Do not seek aesthetics in war
Do not seek virtue in death
Your life is not your own
If you wish to protect that which is worth protecting, then cut down your enemies from behind.
—Excerpt from Shin'ō Academy: The Great Compendium of Shinigami Insights, Latest Edition
"Impossible..." Even behind his sunglasses, Tetsuzaemon Iba's shock was unmistakable.
"He actually blocked it!"
If Muten Natsu had used the Flames of Hell, Tetsuzaemon Iba could have accepted that.
But he hadn't. There were no terrifying flames around him—yet he had still blocked Tenken's strike.
Bokukō spewed pitch-black spirit ink that coiled around Myōki. Muten Natsu twisted sharply, raw power bursting free as he tore through the surging ink. A flash of black light exploded outward, forcibly knocking aside the massive Zanpakutō.
Spirit Ink flashed.
This was the true foundation of Muten Natsu's confidence in releasing his Twin Blades against a captain-class opponent. Bokukō and Myōki mirrored one another. Used together, their synergy produced power far beyond simple addition.
"I don't understand... I followed everything the Shin'ō Academy taught. So why was I thrown into the Nest of Maggots?"
Myōki dropped behind him. Muten Natsu tightened his grip on Bokukō and swung upward. The surging spirit ink followed the arc of the blade, stretching into a long ribbon that lashed toward Sajin Komamura.
"Because your power is dangerous!"
Sajin Komamura swept his blade horizontally. The enormous Tenken severed the thick ink ribbon in a single stroke—yet Muten Natsu had already vanished from sight.
"And the facts prove it!"
Muten Natsu emerged from the shadows, Bokukō slicing through the air as ink blades scattered and crisscrossed overhead.
"Then why was I arrested for chasing the truth?"
"Murdering nobles. Slaughtering your comrades!"
With a single strike, Sajin Komamura shattered the crushing blade pressure carried within the incoming ink blades.
"The evidence is conclusive. You deserve your sentence!"
The colossal blade of Tenken came crashing down.
Muten Natsu spun aside, propelling himself with spirit ink to evade the blow. The momentum of his rotation carried Myōki in a sweeping slash toward Sajin Komamura's arm.
Sajin Komamura dismissed Tenken and met the attack with his own Zanpakutō.
The Twin Blades collided, sparks bursting between them.
Taking advantage of his superior build, Sajin Komamura held firm against Muten Natsu's assault. His Zanpakutō pressed down to suppress him, while his free hand reached for Muten Natsu's head.
Bokukō whipped upward. Spirit ink splashed across Sajin Komamura's arm, corroding it and releasing thin curls of blue smoke.
Muten Natsu used the opening to retreat.
"What about the materials I submitted to Central 46? The disappearances in Rukongai. The irregularities in the Shinigami casualty records. The secret experiments hidden inside Seireitei. The abnormal Reiatsu readings in the outskirts… Why did all of it vanish without a trace?"
"Central 46 has its own judgments," Sajin Komamura replied, releasing his Reiatsu to dispel the sticky spirit ink clinging to his arm. Part of his Shihakushō had been damaged, and the armor beneath was pitted and scarred from corrosion.
"And how much credibility do you think a criminal's evidence carries?"
"I thought you were pretending not to know," Muten Natsu said with a faint shake of his head. "Turns out you really didn't.
I watched Takuma die right in front of me. He was gravely wounded. The Noble Guard took his body away. All I could do was try to uncover the truth behind his death. But after I submitted everything I found, there was no response. Then… Kaien-aniki, who helped me investigate, also died. And somehow, I became the murderer of them both."
"If you lower your Zanpakutō, I will believe you once more," Sajin Komamura said, his gaze blazing behind his mask.
"I will take you to Genryūsai-dono. Genryūsai-dono will give you an answer!"
"I'm not asking you to clear my name."
Muten Natsu smiled faintly and shook his head. At this point, even uncovering the truth from back then wouldn't change anything.
"I want to ask you something… Why is what the Shin'ō Academy teaches, what the Seireitei actually does, and what you're telling me now… all so different? Did I betray the Seireitei? Or did the Seireitei betray the Shin'ō Academy? Or is everything taught at the Shin'ō Academy nothing more than a lie carefully written by the nobles and Central 46?"
"I see now…"
Sajin Komamura's Reiatsu surged violently, pressing down like a storm.
"What you see and what I see are not the same. What we believe is different. Words won't bridge that gap. Only strength can. Come!"
"So…"
Muten Natsu shifted his stance slightly, Bokukō forward, Myōki poised behind him.
"We finally agree."
...
"That Reiatsu!"
Uryū Ishida suddenly stopped.
"No mistake—it's Muten. Over there!"
Chad followed the direction he pointed.
"Should we head that way?"
The two had been tracking the fireworks Ganju Shiba set off to locate Ichigo Kurosaki. But by the time they reached where the fireworks had gone up, both Kurosaki and Ganju were already gone.
They searched everywhere for traces of Ichigo Kurosaki and Ganju Shiba, but came up empty-handed.
So they decided to head toward the central tower of Seireitei. According to Muten Natsu, that was where the prisoners were being held.
"Muten must have run into someone. The opponent's Reiatsu is even stronger," Uryū Ishida said, frowning. "Let's go meet up with him first and see if we can help."
"Yeah." Yasutora Sado nodded and followed after him.
Click.
A faint sound suddenly caught Yasutora Sado's attention. His eyes sharpened. Without hesitation, he shoved Uryū Ishida aside, black-and-red armor spreading over his arm as he stepped in front.
Boom!
The explosion erupted, a violent shockwave blasting outward with dust and shattered stone.
"Chad!" Uryū Ishida shouted, but in the next instant he sensed something off beneath his feet. His figure flickered, reappearing elsewhere.
Boom!
Another explosion detonated, smoke and debris filling the air.
"Interesting, very interesting..." Mayuri Kurotsuchi stepped out from around the corner, Lieutenant Nemu Kurotsuchi following quietly behind him. "What an amusing technique. This is the first time I've seen someone use their skin to activate an ability, ne."
Yasutora Sado waved his arm, dispersing the smoke. His clothes had been shredded by the blast, revealing his bronzed, muscular frame—but there wasn't a single wound on him.
Spiritual energy leaked from the forked section at the wrist of his black-and-red armor.
Just now, he had absorbed Reishi through the armor to form a defensive barrier and withstand the explosion.
"Who are you?!" Uryū Ishida avoided the blast with his speed, gathering Reishi into a bow and arrow as he fixed a wary stare on Mayuri Kurotsuchi.
Mayuri Kurotsuchi glanced at him briefly, then shifted his gaze back to Yasutora Sado.
"Would you be interested in becoming my research material? I won't treat you too poorly. Just eight doses of medicine a day, five hours of mechanical experimentation. You'll still be able to eat with your mouth. Even if I modify you, I'll try to leave you breathing..."
A cold light flashed across Uryū Ishida's glasses. He flickered to Mayuri Kurotsuchi's side, his Reishi arrow aimed directly at his head.
"I'm asking you—"
"Since when did Quincy earn the right to question me?" Mayuri Kurotsuchi turned his head almost the instant Uryū Ishida moved. "Our research on your kind is already complete. I have no interest in you. Get lost, ne."
"Research... complete?" Uryū Ishida sensed that this Shinigami was nothing like the ones they had encountered before. "What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said." Mayuri Kurotsuchi's smile twisted grotesquely. "As the head of the Research and Development Institute, I've dissected Quincy like you so many times I'm bored of it."
"!!!"
Uryū Ishida's fingers loosened. The Reishi arrow shot forward, piercing straight through Mayuri Kurotsuchi's skull.
No... that's wrong!
It was an afterimage.
The sound of something snapping, followed by metal clashing, rang out. A grotesque arm, linked together by iron chains, slithered toward Uryū Ishida's throat like a snake.
Uryū Ishida flickered again, changing positions as he searched for Mayuri Kurotsuchi's real body.
"Using the Reishi flow beneath your feet to move at high speed. That advanced Quincy movement technique is called Hirenkyaku, correct?" Mayuri Kurotsuchi appeared right beside him. "Shinigami have their own technique, Shunpo. It's basic training at the Shin'ō Academy, ne."
So fast!
Uryū Ishida raised his Reishi arrow, stunned that Mayuri Kurotsuchi's speed didn't fall short of his own.
Yasutora Sado's right arm surged with spiritual energy as he charged in, throwing a heavy punch at Mayuri Kurotsuchi.
"You didn't run. You chose to come closer to me." Mayuri Kurotsuchi's serpentine left arm extended, wrapping around Yasutora Sado's body before tightening violently.
Yasutora Sado braced his shoulders and tore the strange arm clean off. His fist followed through, releasing a roaring torrent of Reishi that tore across the ground.
"Impressive strength," Mayuri Kurotsuchi remarked, glancing at the trench carved by the attack. "But your speed is lacking."
He calmly snapped off the remaining stump of his left arm, pulled out a small syringe, and injected it into his shoulder.
In the next moment, veins bulged along the severed limb. Writhing flesh burst outward, rapidly reconstructing into a new arm.
"Ouch... Although that Quincy doesn't interest me, knowing you're all Muten Natsu's companions makes me want to lock every one of you in my laboratory and place you on the dissection table. Still, better to finish this quickly, ne."
He reached for the Zanpakutō hanging at his waist.
"Rip—Ashisogi Jizō!"
The ordinary blade suddenly twisted into something grotesque. The guard and hilt resembled shriveled intestines coiled together, purple mist seeping from their ends. The blade turned a dull gold, its tip swelling into the face of a bloated infant, purple fog spilling from its mouth. Above its closed eyes, three smaller blades coiled like serpents, gleaming with a cold, vicious light.
Yasutora Sado's expression darkened.
Before coming to Soul Society, he had doubted Kūgo Ginjō's words. But now, seeing it with his own eyes, he finally understood just how terrifying the Shinigami's hostility toward Fullbringers truly was.
Ichigo... you have to be careful.
Ichigo Kurosaki suddenly paused, as if sensing something, and turned to look in one direction.
"What are you standing around for?!" Ganju Shiba yanked him hard. "They're about to catch up! Run!"
The two of them fled through the streets, Shinigami chasing them from all sides.
In terms of raw strength, they didn't need to struggle like this.
Defeating these Shinigami wasn't difficult. But every clash would draw in more. If they kept fighting endlessly, their stamina would run dry sooner or later.
So all they could do was retreat strategically.
"It's Muten Natsu's Reiatsu!" Ichigo Kurosaki's eyes sharpened as he felt Muten Natsu's Reiatsu spike dramatically. "He's up against someone really strong!"
"Muten Natsu?!" Ganju Shiba's gaze hardened. "Where?"
...
"Now it's time to get serious." Tetsuzaemon Iba let out a slow breath. "What comes next will be far more dangerous."
Ririn lay sprawled over Orihime Inoue's shoulder.
"So that was just playing around?"
"P-Playing around? The doll is talking!" Tetsuzaemon Iba nearly had his sunglasses knocked off in shock. "Wh-What is going on?!"
"It's just a doll that can talk," Orihime Inoue said, looking at him oddly. "That's not something to be so surprised about..."
"...A man, you see, loses his childlike wonder as he grows." Tetsuzaemon Iba adjusted his sunglasses. "They're Ryoka. It's only natural they'd have strange abilities."
"You calm now?" Ririn snorted. "What did you mean by that just now?"
"A man must neither avoid a fight nor seek one without reason," Tetsuzaemon Iba said in a low voice. "Even against a vicious enemy, you show respect. You speak as equals. The highest level is to defeat your opponent without fighting."
Ririn nodded as if enlightened.
"So you're just supposed to throw out a few tough lines before you start fighting."
"A man—"
Ririn cut him off.
"Are you insecure about being a man or something? Is that why you keep repeating it to yourself?"
"...Hesitant combat is an insult to combat itself," Tetsuzaemon Iba continued, his cheek twitching slightly. "A true fight demands full commitment. You pour everything you have into the clash of blades. When you speak with your opponent, you are also speaking with yourself. Understanding their resolve strengthens your own."
"So that's how it is..." Ririn muttered, finally beginning to grasp it.
In a life-and-death battle, even the slightest hesitation could be fatal.
So before throwing yourself into a fight without holding back, you had to be certain—certain that this was an enemy who could only be dealt with through battle, and that battle was the only way forward. Only then could you cast aside every unnecessary thought.
Just now, Muten Natsu had realized his opponent would never withdraw on his own. At the same time, Sajin Komamura had confirmed that Muten Natsu would not turn back either.
There was only one way to resolve their differences.
Through battle.
After that brief exchange and short test of strength, both had shed their doubts. They had gained a rough understanding of each other's power and fighting style. What came next would be even fiercer than before—a true fight to the death, with nothing held back.
Muten Natsu paced slowly, adjusting his angle. Then he suddenly bent forward.
In the next instant, Bokukō twisted violently with his body, black ink blades erupting in every direction.
Sajin Komamura immediately summoned Tenken, the massive blade crashing down with overwhelming force.
Ink blades danced wildly through the air—but Muten Natsu had already vanished from the center.
One of the ink blades suddenly shattered, and Muten Natsu's figure reappeared. In a flash, he unleashed several more ink blades toward Sajin Komamura.
Sajin Komamura swung his sword, directing Tenken's enormous blade in a sweeping arc that crushed the incoming attacks. Thick spirit ink splattered across the ground, sketching warped patterns.
Muten Natsu stepped onto the back of Tenken's blade and flung out his hand.
Spirit ink surged forward in a roaring tide.