Rin found himself in an extremely difficult situation.
It was like a mage in an online game being rushed down by a warrior.
Most of the methods he excelled at could no longer break through Kaien’s defenses, yet he still had to remain wary of Nejibana’s overwhelming offensive pressure.
Furthermore, his mastery of Hohō offered no advantage over Kaien’s.
If anything, he was slightly inferior.
The battle was steadily slipping out of his control.
At this moment, Rin still possessed one final trump card.
The only problem…
Using it would expose something he had deliberately kept hidden.
His Zanpakutō Spirit’s words suddenly echoed within his mind.
Perhaps…
You should be a little braver.
Revealing a little more of your strength isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
You should trust others a little more.
Rin stopped retreating altogether.
His gaze became incomparably serious as he looked directly at Kaien.
“Kaien…
be careful.”
“My control over the next Kidō still isn’t good enough.”
“So…
please stay on your guard.”
Kaien did not dismiss the warning.
Although they had only known each other for two years, he understood Rin’s personality well enough.
If Rin had deliberately warned him…
Then whatever came next was genuinely dangerous.
Without wasting another second, Kaien launched his attack.
His charging trajectory suddenly shifted three consecutive times in an almost unpredictable pattern.
The Reishi afterimages left behind by his Hohō had yet to disappear before his real body had already arrived beside Rin’s left flank.
Nejibana swept downward with tremendous force.
The Spiritual Pressure stirred by the trident surged like crashing waves.
Yet this time…
Rin did not dodge.
The streams of spiritual water sliced across his body, tearing open several wounds as fresh blood instantly stained his uniform.
Even so…
His incantation never stopped.
“Oh chains hidden within the shadows…”
“Manifest yourselves as threefold restraints.”
“The first shackle, bind the body.”
“The second shackle, strip away power.”
“The third shackle, reverse offense and defense.”
“Submit before me.”
“Bakudō…”
“Triple Shadow Binding Shackles!”
This was a brand-new Kidō created through Rin’s own research, combining his understanding of Kidō with the abilities of his Zanpakutō.
Strictly speaking…
Its direct offensive power was almost nonexistent.
The true strength of this technique lay elsewhere.
It was…
A composite Bakudō.
Moreover…
Its effects unfolded in three successive stages.
The first stage manifested semi-materialized black chains directly from the target’s shadow.
Like living serpents, they wrapped tightly around Kaien’s arms and legs, immediately restricting his movements.
There had long been a saying that a person’s shadow reflected their life itself.
Most people regarded it as nothing more than folklore.
But for Rin…
Someone capable of directly perceiving the fluctuations of life force…
He had discovered that a shadow was not merely the absence of light.
Hidden within it was the projection of one’s own life force.
By capturing those constantly dispersing traces of vitality and weaving them together with Reishi…
He had successfully formed these shadow restraints.
Since the chains themselves originated from the target’s own life force…
Breaking free became extraordinarily difficult.
After all…
How could someone truly resist themselves?
Kaien’s trident froze only a few centimeters away from Rin.
Immediately afterward…
The second stage activated.
The shadow chains began continuously absorbing Spiritual Pressure through every point of contact before converting that energy into additional strength for the Bakudō itself.
The more Spiritual Pressure Kaien possessed…
The stronger the restraints became.
In other words…
He was now being restrained by his own power.
After all…
His own Spiritual Pressure had never been his greatest talent.
Only then did surprise finally appear on Kaien’s face.
He could clearly feel his Spiritual Pressure rapidly draining away.
Instead of using Kidō to escape…
Kaien instinctively chose the simplest method.
He forcefully poured an enormous amount of Spiritual Pressure into the chains.
Every Kidō had its limits.
Under such overwhelming pressure…
Cracks immediately began spreading across the shadow restraints.
At that very moment…
The third stage activated.
Or rather…
It attempted to activate.
This was also the portion Rin had never completely mastered.
His own Spiritual Pressure began invading Kaien’s spiritual body.
Using Kaidō in reverse…
He attempted to interfere directly with his opponent’s life force.
This was the first time Rin had ever attempted reverse Kaidō.
Although he loved healing others and researching the mysteries of life…
Kaidō itself was ultimately the manipulation of life.
Who had ever said Kaidō could only heal?
Unfortunately…
The instant his Spiritual Pressure entered Kaien’s body…
An overwhelming resistance surged back toward him.
Before Kaien had even reacted…
Rin himself suffered the backlash.
Fresh blood burst from his nose.
A mouthful of blood followed immediately afterward, spraying from between his lips.
Kaien stared blankly for an instant.
Without thinking…
He quickly caught Rin before he collapsed onto the ground.
“W…
Rin!”
“Are you alright?”
Rin could only force out a bitter smile.
“I…”
“I overestimated myself.”
The spectators below the arena had absolutely no idea what had just happened.
From their perspective…
One moment Kaien had launched a fierce attack.
The next…
He had suddenly stopped.
Immediately afterward…
Rin inexplicably vomited blood.
The conclusion seemed obvious.
Kaien had won.
As for everything strange that had just occurred…
Everyone subconsciously attributed it to some mysterious ability of Nejibana.
After all…
Within Soul Society…
Whenever people encountered something they couldn’t understand…
Their first instinct was almost always to blame a Zanpakutō’s special ability.
Naturally…
Several people seated upon the viewing platform clearly understood that something entirely different had just taken place.
Behind Aizen’s glasses…
A trace of curiosity quietly flashed across his eyes.
Yet…
He remained completely silent.
Because at that very moment…
The person showing the greatest reaction was not him.
It was Lieutenant Sarugaki Hiyori.
At some point…
She had already taken out a strange recording device and was hurriedly documenting everything.
If someone stood close enough…
They would hear her muttering excitedly to herself.
“As expected…”
“The concept is still too dangerous…”
“Direct Spiritual Pressure intrusion is still much too crude…”
For that brief moment…
She resembled one of the fanatical researchers of the Twelfth Division more than a lieutenant.
“Put him down.”
Captain Unohana’s calm yet unquestionable voice reached Kaien’s ears.
“Ah…
y…
yes!”
Kaien hurriedly laid Rin gently upon the ground.
Captain Unohana’s hands immediately glowed with the gentle green radiance of Kaidō.
After carefully examining Rin’s condition…
She looked down at him.
“That was far too reckless.”
“You should understand…”
Her gentle smile had quietly disappeared.
“As someone proficient in Kaidō…”
“You understand better than anyone how dangerous something like that truly is.”
“Captain…”
Rin hesitated briefly before speaking honestly.
“I know.”
“But…”
“It was such a rare opportunity.”
“I wanted to try.”
“My previous experiments always lacked sufficient data.”
“So…”
“I wanted to seize this chance.”
He paused briefly before continuing.
“It feels like…”
“Kidō has never been something completely rigid.”
“At that moment…”
“While facing Kaien’s attack…”
“Even though I knew I wasn’t truly in mortal danger…”
“My instincts were desperately warning me.”
“And…”
“It felt as though Kidō itself responded to that feeling.”
“Many problems I couldn’t understand before…”
“I suddenly seem able to grasp them now.”
At this moment…
Rin’s eyes shone brightly with excitement and genuine joy.
Captain Unohana quietly looked at him.
For all these years…
Rin had always been calm.
Quiet.
Reserved.
Like a flower blooming silently without seeking attention.
But today…
For the first time…
She saw genuine vitality blooming within him.
Because of that…
Many of the words of criticism she had intended to say quietly disappeared.
She understood.
Today…
Marked an important turning point in Rin’s growth.
“Since you already understand…”
“Then perfect it properly after joining the Fourth Division.”
“As for everything else…”
“Leave it to us.”
Because…
This matter could not simply end here.
What Rin had displayed today…
Was far more significant than an ordinary Kidō.
For countless years…
Very few entirely new Kidō had been created within Soul Society.
Yet today…
A brand-new composite Bakudō had appeared.
That fact alone carried tremendous significance.
More importantly…
The technique contained numerous advanced concepts.
Kidō continuation.
Kidō linkage.
Kidō interference.
And other sophisticated applications.
Each of those principles was considered precious knowledge.
Ordinarily…
Someone at Rin’s level should never have had access to such techniques.
Now…
If this matter were not handled properly…
It could easily grow into an enormous source of trouble.