Once all preparations were complete, Kazuma entered the Tenchūren.
Everything was ready.
All that remained was for Kūkaku to launch it with her Kidō.
"Are you ready, Captain Kazuma?"
"I'm ready. Fire away!"
Kazuma's voice echoed from inside the pillar.
Outside, Kūkaku produced an enormous sword from somewhere and drove it into the ground beside the Kūkaku Cannon.
She removed her headscarf and wrapped it tightly around one hand.
"The distant horizon! Copper-colored desire seeks control of thirty-six degrees! Seventy-two pairs of illusion, thirteen pairs of horned flutes — the right hand of the ape seizes the stars! Embrace twenty-five rings of sunlight, while the cradle of sand bleeds!"
As Kūkaku chanted, flames ignited around her hands.
This was a secret Kidō art passed down by the Shiba Clan, designed specifically to activate and guide the cannon.
The first incantation started the launch procedure and set its general direction.
She immediately began the second chant, which would adjust the Tenchūren's speed and central axis.
"Three sparrows bound, four dragons entwined. Five roads vanish, and from six directions none return. Heavenly wind, ape, spoon, elm staff — one thousand ashes, one thousand thoughts, the design of white clouds. Turn toward the great moon, and do not tread upon the crimson shadow!"
The final syllable rang clearly across the launch site.
Kūkaku slammed both palms into the ground.
An overwhelming force erupted from her hands like a beast finally breaking free from centuries of confinement, roaring as it unleashed its full strength.
The power crashed into the ground and produced an enormous recoil.
The Tenchūren, which had been resting quietly within the cannon, was seized by that invisible force and hurled upward at an unimaginable speed.
Whoosh!
A piercing shriek tore through the air.
The Tenchūren shot into the sky like a bolt of lightning, becoming a brilliant streak of light as it raced straight toward the heavens with unstoppable momentum.
Its speed was far beyond what the naked eye could follow.
In the space of a single blink, it had already vanished completely from Kūkaku's sight.
...
"Did we launch already?"
Kazuma pitched forward as the violent acceleration nearly knocked him off his feet and sent him crashing onto the bottom of the Tenchūren.
The immense thrust pinned his legs firmly against the floor.
Since he'd never experienced anything like this before, the sensation filled him with equal parts excitement and exhilaration.
After all, this was his first time riding a giant rocket.
Standing inside the cramped, sealed chamber, Kazuma drew a deep breath and tried to calm his nerves.
There was nothing else he could do now except wait and hope the Tenchūren successfully broke through all seventy-two spiritual barriers and reached the Soul King Palace.
Time passed as the Tenchūren kept climbing at an astonishing speed.
It pierced through the first spiritual barrier without difficulty, followed by the second, then the third.
Each breakthrough produced dazzling light and violent surges of energy, as though the entire world were trembling around it.
However, once the Tenchūren had crossed roughly half the barriers, the situation abruptly changed.
Its previously stable flight turned violently turbulent.
The entire structure began shaking and releasing deep, ominous groans, tossing Kazuma from side to side inside the chamber.
"Holy shit! The power inside these barriers is this strong?"
Alarm spread through him as the vibrations intensified.
"You'd better hold together, or I'm completely screwed!"
There was nothing Kazuma could do against the pressure from inside.
Left with no other option, he dropped heavily onto the floor and prayed the ancient Tenchūren could survive the rest of the journey.
It was his only protection.
Unfortunately, the very thing he feared soon happened.
After forcing its way through more than sixty spiritual barriers, the Tenchūren's condition grew increasingly dire.
It shook so violently it seemed ready to tear itself apart, while its massive body trembled beneath the crushing pressure.
A thin crack appeared along its exterior.
Kazuma couldn't see it yet, but the damage was already critical.
The Tenchūren finally broke through the sixty-fifth barrier, only for fine fractures to begin appearing along the interior walls as well.
They rapidly spread like a spiderweb, threatening to rip the entire structure into pieces.
The moment Kazuma saw them, all color drained from his face.
If the Tenchūren failed here, he'd be trapped in a truly desperate situation.
"Hold together! You have to hold together!"
Kazuma clenched his fists so tightly that veins stood out across his forehead.
If the Tenchūren completely collapsed, he'd have no choice but to use his own body and power to force his way through the remaining barriers.
That would be both extraordinarily difficult and extremely dangerous.
It was the last outcome he wanted.
At last, after breaking through a full seventy spiritual barriers, the ancient relic finally reached the end of its long life.
It had fulfilled the final mission entrusted to it.
Then it gave out completely.
Boom!
A deafening explosion erupted as the entire Tenchūren shattered into countless pieces of varying sizes.
The fragments shot outward in every direction, and the tremendous impact distorted the surrounding space as though the end of the world had arrived.
Fortunately, Kazuma reacted quickly.
He'd anticipated this possibility and braced himself before the Tenchūren finally broke apart.
Purple light erupted around his body as the Hokushin instantly unfolded, forming a powerful protective barrier around him.
Only because of the Hokushin Ryōiki did Kazuma remain unharmed beneath the terrifying blast.
Without it, the immense force released by the spiritual barriers might have crushed him flat.
...
Far below in Soul Society, Shiba Kūkaku stayed fixed on the sky.
Suddenly, brilliant streaks of light appeared overhead, trailing long tails of fire as they fell toward the ground like a meteor shower.
'Was the Tenchūren destroyed?'
Kūkaku's heart leaped into her throat.
She narrowed her eyes and carefully studied the objects tearing across the sky.
It didn't take long for her to realize that the supposed meteors were actually fragments of the shattered Tenchūren.
Every piece carried a tremendous amount of residual energy. If any of them struck the ground, they'd undoubtedly leave behind enormous, bottomless craters.
'I wonder how Captain Kazuma is doing.'
Kūkaku frowned deeply, anxiety filling her face.
'He couldn't have died, could he? No, someone like him shouldn't go down that easily.'
If Kazuma truly died, then the promise he'd made to protect the Shiba Clan would become meaningless.
That thought only made her more worried.
"Whoa! Look! There are shooting stars!"
Someone suddenly shouted.
Countless Shinigami throughout the Seireitei raised their heads.
Brilliant lights streaked across the sky like bolts of lightning, leaving long silver trails behind them.
To those who didn't know the truth, it was a breathtakingly beautiful sight.
Many of the Shinigami immediately clasped their hands together and began making wishes on the falling stars.
For a time, the Seireitei filled with hopeful murmurs as people dreamed of brighter futures.
Only Captain-Commander Yamamoto knew what those so-called meteors truly were.
Kazuma had gone to the Shiba Clan earlier to borrow the Tenchūren and use it to reach the Soul King Palace.
The moment Yamamoto saw the falling debris, he understood something had gone wrong during the ascent.
The Tenchūren had clearly exploded, sending its remains crashing back toward Soul Society.
His expression grew steadily graver.
"I wonder how that brat is doing."
Yamamoto spoke quietly to himself.
"He shouldn't be dead, but he must be suffering terribly. Those spiritual barriers are not so easily crossed."
He still had faith in Kazuma's strength.
Kazuma, meanwhile, was indeed having an absolutely miserable time.
The crushing power of the remaining barriers relentlessly squeezed against the Hokushin barrier.
He poured out reiatsu at a frantic rate, desperately maintaining the barrier and keeping it from collapsing around him.