The domineering, thick killing intent emanating from the blade swirled around Shiraishi, forming a physical cage of malice. As Shiraishi frowned, a ripple of spatial energy vibrated through the air.
Under the scan of the Regeneration Core, he made a startling discovery: the concentration of spiritual particles (Reiryoku) surrounding the blade was incredibly dense, far surpassing that of an ordinary deceased soul.
If the spiritual density of a normal human soul was measured as one unit, the density surrounding this sword exceeded ten thousand.
It didn't resemble a typical soul at all; it was a completely new form of life that transcended ordinary spiritual existence.
Could it be that this time, there isn't even a physical body?
At that thought, numerous metal pyramids surrounded the area, emitting specialized scanning beams to analyze the spiritual density from a multi-dimensional perspective. Soon, a figure appeared before Shiraishi—a woman with long hair, appearing almost like a vengeful specter.
Compared to Ace, this woman's primary issue was a dissipating spiritual body. From Shiraishi's observations, she seemed to be a specialized spiritual being, one whose very existence depended on the energy of her original world.
Even in death, she retained such terrifying prestige. He truly had summoned an extraordinary figure this time.
The moment Shiraishi gripped the peculiar long sword, he was instantly plunged into a slaughterhouse array. The killing intent erupted, surging directly toward him and forming an airtight web of execution.
To save such an entity, he had to repair her spiritual body. As Shiraishi pondered, it occurred to him that his Heavenly Curse of the Five Phantoms might be capable of treating this spiritual form.
The core essence of the Heavenly Curse of the Five Phantom Art was to parasite a fragmented soul into a new host. If he modified a segment of the technique to use the spiritual possession link directly, he might be able to heal the woman before him.
With a rapid series of hand signs, the sand beneath Shiraishi's feet shifted, and a specialized frozen coffin slowly rose from the ground.
The coffin creaked open to reveal the youthful body of a woman. It was Rie, a former Jonin of the Hidden Mist.
Since Shiraishi had killed her, her body had been preserved for research into Ice Style and composite bloodline cells. Now, it served a new purpose.
Unlike the standard Heavenly Curse of the Five Phantom Art, which functioned as a split-soul reincarnation, Shiraishi performed the Reverse Heavenly Curse of the Five Phantom. This technique unified the soul and funneled it back into a physical vessel.
Normally, once a soul leaves its original body, it is nearly impossible to resurrect because the spiritual body dissipates or is purified by the Pure Land.
However, this was a special case. The spiritual concentration was so intense that it exceeded what a normal body could withstand, which was why Shiraishi chose Rie's body, enhanced by the Ice Style bloodline, as the vessel.
Black sealing characters swarmed around Rie's body. As a portion of the spirit was funneled in, the flesh began to buckle and collapse. Even the suppression of the Ice Style was useless.
It's not enough...
He had to stabilize it. Shiraishi activated Inorganic Reincarnation, pouring powerful Sage Chakra into the Ice Style body.
Though it boosted cellular vitality, it still wasn't enough to contain such a massive spiritual entity.
Let's try the Wood Style cells...
Driven by necessity, Shiraishi injected a small portion of Wood Style cells—obtained from Orochimaru—into the body. Instantly, the Ice and Wood energies clashed, causing the body to teeter on the brink of disintegration.
Just as it was about to burst, the peculiar sword released a sharp, piercing flash of sword-light and killing intent that enveloped the body.
Using pure swordsmanship intent to stabilize a body?
The operation was entirely unscientific. Was it possible the body couldn't handle the spirit simply because it wasn't adjusted to the sheer weight of her killing intent?
As the sword's murderous aura poured into Rie's vessel, the body paradoxically stabilized. Most of the spirit flowed into the flesh, while a small fraction remained anchored within the blade.
Shiraishi's finger glowed with the final seal of the Reverse Heavenly Curse. The moment he pressed it home, a mirror of memories flashed before him. Compared to Ace, the volume of data here was astronomical.
This level of memory implied she had lived for over a thousand years... Is she on the same level as the ancient monsters of Ryuchi Cave or Mount Myoboku?
God created the world, then abandoned it.
Without a manager like God, the human world would have descended into chaos. Demons would have devoured the weak-willed, turning them into puppets and plunging the living into misery.
After a long period of darkness, God created a new world to manage the human realm. This ensured that dead souls reached their proper destination, dispelling evil spirits and allowing the kind to be reborn. The human world shifted from disorder to balance.
The executors of this task were the Soul Reapers. They sealed sinful souls in Hell and guided the virtuous to Heaven, even selecting exceptional souls to join their ranks.
They were called the Shinigami.
However, with the emergence of the Shinigami and the Soul Society, Hell began to fluctuate. The Shinigami had taken over the labor of souls, preventing Hell from snatching them as it once did. The Soul Society had unknowingly become the arbiter of Hell, controlling the flow of the departed.
To counter this, Hell created a narrow space: the World of Hollows. They contaminated captured souls, controlling their minds and turning them into monsters known as Hollows.
In the depths of these memories, the woman was a villain without equal in the history of the Soul Society. Claiming mastery over every school and style of the blade in existence, she gave herself the name Yachiru—Eight Thousand Flows.
However, the scene shifted. A thousand years later, this powerful swordswoman appeared gentle and serene. Her long black hair was parted in the middle and worn in a large braid draped over her chest.
The light on Shiraishi's finger faded. As the Reverse Heavenly Curse concluded, a soft, melodic voice echoed through the lab.
"A miraculous healing art. To think you could repair a dissipating soul."
She regained consciousness that quickly?
The woman before him no longer resembled Rie. Her ice-blue hair had turned the pitch-black of her memories.
Though she lacked her traditional white captain's haori and the light-colored sash tied with a red cord, she had unfastened the braid over her chest.
Her expression and aura were now worlds apart from the gentle healer she had appeared to be in later years.
"So, where is this place? And for what purpose have you revived me?"
Her tone was chillingly cold. From the moment of her rebirth, the woman known as Yachiru radiated an aura that warned others not to approach. Even someone as powerful as Shiraishi felt a distinct pressure under her killing intent.
"A purpose... must everything be done with a stated goal?"
Shiraishi's answer made her brow furrow. Her hand tightened around her Zanpakuto, and a heavy, suffocating killing intent locked onto Shiraishi, filling the entire sea base.
Her spiritual power (Reiryoku) exists but is extremely thin, and her recovery speed is slow. She cannot easily use Kido or release her Zanpakuto.
However, Shunpo and swordsmanship should be unaffected. This human... he is strong.
Furthermore, she realized this body was not a Gigai; it was a living, breathing human vessel.
He had imported her soul into a body to achieve a unique form of resurrection. Her own Zanpakuto had cooperated instinctively to make the process easier.
Despite being alive, she did not trust Shiraishi. The look on his face reminded her too much of a man named Aizen...
"My name is Aoki Shiraishi," he said calmly. "And yours?"
"Unohana Retsu..."