HRU: Chapter 78/79

Chapter 78: The Confidence of the Zenin Clan

The bet had been finalized.

Shinsuke and Satoshi arrived at the Zenin Clan's dojo.

At this moment, Satoshi was in an excellent mood and even shot a smug glance at Toji.

Earlier, he had asked about the cost of failure because he had noticed that the Zenin Clan wanted this battle far more than he did.

They had no idea that Sode no Shirayuki also desired this fight, so they assumed he could still refuse.

Everything he had done beforehand was to make Zenin Shinsuke and Zenin Ogi mistakenly believe that he was reluctant to fight, successfully increasing his bargaining position.

After all, he already knew that after this battle, his chances of entering the Zenin Clan's treasury again were slim to none.

So, he planned to take full advantage of this opportunity and destroy Zenin Shinsuke's confidence in one fell swoop.

After this, he would refuse to set foot in this decaying place again, no matter how many times they invited him.

After some discussion, Naobito had agreed to the request for two Cursed Tools.

Three, if I count the one Toji already secured from them. I'm basically getting three Cursed Tools from the Zenin Clan for free. Plus, I get to beat down Zenin Shinsuke again. Now, that's satisfying.

This old, rotting family… Heh. Let their precious Cursed Tools gather dust in their treasury.

Satoshi and Shinsuke locked eyes in the dojo. They were the only two who mattered in this match.

All around them, Naobito, Ogi, Jinichi, and Toji watched in silence, awaiting the battle.

Satoshi gripped Sode no Shirayuki, sensing the battle lust emanating from her. She, too, wanted to teach Shinsuke a lesson.

His previous battle with Shinsuke had given him a clear understanding of his opponent's abilities.

Even though Shinsuke was regarded as the strongest sorcerer of the Zenin Clan's younger generation, that title meant nothing to Satoshi.

After all, the true strongest member of the Zenin Clan was standing right beside him, Toji, the one without Cursed Energy, whom the clan had cast aside.

To Satoshi, the idea that Shinsuke could turn the tables on him after just a month of training was laughable.

However, he remained cautious.

When he saw Shinsuke holding a weapon wrapped in white cloth, his eyes narrowed slightly.

The true form of the weapon was hidden, but from its outline beneath the cloth, it was clear that it wasn't a standard Japanese katana.

So this is where his confidence comes from?

Satoshi frowned but didn't change his strategy.

He would simply replicate his previous approach—end the fight as quickly as possible using Sode no Shirayuki's technique.

So, the moment the battle began.

Satoshi uttered a single command:

"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki."

His blade transformed into its Shikai form, turning pure white. Instantly, the temperature in the dojo plummeted.

It felt as if all the cold air from outside had been pulled into the room.

The spectators' gazes locked onto the pure white blade.

Toji had already seen Sode no Shirayuki twice, yet each time, he still found himself marveling at its beauty.

The purity of Sode no Shirayuki represented absolute silence, and the ribbon fluttering at its hilt gave it a sense of ethereal grace.

A pure white Zanpakutō. Every time I see it, it feels like this blade was made for Gojo Satoru and Gojo Satoshi.

Though it isn't as visually striking as Senbonzakura, Sode no Shirayuki suits Satoshi's composed nature far better.

A sigh escaped Toji's lips. His desire to wield a Zanpakutō of his own only grew stronger.

Unlike Toji, the others were seeing Sode no Shirayuki's Shikai for the first time or had never observed it in detail before.

This was their first chance to truly examine its form.

Naobito's heart skipped a beat as he took in the sight.

Even just from its appearance, he could tell—this was no ordinary Cursed Tool.

It was nothing like the cheap trick Ogi had accused it of being.

That blade's sheer presence, the chill it emitted—this was an extraordinary weapon.

He could only imagine how powerful the other two Zanpakutō, Suzumushi and Senbonzakura, must be.

He already knew that Senbonzakura had become Gojo Satoru's exclusive Zanpakutō. On the day of its completion, the Gojo Clan had witnessed a breathtaking spectacle, a sea of cherry blossoms engulfing their entire estate.

Satoshi wouldn't forge something useless for his brother. That meant Senbonzakura's power likely surpassed even Sode no Shirayuki's.

We'll have to see Sode no Shirayuki's technique in action. The same technique that instantly defeated Shinsuke before.

Is Shinsuke truly confident that he has found a way to counter it?

Naobito's thoughts mirrored those of Jinichi.

Meanwhile, Ogi, standing beside him, exuded confidence.

His focus wasn't on Sode no Shirayuki at all, it was entirely on the wrapped weapon in Shinsuke's hands.

He knew Shinsuke would win.

And when he did, that Gojo brat would be forced to kneel and apologize.


---

The moment Sode no Shirayuki activated, Satoshi unleashed Tsukishiro (First Dance, Moon White).

As he swung his Zanpakutō, an invisible circle formed beneath Shinsuke's feet.

If he stayed there for two more seconds, he would fall into the same fate as last time.

However—

The moment Satoshi released Tsukishiro, he noticed something odd.

Shinsuke was smiling.

"You didn't actually think you could use the same trick on me twice, did you?"

Shinsuke's body flickered as he dodged backward, putting more than ten meters between himself and his previous position.

As he moved, he spoke confidently.

"Why do you think I've been training all this time?"

"It was all to analyze your sword movements."

"Tsukishiro takes time to activate. As long as I react fast enough, it will never hit me."

The moment he finished speaking, a large white circle appeared where he had just been standing.

A massive column of frost shot up, instantly freezing everything within its radius.

But it had only frozen empty air.

Seeing this, Shinsuke smirked.

It was proof that his month of sword training had not been in vain.

As long as Tsukishiro couldn't touch him.

Sode no Shirayuki's first technique was useless.

(To be continued.)

Chapter 79: Getting a Taste Before Satoru

Shinsuke's smug smile didn't faze Satoshi in the slightest. Tsukishiro was only the appetizer—he had never intended to end the battle with it.

The moment Tsukishiro activated, he had already prepared for The Second Dance: Hakuren (White Ripple).

Beneath Satoshi's feet, the ice from his blade had already melted, but Shinsuke failed to notice.

From this point onward, Satoshi was untouchable.

With Hakuren hidden beneath the surface, waiting to be unleashed, all he had to do was let Shinsuke come close. Once he did, he would drown him in an avalanche of ice.

Toji had exceptional physical prowess and inhuman reflexes, that was the only reason he had managed to retreat in time during their last encounter.

But Zenin Shinsuke?

He was just an ordinary sorcerer.

There was no way he possessed the same superhuman reaction speed as the Heavenly Restriction-enhanced Toji.

In Satoshi's eyes, the moment Shinsuke rushed toward him, seeking close combat, he had already sealed his fate.

The second Shinsuke got close—

Satoshi swung Sode no Shirayuki, unleashing a raging white torrent of snow.

The spectators shuddered.

The power of Tsukishiro had already left them in awe, and now Hakuren was proving to be just as terrifying.

So this is Sode no Shirayuki's technique…

For everyone except Toji, this was their first time witnessing Hakuren in person.

They couldn't even begin to imagine how Shinsuke could possibly survive something that resembled a natural disaster, an avalanche in the form of a Cursed Technique.

Take it head-on?

Naobito and Jinichi locked their eyes on Shinsuke, waiting to see if he had a way to counter Hakuren.

The frigid wave of ice surged forward, but Shinsuke remained unnervingly calm.

He wasn't the least bit shaken by Hakuren's power.

Because he had already been defeated once before.

After that loss, Shinsuke had devoted an immense amount of time and effort to researching Gojo Satoshi and Sode no Shirayuki.

Currently, there were only three recorded battles involving the Zanpakutō.

The first instance was when it was used against Gojo Satoru after its initial forging, revealing Tsukishiro for the first time.

The second was his own fight against Satoshi, where he had been instantly frozen by Tsukishiro.

The third was a private match between Toji and Satoshi. The Zenin Clan had not been able to observe that fight in detail, but from various sources, he had learned that Sode no Shirayuki possessed a second ability—Hakuren.

A relentless, indiscriminate snowstorm at close range.

Satoshi's trump card.

If he wanted to defeat Satoshi, he had to erase Hakuren from the equation.

As long as Satoshi had Hakuren, he would always hold the advantage.

If Shinsuke couldn't get close, he would inevitably lose.

That was why he had chosen this Special Grade Cursed Tool.

It was because of this very weapon that he had deliberately allowed Satoshi to unleash Hakuren.

"The battle is over," Toji muttered.

From his experience, Shinsuke had no way of avoiding Hakuren.

Once he was hit, it was game over.

Everyone else in the audience had the same thought.

But Satoshi, the one in the fight, felt something was wrong.

Shinsuke's expression was too composed—too prepared.

If he knew how Hakuren worked, why would he willingly step into its range?

Does he have a countermeasure?

Satoshi's frown deepened as he focused on the weapon wrapped in white cloth in Shinsuke's hands.

Now that they were up close, he could make out its shape through the fabric.

Wait a minute…

Satoshi's brows furrowed slightly as a possibility came to mind.

Raising his sleeves in front of his chest, he instinctively took a defensive stance.

No one understood why Satoshi had suddenly chosen to defend.

From the spectators' perspective, Shinsuke was clearly about to be overwhelmed by Hakuren.

Shouldn't Satoshi be pressing the attack instead?

A second later, they realized something was off.

The white snowstorm continued to surge forward.

But Zenin Shinsuke kept moving.

The ice wasn't stopping him.

Then, they saw it.

Hakuren had been split apart.

Shinsuke walked through the raging snow, completely untouched—standing in a void within the storm.

And the reason for this was the weapon in his hand.

Special Grade Cursed Tool, Inverted Spear of Heaven!

I didn't expect this… Satoshi thought.

So Zenin Shinsuke actually got his hands on the Inverted Spear of Heaven?

This thing already existed back then, huh?

Then, in the future, is this why Toji ended up obtaining the Inverted Spear of Heaven?

Inverted Spear of Heaven, a Cursed Tool that could forcibly negate all techniques.

In the original timeline, this was the weapon that had nearly killed Satoru.

Satoshi hadn't expected that, in this timeline, before his brother even got a taste of the Inverted Spear of Heaven…

He would be the one to experience it first.

No wonder Shinsuke was so confident.

He wasn't panicking, because he knew he had the Inverted Spear of Heaven in his hands.

As that thought crossed Satoshi's mind.

Shinsuke's strike landed.

Despite predicting the attack and using Sode no Shirayuki to block, the impact still sent a sharp pain through Satoshi's chest.

The sheer force behind the blow was undeniable.

This was the power of the Inverted Spear of Heaven.

As Shinsuke stood holding the ominous-looking spear-like weapon, the spectators finally understood.

They had underestimated Shinsuke's weapon.

The question that burned in their minds now was.

How had Zenin Shinsuke gotten his hands on such a powerful Special Grade Cursed Tool?

Only Naobito should have had access to the Treasury.

Did Shinsuke have some sort of special privilege allowing him to take Tenshoku out?

Despite his curiosity, Naobito's main focus remained on the battle.

Aesthetically, the Inverted Spear of Heaven was far less impressive than Sode no Shirayuki.

But in terms of effectiveness, the Inverted Spear of Heaven clearly had the upper hand.

After all, it was the Inverted Spear of Heaven that had allowed Shinsuke to turn the tides from a losing position.

This thought settled in the minds of most observers.

Satoshi and Sode no Shirayuki were supposed to lose.

Without Cursed Energy, without techniques, how could Satoshi fight against someone wielding the Inverted Spear of Heaven?

After all…

Wasn't Satoshi's strength entirely reliant on Sode no Shirayuki's abilities?

(To be continued.)