Muten Natsu awoke from his sleep to find that Orihime Inoue, who had been lying beside him, had somehow curled into his arms.
Her soft body rested against him without any guard, her sun-warm, tousled hair spilling over him. A few strands lay across her fair cheeks, adding a lazy sweetness to her adorable sleeping face.
The arm she was using as a pillow had gone slightly numb. Muten Natsu flexed his fingers, making sure it was still there.
Carefully, he removed Orihime Inoue's hand from his waist, lifted her head, slowly slipped his arm free, and then gently lowered her back down.
"I was looking forward to seeing your reaction when you woke up," Ririn said, clearly disappointed. "And that's it?"
"What kind of reaction were you expecting?"
"With a soft, fragrant beauty in your arms and that pretty face so close, you're not going to do anything?"
"Read fewer romance comics." Muten Natsu glanced toward the outside of the warehouse. "Nothing happened last night?"
"You needed rest, and so did they." Ririn shook her head. "And with you absorbing Reishi to conceal your Reiatsu, it wouldn't be easy for anyone to find you."
"Thanks for keeping watch." Muten Natsu patted the doll's head.
Ririn immediately protested. "Hey, watch your hands! Do you think I'm Orihime?"
Muten Natsu: "..."
"Mmm… uwaah~" Orihime Inoue slowly stirred. Before even opening her eyes, her small hand fumbled around beside her. "No… I really didn't hide any bread on me… Even if it's all soft, this really isn't bread…"
Ririn silently turned to stare at Muten Natsu. "Look what you've done."
Muten Natsu sighed. "She's obviously just dreaming."
"That doesn't make it lawless."
Muten Natsu: "...?"
"Gently…" Orihime Inoue suddenly opened her eyes wide and blinked blankly. She shifted twice, rolled over, let out a long breath, and closed her eyes again.
"Mm… hm?" A moment later, she seemed to realize something was off. She opened her eyes again, rubbed her hair, sat up, and greeted them in a hazy voice. "Morning… ahh~ good morning…"
"Good morning." Muten Natsu chuckled softly. "Let's head out."
"Okay!"
The three left the warehouse. After confirming no one was nearby, they reentered the underground sewer.
"Orihime." Muten Natsu held out his hand. "Stay closer to me."
Orihime Inoue, not understanding why, placed her hand into his palm.
Holding her left hand with his own, Muten Natsu drew his Zanpakutō with his right and stabbed it into the ground. He dragged his hand across the blade, staining it red with his blood.
"Roam—Bokukō!"
Spirit ink surged from Bokukō. Gripping the hilt, Muten Natsu poured more Reiatsu into it.
The ink gathered and churned beneath their feet, lifting them up and propelling the two forward at a speed far faster than before.
Ririn's eyes widened. "You can use it like that?"
"It's essentially short-range Shadow Stealth," Muten Natsu explained. "Scatter spirit ink ahead, then use Shadow Stealth to move to where the ink is. Scatter it again, move again—repeat the process. After resting all night, I can finally afford to splurge a little."
He adjusted the angle of the hilt to control their direction, steering as if riding a scooter.
"So amazing…" Orihime Inoue's eyes sparkled. Her orange hair streamed behind her, and the rush of speed left her entranced.
"I've been meaning to say this," Ririn muttered, leaning against Orihime Inoue's shoulder. "Isn't your Zanpakutō a bit overpowered?"
"Hm?"
"Normal Shikai only have one ability. Some are just simple transformations of the Zanpakutō." Ririn glanced at the rolling spirit ink beneath Muten Natsu's feet. "But both your Myōki and Bokukō have two abilities."
"You know about that?"
"I was loaded with plenty of data when I was created," Ririn snorted. "So I could be put to use immediately."
"…Then we have to start with the nature of a Zanpakutō." Muten Natsu guided Bokukō around a corner. "A Zanpakutō is a mirror of a Shinigami's soul."
"You have two Zanpakutō…" Ririn suddenly realized something. "So you have two mirrors?!"
Muten Natsu nodded. "At the beginning, both Bokukō and Myōki only had one ability."
When he was imprisoned in the Nest of Maggots, Bokukō was taken away and sealed.
After losing Bokukō, Muten Natsu heard the voice of another Zanpakutō within the Nest of Maggots. After a period of effort, he finally mastered Myōki, which had been hidden within his left arm.
Bokukō reflects Muten Natsu who possesses Myōki.
Myōki reflects Muten Natsu who possesses Bokukō.
Originally, Bokukō had only one ability: to wield Spirit Ink. Because of Myōki's existence, it gained Shadow Stealth.
Originally, Myōki only possessed Soul Essence Stealing, the ability to absorb Reishi. Because of Bokukō's existence, it gained the defensive ability Ink Fortress.
Soul Essence Stealing draws in forces that are similar yet different from oneself and fuses them into one's body.
Shadow Stealth merges one's own form into shadows that are similar yet distinct.
Spirit Ink compresses one's Reiatsu into liquid form and releases it through attacks to break down an enemy's defenses.
Ink Fortress releases one's Reiatsu around the body, using the enemy's attack to condense it into a defensive barrier.
Ririn nodded. "Two sides of the same coin?"
"That's right."
"Then how did you end up with two Zanpakutō?"
"Hmm… probably because I died twice?" Muten Natsu wasn't entirely sure himself.
"Muten!" Orihime Inoue suddenly tightened her grip on his hand. "A very powerful Reiatsu is approaching… no, two of them!"
Boom!
Muten Natsu reacted without hesitation, slowing Bokukō to a stop. The sewer ahead collapsed with a deafening crash. As rubble fell, the sunlight was blocked by a towering figure, casting an enormous shadow over them.
"Muten Natsu, you blood-crazed and vicious criminal!" Sajin Komamura looked down at him, his voice rumbling like thunder. "I have come to bring you to justice!"
Muten Natsu flicked his arm, and Spirit Ink surged upward. Taking Orihime Inoue with him, he sank into the shadows and fled into the distance.
A terrifying force swept through, cleaving the sewer apart by sheer power.
Muten Natsu and Orihime Inoue reappeared from the shadows. If he hadn't stopped in time, that strike would have landed squarely on them.
Since he couldn't escape, there was only one option left: fight.
Muten Natsu scooped up Orihime Inoue and leapt up to the surface. After setting her down, he signaled for her to move farther away.
Orihime Inoue immediately retreated with Ririn, her eyes fixed anxiously on Muten Natsu's back.
"You'd better move even farther," a voice said. "The area this battle will affect will be far beyond your imagination."
Orihime Inoue instinctively touched the hairpins in her hair and looked warily toward the speaker—a man with a black crew cut.
He was solidly built, wearing black sunglasses and a neatly trimmed mustache. His right hand rested inside his open collar, where layer upon layer of bandages wrapped around his abdomen.
Compared to the Shinigami of Soul Society, he looked more like a yakuza boss from the World of the Living.
Orihime Inoue had seen characters like that on comedy shows before, where they even explained the purpose of abdominal bandages in detail.
In street fights, thick layers of cloth could help prevent slashes to the stomach. If stabbed, they could slow the bleeding. And if the abdomen were cut open, they could even keep the organs from spilling out.
"No need to be nervous. I won't attack you." He noticed her guarded expression. "A man should understand not to drag family into his troubles."
"You are…?"
The man tapped the badge of his rank. "Lieutenant of the 7th Division, Tetsuzaemon Iba."
"Aren't you going to arrest me?"
"No need. You look like the type who would live and die alongside your man." Tetsuzaemon Iba glanced toward Muten Natsu. "Even if he loses, you won't run."
"Muten won't lose!"
"As a man, you've got to learn when not to argue with a woman." Tetsuzaemon Iba glanced at his captain. "Say whatever you want, but reality is still reality. And all it ever gives you is the cold, hard truth."
"I will not use her to threaten you," Sajin Komamura said as he drew the oversized Zanpakutō from his waist. "Focus, Muten Natsu. I will crush you completely and make you understand just how vile your actions have been!"
"I've long understood how vile my actions were." Muten Natsu shifted into a fighting stance. "If I had killed a few more back then, I wouldn't need to be here today."
"Still unrepentant!" Sajin Komamura crushed the bricks beneath his foot. Though there was still distance between them, he raised his Zanpakutō. "Take this!"
The blade swung down through empty air.
Muten Natsu's eyes widened as a gigantic Zanpakutō came crashing toward him, stretching dozens of meters long.
This wasn't an extension like Gin Ichimaru's Shinsō. It was a proportional enlargement.
As Sajin Komamura swung, a massive hand suddenly appeared in midair, gripping a Zanpakutō enlarged dozens of times over and bringing it down in a devastating slash.
The howling wind from the strike tore across the ground, carving deep trenches.
The shockwave sent dust billowing everywhere. Orihime Inoue raised her arms to shield herself. She wanted to call out to Muten Natsu, but fearing she might distract him, she bit her lip and watched with worried eyes.
Jet-black Spirit Ink split the swirling dust and rushed toward Sajin Komamura.
"Hah!" Sajin Komamura stomped forward, leaning in as his left palm thrust out from his waist. A violent surge of Reiatsu exploded outward, and the powerful gust forcibly scattered the Spirit Ink.
His sword-wielding left hand swept sideways. A colossal hand manifested beside him, gripping an enormous blade and mirroring his movement.
The giant sword skimmed along the ground, slicing through and dispersing the flying dust.
Shadow Stealth!
Muten Natsu lowered his body. At the instant the giant blade swept past, he used the overlapping shadows to slip through and appear at Sajin Komamura's side, slashing Bokukō toward his waist.
He had aimed for the neck, but at 1.8 meters tall, he was simply too short compared to the 2.8-meter Sajin Komamura. The waist was the highest he could reach.
The timing of the strike was perfect. Sajin Komamura had just completed his swing and was at a moment where it was hardest to exert force again.
Behind the iron mask, Sajin Komamura's gaze dropped downward. Without dodging, he drove his left fist straight at Muten Natsu's head.
Clang!
Ink spread outward, intercepting Sajin Komamura's fist.
Drawing on the compressed Reiatsu around him, Muten Natsu accelerated his slash even further.
Ink Fortress flashed—
Bang!
Sajin Komamura twisted his body, forcing even more power into his punch. The barrier of Ink Fortress shattered under the impact, and his fist struck solidly through.
Muten Natsu snapped his blade up in time to guard his side, but the sheer, brutal force drove Bokukō into him and blasted him away, man and Zanpakutō sent flying together.
"So now you can't use Shadow Stealth." Sajin Komamura raised his massive blade toward the sky. "Roar—Tenken!"
A heavy surge of Reiatsu poured from his body, hardening into a colossal arm that clenched the giant Zanpakutō and drove it toward Muten Natsu in midair.
Calling it a "thrust" didn't even feel accurate anymore.
It was more like a razor-edged train slamming straight at him.
In that split second, Muten Natsu twisted his body and swung Bokukō, scattering Spirit Ink.
The thick, sticky ink splashed onto the massive blade. Muten Natsu flickered, melting into the Spirit Ink and reappearing at the side of the giant Zanpakutō.
He was about to use the blade as a foothold and dive in, but Sajin Komamura dispersed his Reiatsu first.
Muten Natsu stepped on nothing. He adjusted his balance in midair and landed smoothly.
This fight felt nothing like before. Compared to Shūhei Hisagi's Kazeshini, with its unpredictable, twisted trajectory, what Sajin Komamura showed was pure domination, the kind that crushed everything head-on.
And what backed that pressure wasn't just raw power. It was a captain's solid fundamentals in Zankensoki and Shunpo, plus deep combat experience.
"Now tell me," Sajin Komamura said, staring him down, "do you still dare to use Ink Fortress in front of me? Once it's broken even once, you won't be able to attack like you did before. You'll hesitate. You'll fear. Because that defense you trusted will no longer feel unbreakable."
Muten Natsu rolled his shoulder. That punch had been monstrously heavy. Even with Ink Fortress taking the brunt, what got through still left his arm aching.
"I like your Ink Fortress," Sajin Komamura continued, stepping forward with oppressive force. "Because it's like trust between people. Again and again, it blocks your opponent's attacks so you can strike without holding back."
His voice rose, heavy with anger.
"But once it collapses just once, you'll never be as composed as you were. Worry, fear, panic… everything floods in at once and leaves you at a loss. That is the evil of what you've done!"
Sajin Komamura roared as he swung. "You betrayed the teachings of the Shin'ō Academy! You betrayed Captain Unohana's care! You betrayed the trust of Genryūsai-dono!"
Slash after slash came down. Massive arms and gigantic Zanpakutō appeared and vanished in rapid succession, violent Reiatsu tearing through the air as it chased Muten Natsu's evasive movements.
"And your betrayal makes people doubt whether what they did was right. It keeps them from trusting others the way they once trusted you. It makes them hesitate when they try to help someone—" Sajin Komamura bellowed, "Muten Natsu, your crimes are unforgivable!!!"
He brought his blade down again, then suddenly felt something off.
This time, unlike before, the swing met clear resistance.
"The dust was too thick earlier, so I didn't feel like talking." Muten Natsu crossed Myōki and Bokukō, bracing them together as he forced the massive blade to a stop. "Are you seriously not done yet?"