Chapter 171: Zanpakuto Fusion
That Floating Castle did not look very far away.
Yet it still took Takeru, Ichigo, and Aizen a little over 10 minutes to arrive.
"It is not just the buildings. Even the sense of spatial distance here is as chaotic as it was in Las Noches."
The moment he landed on the stone paved street, Ichigo muttered under his breath while keeping a sharp eye on his surroundings.
"You missed one point. Even the composition of the reishi here is different from what it is on the ground."
Takeru looked straight ahead, his gaze fixed on the towering and solemn palace at the center of the city.
He did not know that the building was called the Throne Room, but he could sense an unfamiliar yet powerful Arrancar spiritual pressure coming from within it.
Alongside that was another presence, flickering, unstable, and carrying a faint trace of familiarity.
There was not much to say about the former.
The latter, however, was far more troubling.
Takeru had not just sensed it now. He had already noticed it back when he was issuing orders.
Even then, it had felt flickering, like a poor signal.
And now that he had actually stepped into the Floating Castle, that sensation remained exactly the same.
The shorter distance did not make it any clearer.
Under normal circumstances, that could have been explained by weak spiritual power.
But the atmosphere of the entire Floating Castle was saturated with that spiritual pressure, like the pheromones of a predator marking its territory, or as if every corner of this place was being forcibly dyed in its color, twisting the very reishi environment.
The temperature was only a few degrees below freezing.
Even so, many of the buildings ahead had already been sealed in ice, and some had become full ice sculptures.
The central palace that had drawn Takeru's gaze even had walls of snow piled up around it.
There was no doubt about it.
The farther inward one went, the colder it would become.
And all of that was clearly tied to that flickering spiritual pressure.
It was abnormal.
Ichigo, who had also noticed something was wrong, said with certainty, "I do not know what happened or why it changed so much, but this is definitely Rukia's spiritual pressure. I am sure of it."
"Kuchiki's spiritual pressure seems to have become abnormally high, so distant that it almost feels unreal."
Aizen spoke in a thoughtful tone.
"It never felt like this even when Yhwach opened The Almighty. Does that mean her current spiritual pressure might already be above Yhwach's?"
"It is not might be above Yhwach. It has already surpassed him. She is the deity of this world, one that is about to transform into a new world. It would be more troublesome if she did not possess that level of power."
A voice suddenly came from the shadow of a nearby entrance.
The three turned toward it, each reacting differently.
"Ichimaru... Gin!"
Unlike Takeru and Aizen, who remained calm, Ichigo glared at him as if he had finally found the culprit behind everything.
"Hey now, do not look at me like that. I did not do anything to little Rukia, and that includes the order to capture her. That had nothing to do with me either."
Ichimaru Gin smiled in that same chilling way as always and raised his hands in mock surrender, his tone light, but every word somehow even more infuriating than open provocation.
"If I had a choice, I would rather have let her go. She is a little too pitiful, being played from beginning to end like that. If she did not have companions like you, her life would have been no different from that of a tool."
"What... did you do to Rukia?!"
Ichigo suppressed his urge to draw his sword on the spot and forced out the question.
"Well, if I had to sum it up in one sentence..."
Ichimaru tilted his head as if honestly considering it, then replied with a meaningful smile.
"We let her fulfill her proper role as the vessel of the Hogyoku."
"You said... vessel?!"
Ichigo's pupils shrank.
A memory flashed through his mind, the execution, the Hogyoku hidden in Rukia's body, the plot to kill her and extract it.
Logically, after Arturo had used the blazing water mirror to remove the Hogyoku, Rukia should have had nothing to do with it anymore.
So why was the word vessel appearing again?
"Do not tell me... you actually put the Hogyoku back inside her body?!"
"What other reason would there be to bring her here?"
Ichimaru answered as if it were obvious.
"..."
Hearing that, Ichigo did not erupt.
Instead, he became strangely calm.
"I see."
Takeru gave a faint nod, as though something in his mind had just been confirmed.
"So there really is some unavoidable connection between Rukia and the Hogyoku, or perhaps some necessary condition that only she fulfills. That is why Urahara put it inside her in the first place."
"Oh dear. I probably should not have said so much, especially not in front of a resourceful Captain Commander like you. Though at this point, no one is going to get angry at me for letting a little slip out, right? After all, it has already succeeded."
Ichimaru tapped the side of his head with feigned annoyance, then flashed them an almost playful grin.
Seeing that, Ichigo's anger surged again, and his hand finally closed around the hilt on his back.
"You bastard. This time I will be the one to...!"
"I will do it."
That gentle voice flowed into his ears like a cool mountain spring.
At the same time, a hand settled on Ichigo's shoulder.
"...Teacher?"
Ichigo turned and saw Aizen smiling at him, broad and composed as ever.
"I have a score to settle with Ichimaru. So leave him to me."
"Then I will leave him to you, Teacher."
Takeru seized Ichigo by the arm.
In the next instant, both of them vanished with a sharp sound, leaving only Aizen and Ichimaru standing in the cold street.
Though the two now faced one another alone, the atmosphere between them was deeply strange.
Ichimaru stretched his neck and looked in the direction Takeru and Ichigo had gone, then gave a long, almost helpless sigh.
"Ah, ah, they ran off. I wanted to take a shot and contribute something to Captain Aizen's grand cause, but Captain Aizen ended up ruining that."
"It is difficult to understand what is going on in your head."
"I should be the one saying that. What exactly are you thinking, Gin?"
Aizen's smile disappeared.
His face became expressionless, as if he had stripped away all emotion and left behind nothing but pure reason.
"I am not thinking about anything."
"Is that so?"
"Of course. Ever since I killed that unsightly Third Seat right in front of Captain Aizen, my thoughts have not changed at all. You should know that better than anyone... Captain Aizen."
Ichimaru spread his hands, looking almost innocent.
Aizen looked at him and slowly shook his head.
"I should apologize to you."
"...What?"
For the first time, Ichimaru's expression faltered.
"In the past, I told you that as a subordinate, you should make more effort to understand the heart of your superior. But as things stand, I have been somewhat derelict myself."
A strange light glimmered in Aizen's eyes.
"What I mean is this. It has been a long time since I last paid proper attention to what you were thinking."
"That is really heartbreaking."
Ichimaru shook his head.
"In truth, I think you should be pleased. It means you can produce unexpected surprises for my grand cause in places I do not watch. For example... your growth."
Aizen's tone remained slow and measured.
"Since Captain Aizen puts it that way, it seems I have no choice but to put on a good show. Originally, I only planned to act a little."
For the briefest instant, the smile vanished from Ichimaru's face.
When it returned, something about it had changed.
It was subtle, but unmistakable.
Perhaps in that single instant, some decision had been discarded and another constructed in its place.
Clang.
His short blade slid from its sheath.
The lithe sword looked like the venomous fang of a fox.
"Bankai... Kamishini no Yari."
Blazing white spiritual pressure surged outward like an avalanche.
The figure wrapped in that light did not change in shape.
Only the white robe uniform of the Las Noches faction billowed violently.
The spiritual pressure pouring from his body rose frantically, enough that it could be sensed from elsewhere in the Floating Castle and even from some of the battlefields outside.
Then, in the very next moment, it surged again.
This second eruption was like a burning star detonating in place.
Ichimaru's attire shifted subtly, and two strange creatures resembling Kuda gitsune circled around him.
To anyone ignorant of the truth, it would have looked like the completed form of a Bankai.
But in reality, this was...
"A fusion with Bankai. You really did research it that quickly. As expected of Urahara Kisuke. I did lend my aid, but even so, it has only been a few months since he was inspired by the Espada's new Resurrección. To create something from nothing and allow both you and Tōsen to master a new stage of Zanpakuto evolution that has never existed before, it really is a miracle."
Aizen's sleeves fluttered, and his hair shifted in the wind.
His expression, however, remained completely calm.
He used the word miracle, yet his tone was no more disturbed than if he were admiring a passing landscape.
"Before the outcome is decided over there, allow Captain Aizen to appraise my growth."
After saying something that clearly carried another layer beneath it, Ichimaru raised the short blade in his hand and pointed it straight at Aizen.
"Here I come, Captain Aizen. Try not to be too hard on me."
Without warning, the blade transformed into a streak of dazzling light and shot directly toward Aizen.
Behind it, a pale white storm followed, grand enough to seem capable of slicing the world apart.
Crack.
The sound of shattering glass rang out.
The fragments of Aizen's glasses flew up into the sky.
...
At the base of one side of the Floating Castle, near the edge of the surrounding rocky mountain range, stood another battlefield.
Tōsen Kaname stood at the edge of a cliff in white robes, as if he had been waiting for someone.
Then his brow twitched.
"That man Ichimaru... he actually made his move."
"No matter. With his current strength, he cannot pose a threat to Lord Aizen. Compared to that..."
He slowly turned toward the rear.
Bang.
A burly figure dropped from the mountain peak above, crushing the rocks beneath his feet and sending up a dust cloud more than 10 meters high.
Even the cliff itself trembled from the impact.
"So you finally came, Komamura."
"My apologies. I was delayed while clearing out some of the Kōkon to ease the burden on the others."
Komamura's voice was loud, steady, and full of resolve.
The light in his eyes was powerful and direct.
Even Tōsen seemed momentarily shaken by it.
"There is no need to apologize to me. We are enemies now. Although I anticipated that you would come looking for me and deliberately waited here in a place where no one else would interfere, it would not have mattered even if you had not come."
"That will not do. I made a vow. I absolutely cannot leave you alone."
"...Even after more than a year, you are still as stubborn as ever. But perhaps that is exactly the Komamura I know."
"This is not stubbornness."
Komamura answered without hesitation.
"The changes that have taken place in the Soul Society over the past year have only made me more certain that the decision I chose was the correct one."
"Meanwhile, you are still trapped in the vortex of revenge, unable to free yourself, insisting on walking farther and farther down a path that can only destroy you."
"The Tsunayashiro Clan has already been erased. The one who killed your friend has been brought down, and that person is now a wanted criminal. Once the culprit is captured and executed, where will you go after losing the object of your revenge?"
"Losing the object of my revenge?"
Tōsen took a slow breath.
His reaction to that matter was astonishingly slight.
So slight that Komamura was caught off guard.
Then Tōsen gave his answer.
"It is true that I have sunk deep into the vortex of revenge. But I did not enter it out of pure rage. On the contrary, I only chose this path after long reflection, hesitation, self doubt, and the torment of a conscience that felt powerless."
"Do you think vengeance against one man, or one family, would require this much suffering?"
"No. Nor do I seek to destroy a world simply because such people exist, as you seem to think."
"What my hatred drives me toward is not simple revenge. It is rebellion against a world built upon sin, a rebellion meant to sever evil and change what must be changed."
"This is a righteous cause. One no one has the right to deny."
"If I were to lose that hatred, then it would mean I had abandoned this righteous cause of changing the world even at the cost of my life."
"Komamura, you should understand this better than anyone. For people like us, once we abandon our righteous cause or lose the power to pursue it, the result is a fate far crueler than death itself."
"Better to die than live like that."
Tōsen's voice and attitude were exactly the same as back then, when they had once discussed their ideals together before that grave on the hillside.
Komamura felt his heart stir.
"So those are your true feelings..."
"They are."
Tōsen's voice remained level.
"The world is about to change. The sins born from that noble ancestor you mentioned will be erased. A new world will be welcomed into being. If possible, I do not want to see blood spilled for it. Nor do I wish to create a senseless slaughter."
Those words, too, were sincere.
"...Then these are also your true feelings."
Komamura looked at Tōsen deeply.
"That said, if you see yourself as a rebel, then for this old man to defeat that rebel cannot be called wrong either."
"Everyone has their own righteous cause. To recognize that, and to accept the righteous cause of another, is itself the breadth one must have if one claims to walk a righteous path."
Tōsen drew the long sword at his waist and swung it once.
His spiritual pressure flared, making the air creak.
"But in the end, those who carry a righteous cause must still prove it with strength."
"Bankai... Suzumushi Hyakushiki: Grillar Grillo."
Komamura's eyes widened.
The amount of spiritual pressure that exploded out of Tōsen far surpassed imagination.
The cliff beneath them fractured layer by layer.
Forget Tōsen, even Komamura could no longer stand where he was and had to retreat all the way back to the highest mountain peak nearby.
From there, he could see everything more clearly than ever.
Tōsen emerged from the violently twisting storm of spiritual pressure in a form that looked nothing like the one Komamura remembered.
Nine silver rings floated behind him.
Aside from the insect like wings and four clawed limbs, the rest of his body remained roughly humanoid.
Even the eyes that had once remained closed had opened, revealing an insectile emerald green.
One glance at him was enough to send a cold shiver straight through Komamura's body.
Every hair stood on end.
Every cell, every thread of reishi in him screamed the same warning.
Danger.
"This is the fused form that surpasses both Bankai and Resurrección. To a certain extent, it merges with the spiritual power of the Zanpakuto, especially the post cultivated Bankai."
"In this way, one avoids the risk of being unable to release it and gains a powerful strength equivalent to becoming one with the Zanpakuto."
Then Tōsen slowly rose into the air and floated until he stood at eye level with Komamura.
"Ah... I can feel it. Your spiritual pressure is several times stronger than the last time we fought. It is as if a Lieutenant level Shinigami were standing before a humanoid Menos Grande. But even so, this old man will not retreat."
"This is not only for your sake and mine. It is also for the Captain Commander."
Roar!
Komamura roared and unleashed his Bankai.
A giant samurai rose from the ground and towered on the mountain peak.
Its immense weight split the rock beneath its feet, and waves of dust rolled down the slope.
"Is that Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō? But even if you cast off its armor and abandon defense to raise its offensive power, what of it? The current me is not someone you can compare to the last time."
Tōsen was not boastful.
He was simply calm, like a still and bottomless well.
"This old man knows that. So this time, I will settle everything with this move."
The giant samurai's voice rumbled like thunder.
A brilliant light shone within its eyes.
Its spiritual pressure roared as if it would burst apart, releasing great plumes of steam. Under a crimson glow thick as molten lava, the Myō'ō's giant body melted and contracted.
And what appeared before Tōsen's eyes was something that did not exist in any of his memories.
Komamura himself.
His fur had turned crimson, and flames spilled from between his fangs.
He wore the armor and black cords of Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō.
In his hands he held the same massive, crushing blade.
His spiritual pressure surged again, as though his Zanpakuto had somehow been released a second time atop the Bankai.
"This is... impossible!"
Although the form was unfamiliar, the nature of the transformation felt deeply familiar to Tōsen.
This was clearly the same fusion form as his own.
"Komamura, you can use this too?!"
"This old man did not expect such a result either."
Standing to the side with his sword drawn, Komamura took a stance like a lone warrior facing a thousand enemies.
"This was a strange strategy I requested from the Captain Commander so that I could defeat you. At present, only this old man can achieve it, and only through the Humanization Technique passed down by the Werewolf Clan."
"The Captain Commander? Takeru?"
For the first time, Tōsen's composure wavered.
The fusion form had been proposed by Aizen and refined by Urahara after gathering data from the Espada's new Resurrección.
Even with the Espada themselves as reference material, it had required tremendous effort.
Yet Takeru, without any reference or data at all, had used Komamura as the basis and reached this stage by pure development alone.
It was clearly imperfect and not yet something that could be applied on a broad scale.
Even so, it was unbelievable.
"Tōsen, after hearing your true feelings, this old man will no longer say I will bring you back for judgment. Nor will I try to persuade you to turn back."
"Because now I understand. To do that would only insult you."
Komamura moved as he spoke.
His massive sword extended and swept toward Tōsen.
Tōsen easily evaded it, and the 9 silver rings behind him flew outward, unleashing emerald Ceros.
"That is exactly what I hoped for."
And after hearing Komamura's heartfelt words, Tōsen did not grow angry or sorrowful.
If anything, it seemed as though some burden had left him, and a faint expression of satisfaction crossed his face.
No longer trapped by the conflict of ideals.
No longer forced to treat their friendship as something severed.
It was as if, just like the past, the two of them still accepted one another as they were, and now simply continued forward in accordance with each other's chosen will.
Whether they won or lost.
Whether they lived or died.
Neither would have regrets.
"Bansho Zangai!"
With a roar, the giant Komamura unleashed the technique that had enlarged his body even further and swung down with all his strength, his eyes free of all hesitation.
Facing that blow, Tōsen gathered the 9 silver rings into formation and fired emerald sonic Ceros powerful enough to shake space itself.
"Rage Roar, Nine Arrivals!"
.....
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