Tobiume's expression darkened. "Here comes trouble."
"I knew it would end up like this..." Wabisuke swayed on his feet. "We keep losing more and more companions, while the number of enemies only keeps growing. In the end..."
"Shut up!" Tobiume snapped, shoving Wabisuke hard. "Just looking at you annoys me. Stay away from me!"
Wabisuke was about to say something, but when he looked up, he saw Tobiume charging straight toward Kenpachi Zaraki.
Was she... trying to let him escape first?
Holding off an enemy was supposed to be his specialty.
And yet Tobiume...
Wabisuke vanished in a flash, accelerating toward Kenpachi Zaraki.
"Both of you at once?" A savage grin spread across Kenpachi Zaraki's face. "That ought to make this a little more fun!"
"You idiot!" Seeing Wabisuke follow her, Tobiume clicked her tongue. Then she violently whipped the pink silk ribbon in her hand, making the bell at its end jingle as clusters of fireballs flew toward Kenpachi Zaraki.
Using the fireballs as cover, Wabisuke rapidly closed the distance and swung his blade at Kenpachi Zaraki's Zanpakutō.
Wabisuke knew perfectly well that he could never defeat Kenpachi Zaraki. But if he could make Kenpachi Zaraki's Zanpakutō heavy enough, he could at least buy Tobiume enough time to escape.
One, two, three, four, five!
Wabisuke frantically swung the backward-hooked blade in his hand, striking the serrated Zanpakutō five times in succession.
Kenpachi Zaraki's Zanpakutō now weighed thirty-two times as much as before.
Even Kenpachi Zaraki would surely...
Whoosh!
A violent gale howled past, swallowing Tobiume and Wabisuke.
Clang.
Two battered Asauchi fell to the ground.
"My sword suddenly got heavier, so I accidentally hit a little harder than I meant to." Kenpachi Zaraki gave his Zanpakutō a shake. "Any more?"
That was not... just a little harder.
Izuru Kira and Momo Hinamori stared at the enormous trench stretching far into the distance and clearly understood the difference in strength.
"Ah..."
A golden-haired child in a yellow tunic and red bib hid in a corner. A tuft of dark blue hair swayed atop his head, butterfly wings fluttered behind him, and his huge, pale, pupil-less eyes stared blankly at Kenpachi Zaraki.
His tiny body silently edged backward.
A cute voice called out, "Who are you?"
"Eee—!"
The child let out a piercing sound, somewhere between a shriek and a bizarre electronic noise. His enormous eyes darted around frantically, searching for the source of the voice.
"I'm over here~" Yachiru Kusajishi waved, her adorable face brimming with curiosity. "Are you playing hide-and-seek? Let's play together... Huh?"
Before Yachiru Kusajishi could finish, the child flickered and vanished from before her eyes.
"Oh, we're starting already?" Yachiru Kusajishi hurried after him. "Found you!"
"Kii!"
The child flashed away again.
Yachiru Kusajishi followed like a shadow. "Found you again!"
The two tiny figures flickered back and forth in rapid succession. The child changed direction several times, yet could never shake the cheerful laughter following close behind.
By then, Yachiru Kusajishi had already grabbed one of the wings on his back.
"Caught you!"
"Kii..."
The child struggled twice but failed to break free. He opened his mouth, releasing a sound that blended an electronic tone with a piercing shriek.
"Bankai!"
The butterfly wings detached from his body.
Flesh writhed beneath the tunic as a long, enormous worm-like body gradually emerged from underneath it, finally revealing itself completely before Yachiru Kusajishi with the golden head of an infant perched on top.
The infant waved its two stubby arms. Dozens of razor-sharp blades suddenly sprang from its neck and chest as it spewed purple poisonous mist from its mouth and wriggled horrifyingly toward Yachiru Kusajishi.
Kenpachi Zaraki stepped in front of Yachiru Kusajishi and raised his Zanpakutō.
"Now that's more like it!"
But before he could even swing his blade, the gigantic worm abruptly shattered and vanished.
Kenpachi Zaraki froze.
"Huh?"
"Don't make such a stupid sound. You're lowering the average intelligence of everyone here." Mayuri Kurotsuchi appeared with an expression of pure disgust and casually tossed aside the switch in his hand. "Don't any of you install self-destruct mechanisms in your Zanpakutō?"
"Only a freak like you would do something like that." Kenpachi Zaraki snorted in disappointment. "Is this mess your doing too?"
"You've caused this much destruction without even knowing what's going on... What an incompetent barbarian!" Mayuri Kurotsuchi surveyed the devastation around them with an ugly expression. "The enemy is over there! If you want a fight, hurry up and go. Stop standing around in front of me!"
Automatically filtering out the useless chatter, Kenpachi Zaraki focused on the direction Mayuri Kurotsuchi had indicated.
"Yachiru!"
"Coming!" Yachiru Kusajishi climbed onto Kenpachi Zaraki's shoulder and pointed in the exact opposite direction. "The enemy's over there!"
"It's that way!" Mayuri Kurotsuchi snapped furiously. "You're clearly a beast, yet you have absolutely no ability to track prey. What a defective specimen..."
He turned toward the others.
"And stop making those stupid faces. It's not as though your Zanpakutō can't be restored."
"Huh?" Renji Abarai's eyes lit up. "A Zanpakutō can recover even after being defeated by someone else?"
"What else do you think I'm doing? Lowering the average intelligence around here with the rest of you, ne?" Mayuri Kurotsuchi casually picked up the damaged Ashisogi Jizō. "As long as you reestablish the connection with your Zanpakutō, the damaged Zanpakutō can be restored. It's simply that while a Zanpakutō is dormant, you can't reestablish that connection through your own power alone. You need a little assistance."
Mayuri Kurotsuchi turned toward a particular direction.
"Do you understand now? No matter what you intend to do, it will fail because I'm here... Sōgyo no Kotowari."
"Hehe~"
In the corner, a little boy wearing a sky-blue pointed hat and a hunting robe giggled.
"That's amazing. It'd be even more amazing if you could use it to keep Sakanade and the others here."
"That beast has already gone after them. They won't escape." Mayuri Kurotsuchi's arm suddenly stretched outward. "And neither will you."
"But I can escape~"
Sōgyo no Kotowari waved the folding fan in his hand, and his tiny body vanished before Mayuri Kurotsuchi's hand could reach him.
"And so can they."
...
Boom!
The wall shattered.
Kenpachi Zaraki's vicious single eye locked onto Bokukō and Katen.
"So you're the ones I'm supposed to beat, right?"
[Don't get dragged into a fight]
[Leave now]
Katen raised an eyebrow. "Haven't you beaten him before?"
[We beat him together]
[Right now, only Bokukō and I are here]
[Our chances of victory have dropped significantly]
[Engaging him recklessly]
[Does not match the plan]
Bokukō leaped upward. The shadow beneath Bokukō's feet seemed to turn into the surface of water, rippling outward in layer after layer before swallowing Bokukō whole.
"All right, then~"
Katen turned and disappeared into the shadows as well.
"Hm?" Kenpachi Zaraki frowned, his eye shifting around before he suddenly swung his sword toward one spot. "If you're hiding in the shadows, then I just have to cut the shadows too!"
***
..
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on p-@-treon.
[email protected]/PinkSnake (50 Chapters Ahead).
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.
***