In that instant, the entire world lost its color—this was a world that belonged to Tessai Tsukabishi alone.
Within it, the Reiatsu (Spiritual Pressure) network that linked the big-mouthed creatures together—its Reishi (Spirit Particles) lost all vitality. The power to devour still existed, but it could no longer "cover everything," no longer maintain every detail at once.
Tessai Tsukabishi picked the nearest gap in the net and charged through—
And the world regained its color.
Within stopped time, you could not destroy—only repair. That was the restriction that came with such overwhelming power. So once he had broken free, there was no reason for Tessai Tsukabishi to keep time halted any longer.
Maintaining it was also a burden on his body.
Yet to everyone else, it looked as though Tessai Tsukabishi had simply teleported from the encirclement to the outside.
"Is that… a space-type ability?" Matsumoto Rangiku asked, confused.
It really did resemble a spatial technique.
But Kenpachi Kuruyashiki knew better—his little ones could devour even space itself. Ordinary spatial abilities couldn't possibly slip out of that net.
And he could clearly see it: a small, clean "missing piece" in the encirclement he'd formed.
Which meant Tessai Tsukabishi had used some other ability entirely.
"Was it that forbidden technique… time stop?" Kabuma Sayako guessed, having caught a hint from Tessai Tsukabishi's mouth movements earlier.
Truth be told, ever since Higashino Shuuichi burst onto the scene, some of his combat habits had been consciously "borrowed" by the Shinigami captains.
For example—silent incantation. In internal conflict, it was a very effective little trick to disrupt an opponent's judgment.
"Pretty much." Kenpachi Kuruyashiki confirmed.
Among captains, the fact that Tessai Tsukabishi had once possessed a forbidden art of that level was not exactly a secret.
But to Kabuma Sayako, it was a major discovery.
Because she remembered it clearly: after the Hollowfication incident back then, the Central 46 had stripped the then–Dai Kidōchō (Grand Kidō Chief) Tessai Tsukabishi of the right to use that forbidden "time stop," and sealed his ability to cast it.
And yet Tessai Tsukabishi had just used it—undeniably, unmistakably.
That alone proved the Central 46's sealing methods had a very real loophole.
"If he's a Dai Kidōchō like this… then Kuruyashiki-dono, can you still defeat him? I can actually—"
Kabuma Sayako stopped herself.
Those were matters to consider after she returned to Soul Society. Right now, what mattered was this: facing an almost fully intact former Dai Kidōchō, Tessai Tsukabishi—could Kenpachi Kuruyashiki win and save Yushima Ōko, who was still sealed?
If not, she would send a distress signal to Higashino Shuuichi.
She didn't yet know whether Higashino Shuuichi had finished dealing with Yoruichi Shihōin, but in Kabuma Sayako's eyes, the situation here was just as critical.
"I'm telling you, Kabuma clan's little girl… you really don't understand me, do you?" Kenpachi Kuruyashiki cut her off inside her consciousness. "The one who should be worried about that… is Tessai Tsukabishi.
Do you even know… the weight of 'Kenpachi'?!"
Kabuma Sayako burst forward, her blade carving across the sky and splitting the clouds.
"Bakudō #81: Dankū (Severing Void), Jūrai (Layered)!"
Tessai Tsukabishi only lifted a hand.
Several transparent Reishi barriers formed in front of him—layer upon layer.
Cracks spread like a spiderweb.
One barrier shattered after another.
Until the final layer—
Kabuma Sayako's Zanpakutō tip pressed against it, utterly unable to move another inch.
"No matter how strong an attack is… it still has a limit," Tessai Tsukabishi said, as if he were explaining it to her.
"And no matter how strong a defense is… it still has a limit," Kenpachi Kuruyashiki answered through Kabuma Sayako's mouth.
Then came a storm of slashes, relentless as a gale and rain.
Just the shockwaves alone were already too much for Matsumoto Rangiku in the distance.
Her Kidō (Demon Arts) proficiency wasn't high to begin with—under the aftermath of this clash, she could barely hold her defenses for even half a minute.
"This isn't a place we're meant to stay!" Muguruma Kensei said grimly as he reached Matsumoto Rangiku, carrying the immobilized Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi on his back. His gaze toward the two fighting in the distance was filled with worry.
He didn't want Tessai Tsukabishi and Kabuma Sayako—a head of the Five Great Noble Houses—to clash at all. In Muguruma Kensei's heart, he still believed this was an accident.
But he also knew: the moment Tessai Tsukabishi used that Bakudō (Binding Arts) #99 to seal that Shinigami, the fight had become unavoidable.
The best solution now was likely to rush back at once, find Kisuke Urahara, and have him contact Higashino Shuuichi—so the two could communicate and resolve this.
What Muguruma Kensei didn't know… was that from two directions he couldn't see, Kisuke Urahara and Higashino Shuuichi had already set off almost simultaneously, both closing in on this area.
Meanwhile—
Inside the villa Higashino Shuuichi had prepared, Sōsuke Aizen sat elegantly sipping black tea. As he listened to the report coming back from his subordinate, the corner of his mouth lifted with a trace of curiosity.
"So, Zommari Rureaux… you lost?"
"Yes, Aizen-sama. This subordinate is incompetent." Zommari Rureaux hurried to defend himself on the other end. "That Shinigami captain called Kisuke Urahara was simply too strong—I was subdued in only a few moves. If he hadn't made a mistake at the last moment and failed to strike my vital point, I might have died there…
But Aizen-sama, I'm absolutely not trying to be a deserter! It's just—when I was about to counterattack, Kisuke Urahara had already taken those Quincy away!"
As an Arrancar who worshipped Aizen with fanatical loyalty, Zommari Rureaux was telling the truth.
Unfortunately, he had been born into the wrong timeline.
In the original story, such loyalty might have earned a sliver of Aizen's mercy.
But in this timeline—where Higashino Shuuichi stood as a far brighter jewel—trash like Zommari Rureaux, who couldn't even complete the assigned task, was worthless no matter how loyal he was.
"After you return, go see Szayelaporro," Aizen answered coldly.
Undergo modification—that was Zommari Rureaux's ending.
As for whether he would be reborn through it… that was his own matter. Success or failure meant nothing to Aizen either way.
Instead, Kisuke Urahara's side sparked a faint interest in Aizen.
Zommari Rureaux said Kisuke Urahara "made a mistake," but Aizen only felt contemptuous amusement.
Kisuke Urahara… making a mistake?
That was as laughable as telling him that Aizen would make an error.
No—this had to be deliberate.
Kisuke Urahara wanted Zommari Rureaux to tell him, indirectly, that he had returned?
No. Kisuke Urahara didn't even know about his relationship with the Hollows.
This was a probe—testing whether he would show himself. If he appeared, that would mean he couldn't be separated from the Arrancar of Hueco Mundo.
"Heh… this is your style, Kisuke Urahara." Aizen swirled the red wine in his glass, resting his head on one hand as he spoke softly. "While scheming against Higashino Shuuichi, you still don't forget to scheme against me too.
You're not afraid… that I'll actually appear?"
He calculated the changes and gains that might come from showing up.
Then he discarded the idea.
Knowing full well it was a trap and still jumping in—only a fool or a madman would do that.
And Sōsuke Aizen was neither.
He'd rather watch from the sidelines and see what "interesting scene" would erupt between Higashino Shuuichi and Kisuke Urahara.
Back on the battlefield, the fight between Kabuma Sayako—being "power-leveled" by Kenpachi Kuruyashiki—and Tessai Tsukabishi was still deadlocked.
It wasn't that Tessai Tsukabishi was hard to cut down.
It was that his Kidō: Jikan Teishi (Time Stop) was like a cheat—usable whenever he pleased. When in doubt: stop time. Even if it couldn't deal damage, it excelled at healing and control alike.
If Bakudō #99: Bankin (Great Seal) wasn't still sealing Yushima Ōko over there, Kabuma Sayako felt she might have taken one of those control hits herself.
But the effect likely wouldn't be as perfect as it was on Yushima Ōko, because Kenpachi Kuruyashiki kept his big-mouthed little ones drifting around Kabuma Sayako at all times. The moment there was any sign of her body being controlled, they would swarm in and devour whatever Kidō was restraining her.
So the battle stalled—even though Kenpachi Kuruyashiki cut Tessai Tsukabishi more than once, it changed nothing.
Time stop, calm self-treatment, then time resumes—
And Tessai Tsukabishi was "lively as a dragon" again.
"No wonder it became a forbidden technique…" Kabuma Sayako was genuinely shaken by how nearly endless Tessai Tsukabishi's time stop usage was. "Using time stop… doesn't require any price at all?"
Because this didn't resemble the "powerful Kidō" she knew.
Hadō (Way of Destruction) #96: Ittō Kasō (Single Blade Cremation) could burn your own body.
Hadō #99: Goryūtenmetsu (Five Dragon Crushing Destruction) could spiral out of control and become indiscriminate chaos.
Hadō #90: Kurohitsugi (Black Coffin) could even trap the caster if mishandled.
And these high-tier Kidō above the 90s all carried an unspoken, nearly universal truth: a cooldown. Normal Shinigami couldn't chain-cast them.
Even someone like Higashino Shuuichi, at his current level, still faced the same issue—forcing consecutive use strained the body so heavily that the gain became far less than the loss.
Yet Kabuma Sayako could feel it:
Tessai Tsukabishi didn't seem to have that problem at all.
"That's because…" Kenpachi Kuruyashiki said with a hint of sighing admiration, "…that man may have already paid the price."
"Already… paid it?" Kabuma Sayako didn't understand at first—but then she realized what "price" he meant.
"Tessai Tsukabishi's Zanpakutō?"
Kabuma Sayako remembered: as the Dai Kidōchō, Tessai Tsukabishi had always seemed to have no Zanpakutō. If he had abandoned it for the sake of advancing in Kidō, that was understandable.
And there was another possibility—
That Tessai Tsukabishi's Zanpakutō ability itself was sacrifice and fulfillment.
He sacrificed his potential in swordsmanship and Zanpakutō power, and in exchange gained limitless possibility in Kidō.
No one truly knew the answer.
Perhaps only the three most senior captains still in Soul Society—Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, Shunsui Kyōraku, and Jūshirō Ukitake—along with Tessai Tsukabishi's two close friends, Yoruichi Shihōin and Kisuke Urahara, might know.
Kenpachi Kuruyashiki was only guessing.
And the cause didn't matter.
Only the result.
For Kenpachi Kuruyashiki—who had already boasted to Kabuma Sayako that he could handle this—there was now only one method left if he wanted to finish Tessai Tsukabishi here.
But it was a method he truly didn't want to use.
"Kabuma clan's little girl, let me ask you something." Kenpachi Kuruyashiki suddenly spoke in her mind. "In your eyes… how far is Higashino Shuuichi from the Captain-Commander?"
"Kuruyashiki-dono, why are you—" Kabuma Sayako hesitated, then answered firmly. "In my eyes, Shuuichi-kun is not inferior to the Captain-Commander!"
"Hahahaha, Kabuma clan's little girl—don't tell me you're saying that because you've fallen for that brat?" Kenpachi Kuruyashiki laughed. "Still, for you to rate him that highly… it proves that brat has truly grown into someone remarkable.
If it's him… he should be able to stop it.
Then I can be at ease!"
Unfortunately, an astral consciousness couldn't blush—otherwise Kabuma Sayako would've been beet-red at that moment.
What did he mean "fallen for that brat"?
She was already Shuuichi-kun's woman—
Then, through Kabuma Sayako's mouth, Kenpachi Kuruyashiki declared:
"Little ones… time to clock out~
Bankai, Gato Eimei!"
In an instant, Matsumoto Rangiku—watching from afar—saw the earth beneath her feet begin to transform into endless yellow sand.
The stone monument suppressing Yushima Ōko started sinking underground, carrying Yushima Ōko down with it.
A terrifying giant mouth manifested in the ground.
That childlike, hearty laughter now sounded like a demon's bell—hammering against every Shinigami's heart.
Devour.
Devour.
Devour again.
It was a colossal maw that never knew fatigue, knowing only one thing—endless opening and closing, forever feeding outward.
No eyes. No nose. No ears.
It could not distinguish friend from foe. It knew only hunger.
And yet this mindless, ignorant creature—stupid to the extreme—was the existence everyone present had to fear.
Because it devoured all Reishi (Spirit Particles).
Before it, every method became powerless.
"Good thing it doesn't devour its master…" Kenpachi Kuruyashiki's eyes, shining through Kabuma Sayako's body, held no joy of victory as he watched Tessai Tsukabishi—who, even with time stop, could no longer escape in this environment. There was only an anxiety that wouldn't fade. "…But it only doesn't devour its master. That's all."
Because his Bankai… was something even he could not control.
And then—
A voice rang out:
"I've long since paid the price—by abandoning the self-torment ploy…
Bankai, Shinki Mosoku!"
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