As the mechanical ticking of the pocket watch faded, an emerald light burst forth from it, instantly enveloping the entire street in front of the Urahara Shop.
It rapidly formed a visible barrier around them, shimmering with eerie text.
"A Fullbringer?"
Asuka looked at the middle-aged man in the suit vest before him, his brow furrowing slightly.
This term wasn't entirely unfamiliar to him.
Back when that shady merchant Urahara had somehow tricked him into going to Fuyuki City, he had learned about the so-called Fullbring abilities.
It was a peculiar power that extracted the power of a soul and attached it to a familiar object, thereby altering its material form or rules.
He just hadn't expected a Fullbringer to show up at their doorstep, let alone one entangled in the conspiracies of Soul Society nobles.
However, before Asuka could figure out what this meant, the man clicked his pocket watch again. "Contract Two: Within the domain of the God of Time, the flow is constant. All accelerated movements shall be judged as a transgression."
After speaking, the pocket watch in his right hand suddenly transformed into a massive, ethereal green clock that loomed behind him.
The grinding sound of its giant gears seemed to declare the mighty power of a so-called god.
Asuka's gaze quickly turned cold.
Whether this guy was a Fullbringer or some noble's retainer didn't matter.
Since he was standing on the enemy's side, his identity was irrelevant.
"Cheap parlor tricks."
Ignoring the so-called contract Giriko spoke of, Asuka pushed off the asphalt with his toes and shot straight toward the man's face!
Buzz—!!
In the split second before the blade touched his neck, Asuka felt a terrifying force forcibly twist his center of gravity.
His movement was clearly forward, but in that instant, it felt as if a rewind button had been pressed on his body, forcefully shifting him backward by a few inches.
Taking advantage of this bizarre opening, Giriko elegantly slid half a step back, easily dodging the fatal strike.
Not only that, but in the air cleaved apart by Kakudatsu in front of Asuka, a cluster of dark green flames ignited out of nowhere.
This fire had no heat; it emitted an ominous, ghostly glow as it crept up the tip of Asuka's blade.
Asuka's eyes narrowed sharply, and he gave his wrist a violent flick.
His tyrannical Spiritual Pressure instantly shattered the cluster of green flames, and his body floated backward, landing in his original spot.
"What a hot-tempered young man."
Giriko leisurely adjusted his attire, placing one hand on his chest while lightly tracing a line in the air with the other.
"I already told you, the contract has been established," Giriko said. His left eye was covered by a black ribbon, but his remaining right eye gleamed with arrogance. "Within the rules defined by my [Time Tells No Lies], any violent act that violates the contract's conditions will face the merciless judgment of the God of Time."
"Your high-speed movement just now, which defied the laws of time, triggered the first layer of defense."
"If you hadn't backed away in time, the Flames of Time would have completely devoured your entire arm."
Asuka looked at the clock phantom behind him and said nothing.
That brief clash just now had indeed given him a slight sense of incongruity.
The ability to forcefully establish some sort of conceptual rule within a space was certainly interesting.
Seeing Asuka fall silent, Giriko Kutsuzawa assumed his opponent was afraid, and the smile on his face grew even more smug.
He seemed to thoroughly enjoy this sense of superiority, playing strong opponents like fools in the palm of his hand using complex rules.
"It seems the rumored Soul King's Substitute is nothing more than this, completely ignorant of higher-dimensional powers."
Giriko began his critique unprompted, his condescending posture resembling a strict mentor lecturing a failing student.
"Listen well, you crude swordsman. My Fullbring can set specific time-limit conditions on anything."
"Once a condition is set, it becomes an absolute truth. Not even I can alter or cancel it midway."
He pointed a finger at the street enveloped by invisible fluctuations. "To prevent you Soul Reapers who only know how to use brute force from destroying the environment, the contract I just established also added an invisible timeline to each of you."
"As long as your Spiritual Pressure output exceeds the maximum limit this space can hold, or you violate the restrictions of the time contract, the God of Time will judge you in breach of contract and completely obliterate you!"
"In other words, even though you currently possess the strength to shatter mountains, you have been stuffed into an extremely fragile glass bottle."
"If you exert even a little too much force, you will end up smashed to pieces."
Giriko spread his hands, striking a helpless yet provocative pose. "Now, do you still think you can stop me from taking away the young lady of the Kasumioji Family?"
Listening to the man's endless explanation...
Asuka smiled helplessly.
"I thought it was some incomprehensible divine authority, but after all that, it's just a cheap parlor trick triggered by conditions."
He looked at Giriko Kutsuzawa as if looking at a foolish clown. "I've realized that not only are you an idiot who loves to spout nonsense during a fight, but you're also an arrogant moron."
"What did you say?" Giriko Kutsuzawa's expression instantly darkened.
"If you had let me figure out your rules on my own, I might have actually held back out of wariness toward this so-called God of Time, and it would have taken me a bit more effort."
Kakudatsu began to burn in Asuka's hand, emitting an aura that made Giriko feel uneasy. "But you just had to go and explain your abilities to your enemy..."
"Did you think you were showing off your absolute control? It only makes me realize just how laughable your power truly is."
Asuka's mockery made Giriko's face turn blue and purple with rage.
He was right, yet also wrong.
The reason Giriko had so eloquently detailed his abilities wasn't solely out of arrogance.
Fundamentally, his Fullbring wasn't actually as powerful as he claimed.
The words he deliberately threw out were meant to place a psychological restraint on strong opponents, making them worry about triggering the rules and thus forcing them to limit their own strength.
This was supposed to be a battle of wits... but with Asuka putting it like that, it sounded like some idiotic blunder, making Giriko feel as though he was losing face.
"You're just a brat who's all talk."
Giriko Kutsuzawa scoffed coldly and stomped his right foot heavily on the ground.
His suit vest immediately glowed with a faint spiritual light. He rapidly formed hand seals in front of his chest, and his aura grew significantly stronger. "Then let me see just how formidable the so-called Substitute Soul Reaper really is..."
Before his voice could fade, Asuka's figure moved once again!
Swish!
In the next second, Asuka's figure had already appeared right in front of him.
Under Giriko's astonished gaze, the Zanpakuto, radiating a scorching killing intent, was already thrust toward his chest.
"How is this possible?! With the contract's restrictions, how can he still be this fast?!"
Giriko frantically tried to block with his wrist.
"Rules are meant for the weak who cannot defy them."
Squelch!
A spray of blood bloomed across Giriko's chest!