Neither Muten Natsu nor Rukia Kuchiki had expected things to unfold this way.
Hollowfied Sakanade shouted, "Kensei, Rose, now!"
In an instant, Fuji Kujaku, Hōzukimaru, and Haineko immediately pulled away from them and launched their attacks.
Hollowfied Tachikaze unleashed a gale to block them. "You bastards! What are you doing?!"
"He's been lying to you!" Hollowfied Kinshara swung his long whip, knocking aside the approaching lapis-colored vines. "Don't let him..."
Two figures suddenly appeared and took advantage of the confusion to attack Hollowfied Kinshara and Hollowfied Tachikaze.
They were Kensei Muguruma and Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi, who had been out of sight for quite some time.
Haineko finally realized what was happening. "Liar!"
"Sorry about that~" The broken Hollow mask on Sakanade's face crumbled away. "That's just the kind of person I am. Can't really change it."
The truth behind the situation was not particularly complicated.
Long before Myōki and Katen had found Hollowfied Sakanade, Shinji Hirako had already subdued Sakanade again.
As the leader of the Visored, Shinji Hirako had plenty of experience when it came to overcoming himself.
There simply hadn't been enough time for Kensei Muguruma and Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi to subdue their Zanpakutō as well.
While the Zanpakutō were wreaking havoc throughout Seireitei, Shinji Hirako had already begun to suspect what they were planning. With Mayuri Kurotsuchi's help, he disguised himself as a Hollowfied Zanpakutō and successfully infiltrated their group.
Unfortunately, Muramasa was nowhere to be found most of the time, so Shinji had gained very little useful intelligence.
"I'll do my best to hold off one or two of them." Shinji Hirako pointed toward the depths of the cave. "You two hurry on ahead."
Without wasting any words, Muten Natsu and Rukia Kuchiki immediately rushed forward.
Lapis-colored vines twisted and coiled through the cave. Even without touching a spiritual body, they could still absorb Reishi from the air and accelerate their growth.
"They sure grow fast~" Shinji Hirako chuckled. "Too bad they're growing in the wrong direction."
Under Sakanade's influence, the vines failed to approach Muten Natsu and Rukia Kuchiki. Instead, they spread in the opposite direction.
"Bankai!"
Hōzukimaru's Reiatsu erupted as three enormous blades instantly took shape.
"Ryūmon Hōzukimaru!"
The guillotine-like blade, as broad as a door, swept through the air and carved a massive trench into the stone wall.
One strike went in the wrong direction.
Hōzukimaru twisted his muscular body around and swung the huge shovel-like blade in a wide arc.
Wrong again.
But that didn't matter!
Despite their terrifying size, the weapons moved in Hōzukimaru's hands with the agility of short blades.
The massive edges flashed up and down, indiscriminately cutting through a huge area around him.
Clang!
A sharp collision rang out.
A savage grin spread across Hōzukimaru's face.
"Found you!"
The next instant, a storm of attacks erupted simultaneously in two opposite directions.
Sakanade could reverse a person's senses, so all he had to do was attack both sides at once.
If he saw the enemy in front of him, he would attack both front and back.
If he saw the enemy on his left, he would slash both left and right.
His senses were merely reversed. The enemy hadn't vanished into thin air.
As long as he moved fast enough, one of his attacks was bound to connect.
The sounds of clashing blades continued without pause.
Shinji Hirako frowned. "This Bankai..."
"Don't worry about any strange abilities." Hōzukimaru raised one of his visibly chipped blades. "I simply get stronger the longer I fight. That's all there is to it!"
"A slow starter, huh..." Shinji Hirako's gaze lingered briefly on the dragon pattern decorating the huge axe behind Hōzukimaru. "What a pain. I really don't want to fight you."
Seeing Haineko move to pursue Muten Natsu and Rukia Kuchiki, Shinji Hirako tried to stop her, only to be driven back by Hōzukimaru's relentless assault.
"Whether you want to fight or not isn't up to you!" Hōzukimaru's grin grew even more ferocious. "You're Captain-class. Surely this isn't all you've got!"
"Forget it..." Shinji Hirako sighed as Haineko transformed into a streak of gray wind and disappeared. "You didn't understand what I meant. I don't want to fight you because you're Ikkaku Madarame's Zanpakutō, not because of how strong you are."
"You already have a way to restore materialized Zanpakutō Spirits, don't you? Even when they aren't defeated by their own masters." Hōzukimaru casually swung his blade. "Come on. Let's fight without holding anything back!"
"You know this yourself, don't you?" Shinji Hirako pointed at the chip in Hōzukimaru's blade. "Unlike Shikai, a Bankai that's destroyed can never truly recover. Your Bankai has tremendous offensive power, but its durability is poor. The moment it takes a hit, it suffers serious damage. It's been broken before, hasn't it?"
Although both were forms of release, Shikai and Bankai were fundamentally different.
Damage to a Shikai was more like a flesh wound. By pouring the owner's own spirit and Reiatsu into it, the damage could be repaired.
Damage to a Bankai was more like losing a limb.
"Heh..." Hōzukimaru laughed. "That's right. Akon from the Research and Development Institute helped me restore its appearance, but its abilities never fully returned to what they were before."
Shinji Hirako spread his hands. "So..."
"So..." Hōzukimaru interrupted him. "Are we going to fight or not?"
"...I'd forgotten your master is from the 11th Division." Shinji Hirako raised his sword. "Fine, then. Let's kill each other to our hearts' content without worrying about the consequences!"
...
Veins bulged on Muten Natsu's forehead as his Hell's Eye opened, searching for Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's location.
"This way!"
"Someone's catching up!" Rukia Kuchiki sensed the Reiatsu rapidly approaching from behind. "It's Haineko!"
A stream of ash raced toward them from behind.
Rukia Kuchiki raised her hand and unleashed Hakuren. Freezing winds howled as crystal-clear ice encased the ash.
But in the next instant, even more ash surged forward and sliced the ice apart.
"Muten!"
"Got it!"
The Hell Arm Armor appeared over Muten Natsu's left arm.
"Compass, Line, Square, and Ink. Heaven's Will!"
Wisps of cloud curled through the air, connecting the two of them.
Muten Natsu shifted sideways and gathered his strength. His immense Reiatsu contracted and then erupted outward, drawing the surrounding Reishi into it.
Then, through the connection formed by Heaven's Will, all that accumulated power was transferred into Rukia Kuchiki.
Facing the sky filled with ash, Rukia Kuchiki raised her Zanpakutō and unleashed Hakuren once more.
An immense blizzard surged forth.
The endless wind and snow swallowed all the ash and carried a bone-chilling cold that froze everything it touched.
Rukia Kuchiki slowly exhaled, trying to suppress the strange flutter in her chest.
The sensation of being filled completely with Muten Natsu's power, then releasing all of it in one exhilarating burst, was almost addictive.
A succession of faint cracking sounds echoed through the cave.
Muten Natsu looked toward the surrounding stone walls.
Tiny tremors spread through them.
Then the solid walls suddenly collapsed.
Endless ash poured out, weaving itself into a staircase of gray overhead.
The two-tailed Haineko stood with her hands on her hips as she slowly descended the staircase of ash.
"Did you really think an attack like that could defeat me as I am now?"
Her slender fingers twitched.
Even more ash surged forth, spreading like smoke and mist as it surrounded Muten Natsu and Rukia Kuchiki.
The instant that ash closed in, Muten Natsu and Rukia Kuchiki would be sliced to pieces by countless blades!
***
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