Above in the sky, Shawlong showed no visible injuries. In contrast, Hitsugaya Tōshirō, who had already activated his Bankai, was struggling, and the ice from Hyōrinmaru began to crack piece by piece behind him.
Shawlong smirked. "It seems the captain's Bankai is nothing more than this. What a pity… it appears your strength ends here."
-- On the other side --
"Bankai! Hihiō Zabimaru!"
Renji Abarai released his Bankai. Zabimaru transformed into a massive snake-like form, the segmented body formed from skeletal-like structures, while the head resembled a large baboon with a mane of red fur.
However, the colossal strikes of Hihiō Zabimaru were easily parried by the Zanpakutō in Ilforte's hand. With swift movement, he appeared in front of Renji and delivered a slash that cut deeply into his muscles, leaving blood flowing profusely.
Sonído-the high-speed movement technique of the Arrancar-flared with a sound like air collapsing. Unlike Shunpo, Sonído was more akin to stepping through compressed space itself, allowing sudden bursts of speed that could both evade and confuse sensory perception. Its mastery relied not only on skill but also on the user's level of spiritual pressure: the greater the reiatsu, the faster and sharper the movement. Even so, not all Arrancar could master it completely, and not all Espada used it with perfection.
Ilforte sneered, "Surprised, brother? This is the advanced step of us Arrancar. It far surpasses Shunpo and even Shūkuchi. It bends space itself. Step into one space and you emerge from the next seamlessly. I've only grasped its surface forms, but the Espada… they wield it flawlessly. Their abilities are on another level entirely, and their strength is tremendous."
He laughed as he raised his blade again. "Brother, is this all? You call that Bankai? With your lieutenant-level skill, the Gotei 13 seems rather unimpressive."
From the roof of Urahara Shoten, Jinta Hanakari watched the battle with unease. "What… he's going to lose."
From inside the shop, Tsumuya Ame stepped out in her pajamas, her twin tails swaying lightly as her gaze locked on Ilforte. Her expression was vacant, but her stare was fixed on the Arrancar above as if her instincts had already taken over.
Jinta blinked in surprise. "Oi, Ame, didn't I tell you to get to bed-" His words trailed off as he realized she couldn't even hear him. She had entered a combat state, her senses fixed only on the enemy.
Without hesitation, Ame launched forward, her small frame propelled like a rocket by a sudden surge of spiritual energy.
Ilforte raised his blade toward Renji, ready to finish him, but the sudden impact from a sharp kick to his side stopped him cold. The seemingly ordinary kick from the girl carried crushing reiatsu, sending him flying hundreds of meters across the air.
"Damn it! Who are you-" he snarled, but Ame was already upon him. Her hands clamped down on his throat with the strength of iron grips, halting his words completely. At that moment it felt as though she could rip out his windpipe with the slightest force.
Her eyes remained cold and void of thought. "Danger… you are dangerous… an enemy that must be eliminated."
Reiatsu burst from her palms violently, and Ilforte was hurled back in fury.
He roared, "Damn brat, what's going on? My noble Arrancar pride defeated by a child?"
"Impale him, Del Toro Cangallo!" Ilforte called out, releasing his Zanpakutō. A surge of white reiatsu erupted, and the weapon transformed into a monstrous form. From his head sprouted long pale horns, his upper body twisted into a beast, while his legs retained a humanoid form. His massive build resembled that of a bull.
In an instant, one of the horns shot forward and pierced Ame's chest, blood flowing freely. Her eyes widened in shock at the wound, while Renji gasped as he witnessed it.
Ilforte sneered at their expressions. "Confused? That look says it all. This form is the Resurrección, the true release of an Arrancar's Zanpakutō."
His strike sent Ame crashing downward like discarded weight. Jinta leapt into the air, catching her in one arm and wielding his oversized hammer with the other as he swung at the bull-headed Arrancar. The hammer blow landed squarely, but Ilforte's released body shrugged off the strike with ease, his hardened shell untouched. His eyes flashed red with hostile energy as a horn shot forward toward Jinta.
Renji swung Zabimaru just in time, deflecting the horn by intercepting it with the skeletal body of his Bankai. Segments shattered apart, spilling fragments into the air.
"Take her and run!" Renji shouted through gritted teeth.
Jinta froze for a moment before realizing the urgency. "Ah-right!" He retreated quickly with Ame in his arms.
Ilforte roared in rage and pierced Renji through the body in the next strike. Blood stained his horns as he tossed the lieutenant aside like a ragdoll.
"Hahahaha! Let me introduce myself then," the Arrancar bellowed. "I am Arrancar No. 15, Ilforte Granz!"
As Renji fell through the air, his mind went back to a memory: a man wearing the noble's kenseikan of the Kuchiki clan, poised with calm authority. To Renji, Captain Kuchiki Byakuya was a mountain-cold, unwavering, and unreachable. Every challenge Renji had issued had been swatted aside without effort. Byakuya's presence was suffocating but inspirational, an ideal impossible to reach.
Renji had once thought no one could defeat him. But then came the news: Captain Kuchiki had been defeated by a rookie fresh out of the Shin'ō Academy. A man named Yuta.
That name haunted Renji as he stared upward now. Within the sky above, a figure stood quietly, his white haori fluttering in the wind as his eyes overlooked everything below with a detached calmness. Yuta's very presence carried weight that Renji could not ignore.
He thought: not only can't I compare to Captain Kuchiki… I can't even compare to Captain Yuta. Yet even if I can't reach that summit, I can at least take down this beast in front of me.
--
Elsewhere, Shawlong observed mercilessly as Hitsugaya continued to bleed. "Ilforte has released. Whether he wants to end it quickly, I can't say. But injury forcing him to release? Impossible."
Shawlong's blade clashed with Hitsugaya's Hyōrinmaru. "How ridiculous," he said, easily parrying the young captain's strikes.
Hyōrinmaru's tail lashed out and froze Shawlong's right hand solid.
"Oh? A sacrificial strike," Shawlong remarked. "You abandon portions of your Bankai to land a blow? Pathetic." He glanced behind Hitsugaya. "And yet-the ice flowers behind you are dwindling. I count four petals left."
"Your Bankai is incomplete. A true Bankai demands massive spiritual power to sustain, even for captains. But yours is unfinished. Those petals are its manifestation. They die off one by one as time passes. Once twelve petals are gone… your Bankai is over."
Even as he spoke, another petal shattered into snow and faded into the air.
Shawlong sighed almost respectfully. "Although I could just wait for it to end naturally, you are still a captain. It would be rude not to defeat you while you're still in Bankai. So I'll settle this now-with my strongest power."
He pressed the hilts of his Zanpakutō together and rubbed them. Reiatsu exploded outward as his Resurrección activated. When the energy cleared, his body had fully transformed: his hands had elongated into massive claws with five blade-like fingers, and a large scissor-shaped tail extended behind him. Each blade finger could cut flesh effortlessly, and his grotesque form now resembled a Hollow in its truest state.
With a single swipe, Shawlong tore across Hitsugaya's chest, blood spilling into the air.
Yet the young captain remained standing despite the wound.
"As expected of a captain," Shawlong admitted. "You're resilient."
Hitsugaya, gritting through the pain, looked at him carefully. "You said you are the Eleventh Arrancar. Does that mean… ranked eleventh in power?"
Shawlong flexed his claws lazily through the air. "No. Our numbers are not assigned by strength. They are given by order of birth. That begins with me."
Hitsugaya's eyes narrowed at the revelation.
Shawlong continued. "We were created through the Hōgyoku, evolving from Hollow into Arrancar. Those given numbers below eleven are ranked by emergence. But among us, those with exceptional combat skill receive numbers one through ten instead. They are the Espada-the strongest, chosen by ability. Each one bears an identifier marked somewhere on their body, and they command authority over all other Arrancar beneath them."
His expression hardened. "Their strength is on another plane entirely compared to us."
"And among those who came to this world with us is one of their number… Aizen-sama granted him the designation of Six."
Shawlong's voice dropped with gravity.
"The Sexta Espada… Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez."
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