Shock struck Ichimaru Gin and Tosen Kaname at once.
"What?"
"Oops, that Zanpakutō is really scary. I really don't want to be Yuta's opponent-just dealing with his Zanpakutō would already be difficult, and getting into close combat with Yuta would be the end." Ichimaru Gin squinted and sighed. "He'd slice my own Zanpakutō to pieces, bit by bit… just thinking about it is terrifying."
He grinned slightly as he added, "Captain Aizen, why don't we have Yuta join us instead? Or use some sort of beauty trap? Fighting him head-on is far too troublesome."
Below them, the situation shifted again.
Yuta kept slashing repeatedly-only to realize that cutting down opponents came entirely from his Shinigami powers.
What about his Quincy powers?
Could they also form into another Zanpakutō?
He reached behind him and extended his left hand forward, activating Reishi Control.
Slowly, he envisioned drawing out a Quincy blade.
Instantly, energy surged around him.
Spiritual particles from the atmosphere rushed toward his outstretched left hand in torrents. Soon, not just nearby-but every particle across Karakura Town was being drained away and funneled straight into that hand. A new Zanpakutō forged from Quincy energy took shape there.
Just how much spiritual power could one person use?
Every witness froze-eyes wide as the scope became clear.
Ichimaru Gin narrowed his eyes to slits. "What is Yuta doing now…?"
Tosen stared in silence for moments longer. "Spiritual pressure-it's surging uncontrollably."
Eyes focused on the black light swirling in Yuta's hand, Aizen finally spoke. "Could it be..."
...
Meanwhile, chaos spread through the streets.
Students from Shino Academy fled through alleys and roads-fear written across their brows and shoulders tense with panic.
"What's happening?"
"Why did our soul burial internship become this insane?"
"All the spirit particles… they're pulling toward one spot. It feels like my entire body's breaking down into spirit particles too!"
"Who is that? What kind of power is this?"
"Is it an Adjuchas? Or even… Vasto Lorde?"
...
Bright light spilled from the windows of the convenience store.
Beep-beep-
"Hello, total comes to two thousand yen," the clerk said with practiced calm as he scanned each item.
Ishida Uryū held out his wallet-until he suddenly froze in place. The wave of spiritual pressure struck so hard that his eyes widened instantly in alarm.
In the next heartbeat he bolted for the door-ignoring everything behind him.
Up above the store, windows slammed shut by panicked residents as gusts picked up across rooftops and alleyways alike.
Spirit particles in the air spun violently around him-and then fled from him entirely.
He tried to gather reishi beneath his feet to fly but failed outright. The entire atmosphere had been purged; there was nothing left for him to use-not anymore.
It terrified him on every level he understood as a Quincy.
Thousands of meters away and already he couldn't draw any energy. It wasn't just power-it was complete control over spirit matter itself. He had no choice but to run toward the disturbance on foot.
...
Inside Kurosaki household-
Knock-knock.
Holding noodles on a tray, Kurosaki Yuzu tapped on her brother's door. "Onii-san, I made some noodles! Want to eat with me for midnight snack?"
"I'm good, Yuzu," Ichigo's muffled reply reached her through the door seconds later.
"Okay!" she chirped and walked downstairs again-green pajama fabric swishing softly with every step.
Sitting at the dining table below was Karin, a pale-faced girl with black hair tied back-already lounging lazily across her seat as Yuzu approached.
"I told you he wouldn't eat. So I'll take it."
She took the noodles eagerly and slurped them down fast. "Delicious as always."
Yuzu giggled as she cleaned up the bowl-clearly pleased by the compliment.
Upstairs again, Ichigo stared out his open window-brows furrowed hard.
"What's this? All that spiritual pressure-it's being pulled somewhere?"
In another room, Kurosaki Isshin stood with arms crossed, also watching clouds shift unnaturally across the sky.
Was it Ryuken?
No-that kind of output was beyond even him.
He rarely thought about these things anymore-but this wasn't "normal." This shattered any sense of peace humanity could hope to cling to when faced with true power.
...
Somewhere else in Karakura Town-
Thud!
Bookshelves lined every wall of the study room-and red carpet muted Ishida Ryuken's footsteps as he stood up suddenly from his desk. Black ink spread across the document underneath where his pen had slipped from frozen fingers moments earlier.
He ignored it completely-slamming open the window instead.
Wind slammed against the frame with a loud bang as he peered into the night sky-eyes widening with disbelief as pure-blood Quincy instinct took over.
"Is it… Yhwach?" he whispered to himself. "No-the aura feels different."
"But who else could have this level of Quincy power…?"
...
Back at Urahara's store-
Tessai stood rooted in place by shock-muscles tense through his oversized shirt. "What is happening here? Has every last spirit particle in Karakura Town been mobilized?"
Kisuke Urahara's eyes narrowed beneath the brim of his green-striped hat-the usual laziness vanished from his tone completely. "We always knew Karakura Town has special spirit density-but for one person to gather it ALL…"
His sentence trailed off with unspoken meaning-and weight hung heavy on every word before it passed his lips again-
"That's no ordinary feat."
Nearby, Yoruichi spoke while perched in cat form upon the counter-a faint rumble veiling her words. "We'll know soon enough if we get closer."
...
At another house-
Smack!
Hiyori kicked Shinji square in the face while upside down in handstand position-heels hitting with enough force to make him stumble backward mid-grunt of pain.
"How are you playing around when shit like this is happening outside?!"
"I get it-I get it!" Shinji coughed through laughter before brushing himself off and reaching for headphones and music player nearby. Jazz flooded into his ears within seconds of pressing play-and he turned toward the window with hands tucked inside coat pockets again.
...
Urahara Kisuke. Yoruichi Shihoin. Tessai Tsukabishi. Kurosaki Isshin. Kurosaki Ichigo. Ishida Ryuken. Ishida Uryū. Hirako Shinji. Sarugaki Hiyori-
One by one-they felt it first... then moved as one instinctively toward where Yuta now stood.