"You bastard..."
Renji Abarai lifted his head, full of anger.
He couldn't believe what he had just heard. Rukia Kuchiki had actually said those words to a human high school student.
And what shocked him more—he hadn't even defeated the guy.
As he stood up, Renji clutched his head in pain. He stumbled a bit before barely managing to stay on his feet.
"Renji, what just happened?"
Byakuya Kuchiki asked, his tone calm and cold.
"Captain Kuchiki..." Renji gritted his teeth and turned toward him. "I was suddenly dragged into some bloody dimension and tortured by that bastard for three days and three nights."
The memory of those three days sent a chill down Renji's spine.
For seventy-two hours, he had been stuck with Nanaya's figure constantly attacking him with a blade. The experience had nearly scarred him mentally.
"A bloody dimension... some kind of space-time ability?"
Byakuya frowned slightly—something he rarely did.
Shinigami Zanpakutōs have all kinds of powers, but very few deal with illusions or alternate spaces. Even he didn't fully understand what had just happened.
Still, after a moment of thought, Byakuya came to a conclusion.
"It's those eyes. Don't look directly at him next time."
He couldn't tell exactly what Nanaya's power was, but he could feel the darkness and malice in his eyes.
"His eyes...?"
Renji quickly understood. He looked toward Nanaya's neck and gave a cold smile.
"So that's how it is..."
He raised his Zanpakutō again, stepped forward using Shunpo, and charged straight at Nanaya.
"Renji, stop! Don't act rashly!" Rukia shouted. "You can't beat Nanaya. Let's just talk this out."
Her words only made Renji angrier.
She was pregnant with this guy's child, and now she was even defending him?
As Renji's blade approached, Nanaya calmly raised an eyebrow and suddenly appeared right in front of him in an instant.
"Shunpo... That's the same movement technique the demon cat uses..."
Byakuya's eyes narrowed. He recognized the unique way Nanaya used force—it was the same as Yoruichi Shihouin's.
"You really think you can beat me?" Nanaya said quietly.
He reached out his right hand—and caught the blade.
Clang!
His bare hand grabbed the Zanpakutō with ease.
"What!?"
Renji's expression changed completely. He stared at Nanaya in disbelief.
"You caught my Zanpakutō... with your bare hand!?"
Nanaya's hand was clearly touching the blade, yet there wasn't even a scratch on him.
There was only one explanation for this.
The spiritual pressure coming from this human... was stronger than that of a lieutenant-ranked Soul Reaper.
"How is this possible? He's just a human..." Renji Abarai's eyes turned red with frustration. He raised his right hand, pointing at Nanaya.
"The king! The mask of flesh and blood..."
"The king! The mask of flesh and blood..."
Both Renji and Nanaya began chanting at the same time. Hearing Nanaya say the same words shook Renji, but he didn't stop.
Nanaya, however, finished his incantation first. He smirked.
"Hadō No. 31: Shakkahō!"
Boom!!
A fiery blast exploded outwards.
The wave of fire slammed into Renji and sent him flying into a streetlight with a loud crash, bending it on impact.
"Ugh!"
Renji coughed up blood and looked down at his chest, his teeth clenched.
His chest was burned black.
"This... how? He's just a human. How can he use Kidō of this level..."
Renji muttered in disbelief.
"Renji, are you okay?!"
Rukia Kuchiki rushed over, looking at him with concern. Then she turned and glared at Nanaya.
"Why did you hit him so hard!?"
Nanaya raised his hands in defense. "He attacked me first. I only defended myself—and I didn't even go full power."
In fact, just before releasing the Shakkahō, Nanaya had held back nearly 60% of his spiritual energy.
"That still doesn't make it okay! Renji's only a lieutenant. If you were going to fight back, you should've used maybe 30% of your strength."
Cough!
Renji spat out more blood—this time from sheer frustration.
He looked up at Rukia and Nanaya, full of heartbreak and rage.
"You two... you're lovers... aren't you!?"
Nanaya grinned, pulled Rukia close, and said playfully, "Why don't you say that again? I'd love to hear more."
"You—!"
Renji started to speak again, but Byakuya Kuchiki cut him off. He looked at Nanaya with cold, serious eyes.
"I recognize that red spiritual pressure. You're the one who released captain-level Reiatsu yesterday... and killed the Menos Grande."
"What!?"
Renji's face went pale. He turned to stare at Nanaya.
"Him!? A human... with captain-level Reiatsu!?"
He couldn't believe it.
He had trained in the Seireitei for over a hundred years and still hadn't mastered Bankai. His spiritual pressure was only at lieutenant level.
But this human—barely 18 years old, just a high school student—was already that strong?
Nanaya clapped his hands with a smile. "As expected of my future brother-in-law. You've got a good eye. So, how about letting us go?"
He didn't want Rukia to return to Soul Society. That would only bring danger. His real plan was to find a way to remove the Hōgyoku from Rukia's body and send it back to Soul Society.
What happened after that was their problem—not Rukia's.
Byakuya ignored Nanaya and turned to Rukia instead.
"Rukia, what about you? Are you really planning to stay here in the human world and raise a child with him?"
Rukia was already flustered, but when she heard that, her face turned bright red. She rushed to explain.
"Brother, you've got it wrong! There's nothing like that between us..."
"Exactly!" Nanaya interrupted loudly. "Rukia just doesn't want to go back to the Seireitei and suffer anymore."
"Is that so?"
Byakuya turned back to Nanaya, slowly walking forward.
"Human... even if you've picked up a few tricks from that cat demon, you don't understand what real power is."
The moment he finished speaking, Byakuya vanished from where he stood.
"So fast!"
"Brother!"
Renji and Rukia's eyes widened.
The next moment...
"This is the 'real power' you were talking about?"
Nanaya had grabbed Byakuya's wrist with one hand and was looking at him with a curious smile.
"That Shunpo is not even half as fast as Miss Yoruichi's... and yet you talk so big. Where does your confidence come from?"
A second earlier, Byakuya had appeared right next to Nanaya, aiming to gouge out his left eye.
But that speed had been no match for the Mangekyō Sharingan. Nanaya had seen through every movement and caught him easily.
"No way..."
Renji's jaw dropped.
Rukia covered her mouth in shock.
Her brother—always proud, distant, and cold—was actually being touched by someone.
Byakuya hated being touched. She even suspected he had a fear of germs.
Yet even now, he stayed calm and said flatly, "It seems that cat has taught you well."
Nanaya narrowed his eyes.
"Cut the crap."
He clenched his fist—and punched.
Bang!
Byakuya took the punch square in the face.
"!!!!"
Renji's eyes almost popped out of his head.
"C-Captain..."
Rukia's heart pounded wildly. She instinctively clutched her chest, worried her heart might leap out.
"This can't be happening..."
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