68 Chapter 67: Ambushed

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, four years have passed.

It's been fourteen years since Yamahiko entered the Onmitsukidō, and now he is twenty-eight years old. However, his appearance is still that of a small boy.

Though he might be a perfect match in height with Suì-Fēng, who is just 150 cm tall, Yamahiko still feels too short. He can't hold Suì-Fēng in his arms or protect her. Nevertheless, given Suì-Fēng's strength, she probably doesn't need him to protect her. If he were to try, he might end up with a second-degree disability after getting beaten up.

In any case, Yamahiko is determined to find an opportunity to go to the Human World and grow taller.

When it comes to Suì-Fēng, Yamahiko feels a bit disheartened. He thought that after holding hands last time, their relationship would progress rapidly. However, Suì-Fēng's reputation, which had spread throughout the entire Soul Society, has made her very embarrassed. As a result, she often wears a stern expression and is quite unkind to Yamahiko, never showing him a friendly face.

This kind of behavior can be described as "tsundere." It's a term used to explain someone who pretends to be tough as a defense mechanism due to shyness or bashfulness.

However, tsundere implies an acknowledgment of feelings and interest in the target of their affection, even if they can't express it openly due to various reasons. They have to conceal these emotions, leading to them adopting a tougher demeanor.

How to conquer a tsundere?

Yamahiko, however, has no clue.

…

"I told you, don't bring me flowers anymore; I really don't like them," scolds Suì-Fēng, looking at Yamahiko with anger in her eyes.

Yamahiko holds a bouquet of flowers and gazes at Suì-Fēng, saying, "What should I do with these flowers, then?"

Suì-Fēng grumpily replies, "Since you've already bought them, just leave them there for now; otherwise, it's a waste. But I warn you, don't buy them again next time."

Yamahiko quickly responds, "I got it; I won't buy them again."

Suì-Fēng waved her hand and said, "Hurry up and leave. Staying in front of me is annoying."

Yamahiko slowly left the room, and after he was out of the room, a smile appeared on his lips.

Even though she said not to, she still accepted them in the end.

Yamahiko turned and left the room. He had completed his weekly task of giving her flowers, a practice he had started in recent months following a piece of advice from Captain Kyōraku Shunsui. Kyōraku had told him that nothing could win a woman's heart like fresh flowers. Kyōraku had even written a best-selling book titled "Rose-colored Path," which demonstrated his profound understanding of women's emotions. However, it occurred to Yamahiko later that Kyōraku was still single and hadn't found a life partner, and he wondered why.

Having finished the flower delivery for the day, Yamahiko moved on to his afternoon training. He practiced every afternoon, alongside Captain Suì-Fēng on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, while on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, he went to Lake to train Zanpakutō. Sometimes, Captain Kyōraku Shunsui brought his sake bottle, and the two of them would share a drink.

After leaving the barracks, Yamahiko made his way to the Lake. As he strolled, a dark figure suddenly covered him, and a voice said, "Yamahiko, what a coincidence! Let's have a little spar."

Seeing the terrifying face of Kenpachi Zaraki, Yamahiko vanished from sight, leaving Zaraki muttering, "Such a coward."

Yamahiko certainly wouldn't dare to fight Kenpachi Zaraki. Zaraki was ruthless in battle and didn't care about injuries. If he got into the mood for a fight, he wouldn't hold back. As long as he evaded his thunder and didn't try to directly resist it, Yamahiko wouldn't have full confidence in winning.

Yamahiko used Shunpo to leave the Seireitei and arrived at Lake near Mt. Koifushi.

"Kaein-nii isn't here," he noted.

Yamahiko looked around, then chose a spot to start his training. He began to chant softly, "Descend, Raijinmaru."

As dark clouds formed in the sky, a bolt of lightning struck down. Yamahiko caught it, and it transformed into a short spear.

He waved his hand, dispersing the reiatsu in the sky, and began his training.

BOOM.

Yamahiko swung his spear, and a thunderous dragon-like serpent spiraled into the air, heading forward and exploding with a deafening crash halfway into the sky. The resulting blast created a massive crater on the ground.

This was his Thunder Shaping - Thunder Dragon Form. Over the past four years, Yamahiko had significantly improved his control over lightning and could now easily shape and release its form.

However, shaping the form and maintaining it required the expenditure of spiritual energy, and the damage upon explosion couldn't be focused like that of the equally-sized Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō. Thus, the Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō had more power and consumed less spiritual energy.

Currently, Yamahiko had enhanced his reiryoku, allowing him to use a full version of the Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō, and he could unleash up to seven shots of it, which was a significant improvement from before. Even most Captain-level opponents standing at the center of the lightning would suffer severe injuries, with the exception of Kenpachi Zaraki, who could withstand more, but not more than three shots.

However, Yamahiko's reiryoku wasn't yet at the seventh level, making him still inferior to most Captains. It would take him another four to six years to reach that level. Despite its dazzling appearance, he was determined to use his Thunder Dragon shaping technique in battle.

After releasing the Thunder Dragon, Yamahiko shook his arm, and dozens of lightning birds appeared, flying towards the distance. Once in the air, they suddenly dispersed, then reconverged, colliding with each other and causing intense explosions. This was the technique known as Chidori, a more refined form of it, with the ability to be precisely controlled after leaving the body and changing its flight path. This allowed Yamahiko to attack enemies from all angles and make it challenging for them to defend against. When combined with his melee combat skills, it became an even more formidable technique.

Yamahiko contemplated and created a dense energy lance, but he decided not to release it to avoid damaging the ground. The highly concentrated energy of the lance could be used for combat or thrown to create massive explosions, although not as potent as the 'Hado #88 Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō', it was still capable of forming a large crater. The more energy he condensed, the greater the power it possessed.

With his left hand, Yamahiko summoned a one-inch-long dart that appeared with flashes of lightning. With a whoosh, it disappeared, and the next moment, a deep black hole appeared on the distant mountainside.

Instant-launch electromagnetic cannon.

Because of the speed and power of the electromagnetic cannon, Yamahiko continuously improved it. At full acceleration, it could reach eleven times the speed of sound, but it required an extremely long acceleration time.

However, Yamahiko had developed an instant-launch electromagnetic cannon, which had a small projectile mass, traveled at three times the speed of sound, and had significantly reduced power but very little acceleration time, close to instantaneous firing.

Furthermore, the structure of his Thunder Wings had been greatly streamlined, allowing him to catch up to Suì-Fēng's Shunko speed. In addition, his hand-to-hand combat skills had improved considerably during the four years of training. Now, when his Thunder Wings were active, he could hold his own against Suì-Fēng.

As long as his spiritual energy didn't deplete, Yamahiko was a mid-level Captain in terms of overall combat capability. His Shikai had a significantly extended duration, enough to defeat Captains of lower ranks.

However, his strength was not yet enough to stand against Sosuke Aizen, who could easily deflect Ichigo Kurosaki's Bankai strikes with one hand, defeat Tōshirō Hitsugaya with a single attack, and eliminate other Captains.

Without surpassing Captain-level combat power, facing Aizen would result in an instant defeat.

Yamahiko continued to hone his skills, continually using the Thunder Shaping technique. Through precise control, he could manage his spiritual power efficiently while steadily consuming it, which indirectly increased his spiritual power.

However, in the process of training and taking breaks to recover his spiritual power, Yamahiko heard a faint noise from behind.

"Brother Kaien?"

Yamahiko instinctively turned his head, but in the blink of an eye, a massive white fist appeared right in front of him, instantly crashing into his body.

Boom.

Yamahiko was sent flying and crashed into the mountainside.

~End of the chapter~

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