Chapter 27: The Playful Shopkeeper Gets Serious
The morning sun reflected against the wooden walls of Kisuke's shop. Jinta was in the front, teasing Ururu by pulling on her bangs. His sudden play was interrupted by an unexpected guest. When Jinta laid eyes on him, he was surprised at the amount of spiritual pressure being exerted from that guest. It was Silas's. "I've come to see Kisuke."
The two slid the door open to let him inside. The humidity clinging to the air reminded him of Rukia. Ever since she had left, he had hardly considered whether to truly rescue her or not. His thoughts settled once Tessai greeted him. The large man adjusted his glasses to thoroughly analyze Silas.
"How did you do it?!" he asked with intrigue.
"You and I both know something like that's not important. Where is Kisuke?"
"Right here!" Kisuke screamed from the back. Bucket hat on his head, he gave his usual jovial smile, being perhaps the only one excited about Silas's arrival.
The group was led to a bulkhead door in the back. There, Kisuke opened it to reveal a ladder. They each climbed more than one hundred feet down to a room deep within the store that Silas was all too familiar with. Known as the underground training room, it was a place others could train without public attention. There were some in existence. The first was here, the other was in the Soul Society, the third was in a warehouse owned by the Visoreds, and the last one was inside Karakura Hospital, controlled by Ryūken Ishida.
Kisuke's personal training room was quite large. The walls were sky blue, and the ceiling even had clouds painted on them. The floor itself was akin to a desolate, brown, craggy land dotted with dead trees.
"Believe it or not," Kisuke said, fanning his face. "We used our special technology to make this overnight just for you!"
That was the same line he had said in the original story, but on a completely different day. It was clear that Kisuke had this area built ages ago. Perhaps even before Ichigo was born.
Scanning the surroundings, Silas already understood why Kisuke had brought him here: to test him. "Ya know, Ichigo, I'm not sure if just you and Mr. Ishida are able to rescue Rukia by yourselves."
A quick burst of Silas's spiritual pressure pulsed out, causing Tessai, Jinta, and Ururu to all marvel. What he had done was known as spiritual pressure release. By exploding ones spiritual power like a force of energy, it could allow others to determine just how strong someone might be. And based on Silas's spiritual pressure, he was undoubtedly stronger than a lieutenant-ranked Soul Reaper.
"I think we'll be just fine," he calmly said.
Kisuke had intended to have Silas first spar with either Ururu or Jinta. But the display he showed far exceeded his expectations. What most impressed him was that Silas wasn't even in his Soul Reaper form, and yet Silas was giving out such an imposing aura. In truth, he was holding back, but that didn't stop Kisuke from wishing to personally test him.
Using a soul candy, Silas became a Soul Reaper. He watched as Kisuke glared at the item he had sold him long ago. Based on his amused expression, he knew that Kisuke likely thought he had used it to regain his Soul Reaper powers. As for how, it would be a well-kept secret for now.
Silas gladly pulled out Zangetsu, releasing its fake form. Though it was Kisuke's second time seeing it, he still found its shape and immaculate size impressive for a Zanpakutō. There was no doubt that he wouldn't take Silas lightly. That constant expressionlessness, his cold eyes—Silas had the face of a man who'd just killed someone.
The two met in the center of the room. A wry smile played on Kisuke's lips as he laid a hand on the ornate hilt of his weapon. "You'll face a lot of opponents with a Zanpakutō when you get to the Soul Society," he murmured, drawing the blade with a soft hiss. In an instant, the playful air shifted, replaced by a palpable crackle of his spiritual pressure releasing. "Awaken now, Benihime…"
From a simple sword in a cane, his burnished steel Zanpakutō transformed into a razor-sharp, sleek katana. Benihime was a weapon as elegant as it was deadly. It being unleashed was a warning that the playful shopkeeper was not playing games.
In a flash, Kisuke lunged forward, crashing his weapon into Silas's blade. The force was enough to push him back by several paces. Before Silas could crash into a rock formation, he took one swing and pushed Kisuke right back!
"Find cover!" Tessai yelled to Jinta and Ururu.
Kisuke closed the distance again, attempting to stab Silas in the chest. His efforts failed after Silas slightly shifted his body. Seeing Kisuke off balance, Silas raised his weapon. Kisuke's eyes widened at how fast his movements became. Just inches before Silas's blade could hit him, he quickly pulled back, narrowly avoiding his head from being sliced in two. "Ya know, for a second there, I thought you really were trying to kill me."
"Isn't that the point of this exercise?" Silas asked. Without waiting, he detached the hidden blade, giving him two weapons varying in size. Kisuke smirked, rushing at him without fear.
The two clashed multiple times, feeling each other's strength. With each strike and each blow, Kisuke was being pushed back. If he wasn't careful, Silas's second blade was ready to strike him down. And if he defended too lightly, Silas's larger blade would overpower him. The combination of two swords was a lot for him to deal with.
By the time Silas went for a horizontal swing with both weapons, Kisuke swiftly avoided with a mere side-step, prompting Silas to cease his assault and gain some distance. "Why'd you stop attacking?" Kisuke asked with a grin on his face. Silas was far from stupid. This was Kisuke Urahara, a captain-level Soul Reaper. With every action Silas was taking, Kisuke was carefully analyzing his muscle movements. Once those movements were learned, his opponent wouldn't have much of a chance at landing another hit.
'Tsuppane,' Silas thought to himself. That was the name of Kisuke's technique. It was a technique he used against a Hollow named Yammy Llargo. Once it was used, Yammy became incapable of attacking Kisuke with any of his moves.
Understanding full well that his frontal assaults would no longer work, Silas gradually began walking forward. Kisuke furrowed his brows as Silas's walk turned into a run. By the time he knew it, Silas had vanished.
'Flash step.'
Kisuke turned around and released a crimson energy blast behind him. The destructive force crashed into rock formations. Seeing that his attack had missed, he turned to where Silas truly was: leaning back by a tree with a bucket hat dangling on his index finger—Kisuke's bucket hat!
"Ichigo, you're one messed-up guy to take another man's hat."
"You should consider getting a new one then."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone