CH 50:… TENGOKU NO KOGO
“Throughout Heaven and Earth, we alone are the honored ones, Tengoku no Kogo!”
Befitting the activation of a Shikai, Gojo's spiritual pressure increased even more, to the delight of the Unohana.
In his hand, the normal-looking katana changed into a long curved sword with a white and black handle.
But what really caught Unohana’s attention wasn't the sword, but rather the two beautiful translucent white wings and the golden crown around his forehead.
This was without a doubt an appearance befitting that of a king.
He seemed to emanate a holy and regal aura at the same time.
"Tengoku no Kogo. What an arrogant name. I guess it is fitting."
Chuckling, Unohana shook her head.
She was somewhat surprised.
Normally, the transition to Shikai should not bring any change in the physical appearance of the wielder.
Such changes should only appear during Bankai.
This meant that either this sword really liked to show off, or it was so powerful that even in Shikai it could show such changes.
Remembering the personality of Gojo, the chances of it being a mix of those two options were rather high.
"This is really a beautiful sword."
Gojo, who had been silent since earlier. Smiled,
"Hehe. Isn't it? I guess she was right to call herself the best."
Immediately, all the holy aura around him seemed to collapse.
Unohana didn't know if she should be happy or not about this, and as such, could only laugh dumbfoundedly.
"But, what are the powers of your Shikai? Don't tell me it's just to help you shine in the dark?" She raised her eyebrows as she asked curiously.
"Heh. You heard the incantation, right? We–are the ruler of heaven."[1]
Immediately, the world around them seemed to break down.
No. It did not seem to, It was indeed happening.
Unohana's eyes widened as she watched the particles of energy in the air gather at Gojo's wings.
At the same time, all the wounds on his body slowly began to close before vanishing entirely.
"...Impossible… You are…"
For the first time in hundreds of years, Unohana was well and truly shocked.
"Indeed–I am absorbing Reishi."
This was impossible. It broke all common sense.
Only Quincy could absorb Reishi.
Even in the extremely small possibility that he had been a Quincy when alive, the power over Reishi should not have manifested through his zanpakuto.
This wasn't all,
"How are you able to heal yourself!?"
Unohana felt like she was going crazy.
Too many impossibilities were happening in front of her.
Even though Quincy could use Reishi and create Blut Vene to protect their bodies, they could not heal themselves.
Gojo twirled his sword while laughing,
"I think you are having a misunderstanding, I have read the records about Quincy and their abilities. So let's just say that I am way beyond all that."
This was so.
Tengoku gave him absolute control over Reishi in a limited zone.
It wasn't just about creating weapons or something basic.
He could literally do anything he wanted with Reishi.
Previously, he did not 'heal' himself in the truest sense of the word.
Shinigami's bodies were composed of Reishi so all he did was to use the Reishi in the air to reconstruct his body.
In short, as long as he was in a zone filled with Reishi, he was, in theory, immortal, and the soul society was entirely composed of Reishi.
'Haha. So, I went from being Untouchable to unkillable. Not bad.'
Calming down, he asked Unohana,
"Shall we continue?"
Even though he had a basic understanding of what his Shikai could do, it wasn't as if he had the full picture. Some training was necessary
'Firstly, it seems like I am aware of everything in a certain zone.'
Gojo closed his eyes as he felt the surroundings.
He could catch everything. The slightest movement of the wind, the ruffle of the clothes of Unohana, the composition of the air, the soil and everything.
It was so much information in one go. Thankfully, the Six eyes allowed him to change one instant into over one minute.
In this slowed-down world, he could feel Unohana approaching him.
'Firstly, let's begin with the basics.'
Opening his eyes, he deduced the trajectory of the sword then,
"Shield."
A white translucent shield formed in the air and blocked her attack.
Then,
"Chain."
*Cling* *Cling* *Cling*
Out of nowhere, a chain seemingly of the same texture as the shield appeared around Unohana and tried to tie her up.
But,
*Swoosh*
With a twirl, Unohana avoided all the chains and rushed to his side, her stance low.
Then she swung her sword.
Neither the shield nor the chains managed to withstand the blow and collapsed.
This allowed Gojo to learn a weakness of his.
Clearly, the constructs he created were rather frail or lacked enough Reishi to maintain their shapes.
Meanwhile, Unohana's attack didn't end.
Using the force of her previous attack, she continued with a second twirl and threw a few flying knives at Gojo.
Normally, such an attack would have completely pierced through him, but,
*Clang*
The short knives bounced off of his skin, while blue veins showed briefly on Gojo's skin before vanishing.
'Blut Vene(Blood Vein).'
Unohana recognized this technique.
Shinigami used Reiatsu to clad their body and protect themselves. Meanwhile, Quincy used Blut. A technique that allowed them to blend Reishi in their blood vessels.
It could be used either offensively (Blut Arterie) or defensively (Blut Vene).
This was a technique only the elite few could use.
Sadly, Gojo did not leave her the time to analyze more.
Her surroundings were suddenly illuminated as tens of white circles appeared all around her.
"Fall."
A rain of energy arrows rushed towards Unohana.
*BOOM*
-----
*Huff* *Huff* *Huff*
Gojo breathed roughly while looking at the silhouette hidden in the dust.
Even though the previous series of actions seemed easy, Gojo felt as if someone was driving a knife in his brain.
In terms of computation demand, his Reishi control wasn't lower than Limitless. Since he had to control so many things at the same time and compounded with his previous fatigue, it was a wonder he could still stand.
It seemed that this was another weakness that he had to work on.
*Woosh*
*Drip* *Drip*
Once the dust was swept off, Gojo could finally see Unohana.
Her clothes were a little frayed and blood dripped from a few wounds on her body before slowly closing with a green light.
Despite having been wounded, the sole expression on Unohana was that of utmost excitement.
"Heh, I know that I am handsome, but you shouldn't look at me like that. I will call the police."
"Haha, sorry, but I am the police."
"Damn, I should have known this world was corrupted."
Even though they were exchanging some light banter, the two of them were walking in circles while evaluating the distance.
'Ten meters.'
This was the effective range of absorption and manipulation.
Even though it was smaller than he had imagined, Gojo knew that he had just unlocked his Shikai and still had a long way to go.
On the other hand, Unohana had a hard time forcing herself to hold back.
She wanted to know so much.
Just how much could he do?
Just how many times could he heal himself?
What kind of wounds could he heal from?
Would he still be alive if she partially melted him? Completely melted him? Would he survive even if he was reduced to nothing?
"Ha...Ha...Ha..."
Her breath became rough while her cheek became flushed.
The clash between her instincts and her reason created a lapse in her attention, an opening that Gojo did not miss.
Using Shunpo, he managed to come close enough to pierce her with his sword.
Even though Unohana was briefly distracted, there was no way she would have been touched by such an attack.
At least this should have been so.
'I cannot move!?'
Just as she was about to avoid Gojo's attack, she suddenly felt as if her body had been seized by a large hand.
Even though it only lasted a short instant and she regained control of her body, it was already too late to dodge.
Blood bloomed like a flower as Gojo's sword impaled her stomach.
The two of them stood so close to each other, they could almost feel each other's breath.
'He tried to control my body.'
This was definitely something no Quincy could do. Not even Yhwach.
Even though Quincy could use Reishi, there were many clear limits to this power.
The fact the Gojo could do something like that was astonishing.
But,
"You are bleeding."
It seemed that this power wasn't something that could be used lightly.
After all, despite having healed himself not long ago, he was currently bleeding from both his eyes, ears, and nose.
It was clear that what he tried to do was beyond his ability.
"Haha! Seems like I bit more than I could chew."
Gojo had indeed tried to control Unohana's body.
But it seemed that this move had been the last straw.
"Man, not even a frown despite having my sword in your guts. You're really a woman of steel."
"I have suffered much worse wounds in my life."
"Heh. I guess... I will listen to this story another time… now though… I think I will sleep for a little… while..."
Speaking with more difficulty at each word, the light in Gojo's eyes faded as he lost consciousness.
At the same time, his angel-like wings and the crown also vanished while the sword in her guts went back to its previous appearance.
Taking Gojo in her arms to stop him from collapsing, all the madness and craziness vanished from her face as she looked at him with pride in her eyes.
"You really did well. Now sleep and rest."
Taking the sword out of her, she healed herself then proceeded to do the same with him.
After which, she sat down, placed his head on her lap, and began to gently wipe the blood from his face with water she conjured.
"It isn't much, but it's a small reward for your hard work."
Caressing the face of the man who looked so innocent while asleep, she thought back to her fight with him.
She did not know if she had helped the creation of a calamity for the soul society, but she honestly did not care.
Whatever should happen would happen.
"Now then, how should I train him? Fufufu~!"
She did not know what the future held, but what was sure was that it wouldn't be boring.
(AN: This is the last chapter of volume 3. Next chapter will be epilogue 3. Then vol 4. We will now deal with some interesting events. Be prepared for a short time skip. Finally, I hope you liked Gojo's Shikai. For those who don't really know bleach. Reishi or spiritual particles are the base of everything in the soul society. Everything is made of Reishi in the SS and the Hueco Mundo. You guys should understand what it means. Also it isn't just a copy of Quincy power. He can do everything à quincy can do and much more. Anyway all this will be slowly explained in the next volume.)