The defining traits of Fūjin Shunkō—Renya's fully unleashed wind-type Shunkō—were explosive force and sustained output. Whenever his blows connected, compressed wind detonated instantly, powerful enough to tear through stone and uproot trees with ease.
Unlike standard Shunkō, which relies solely on Kidō powering the limbs, Renya's wind-based Shunkō also manipulated the natural flow of surrounding air, giving it far greater duration and a wider field of control.
Once Kurotsuki Renya activated it, his speed skyrocketed. Each step he planted detonated with pressurized wind, propelling him forward like a launched arrow. In a single instant, he closed the distance to his Zanpakutō spirit.
BOOM.
Renya drove his fist forward—and his lightning-formed Zanpakutō spirit met the strike head-on.
Their punches collided.
A violently bright burst detonated—
and the spirit's entire forearm exploded into crackling fragments of blue electricity.
"Oh?"
The spirit tilted its head, faintly surprised that Renya's wind pressure had destroyed an arm completely.
But thunder surged immediately—arcs snapping back into place as the arm re-formed seamlessly.
He was living lightning. So long as reiatsu remained, his body reconstructed infinitely.
Renya frowned. This was troublesome. Still, he didn't hesitate. He leapt again, launching himself toward the spirit.
But the spirit blurred—its body flashing like a lightning strike—and reappeared several meters away.
"Got you."
Renya materialized behind it instantly, Shunkō compressing at his legs, and kicked downward in a slicing arc.
BOOM—!
His foot cleaved the spirit cleanly from head to waist. Wind detonations surged outward, scattering the spirit into fragments of blue light that fizzled and crackled across the floor.
"Did he finish it?"
Shinji raised an eyebrow.
"No way it's that easy," Love muttered.
Lisa shook her head.
"Of course not. Renya's current composite state—Hollow mask, full wind-type Shunkō, high-level Kidō—could overwhelm many of us in Bankai. But defeating your own manifested Bankai spirit is another matter."
Kensei crossed his arms.
"Even I'd take damage tanking a full Kurohitsugi. If his spirit can reform after that explosion, this fight's barely started."
As they spoke, lightning gathered again.
Blue sparks swirled, condensed, and the Zanpakutō spirit reconstructed itself as though nothing had happened.
Its eyes dimmed with disappointment.
"If you insist… then I'll kill you myself."
Its body flickered—
and it vanished.
Renya instantly sensed the shift.
He spun and kicked—
but his foot struck only a massive lightning pillar disguised within the spirit's vanished form.
Wind Shunkō detonated against it.
A colossal explosion tore through the chamber floor.
CRACK—!
Renya was hurled backward, smashing across the ground.
He coughed violently, blood spraying, though his body remained mostly intact thanks to his enhanced endurance from Hollowfication and Shunkō's protective layers. Still, the internal shock was brutal.
The spirit appeared again, stepping calmly through the thunderstorm radiating around it.
Renya attempted to flash-step away—
But paralysis struck him instantly.
A gigantic electric grid materialized around him, sealing the air itself with crackling arcs.
Before he could escape, the currents collapsed inward and wrapped around him—
electrifying him violently.
"A—ahhhh!"
Renya groaned in pain, collapsing as smoke rose from his body.
The spirit approached him slowly.
"See? You cannot defeat me."
Burned, trembling, Renya strained to lift his head.
"Why… won't you acknowledge me?"
The spirit stood over him.
"Because you are too weak."
Its voice was cold, clinical.
"One last chance. Surrender. If you do, I will let you live."
Yoruichi shouted desperately,
"Renya! Stop! It's not worth dying for! You can master Bankai when you're stronger!"
Lisa added, voice tense,
"Renya, enough. Your body can't take this level of reiatsu output."
But Renya's eyes hardened.
"I won't give up… unless you acknowledge me."
Lightning hummed.
"Acknowledge you? With such weakness? Why should I?"
The spirit raised its hand. A spear of condensed thunder formed—sharp, lethal.
"Last question, Kurotsuki Renya. Do you still refuse to admit defeat?"
Renya smiled through the pain.
"I won't."
"Then die."
The lightning spear plunged down—
But when it touched Renya's chest, it dissolved, unraveling into harmless sparks.
The spirit stared at him.
"…Why are you so certain I won't kill you?"
Renya breathed heavily but grinned.
"Because you've spared me again and again. You kept telling me to give up—not because you wanted me defeated, but because you didn't want me dead."
The spirit was silent.
Renya continued,
"You refuse to acknowledge me because my body can't withstand your true power. If you granted me your full Bankai, my reiatsu reserves and physical limits wouldn't endure it. You don't want me to die."
The spirit nodded.
"Correct."
"If I granted you full access to my Bankai, your body would collapse."
Renya lowered his gaze.
"…Then there's no solution?"
The spirit paused.
"There is one."
Renya looked up.
"I will lend you my power—
but only for five seconds.
Any longer, and your soul and body will tear apart."
"…Only five seconds?" Renya whispered.
"If you use your strongest form—your dual-winged lightning-fusion Hollow state—five seconds is enough. Enough to kill yourself in Bankai training… and enough to kill Aizen."
Renya inhaled sharply.
Five seconds… but five seconds at absolute maximum output.
That was enough.
"I accept."
The spirit leaned forward, whispering:
"Then remember my name…"
As its voice faded, the elemental body of lightning dissolved into brilliant arcs
reforming into Renya's Zanpakutō as the storm cleared.
Renya staggered to his feet and grasped the blade firmly.
Now, at last…
He had a weapon capable of defeating Aizen.