Two vs. One
The Ritsu team descended from the rooftop into the living room, kneeling on one knee.
"Report, Captain-Commander. The Xing patrol responsible for monitoring the West 26th District has failed to report for over half a minute."
"Mad King Tsunayashiro Munemasa and Shiraishi's group are very likely to have come into contact!"
Yamamoto Genryūsai's narrowed eyes opened slightly. The day had finally come.
"Have Captain Zaraki Kenpachi of the 11th Division and Captain Kuchiki Byakuya of the 6th Division immediately proceed to the West 26th District.
"Captain Kyōraku Shunsui of the 8th Division, Captain Aizen Sōsuke of the 5th Division, and Captain Ichimaru Gin of the 3rd Division will stand by for support."
"Yes, sir." The Ritsu team vanished.
Yamamoto glanced at the documents concerning the recent string of thefts, his thoughts drifting toward the West 26th District.
Over two thousand years… that man's Bankai had changed. Until its new abilities were understood, only Kenpachi—who had yet to master his Shikai—and Byakuya—who had yet to reveal his Bankai—could be sent against him.
"I hope everything goes well," Yamamoto muttered.
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West 26th District
Shiba Kūkaku was never one to hesitate. The moment she sensed killing intent, she struck first, trying to lure the fight away from the district.
Munemasa read her intentions at once. The Shiba family was always like this—thinking of others before themselves. Just like in the sacrificial hall that day. It disgusted him.
With a sudden kick, the ground collapsed beneath Kūkaku as his attack crashed forward. She barely dodged the blazing meteor-like strike.
"Hahaha!" Munemasa stomped the earth, sending shockwaves outward. Flesh and blood scattered as he sneered, "No one can save the one I've chosen to kill. Not even you."
In an instant, he appeared before her, his hand reaching to rip her heart from her chest.
Kūkaku vanished in a flash step, reappearing within a dense forest.
"Hadō #33: Sōkatsui!"
Abandoning the full chant, she thrust out her palm. Blue-white energy erupted, detonating the jungle around her.
From within the smoke, a hand seized her wrist. Her pupils shrank as she twisted free and retreated a hundred meters.
The brief exchange was enough to tell her: Munemasa's shunpō and hand-to-hand skill were far beyond what she had imagined. It was as if two millennia had never passed.
Munemasa stepped leisurely from the dust, long dark-green hair flowing, eyes glinting. "Why not run farther? I could reach out and crush your heart from here."
"Try it if you dare," Kūkaku shot back, flashing again into a narrow valley shrouded in shadow.
"Scattered beast bones, spires, red crystals, steel wheels. Movement is wind, stillness is emptiness. The sound of clashing spears fills the Void City! Hadō #63: Raikōhō!"
Golden lightning swirled in her palm. She caught Munemasa's trajectory with her spiritual sense and fired.
"Bakudō #81: Dankū."
Munemasa conjured a transparent barrier. The golden lightning slammed into it with a thunderous boom, shattering mountains on both sides.
Munemasa's lips curved. He relished the idea of tearing her apart—destroying beauty, corrupting bonds, savoring the process of perfection breaking into ruin.
He reached for her lips, but a chill ran down his back. He instantly shunpōed away as a golden blade pierced through the smoke.
A silver-haired man emerged—handsome, clad in unusual attire, a golden jacket tied at his waist.
Munemasa's smile faltered as the blade twisted, anticipating his next move. He summoned Dankū again, but the barrier cracked like glass within seconds.
Spiritual pressure surged as Munemasa coiled like a snake, striking with bone-crushing force. The earth split and mountains exploded, yet his target slipped through as if intangible.
Horror flickered across his face. If it wasn't a zanpakutō… what was it?
Before he could process it, a golden ring of slashes encircled his head. He roared and punched forward, blood spraying from his fist as he barely deflected the attack.
"Tell me your name, boy," he snarled.
"Why ask questions of a dying man?" Shiraishi replied coldly. Golden currents coursed around him, his blade raised high.
"Arrogant!" Munemasa charged, only to find his limbs dragged upward by the roaring wind.
"Wild Wind Slash!"
Shiraishi's ultimate technique tore forward as the battle raged.
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