Standing in the middle of the street, Muramasa—whose eyes were usually filled with indifference and confidence—was now, for once, visibly confused.
The essence of his ability was to awaken and amplify the resentment and rebellious will a Zanpakutō held towards its master. Yet, with this Kensei Kenzuru fellow's Zanpakutō, he could clearly sense her towering rage earlier, so why wasn't it directed at her master at all?
If not for the fact that the white-haired pompadour guy nearby was still losing ground in his fight against his own Zanpakutō, Muramasa would have started doubting the efficacy of his own power.
Could it be that the rebellious will I instilled was simply drowned out by an even more intense and sharply focused resentment within her?
It wasn't impossible, but that would require an immense amount of resentment.
"Aizen... Sōsuke!" Miss Zanpakutō gritted her teeth, each word spat out like a vengeful spirit. "That despicable scoundrel, while I wasn't out... he actually... he actually dared to commit such an unforgivable act right in front of me!"
The Reiatsu radiating from Miss Zanpakutō's fury whipped up a fierce wind, the air groaning under the pressure.
"How about you calm down a bit first?" Kensei removed her hands from his shoulders and instead held them, trying a conciliatory tone. "Look, you're here now. Why not just tell me your name?"
As he spoke, Kensei glanced at the now-empty spot on his waist, sighed, and complained pitifully to his Zanpakutō: "You see, when others fight, they say things like 'Shatter, Kyōka Suigetsu' or 'All things in the universe, turn to ashes. Ryūjin Jakka!' It's so imposing. I can't go around saying 'Go! Asauchi!' every day."
"D.O.N.T.M.E.N.T.I.O.N.A.N.Y.T.H.I.N.G.R.E.L.A.T.E.D.T.O.A.I.Z.E.N.I.N.F.R.O.N.T.O.F.M.E!"
Miss Zanpakutō bit out each word. The hands Kensei was holding suddenly clenched in reverse, making him gasp in pain, feeling as if his bones were about to be crushed.
"Ow! Won't mention it! Never mentioning it again!"
Perhaps due to Kensei's slightly exaggerated cry of pain, Miss Zanpakutō's boiling fury subsided a little. She glared fiercely at Kensei, her grid-patterned eyes seemingly saying, "Why couldn't you protect your own chastity?" and "Why is your guard against Aizen so low?"
"The only name you can know for now is Kūkon. You may call me Kū."
Miss Kū turned her face away, as if the memory of Aizen's beastly transgression had resurfaced. Her chest rose and fell with anger, her voice so cold it seemed capable of freezing space.
"You two," Muramasa, who had been offline for quite a while, seemed to finally have endured enough, forcefully inserting himself into the incomprehensible atmosphere between Kensei and his Zanpakutō, "seem to be taking me far too lightly."
Muramasa stepped forward slowly. The faint, condescending smile born of increased power vanished from his pale face, replaced by displeasure at being utterly ignored. His purple eyes darted between Kensei and Kū, finally settling on Kū's face, which grew icier with her rage.
"Since you have been awakened by my power, you should follow the rules I dictate!"
Muramasa raised a hand, his fingertips shimmering with ominous purple Reiatsu, pointing at Kū from a distance.
"Set aside your insignificant personal grudge for now! Unleash the suppressed resentment you hold towards your master!"
Purple Reiatsu shot towards Kū like an arrow. Previously, any Zanpakutō struck by this attack from Muramasa would have their deepest negative emotions instantly ignited, attacking their master without mercy.
But facing this strange strike, Kū didn't even bother to lift an eyelid. The purple Reiatsu, the moment it was about to touch her body, seemed to hit an invisible barrier, abruptly freezing mid-air. No matter how much Muramasa increased the output, it could not advance an inch.
Kū slowly raised one hand. Though the motion wasn't fast, in Kensei's eyes, it held a strange rhythm, as if plucking the "strings" of the surrounding space.
A terrifying Reiatsu erupted from Kū—not the earlier fury aimed at Aizen, but a pressure so dense it seemed to physically crush the surrounding space. Light bent around her, making her figure appear blurred, as if existing independently outside the world.
"Although right now I very much want to go deal with that shameless, vile-acting individual..." Kū's voice was icy and calm, yet containing a chill capable of making souls tremble, "a maggot-like insect like you dares to presume to manipulate my emotions."
For the first time, her grid-patterned pupils turned their gaze upon Muramasa. It was not the look one gives a worthy opponent, but more like a higher-dimensional being observing an ignorant lower-dimensional lifeform.
Kū's raised five fingers gently clenched in the direction of Muramasa. A soft sound like shattering glass was heard. The Reiatsu arrow, and Muramasa himself—the space they occupied, like a mirror struck by a blow, completely disintegrated and contracted, dissolving into the most primitive spirit particles and vanishing from the world.
Whoa, so my Zanpakutō is this fierce!
Sōsuke, I can't save you. It's not me who doomed you, but my Zanpakutō!
Kensei was first shocked by his Zanpakutō's ability, then mourned for Aizen. No helping it. My Zanpakutō has way more presence than me, her master. I definitely can't beat her right now.
If worse comes to worst, I'll just lead the way for my Zanpakutō later. I'm Miss Kū's person now!
"Quite good at hiding."
Kū frowned slightly, her grid-patterned pupils looking through space towards another location, as if she could see Muramasa's true body. The Muramasa that had just shattered wasn't the real one; probably some special ability of the Zanpakutō created a substitute.
"How about you come with me to find the mastermind? I know who it is."
Kensei leaned closer, proposing to Kū. Things like Zanpakutō, their true bodies are with their masters. Finding Kuchiki Kōga should solve the crisis of this Zanpakutō rebellion.
"Promise me one condition, and I will help you temporarily resolve this incident."
Kū tilted her head slightly, silver hair brushing her nearly perfect cheek. Her eyes locked onto Kensei's face.
Kensei felt indignant inside. A mere Zanpakutō dares to set conditions for me? Looks like I must assert my master's authority today, make you understand who's the master and who's the—mount!
"Through fire and water, Miss Kū! I'd even give you one of Old Man Yama's arms if you wanted!"
A real man knows when to bend... and bend again. Sorry, Old Man Yama, for the peace of the Soul Society, you'll have to make a temporary sacrifice.
Kū watched Kensei's performance expressionlessly, not a ripple in her eyes. She simply stated coldly:
"I want you to promise me that from now on, you will refuse all food and drinks offered to you by Aizen Sōsuke. Can you agree to that?"
Hearing Kū's condition, Kensei was completely stunned, a big question mark seeming to appear above his head.
That's it???
He had imagined all sorts of possibilities—like having to marry Kū, having to give her massages every day—so why did this sound like a mother worried about her child eating junk food?
"How about I just grab Aizen and bring him to you, let you hang him up and beat him for three days and three nights straight?"
Although Kū found Kensei's proposal quite attractive, for the sake of Kensei's safety, she reiterated her condition.
"Of course I agree! What's there to think about?"
"Contract established." Kū nodded with satisfaction.
Kensei glanced at Rokushō Mashiro, who had come back with him. His face, which had been almost healed, was now swollen beyond recognition again. Who knows how he even achieved Bankai?
"Lend me some Reiatsu."
Kū's right hand rested on Kensei's shoulder. Feeling the Reiatsu within him rapidly draining, Kensei felt a slight worry about his Zanpakutō's potentially insatiable demands in the future.
Kū's body erupted with Reiatsu vast enough to blanket the entire Seireitei. Her grid-patterned pupils flickered incessantly, finally seeming to lock onto all targets. Raising her left hand in a loose grip, a small cube appeared in her palm, constantly gathering purple Reiatsu within it.
"Done. The Reiatsu that Zanpakutō was using to control the others has been recovered." Kū rubbed her slightly throbbing temples. Performing such a precise operation so soon after appearing had consumed quite a bit of her energy. "Dealing with the mastermind is up to you."
Casually annihilating the gathered Reiatsu in her palm, Kū, looking somewhat fatigued, returned to the Asauchi at Kensei's waist. She needed to rest temporarily to recover her strength.
"That's all it took?"
Kensei looked suspiciously at the Zanpakutō in his hand, ignoring the non-reference-worthy Rokushō Mashiro and his own Zanpakutō. He Shunpo'd to other Soul Reapers and their Zanpakutō. Seeing masters and servants already shaking hands and making up, Kensei confirmed that the rebellion caused by Muramasa had temporarily ceased.
In the distance, hidden within a certain building, Muramasa grunted, clutching his chest. Similarly affected, Kuchiki Kōga coughed up a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth, a look of utter shock on his face.
Both of them felt their connection with the Zanpakutō under their control being forcibly severed and stripped away by some profound power. Could it be that an even more powerful Soul Reaper has suddenly appeared, intending to stop our revenge plan?
Making the worst-case assumptions, Kuchiki Kōga's expression couldn't help but turn grim.
It seems my revenge against the Kuchiki Clan will have to be moved up...
***
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