Ōko Yushima, having been accepted into the Gotei 13, possessed undeniable talent. His perceived weakness during his time in the Ninth Division, his vulnerability to bullying, stemmed from his Zanpakutō, Sumitsukigasa.
Sumitsukigasa, the only spacetime-type Zanpakutō in the Soul Society, possessed immense power. However, wielding such power required a correspondingly immense amount of spiritual pressure. As an ordinary Shinigami, Yushima lacked the spiritual pressure even to release Sumitsukigasa's Shikai, let alone utilize its abilities.
While assisting Kirio Hikifune's research into Temporary Souls, Yushima had gained a deep understanding of the process, of how to create and integrate them. Facing imprisonment by the Central 46, he had made a drastic decision. He had reversed the process, splitting his own soul into two separate beings: Kageroza Inaba and Nozomi Kujō, escaping his confinement.
He had hoped that these two soul fragments, using the same technique he had helped develop, could independently increase their spiritual pressure, their eventual fusion restoring him to the level of power he had possessed before Hikifune's departure for the Zero Division.
However, the division of his soul had also split his emotions, memories, and desires. Inaba inherited most of Yushima's will, his sole focus on increasing his spiritual pressure, restoring Yushima, and destroying the Soul Society. Nozomi, however, unaffected by Yushima's darker impulses, developed her own personality, her own desires. She longed for freedom, for a peaceful life.
Inaba, upon learning of Nozomi's wish, was deeply disappointed. He had believed that with their combined efforts, Yushima's dream could be quickly realized. However, Nozomi was essential to his plan. He couldn't afford to lose her. He subdued her, created a device to suppress her spiritual pressure, and hid her within the Kōtotsu, resolving to achieve his goal alone.
He hadn't anticipated Nozomi's disappearance from the Kōtotsu. Having finally located her in the World of the Living, his plans on the cusp of fruition, Rukia Kuchiki's words had brought back the bitter memories of his time in the Ninth Division. The number "9" on her haori seemed to mock him, a constant reminder that no matter how much he achieved, he was still… weak. Still someone who had to bow before others.
"Not again…" Inaba muttered as blue spiritual pressure flared around him.
"Deal with the Substitute Shinigami and retrieve the girl. I'll handle the Ninth Division captain."
The Reigai lieutenants – Renji Abarai, Izuru Kira, and Momo Hinamori – charged towards Ichigo Kurosaki.
"Look out, Ichigo!" Rukia shouted as she prepared to use Kidō to assist him.
"Captain Kuchiki, your opponent is me!"
"Dance, Raikō!"
Inaba's spiritual pressure surged outwards as his cane transformed into a double-headed glaive.
"Hadō #4 – Byakurai!"
Forced to abandon her attempt to aid Ichigo, Rukia unleashed a bolt of lightning at Inaba.
"Bakudō #8 – Seki!"
Inaba slapped the back of his left hand, creating a translucent barrier that dispersed Rukia's Byakurai. He continued his advance, his speed undiminished.
Rukia parried Inaba's attacks with her Zanpakutō. Having been trained by Ailin, her swordsmanship far surpassed Inaba's, who had dedicated most of his life to research. Within moments, she had analyzed his movements, her Data Kendo was rapidly creating a combat model of his fighting style.
"There!"
Having predicted Inaba's next move based on her data, Rukia evaded his attack and unleashed her own.
"Hadō #31 – Shakkahō!"
Boom!
A fiery explosion engulfed Inaba. However, Rukia's face, instead of triumph, displayed sternness. Her attack had missed. Her data on Inaba was flawed. She hadn't accounted for his Zanpakutō's ability.
Ignoring the dissipating flames, Rukia turned towards Inaba's spiritual pressure.
"I didn't see him move… Given his combat experience, his Shunpo shouldn't be beyond my perception. But I couldn't track his movement when he evaded my Shakkahō. Does his Zanpakutō grant him speed beyond my perception, or does it somehow mask his movements?"
Rukia frowned. Unknown abilities were dangerous, especially for a practitioner of Data Kendo. However, each new encounter, each new ability she analyzed, enhanced her own skills.
Inaba, having reappeared some distance away, felt a chill. The Ninth Division captain was formidable. Had he not used his own spatial manipulation to instantly relocate, that Kidō blast would have severely injured, if not killed, him. Compared to these combat-focused Shinigami, he, a researcher, was clearly outmatched.
However…
Inaba took a deep breath. As a researcher, his strength lay in finding solutions based on available data. Fortunately, before coming to the World of the Living, he had made ample preparations.
"Dance, Raikō!"
He shouted, spinning his Zanpakutō counter-clockwise.
The space before him rippled, revealing a distorted image of another space. Within this distorted space, a large man with a single black eye patch grinned savagely as he swung his Zanpakutō downwards.
"Captain Zaraki?" Rukia was startled.
A golden slash erupted from the image, tearing through the ground towards her. It wasn't just an image. It was a genuine attack.
"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!"
Knowing she couldn't face a captain-level attack in her base form, Rukia released her Shikai. Her Zanpakutō transformed, white ribbons fluttered from its hilt. She tapped the air before her to create several blades of ice.
"Second Dance, White Ripple!"
She unleashed a wave of freezing air towards the golden slash.
Ice and golden energy collided and a shower of shattered ice rained down.
"Such power…"
The white ripple of ice was cleaved in two, a deep fissure extended behind Rukia. While White Ripple wasn't Sode no Shirayuki's strongest attack, it was still formidable. To see it so easily shattered… the power behind that image of Zaraki was comparable to the real Zaraki.
Inaba, seeing his attack succeed, spun his Zanpakutō again.
This time, the image that appeared was Byakuya Kuchiki. A torrent of cherry blossom petals erupted and began engulfing Rukia.
Rukia reappeared in the air above the dissipating petals with a thoughtful expression on her face. Inaba's ability seemed to be replicating or recreating attacks he had witnessed. Judging by their power, both Zaraki's slash and Byakuya's Senbonzakura were comparable to the originals.
However, the attacks were too linear, too focused. They lacked versatility. He couldn't attack in multiple directions simultaneously.
Having gleaned some intelligence on Inaba's Zanpakutō, Rukia formulated a plan.
"Die!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Inaba unleashed a barrage of attacks, each a replica of a different captain's technique. He even used Retsu Unohana's Hadō #88, Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō.
Rukia, however, having analyzed Inaba's fighting style, weaved through the attacks, slowly closing the distance between them.
Finally, she vanished.
"What?" Inaba's eyes widened as he lost sight of her. He spun around.
Rukia reappeared behind him and already used her fatal move.
"Third Dance, White Sword!"
Inaba felt a sharp pain as if his body had been pierced. Before he could react, he spun his Zanpakutō clockwise.
"Dance, Raikō!"
The space before him rippled, and a massive white blade materialized, engulfing him.
"What?" Rukia stared in disbelief. Since mastering Data Kendo, she had never failed to exploit an opponent's weakness. Yet, Inaba had countered both of her attacks.
However, she had learned something new.
"Such a powerful ability… Spinning his Zanpakutō counter-clockwise releases or recreates a copied ability. Spinning it clockwise… it's highly likely he's copying his opponent's abilities."
A sudden realization struck her.
"No!"
She ducked.
A white blade, dozens of meters long, erupted from Inaba's spinning Zanpakutō. It was her own Third Dance, White Sword. Had she not reacted in time, her head would have been pierced.
Then, a wave of cherry blossom petals engulfed her.
…
Meanwhile, Ichigo Kurosaki held the unconscious green-haired woman in one arm while fending off the attacks of three Reigai lieutenants with the other.
"Roar, Zabimaru!"
"Raise your head, Wabisuke!"
"Bloom, Tobiume!"
Created for combat, Reigai-Renji, Reigai-Kira, and Reigai-Hinamori showed no mercy by releasing their Shikai from the start.
"Damn it!"
Ichigo was frustrated. Before, opponents of this level would have been easily dispatched. But in his current state…
Having used the Final Getsuga Tenshō, Ichigo's power had briefly reached the top five in the entire Soul Society. Even after expending most of his spiritual pressure in that attack, he had retained captain-level strength. However, his remaining spiritual pressure continued to dissipate. To control the loss, he normally suppressed it to lieutenant level.
Fighting three lieutenants simultaneously in this weakened state was a losing battle.
"I need to end this quickly…"