"Whoosh—"
The sun hanging in the west finally sank beyond the mountains. Soul Society darkened, and once the last traces of sunset disappeared beneath the horizon, night fully descended.
Clang!
Covered in blood, Ichigo Kurosaki continued fighting Zangetsu. Though he was knocked down again and again, his wounds steadily increasing—
—for the sake of mastering Bankai, Ichigo rose each time with the resolve to die, charging forward without hesitation. It was clear he wouldn't stop until he obtained Bankai.
"…,"
Fūjin Taichi silently observed the battle for a while before standing up and slicing open a cross-shaped spatial passage in front of him.
"Big brother, where are you going?" Saitō Tsukuyomi asked anxiously. The Sekkiseki shackles handcuffs on her had already been cut off by Taichi, and her plain white prison clothes had reverted to a black shihakushō.
"Tsukuyomi, stay here with Yoruichi and the others. I'll go outside to check the situation—and pick up some oranges for you."
"Hey, Fūjin brat!" Yoruichi Shihōin suddenly called out.
"What?"
"You really… don't have any problems?"
By "problem," Yoruichi meant Taichi's fusion with the Hōgyoku. The faint yellow Hollow-like pupils she saw earlier were no illusion.
"I'm fine, Yoruichi. I feel great right now… Full of power."
Taichi patted his stomach with a faint smile, then stepped into the cross-shaped portal without looking back.
"…Is he really okay? But why can't I sense his spiritual pressure at all?" Yoruichi frowned deeply, staring at where he had vanished.
...
At the same time, outside Cell No. 18 of the Senzaikyū atop Sōkyoku Hill, the calm air suddenly split open in a cross-shaped rift.
Taichi stepped out with a cheerful smile.
"T-Taichi-sama! Why are you here?!" exclaimed Saitō Keichirō, dressed in plain white prison garb.
"There's no time to chat. Something big is about to happen in Soul Society, Jirō."
As he spoke, Taichi sliced through the prison bars and severed the Sekkiseki shackles from Keichirō's feet.
"B-But Taichi-sama! Releasing a criminal without authorization is a grave offense! Please don't cause chaos like you did in First Division back then!"
Keichirō broke into a cold sweat. He remembered all too well the "unthinkable" things Taichi had done during his time in the First Division..
"Jirō, where's your Zanpakutō? In the Sword Disposal Room?"
Taichi ignored his panic and instead asked about his blade.
Normally, when a member of the Gotei 13 left their division for various reasons, their Zanpakutō would be confiscated and destroyed by Seireitei to prevent the spirit from degenerating. For convicted criminals like Saitō Keichirō and Saitō Tsukuyomi, their Zanpakutō were temporarily held in First Division's Sword Disposal Room as evidence.
"Taichi-sama! I heard First Division is under strict surveillance because of a 'traitor' incident… If you appear there now, I'm afraid—"
"I'm afraid… it's already too late."
Taichi's lips curled slightly. Turning toward the entrance of the Senzaikyū, he said calmly:
"Isn't that right, Captain of the Seventh Division... Sajin Komamura?"
"Hmph!"
With a cold snort, the towering, nearly three-meter-tall captain of Seventh Division appeared at the main gate.
He wore a bronze, bucket-like helmet that completely concealed his head, revealing only a pair of yellow-brown, beast-like eyes.
His massive frame was clad in an oversized shihakushō, over which he wore the white captain's haori. A bold black "七" (Seven) was emblazoned on the back.
"C-Captain Komamura!!" Keichirō stammered, his face turning pale.
"As I expected," Komamura said, his beastly eyes locked onto Taichi, "you would come before the execution to rescue the criminal Saitō Tsukuyomi, Fūjin Taichi.
But I have always had one question: Why are you doing this?"
"Captain Komamura, I assume you also have doubts about Central 46 sentencing Saitō Tsukuyomi without even conducting a trial?"
"Answer my question!"
Komamura, dissatisfied with Taichi's evasiveness, released the crushing spiritual pressure of a captain.
"Ugh—!"
Keichirō collapsed to his knees with a thud, trembling as though an immense weight pressed down upon him.
"…,"
Seeing Keichirō overwhelmed in an instant, Taichi sighed inwardly. He opened another cross-shaped portal at his side and kicked Keichirō through it.
"What?! You're unaffected by my spiritual pressure?!" Komamura's heart jolted.
Impossible! He's only a Vice-Captain… How can he move so freely under my pressure? Not even the slightest stagnation in his spiritual power?!
"Captain Komamura… that question of yours is rather foolish. Why should I be affected by your spiritual pressure?"
Fūjin Taichi slowly raised his left hand, pointing his index and middle fingers at Sajin Komamura, and smiled faintly.
"Hadō #90: Kurohitsugi (Black Coffin)!"
"What?!"
Komamura was startled as four massive black light walls rose around him, sealing him completely inside.
"Sorry, Captain Komamura… I just wanted to test the gap between myself and Aiz—"
Before Taichi could finish, a furious roar interrupted him:
"Roar, Tenken!"
A gigantic right arm suddenly emerged from the void, wielding a forty-meter-long Zanpakutō, and with a single swing shattered the four pitch-black walls!
"Fūjin Taichi, you have successfully enraged me!!!"
Covered in fine cuts, Komamura raised his blade and slashed forward. A pale-red wave of sword pressure shot straight toward Taichi.
"Bakudō #39: Enkosen!"
Unfazed, Taichi calmly extended his left hand and pushed forward, forming a circular shield that blocked the incoming slash.
"Oh? Discarding the incantation and yet still blocking my attack... you are impressive indeed. But for a mere Vice-Captain to dare offend the dignity of a Captain—it is unforgivable!!!"
Before his words finished, Komamura had already used Shunpo to appear behind Taichi, bringing his blade down in a diagonal strike—
"Oh? You dare show off that level of Shunpo in front of me? Who gave you that confidence?"
Komamura's eyes widened in shock. Taichi had already vanished from his sight—and his voice now came from behind him.
"Or… is it that you simply can't see my movements, Captain Komamura?!"
Taichi's blade flashed.
A spray of blood burst from Komamura's back, droplets scattering onto the ground.
"Urgh—"
Komamura immediately used Shunpo to create distance, but before he could steady himself, his heart skipped.
Impossible… he disappeared again!
"Captain Komamura… are you looking for me?"
Taichi's voice sounded lightly from directly behind him once more.
This time, Taichi did not press the attack. In truth, he regarded Komamura as a captain overflowing with justice—there was no need to strike lethally.
"What?! Since when—?!"
Komamura's heart sank. Without hesitation, he forcibly twisted his body and thrust his left palm backward.
"Sho (Thrust)!"
"Whoosh—"
A violent gust formed from his spiritual pressure and blasted outward, punching a massive hole straight through one side of the Senzaikyū's white wall.
If that strike had landed on an ordinary person, it would have meant certain death or grievous injury.
Unfortunately for him—
Fūjin Taichi was no ordinary person.
The moment Komamura unleashed Sho (Thrust), Taichi had already used Shunpo to retreat far from the Senzaikyū.