Inoue Orihime's luck was fairly good.
When she first landed in the Seireitei, no one nearby noticed her arrival. While cautiously advancing toward the tall towers within the Seireitei, she used Tsubaki from the Shun Shun Rikka to scout ahead, carefully avoiding the patrols of Shinigami.
Thanks to Tsubaki's early warnings, Orihime slipped through several streets without being discovered.
However, her luck ended there.
Hidden in the shadows—unnoticed by both Orihime and Tsubaki—a burly figure silently watched her back.
Just as Orihime was quietly celebrating crossing another street safely, a sudden sense of danger surged through her.
Instinctively, she ducked.
A Zanpakutō sliced through the air above her head, barely grazing her hair.
"Oh? You dodged that? Pretty lucky."
A rough voice sounded behind her.
As he spoke, the attacker swung his Zanpakutō horizontally and then vertically, striking again. Fortunately, having reacted once already, Orihime activated Bringer Light, propelling herself backward.
"You Ryoka can regret it all you want, because the one you ran into is me—Ikkanzaka Jirōbō. One… two… three…"
The large man with the flattened nose, small eyes, and thick lips was Ikkanzaka Jirōbō.
Despite his failed sneak attack, he began counting down arrogantly, as if demonstrating his own "generosity."
Orihime, of course, didn't waste the time.
She immediately summoned Tsubaki beside her, ready to counter the next attack.
When the countdown ended, Jirōbō looked at her with arrogant confidence.
"Taste the flavor of regret, Ryoka!"
He used Shunpo to rush in front of Orihime, raising his Zanpakutō high and bringing it down with a powerful slash.
Prepared this time, Orihime sidestepped the attack.
Jirōbō's strike was incredibly powerful, shattering the ground and sending fragments of stone flying. If it had hit her directly, Orihime would have lost the ability to fight.
After evading, she immediately commanded Tsubaki to counterattack.
"Santen Kesshun—I reject!"
Tsubaki transformed into a streak of golden light, tracing a strange arc toward Jirōbō.
Jirōbō swung his Zanpakutō, intending to slice the tiny "insect" in half.
But Tsubaki abruptly changed direction mid-arc, grazing across Jirōbō's cheek.
With her extensive training, Orihime no longer attacked in the straightforward way she once did in the past. She wouldn't allow an opponent to easily predict the trajectory of Santen Kesshun's attacks.
Under Orihime's control, Tsubaki circled around Jirōbō like an annoying fly.
He swung repeatedly, but could never land a hit.
The harassment quickly drove him mad.
His eyes suddenly flashed with cunning.
Pretending to leave an opening, he used Shunpo and lunged toward Orihime, who appeared defenseless.
His Zanpakutō swept across with full force, aiming to slice her in half.
A triumphant grin appeared on his face—
Then froze instantly.
A golden triangular barrier blocked his strike.
Three of the Six Flowers had formed Santen Kesshun, stopping the attack completely.
Despite the terrifying power behind Jirōbō's strike, it didn't even produce a ripple on the shield.
Enraged, he struck the shield two more times.
It didn't budge.
This was the result of Orihime's long training:
an incredibly sturdy Santen Kesshun combined with the flexible offense of Koten Zanshun.
While Jirōbō was still furious, Tsubaki had already returned.
From behind, it slashed directly at his dominant arm.
Pain forced Jirōbō to retreat, widening the distance between them.
"Not bad for a Ryoka daring to invade the Seireitei," he admitted grudgingly.
Then he immediately began boasting again.
"But you ran into Ikkanzaka Jirōbō—the 'Kamikaze' of Squad 7, Fourth Seat of the Gotei 13! Scream in regret!"
"Flutter your wings—Tsunagari!"
Holding his Zanpakutō upright, he pressed his palm down from the blade's tip.
The blade shattered into countless fragments.
Each fragment transformed into a spinning projectile the size of a finger, swirling around him like a storm of blades.
"My Zanpakutō is the strongest aerial weapon in Soul Society!" Jirōbō shouted excitedly. "Your strength isn't bad—but you met me! I'm the man known as the Kamaitachi!"
He conveniently ignored the fact that the title had only fallen to him because nobody else wanted it.
Orihime ignored his ranting.
Those spinning blades were actually troublesome for her current abilities.
Her mastery of Koten Zanshun was still inferior to the speed of those blades.
Meanwhile, Santen Kesshun could only defend one direction at a time.
A dense swarm of blades could simply bypass the shield and attack her directly.
Although Jirōbō's dominant arm was injured, his Shikai didn't require physical swings.
The blades were controlled purely through his Reiatsu.
That was why he remained confident.
With a wave of his hand, the blade swarm rushed toward Orihime like a swarm of bees.
His wild laughter echoed through the street.
Victory seemed right in front of him.
Perhaps defeating this Ryoka would even help him earn promotion to Third Seat.
The moment the attack began, Orihime activated Bringer Light, launching herself away while asking,
"Tsubaki, can you destroy all those blades?"
"It will take time," Tsubaki replied calmly. "Before that, you may be hit."
Tsubaki was powerful, but he was only a single attacker.
If he launched a strike, Orihime would be surrounded by the remaining blades.
And Santen Kesshun could not defend all directions simultaneously.
"So I can't escape… and I can't attack," Orihime murmured.
"I can only defend."
Jirōbō followed closely using Shunpo.
If she kept running, she would attract even more Shinigami.
"I guess I have no choice… Tsubaki."
"Your decision."
Tsubaki flashed and returned to her hairpin.
Orihime stopped moving, calmly waiting for the attack.
"Have you already given up?" Jirōbō sneered. "Taste despair and regret!"
With a gesture, he commanded the blade swarm to attack.
Orihime raised both hands, pouring large amounts of Reiatsu into her power.
Five flower petals flew from her hair.
They circled around her body.
A golden hemispherical barrier formed.
"Goten Kyōshun—I reject!"
The spinning blades crashed into the barrier without slowing.
From Jirōbō's perspective, Orihime's abilities were purely defensive.
So he didn't worry at all.
Even the strongest defense would eventually break under enough concentrated attacks.
And indeed—
The spinning blades gradually carved a small opening in the barrier.
"Give up," Jirōbō said smugly. "I might even give you time to regret your choices."
But as he laughed, something strange happened.
The blades stuck inside the barrier.
They stopped moving forward.
Even more shocking—cracks began spreading across the blades themselves.
A burst of Reiatsu followed—
And the blades shattered into fragments.
"What?!"
Jirōbō immediately recalled all remaining blades.
Looking at the cracks on them, his heart ached.
When he looked back at Orihime, he saw the barrier slowly repairing itself.
Everything he had done had been meaningless.
This was the true power of Goten Kyōshun.
It not only expanded the defensive range—it could repair itself.
The technique was a fusion of Sōten Kisshun and Santen Kesshun.
The larger barrier provided the defense.
Meanwhile, the two spirits of Sōten Kisshun continuously repaired the damage.
Orihime had intentionally allowed some blades to penetrate.
Then she destroyed them during the repair process.
Jirōbō had reacted quickly enough to save the rest.
Now his Zanpakutō was damaged.
His dominant arm was injured.
And he couldn't break her defense.
There was only one option left:
Run.
He turned and fled without hesitation.
Charging recklessly wasn't his style.
Keeping his position as Fourth Seat was far more important.
The moment he ran, Orihime panicked.
If he escaped, he would bring reinforcements.
She immediately dismissed the barrier and chased after him.
"Just as I thought!" Jirōbō laughed. "You can't move while using that technique!"
He turned and launched another barrage of spinning blades.
"Shiten Kōshun!"
A rectangular barrier blocked the incoming blades.
At the same time, a flash of golden light shot through the center.
It struck Jirōbō's leg.
This technique combined Santen Kesshun and Koten Zanshun—allowing defense and counterattack simultaneously.
The slash crippled Jirōbō's right leg.
He could no longer use Shunpo.
Yet he still smiled viciously.
"Doesn't matter—you'll still be severely injured!"
The blades that struck the barrier suddenly curved around it, slicing toward Orihime's body.
Orihime showed no fear.
She switched the technique to Sōten Kisshun, enveloping herself in healing light.
She endured the attacks silently.
Blades cut wounds into her body.
Sōten Kisshun immediately healed them.
The cycle repeated again and again.
Meanwhile, Tsubaki repeatedly slashed Jirōbō, leaving several wounds.
Eventually—
Jirōbō collapsed first.
All the blades returned to him and reformed into his Zanpakutō.
But he had no strength left to stand.
"Nice job, Inoue."
Orihime blinked.
Sawada Tsunayoshi suddenly appeared beside her.
"Tsuna… I'm so glad," Orihime said with relief.
The moment she saw him, the tension in her body vanished.
She immediately collapsed into a seated position.
"If you run into a strong enemy, why didn't you call for help?" Tsuna asked.
"I can't rely on you all every time," Orihime said softly. "I wanted to try myself."
"Companions exist so you can rely on them," Tsuna said.
"Don't you think so, Mr. Yoruichi?"
A black shadow jumped down from above—landing in Orihime's arms.
It was Yoruichi in her black cat form.
"The kid's right," she said. "You're not the main combat power this time. Relying on them is fine."
"I understand," Orihime nodded obediently.
Then she glanced at the defeated Jirōbō.
After hesitating briefly, she still activated her power.
"Sōten Kisshun—I reject."
The healing shield covered Jirōbō.
Orihime chose to heal her defeated opponent.
"Inoue, you—! Ah… forget it."
Yoruichi started to protest, but stopped.
After all, that was simply Orihime's nature.
Neither she nor Ichigo had ever truly wanted to harm anyone.
That was exactly why Yoruichi had chosen to teach these young humans how to use their powers properly.
"Alright, that's enough healing," Yoruichi said. "The Seireitei has a medical squad. Fully healing him would just cause us trouble."
"Okay," Orihime nodded obediently.
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