You Idiot
The current situation couldn't exactly be called life-or-death, but it was no better than a chicken sending New Year's greetings to a weasel—no escape, no way back.
Shiba Kūkaku knew her own limits. Without the barrier, she could at least use shunpo to dodge and keep moving, waiting for Shiraishi to return. But if she were trapped in this confined space, it would be far harder to buy time.
Tsunayashiro Munemasa held the cherry-colored blade of light in his hand.
Here it comes!
Kūkaku's pupils dilated as the blade filled her vision. She twisted left, barely dodging—blood traced a shallow cut along her cheek. She swung her ancestral Zanpakutō in counterattack.
Munemasa twisted his blade downward to intercept.
Boom!
Spiritual pressure clashed violently, sparks erupting. Overwhelmed, Kūkaku was forced to retreat in another flash step.
But Senbonzakura was waiting, cutting off her escape and swinging straight for her head. She spun away again, panting.
"Hadō #61: Six-Rod Light Prison!"
Golden light flared from Munemasa's fingertips, six beams of energy lancing out to pin her in place.
Kūkaku spun, swinging her sword—crackling, the rods shattered into golden fragments. But the brief delay allowed Senbonzakura to surge in from the left.
She thrust upward.
Munemasa appeared on her right.
Before she could react, cherry-colored light carved across her chest. Burning pain tore through her body, blood spraying as she collapsed to the ground. Her clothes ripped open, the wound staining her skin crimson.
Munemasa loomed over her, bending to take the Shiba family's ancestral Zanpakutō. He looked down with a mocking smile.
"Still breathing? As a fellow noble, I'll end your life myself."
He raised his blade, stabbing downward casually.
Kūkaku's hand snapped up, gripping the cherry blade. With her free hand she muttered, "Hadō #4: Byakurai."
A white bolt of lightning shot forth.
Munemasa caught it in one hand, annoyed. "Still struggling? How tiresome. Even the weak should know their place. Just die already."
He lifted his foot to crush her.
Bang!
The pitch-black barrier shattered, a wave of blue-white light hurtling toward him. Munemasa raised a brow and intoned, "Bakudō #81: Dankū."
A transparent wall snapped into place.
The blast smashed against it, shaking the ground and gouging deep scars into the earth.
The barrier fell away. Sunlight poured through, glinting across the storm of cherry-blade fragments.
Munemasa turned—and froze. His eyes narrowed. "Oh? He recovered so quickly?"
Kūkaku forced her eyes open through the blood and haze. A figure strode through the dust, captain's haori fluttering. His silver-white scarf and ornate hairpiece marked him instantly.
Kuchiki Byakuya.
Her eldest brother had once called him stone-faced. But looking now, she thought that description was too simple. His expression wasn't lifeless—it was cold like a snow lotus blooming on a cliff, distant and untouchable.
"Senbonzakura," Byakuya said firmly, "is not yours to wield."
Munemasa sneered. "Have you forgotten? You lost to me."
"I lost through carelessness." Byakuya's hand rested on his Zanpakutō. He would correct his mistake. His voice was steady, resolute. "I won't again."
A tall figure suddenly surged past, golden reiatsu erupting like a storm.
"Zaraki—don't interfere!" Byakuya barked.
Boom!
Kenpachi Zaraki's blade came crashing down, his spiritual pressure splitting the ground. "Hahaha! Finally! I get to fight you—and this bastard—at the same time!"
The storm of cherry-blades swarmed him. He didn't dodge, cleaving a golden slash through the storm as he plunged forward like a beast unleashed.
Dozens of cuts tore into his chest, blood streaming, but he laughed, grinning like a demon.
For the first time, Munemasa felt a flicker of fear. Rage drowned it out. He infused the Shiba ancestral Zanpakutō with his reiatsu and swung upward.
Boom!
The ground split, a hurricane ripping outward. Kūkaku was flung helplessly, tumbling through the air before crashing two kilometers away. Blood gushed from her mouth. She lost consciousness.
Back at the battlefield, Zaraki's blade pressed against Munemasa's. Sparks crackled, neither giving way. Zaraki grinned like a child with a new toy.
Meanwhile, Byakuya flickered in with blinding speed, his blade arcing straight for Munemasa's neck.
Munemasa barely blocked, sweat on his brow, yet smiling mockingly. "You're still not quite there."
Byakuya's gaze sharpened. He was no longer careless, pushing his shunpo to the limit.
Even now, Munemasa maintained Bankai—Senbonzakura holding Zaraki, Mujin binding Shiraishi—while still dueling Byakuya in speed. He even held the upper hand.
Counting his earlier battles with Shiraishi and Kūkaku, the man's strength was monstrous.
Munemasa laughed. "So silent, as expected of the Kuchiki clan. Fine. Then die without words."
He raised his blade—
And a sword pierced him from behind.
Visit patreon.com/Akeyno to get 30+ chapters