"Cero! That's a Cero! It's coming!"
"Quit screaming, you idiot Renji! I can hear it!"
"What do we do? It's too late to run!"
"Then we block it together!"
"Ye Lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south!"
"Hadō #31: Shakkahō!" x4
Several students forced themselves to stand, aiming their palms toward the incoming blast.
Accompanied by the chant, Reishi gathered rapidly in their palms before erupting as balls of crimson fire.
BOOM!
A deafening roar shook the area. The walls and ground trembled violently, and the Soul Reaper candidates—already running low on spiritual pressure—collapsed to the ground from exhaustion.
"Did... did we block it?"
"Crap. The gap in power is just too massive."
Renji scanned the smoke, only to discover with despair that the scarlet Cero was still flying toward them, its momentum barely diminished.
The speed was so fast they could only see a flash of light.
"We're going to die..."
Rukia sat on the ground, overcome with hopelessness.
In that moment, a thought suddenly crossed her mind.
If only that idiot Renji hadn't interrupted my conversation with Kai a few days ago... that would have been nice.
Then,
As if hallucinating,
Rukia saw Kai appear in front of her like a teleporting phantom, swinging his blade directly at the Cero.
KA-BOOM!
The Cero was sliced in half. The resulting shockwave from the explosion sent them all flying backward.
It wasn't a hallucination?!
"Kai!!!"
Rukia scrambled up, her eyes rimmed with red as she stared at the center of the explosion. A terrifying, distorted black energy began to float around her, and frost crystals started forming on the ground.
The temperature began to drop rapidly.
"That actually hurt... you bastard."
From the slowly dissipating smoke, Kai's voice drifted out. He walked out of the haze, staring expressionlessly at the Menos Grande down the street.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
Hearing Kai's voice, the freezing temperature vanished instantly, as if it had never existed.
Rukia rushed over in concern. Only after seeing that merely the sleeve of Kai's uniform was torn did she finally relax.
"Don't worry. I'm fine."
Kai glanced at the ahoge-girl, his expression darkening slightly.
If he had arrived even one second later...
Forget him getting discovered by Aizen and Rukia lighting incense for him next year—he would be the one lighting incense for Rukia tomorrow.
In his haste,
Kai had only managed to swing his sword and tank the Cero head-on.
"The Hōgyoku..."
Kai's hand lightly brushed his chest, his eyes flickering.
His arm had definitely been injured by the explosion just now, yet it had healed in an instant.
This was likely the Hōgyoku's protection.
Which meant... he had entered the First Fusion Stage!
In the original plot, after Aizen obtained the complete Hōgyoku and embedded it in his chest, he entered a state where he could use both his own power and the Hōgyoku's power simultaneously.
That was the First Fusion Stage.
In this form, Aizen retained his Soul Reaper appearance but was far more powerful than before his defection.
His maximum slashing power was enhanced enough to one-shot Captain Komamura's Bankai, Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō.
His maximum defensive power was enhanced to the point where even a point-blank Hadō #96: Ittō Kasō or a Getsuga Tenshō would only cause minor injuries.
And his regeneration was boosted so that even deep internal wounds healed instantly.
Because the Hōgyoku instinctively protected its master, Kisuke Urahara believed from this stage onward that "killing Aizen is virtually impossible."
Aizen himself claimed that in this stage, he was stronger than the combined power of all the Espada.
Kai didn't think he was currently as strong as Aizen in that specific period—the Hōgyoku's boost depended on the host's base Reiryoku (Spiritual Power).
But...
Right now, it was more than enough to hack this Hollow to pieces!
"You took my Cero head-on and didn't die? What are you?"
In the distance, Carol walked through the smoke, staring at Kai in confusion.
With that kind of defense, he'd believe it if someone told him this kid had Hierro.
"Heh, whatever. Just a few more brats to kill anyway."
As if finding something amusing, Carol let out a scoff and locked his gaze forward again.
Cero!
This time, he aimed specifically at Rukia, who was standing behind Kai!
He loved torturing Soul Reapers and savoring their despair.
It gave Carol a profound sense of accomplishment.
"Stop acting so smug, you trash!"
"Hadō #4: Byakurai!"
Amidst Renji Abarai's screaming—"I'm gonna die!" and "You idiot, don't use a low-level Hadō to block a Menos Cero!"—
Kai raised his finger, aiming calmly ahead.
Byakurai was only Hadō #4. Its power was limited.
But...
It depended entirely on who was using it!
BOOM!
Like a thunderclap, the massive Cero didn't impede the bolt of white lightning for even a second. Almost instantly, the Byakurai pierced through the blast, tore it apart, and slammed directly into Carol's widening pupil.
BOOM!!!
A straight line was plowed into the earth, stretching hundreds of meters until the blast slammed into a concrete wall.
"He blocked it... with a Byakurai?"
Renji stared wide-eyed, his face full of question marks.
What the hell?!
Why does a Byakurai have that much firepower?!
Are you sure that was Byakurai and not a laser cannon?!
"No... he didn't just block it. He killed that Adjuchas."
Izuru Kira stared ahead in horror.
The Adjuchas that had been arrogantly toying with them just moments ago was now lying lifeless on the ground.
Smoke and arcs of electricity rose from the hole in its chest.
Rukia and Momo Hinamori watched, their mouths hanging open in disbelief.
"Damn Soul Reaper!"
Whoosh!
From the sky, a winged Adjuchas swooped down. His scarlet eyes glanced at Carol's corpse on the ground before locking onto Kai. He transformed into a blur of speed.
"Die!"
The Adjuchas's claws gleamed with cold light. Moving like a phantom, he created multiple afterimages, attacking from different angles simultaneously.
Then...
A sharp pain exploded in his forehead. With a pathetic wail, he was kicked straight out of the sky.
BANG!
He smashed deep into the ground.
"Hey, are you kidding me? Another Adjuchas? And why is your Shunpo that fast?!"
With a mix of shock and confusion, veins bulged on Renji's forehead as he yelled loudly.
We agreed to be dead-last together!
And this? This is what you show me?!
Kai had not only tanked and killed one Adjuchas head-on but had also swatted another one out of the sky like a fly!
"You've completely pissed me off!"
Crawling out of the crater, the second Adjuchas snapped his head up. In a sneak attack, he extended a finger toward Kai. "But the winner is me! Hahaha!"
Cero!
Who said Ceros could only be fired from the mouth?!
BOOM!
Facing the incoming blast...
Kai appeared behind the Adjuchas like a ghost. His Zanpakutō, now wreathed in a layer of crackling electricity, was slowly being sheathed.
"Huh?!"
The Adjuchas let out a confused noise, realizing too late what had happened. Then he laughed loudly, "I thought I was dead! Turns out it was all thunder and no rain! That attack had no power at all!"
"How pitiful. Haven't you heard it yet? The whisper of the Thunder Princess."
Kai's expression was serene.
Click.
The Zanpakutō clicked fully into its sheath.
A spray of crimson blood exploded outward!