rose up to block Ikkaku's path. I could hear Ikkaku clicking his tongue at the walls that suddenly appeared before his eyes and blocked his vision.
"You're in the way!"
Although I held back to some extent, I should have created walls of considerable strength. Even so, Ryumon Hozukimaru seems to be demonstrating some power, crushing the walls effortlessly as he comes towards me.
"Minazuki."
This time, I flash my sword and release countless droplets of Minazuki.
"Guh! What is thiiiis!? It stiiiiinks!!"
Did he not see them, or did he judge that there was no need to dodge even if he saw them?
Ikkaku, who jumped into the swarm of water droplets, shouted involuntarily and stopped moving.
Minazuki normally releases toxins dangerous enough just to touch as the name suggests, but this time I restrained myself.
Instead, I made it release a stench bad enough to make one's nose crooked if it adheres.
I understand the feeling of involuntarily stopping due to the foul odor suddenly rising from his whole body. I understand, but—
"You're too careless, aren't you?"
"...Tch!!"
I swung my sword at Ikkaku who stopped moving, specifically at his Zanpakuto.
My aim is weapon destruction; I'll smash Ryumon Hozukimaru to pieces.
After all, this Bankai specializes stupidly only in attack power, so it has no durability.
Just by launching several normal attacks, cracks run through the blade, and several small fragments scatter. And in proportion to the attacks received, the dragon crest was dyed red.
"Uoh! Kuh... You!! What the hell are you hitting me with!!"
"Be grateful it ended with Minazuki. Or rather, you jumped in too recklessly without a plan, didn't you!? I was the one surprised."
Since he attacked as if enraged while emitting a foul odor, I concentrate on evasion again. Since he's swinging around a cleaver with many cracks, combined with its momentum and brittleness, it's crumbling apart while attacking.
...Ah! That smell is made to decompose completely naturally in about five minutes, so there's no problem.
"Above all, if you get that angry, you'll have the rug pulled out from under you—"
"Uoooooh!?"
The setup is already done.
The friction under his feet suddenly became zero, and Ikkaku fell magnificently.
This is the friction manipulation ability from Shikai.
I just ordered Nubatama's main body, which I had already scattered on the ground, to make it slippery.
Sakashima means something like "thought contrary to truth," but the etymology seems to be "upside down," so don't you think it's a good name for a tripping technique?
'Although it is a name limited to Bankai time! As expected, watching a fight shouting technique names like this is exciting!! Even though this time, you just made him fall!! Haa haa... faller...?'
Ah, I'll take that.
"It's not the time to be falling leisurely, you know? Sakashima Yokoshima."
—Hado \#31, Shakkaho.
Lightly manipulating Reiatsu, I fire Kido silently.
The fireball created by Shakkaho runs along the ground as if following a fuse, attacking towards the fallen Ikkaku.
And when it got close to a certain distance, it spread into flames at once as if it exploded.
"——Whoooa!! What the hell are you doing!!"
"You seemed to be slacking, so I gave you a little encouragement."
It seems he wasn't careless enough to take that directly.
He succeeded in dodging at the last moment, but looked at me with resentful eyes.
"Come on, come at me. Try using Bankai with all the power you have now! With that level of power, you can't even make me take a knee."
"Don't think... you can look down on me foreveeeeer!!"
It seems he's completely fired up.
He swings the weapon, which should be heavy enough to be unmanageable, aggressively and launches attacks without hesitation.
It seems he's utilizing the know-how from when Hozukimaru was in the three-section staff state; making a feint with one hand and attacking with the other, or so I thought, but in that instant he swaps roles.
And just when I thought he made a wide swing, he uses the chain to manipulate the axe on his back freely.
Yeah, yeah, good feeling. His movements are getting better and better.
"Dammit!! Even after doing this much, I can't even graze her...!!"
Ikkaku says that, but I'm also a little impatient.
After all, with the repeated attacks, the dragon crest is getting redder and redder.
The wind noise that my ears should have gotten used to echoes terrifyingly like a different sound, and the cleaver that passed by after I dodged emitted a shuddering intimidation.
Amazing power... I wonder what would happen if I took this...
"Kuuh!!"
After several exchanges, when I tried taking an attack unleashed like a thrust just to test it, its power far exceeded my imagination.
Even though I should have blocked it to parry, an impact that felt like it would take my whole body at once assaulted me, and my posture collapsed greatly.
"Heh!! You take something of this level!? Idiot, it's obvious!!"
Certainly, even from my perspective, taking that strike just now is a bit strange.
Thinking about the fight so far, I shouldn't have taken this attack.
Seeming to find it suspicious that I took it, Ikkaku launches a pursuit, but prepares to respond however I move.
"..."
"What!? Guoooooh!!"
He didn't seem to be careless, but this is unexpected, right?
He caught a blow from a stone pillar that suddenly extended diagonally from the ground, and was blown away as if losing to the momentum.
Ungai—as the meaning "outside the clouds" suggests, it is a technique that unleashes a simple blow with enough power to blow someone to the ends of the sky.
And because it's simple, its power is outstanding.
Receiving an impact as if struck by Ikkaku Madarame himself, Ryumon Hozukimaru shattered at once.
Thanks to using it for attacking, the cleaver in his right hand barely remains, but the other parts are scattered like countless glass shards.
"Uoooooooh!!"
Still, Ikkaku didn't stop his attack.
Swinging the cleaver with only one hand, and—
"Splendid."
—He cut the blade of the sword I hold in two.
This is Ryumon Hozukimaru's attack power maximized—no, perhaps even exceeding its limits...
Let alone the hand that caught it, my whole body is numb with tingling.
Just from the transmitted impact, my whole body feels like it's going to burst apart.
If this were hammered into a body... even Kenpachi Zaraki might die instantly...
"...Keh! What's 'splendid'..."
Naturally, the attacking Ryumon Hozukimaru didn't get off scot-free either.
As if unable to withstand its own destructive power, the remaining one also shattered into pieces.
Barely the part below the handle Ikkaku is gripping remains; there's no trace of it anymore.
"Also, the last one and the one before that, you took them on purpose, didn't you!!"
"Oh, you can tell that much."
"Of course I can tell!! How many times do you think I've fought you!!"
"If you can understand that, then it was worth spending my time on you every time. Besides, I learned how much Ryumon Hozukimaru's full power is, and it was a good experience. Thank you."
"O, Ou..."
Perhaps embarrassed by being thanked honestly, Ikkaku, who was speaking vigorously, suddenly turned bright red and averted his gaze.
'A guy's tsundere... no, for me, Madarame-dono is acceptable... slurp'
Nubatama, are you alive? Are you injured?
'Aah! My Liege! Just with those words, my lifespan has extended by about 5.6 billion years!!'
I, I see... do your best to help Maitreya Bodhisattva...
"Well then Ikkaku, I'll fix it, so stay still."
"Hah!? What, injuries aren't a big deal..."
"Just do it!!"
I use a strong tone to allow no argument before he tries to escape.
"Your injuries aren't a big deal. Well, since you swung that super-gigantic weapon around that much, I think the muscle pain will be terrible, so I'll give you some effective medicine later."
"Is that so, thanks... wait! If not me, what are you going to fix!?"
"Not 'heal' (physically), but 'fix' (repair)! The target is, of course, Ryumon Hozukimaru?"
Although I said that, Ikkaku made a blank expression.
"No, even if a Zanpakuto breaks, it fixes itself with the owner's Reiatsu, right?"
"That's only possible up to Shikai. Wounds received during Bankai are basically impossible to repair."
"...Ha...?"
He probably didn't know.
The moment I taught him, Ikkaku froze.
As for me, I only learned it for the first time after being taught by Captain Unohana.
This is the reason I evaluated the ability as "fatally bad compatibility with Bankai."
Bankai cannot be fixed if broken.
But it's an ability that doesn't demonstrate its true worth unless it takes damage.
After demonstrating its true worth, if you Bankai again, it remains in the broken state.
On top of that, the dragon crest resets from the beginning.
In the first place, it's tilted too much towards attack power, so the durability is paper-thin and it breaks easily.
Even Helen Keller would be surprised at this quintuple handicap...
"Whaaaat!! What does that mean!! You knew, didn't you!? You knew and smashed my Bankai until it became like this, didn't you!? That's right, isn't it! It must be so!! Honestly say 'yes'!!"
A few seconds later, although he rebooted... yeah, he'd be angry.
Because I smashed it up while knowing "it won't fix if broken."
"Ah jeez, you're noisy!! In the first place, that's your Bankai's ability, isn't it! It doesn't demonstrate its true worth unless it breaks, right!!"
"...Guh! Th-That's true, but!! At least give me a word of warning first!! Smashing it without the owner's permission is worse than a thief... Wait! Wait!! Can you... fix it...?"
Realizing my words, he seems to have calmed down a little.
"Of course, right? That's why I broke it."
"No wait! You said yourself 'Bankai doesn't fix' just now!!"
"Did you listen properly? I added the proviso 'basically', didn't I? There are proper exceptions!!"
While saying that, I placed my hand on the "remaining handle part" Ikkaku was holding.
"What are you doing..."
"Shh! You just shut up and concentrate on maintaining Bankai!!"
And I use Bankai—Nubatama Mishina's ability, and slowly fix Ryumon Hozukimaru.
Now then, while repairing, allow me to explain my Bankai.
—Though, if you look at the description so far, you should already understand... oh? You don't understand?
Then let me answer.
The ability is to summon Nubatama's main body.
Different from Shikai? What we do is the same, but what we can do is different.
Nubatama is a "dangerous Zanpakuto" that I wouldn't be ashamed to show anywhere.
'Wait! My Liege!!'
If I release it without "shackles," what will happen... realizing that "what if" is my Bankai.
Nubatama without shackles became able to change its form into anything.
Living things like animals, plants, and humans are obvious, but also inorganic substances like pottery, metal, and glass. Solid, liquid, gaseous states don't matter either.
Furthermore, "sample to mutate"—if there is a model to some extent, it becomes able to analyze information from it and create a copy.
As the analysis progresses further, it creates better things that have evolved and improved their defects. This gradually permeates the main body and replaces it.
So if I use this ability—
Suddenly creating countless walls.
Releasing a terrible stench.
Setting a slippery floor and activating it arbitrarily.
Giving that floor the additional characteristic of spreading fire explosively.
Growing a huge stone pillar to attack.
—All realized. It does whatever I want.
Within the scope of doing whatever I want, fixing Bankai by analyzing information is also included.
...How else am I supposed to express this anything-goes ability other than "non-standard"!?
Well, thanks to this, I received a good influence and my Kaido became incredibly strong.
During massages, I can analyze the opponent's cells I touched with this ability and provide better cells to the opponent.
Suddenly creating oil when I massaged Kukaku before was also thanks to this ability. I created a little from my palm and transformed it into oil.
Of course, there are inconvenient points too.
This ability itself only creates, so there is no combat ability itself.
Even if I use it, if I don't think and prepare well in advance, taking time, I can't transform it into the desired object, so I struggle too.
In the first place, the range of what I can do is too wide.
But the biggest problem is that the precision of the ability and Nubatama's motivation are directly connected.
That's why only massages demonstrate such cheating effects... because only then is he motivated like an idiot every single time...
Well, that part is cute though.
"...Fuu."
While explaining at length, I somehow finished repairing the Bankai too.
"As expected, fixing all of this size was back-breaking..."
"A-Amazing..."
It's three gigantic blades, after all.
Repairing this much mass took quite a bit of effort.
I concentrated too much, and my head hurts a bit.
Look, Nubatama is also wrinkled because his main body was squeezed too much for repair.
'B-But this is also for my Liege... Also, although it was my first contact, Hozukimaru-dono was also quite a nice guy...! Ah, those muscles are irresistible...!! Swimming to my heart's content on that robust chest... Duhuhuhuhu!! A different taste from a female body...!!'
I, I see... I don't really get it, but good for you...
"It's like new... no, it's better than that!!"
And with the repair complete, Ikkaku is overjoyed.
This workmanship is proof that Nubatama got quite motivated. Just from the appearance, I can feel something more refined than before.
"Alright! Let's continue!!"
"...Wait a minute, let me rest... Ikkaku has been maintaining Bankai state the whole time too, so you must be considerably tired, right?"
The moment he knew it was okay if it broke, this happened.
Ikkaku is a battle junkie too.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]