The bottom of the deep crater glowed red-hot, the scorched earth looking like exposed magma as waves of heat kept pouring out of it.
At the deepest point of the pit lay Genryusai Yamamoto, looking like a charred corpse.
Large swathes of his skin had been burned black.
Flame-like patterns crawled across what remained of his flesh.
But what drew the eye most was his right arm—sheared clean off at the root, gone without a trace, leaving him looking especially tragic.
If any of the Soul Reapers from Seireitei saw this, they would never believe this was their Head Captain.
The strongest Soul Reaper in a thousand years…
How could he end up in such a state?
Cole, however, wasn't surprised at all.
Yamamoto was strong—no question about that.
But precisely because he had lived too long, even his way of thinking had grown rigid.
In that kind of state, no matter how strong you are, you can't truly stand against a cunning enemy.
Because the enemy can casually plot circles around you.
With that thought, Cole grabbed Yamamoto with one hand, lifted him up, and leapt out of the pit, racing straight toward his own villa.
At this moment…
Inside the villa, Unohana—whom Cole had placed in another room—slowly opened her eyes.
This gentle, beautiful onee-san took a quick look around, and immediately ground her teeth.
"That damn brat…"
She had clearly wanted to spar with him properly, yet that brat had actually knocked her out cold.
And she had been completely unable to resist.
With that burning desire left unsatisfied, Unohana now had the distinct urge to kill someone.
Suddenly, Unohana sensed something, her expression shifting with surprise. She walked out of her room and into the other bedroom.
"Captain Soi fong?!"
She stared at Soi fong in shock.
The dignified captain of Squad Two, the commander-in-chief of the Punishment Force, was in an unbelievably miserable state.
Both her arm and her leg had sections where the white of bare bone was exposed.
Fortunately, thanks to Orihime's "rejection of all things," the bones were sprouting new flesh, continuously regenerating. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before she fully recovered.
"Captain Unohana!"
Seeing Unohana, Soi fong brightened visibly. "Captain Unohana, please help treat me too!"
The situation in Karakura Town was far too dire. She wanted to get back to the battlefield as soon as possible.
Unohana watched her for a couple of seconds, then lightly shook her head.
"I can't help you. The flesh on your arm and leg is completely gone. In this condition, regular kaido just can't heal you."
Kaido could treat injuries—
But it wasn't omnipotent.
Orihime's healing, however, was.
As long as the person wasn't dead, her Sōten Kisshun (Twin-God Reflection Shield) could reject it all and restore everything.
Just then, Cole's figure vaulted in through the window. He smiled at Orihime and said:
"Orihime, I'll have to trouble you again. This old man's arm got blown off. You need to help him out a little and make it grow back."
He set Yamamoto down—
But after thinking for a moment, he still used kido to construct a hanging "hammock" outside the window and tossed Yamamoto onto it.
It wasn't that he despised Yamamoto.
It was simply that the old man's body was far too hot right now—like a living fireball.
If he left him lying on the floor, in less than ten minutes the flames would probably burn straight from the second floor down to the first.
"Head Captain!?"
Unohana was truly stunned now.
She completely forgot about settling accounts with Cole. Her expression turned grave as she examined Yamamoto's injuries.
"These are flame burns… from a high-level sacrificial kido— Ittō Kasō (Single-Blade Cremation). It's a forbidden spell that can only be activated by using a charred body as a catalyst…"
She had originally thought that by the time she returned to the World of the Living, everything would already be settled.
But clearly, that wasn't the case.
Not only had Seireitei failed to gain the upper hand, numerous people were seriously injured—and Aizen still hadn't been dealt with.
While Unohana was thinking this through, Cole finally noticed her. He felt a little guilty, but could only steel himself and say:
"Hana-nee, you're awake."
Unohana came back to herself, grinding her silver teeth as she fixed him with a decidedly unfriendly look.
"Cole, you've done well, haven't you? You can knock me out while I'm not paying attention. Looks like your strength is already on a different level from mine, hm?"
Cole heard the resentment behind her words and could only let out an awkward laugh.
"Hana-nee, the situation's a bit urgent right now. Can we talk about this after I finish dealing with everything over here…"
"Mngh—"
Before Cole could finish speaking, Unohana suddenly sank her teeth into his neck.
Cole hissed in a sharp breath.
It wasn't because it hurt.
It was because he could feel that warm, smooth tongue gliding over his skin—that strange sensation made a chill run all the way down his spine.
Soi fong and Tatsuki, who were watching from the side, were both utterly dumbfounded.
Only after several dozen seconds did Unohana finally let go. She licked her lips lightly and murmured:
"Cole-kun, don't forget what you said. If you dare to stand me up again this time… I'll have to test the hardness of little Cole."
As she spoke, her beautiful eyes flicked deliberately toward his lower body.
Cole felt his whole body go cold. He hurriedly nodded with all his might.
"Don't worry, Hana-nee!"
Only then did Unohana let him off, turning her gaze to Yamamoto, who was lying on the hammock by the window.
"Leave the Head Captain to us. I might not be able to make his severed arm grow back, but giving him some basic treatment won't be a problem."
Yamamoto's lost arm was the result of the sacrificial kido Ittō Kasō (Single-Blade Cremation).
It belonged to a sort of rule-type, all-encompassing erasure.
In this kind of situation, kaido simply wouldn't work. Even technology couldn't achieve any meaningful results.
If even Orihime's Sōten Kisshun (Twin-God Reflection Shield) couldn't heal it, then from this day on, the strongest Soul Reaper would be a one-armed Soul Reaper.
Cole knew full well what Unohana was capable of, so he didn't say anything more. With a single step, he flashed out of the villa.
After Cole left…
Unohana drew her zanpakuto, Minazuki, and swung her right hand.
A gigantic, one-eyed manta ray appeared in the sky outside the window.
As the great creature spat out streams of saliva, they splashed all over Yamamoto's body.
His grievous wounds began to slowly knit together.
Unohana followed up with kaido, speeding up the healing of his injuries.
Watching the mature onee-san at work, Tatsuki finally couldn't hold it in any longer. She turned to Orihime and whispered:
"Orihime, are you really not going to do anything at all!?"
Even though she'd never been in a relationship, one glance was enough for her to see it.
That "gentle big sister" was clearly a sly little cat stealing fish.
If this went on, her man could very well be snatched away.
No—Cole was a huge scumbag to begin with. Even though he already had Orihime, he was still getting all tangled up with other girls.
Orihime only looked more confused.
"Captain Unohana? Do something about what? Hasn't Captain Unohana always been really gentle?"
Tatsuki was about to be driven mad. She muttered under her breath:
"She just bit Cole. You didn't see how close they were just now?"
Orihime blinked, then let out a little "ah" of realization and laughed.
"So that's it. Well, there's nothing we can do. Cole did knock Captain Unohana out before, after all. Those two just like to fight. They've done that lots of times already."
This time, Tatsuki didn't say another word.
She had seen enough.
Her airheaded best friend clearly had never even considered that anything could happen between Cole and Unohana.
In Orihime's mind, humans simply couldn't be together with Soul Reapers. So she didn't have the slightest bit of wariness.
Soi fong took in all of this, unable to stop her small fists from clenching as she muttered:
"Silly human girl… Humans only live about a hundred years. Once you die, Cole may not stay with you at all…"
As an extremely rare human Soul Reaper, once Cole died and entered the Soul Society, he would immediately have a lifespan of over a thousand years.
Thinking about it that way…
She actually had a chance too.
But then—what about Yoruichi-sama…
…
Cole, meanwhile, knew nothing of the drama unfolding back at the villa.
At this moment, he was sprinting toward the northern part of Karakura Town.
After a few flickers of movement, he arrived in the skies over the still-raging battlefield.
Here, Cole saw a figure standing upside down in midair, dressed in yellow—Shinji's Sakanade (Reverse Stroke) field.
Under its influence, both Soul Reapers and Hollows were locked in a brutal melee, their bodies covered in blood and wounds.
Yet even in such a state—
They still swung their blades desperately at their own comrades.
Hisagi and Kira, for example, were soaked in blood from head to toe, but their eyes were still bloodshot as they tried to kill each other.
Harribel's voluptuous body had large chunks where the white of bone showed through, yet she was still cleaving out wave after wave of tsunami.
Only a few people at the scene could remain calm.
Shinji.
Yoruichi.
Urahara.
Starrk.
Ulquiorra.
Kyoraku.
Ichigo.
And the big boss himself—Aizen.
…
Among them, Ulquiorra's current state made Cole raise an eyebrow.
That black-winged demon had actually developed a third form.
Cole's arrival drew everyone's attention.
"Cole!"
Byakuya called out to him.
Cole arched a brow and glanced at his pained expression.
"Big brother-in-law, what's wrong, constipation?"
Byakuya almost lost control on the spot. He had a sudden urge to draw his blade and cut Cole down where he floated.
He forced down his temper with deep breaths and said in a low voice:
"Stop spouting nonsense. Shinji's zanpakuto is far too dangerous. If you're even the slightest bit careless, your will could be altered."
Right now, he was a full several kilometers away from the Sakanade (Reverse Stroke) domain, and even so, he constantly had the eerie feeling that his comrades were enemies.
If he got any closer…
He might actually attack Rukia.
Besides that, as long as your emotions fluctuated too violently, you would still fall under Sakanade's influence—so he didn't dare get angry in the slightest.
To be fair—
The physical capabilities of Soul Reapers were monstrous.
Even at this distance, Shinji still heard every word coming from Byakuya's direction. Shame flooded his face.
"Sorry. I forgot about that whole Muramasa incident and ended up turning my own zanpakuto into our most dangerous enemy…"
Because of how hazardous his zanpakuto was, he had almost never used his bankai.
Every time he did, he made sure to charge into the enemy ranks alone first, then activate his bankai—Sakashima Yokoshima Happofusagari (Reversed Evil Eight-Treasure Blockade)—and let the enemy slaughter each other.
Who would've thought—
That his zanpakuto would end up being used by Aizen.
Just thinking about it made him want to crawl into a hole.
Cole couldn't help but complain.
"Shinji, I used to think you guys weren't good for much, but clearly I was wrong. When it comes to friendly fire, you're better than anyone."
That said, Cole was still a little impressed by Shinji's strength.
He had originally thought the Visoreds were just a bunch of deadbeats.
Take Kensei, for example—he was basically just a unit of measurement for combat strength.
He hadn't expected Shinji to be this strong. With his bankai active, only people on Kyoraku's level could withstand him.
If Shinji himself were the one using Sakanade (Reverse Stroke) and his bankai combo, even Kyoraku might have trouble blocking it.
At this point, Shinji practically wanted to kill himself out of shame.
In the distance, inside the domain of Kyoraku's bankai—Katen Kyokotsu: Karamatsu Shinju (Flower-Heaven Crazy Bone: Black Pine Double Suicide)—Aizen looked at Cole, then at Ichigo, and smiled.
"Humans, since you've made it here, that means Hueco Mundo has already fallen, hasn't it?"
Ichigo tightened his grip on Zangetsu and shouted:
"That's right! All your subordinates have already been defeated by me! The next one is you, Aizen!!!"
As he spoke, he clenched his teeth and prepared to charge.
Uryu hurriedly grabbed him, sighing helplessly.
"Ichigo, you can't go. Did you already forget what just happened?"
They had arrived before Cole, planning to scout the situation first.
But the moment Ichigo saw Aizen, he completely forgot the plan, grabbed his sword, and charged while yelling at the top of his lungs.
Yet before he could reach Aizen—
He was caught by Sakanade (Reverse Stroke).
One Getsuga Tensho (Moon-Fang Heaven-Piercer) had almost blown his dad Isshin in half.
Hearing this, Isshin hurriedly nodded as well, his voice grave.
"Ichigo, Uryu is right. You need to calm down right now."
Ichigo's face went dark with exasperation.
"Stupid old man, if you're gonna say that, shouldn't you also explain why you're even here?"
When he first saw his dad, his eyeballs had almost popped out of his head. It felt like seeing a ghost in broad daylight.
How could that clown of a father show up on such a serious, dangerous battlefield?
And on top of that, he'd heard that his dad was actually a former captain.
However you looked at it, it was absurd.
Isshin rubbed the back of his head.
"That'd take way too long to explain. Just think of your old man as some reclusive master, alright?"
While they were talking—
Cole suddenly raised an eyebrow and stared at the domain of Katen Kyokotsu: Karamatsu Shinju (Flower-Heaven Crazy Bone: Black Pine Double Suicide).
"Kyoraku-oji-san, your bankai…"
"Is about to shatter."
Kyoraku blinked in surprise—then saw Aizen, whose body had taken on a fully Hollowfied, pure-white form, swing his blade down.
"Ah—"
With a flash of sword light—
The towering world of Karamatsu Shinju split from top to bottom and shattered into pieces.
Today's first chapter!
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(End of Chapter)
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