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One Piece Breaking the Gene Lock
Genshin Impact: I am King Arthur
Naruto: Reviving the Fourth Hokage from the Start
"Katen… Kyōkotsu…"
Shunsui looked at the two women before him and sighed helplessly. Though it was their first meeting, a hazy resonance in the soul told him who they were.
They were his Zanpakutō—Katen Kyōkotsu.
Thinking that, Shunsui shifted slightly and glanced at the two blue, doll-sized figures. "And you two are… Sōgyo no Kotowari (Truth of Pisces)!"
"That's right!"
"That's right!"
The two blue dolls zipped happily through the air—Jūshirō's incarnated Zanpakutō spirits.
Staring at the four "people," Shunsui pressed down his straw hat and exhaled, "This is… a disaster."
He'd expected the enemy to be trouble, but not this much trouble. It felt like a bolt from the blue over Seireitei; the whole Soul Society was about to plunge into chaos.
While Shunsui was thinking, First Division, Thirteenth Division, and Second Division had already erupted into turmoil.
"Roar—Tengen (Heaven's Punishment)!"
A steady bellow sounded, and a black-iron arm grasping a gigantic blade formed in midair, swinging the sword down with brutal force.
Soi fong's face tightened; she flash-stepped back, anger rippling under her calm. "Sajin, what do you think you're doing?"
Before Sajin could answer, a tiny golden spirit shaped like a queen wasp darted in—a palm-sized incarnation blazing with light. In a flash it was at Soi fong's back.
A sting pricked her jade-white neck; she staggered two steps, then stared in shock as bee-mark sigils spread across her skin.
The tiny golden "queen" hovered on beating wings and laughed. "As expected of my master—so fast! I meant to sting twice."
Soi fong's eyes fixed on the sprite. After a long beat, her voice turned glacial. "Suzumebachi."
"…"
"Bankai—Hihiō Zabimaru (Baboon King, Snake Tail)!!"
A bone-white giant serpent—like a primordial beast—surged forth. Vertebra after vertebra writhed, joints clacking and grinding. Its crimson eyes locked onto Byakuya, and upon its skull stood two figures: a fur-clad baboon-man and a woman robed in white—bound together by heavy black chains.
Renji gaped at the serpent and blurted, "My bankai!?"
At his words, the baboon-man and the snake-woman glanced down at him and spoke coolly, "Yo, Renji. Long time no see."
"The scene of you forcing us to kneel last time," the baboon-man added with a grin, "is still fresh in my mind."
Renji stared, throat dry. "What's going on? Why are you out—and why are you releasing bankai on your own!?"
"Why ask why!?" The baboon-man laughed. "Because Zanpakutō are free now!"
"From today, we are independent beings. We won't live under Shinigami oppression anymore."
Renji was struck dumb.
The baboon and the snake turned as one to the nearby noble standing in the storm of blades—Byakuya—and bared feral smiles. "You're first, Byakuya!"
Under their control, the bone serpent roared, its bony body coiling as its jaws lunged wide for Byakuya.
Elsewhere—
Rukia finally found the one who had cast Some no Mai: Tsukishiro (First Dance: White Moon). Her eyes widened. "Sode no Shirayuki (Sleeve of White Snow)!?"
Standing atop immaculate ice, the snow-white beauty she'd seen during her jinzen (sword-seated meditation) ceremony gazed back with a face as cold as winter itself, a pure-white blade in hand.
"Why…? I never performed jinzen today. Why are you out here—and why did you attack Captain Tōshirō…?"
Rukia could hardly believe it.
Before she could finish, a blur of white—like a streak of dawn—flashed toward her. A silver-white edge split the night.
"Ching!"
Rukia drew and, teeth gritted, barely caught the strike. "Sode no Shirayuki—why!?"
Even incarnated, Shirayuki was her dearest, most trusted partner. Why attack her master?
Hearing Rukia's question, the blade in Shirayuki's hand vanished, but the cold radiating from her grew even more biting. "Rukia. Until now, as the power of a Zanpakutō, I could only be used at your will."
She waved an empty hand—yet what came was sharper than steel. A tide of killing chill surged forth.
Rukia tried to counter, but the cold swallowed half her body in an instant. She had no choice but to retreat.
"Because until now," Shirayuki's calm voice continued, "we had no other choice."
Her attacks didn't stop as she spoke: "But now, we possess independent life. I no longer acknowledge you as my master."
After a few short exchanges, Rukia was completely on the back foot. Frost dusted her black lashes and hair.
Seeing no other way, Rukia clenched her blade. "Bankai!"
The word left her lips—and nothing happened. The Zanpakutō in her hand gave no response. (For explosive novels, read on Faloo!)
Shirayuki said faintly, "Rukia, just like Cole said—you really are a foolish woman."
She stepped forward on white ice. "The sword in your hand is Sode no Shirayuki—and I am Sode no Shirayuki. Without me, how could you bankai?"
Her voice fell—and then:
"Bankai—Hakka no Togame (White Mist Punishment)!"
In a heartbeat, an ultimate cold burst from her snow-like form, a killing winter that spread in all directions.
Rukia's eyes shrank. She glanced around for help—and froze.
All around, the Soul Society was in uproar—fighting and roars on every side. Shinigami and Zanpakutō spirits clashed everywhere. Incarnations kept appearing; release chants rang out one after another:
"Bare your fangs—Hizashi Jizō (Kazeshini)!""Bloom—Tengumaru!""Extend—Hōzukimaru!""Purr—Hai-neko (Ash Cat)!""Sit upon the frosted heavens—Hyōrinmaru (Ice Ring Maru)!""Sever—Kazeshini (Wind Death)!""Run—Tōun (Frozen Cloud)!""Lift your head—Wabisuke!"
ACHOO—
In the World of the Living, beneath Urahara Shop, steam rose in the underground hot springs.
Cole soaked to his shoulders, rubbing his nose with a bemused look. "Huh? Catching a cold in a hot spring?"
Across from him, Yoruichi lounged lazily in the water. "I was cursing you in my head."
Cole chuckled. "Yoruichi-san, what for? Aren't we good friends?"
Yoruichi shot him a glare. "I don't make a habit of calling peeping toms my friends. Out with it—what are you and my wayward disciple plotting now!?"
Cole coughed, embarrassed. "It's just to ease Soi fong's longing, so I thought I'd take a few pictures to send her…"
"My nude body!?"
Another glare.
Cole pouted inwardly. You really don't understand your disciple's nature. Pictures aren't what she wants. She'd tie you to a bed and ravage you if she could.
He slid deeper into the water, cheeks flushed, eyeing Yoruichi's devastating figure. If Soi fong saw this scene, with that yandere-blooming heart of hers, she'd probably nosebleed on the spot.
A moment later, the two stepped from the spring.
Before their eyes stretched a shattered-world pocket space, dominated by a colossal barrier that seemed to span heaven and earth. At its four corners loomed the sacred beasts—Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise—none other than Shijū no Saimon (Four-Beast Sealing Gate), a high-order kidō array.
Within the barrier, Ichigo in his bull-headed Hollow state was brawling with Kensei. "Brawling" barely fit; it was mostly Kensei getting beaten bloody. With every blade-to-blade clash, he looked closer to tears.
As he traded blows, Kensei yelled toward those outside the barrier, "Shinji, Love, Captain Kurosaki—time yet? Hurry up and tag me out!"
Shinji's face was a bruise map. "Only ten minutes. Tough it out—you've got at least thirty to go."
Ichigo was in his inner world fighting his inner Hollow; meanwhile, someone had to keep him busy outside. They'd set rules: vice-captain-class had to last twenty minutes; captain-class had to last an hour.
Kensei nearly spat blood, whipping Tachikaze (Earth-Severing Wind) in a frenzy. "No can do—this kid's ridiculous. Keep this up and I'll have to bankai!"
Using only shikai, he was being pinned and ground into the dirt.
Cole sauntered over with a grin. "Then bankai—no one's stopping you. I'll be up after him; I've got to last two hours."
He looked over at Isshin. "Uncle Isshin, when it's your turn, at least three hours."
Isshin's mouth twitched; he looked even worse than Shinji, face swollen close to a pig's head. "Why three hours for me?"
"Because you hid your identity so long. It's my first time learning you were a captain."
Cole teased, then lifted his eyes to Bull-Head Ichigo and smiled. "Once he's done, it's my turn. Heads up—you don't have to hold back. Feel free to abuse me with bankai."
A collective shiver ran through the group. They had the creeping sense that even with bankai, they might still get flattened by Cole.
Time ticked by—two days, just like that.
The Visoreds and the Urahara crew all ended up black and blue, eyes dead, souls wilted—staring into space like they'd lost their purpose.
Kisuke croaked, "Why did the shopkeeper have to get in there too? I'm not even a combatant."
Beside him, Tessai sighed weakly, "Boss, even I got sent in; of course you did." A kidō grandmaster who rarely drew a blade—yet Isshin had shoved him into the barrier. Two hours of pummeling—his gall almost came up.
Yoruichi lay with her head in Cole's lap, seething. "You think that's bad? Ichigo nearly broke my legs in there."
The "Flash Goddess" who ruled by speed—locked in a cage to slug it out for two whole hours.
Cole patted her hair, smiling. "Don't thank me yet. You need your rest so you can help me complete Hollowfication."
Yoruichi blinked—and her scalp tingled. She started to step away, to shunpo as far as possible from the dangerous brat. "Nope. Not doing it. If Ichigo's that monstrous, fighting you will kill me—"
"Yoruichi-san, no escaping."
Cole hugged her lightly; no matter how she struggled, she couldn't slip free.
Another day passed.
Just when every Shinigami present seemed about to crack, Ichigo clenched Zangetsu and hammered the butt of the blade into the white-and-black crust covering his body.
Cracks raced; the shell shattered and clattered to the floor.
Outside, eyes went misty. Finally over.
Even as relief washed through them, fists clenched.
Ichigo smiled. "Everyone—thank you…"
Before he finished, a fist the size of a sandbag flew into his face.
"Get him!!"
Shinji roared—and the Visoreds plus the shop's crew swarmed. Fists and feet rained down. Even his dad, Isshin, couldn't resist sneaking two kicks before backing off.
Ichigo got worked.
A long while later, face a balloon of bruises, he glared through gritted teeth. "You bullies."
Only then did the crowd nod in satisfaction.
They had barely turned to leave when Cole stepped into the barrier, smiling. "Everyone, I'll be in your care."
Everyone: "…"
(End of Chapter)
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