Chapter 22
"So..."
"Old man, what is the price?"
Haruto wanted to see the expression in the old man's eyes through his old and loose skin.
"...You are very good."
The old man praised without any context.
"I am old."
Haruto listened quietly to the old man continue to speak.
"There is no direct bloodline in the current main family of the Ise family."
"?"
The explosive news involving the upper nobles almost made Haruto's brain crash, but he quickly understood the hidden meaning of this sentence:
"You mean..."
"Yes, Nanao is the last direct bloodline of the Ise family."
Not to mention why the Ise family, as an upper noble, has become what it is now, this conclusion alone is enough to cause too much blood and rain.
"You really have a difficult problem."
Haruto glanced at the secret of the ghost on the table and felt unprecedentedly hot.
Although he looked down on Munechika, who was born in a middle-class noble family, the seriousness of the matter was completely different when it came to upper-class nobles.
"As a deal, whoever accepts this is a fool."
Haruto first smiled bitterly.
"But if it's as Nanao's friend... I think it's a waste not to accept it?"
Then he picked up the secret teaching on the table without hesitation.
If Nanao really had a problem, Haruto would definitely have no reason to stand by and watch.
"Don't worry."
The old man across the tea table comforted him.
"I don't intend to let you get involved in the trouble of the Ise family. As long as Nanao can successfully enter the Gotei 13..."
"That's enough."
Seeing Haruto accept the Kidou secret teaching, the old man breathed a sigh of relief unconsciously.
"Eighth Division?"
"Oh? You know a lot."
"It's just so-so..."
Haruto does know a lot.
Regarding Nanao's identity... the most important "function" of the Ise family's direct bloodline should be the authority to use the "Sacred Sword·Eight Mirror Sword" - this thing is indeed worthy of the name of "Sacred Sword", but forget about coveting it... If you want to snatch something from Kyoraku Shunsui, few people can do it even if you search through the Soul Society.
Haruto responded to the old man while opening the heavy Kidō Secret Book in his hand.
"Hado 78..."
""Zankarin""
Kyoraku Shunsui is good at Kidō.
It can wield an energized spiritual pressure blade from the Zanpakutō, which belongs to the Kidō used in medium and short-range combat.
The "Getsuga Tensho" inherited from the Shiba family is likely to be a secret modified version of this move.
————
The God of Death, no, it should be said that there are many ways for the human soul to absorb spiritual particles. Whether breathing, eating, or even interacting with the outside world through the skin, spiritual particles can be absorbed and converted into spiritual pressure for storage.
But
Unlike Hollows, the "vent" of the Shinigami's spiritual pressure only exists in the two places of the wrist; this is why, whether releasing Kidō or using Zanpakutō, most Shinigami need to use their hands to fight.
Zanpakutō, as the manifestation of the power of the Shinigami's soul and the extension of the arm, can also be used as a medium to carry Kidō; the "Yellow Fire Flash" and "Tanran" used by Haruto in the battle with Byakuya are techniques in this regard.
Unfortunately.
Haruto is not so proficient in the use of Zanpakutō. There is no problem using the intermediate Hadō, but it is still a bit difficult to use the Zanpakutō with a number as high as 78.
However, from another perspective, if Haruto, who has always had a special liking for the sword-drawing slash, can learn this Zanpakutō, it will undoubtedly improve his melee ability to a new level; and no matter what the attributes of his Zanpakutō are, it will be able to exert stronger combat power after being released in the future.
Just like the style that Haruto is good at, the moves are more refined than the number. Didn't Ichigo use the Crescent Moon Sky Strike from beginning to end?
"I will keep it carefully."
Haruto picked up the ancient Zanpakurin secret book on the table.
"I will never teach the contents privately."
However, just when Haruto was about to put the secret book away.
"Pah."
The old man's rough palm pressed firmly on the back of Haruto's hand.
"?"
"It doesn't matter whether it is taught or not."
"None of the direct priests of the Ise family has their own Zanpakutō. This Zanpakurin is just my personal experience."
"If it can be carried forward, I will be so happy."
The old man shook his head and said.
"But this secret book...you must finish reading it here."
"Tonight?"
Haruto didn't expect the old man's idea at all.
"No, before the old woman and Nanao come back."
"!!"
Haruto glanced at the thick secret book on the table.
Although bamboo books are inherently heavy and have far less content than paper books of the same volume, the content recorded in this secret book is more than ten thousand words... Even if Nanao is slow, he should be back here in ten minutes.
"Don't worry."
The old man released his palm on the back of Haruto's hand.
"If you can really master all the contents of the Book of Ghost Path, learning this move of the Flower Wheel is just a matter of raising your hand."
"And."
"The mastery I just mentioned does not include advanced ghost arts... If you can master the first sixty numbers of the broken way, I can guarantee that you can perform the Zanhuarin immediately after reading it once."
"I..."
"I know you are not good at the Zanjutsu."
The old man interrupted Haruto's explanation and silently glanced at the candle on the coffee table: chatting also counts as time.
"I am not good at it either, and no one in the Ise family is good at it."
"But no one has said that you must hold a sword to use this broken way with the number 78, right?"
The old man's words made Haruto fall into thought.
"Otherwise, how did those Shinigami whose Zanpakutō no longer had the shape of a sword after being released successfully master this broken way?"
"You know, for advanced ghost arts that can be given numbers, universality is a very important criterion."
"You mean..."
"It seems that you have thought it through."
The old man did not answer Haruto directly, but he knew that Haruto already knew the truth he wanted to tell Haruto:
Zanpakutō is part of the soul of the Shinigami.
Whether it is using a knife to cut people or using it to release ghost ways, the same principle applies. Although everyone knows this common sense, there are very few Shinigami who can use it in actual combat.
"I understand."
The old man's advice made Haruto feel enlightened.
It is not necessary to use Zanpakutō to release Zankarin, and he does not necessarily have to work hard on Zanpakutō to release Zanpakutō.
People...
The soul itself is the most important key.
————
Volume 1: 014, Wild Road
"See you at school!"
"Well, be careful on the road!"
The next morning.
Haruto said goodbye to the Ise family and started to set off for his "home" far away in Rukongai.
To be honest.
Haruto has not been back there for a long time.
It's not that the feelings have deepened or faded, but simply because the distance is too far to go back and forth. This year is purely because his own strength has improved a lot, and his physical fitness has changed fundamentally thanks to Tenrumaru.
Haruto then had the idea of going back to take a look.
In order to avoid unnecessary trouble on the road, Haruto rolled up the uniform of the Maou Academy and the dry food prepared for the road as a bag and carried it on his back.
He put on a gray, neither new nor old linen shirt - the shoes were newly made by the old lady of the Ise family and given to Haru as a gift - and headed towards the East 66th District; although it is not as good as the Rukongai ranked after 70, the security environment here is not much better due to the barren natural environment of the 66th District.
The competition for food and water sources is quite fierce.
"In the first 20 districts, you don't need to worry about food and drink."
"This place is close to the Soul Society, and the activities of the Thirteenth Guard are also frequent. As long as you have money, you can solve most of the troubles."
Haruto did not choose to take the official road.
Although it only takes fourteen days to go back and forth, he is not going to waste time on the road. Instead, he keeps practicing the two high-level ghost arts he has just determined... Now there are three high-level ghost arts. Purely relying on absorbing spirit particles from the atmosphere will definitely not be able to meet the consumption of spiritual pressure, so Haruto must also consider the issue of food and drink. Although the security in the first twenty districts is good, it is far from the level of no one picking up things on the road.
Especially after nightfall, even if there are no thieves, there may be death gods who take the opportunity to come out and steal.
According to the information known to Haruto, the 10th Division responsible for patrolling Rukongai has a bad atmosphere in their team.
In order to reduce trouble, Haruto plans to travel during the day and spend more money to find a place to stay in the street at night.
After leaving the first twenty districts... basically, there is no need to expect "outsiders" to be able to buy things. Let's not talk about the principle of not showing off wealth. If you want to get supplies normally, you must first have a good relationship with the local "gangs".
Of course.
For Haruto, this is actually a good thing.
After all, just by making friends, you can get enough supplies, which is a very cost-effective thing no matter how you look at it. These Rukongai gangs are more than enough to bully the local "souls living in Rukongai", but when facing the real Shinigami, they basically behave as humble as possible.
It's not that they can't beat ordinary Shinigami, but there is no need to lose their substance for the sake of face... Unless necessary, the Shinigami of the Gotei 13 rarely come to these areas. It is naturally a suitable deal for local gangs to send them away with money, and it also saves the attention from the Soul Society.
Haruto is quite familiar with these gangs.
Although he was "born" in the 66th district, he did "challenge" the previous areas before entering the Maou Spiritual Academy.
With his current strength of the seventh-level spiritual power, even if he uses despicable means, these gangs will never be Haruto's opponent.
So...
When Haruto saw them, he was naturally as friendly as possible.
————
"Boom!!"
