Ruri'iro Kujaku (Glazed Peacock) was petrified.
He'd only sensed a ripple of reiatsu here and come to scout—how did six endgame bosses pop out of nowhere?
Even ignoring the "odd" humans, any one of the six around Cole was captain-class. They could one-shot him a hundred times over without even releasing their blades.
Unlike him, the other three manifested zanpakuto bristled the instant they heard the name "Cole."
"Is that the glutton who reincarnated—Cole?"
"The one who ate half of Seireitei?"
"The one who made my master spend a month repairing walls?"
At that, Yoruichi and Rukia both shot Cole a look.
See? Even the zanpakuto know your infamy.
Cole coughed twice. "Well, the shinigami had free time. Patching walls is great for building spiritual strength."
Rukia muttered, "If you'd said that three days ago, every shinigami in Seireitei would've hunted you down."
Yoruichi nodded. "I heard the Head Captain almost came to cut you himself."
Cole shrugged. "Old man's petty. With Seireitei's resources, letting me sip a little reiatsu isn't a big deal."
Watching them chat, Ruri'iro Kujaku's fear curdled into fury. "You ugly shinigami, stop ignoring beautiful me! You think you can still do as you please?"
He snapped his wrist and sent hundreds of opaline vines whipping forward—only for Kisuke, Yoruichi, and Rukia to slice them like threads. Uryu's arrows severed a few more. Chad's giant right arm ripped two clean off.
Only Cole let one vine coil around his left arm, drinking his energy, as he spoke cheerfully, "Beautiful Ruri'iro Kujaku, calm down. You're dozens of times lovelier than your master. Since you're so beautiful, could you tell us the situation in Soul Society?"
Rukia shivered. "Cole… that's nauseating. There's no way he—"
"—He's right!!!" Ruri'iro Kujaku preened, smoothing his hair. "That fool Yumichika is an ugly beast who thinks he's beautiful. He never uses my true form out of jealousy—proof his heart is hideous. When he sees me, he'll finally know what beauty is!"
Ichigo went green and leveled Zangetsu. "Cole, I'm going to cut this clown."
Kisuke's mouth twitched. He'd fled Soul Society a century ago and never met Kenpachi's squad—but now he truly wondered what kind of man birthed a sword like this.
Cole sighed. Even more narcissistic than Yumichika himself. But since they'd started…
Ruri'iro Kujaku soaked in his own praise for a few dozen seconds, then tossed Cole a magnanimous nod. "You're ugly, far beneath my beauty—but those discerning eyes aren't bad. About Soul Society…"
Cole's face cooled. If this peacock didn't deliver, he'd cave his head in. First time in his life someone called him ugly.
Sensing danger, Ruri'iro Kujaku cleared his throat. "Since you admire me, I'll talk. Seireitei is under our zanpakuto's control. Shinigami scurry like sewer rats."
Kisuke and the others relaxed slightly. That tracked with what they'd seen.
"Kyōraku and Ukitake?" Yoruichi pressed. She refused to believe those two were down for good.
"Kyōraku Shunsui and Ukitake Jūshirō…" Ruri'iro Kujaku thought. "After Katen Kyokotsu (Flower-Heaven, Bone of Madness) and Sōgyo no Kotowari (Twin Fish of Ruling) crushed them, they vanished. Likely hiding near the Eighth, Ninth, or Tenth."
He rattled on: "Most sectors are ours. Only Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth remain in shinigami hands."
A breath the group didn't know they were holding eased out. At least some of Seireitei still stood.
"What about Old Man Yama?" Cole asked.
Everyone stiffened. Right—the Head Captain.
"Sealed by Lord Muramasa," Ruri'iro Kujaku said airily. "Plan is to keep him that way forever."
"Sealed!?" Shock rippled through the group. The strongest shinigami of the millennium—sealed? By who?
On details, the peacock had nothing—far above his pay grade.
Cole was about to ask after Soi Fong when several fierce reiatsu signatures knifed in from afar.
Cole: "Suzumebachi (Hornet)!"
Rukia: "Senbonzakura (Thousand Cherry Blossoms)!"
Yoruichi: "Katen Kyokotsu!"
Tessai: "Sōgyo no Kotowari!"
Ichigo: "Hihio Zabimaru (Baboon King Snake Tail)!"
Kisuke: "Aizen…???"
He sucked in a breath. "Why would Aizen be here?" If Aizen had the Hōgyoku, he'd be buried in research in Hueco Mundo—not strolling into Seireitei. Unless—had he already mastered it in one month? Impossible.
Cole frowned. The reiatsu felt… smaller than last time. He smirked. "Not Aizen—Kyoka Suigetsu (Mirror Flower, Water Moon)."
Absurd as it sounded, once you ruled out the impossible, the remaining answer was obvious.
Kisuke focused, then exhaled. "You're right. If it were Aizen with the Hōgyoku, the spike would be much larger." Ten Kyoka Suigetsu were better than one Aizen.
"Don't celebrate yet," Yoruichi cut in. "Captain-class zanpakuto are still captain-class. You confident against that many?"
Kisuke's brow furrowed. Each manifested blade carried its master's reiatsu. Six zanpakuto meant six captains—and strong ones at that. And why stop at six? Aizen's side still had Gin and Tōsen.
"They're here," Cole said, eyes narrowing skyward.
Seireitei once forbade flight, but with the shinigami routed, no rule remained. Figures streaked through the air:
A palm-sized queen bee—Suzumebachi.
Two sisters—Katen and Kyokotsu.
Twin blue sprites—Sōgyo no Kotowari.
A crimson-armored samurai—Senbonzakura.
An ancient bone serpent—Hihio Zabimaru.
And a mirror image of Aizen—Kyoka Suigetsu.
"Two more," Tessai murmured, gaze tightening.
A towering, dark-red beastman with deep orange fur and a long spear.
And a black iron war-god blotting out the sky—Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō (Black Rope Heavenly Punishment King), already in release.
"Eight captains…" Rukia's chest clenched. She'd never imagined facing eight at once. If Sode no Shirayuki hadn't been "captured" by Cole, it would be nine—the might of nearly all Seireitei.
Cole looked far off. "There's another—Tōsen's Suzumushi (Clear Insect). Looks like he's tangled with Kenpachi."
Eight captain-class zanpakuto halted above, pouring crushing reiatsu down. The Aizen look-alike turned to Kisuke with a gentle smile. "Urahara Kisuke. It's been over a century, hasn't it?"
Kisuke's mouth twitched. "Kyoka Suigetsu, we didn't even meet back then."
"Call me Kyoka Suigetsu—or Aizen, if you prefer," the blade said mildly. "From the moment I left him, I became a life of my own."
Kisuke's expression went odder still. Aizen had said, "The betrayals you can't see are the ones to fear." Now he'd been betrayed by his own sword. Was this the visible betrayal—or the invisible one?
Kyoka Suigetsu extended a hand. "So, Urahara. Join me. Together we can defeat Aizen Sōsuke and sit the throne of heaven."
Kisuke sighed and scratched his head. "Not to be rude, but… could you stop imitating Aizen?"
The mannerisms, the cadence, even the face—it was Aizen cosplay, and a poor one at that.
Kyoka Suigetsu's smile cracked. "Why say I imitate him? I have the same reiatsu now. I'm independent—"
"Save it!" Cole laughed, rocketing up. His golden staff expanded to a mountain in his grip and came smashing down. "Aizen isn't this dumb. He'd never humiliate himself by begging Kisuke."
Kyoka Suigetsu's face darkened. This human had once matched his master—he still feared him. He slid back and barked, "Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō!"
The iron king roared, heaving a titanic sword to meet the blow.
Steel met gold with a shattering crack.
The iron king's greatsword ruptured on impact. Cole's staff didn't slow; it slammed into the giant's chest, caving the scarlet armor and hurling the war-god back into a mound of stone, pulverizing more ruins.
"Cole!" Rukia gasped. "If you break Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō, what about Captain Komamura?"
Sode no Shirayuki had said it: if a manifested zanpakuto dies, its master loses that power.
Cole shouldered the now-slender Ruyi Jingu Bang. "Relax. I held back. He won't die. Orihime can patch him."
He eyed Kyoka Suigetsu and grinned. "If it were the real Aizen, even knowing he couldn't stop that strike, he wouldn't shove a subordinate in the way."
"Nonsense!" Kyoka Suigetsu snapped. "He sacrifices pawns without a thought—"
"That's because he's playing," Cole cut in lazily. "He ignores their deaths because they're pieces—but he'd never cower behind them from fear."
Cole couldn't help it—a sigh. "He really is terrifying. Even you—his own zanpakuto—don't understand him, and you mimic him anyway."
No wonder Aizen was the ultimate villain. Even his blade couldn't truly perform him.
Kyoka Suigetsu's face iced over. "Kill this arrogant human."
With that, the ring of captain-class zanpakuto dove for Cole—while Kisuke and the others gritted their teeth and surged to meet them.
(End of Chapter)
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