Harry doesn't want to be a wizard, he wants to be a superhero

Chapter 322 Showdown with Kaien Shiba, Harry's Shikai!

Different Grim Reapers reacted differently to these two pieces of news, but almost all of them were shocked and excited.

The Third Division's patrol team had just changed shifts when two Shinigami carrying standard-issue longswords were squatting in the corner, eating rice balls.
"Have you heard? Those two graduates—Harry and Hitsugaya, whom the captains were fighting over—already got three seats as soon as they joined the team!"

The short Grim Reaper nearly dropped his rice ball, his eyes widening in disbelief, bigger than the command token at his waist.
"Our vice-captain climbed from the third seat to vice-captain, it took him a full 180 years!"

The taller man, who was stuffing pickled radish into his mouth, suddenly sneered upon hearing this:

"What do you know? The person who can make Captain Zaraki shout 'Kill me and become captain' is already a waste of his talent to be seated in the third seat."

I've heard that Hitsugaya's Hyōrinmaru, the third seat of the Kidō sect, froze the entire training ground back in the academy, and Harry's Dōkai-no-Tō, the third seat of the Kidō sect, can double the power of Kidō!

In the Fourth Division's medical room, several Shinigami carrying medicine boxes were chattering around a wounded soldier who was having his dressings changed.

"Vice-Captain Shiba is going to fight Harry the Third Seat!"

The Grim Reaper, with her twin ponytails, had gleaming eyes and didn't even notice that the bandage in her hand was wrapped incorrectly.

"Vice-Captain Shiba is a once-in-a-century genius. I heard that his Shunpo is faster than that of the members of the Second Division, and his strength has even reached the captain level!"
Harry, the third seat holder, just graduated; how could they possibly fight?

The old Grim Reaper, who was grinding herbs nearby, tapped the back of her hand:

"Silly girl, how could you possibly understand a battle of this level? The clash of spiritual pressure alone could blow up half a street. When you're watching, remember to stay far away so you don't get caught in the aftershocks."

Beside the Eleventh Division's training ground, several shirtless Shinigami were practicing their swordsmanship, arm wrestling and grappling.

"Damn it, that kid actually went to the 10th Division!" A bald Shinigami slammed his fist on a wooden stake, sending splinters flying. "If he were in our team, he would have given me a real fight by now!"

His companion spat, unable to hide his excitement:

"Who cares which team he goes to, as long as he can fight Vice Captain Shiba, that's enough! I bet fifty Soul Orbs that Harry's third seat won't last thirty moves."

Vice-Captain Shiba Kaien's "Twisting Flower" technique can shatter waterfalls!

In the corridor of the Fifth Division, the Shinigami delivering documents walked by quickly, carrying scrolls, but they couldn't stop talking.

"Hitsugaya, the third seat, is clearly more suited to the fifth division, so why is he in the thirteenth division?"

"Three seats... It would take us ten years to get seven seats, and they've already..."

"Stop being so sour. Didn't you see the team captains scrambling to get it? I'm more interested in the competition a week from now."

"I wonder where they're competing. Shall we sneak over and go watch?"

Harry and Rangiku Matsumoto returned from Rukongai, both reeking of alcohol.

Matsumoto Rangiku overheard the conversation between the two ordinary Shinigami and couldn't help but smile as she asked Harry beside her:

"How about it, little Harry? Are you confident about tomorrow's match? Don't be afraid of losing. After all, that's Vice-Captain Shiba Kaien. His strength is definitely top-notch among vice-captains, and he's even capable of being captain."

Although Matsumoto Rangiku's tone was full of pessimism towards Harry, Harry knew that her intentions were good.

She said that undoubtedly to reduce her psychological pressure, but to Matsumoto Rangiku's disappointment, he had no psychological pressure at all.

Although Harry didn't take Matsumoto Rangiku's words to heart, some people were quite unhappy with her.

Hinamori Momo glared at Matsumoto Rangiku, her chest heaving violently, and said:
"What do you know? Harry is the strongest. That Shiba Kaien is no match for Harry."

Hinamori Momo can't stand hearing others speak ill of Harry, especially since what she just said came from the bottom of her heart.

Knowing Harry's true strength, she didn't believe any Death Knight below the rank of Captain could defeat him.

Matsumoto Rangiku wouldn't hold a grudge against a young girl; she waved her hand dismissively.

"Okay, okay, I know Harry is the strongest, he is the strongest in your eyes, alright?"

Hinamori Momo was angered by Matsumoto Rangiku. She grabbed Harry's arm and said seriously:
"Harry, you must go all out tomorrow and show this big-breasted, brainless woman your true strength!"

In order to rightfully assume the role of captain of the 10th Division, Harry had originally planned to use a certain amount of his strength.

So he patted Hinamori Momo's head and comforted her:

"Don't worry, I will defeat Vice Captain Shiba Kaien."

Of course, reaching the level of Shiba Kaien doesn't require him to unleash his full power. If he did, he would probably be considered a heretic by many captains.

After all, a Grim Reaper of his age could not possibly possess such strength; an ordinary captain is already the limit.

Rangiku Matsumoto glanced at the two of them with some suspicion. She knew that Chusentao had an almost blind adoration for Harry, but she also knew that Harry was not an arrogant person.

So she hesitated for a moment and asked:

"Wait, Harry, you don't really think you can defeat Lieutenant Shiba Kaien, do you? You know his spiritual pressure is already at level three."

Harry smiled faintly. "Who knows?"

Hearing Harry promise to defeat Lieutenant Shiba Kaien tomorrow, Hinamori Momo immediately became confident.

She raised her head and glanced at Matsumoto Rangiku: "Vice Captain Matsumoto, you'll find out tomorrow that Harry is more powerful than you can imagine."

Matsumoto Rangiku: “…”

No way, no way, Harry can't really be stronger than Vice-Captain Shiba Kaien, can he?

Matsumoto Rangiku was also somewhat uncertain.

………………

Inside the Seireitei, in an open space specifically used for duels.

Sunlight was torn into pieces by the leaves and sprinkled onto the hems of the onlookers' clothes.

The ordinary Grim Reapers on the periphery stood on tiptoe, peering out with curiosity, each hoping to squeeze to the front and secure the best spectator position.

The twelve captains stood in a circle in the inner ring, their spiritual pressure forming an invisible wall that isolated the two people in the center of the open space from the outside world.

Kenpachi Zaraki, carrying Nohiru, crouched on a broken pillar. His scarlet eyepatch fluttered in the wind from his spiritual pressure. He licked the blade and let out a low, beast-like growl.

"Hopefully, one of these two will be a worthy opponent."

Unohana Rei stood beside Kenpachi Zaraki and replied with a smile:
"Captain Zaraki is terrifying. They probably don't want to be considered his opponent."

Kenpachi Zaraki snorted coldly and did not respond.

In the center of the open space, Shiba Kaien stood with his hands on his hips, laughing loudly. His trident, in a twisting motion, pointed diagonally at the ground, and pale blue water flowed along the tip, drawing winding watermarks on the bluestone. His spiritual pressure was like the rising tide, wave after wave.
"Kid, don't be nervous, losing isn't shameful!" Harry stood there, the hem of his black shihaka robes being lifted by the opponent's spiritual pressure. His hand rested on the hilt of the "Severing World Spirit Crossing" sword, the patterns on the scabbard glowing with a very faint purple light.

His spiritual pressure wasn't outwardly projected like a sea swallow; instead, it was like a taut bowstring, seemingly calm but concealing a power capable of tearing everything apart.

The two were ten steps apart, the air between them seemingly solidified into a transparent wall, with tiny sparks of spiritual energy floating on its surface—traces of the collision of two different types of spiritual pressure.

"Is Vice-Captain Shiba really that confident? It'll be embarrassing if you lose," Harry kindly reminded him.

Shiba Kaien was taken aback for a moment, then laughed heartily:

"Really? I'm really looking forward to it. I'll be so happy if you can really beat me!"

………………

The Grim Reaper in the back row suddenly gripped his companion's arm tightly:
"Judging from the captains' expressions, this is no ordinary sparring match between vice-captains."

His companion said to him with some disdain:

"What an idiot! Look at their spiritual pressure. They've probably already reached the third level of spiritual power. This is at least a top-tier vice-captain's battle, and they might even be at the captain level. We're really going to have a good show to watch today."

As the first team vice-captain, who was acting as referee, announced the start of the match, Shiba Kaien suddenly stopped laughing, and the water in the twisted flower suddenly boiled.

Harry tapped his fingertips lightly on the hilt of his Zanpakuto, thus releasing it as well.

"Sever the illusion, the Spirit Crossing ends, amplify, Boundary-Severing Spirit Crossing!"

Harry's sword changed rapidly, eventually transforming into a longsword with a semi-transparent, dark purple blade.

The blade was covered with condensed spiritual energy patterns, the hilt was wrapped with silver-gray silk threads, and three rhomboid spiritual crystals hung at the end, emitting a faint humming sound with the fluctuation of spiritual pressure.

As soon as Harry unleashed his Zanpakuto, the captains immediately closed their eyes, sensing a large amount of spiritual energy converging on Harry, continuously amplifying his power.

"This is... a Kido-type Zanpakuto. It can actually control spiritual particles. That's an amazing ability," exclaimed Jushiro Ukitake, captain of the 13th Division.

The other captains nodded slightly. Such a large-scale control of spiritual particles could amplify the damage of the Kido at least three times. Moreover, this was only the Shikai.

With the strength of a captain, Shiba Kaien naturally noticed Harry's Shikai ability, so he became even more cautious and decided to fight Harry with all his might.

Otherwise, it would be awkward if we actually lost.

The ground of the open space was cracked like a spider web by spiritual pressure. Shiba Kaien's trident "Tsubaki" pointed diagonally at the ground, and pale blue water flowed down the tip of the trident, forming a puddle at his feet.

"Watch out, Harry, the Third Seat!"

He tapped his toes, and the puddle suddenly exploded, sending thousands of water arrows raining down on Harry. At the same time, the halberd transformed into a spinning water wheel, whistling through the air as it slashed straight at his face.

Harry held his "Soul Crossing" sword diagonally across his chest, and the dark silver spiritual energy flowing from the blade suddenly lit up.

The long, narrow straight sword had just completed its initial release, and the space on both sides of the blade was slightly distorted, as if the air was being warped by high-density spiritual particles.

"Hado #31: Red Fire Cannon".

Harry's fingertips traced the back of the blade, and the spiritual particles around the Soul Crossing suddenly condensed into a torrent of crimson flames. However, instead of shooting out in a straight line like ordinary ghost paths, it spiraled under the influence of the Soul Crossing, precisely shredding all the water arrows and crashing into the water wheel with undiminished momentum.

"interesting."

Shiba Kaien spun around to avoid the aftershocks of the flames, and his twisting flower slammed into the ground. Suddenly, countless streams of water exploded in the training ground, and dozens of streams of water wrapped around Harry's limbs like living snakes.

"Water flow binds and locks!"

The water instantly hardened into an icy blue water prison, trapping Harry in the center. The petrel's trident, carrying a swirling current of water, was already piercing towards the prison's core.

"Can you handle this move?"

"Binding Spell Number Thirty: Three Flashes of the Mouth." Harry's voice pierced through the water prison, and three golden spiritual spikes suddenly emerged from under Shiba Kaien's feet, their tips crackling with lightning.

This was originally just a mid-level binding technique that restricted movement, but now, with the spiritual amplification of "Severing Boundaries Spirit Crossing," its power has been greatly enhanced, almost rivaling that of a high-level ghost technique.

Amidst the crackling of lightning, Shiba Kaien had no choice but to withdraw his halberd and return to defense.

Taking advantage of the brief moment, Harry raised his hand and aimed the Destroyer at the water prison: "Hado #63: Thunder Roar Cannon".

Platinum-gold lightning exploded on the swords, not in a spherical shape, but in countless fine lightning threads that instantly spread along the patterns of the water prison.

Water, which is a conductor of electricity, became the carrier of the lightning wire. The entire water prison was instantly illuminated by a blinding white light, followed by a deafening explosion.

The water prison was torn apart by countless bolts of lightning, but the lightning did not harm Harry in the slightest, as if it were consciously avoiding him.

Kaien Shiba was thrown several meters by the shockwave, staggering half a step as he landed, his gaze towards Harry now more serious:
"Your Kido... its spiritual particle density is more than three times higher than that of an ordinary Shinigami. What powerful Zanpakuto ability!"

Harry stood with his sword at the ready and chuckled, "You flatter me. Your Zanpakuto is also very powerful. If it can create a large amount of water, it will be extremely troublesome."

Shiba Kaien suddenly burst into laughter, slamming his trident heavily onto the ground. The water in the training ground suddenly boiled, transforming into towering waves:
"Hahaha, you guessed it! Take this—Twisting Flower Whirlpool!"

Suddenly, centered on Shiba Kaien, a large amount of water surged out, directly engulfing an area of ​​several hundred meters in radius.

In the surging water, dozens of afterimages of Shiba Kaien emerged, each wielding a trident and thrusting at Harry from different directions. Surprisingly, these dozens of Shiba Kaien were all physical entities.

Faced with such a powerful attack, Harry showed no sign of panic: "Hado #78 - Zanka-rin".

A golden disc, three times larger than usual, spun in front of him, its edges shimmering with dark patterns of spatial distortion.

Besides its size, the Zhanhua Wheel then underwent another change.

The next moment, the Zhanhua Wheel suddenly split into hundreds of golden blades, which, under the control of the "Severing Boundary Spirit Crossing", precisely locked onto each afterimage.

The moment the golden blade collided with the water wave, the surrounding air vibrated and hummed, even Death, who was watching from afar, couldn't help but cover his ears.

No one could see the final result of the collision; all they saw was the water waves and the golden blade exploding simultaneously, creating a cloud of water vapor and spiritual fragments.

Once the mist dissipated, the Grim Reapers could finally see the scene in the open space.

The two sides stood on opposite sides of the open space, just as they had when they first confronted each other.

Apart from some water stains on their clothes, neither of them was injured at all.

How could the Grim Reapers not know what this meant?
One of the ordinary Grim Reapers exclaimed in astonishment, "Was that level of battle just a warm-up for them? Without a doubt, their strength has already reached the captain level."

"Holy crap, we're watching a captain-level battle!"

(End of this chapter)