A torrent of Reiatsu surged violently toward the heavens. All throughout Hueco Mundo, countless Gillians and Adjuchas stared in sheer terror.
Even at great distances, the pressure made their souls tremble. If they got any closer, their spiritual bodies might rupture instantly from the overwhelming force.
Luckily, Hueco Mundo was vast. Countless Hollows fled from Kirisumi Island like frightened animals, desperately trying to put as much distance as possible between themselves and that dreadful power. None wanted to become collateral damage.
As for the more intelligent Adjuchas, their eyes were filled with fear and disbelief.
Even the former King of Hueco Mundo—the one who had evolved into a Vasto Lorde known only as "Number One"—couldn't compare to this.
Just what… the hell is that monster?!
"A Shinigami who devoured Hollow power, breaking the spiritual boundary between Shinigami and Hollow… and thereby achieving evolution of the soul itself."
Staring at Shisui, who was unleashing a savagely destructive Hollowfied aura, Yoru nodded in satisfaction.
"Though the violent impulses can cloud your thoughts a bit, as long as you don't fully unleash the power, you should be able to retain basic rationality."
"You're only using a fraction of your strength right now, aren't you, Shisui-kun?"
"I'm afraid I'd completely destroy Hueco Mundo if I used all of it…"
Uchiha Shisui spoke through the Hollow mask, his voice low and strained. His eyes, locked onto Yuki Yoru, were filled with murderous intent. Inside his mind, rage, madness, and killing intent surged endlessly, like a thousand whispering voices in his ear:
Tear him apart!
Cut him down! Slash him! Rip him to pieces!
Slaughter the one you hate most! Flay him! Dismember him! Make him suffer ten thousand times what you endured!
"No need to worry so much," Yoru said calmly, as if the entire world beneath his feet meant nothing. "Hueco Mundo is a wasteland. As long as enough souls are poured back in, even if it gets destroyed ten thousand times, it'll just regenerate."
"All you need to do is release your power freely—maximize your output before your mind breaks."
"Besides… I doubt you can hold back that urge much longer."
Yuki Yoru smiled pleasantly at Shisui, who was still glaring at him.
"That fury, that bloodthirst… the desire to rip me apart—it's surging inside you, isn't it?"
"You…"
Shisui's eyes darkened.
Of course Yoru understood Shisui's hatred for him. If he could, Shisui wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice all of Kirigakure—not just Hueco Mundo—to see Yoru dead. The only thing he might regret was the loss of the hybrid Uchiha offspring that he had helped create.
What Shisui wanted… was concealment.
When someone gains immense power, the natural instinct is to hide it. To reserve it as a trump card. To unleash it only at the brink of death, as a way to turn the tide.
And Hollowfication—without a doubt—was terrifyingly strong. The amplification it brought was multiple times greater than anything he had before.
In Shisui's judgment, even Captain Hozuki Gengetsu would be no match for him in this form.
But it wasn't enough.
Not until he gained even greater power. Not until he found the moment to kill Yuki Yoru. For now, Shisui wanted nothing more than to hide this power.
But now…
"Suppressing yourself all the time is unhealthy," Yoru said softly. "Your Uchiha clan has always had… warped ways of thinking. And in today's world, you have nowhere you can truly display your full strength."
"So this opportunity I'm giving you right now—it's rare. You should take it."
Take the opportunity…
Yes.
If he couldn't hide it—then he might as well use it.
Shisui's immense reiatsu had already swept across the island, detecting the full surroundings. There was no other Shinigami presence here. Just Hollows… and Yoru.
That meant, for now, he was alone.
So—
Kill him. Take this chance and kill him now!
"That look in your eyes—that's what I'm talking about, Shisui-kun."
"Hollowfication is the power of emotion. Don't suppress your anger and killing intent. Use it to amplify your strength."
"…You'll regret this, Yuki Yoru."
Dark crimson Reiatsu raged even more violently around Shisui. Beneath the mask, his light-purple Rinnegan eyes had now turned blood-red.
He slowly covered his eyes with one hand, as if making a fateful decision. In that moment, his turbulent emotions suddenly calmed.
"To be honest, Yoru, I've thought about this a long time."
"To you, I might've been nothing more than a pawn—a stepping stone to your success. I was never part of your vision. Neither was the Uchiha. Neither was Konoha."
"I understand your ambitions. You aim for something beyond this world… something celestial. Logically, even emotionally, I should support you. Without you, I wouldn't have this power."
"But sometimes, understanding doesn't mean acceptance. Sometimes, even without reason, you have to let your murderous intent fly."
"Call me foolish, narrow-minded, reckless—I don't care!"
The crimson Reiatsu exploded.
Yoru's expression shifted slightly, surprised.
The sheer force of Shisui's killing intent shook the world. His aura filled the space entirely, drowning it.
"You're right. I've been suppressing this urge to kill you for too long, Yoru!"
"Not because of what you did to me… or to the Uchiha, or to Konoha, or even the whole ninja world. No."
"I want to kill you simply because I want to."
"Because my soul demands it. Because I want to rip you apart, down to your bones and spirit!"
Shisui's blood-red Rinnegan flared with wrath. His pressure reached its peak.
And then—everything stopped.
The sea, the wind, the shifting sand, the burrowing insects—
All plant life, animals, even the air itself.
Even space and time.
Everything within the radius of Shisui's Reiatsu… froze. As if a photograph had captured the moment and locked it into eternity.
Within that frozen domain, only Uchiha Shisui could move.
This—was his Bankai.
Meikyō Shisui, Getsugakōfū! (Clear Mirror Still Water, Moonlight and Gentle Wind!)
As the most powerful member of the Gotei 13 besides Yoru himself, Captain of the 2nd Division Uchiha Shisui was a force of nature.
He wielded Mangekyō techniques like Kotoamatsukami, Amaterasu, and Susanoo, along with peerless ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu—and the power of the Rinnegan.
And as a Shinigami, he had mastered Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hohō, and Kidō.
His Zanpakutō's ability? Completely broken.
Upon activating Bankai, his Reiatsu froze everything within its range—including Yoru.
Shisui vanished—then reappeared behind Yoru. His Zanpakutō, wreathed in black-red Reiatsu, slashed straight for Yoru's neck.
But in an instant, Yoru disappeared from where he stood.
"What?!"
Shisui's eyes narrowed in shock.
"Among all the known Zanpakutō, Getsuge's ability is easily top three."
Yoru appeared dozens of meters away, the pale gray sheen from Shisui's time freeze already dissipating.
"Your Shikai, Illuminate the Sun, Disrupt the Gods. Clear the Moon, Corrupt the Heart (Teruhi Ranshin, Getsuge Kakushin), controls the five senses over a wide area. It's similar to a Zanpakutō I've seen before. Maybe not quite as strong… but combined with your eyes? It's overwhelming."
"Your Bankai, Meikyō Shisui: Clear Mirror Calm Water, Moonlight and Gentle Wind (Getsugakōfū), is even more special."
Shisui's Bankai might look like a time-stop, but it actually isn't.
Instead, it uses spiritual power to control the passage of time within the area covered by Reiatsu, achieving an effect similar to time-stop.
This ability is somewhat similar to Kabuto's Clock Up, which manipulates the passage of time by controlling light particles and then moves at high speed; and also comparable to the Speed Force.
The specific strength of this ability depends entirely on the strength of Shisui's own spiritual power.
"But you know this already, don't you, Shisui?"
Yoru's left hand rested lightly on the hilt of Hyorinmaru. His voice was calm.
"In the end, Shinigami battles are battles of Reiatsu."
"Even after Hollowfication, your Reiatsu is like a candle compared to my full moon."
"Don't underestimate me!"
Shh!
Even if his Bankai failed, the amplification from Hollowfication was still real.
With Getsuge in hand, Shisui vanished in an instant—faster than Shunpo.
He reappeared behind Yoru and unleashed a repelling force from his palm—powered by Sage Mode and the Rinnegan.
"Shinra Tensei!"
BOOM!!
A massive shockwave tore through the air, distorting space into waves of glowing white light.
But the moment it hit Yoru—it was like slamming into an immovable mountain.
Though it shrieked through the air like a violent storm, Yoru stood tall and unmoved.
Completely unfazed.
Shisui didn't flinch. He instantly activated another Rinnegan ability.
"Banshō Ten'in!"
Push, then pull. Sequential use of opposing forces. Even the strongest foe would be caught off-guard.
But Yoru didn't budge. As if protected by an invisible shield, no force could touch him—repulsion or attraction.
"You…"
Shisui realized it instantly.
Yoru wasn't resisting Shinra Tensei and Banshō Ten'in.
He was blocking them entirely.
If an attack couldn't even connect, it was meaningless—no matter how powerful.
"Your Zanpakutō's ability isn't even ice-related, is it?!"
"Hyorinmaru is my Zanpakutō, yes," Yoru said calmly. "And it is the strongest of the ice-type Zanpakutō."
"If I released it, freezing you would be simple."
"But then, I wouldn't get to see how much you've changed."
Yoru smiled kindly at Shisui—like a child staring at a brand-new toy he hadn't even unwrapped yet.
"Of course, if you ever become strong enough to make me draw my blade… I'd be very pleased."
"Yoru! Yuki Yoru!!"
Shisui screamed, enraged and humiliated—like a beast.
Crimson Reiatsu exploded around him again. His Hollow mask twisted with rage, dark crimson patterns spreading across it, becoming more grotesque.
His power—skyrocketed.
"Interesting. So you're entering the next stage of Hollowfication…"
Yoru's eyes sparkled with surprise.
Hollowfication was like the Sharingan. A Pandora's Box.
Once opened, it could offer endless power—from one tomoe, to two, to three… to Mangekyō and beyond.
The further one went in Hollowfication, the harder it became to retain sanity.
But if one could tame it—true mastery meant exponential combat power.
Right now, Uchiha Shisui had entered the second stage:
The verge of berserk mode!
Without even using a flash step, Shisui burst behind Yoru like a feral animal and attacked.
Yoru didn't dodge.
He grabbed Shisui's blade—barehanded.
CLANG—!
Steel met flesh. A metallic ring echoed.
Spiritual pressure burst outward, scattering dust in a thirty-meter radius.
Then—Yoru's other hand turned into a blade and pierced Shisui's chest.
Shisui's eyes widened in fury. Reiatsu surged from within him, and he released his grip on Getsuge.
At that instant—heat erupted.
A flaming pillar shot into the sky, piercing through Kirisumi Island like a spear.
"Hadō No. 96—!"
"ITTŌ KASŌ!"