The air burned, the ground evaporated.
This kidō, developed by Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni from his own zanpakutō's power, showed its true terror in that moment.
"I told you, it's useless! Shun'on Ryūgin!"
What would have demanded caution from any other captain faltered before Sengoku Ryū's bane of a weapon.
But Higashino Shuuichi knew this already. The kidō was only misdirection. His true aim was to conceal his own approach.
And he succeeded.
By the time Sengoku Ryū sensed his reiatsu, Higashino was within ten meters. For someone trained in hakuda and shunpo, that was the same as striking distance.
"Bone Crusher."
His fist drove into Sengoku Ryū's chest.
The move, inspired by Yamamoto's *Ikkotsu*, differed from *Sunshi*, which pierced a single point. *Bone Crusher* spread its force, shattering defenses rather than puncturing through.
Higashino's intent was clear: strip away as much of Sengoku's defense as possible with a single blow.
He never expected a captain to fall to one strike.
And his judgment proved correct. Instinctively, Sengoku's left hand raised Raika to block.
Boom!
Blood sprayed from his mouth. Even with the *Makaōtō*'s help to absorb the impact, Higashino's full-force punch sent him hurtling hundreds of meters back.
Right into Starrk's path.
With Higashino now joining the fight, Starrk couldn't unleash his endless Cero arsenal. Unlike Baraggan, he couldn't bring himself to go all-out against a shinigami who stood under Aizen.
But he didn't need Cero to fight.
His twin azure blades appeared once more. *Sonído* carried him behind Sengoku, slashing in a blur.
Despite his wounds, Sengoku barely managed to parry.
But then Higashino was already on him, pressing from the other side. A shinigami and an arrancar, attacking in rhythm like partners who had trained together. Sengoku couldn't breathe under their combined assault.
"Why betray Soul Society?!" he roared at Higashino, trying to break his focus.
But Higashino only sneered. "Do you serve Soul Society faithfully?"
The words struck him harder than a blade. Did he?
No. Not since the Kasumioji noble handed him Raika, and he chose to keep it secret rather than report it to the Gotei 13. He had already betrayed them. His joining the expedition had been a form of self-imposed exile.
But how did this stranger know? Was he sent by Soul Society to purge him? And why did he fight in such perfect step with a Hollow?
The questions spiraled, stealing his concentration.
"Bone Crusher!"
Higashino's strike landed again, smashing Sengoku's chest. This time he wasn't so lucky. His body crashed from the sky, leaving a bloody streak.
Higashino moved to follow up, but Starrk was faster, raising his twin blades to finish it.
Then Higashino felt it—a surge of reiatsu.
"A trump card?"
Without hesitation, he flash-stepped clear. Starrk wasn't so fortunate. His blades were already in motion, and he couldn't stop. Sengoku's *Hōen Ryūga* erupted, blasting Starrk skyward, searing away his reishi cloak and blackening his body.
"He's escaping!"
Starrk ignored his wounds, eyes locked on Sengoku's retreating figure. No one had expected such power left in him.
In other circumstances, he might have lived.
But there was no "what if." Higashino had been trained under Aizen's hand for decades, mastering sword, fist, kidō, and step. His talent might not compare to the great names of history, but with such tutoring, his skills had been sharpened beyond question.
And now Sengoku's reiatsu was collapsing. The *Makaōtō* had begun to consume him.
"In the end, it was never your power. You must have known it would devour you."
Higashino's expression hardened. He drew his zanpakutō, blade pointed at his foe.
"Master strategist, clever stratagems! Bakudō #79, Lightning—Kuuyō Shibari!"
A bolt fell beside Sengoku, splitting into nine arcs of black lightning, sealing the space around him.
Unlike Ice, which slowed and bound, Lightning granted Higashino blistering speed and compressed his foe's reaction time.
Before, Raika's resonance had crushed such techniques. But now, drained and backlashed, Sengoku could not break it so easily.
"Break!"
Sengoku roared, his eyes red, hand numb on the hilt. He shattered the bindings—only to find Higashino and Starrk already upon him.
This time, Higashino was faster.
"May your next life be kinder."
The words whispered in Sengoku's ear as Higashino's blade pierced his unguarded body.
The *Bingzhe* ability activated.
Before Starrk's eyes, Sengoku dissolved into glittering reishi motes. His cursed *Makaōtō* clattered to the ground, masterless.
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