"Bankai!"
Before Fūjin Taichi could even finish the final word, kai, Yone was already standing silently before him. Taichi's heart jolted—
So fast!
"This ends here, Taichi."
Yone spoke lightly, then extended three fingers and pinched the blade of the Zanpakutō—
"What?! How is this possible…?!"
At the instant his fingers clamped down on the blade, Taichi felt his spiritual pressure plummeting sharply. In moments, he couldn't even maintain his Shikai anymore!
"Whoosh—!"
The grass-green glow in his pupils faded, reverting to pitch black. Taichi could feel the spiritual power within his body draining away bit by bit; even the black fabric of his Shihakushō began to lose its color.
When his Shinigami power vanished completely, the surrounding space suddenly became scorching hot—as if he were standing naked beneath the blazing July sun.
"Now you understand, Taichi… who is the king, and who is the mount, don't you?"
Yone sneered mockingly, then put the white demon mask with crimson markings back on. Pale yellow light gleamed from his eyes.
"Now then—get out of my world forever."
"Hey—what are you trying to do?!"
Seeing that his Bankai could no longer be used, panic surged through Taichi's heart, wiping away any trace of his former composure.
Crack!!
With a sharp, crisp sound, the Zanpakutō in Taichi's hands was crushed into fragments by Yone's grip, clattering onto the ground.
"This... how is this possible?! He crushed my Zanpakutō with his bare hands!!"
Taichi stared at his in disbelief, terror filling his eyes.
"Why wouldn't it be possible... my Master? Your narrow soul cannot begin to comprehend the scale of my power. Since it has come to this, I shall reclaim the strength you stole from me..."
Yone leapt high into the air. Raising his Zanpakutō horizontally before his chest with her left hand, she grasped the blade's tip with his right and shouted:
"Death is like the wind—always at my side!
Bankai: Blazing Frenzy Demon · Twenty-Sixfold Purgatory!!"
Boom!
The tanuki mask on his face abruptly transformed into a white skull. Tis red robes darkened to pitch black, resembling the Western image of the Grim Reaper.
The purple Zanpakutō in his hands split into twin skull-shaped scimitars. Black deathly aura erupted violently from his body, instantly transforming into countless waves of black flames that swept across the entire wasteland.
"This… this joke's gone way too far…"
Taichi's face went pale as he stared blankly at Yone in the sky, muttering to himself.
...
At the same time—
In the underground training ground outside the Zanpakutō meditation space—
"ROAR—!!"
Fūjin Taichi, who had been sitting cross-legged in meditation, suddenly threw his head back and roared. Streams of white substance burst from his body, rapidly spreading across him.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!"
Like a feral beast, Taichi collapsed to the ground, screaming in agony. Half of his handsome face was now covered by a white skull mask.
Beneath the mask, one of his eyes turned the pale yellow unique to Hollows. Rows of sharp fangs sprouted from beneath the left half of the skull, and a series of shrill hissing sounds escaped his mouth.
"Taichi! Clear your mind—reclaim your true Shinigami power!"
Beside the Tenshintai, little Fūjin Yasuo stared at Taichi with burning intensity in his black eyes.
"My blade is more important than anything… except you."
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!"
With half his body already consumed by Hollowfication, Taichi could no longer care what Yasuo was saying. Using what little willpower he had left, he resisted the Hollow's encroachment.
Struggling, he reached up with his right hand, clawed at the half-skull mask on his face, and roared with everything he had left:
"Get the hell back inside meeeee!!"
"Taichi…" Yasuo fixed his gaze on Taichi's half-Hollowed body and spoke slowly, word by word:
"Forget the fear—dash forward.
Spin your blade.
Never stop.
Unyielding—advance toward death.
Only joy is eternal.
Call my true name: Ichi (one)."
…
Boom!
The scene shattered like a mirror, and countless memories flooded in:
Spicy strips.
Instant noodles.
Braised eggs.
Cigarettes.
Beer.
Sausages.
A rattling electric fan.
A flirtatious front desk clerk.
Heart-stopping top-up discounts.
And—
Rows of men and women pulling all-nighters in internet cafés.
"First Blood!"
"Double Kill!"
"Triple Kill!"
"Quadra Kill!"
"Penta Kill!"
In front of a Huawei desktop computer, Yujin—who had stayed up all night—stared at the screen as it faded to gray once more and fell into deep thought:
My Yasuo is already good enough… so why can't I still beat that damn Renekton?
Could it be… that my joy still isn't enough?
Thinking this, Yujin shouted toward the counter:
"Boss! Another bowl of noodles! Add an egg, a sausage, and a bottle of herbal tea!"
"Order for Station 17!"
The part-time manager brought over the food and tea. He glanced at the gray screen and pointed out the problem in a few words:
"Yujin.
Think about it.
Use your brain.
You're playing the Happy Wind Man—
so why can't you beat Renekton?
Why can't you outplay Fizz?
Why do your teammates keep calling you dead weight?
Why do you only dare farm under tower,
but never go out and brawl with Garen?
Shouldn't you ask yourself:
Have you spent money?
Have you spent enough money?
Do you understand the happiness of Tencent's Daddy?
…
As the fragmented memories of Yujin shattered once again, Fūjin Taichi's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
So my true source of power is…
Joy.
I must be joyful!
Screw ranks, screw wins and losses—
as long as I'm having fun, that's all that matters!
Then…
let's go all in.
Whether it's the Wind Demon or the Wind God,
as long as it makes me happy, it's my power!
So…
this whole "king and mount" nonsense is just a fairy tale for kids.
A true Shinigami should flexibly command every kind of power within themselves—
Wind God · Yasuo is the Shinigami power born from the fusion of Yujin and Fūjin Taichi:
Ichi—wielding the power of wind and space!
Wind Demon · Yone is the Shinigami power of Fūjin Taichi that was cast aside and fell into Hollow corruption:
Kyūjūkyū—wielding the power of flame!
If I fuse these two powers into one,
then what is there to fear from Aizen?
I'll march straight to his doorstep and yank his head off—
use it as a damn urinal!
As the saying goes:
"If others don't offend me, I won't offend them.
But if they do—then I'll hit back, no exceptions!"
Aizen, you schemed against me in the human world—
then I'll repay you a hundredfold!
Your accomplice Tōsen too—I'll clean him up as well,
and leave you a commander with no troops!
Having made up his mind,
Fūjin Taichi focused his spirit and once again returned to the Zanpakutō meditation space—
to face that vicious, ferocious Hollow once more:
Wind Demon · Yone.