Inside the red jewel space, the battle ended in Yushima Ōko's defeat—but Tessai Tsukabishi did not take his life.
Not because he didn't want to, but because the gemstone that formed the space he and Yushima Ōko were trapped within suddenly underwent a violent change.
And the cause of that change came from the outside.
While Yushima Ōko was being forced to remain sealed together with Tessai Tsukabishi, inside a different jewel space—a golden world likewise cut off by a gemstone—Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi bowed like a perfect gentleman toward Kabuma Sayako across from him.
"Sayako-sama, we meet again~"
"We do, Rōjūrō-kun. But meeting under these circumstances… may I take it that you harbor ill intent toward me?"
Kabuma Sayako looked at Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi calmly.
"That's not quite fair to say, Sayako-sama." Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi shook his head, still smiling. "After all, you are the head of the Kabuma clan—one of Soul Society's Five Great Noble Houses—and the Kabuma clan's only remaining member. I have no ill will toward you whatsoever. I simply hope your steps can pause here for a little while~"
"Tell me. What do you want?"
Kabuma Sayako's presence shifted sharply. In that instant, her expression turned solemn.
"I believe I've been quite clear, Sayako-sama. My task is to ask you to stop for the time being and not continue forward. Of course, if you wish to turn around and leave right now, I can release you immediately."
Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi's expression was sincere—so sincere that Kabuma Sayako couldn't read a single hint from his face.
This wasn't her forte. If Shuuichi-kun were standing here instead, perhaps he could have seen something.
Though Kabuma Sayako also felt that if Shuuichi-kun were here… Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi probably wouldn't dare show up like this in the first place.
"And if I refuse?
If I insist on going to my destination?"
Kabuma Sayako raised the inherited divine artifact of her clan—Seyabasa—in her hand, her gaze free of the slightest hesitation.
"I truly hope you won't," Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi said. "Because if you do, the outcome certainly won't be better than it is now~"
Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi knew what Kabuma Sayako intended to do, yet he still made no move to prepare.
On one hand, as a standard Shinigami captain, his loyalty to Soul Society was beyond question. If it weren't for his current awkward status, he would never have followed Kisuke Urahara's arrangements so completely—especially not while lacking all context—intercepting the head of a Five Great Noble House like this. If it was mishandled, it would sever any hope he had of ever returning to Soul Society.
On the other hand… Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi had seen what Kabuma Sayako was capable of.
A textbook "tool-person" template.
Back when Kabuma Sayako still lived in the Human World, she'd only survived safely because Higashino Shuuichi—and that Kisaragi Shūsuke—had protected her at every turn. As for the power of the Zanpakutō in her hands, Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi still didn't know it in detail, but Kisuke Urahara had said that Zanpakutō existed specifically to communicate with that mysterious Hell.
That was why Kabuma Sayako had never used it even once.
Only Higashino Shuuichi—acting as Hell's envoy—had used it a few times, and everyone had seen the price with their own eyes.
If Higashino Shuuichi didn't possess that utterly incomprehensible regenerative ability, an ordinary Shinigami would never have been able to endure such a cost.
So Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi didn't believe Kabuma Sayako posed any real threat.
To him, Kabuma Sayako was simply a child who had been carefully sheltered by Higashino Shuuichi since she was young.
She might not even understand the difference in strength between an ordinary Shinigami and a captain—much less the immense gulf that could exist between captains themselves.
Now that Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi had fully mastered Kyoka (Hollowfication), he knew his current self was no longer comparable to the man he used to be.
Even among the many captains in today's Soul Society, Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi believed he could rank near the top—let alone against a seemingly fragile head of a noble house.
But next, Kabuma Sayako would use her actions to tell Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi the truth.
In the past, it wasn't that she wanted to be a decorative vase.
It was that Higashino Shuuichi didn't want her to act.
Because every time she acted… it meant her lifespan decreased.
"Watase Higan, Seyabasa!"
Kabuma Sayako released her Zanpakutō.
The blade became a swarm of silver-white butterflies, dancing around her.
And a gate formed behind Kabuma Sayako.
Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi had never seen Seyabasa released—but he had heard the legends. His expression changed.
"Sayako-sama… don't tell me you intend to throw everything away and unleash that dreadful power of Hell here?
I strongly advise you not to. You are not Higashino Shuuichi. That power isn't something your body can endure!"
"I think you misunderstand, Rōjūrō-kun." Kabuma Sayako closed her eyes, letting the gate behind her open. "The power of Hell is only one trivial ability of our clan's divine artifact. Its true power… is something you've never understood."
At the same time, within another pitch-dark space, a man sitting cross-legged on the ground suddenly opened his eyes.
"Oh~ So this time it isn't that brat Shuuichi, huh… It's a little girl instead?"
"Kuruyashiki-dono, I—"
Kabuma Sayako's phantom form appeared not far in front of the man. She was just about to bow and make her request when she felt her body pressed in place by a wave of Reiatsu, unable to bend.
"Hahaha. I know you. When we signed the contract before, that Shuuichi brat told me. He said he could only come to Hell to meet me by borrowing a little girl's power—and that little girl was the head of the Kabuma clan, one of the Five Great Noble Houses.
The contract I signed with that Shuuichi brat… was, in truth, also a contract signed with that little girl.
So, young head of the Kabuma clan—there's no need for you to be so humble toward a former Eleventh Division captain like me. Helping you… is my responsibility!"
As Kenpachi Kuruyashiki spoke, he rose from the ground, passed right by Kabuma Sayako's phantom, and walked straight toward the glowing gate in the distance.
Time itself stood still in that space.
When Kenpachi Kuruyashiki's phantom stepped out from the gate behind Kabuma Sayako…
In Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi's eyes, only an instant had passed.
Though Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi had been a Shinigami for a long time, compared to the kind of early "grind out seniority" endurance Higashino Shuuichi had, his time was still relatively short. He had witnessed Kenpachi Azashiro's era—but he had not lived through the period when Kenpachi Kuruyashiki served as captain.
So from that blurred phantom, Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi couldn't recognize who it was.
But the crushing pressure radiating from it was unmistakably real—and it hit him head-on.
"What… is this…?"
The corner of Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi's mouth twitched, and his right hand unconsciously moved to grip his Zanpakutō.
Not far away, Kenpachi Kuruyashiki's phantom overlapped with Kabuma Sayako's body.
Kabuma Sayako opened her eyes again.
They were eyes sharpened to a terrifying edge—so much so that a single glance at Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi made dread bloom in his chest.
"Sorry to trouble you, Kuruyashiki-dono~"
In her mind, Kabuma Sayako spoke to the phantom gently.
What she received was Kenpachi Kuruyashiki's hearty laughter.
"Don't worry, little Kabuma girl… I am Kenpachi Kuruyashiki!"
In that instant, Kabuma Sayako vanished from where she stood.
Before even one breath could pass for Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi, a ruthless blade had already torn open the left side of his chest.
Blood splashed. Fear spread.
Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi tried to counterattack, but the Zanpakutō in Kabuma Sayako's hand had already slipped through his abdomen like a dragon threading a river.
"No… at this rate, I'll die…"
Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi felt the difference between them—a helplessness so absolute it couldn't be resisted.
Just give him a moment.
Give him even a sliver of time to release his Zanpakutō!
In that moment, Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi regretted his initial carelessness.
But even if he had prepared from the start… did he truly have the ability to resist in the face of this kind of power?
No one knew the answer.
"Kyoka (Hollowfication)!"
A skull mask surfaced over Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi's face, and bone-like armor covered half his body. That Hollow-exclusive regenerative power—Chōsoku Saisei (High-Speed Regeneration)—began to mend his injuries.
"Oh~ I thought this was just a Shinigami who betrayed his post," Kenpachi Kuruyashiki remarked from within Kabuma Sayako after seeing the transformation. "Didn't expect today's Soul Society to come up with so many tricks.
A Shinigami turning Hollow… that's truly outrageous."
Kabuma Sayako remained silent. She didn't know what Kenpachi Kuruyashiki would say if he learned that the boy he favored could also undergo Kyoka (Hollowfication).
"But for a Shinigami who willingly falls that far… there's no need to hold back anymore~"
Those words came out of Kabuma Sayako's mouth—yet they were Kenpachi Kuruyashiki's.
And in Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi's heart, they were ice-cold.
Meaning… those attacks earlier had still been restrained?
Come on—no matter what, he was a captain!
Why, in front of this strange man, was he as helpless as an ant?
"Cero (Hollow Flash)!"
Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi thrust both hands forward. A pale-gold Cero (Hollow Flash) formed before him and fired at Kabuma Sayako to force her back.
From their brief clash, he knew that kind of Cero (Hollow Flash) would be hard-pressed to truly injure Kabuma Sayako in this state.
But it didn't matter.
As long as it bought him time—time for his body to recover enough for him to return to a Shinigami state and release his Zanpakutō—then it would be enough!
As long as he could use Bankai, there might still be a turning point!
"Yakuryū."
But from Kabuma Sayako's lips came only two cold syllables—and the last shred of hope in Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi's chest shattered completely.
In that instant, the space around him, the Reishi, even the flow of Reishi inside his own body—everything felt as though time itself had stopped.
This was a technique Higashino Shuuichi had used before.
Back when Higashino Shuuichi was still their comrade, Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi had seen him use this move in a spar against Kensei Muguruma—absolutely humiliating him.
It had even forced Kensei Muguruma to shout that Higashino Shuuichi was cheating, and to demand he never use that move in sparring again.
By controlling Reiatsu to the extreme and restricting Reishi flow to create an effect like time-stoppage—this technique truly was monstrous. As long as the user's Reiatsu exceeded the opponent's, it was almost an unsolvable move.
Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi remembered Higashino Shuuichi saying this wasn't something he invented himself, but something he learned from a former Eleventh Division captain—one who had already died—Kenpachi Kuruyashiki.
One thing was now obvious:
That blurred figure that had stepped out from the mysterious gate behind Kabuma Sayako was not Higashino Shuuichi. Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi couldn't claim he knew Higashino Shuuichi's voice better than anyone… but he could say with certainty he wouldn't mistake it.
So the conclusion was clear.
That figure was Kenpachi Kuruyashiki—a Shinigami once hailed as the most likely to surpass the strongest Shinigami Soul Society had produced in a thousand years, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, who even now remained Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13.
"If it's him… then losing to him… kind of makes sense, doesn't it?"
When Kabuma Sayako's fist crashed into Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi's body, it shattered the Hollow armor and skull mask completely. Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi—forced out of Kyoka (Hollowfication)—fell instantly into extreme weakness.
Reality proved something undeniable:
The Five Great Noble Houses were the Five Great Noble Houses for a reason.
Even someone as seemingly fragile as Kabuma Sayako—supported by that noble lineage—was not someone a "normal" captain like him could ever hope to contend with.
By the time Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi understood that… it was already too late.
"Kuruyashiki-dono—please break this space first!"
Just as Kenpachi Kuruyashiki was about to use Kabuma Sayako's body to deliver the final blow, Kabuma Sayako made her request.
There was no helping it.
Kabuma Sayako still lacked too many of the fundamental combat techniques Shinigami relied on. She wasn't like Higashino Shuuichi—battle-hardened enough to immediately handle new power the moment he received it, and even if he couldn't draw out one hundred percent of its potential, he could still bring out ninety percent or more.
So Kabuma Sayako could only take the next best path—letting Kenpachi Kuruyashiki "pilot" her in combat.
That meant she had to convey the details of what she wanted to do to Kenpachi Kuruyashiki.
"This space?" Kenpachi Kuruyashiki asked, puzzled.
"Yes. I have two other companions acting with me. I suspect they've run into a similar situation. So I hope you can help me… go help them!"
Kabuma Sayako explained.
"Is that so?"
Kenpachi Kuruyashiki glanced with mild regret at the Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi lying motionless on the ground, then shook his head with a faint smile.
"Lucky him, I guess~
Born of slaughter and ill omen, honor the gloom and bid farewell to decay… Garaku Kairō (Corridor of Starving Joy)!"
//Check out my P@tre0n for 20 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810