ตอน 66: Nobutsuna Shigyō
(3rd Person POV)
The man dropped his Zanpakuto and kneeled on the ground, trying to catch his breath and get over the pain he felt. He had no idea what just happened, but he was sure that his neck had just been cut.
He looked up and saw Hades standing there with his hands on a walking stick. To the man, Hades now looked like a giant that blocked out the sun and was about to deliver the final blow and kill him.
"Wha- ... what did ... you do?", the man managed to say.
"I cut you."
"But ... there's no blood."
"That's because it wasn't my intention to kill or hurt you. The only thing I cut was your senses and your perception. That is what it means when your sword follows your will. I call it imitation cut."
"Imitation cut ... can he do that as well?", the man said and pointed to Yamamoto.
"No, Shigekuni is not capable of 'sword follows will'. He still has a way to go. But I guess that he will get there in the future."
"Could I ... also learn that?"
"What you can and cannot do is not for me to decide. If you are asking me whether you can learn from me then, I would have to decline. You see I don't teach those that cannot be taught. You are one of those cases that don't care about how they swing their swords ... they do it on instinct. So teaching you is useless."
This seemed to depress the man.
"However ... the best way for one such as you to learn things is to fight. Fight, fight and fight some more. And if you're talented enough, you'll pick up on it sooner or later."
This got the man's hope back up. He stood up, sheathed his Zanpakuto and nodded to Hades.
"I apologise for intruding on your home ... my name is Nobutsuna Shigyō."
"Nice to meet you Nobutsuna Shigyō, my name is Eimin Gojo. You can come whenever you wish ... but use the front door and knock."
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That was the beginning of a friendship between Hades and Nobutsuna. The young man came back every few days to challenge Hades again and again. He used the days in between to heal from the wounds he got. Hades never went easy on Nobutsuna, and fought him with enough strength to completely beat him down, but also to give him a challenge and grow stronger.
(Nobutsuna POV)
Eimin Gojo ... what a man that was. I can't even come close to understanding what someone like him must have gone through to get as powerful as he did. No matter what I do, no matter what I try ... I always lose. It doesn't get any better. I feel like I haven't made any progress. In the beginning, it made me mad and I was angry. But that resulted in me making even more mistakes and being worse.
He told me that I should never let my feelings cloud my judgment. Because the fight that you let your feelings dictate your actions will be my last.
"What do you mean by that?", I asked him. I was once again on the ground after he easily put me on the ground when I got mad.
"The fighter who lets his emotions dictate his actions is not fully concentrated on the fight itself but more on his emotions. You can never fight at 100% if you are troubled by your emotions."
"But why does it have to be my last fight if I allow myself to get angry? I could also win. I actually won a lot of fights while I was angry."
"That might appear to you because you didn't fight someone skilled enough, but I can guarantee you that should you fight Shigekuni while you are angry, you would lose very easily. This phenomenon is only apparent if you are fighting someone that is about as strong as you are.", he said.
"I'm not sure I understand that."
"That is understandable. But you can believe me when I tell you that even if anger can grant you more strength temporarily, it takes away skill and battle IQ. You can believe me because I have just noticed that fact. Also, there is not really a reason for you to get angry just because you are losing you know."
"What do you mean?! I am still not getting any better after all this time. And all you do is fight me with that stupid stick.", I raise my voice. It just frustrates me to no end. He with his composure and class seems to look down on me and uses a f*cking stick to fight me.
"You only believe that because you lose all the time. But I can tell you that you're getting better and better. You're instincts have since grown and I can say that I'm sure you'd give Shigekuni a run for his money."
"Wait before you said that he'd defeat me easily."
"That was in the case you let your emotions get to you. However ... there is a slight exception to this rule. You see, due to the fact that you have nigh zero sword theory and only fight based on instinct, getting angry can be helpful to you. But it still is nothing against someone who has the experience."
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I visited Eimin often. And we got closer over the years. Even if I didn't visit him for long periods of time, we would talk about all sorts of things after having our spar. I would still always lose but I at last now know that I am truly getting stronger.
I remember the day when I asked Eimin to fight me with our Zanpakuto abilities. He refused and told me that his Zanpakuto was not suited for sparing. I didn't believe him then but he still refused to fight me. He said that I could fight him if I wished but he wouldn't use his ability.
"Why? How is that fun for anyone?"
"I don't have to explain this to you, Nobu. My Zanpakuto is different from any other."
"How so? I get that it's probably powerful since you're a beast but what could be so bad that you wouldn't use it on me?"
"Shūen no Kyōkai is different from other Zanpakuto because she has a very refined taste. She loves to devour anything that comes our way. The moment I use Shūen no Kyōkai on anyone ... is the moment their fate is sealed and their END has arrived.
Once she has been woken up, Shūen no Kyōkai will not stop until it is done. That is the harsh truth about death, Nobu, it is unforgiving, harsh and equal to anyone. She is the manifestation of the sentence: to court death."
"So you say that once you activate your Shikai the opponent will die? You can't turn it off?"
"Why would I do that? If something has been deemed to end I will see it through till the end. That is who I am and therefore it is also who Shūen no Kyōkai is."
I was surprised that day. I could not understand what he meant that day. But I would get to see Shūen no Kyōkai in the future and I am happy that I didn't press Eimin to show it to me ...
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(Hades POV)
I had just returned from Hueco Mundo, where my friend Barragan had finished creating his palace 'Las Noches'. He was very happy about it and at first, didn't want to see me. Haha, that brat thinks he can just play with me. I of course simply walked in.
We had our match since he seemed to have forgotten about me. I enjoy our little get-togethers. He is a very proud, arrogant but also interesting Vasto Lorde. I can see that he is truly a king. Not a very good one but a king nonetheless.
His thoughts about his subordinates are bad and he doesn't care about them. I can understand that since it is the nature of a Hollow to only function on strength. I told him that he should start to treat them better because true loyalty comes through respect and not fear.
As per usual he disagreed with me. But that's ok. I don't want to change him and don't expect him to change at all, but maybe he will slowly see my point. I can be very persuasive after all. I can also see his progress during our little fights. He has gotten a bit stronger.
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I enjoy my time here but I still miss Senjumaru. She has been gone for decades now and I can't help but miss her dearly. I usually wait for her to call me through the Ornament I gave her. But she has much to do apparently. I find that hard to believe but I trust her.
The Ornament has a few special functions that she has found out already. She called me the same day she arrived in the Soul King Palace, all happy and thankful for what I made the ornament do.
It was quite special. The ornament was primarily a symbol of authority. It essentially gives her full access to the entire Underworld back home. She will instinctively be seen as the queen and my bride when we return thanks to it.
Another thing it does is protection. It protects Senjumaru should such a situation arise that she needs it. The barriers it creates around her are similar to boundaries that separate different universes. So unless someone has the power to destroy an entire universe, there is no breaking that.
It also has a healing function that works passively when she gets injured. It works the same as natural healing. It makes things stronger than they were before. So it was a good thing that worked well with the System I gave her. After fighting and getting damaged, the ornament would heal her and make her a bit stronger than before.
I had access to the System I gave her but I chose not to spy on her. I wanted to be surprised when I saw her again. She was going to become the most powerful in the Zero Division.
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Probably the best function for her though is the unlimited cunjuring of string and materials she could use for her work. I added this little detail to surprise her and ... it did surprise her.
Using the calling function I could hear her happiness as she talked to me about the different properties the strings had and how much she could do with it. Sadly I believe it was a bad thing for me because I didn't hear from her after that for a few days. She was too absorbed with her work ...
The result of that work was visible in the new designs for the Shihakushō that were sent down from the Royal Palace ...
I can only hope that the time passes faster though.
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Currently, I was in my garden when my butler came. I had Oetsu make a Zanpakuto for me that took the job of a butler. Surprisingly he also had that idea. He said he had some dream of a butler Zanpakuto and even saw himself but then put it off as a dream.
He made one for me and called it ... Kikimaru. Apparently, that was the name of the bulter Zanpakuto he saw in his dream ... Well I had nothing against it. It was a good Zanpakuto and a good butler.
"Master Eimin, young Master Shigekuni is here to see you.", Kikimaru said and motioned to Yamamoto.
"Shigekuni good to see you again. How were you all these years?", I said. It was truly too few of an occasion that I see my student.
"Gojo-sensei I'm good. I hope you are well. I brought someone today."
"Oh? Who would that be? A woman ... perhaps?", I said with a smile.
"How- ... how did you know that? It's always the same with you sensei. I will await the day when I can surprise you once."
"Haha, I also wait for that day. So where is she?"
"She wished to wait in the lobby, sir. Would you like me to go and fetch her?", Kikimaru said.
"Hm? You didn't invite her in Shigekuni?", I asked my pupil.
"She wished to stay there since it was her first time here and I couldn't force her anyway. *Sigh* She is a stubborn one."
"Did you just sigh? Did he just sigh Kikimaru?", I asked.
"It appears that he did sir. It would appear that Master Shigekuni has found a woman with a rather strong character for himself. I am glad.", Kikimaru said.
"Well then let us see this woman that can deal with the fiery temper of my surrogate son. I am very excited now."
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