CHAPTER 104: CHAPTER 104: RANSŌTENGAI

Ishida Tsugene decisively activated Ransōtengai.

If he dragged this out any longer, he was bound to be cut down by Katori Nanatsuki, so he might as well go all in.

When a Quincy uses Ransōtengai, even as their body begins to crumble to dust, they can still manipulate it through threads of Reishi, continuing to fight.

It was a top-tier combat technique, designed for those willing to battle to the bitter, broken end.

Just as Ishida Tsugene activated Ransōtengai, a bolt of Flowlight shot toward him from afar.

He twisted slightly, trying to dodge it—but the streak of lightning still pierced his right chest.

"What a pity..." Nanatsuki muttered, genuinely regretful. He had hoped to kill Ishida in that moment of stillness, but Ishida had sensed the danger and barely avoided a fatal blow.

"A powerful technique..." Ishida Tsugene coughed up a bit of blood from the corner of his lips. "But it’s not nearly enough to kill me!"

"Now feel the true power of the Quincy!" he bellowed, laughing wildly as he pushed his Reishi Gathering ability to the absolute limit.

Reishi surged toward him from all directions.

High-density Reishi condensed onto Ishida Tsugene’s longsword, transforming it into a blade of pure light.

With a single swing, an arcing blade of condensed Reishi swept toward Nanatsuki like a slicing crescent.

Nanatsuki once again raised his Zanpakutō

, his left index and middle fingers sparking with thunder as he pinched the blade between them.

He released another bolt of Flowlight, crashing it directly into the incoming Reishi arc.

The instant the two energies collided, a violent shockwave exploded outward.

BOOM! As the smoke cleared, Ishida Tsugene stood bloodied from head to toe, but Ransōtengai kept his body moving.

Nanatsuki had taken some damage too. Because he had to use Flowlight, he hadn’t had time to sink into the shadows and evade the shockwave.

But thanks to his Battleborn Berserker trait and Kaido Self-Regeneration, this level of injury did little to dull his fighting spirit.

Reiatsu surged from within Nanatsuki’s body. Thunderous arcs of lightning burst from his shoulders, back, and Zanpakutō, giving him the presence of a descending thunder god.

Shunkō: Raikiri Form!

Ishida Tsugene’s heart sank. Nanatsuki’s speed had jumped again!

He had thought he could outlast Nanatsuki using Ransōtengai, relying on the synergy of Reishi Gathering and Ransōtengai to trade blow for blow while maintaining peak performance.

But Nanatsuki’s sudden burst of speed utterly extinguished that hope.

He could no longer follow Nanatsuki’s movements at all. All he could do was raise both arms, protect his neck and vitals, and rely on Blut Vene to shield himself.

Even so, pouring all his power into Blut Vene

wasn’t enough to stop Nanatsuki’s assault!

Eight flashes of lightning struck—eight gashes tore across Ishida Tsugene’s body. Even his arms were slashed into pieces, but Ransōtengai forcibly stitched them back together.

Now backed into a corner, Ransōtengai brought no salvation—only prolonged torment.

Ishida Tsugene couldn’t take it anymore. Every second he survived was an added humiliation!

As Nanatsuki’s black blade pierced his chest, Ishida grabbed his arm with one hand and drove a syringe filled with highly concentrated Reishi fluid into his own neck with the other.

"Come to hell with me!"

The next moment, a monstrous surge of Reiatsu erupted from within his body.

BOOM!!!

A mushroom cloud shot up from the forest by the valley. Trees were torn apart by the violent shockwave. The medical corps transferring the wounded nearby all heard the deafening boom—and even felt the ground tremble beneath their feet.

Had Nanatsuki not intentionally drawn the fight away from them, this blast could have caused devastating casualties among the medics and injured.

Yamada Kiyonosuke was the first to react. "Ignore it! Keep moving the wounded! Vice-Captain Katori is still fighting for us—we have to get them out of here!"

"Yes, sir!"

The medical squad forced down their fear and continued evacuating the injured.

Elsewhere, Shihoin Yoruichi had also felt the shockwave.

She and three members of the Onmitsukidō, along with the two remaining Quincies, were all knocked back by the blast.

When it dissipated, Yoruichi saw that the explosion had originated from where her teacher had been. Her heart dropped.

"Sensei!" she called out. "Cover me!" she ordered the Onmitsukidō members.

The three agents immediately blocked the two Quincies.

Yoruichi dashed toward the blast zone at full speed.

When she arrived, she found the area completely leveled.

The grass and trees were gone—only scorched soil and shattered stone remained.

Suddenly, the shadow of a boulder nearby grew wide, and Katori Nanatsuki slowly rose from within it.

"Sensei!" Yoruichi gasped.

The explosion had left Nanatsuki heavily injured.

Even though he had severed Ishida Tsugene’s arm before the blast, that arm, still clinging to him through Ransōtengai, forced him to take part of the explosion head-on.

Luckily, after the detonation, he had managed to slip into a shadow to avoid the worst of the shockwave.

"Ransōtengai... what a troublesome ability," Nanatsuki muttered, experiencing firsthand the tenacity of an elite Quincy.

Blut Vene had impressive defense—enough to keep Ishida’s body mostly intact even after being sliced to pieces. With Ransōtengai, he could keep fighting by forcing those pieces back together.

Right now, Nanatsuki’s strongest technique was the combination of Crimson Tide and Raikiri, which allowed him to enter his Thunderfire Wild Blaze form.

That technique could completely destroy Ishida’s body, leaving nothing for Ransōtengai to reconstruct.

But this was a battlefield. There could be more enemies at any moment.

If he used Thunderfire Wild Blaze, he’d be completely drained afterward—essentially a corpse on the ground. Using it here would be far too dangerous.

"Sensei, are you alright?" Yoruichi rushed forward to support him.

"Nothing serious. Just external injuries—I’ll regenerate in time." Nanatsuki sat down on a large rock to recover.

"Here, this is a special medicine for treating spiritual wounds." Yoruichi pulled a bottle from her waist pouch.

"Thanks." Nanatsuki didn’t turn her down and let her apply the medicine to his body.

Meanwhile, the Onmitsukidō agents finished off the two badly wounded Quincies, and after confirming Nanatsuki was safe, they moved on to guard the medical team.