Kensei wasn't an idiot. Why would he use an Asauchi to clash head-on with a Shikai-release Zanpakutō? A real man fights fist to flesh!
If he couldn't even defeat a mere third-grade Reiatsu Shikai, then what was the point of his so-called "invincible talent"? He might as well go find a block of tofu to crash into and kill himself.
"Bankai! Dragon Bind Tiger Tail!"
An immense spiritual pressure erupted from Kishita Hanta's body, finally coalescing into a dragon-headed gauntlet on his left shoulder. Two white ribbons extended from it behind his back, each ending in a disc with several blades arrayed on their surfaces.
Gripping his Zanpakutō tightly, Kishita Hanta looked at Kensei with a serious expression. He'd just been proven wrong after feeling sure of victory; now he had to be wary of any other cards Kensei might have up his sleeve.
Kensei clicked his tongue inwardly. The power boost from a Soul Reaper's Bankai varied from person to person, but at its weakest, it was still at least triple that of Shikai. This might be a bit tricky. He casually tossed the Asauchi at his waist aside, assuming a stance, prepared to continue using Hakuda. It couldn't be helped; his strongest offensive method right now was Hakuda.
"Little Kensei, need big sister's help?"
"Heh, relax. How could someone as ugly as him possibly win against me? Don't you know a Soul Reaper's battle is a battle of looks?"
Kensei replied with words Yoruichi couldn't understand. Soul Reaper battles were clearly about spiritual pressure competition; when did looks ever come into it?
"Even a genius like you will ultimately become a ghost under my blade without Bankai."
With that, Kishita Hanta gripped his Zanpakutō horizontally, level with his shoulders, the blade tip and dragon head pointed at Kensei. Exhaling softly, Kishita's blade tip was instantly before Kensei's face. Reflected in Kensei's eyes was the ever-approaching tip; he could even feel the cold edge of the blade seeming to split his skin.
Despite being in a life-threatening crisis, the corners of Kensei's mouth stretched into an exaggerated grin. Every cell in his body seemed to be screaming with excitement. Kensei swung a fist at Kishita's head, completely ignoring the blade tip about to pierce between his brows.
Has this guy given up?
Looking at Kensei, who had completely abandoned defense, Kishita felt somewhat dismissive, thinking he was just like those fools who tried one last desperate struggle before death. But the next moment, the blade tip collided with a faint blue spiritual barrier. Before Kishita could even be surprised, Kensei's fist, carrying immense spiritual pressure, connected solidly with his cheek, sending him staggering backward.
"This Captain-level of yours feels a bit watered down, doesn't it? Did you get in through the back door?"
Kensei naturally wouldn't let go of Kishita's miscalculation. He quickly crouched, sweeping Kishita's legs out from under him to completely destroy his balance, used Shunpo to appear above him, and delivered a crushing elbow strike to his head, sending him to the ground. Seizing the moment, he straddled the fallen Kishita and began raining punches on his head, feeling grateful that Kishita Hanta's Bankai was a physical-type. If it had been some flashy Kidō-type or elemental-type, he'd have had to rely on Yoruichi.
Enraged and humiliated, Kishita Hanta sent the two disc-blades from the ribbons on his back whistling through the air toward Kensei. With no choice but to give up pinning Kishita down, Kensei used Shunpo to dodge the blades. Looking at Kishita, who was bleeding profusely but largely unaffected, Kensei felt a bit helpless. Without advanced Kidō, he still lacked truly lethal means. If he knew Old Man Yama's Ikotsu, he could have just turned Kishita's brains into paste right then.
"ROAR—"
A tremendous roar erupted from the dragon head on Kishita Hanta's shoulder. Immediately after, massive spherical blasts of spiritual pressure shot continuously from the dragon's mouth, followed by Kishita's slashes shadowing them closely. Kensei had no choice but to use Shunpo continuously to evade while contemplating how to deliver a fatal blow to this bastard. It seemed the only remaining path was to fuse Kidō with Hakuda.
Kensei's mind raced, constantly thinking about fusion methods. Coating his entire body in Kidō would waste too much spiritual pressure. He just needed to focus on his back and shoulders to enhance Hakuda's power. As for actually fusing the two...
A moment of overthinking slowed Kensei down by a split second. Kishita seized the opening and slashed a gash across Kensei's chest.
"Looks like it's over, kid. So-called geniuses are just this much."
A cruel smile on his face, Kishita leveled his blade at Kensei's neck. Simultaneously, the two disc-blades from his back spun through the air toward Kensei's head, blocking all escape routes. If nothing unexpected happened, Kensei's death was a foregone conclusion.
Looking at the blood flowing from his chest, Kensei had an epiphany.
Highly compressed Kidō enveloped Kensei's back and shoulders. Accompanied by a thunderous explosion, Kensei's upper garment directly burst apart, revealing a well-built torso underneath. Sensing the immense power generated by using the explosion to scatter the Kidō into spirit particles and then merging them with his limbs, Kensei casually threw a punch through the air at Kishita. A massive wave of spiritual pressure, carrying a thunderous roar, crushed over Kishita's body like a train at full speed.
"One thing you got wrong. I'm not a genius. Talent is merely the threshold to meet me."
Kensei reassumed his stance, looking with wild arrogance at Kishita Hanta, whose one arm now hung limply. If Kishita hadn't sensed danger and frantically shifted sideways at the last moment, every bone in his body would likely be powder now.
Nearby, Yoruichi, who had been ready to intervene the moment Kensei was injured, forcibly halted her Shunpo mid-step, her eyes filled with disbelief. What the...? The hypothesis of fusing Kidō with Hakuda—even though Kensei also thought of it—I was the one who explored it first! How did he manage to use it first?!
Now having completely compensated for his lack of attack power, Kensei was simply bullying a weak Captain like Kishita Hanta—a benchmark for a weak Captain. Before long, he had opened a hole in Kishita's kidney area, beating him until he lost consciousness from blood loss.
With the fight over, Kensei let out a long sigh, finally feeling the delayed fatigue and pain. He plopped down on the ground to rest. Yoruichi first used special Penal Department restraints to bind Kishita Hanta securely, then walked over, took out bandages, and carefully began to stanch the bleeding from the wound on Kensei's chest.
"So, Yoruichi, what do you think? Want to become my disciple and learn this move, 'Shunkō'?"
Belatedly realizing this move performed exactly like the 'Flash Cry' Yoruichi later used, Kensei naturally appropriated the name. If he had to name it himself, who knows what bizarre name he'd come up with.
Looking at the smug Kensei, Yoruichi gave him a light slap on his freshly bandaged wound. Seeing Kensei suck in a sharp breath from the pain, she nodded in satisfaction.
"No need. I figured out the principle the moment I saw you use it."
After all, she was the one who taught Kensei the transformation technique. Seeing the Kidō coalescing on his body after the explosion, Yoruichi immediately understood what was happening. She sighed inwardly, thinking that what Kensei said earlier was indeed true: talent merely qualified someone to barely meet Kensei.
"Holy shit! What is this? I'm going to apply to Old Man Yama for intellectual property protection fees!"
He had gained this insight in a life-or-death moment, and now Yoruichi just shamelessly copied the results. Lying on the ground, Kensei felt nothing but emotional exhaustion.