I'm really not the number one slacker in Soul Society.

If he hadn't pulled back in time, he would have almost lost his balance.

Are you kidding me? Although he didn't use Kido to enhance his strength, this attack should still be at the average level of a captain.

“You’re stronger than me in terms of strength,” Shikaku Hakunsai praised, “but your swordsmanship is a little lacking.”

Mima quickly took a step back: "Was that... some kind of technology?"

"It's just a little trick to deflect force; that's what the Shikatori Dojo mainly teaches," Shikatori Hakunsai said with a smile. "If you're interested, I can teach you the secret."

"This is truly an honor for me, a junior."

After saying that, Mima tried to reduce the force of her two slashes, but they were easily deflected. The slippery feeling was extremely uncomfortable.

If the force were increased a bit more, this deflection should be negligible, but there's no need to take a sparring match so seriously, and the feeling of lightning stimulating the muscles is really unpleasant.

There's no point in comparing cutting techniques; let's use something we're better at.

Chapter 97: Unscrupulous Contracts Must Not Be Signed

"Sixty-one of the Binding Dao: Six-Stand Light Prison."

With a casual wave of his hand, Mi Zhen instantly surrounded Shikaku Hakunsai with six beams of light.

"Broken Dao No. 88: The flying dragon strikes the thief and the sky-shaking thunder cannon."

Then, a bolt of lightning as thick as a water vat struck directly up, carving a deep ravine between the mountains and engulfing the slender figure of Lu Qu Ba Yun Zhai.

But... the feel is off?

It's like hitting a wad of cotton...

No, the part of the wicked path that hit Shikatori Hakunsai was "erased"!

After the light faded, Shikatori Hakunsai stood there, spotless, with a layer of transparent light emanating from his body.

That's... a high concentration of demonic energy?

"The Instant Eighty-Eight-Step Demonic Path is indeed quite good."

Lu Qu Baiyunzhai shrugged: "However, I learned some things from Qianri before—the difficulty of countering the demons is too high, and I was unable to master it, but I do know a little bit about how to directly use demon energy to cancel out someone else's demonic path."

Mi Zhen scratched his head: "Senior, this is a bit of a cheat."

“Those two moves you just used were quite difficult to execute, they can basically be considered a kind of secret technique—what’s the point of a secret technique that’s so effective?” Shikaku Hakunsai laughed. “But I can see that you are indeed very strong.”

"Does that count as passing?"

“If you want to calculate it, that’s fine.” Shikatori Hakunsai nodded first, then raised his sword in a cute and harmless manner. “However, this is my first interesting battle in 860 years, and I want to play around with it a bit more. How about we get a little more serious next time?”

Mi Zhen's lips twitched twice.

Although he felt something was off, it would be impolite to refuse at this point, so he could only nod and say, "That's enough, that's enough."

"Then I'll wake this child up, which is a long time coming."

After saying this, Shikatori Hakunsai stood there for a moment, seemingly lost in thought.

"What's the word 'liberation' again... continuation? connection?"

She blinked, somewhat confused, before exclaiming in sudden realization, "I remember now—connect, Qitongwan!"

Then, a dazzling light shone.

There was nothing earth-shattering about it.

Shikatori Hakunsai simply raised his voice slightly, causing his Zanpakuto to glow. The scabbard and blade, which were connected together, gradually merged into one, transforming into the shape of a naginata a second later.

And that was it. There was no change in spiritual pressure, and his aura remained as harmless as ever.

The thing called "Qitongwan" didn't show any strange sharpness, and it seemed that because of the sudden increase in weight, she even lost her balance for a moment.

Mima: "?"

What... happened?

He had prepared himself for a fierce attack and had secretly raised his spiritual pressure to the level of Kensei Yaguruma, but seeing the old man's smug expression, he felt that his preparations had been in vain.

Mima hesitated and asked, "What is this...?"

"Go ahead and attack."

Shikatori Hakunsai, like a beginner who was not used to using a long-handled weapon, swung his sword with rather awkward movements, and then assumed a wide-open stance, saying, "After all, it's just a friendly spar, so it's only natural for a senior to give a junior a handicap."

The more she said that, the more Mima felt something was wrong.

Are you suggesting we just let them hit us?

Where in the world is there such a good thing?

Is her ability some kind of anti-armor? Like, the kind that deals tons of damage back after being hit once... Generally speaking, only someone with that kind of ability would make such a strange request.

Or perhaps she was so skilled and daring that she felt she could catch up even if she started later?

"No need to be so wary." Shikatori Hakunsai tilted his head. "If you feel that close combat is too risky, you can attack with Kido if you want."

"..."

It's not very dignified to just stand there like that. Since it's not a life-or-death battle, why not give it a try?

Mima stroked his chin, extended one index finger, and softly murmured, "Hado #4 - White..."

Before he could finish chanting, something strange happened.

If using a white thunderbolt normally is like scooping a spoonful of water from a reservoir, this one is practically like opening a floodgate!

Forget White Lightning, with that much spiritual pressure, you could use several Thunder Roar Cannons!

The result was not satisfactory.

The lightning bolts that flew from his fingertips were as thin and short as wriggling earthworms, and they vanished before they even reached Shikaku Hakunsai.

Forget about hitting someone, he probably couldn't even scald them with a blister!

Mima: "!?"

Although I don't know the exact situation, I'm sure I've been infected!

What kind of ability is it? How did she get it? Was it when she unleashed her Zanpakuto?

Is it like seeing a mirage, where you fall for it the moment you see it?

The known effect is increased spiritual pressure consumption, and the release phrase is "connection," similar to the effect of the Wind Death Rope.

Shiki Tsukasa is luring me into attacking... Is this a passive effect?

I didn't feel anything wrong physically, but that doesn't prove anything. Those who are under the spell of illusions won't feel anything is wrong either.

Should we use "remove" to cut off the period when we saw the liberation of Qitongmaru?

That's not appropriate either. The business scope of cutting time is to deal with abilities that require "capturing a certain object" to take effect. It has no effect on continuous effects or domain-type abilities like Reversal. At present, we cannot confirm the nature of Qitongmaru's ability. Acting rashly will only waste spiritual pressure.

There's still plenty of spiritual pressure left, so let's try something out first.

Mima withdrew his finger and smiled helplessly, "Senior Shikagiri, it would be great if you could explain what ability you used."

"why?"

Shikatori Hakunsai blinked in confusion: "Is this the latest and most fashionable fighting style? But no matter how you look at it, explaining things will only expose your weaknesses, right?"

Lou Shilang, listen carefully and learn properly!

Mima, who hadn't expected Shikaku Hakunsai to be obedient anyway, shrugged: "How about we consider this a benefit for the juniors?"

"Hmm, that makes some sense."

But to everyone's surprise, Shirokuba Yunzhai nodded and said with a smile, "I'll give you a hint."

Mima hesitated for a moment in surprise before saying, "...Thank you so much."

"Then it's time to give the notification."

Shikaku Bayunzai drew a circle in the air with the blade of his sword and asked, "Question: In a contractual relationship, what else do both parties need to do besides enjoying the benefits?"

Mima instinctively replied, "It should be... paying a price?"

“Correct answer.” She nodded with a pleased look, as if she had found a promising student, and then asked in a slightly ambiguous tone, “Guess again, what kind of contract did you and I sign?”

"Signing a contract is a terrible way to put it."

Mima gave a wry smile: "I'm starting to wonder what kind of culture you left behind in the Eighth Division. Surely you can't be so good at lewd jokes that you have to be able to get promoted?"

“Then you’ll have to ask Chunshui.” Lu Quba Yunzhai said with a smile, “To put it simply, before I left office, he was just a slightly mischievous junior. I have no idea what time has done to him.”

They probably added a floral overcoat and a straw hat to him...

Mi Zhen's lips twitched twice, and then she tried to assume a forward thrusting stance.

The next instant, a strange pressure as heavy as a mountain descended upon him.

The purpose of the pressure didn't seem to be to knock him down, but to keep him in place and prevent him from moving—of course, it would be an exaggeration to say that he couldn't move at all. If we don't consider additional methods such as surging and stimulating muscles, Mima could still swing his sword and use Shunpo for a while.

However, the speed of it all can only be described as tragic.

First, calm down and try to figure out why things turned out this way.

Both anomalies must have something in common...

Wait, got it.

The anomaly occurred the instant he "locked onto" Shikaku Hakunsai and was about to make a move against her!

Mima frowned, took two steps back, and unleashed two Hado One: Rush attacks on Shikatori Hakunsai, followed by another thrust attack, all while maintaining a running motion.

After a moment, he frowned: "This is..."

My guess was probably right. If he showed any real hostility or aggression towards Shikatori Hakunsai, a mysterious "interference force" would strike him hard, causing problems such as excessive spiritual pressure consumption and sluggish movements.

"So, Watanabe, have you found the answer?"

Throughout this process, Rokuto Hakunsai himself did not move an inch.

Just watch quietly as he makes a series of strange attempts.

"Well, we've got a general idea."

Mizhen stopped and walked a few steps to a spot not far in front of Shikatori Hakunsai, where he conjured another Path of Destruction.