Chapter 131: [The Final Getsuga Tensho]
Meanwhile, in the Squad 9 district, many people were also being baptized by a rain of fire-like arrows.
Hachihara Kumayuru had just led a dozen or so squad members to capture a street. Before she could catch her breath, they ran into a full battalion of Soldat.
If not for Rindo Yu's timely cover, using his Zanpakuto to summon a flock of hawks to block the arrow rain, casualties would have been unavoidable.
"Where did so many Soldat come from?!"
Hachihara hid behind an alley wall, too scared to even peek out. If she stepped forward even a little, she would be turned into a sieve by the Soldat advancing in formation at the end of the street.
There were dozens of Soldat, and every single one could proficiently use Heiligenschein. On top of that, this was Soul Society, where the reishi concentration in the atmosphere was extremely high.
Their individual combat ability was inferior to Uryu Ishida during the period when he used bait to lure a swarm of Hollows into Karakura Town, but once their numbers increased, their combat power grew exponentially.
This was the advantage of a qualified army.
In contrast, the Gotei 13's fighting style seemed somewhat behind the times.
It was like an ancient army using cold weapons against a modern army using thermal weapons.
Range and coordinated formations alone were enough to put the "outdated" side under tremendous pressure.
And if they also lagged behind in "individual combat power," then it would undoubtedly become a one-sided slaughter.
In fact, the actual situation between both sides was roughly like that.
The only reason the battle had not completely collapsed was because of Takeru's Kido Aura enhancement, which raised the Gotei 13's survivability.
Yes, survivability.
No matter which aura effect it was, in the end, they all existed to help allied forces survive.
Increasing attack power to kill the enemy was one choice.
Increasing defense so allies would not be killed was also a choice.
The Shinigami were very clear on this point.
So they never even considered lining up in formation and facing the enemy head-on.
Since it was urban warfare from the start, they would fight it as urban warfare to the end. They would never allow the enemy to leisurely gather their forces.
Relying on the survivability granted by the Kido Aura, as long as they did not die, they would entangle the enemy to the bitter end.
Whether it was guerrilla warfare or whatever else, they would push the war into a more complex and chaotic state as much as possible.
"Roughly speaking, there are over a thousand of these special soldiers, and they may still be crawling out of the shadows continuously. But no matter how many they have, with Captain Shimiya's Kido, they can't rely on superior combat power to eliminate us quickly, gather more troops, seize more streets, and keep sweeping outward."
A male Shinigami in the group, wearing a hood, spoke in a low voice.
"If we drag it out like this, the battle turns into a stalemate. They'll become scattered remnants just like us, each group fighting its own battle."
"In this kind of dispersed and extremely chaotic battlefield, when a group of three to five Quincies runs into a group of three to five Shinigami, they don't actually hold that much of an advantage."
"Because there's no time to create distance, no time to use tactics, and no time to coordinate. Quite a few Quincies have already had their heads cut off in the first clash."
"Once the war reaches this stage, neither side has much advantage left."
"However, the moment they successfully regroup, the balance will collapse instantly."
"The number of enemies in front of us isn't small. That can only mean something changed in the surrounding battlefields. Our high-end combatants were defeated, and the enemy used that opening to regroup."
As soon as everyone heard that, a wave of urgency surged through them.
"Whatever! Let's go all out!"
"Right! We have to stop this force from expanding any further!"
"We can't retreat! We've got enough people too, this fight is winnable!"
"Even if we can't wipe them out, we have to break them apart and leave them in pieces!"
"I'll go first and act as a meat shield for you guys!"
"Count me in! At worst, I die. But with Captain Shimiya's Kido, maybe I won't. If I'm still breathing, hand me off to the people moving through the sewers transporting the wounded!"
The Shinigami who proposed acting as meat shields showed no fear, and the others did not think there was anything strange about it.
After all, this was not the first time something like this had happened.
To stop the Soldat from regrouping, some people had used Kido to blow themselves up, collapsing buildings to block the streets.
Others fought to the last man without retreating a single step.
All of it was done to reduce the enemy's effective strength in a certain area, lessen the burden on other comrades, and create enough space to keep the remaining enemies tied down to the end.
But it was not always successful.
The Soldat were also working hard to regroup, and they had succeeded more than once. However, whenever the Shinigami discovered it, they would throw themselves into crushing those efforts with the resolve to die together if necessary.
And crushing them often required the crude method of using human lives as shields.
Fortunately, there were plenty of Shinigami willing to be shields.
Leaving aside the fact that the Kido Aura enhanced defense, stamina, and spiritual pressure recovery, meaning they might survive if they were lucky, even without the Kido Aura, the combat-oriented Shinigami of the various divisions would not hesitate for a second.
They were usually hot-tempered, stubborn, worshipped strength, and acted like a pack of reckless thugs. On this tragic battlefield, that nature let them "adapt" terrifyingly well.
Takeru truly had no experience commanding large-scale military operations. It could even be said he knew nothing about it.
But there was one thing he was certain of.
The Shinigami's combat power might be inferior to the Quincies, but in terms of fighting spirit, they were not inferior at all. If anything, they might even surpass them.
And that was enough.
Enough to cross blades with the Wandenreich for real.
"Stop arguing! Let me and Rindo open the way this time!"
Hachihara rubbed her hands together, blood boiling.
"As classmates of Shimiya and Ichigo, we're geniuses too! Watching those two graduate early and make such a huge splash has had us green with envy for ages! We shamelessly snuck out of the Spirit Arts Academy this time, so we have to let Shimiya see the results of all our hard work!"
Rindo said nothing. He simply gripped the hilt of his Shikai and rushed out of the alley first.
[Be Born.]
His Zanpakuto transformed into paper slips that linked together into a whip-like blade. Responding to his will and the incantation symbols he drew by hand, it manifested a massive swarm of Ironclad Beetles.
This insect species had an extremely hard shell.
Normally, a single Heiligenschein could pierce through and wipe out a large group of ordinary insects. But against Ironclad Beetles, killing dozens at a time was already a good result.
And Rindo had manifested at least tens of thousands.
Faced with that unsettling sight, the Soldat fell into slight disorder. They retreated while continuously firing Heiligenschein, trying to wear down the swarm without taking casualties.
The tactic itself was sound.
However, Hachihara had somehow already rushed into the sky. With her hands transformed into nail-art-like claws after Shikai, she cupped them around her mouth like a megaphone, took a deep breath, and let out a dragon roar.
A giant dragon head even appeared behind her. Looking closely, one would find it looked about eighty percent similar to the dragon head of Takeru's Bankai form.
Whether that was coincidence or intentional, the power was undeniably fierce.
The atmosphere rippled in layers. The dozens of Soldat below, who had just aimed at her, instantly blanked out. Their minds froze and their hearts seemed to stop.
By the time they recovered, a dozen ferocious Shinigami were already charging right into them.
"Ooooooh!"
"Kill!"
With only a dozen people, they threw the entire formation into chaos. Hachihara and Rindo quickly joined the melee.
The slaughter continued for several minutes. In the end, the Shinigami side lost five men, everyone was injured, but they completely wiped out that batch of Soldat.
"Phew…"
Hachihara no longer cared about her gyaru style as she plopped down onto an enemy corpse. Sticking out her tongue, she panted and fanned herself with one hand. It was still late winter, yet she felt like she was standing in the middle of a blazing summer.
The others looked much the same, all drenched in sweat and blood, breathing heavily.
Just as they rested in place, a voice suddenly rang out.
"You've got some skill, being able to kill so many Soldat. That proves my observation was correct~"
At the sound of that unfamiliar voice, Hachihara and Rindo immediately snapped their heads toward it.
A man had appeared on a nearby rooftop at some point.
He had dark skin and a tall, thin frame, with five upright braids. A helmet resembling a virtual reality headset covered his eyes, and the black and white teeth revealed by his grin were unforgettable at a glance.
His pure white Quincy uniform looked strange, and the stranger it looked, the more it proved he was no ordinary Quincy.
"Ah!"
Hachihara, who had just been about to move, was suddenly blasted away. She crashed into a roadside wall and cried out in pain.
A U-shaped orange reishi pattern appeared across her chest, like the restraint bar of a roller coaster, pinning her in place and leaving her unable to get up.
Rindo fared no better. He too was blasted away by an inexplicable attack, and his Zanpakuto slipped from his hand.
"Didn't I say it~ my observation was correct. Which means I noticed you a long time ago, hid in the shadows to gather data on you, measured your abilities, and then…"
Swoosh swoosh swoosh.
NaNaNa Najahkoop casually fired Heiligenschein and shot down the remaining Shinigami.
Then, striking a stylish pose, he blew on the finger he held up like a pistol, pointed it at Hachihara and Rindo, and made "Biu, biu" sounds with his mouth before continuing leisurely.
"…I saw through your spiritual pressure distribution, found the flaws, and used my schrift, [The Underbelly], to expand those flaws. Even if there's only one flaw, your spiritual pressure will leak out uncontrollably… and you'll die."
"...!"
Hearing that, Hachihara and Rindo, who were barely conscious, immediately realized how bad the situation was.
A sly smile curled at NaNaNa's lips.
"Judging by your faces, you figured it out. Yes, I didn't finish you off. I only incapacitated you. Though honestly, I didn't expect you to stay conscious. Shimiya Takeru's Kido is a real headache."
"It's not surprising. From my observations, he himself is top class when it comes to being difficult to deal with. His spiritual pressure has no openings at all."
"Still, if I capture you two, classmates he's close to, I might be able to force out an opening. Even if I miss the credit for killing a special war power, I'll still get plenty of benefits."
"There may be many Sternritter stronger than me, but few are more observant than me. NaNaNa Najahkoop, holder of the schrift 'U'."
"So, sorry about this, but I'll need you two to come with me."
"Unrelated personnel, please do not interfere, and that means you."
As his voice fell, an invisible slash flashed and vanished in an instant.
NaNaNa jumped away and floated in midair, glaring down with obvious annoyance at the rooftop where he had been standing, now cut to pieces.
"I've been following you for quite a while. I know exactly who is strong and who is weak. Did you really think I wouldn't notice you trying to sneak behind me while invisible the moment I showed myself?"
"In the end, it's just invisibility. A little trick using light reflection to hide your body. Your body hasn't disappeared. As long as your body is there, I can see your spiritual pressure."
"Then that truly is a pity."
A figure emerged as if the air itself were fading.
He wore a sleeveless shinigami uniform and a white hood. Tall and imposing, he carried himself with a sharp, extraordinary aura.
Hachihara and Rindo recognized him at once.
He had been traveling with their group. Although they did not know which squad he belonged to, he was undoubtedly a Shinigami, and a very capable one at that.
They had not expected him to possess an invisible assassination technique.
Unfortunately, it had failed.
Unlike the two of them, who felt anxious inside, the hooded Shinigami, Maki Ichinose, remained completely calm. He stared at NaNaNa with a blade-like focus, his entire body releasing a cutting aura.
"It is a pity. It might have succeeded against any other Quincy."
NaNaNa raised his finger, seemingly preparing to strike Ichinose the same way he had struck Hachihara and Rindo.
"It would have succeeded regardless of who it was. Shine, Saigyoku Nijigasumi!"
Ichinose called out his Zanpakuto's release command.
This was not Bankai, but one of Nijigasumi's Shikai abilities. It gathered the light he used to cloak himself or obstruct an enemy's vision and concentrated it around his body, forming a special combat state.
In an instant, his spiritual pressure surged severalfold, to the point that after Shikai he was almost indistinguishable from a Captain.
"I really didn't misjudge you. You are the strongest one in this group!"
NaNaNa lowered his finger.
With his opponent entering a special state, the distribution of Ichinose's spiritual pressure had changed drastically. NaNaNa's previous "observation results" were useless now, and he could not instantly crush him with his schrift.
"You knew I was here and still chose to appear. That arrogance will get you killed by my blade."
Wrapped in rainbow-colored spiritual pressure like iridescent flames, Ichinose looked like a spirit of prismatic light. Even the asauchi-style Zanpakuto in his hand shone so brightly it resembled a razor-sharp beam. Stepping on eight-colored rings, he shot toward NaNaNa.
"Did you think you were the only one hiding your strength? Let me show you what a true brilliant transformation looks like!"
NaNaNa bared his black and white teeth and instantly entered Vollständig. A pair of circular orange wings grew from his back.
Relying on his mobility, he easily dodged Ichinose's slash, then pulled out three ring-like weapons and fired nine Heiligenschein arrows in a single breath.
Clang...!
Although the angles and timing were excellent, they still failed to break through Ichinose's defense.
This feeling, being clearly stronger yet unable to finish the fight quickly, irritated NaNaNa to no end.
"What a seasoned fighting style. Combined with this level of spiritual pressure, I don't remember anyone like you among the Captains or Lieutenants of the Gotei 13. You aren't even in our intelligence reports."
"Of course not."
Ichinose parried the arrows as he spoke in a low voice.
"I defected from Soul Society after Zaraki killed the previous Captain. It has been decades. How could you possibly notice a nobody like me?"
"A nobody who can block my arrows and fight a member of the Schutzstaffel head-on? That's not very convincing."
"Because the man Zaraki killed was someone I respected. I could not understand why Seireitei allowed a beast like him, someone who only cared about the joy of battle and had no sense of loyalty, to become a Captain. So I left and trained for decades in the outside world, just to kill him one day."
"If I couldn't even reach this level, how could I speak of killing him?"
"Is that so? At your level, I'm afraid you won't even scratch one of his hairs for the rest of your life."
"I know!"
Clang!
NaNaNa had expected those words to shake Ichinose and create an opening.
Instead, Ichinose was not shaken at all. If anything, he became even more resolute. He knocked aside the light arrows, and several nearly flew back into NaNaNa himself.
"You...!"
"I know perfectly well that I can't defeat him!"
Ichinose raised his sword. His spiritual pressure surged and blasted back his hood as he cut NaNaNa off in a cold voice.
"Zaraki was born for battle and will die for battle. I cannot become someone like him, nor do I possess that monstrous talent. Unless a miracle occurs, it is impossible for me to kill him in the field where he excels!"
"However, I also possess something greater than he does, and that is my willingness to fight for others!"
"I once fought for Captain Kiganjo. Later, I fought for Lord Kariya, who saved me. Both were men of strong conviction, and I was willing to lend them my strength. But both of them died, died when I could do absolutely nothing to help. That made me realize how weak and incompetent I was."
"Someone like me has no right to dream of defeating Zaraki, and I cannot even live for myself. Because my convictions were built on the convictions of others, I was nothing more than a loyal dog. Once I lost my master, I became useless."
"A man without conviction has no right to speak of revenge!"
After leaving, Ichinose wandered the World of the Living without purpose. He once stumbled upon souls being hunted by Hollows and nearly died trying to save them, only to be rescued by Jin Kariya.
From that point on, he joined the Bount and acted alongside them for the false yet beautiful future Kariya spoke of.
Ichinose had never truly cared about Kariya's grand blueprint. What moved him was Kariya's fierce conviction, the determination to achieve his goal at any cost.
But what he never expected was that Kariya would be killed by a Quincy while sending Ichinose into Soul Society to gather intelligence.
No one survived.
Only Ichinose, who had been in Soul Society at the time and was a Shinigami rather than a Bount, remained alive.
Crushed by the blow and forced to face his own weakness, he chose to stay hidden in Soul Society and live in seclusion for the rest of his life.
However,
"However, I must thank you Quincies, and Captain Shimiya as well. Last time, you made me face my own weakness. Captain Shimiya made me understand what the loyalty I pursued all my life truly was, and that allowed me to find a conviction of my own!"
"If I must fight for others, then there is no choice more noble, or more correct, than fighting for Seireitei, for the Gotei 13, for the Soul Society I once protected, so that it will never be harmed by others again!"
"So I abandoned revenge and bid farewell to my old self, the narrow-minded, blindly loyal, ignorant man I used to be!"
"The current me has no squad and no master to serve. I am only a nameless swordsman who wishes with all his heart to carry out justice, cut down villains like you, restore peace to this world, and let everyone live in peace!"
"What did you say?! If you can't kill Zaraki Kenpachi, you think you can kill us?"
NaNaNa was enraged instead. He pointed at Ichinose once more.
After entering Vollständig, his abilities had increased, and only a minute or two had passed since the battle began. He had already finished re-measuring Ichinose's spiritual pressure. Now he could activate his schrift and crush him in one move.
But then he noticed tiny points of light like fluorescent stardust glittering throughout the surrounding air.
"This is..."
"Though I am not as skilled as Captain Shimiya, as a fellow wielder of a light-type Zanpakuto, I possess more than the tricks you've already seen."
Ichinose stared at him and spoke a line that made NaNaNa's expression change drastically.
"You said you observed us from the shadows for quite some time. In truth, so did I. I sensed someone following us for a long time. I am rather good at hiding in the shadows and gathering information myself."
"So I also wondered whether your ability was related to assassination, highly lethal, but average in other aspects. After our exchange just now, I can more or less confirm that guess."
"Saigyoku Nijigasumi is not a transformation for entering a powerful combat state. It is about shattering light into scattered spiritual pressure and distributing it through the atmosphere, and then..."
As he spoke, those points of light rapidly expanded like inflating balloons. They connected and fused together like countless bubbles piling atop one another, until they formed a giant orb of light more than fifty meters across.
"Damn it... What is this thing?!"
Inside the light orb, NaNaNa's observations showed no flaws at all. There were no openings to exploit anywhere inside it.
At the same time, he felt a physical crushing force. His limbs locked up, as if he had been immobilized by his own ability.
His Vollständig desperately tried to dissolve the surrounding reishi, but the efficiency was far too low. The only thing "special" about this light was its absurdly high spiritual pressure density.
"Infinite light will erase and swallow shadows. It is impossible to return to the shadows now."
Ichinose slowly closed his eyes and sheathed his blade.
"When light expands to its limit, it contracts until it vanishes, taking with it the one trapped inside."
"When I said 'pity' after my first strike missed, I did not mean the failed sneak attack. I meant that if you had died by my blade then, you would not need to feel this despair now."
"I also said it would have succeeded regardless of which Quincy it was. You knew I was here and still chose to attack. That means you die because of your arrogance."
"Everything I said has already been proven true."
"You failed to seize so many chances. It seems..."
As he spoke, the giant light orb contracted to a single point, then disappeared into the air.
Nothing remained.
Ichinose opened his eyes and calmly finished.
"...you are not as observant as you think."
He returned to the ground.
"Are you two alright?"
"My body just won't move for now... What a nasty ability. It doesn't even deactivate after the user dies."
Hachihara complained.
"With Captain Shimiya's Kido, you'll recover soon enough."
As if on cue, several Soldat appeared nearby. Ichinose swiftly cut them down, then let Hachihara and Rindo strike the wounded enemies to make use of the Vampirism Aura and heal themselves. By the time the Soldat were completely killed, the two had finally regained some mobility.
"I didn't know you were this strong! Thanks for saving us. When rewards get handed out later, I'll put in a good word with Shimiya!"
Hachihara stretched her arms and legs and gave Ichinose a thumbs-up.
"Please don't. I'd be grateful enough if no arrest warrant is issued for me. If I'm still alive after this war, I'll leave Seireitei and live in Rukongai."
Ichinose shook his head and declined her kindness.
Rindo walked over as if he wanted to say something, but suddenly felt a terrifying vibration of spiritual pressure.
"!?"
"Such powerful spiritual pressure...!"
"This...!"
The three instinctively looked toward the source of the vibration.
About a dozen kilometers away, a giant figure had appeared.
He looked somewhat like a classical gladiator.
The terrifying spiritual pressure shaking the air came from him.
"That person... there's no mistake. He's a Quincy, and likely a Sternritter. Otherwise, he wouldn't have such absurd power. There are several Captain-level spiritual pressures over there too, but I still need to go help. Take care of yourselves!"
Ichinose made his decision instantly. Now that he had chosen his path, he immediately vanished with Shunpo.
"Sigh, I want to go too... It sounds fun to gang up on a giant with a group, but my limbs are still numb."
Hachihara could not help lamenting her bad luck.
[Don't overthink it. We're not safe yet.]
Rindo wrote in the air to remind her.
Then a strange noise sounded nearby.
The two tensed immediately, but when they turned, they found one of the squad members who had been shot down by NaNaNa earlier was moving. He struggled to lift his head and forced out a smile.
"It seems... I wasn't wrong earlier. Being a human shield doesn't necessarily mean dying."
Hachihara and Rindo exchanged a glance and hurried over to help him up. When they checked the others, they found that most of them were still breathing.
Most likely, the Kido Aura had increased the defensive value of their shinigami uniforms, and the dual accelerated recovery of spiritual pressure and stamina had greatly slowed the worsening of their injuries. However, if left untreated, they would still surely die.
So they immediately contacted the Fourth Division field hospital and asked them to send transport teams through the sewers to evacuate the wounded.
"Please don't let enemies come, please don't let enemies come..."
Hachihara muttered to herself.
Together with Rindo, she moved the survivors into an alley to hide them.
However, the more one feared something, the more likely it was to happen.
Ichinose's giant orb of light had been far too conspicuous. The Soldat judged that anyone creating such a large-scale technique with Shinigami spiritual pressure must have been heavily burdened afterward. So, in order to avenge their fallen Schutzstaffel comrade and pick off any survivors, they rushed over at full speed.
A heavy rain of arrows pinned Hachihara and Rindo down so hard they could not even raise their heads.
They had not fully recovered. They might be able to escape if they abandoned everything, but the wounded behind them would be left to die.
"You two... just go...! Don't worry about us! You are the geniuses of the Spirit Arts Academy! You can't die in a place like this, especially not for such a ridiculous reason!"
The only conscious wounded soldier forced the words out with great effort.
"If we abandon our comrades and run, how could we ever face Shimiya and Ichigo again?! Rindo, cover me! These guys think they can just take advantage of us. I'll make them pay for that greed!"
Hachihara gritted her teeth and was about to charge, but Rindo grabbed her.
[Don't be reckless. There's still a chance.]
"If we don't move now, once they tighten the encirclement, we won't even have room to dodge!"
The moment she finished speaking, a dense burst of gunfire erupted.
Yes.
Actual gunfire, the sound of firearms common in the World of the Living.
These were not unfamiliar weapons to the Quincy, but now they were in Shinigami hands.
Sweeping through the streets at six thousand rounds per minute, the barrage turned a dozen or so Soldat into sieves in an instant. Even the Heiligenschein they fired could not withstand the greater density of spiritual bullets.
"Brat! Don't think you Quincies are the only ones with range!"
Wearing a white lab coat, Rangiku stood alone on the roof of a high palace, firing wildly with a six-barreled machine gun that looked exactly like a Gatling gun.
"Miss Rangiku!"
Hachihara and Rindo, who had previously blended into Squad 9's forces, were overjoyed to see her.
Then heavy footsteps thundered in from all directions.
A group of shinigami in uniform rushed into the area.
Hachihara understood it immediately.
The Soldat knew how to pick off the weak, and there was no reason the Shinigami would simply let them.
This was the "chance" Rindo had meant.
At the same time, in the Twelfth Division district, atop a factory rooftop in the industrial zone of the Technical Development Bureau.
"Whoa~ whoa~."
Askin put a hand over his brow like a telescope and looked toward the distant battlefield.
"This is quite a show..."
"I didn't think Gerard would get pushed this far. Looks like they don't just have numbers over there, they've got some absurdly strong people too."
"Let me see... Hmm. Besides a few fake Captains, there's also that man covered in blades who appeared earlier with Shimiya Takeru, and that red-haired Shinigami. No wonder. With a lineup like that, it would be strange if Gerard didn't die a few times."
"That said, he won't just drop dead like this."
"The stronger the enemy, the stronger he gets. And in a completely unreasonable way, he rises above the enemy and tramples them to death, just like now."
"That's because Gerard and another Schutzstaffel member who isn't here are the only two who were not granted power by His Majesty."
"They already possessed incredible power from the beginning. There's no proof, but the rumor says Gerard Valkyrie is the 'heart of the Soul King,' and the other is the 'left arm of the Soul King.'"
"If that's true, then a lot of things make sense."
"For example, why they were born so ridiculously powerful."
"And also why the Shinigami who maintain the Soul King cannot defeat the incarnation of the Soul King's heart, a being above them in rank."
He clicked his tongue and sighed.
"...Honestly, everybody's so special. A Quincy like me with no destructive power, no grand bloodline, and only some shady little toxins to play with is really unremarkable. How am I supposed to get His Majesty to notice me and survive long enough to see the new world?"
"Hey, got any good ideas?"
Askin turned to look at Isshin, who was lying flat on the rooftop behind him.
"I'm... not good at... sucking up to bosses. Wrong person..."
Isshin looked extremely weak, as though poisoned. His whole body lay limp, and even speaking came in broken fragments. Sweat dripped from his forehead, and forcing even a faint smile looked painful.
"...I was just asking casually. I didn't expect an answer."
Askin blinked.
"More importantly, why haven't you passed out yet?!"
"Don't underestimate... the resilience of a middle-aged man. When you've got responsibilities... you can't just go down that easily..."
"..."
Looking at Isshin's eyes, half joking and half deadly serious, Askin silently rubbed his hair and stood up.
"I said this before, but I'll say it again. I hate special treatment. It's bad enough that special war powers are special, but even the special war power's father is a monster. It's already ridiculous that you didn't pass out after taking my poison ball, and now you can still talk too..."
"But then again, if even a monster like you can be taken down by someone as plain as me, then I really am... pretty dangerous~. This might be the key to getting His Majesty to finally take me seriously."
"Thanks to you, I realized that. Should I thank you before I kill you?"
"No... need..."
"Ah, got it."
After getting his answer, Askin prepared to step forward and finish him off.
But just as he took one step, the sky behind him lit up.
More precisely, it was dyed red.
An explosion erupted over Shino Ward, large enough to wipe out several square kilometers, shaking all of Seireitei like a sun had risen from the ground.
"?!"
At that moment, countless people, Askin included, dropped whatever they were doing and turned toward Shino Ward.
Because the spiritual pressure involved in that explosion belonged to two very specific individuals.
"That's His Majesty... and Shimiya Takeru? After staying quiet for so long, did they finally start fighting? Or were they fighting all along and we just didn't notice, and only now has a winner been decided?"
"But no matter what, it's better not to go stick my nose in that mess. I'll just collect the harvest here, then return to His Majesty in peace."
Askin suppressed his thoughts and turned back to continue what he had been doing.
However, the scene before him made him go blank.
"You...?!"
Isshin had stood up.
The spiritual pressure around him was skyrocketing, making him seem like a completely different person.
"I heard you talking about so many rumors, so let me tell you one about the Shiba Clan."
"The main Shiba family is very good at incantations that sever reishi bonds and cause matter to collapse. So when it comes to fireworks, or more accurately, making something collapse first and then explosively release enormous energy, they're pretty skilled."
"Unfortunately, Ganju never learned the essence. He can only collapse reishi into quicksand on the ground. Kukaku was also limited by her strength and didn't learn the essence either."
"Instead, it was me, someone from a branch family who abandoned the Shiba name, who mastered it."
"What... exactly did you do?"
A terrible premonition surged through Askin. He pointed his schrift badge at Isshin, but nothing happened.
Such a horrifying rise in spiritual pressure, combined with the inexplicable disappearance of his ability's effect.
This was not even Bankai?!
"Think carefully. The answer is in what I just said."
Isshin grinned.
"...Don't tell me you severed your own reishi bonds and turned your own power into something that explodes like fireworks?"
Askin's mind raced.
"Because in a sense, it's no longer the original structure. The toxin that could kill you has... ceased to be lethal!"
"Exactly. That's how it is."
Isshin's shinigami uniform, Zanpakuto, and even his body seemed to be melting under the massive spiritual pressure.
"I promised someone I'd watch the house. I won't break that promise. I never want to taste regret again... So even if the price is losing my Shinigami powers, I'll protect that stupid son of mine's future home until he comes back!"
"One last thing."
"This method of mine has a name."
"It's called [The Final Getsuga Tensho]."
Gulp.
Askin swallowed hard, cold sweat drenching his body.
"Final...? That word sounds... very lethal too!"
.....
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