Vacations were always fleeting. Inside the former base of the Visored, the group that had attended the party at Tsunayoshi's house had gathered once more.
It happened to be the weekend, and since they would finally be able to go all out against the copies, Tsunayoshi called Ichigo and the others along as well. Nozomi also came with them.
Two or three days was not enough time for Nozomi to gain any truly powerful combat ability. At most, she had only become somewhat familiar with how to use her Zanpakutō's powers.
Seeing how desperately Nozomi wanted to contribute to resolving the Modified Soul incident that had thrown Soul Society into chaos, Tsunayoshi simply brought her along. However, his condition was that she could not leave Tatsuki's side.
Tsunayoshi had no intention of letting Nozomi run off like in those inexplicable anime plots, only to allow Kagerōza Inaba to merge with her and create an even stronger enemy.
The Senkaimon set up by the Urahara Shop had already opened. In front of the gate, Yamamoto was making the final deployment.
"The primary objective of this mission is to reclaim control of the Seireitei. While we are at it, we will also clean out any blind insects that dare get in our way."
"After entering Soul Society, I will be stationed atop the Tower of Repentance. If you encounter an enemy you cannot defeat, unleash your Reiatsu with all your strength. I will come immediately."
"Squad Two, send every member of the Onmitsukidō out. Keep a close watch on those insects acting from the shadows. Squad Five will provide support."
Whether it was Hirako's Zanpakutō or his slippery, veteran personality, both made him extremely well-suited to cooperate with Suì-Fēng in investigating those restless nobles.
"Squad Six, make contact with the materialized Zanpakutō that have sided with us. Help them reunite with their masters as quickly as possible so they can display their proper strength."
Assigning this matter to Byakuya was mainly due to two considerations. First, his Senbonzakura was already with him. Second, he had some friendship with the Tenth, who had organized the Zanpakutō rebellion. Thus, this task naturally fell to him.
"Kyōraku and Ukitake, the two of you will act as commanders. Lead Squad Seven and purge the rot from the Seireitei."
There was no need to say much about Kyōraku and Ukitake. As Yamamoto's students, they understood all too well his determination to cleanse the nobility. Not only that, Yamamoto had also assigned them the most righteous blade in the Seireitei: Squad Seven. This was, without question, a massacre prepared for the restless nobles.
"Squad 12 will seize Kagerōza Inaba's base for manufacturing Modified Souls. Squad Ten will provide support."
Having Mayuri Kurotsuchi locate the modification base was not an issue at all. On top of that, Yamamoto had assigned the yet-untested Tōshirō Hitsugaya as his bodyguard. This completely cut off Inaba's path to continue manufacturing Modified Souls and plunging Soul Society into further chaos.
"The rest of you will split into four directions and enter the Seireitei. Wipe out the Reigai inside the Seireitei as quickly as possible."
Those four directions corresponded to the four Hakutōmon gates. Only by resolving this incident with thunderous speed could they minimize the damage Inaba and the nobles would inflict upon Soul Society.
"Begin the operation. Everyone, act according to the plan!"
As soon as the order was given, Yamamoto took the lead and entered the Senkaimon. Yamamoto and the others had no intention of hiding themselves within the Dangai. They were openly telling Inaba that it was time for their real bodies to enter Soul Society and take everything back.
In Soul Society, at the gathering place of the materialized Zanpakutō, the Tenth suddenly raised his head and looked toward the sky. His terrifying intuition told him that the people from the World of the Living had begun to move.
The Tenth lightly clapped his hands, drawing the attention of the Zanpakutō toward himself.
"Everyone, the Shinigami have begun their counterattack on the Seireitei. Please come with me to the outskirts of the Seireitei and reunite with your masters."
The other Zanpakutō stood up one after another, forming a rather disorderly formation as they walked toward the Tenth. They were finally going to see their useless masters again. It was both irritating and exciting.
Byakuran, meanwhile, sprang up with a leap, his face full of smiles. He had finally had enough of these bitter days. His good times were about to return.
"Let's go, let's go! Hurry up and we might still make it in time for tonight!"
While the Tenth led the Zanpakutō charging toward the Seireitei, the group from the World of the Living had also successfully taken their positions through the Senkaimon. By relying on recognition and personal identification, everyone except Byakuya passed through the Hakutōmon smoothly and entered the Seireitei.
However, everyone knew that entering the Seireitei was only the beginning of the battle. As expected, most of them encountered their own copies. Renji was one of them.
"This is as far as you go, Renji Abarai."
A fake Renji, wearing a crooked grin and with his eyes gleaming, blocked Renji's path. In his hands, he actually held two Zanpakutō. Both were Zabimaru.
The real Renji's expression was extremely unpleasant. It was bad enough that his Zanpakutō did not completely trust him, but now his materialized Zabimaru had actually been beaten back into its original form by this guy.
The real Renji roughly knew how strong this fake Renji was. After Ichigo had successfully rescued Rukia, Renji and Rukia had once gone to the World of the Living in order to thank Ichigo in person.
It should have been around that time that the Dangai obtained Renji Abarai's Reishi. In other words, this impostor could also use Bankai, just like him. Although it was not the latest version, it was still Bankai. This would not be easy to deal with.
The fake Renji stabbed one of the Zabimaru into the ground. Under the guidance of his Reiatsu, the Zabimaru on the ground changed form. A voluptuous ape woman and a world-weary snake boy appeared. They were unmistakably Zabimaru's materialized Zanpakutō spirits.
"Hey, the one across from us is the guy you hate. Go on, attack him! Kill him, and you'll be free!" the fake Renji tempted them excitedly.
What the fake Renji could not see, however, was that both the snake boy and the ape woman wore expressions of disgust. The only reason they had been captured by the fake Renji was that the two of them could not get along or cooperate, giving the fake Renji an opening to exploit.
Of course, the snake boy genuinely wanted to use this chance to teach the real Renji a lesson. So he immediately drew out a Zabimaru condensed from Reiatsu and swung it toward the real Renji.
The real Renji did not even use Shikai. With only his Asauchi, he blocked the snake boy's attack. After indulging the snake boy for so long, Renji could also guess that Zabimaru had been captured largely because of the snake boy.
"Snake boy, come back with me. Can't we talk things over slowly?" the real Renji shouted.
Normally, he could give in to the snake boy, but with the safety of the Seireitei at stake, he could not allow the snake boy's temper to run wild.
"See that? He still looks down on you from the bottom of his heart, snake boy!" the fake Renji stepped forward and fanned the flames. His hand swept across Zabimaru as he roared, "Bankai!"
"Hihiō Zabimaru!"
A gigantic skeletal snake coiled around the fake Renji.
"Come on, snake boy. Let's deal with this arrogant fool together."
"Hey, snake boy, don't be impulsive!" the ape woman shouted. She understood the snake boy far too well. His personality was completely like a child's; one spark was enough to set him off.
Sure enough, the snake boy's cheeks puffed up. With a face full of anger, he said coldly, "Bankai."
The ape woman helplessly slapped her forehead and watched as the snake boy transformed into a gigantic skeletal snake. Without her chain to keep him tied down, she truly had no idea just how badly this snake boy could be deceived.
The fake Renji burst into laughter. The situation was now completely clear. With two Bankai in hand, how could he possibly lose? Looking at the real Renji holding that tiny toothpick-like Zanpakutō, where would he find the courage to fight him?
Yet the real Renji made no move at all. He simply stood there calmly and said somewhat helplessly, "I'm counting on you, ape woman. I'll deal with that snake boy after I get back."
Before the fake Renji could understand what Renji meant, the gigantic skeletal snake transformed from the snake boy beside him had already attacked him. The fake Renji hurriedly defended himself, only to see that terrifying red cannon.
Hikotsu Taihō!
The powerful beam of Reiatsu blasted the fake Renji's Hihiō Zabimaru into pieces. He had been only a hair's breadth away from being swallowed by the cannon and destroyed along with it.
The fake Renji climbed back up, his face full of confusion.
"Why?"
"Why?" The ape woman sneered disdainfully. "When did I ever say I was going to betray Renji? From beginning to end, it was only the snake boy throwing a childish tantrum!"
Whether it was the real Renji or the ape woman, neither had ever doubted the other. The ape woman had been the half of the sword spirit who supported Renji from the very beginning. Her loyalty to Renji could be said to be at the maximum.
So from beginning to end, this had merely been a farce caused by the ape woman getting dragged into the snake boy's childish game. Now that the farce was nearing its end, the ape woman would end it herself.
"Impossible! Snake boy, don't let them control you! Fight Renji Abarai with me!" the fake Renji continued to struggle.
"Give it up. Have you even looked at whose hand is holding the hilt?" The ape woman provocatively raised the handle in her hand and said, "The snake boy has already handed full control over to me."
This was the confidence that allowed the ape woman to play along with the snake boy. As long as the snake boy had not acknowledged Renji, their Bankai would remain Hihiō Zabimaru. And the power of that Bankai would be controlled by the ape woman, who had already accepted Renji.
"Damn it!"
Electric light flashed continuously in the fake Renji's eyes. He knew that the only thing he could do now was attack at any cost in exchange for a path to survival. The core of the Modified Soul frantically drove his Reiatsu to erupt. Cracks began appearing across the fake Renji's body, spreading inch by inch.
Both the Reigai and the Modified Soul itself were already unable to withstand it. The fake Renji had unleashed Reiatsu even stronger than what had been contained in the original owner's Reishi.
Then what was the price?
The destruction of the Reigai and irreversible damage to the Modified Soul. But those were all costs the fake Renji could accept. As long as the Modified Soul still existed, he only needed to change into another Reigai body to revive once more.
His Reiatsu erupted. The fake Renji was about to launch a desperate final attack.
"Higa Zekkō, right?"
The real Renji's voice suddenly made the fake Renji stop.
"No need to doubt it. Back then, that was the only move I had left to use. You can try it."
"Arrogant bastard! Die!"
The fake Renji roared, preparing to fire out all the skeletal segments of the great snake, while he himself would use that moment to escape.
However, just as the fake Renji pointed the bone staff toward the real Renji and the ape woman, he discovered that the bone segments of Higa Zekkō showed absolutely no signs of moving.
The fake Renji's eyes fell upon those Reiatsu-filled bone segments. He saw long black-and-white whips locking every single segment in place.
Zabimaru?
The fake Renji could hardly believe that it was Zabimaru that had sealed off Higa Zekkō's activation. From the very beginning, the real Renji had already predicted what he would do. When the ape woman fired Hikotsu Taihō, he had already thrown Zabimaru out.
"Higa Zekkō is a technique I use when I'm risking my life. Back then, I didn't have much strength left, so there wasn't much Reiatsu controlling the fangs. All my remaining Reiatsu was poured into the attack."
"Under those circumstances, I don't need much strength at all to lock down every fang."
"You understand me, but I understand myself even better."
"It's time to end this farce. Ape woman, Hikotsu Taihō!"
At the real Renji's command, crimson cannon fire completely swallowed the fake Renji. This time, whether it was the Reigai or the Modified Soul, the fake Renji left nothing behind. Everything was reduced to ash within the cannon fire.
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