Whoosh—
The Zanpakutō known as Burning Flower vanished into thin air. Under Shiba Miyako's shocked eyes, several more crimson tentacles wrapped around her arms and neck, hoisting her brutally into the air.
"D–damn it…"
Miyako felt the tentacles tightening around her throat, squeezing harder and harder until she could no longer make a sound. Breathing became increasingly difficult…
"Yo, Shinigami! You really care about your comrades, don't you?"
Metastacia giggled grotesquely.
"In that case, how about this? I'll take over your body—then, using your own consciousness, I'll slaughter your companions. Sounds fun, doesn't it?"
"I… I won't… let you… succeed…"
Miyako's breathing grew faint. Mustering the last of her strength, she raised a finger and pointed it at her own forehead, preparing to end her life with Kidō—
"Oh? Even at death's door you're still thinking about others?"
Metastacia sneered.
"Shinigami… you've truly enraged me! Very well—come! Become a part of my body!"
With that, even more crimson tentacles shot toward her—
Is this... the end? Kaien...
Miyako watched helplessly as the red tentacles rushed toward her. Her consciousness faded, sinking into darkness—
Just then, a low shout rang out: "Face the wind! Hasagi!"
A white wall of wind, three meters wide, erupted into existence before Miyako, forcibly blocking her path. In an instant, it severed every crimson tentacle dancing through the air—
"What?!"
Metastacia recoiled in shock. When it recognized the newcomer, it cried out inwardly:
That Shinigami from earlier?! He found this place?!
Behind the white wall of wind, Fūjin Taichi gently laid the unconscious Miyako on the ground. Then, fixing his gaze coldly on Metastacia, he said:
"I've got you now… Jiraiya."
"Tch…"
Metastacia clicked its tongue, propping itself up as it cackled.
"So what? Your Zanpakutō already touched my tentacles just now!"
"And then?" Taichi replied calmly.
"Any Zanpakutō that touches my tentacles disappears!"
"Oh? That's the ability you're so proud of?"
Taichi lifted his Zanpakutō and spoke quietly:
"I don't know why Bleach has this bizarre trope where enemies explain their abilities to each other—
but I'll treat it as you showing off.
Since you've followed the 'rule' and explained your ability to me…
I suppose I'll return the favor and explain mine."
"My Zanpakutō is called Kyūjūkyū (ninety-nine).
Its Shikai command is: Face the wind, Kyūjūkyū.
Its ability is…
to command the wind—to wield the intangible, formless wind itself."
"Kekekeke! Shinigami, but your Zanpakutō already touched my tentacles, so—"
"You idiot."
Taichi interrupted sharply.
"Did I really explain it so poorly?"
His once jet-black eyes suddenly turned grass green—the sole visible change of his Shikai. His Zanpakutō's appearance remained unchanged.
"What…?"
"My Zanpakutō… is a wind-controlling blade.
And you think a low-level toy like you can make the intangible wind disappear?"
Fūjin Taichi activated Shunpo.
With a sharp whoosh, Taichi appeared behind Metastacia and shouted:
"Gale Slash!"
SHRRR—!
A flash of cold light streaked through the air.
Three thousand razor-sharp gales converged into a towering green tornado, instantly shredding Metastacia into countless fragments—
"Such... such a fast blade..."
Metastacia murmured its final words before its body completely disintegrated into nothingness.
"Hmm... Maybe it'll be reborn in the neighboring Konoha Village," Taichi muttered jokingly.
He then lifted the unconscious Miyako into his arms, activated Shunpo once more, and vanished from the plain...
...
At the same time, deep beneath the 5thDivision barracks of the Gotei 13—
Aizen, clad in a captain's white haori, sat calmly in a chair, smiling silently at a large monitor before him.
Ichimaru Gin, also wearing a captain's haori, stepped to Aizen's left and said with his usual crescent-eyed smile: "My, my. It looks like the Hollowfication experiment failed again."
Aizen smiled gently in response. "Gin, failure does not mean my idea is flawed.
It may simply be that the method of fusion was incorrect.
Next… we shall attempt the fusion of Hollow, Shinigami, and Quincy souls—
and see what interesting result emerges."
"Ahh, you're as ruthless as ever, Captain Aizen,"
Ichimaru Gin said, narrowing his eyes and speaking cheerfully with a Kansai accent.
"Ruthless?"
Aizen gazed at the image of Fūjin Taichi on the screen with faint amusement and replied slowly,
"That word has no meaning for souls that have already become Hollows. They are merely beings that 'hunt other souls after death'!
Moreover, I am simply bestowing purpose upon their existence. Where is the ruthlessness in that? On the contrary, the act of shattering a soul to pieces is true ruthlessness!"
"Well, well, as expected of Captain Aizen,"
Gin chuckled lightly.
"Everything you say sounds so convincing that even the tiny bit of guilt I had left has vanished.
What do you think, Captain Tōsen?"
Gin's narrow eyes curved into an even thinner line as he turned toward the silent captain standing to Aizen's right.
The man had dark brown skin and deep violet hair tied into short dreadlocks. An orange scarf rested around his neck, and a pair of goggles covered his face. His eyes were shut tightly—clearly, a blind Shinigami.
"Hmph."
Tōsen Kaname snorted coldly and declared with pride:
"If I am to carry out the justice I believe in, then no means are unacceptable.
Ruthless or mercy—before absolute power and justice, such words are nothing more than excuses the weak use to vilify the strong in order to survive."
"As expected, Captain Tōsen has absolutely no sense of humor,"
Gin shrugged, then turned back to Aizen and asked,
"So, Captain Aizen—what's the next step?"
"Using a Shinigami's soul as the base,"
Aizen replied, tapping a few keys on the keyboard,
"inject Quincy blood and attach a Hollow mask."
On the screen, several virtual images slowly merged, eventually forming a humanoid Hollow with the head of a bull.
"Oh?"
Gin cracked his eyes open just a sliver and glanced at the bull-headed Hollow on the screen.
"So this is what Shinigami Hollowfication looks like?"
"This is merely a virtual composite created from basic Shinigami, Hollow, and Quincy data,"
Aizen answered casually.
"Its actual combat performance will depend on how it manifests."
After explaining, Aizen turned to Tōsen and said,
"Tōsen—bring that person to the laboratory."
"Yes,"
Tōsen nodded slightly and departed at once.
Moments later, the image on Aizen's screen shifted.
Tōsen Kaname appeared, carrying the unconscious Noda Tasuke, laying him onto an operating table before injecting several unidentified fluids into his body.
"Oh… so this Shinigami was bitten by a Hollow before?"
Gin narrowed his eyes, staring at the clear Hollow bite mark on Tasuke's neck as he asked quietly.
"First, allow the Hollow's power to activate within the Shinigami's body,"
Aizen explained,
"then inject Quincy blood. Using the incomplete Hōgyoku I created as a catalyst, the three powers will be forced into a temporary equilibrium—"
"Well now… that certainly makes one look forward to the results,"
Gin smiled with visible excitement.
What he truly thought, however, remained known to no one.
"Don't be too optimistic, Gin,"
Aizen said calmly.
"This Shinigami's power is far too weak. He may not even complete Hollowfication before turning into a full Hollow."
"Oh? That would be a shame,"
Gin replied flatly. Then a strange glimmer flashed through his eyes as he lowered his voice and asked:
"If this Hollowfication experiment fails again…
why don't we try a stronger Shinigami next time?
Captain Aizen—what do you think about that one called Fūjin Taichi?"
"A Zanpakutō that controls the wind… intriguing,"
Aizen neither agreed nor refused, answering lightly as his gaze returned to the large screen.
"Fūjin Taichi…"
Gin's eyes narrowed once more as he mused silently:
You've been hiding your power for six whole years…
What exactly are you afraid of?