"Foolish Tōshirō," Isshin said with a smug grin. "You've always wanted to spar with me because you assumed Engetsu was a fire-type Zanpakutō, right?"
"Too bad."
"Setsuna Enka is a Kidō-type Zanpakutō."
He raised his chin proudly.
"The Zanpakutō that best suits the Shiba Clan."
Yet beneath his proud smile was a faint trace of melancholy.
To Isshin, fate seemed to enjoy cruel jokes.
This Zanpakutō was perfectly suited for the Shiba Clan… yet it had ended up in the hands of him, someone from a side branch of the family.
When Isshin mastered its power, he successfully became a captain of the Gotei 13. By all rights, he should have led the Shiba Clan back to its former glory.
But fate had other plans.
Because Masaki had been gravely injured, Isshin chose to save her. He abandoned his status as a Shinigami and remained in the Human World, causing his Zanpakutō to be sealed away with him.
By the time this blade returned to Soul Society, Isshin could no longer come back.
And the Shiba Clan had already given up everything and moved into Rukongai.
Now, with Setsuna Enka appearing once more, Isshin had only one purpose left—
To fulfill his final duty.
To properly pass down the legacy of the Tenth Division, whose succession had once been broken.
Hitsugaya stood there with his mouth slightly open.
From Isshin's demeanor, he could tell the man wasn't lying.
After Isshin activated Bankai, there was no overwhelming heat in his spiritual pressure. Instead, it felt strangely calm—almost peaceful. There was barely any sign of violent Reiatsu fluctuations.
The original Engetsu had split apart into six crystal-like spikes, colored red, green, blue, yellow, purple, and pink, orbiting around Isshin.
Isshin himself wore a dark crimson robe, heat-resistant and flameproof. The robe was covered with intricate patterns of mysterious symbols. On each shoulder was a swirling emblem—
The "Falling Heaven Collapse Spiral Crest."
The Shiba Clan was famous for its fireworks-style Kidō.
Isshin's Bankai seemed perfectly crafted for their techniques.
Yet ironically, it belonged to him.
At the core of fireworks lay explosion.
The robe Isshin wore existed precisely to protect himself from the destructive power he wielded.
That was also why Isshin rarely used Bankai when seriously injured.
Without full protection, the explosive force could easily harm himself.
"I understand," Hitsugaya said solemnly. "Please continue to guide me."
With that, he spread the wings of his ice dragon and rushed toward Isshin again.
Isshin didn't hurry.
Instead, he calmly rotated one of the pink crystals in front of him.
With a snap of his fingers—
A pink firework shot forward.
The projectile burst in front of Hitsugaya, blooming into a brilliant pink flower.
Hitsugaya immediately swung his Zanpakutō, raising a pillar of ice while folding his wings for defense.
Only he knew just how terrifying that seemingly insignificant pink firework truly was.
At the moment the flower blossomed, an overwhelming surge of spiritual pressure erupted.
Isshin's Setsuna Enka was far from as gentle as it appeared.
Beneath the Bankai's deceptively calm Reiatsu lay deadly killing intent.
Fragments of ice drifted down.
A single firework had already shaved off an entire layer from Hitsugaya's ice wings.
Without defense, that attack would have been devastating.
Seeing Hitsugaya's somewhat battered appearance, Isshin chuckled.
"The true power of Engetsu isn't flames."
"It's explosions."
"In Shikai, I can use my blood as a catalyst to release explosive flames."
"But after Bankai—"
"Setsuna Enka compresses all that explosive power into instantaneous detonations."
"Just like fireworks."
"They exist only to bloom brilliantly for a single moment."
Hitsugaya's clawed hand tightened slightly.
Sweat gathered in his palm.
He understood perfectly what Isshin meant by that fleeting brilliance.
It meant terrifying explosive power.
A playful smile appeared on Isshin's face.
He pointed two fingers toward Hitsugaya.
The six crystals began spinning rapidly like the chamber of a revolver.
One after another—
Fireworks fired out.
Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
Like a machine gun, streams of colorful fireworks streaked through the air.
"That brat always talks about overwhelming offense and storm-like attacks," Isshin said proudly.
"Well my firework barrage isn't any worse!"
In an instant, fireworks filled the battlefield.
Silver sparks and blazing trees of flame.
Butterflies of fire.
Falling celestial blossoms.
Rivers of glittering stars.
Each dazzling scene was painted by Isshin's Reiatsu.
Six base colors combined to create a breathtaking fireworks display.
The battlefield had become a magnificent show.
But as the sole audience, Hitsugaya had no time to admire it.
He flapped his wings desperately, weaving through the explosions like a tiny boat in a raging storm.
One mistake—
And he would be destroyed.
Now he understood why Isshin called his Zanpakutō a Kidō-type Zanpakutō.
This relentless area bombardment was practically equivalent to an entire Kidō Corps attacking at once.
Aside from the greatest Kidō masters, Isshin alone could probably rival the entire Kidō Corps with this Bankai.
Under the constant bombardment, Hitsugaya moved cautiously.
He even accepted minor injuries just to break through the barrage.
The shockwaves had already torn his captain's haori to shreds.
Yet he had no intention of giving up.
To lose like this would be too humiliating.
With one motion, Hitsugaya tore off the ruined haori.
During his desperate flight, he had been quietly preparing something.
When he threw the haori aside—
He also dropped the final piece.
The ice crystals created by each explosion had been falling to the ground.
Meanwhile, Hitsugaya himself had secretly been releasing tiny ice flowers, almost invisible to the naked eye.
At last—
Just before his body reached its limit—
His preparations were complete.
The entire battlefield had been seeded with ice blossoms.
Suddenly, the cold currents swirling through the sky changed direction.
They rushed toward Isshin all at once.
Isshin smiled knowingly.
Of course he had noticed Hitsugaya's setup.
But this wasn't a fight against a mortal enemy.
So Isshin decided to play along.
It was also a chance to see how much Hitsugaya had improved.
Still, even while holding back, Isshin wouldn't ignore such a straightforward attack.
He launched a multi-shot firework barrage, blocking all of Hitsugaya's advance paths before detonating it.
BOOM!!!
Continuous explosions echoed across the training grounds.
Golden blossoms of fire bloomed through the smoke.
Isshin hadn't held back much with this attack.
The chain of explosions instantly shattered Hitsugaya's figure—
Shattered?
Isshin suddenly realized something was wrong.
His attacks were powerful, yes—
But they shouldn't have completely destroyed Hitsugaya's ice dragon form.
Where was the real Hitsugaya?
Isshin immediately looked up.
There he was.
Hitsugaya stood high in the sky like a god of winter, raising his Zanpakutō before slashing downward.
"Bloom—Ice Lotus!"
Countless blue ice lotuses suddenly sprouted around Isshin.
In the blink of an eye—
The situation reversed.
Isshin was surrounded by endless frozen flowers.
A bitter smile appeared on his face.
Alright… maybe I played around a little too much.
He should have just knocked the white-haired brat down earlier.
Instead, he had given him too much breathing room.
Now things were troublesome.
There was no time to escape.
The moment Hitsugaya spoke those words, the ice lotuses had already begun their detonation sequence.
CRACK!
Every lotus shattered simultaneously.
A terrifying surge of ice-type Reiatsu spread across the entire field.
The ground began freezing over instantly.
Taking advantage of his momentum, Hitsugaya prepared to follow up.
Using the force of his downward swing, he flipped upside down in midair and pointed his blade directly at Isshin.
"Ryūsenka!"
He still hadn't forgotten how Isshin had broken his finishing move earlier using only Shikai.
This time, he would end it properly.
Hitsugaya thrust downward.
But just as he approached—
From within the freezing mist, a six-colored blade suddenly emerged.
The hilt appeared before the tip.
It was the posture of a swing.
Danger alarms rang loudly in Hitsugaya's mind.
Instinctively, he detonated Ryūsenka early.
A massive ice cross formed in midair—far from Isshin's position.
Even so, Hitsugaya didn't regret it.
His instincts told him that advancing even one more step would have meant death.
Isshin swung the reconstructed six-colored Engetsu upward.
Six fireworks connected together within the flow of his spiritual pressure.
The technique itself wasn't new.
It was still the familiar—
Getsuga Tenshō.
But this time, six fireworks merged into a single attack.
The projectiles detonated the instant they left the blade.
Six-colored flames fused together, forming a brilliant phoenix of fire.
"Getsuga Tenshō — Phoenix Flight!"
Where the phoenix passed—
Explosions and flames followed.
The massive ice cross vanished instantly.
Hitsugaya barely managed to dodge, but the edge of the phoenix still grazed him.
The resulting explosions blasted him away, disappearing into the distance.
Isshin stepped forward through the lingering frost.
He hadn't escaped unscathed either.
Ice crystals covered his body.
If his reaction had been any slower, the ice lotus explosion might have frozen him completely.
At the moment the lotuses shattered, the six crystals spun rapidly around him.
Isshin had turned himself into a rotating firework, spinning like a top while releasing explosive flames to counter the freezing aura.
Even so, it wasn't a true defensive technique.
Without his protective robe, he might have burned himself badly.
A large portion of the cold still struck his body.
Feeling his limbs beginning to stiffen, Isshin decided not to drag the fight out any longer.
The six crystals reassembled into Engetsu.
With a smooth motion, he unleashed another Phoenix Flight Getsuga toward Hitsugaya.
The result was clear.
Hitsugaya had likely lost the ability to continue fighting.
But Isshin himself was heavily injured as well.
The close-range explosions of the phoenix affected him too.
Without the protective robe reducing most of the damage, he might not even be able to stand.
Isshin released his Bankai and slowly walked toward the source of Hitsugaya's Reiatsu.
Hearing the approaching footsteps, Hitsugaya struggled to stand.
His body was drenched in blood.
His Shihakushō had been reduced to a few hanging strips of cloth.
Luckily he had dodged quickly.
He didn't even want to imagine what would have happened if he had taken that attack head-on.
"Honestly… still as stubborn as ever," Isshin said with mild reproach.
Hitsugaya's expression was pale.
He bit his lip tightly, afraid that if he spoke, blood would spill out.
His eyes were filled with disappointment—
Disappointment in himself.
Still too weak.
I can't even catch up to the captain…
He must be disappointed in me…
Suppressing the pain, Hitsugaya finally spoke.
"Captain—"
A piece of white cloth suddenly covered his head, cutting him off.
Then he heard Isshin's gentle voice.
"I'm not a captain anymore."
"You are the Captain of the Tenth Division now."
"I'm very relieved to leave the division in your hands."
"Keep working hard, Tōshirō."
"When we meet again…"
"Call me Senior Isshin instead."
Hitsugaya tore the cloth off his head.
All he saw was Isshin's carefree back as he walked away.
Looking down, he noticed something.
On the white cloth was a large "Ten."
It was the captain's haori of the Tenth Division.
The same haori that former captain Shiba Isshin had taken with him to the Human World and worn draped over his shoulder for years.
Now—
It had finally been passed down
to the current captain—
Hitsugaya Tōshirō.
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