Ice fragments gathered over the wound, quickly sealing the injury on Purplemaru's body. Struggling to his feet, he could not understand how these Captains were so powerful—especially when they seemingly hadn't even used Bankai yet.
He could not afford to drag this out any longer.
Purplemaru frantically activated the power of the Ōin (Royal Seal) within his body. A wave of gray-black Reiatsu spread outward, and the area inside Ryūjin Jakka's firewall was suddenly covered by a dark hemispherical barrier.
Using the power of the Ōin, Purplemaru erected a barrier.
The terrifying old man—Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto—whose flames threatened his weather manipulation was sealed outside. With the Royal Seal's power, that monster of a Shinigami would not be able to break in for the time being.
By the time Purplemaru lifted the barrier, Hyōrinmaru would already be fully restored. At that point, even Ryūjin Jakka would not be impossible to contend with.
Originally, Tsunayoshi had also been outside the barrier.
However, at the exact moment Purplemaru unleashed his Reiatsu, Tsunayoshi suddenly dropped toward the ground for some unknown reason. As a result, the barrier only sealed Shinji, Kensei, and Rose outside—it failed to trap its real target.
Regarding Purplemaru's little scheme, Tsunayoshi merely smiled without saying anything.
Did he really think Hyper Intuition was something to underestimate?
The blazing "sun" descended to the ground—but it remained a sun.
Tsunayoshi's radiant light continued to function, allowing the Shinigami inside the barrier to maintain their ability to move.
"Bankai… Senbonzakura Kageyoshi!"
A massive formation of countless pink blades suddenly appeared in the sky.
Byakuya Kuchiki had released his Bankai—but his goal was not offense.
It was defense.
"All Shinigami of the Gotei Thirteen, enter the range of Senbonzakura Kageyoshi and prepare for a contracted defensive formation," Byakuya's voice spread throughout the barrier.
The path had originally been opened so that as many Shinigami from the Seireitei as possible could enter the battlefield.
Now that the entry route was sealed, Byakuya could only reorganize the forces already inside the barrier and establish a defensive perimeter.
"Renji! Gather the other Captains and eliminate that dragon—especially Sawada Tsunayoshi and Captain Hitsugaya. Hurry!"
A large number of Shinigami were trapped inside the barrier.
The only solution now was to defeat Purplemaru as quickly as possible.
Byakuya didn't know exactly how many Captains were inside—but Tsunayoshi, who had been shining across the entire battlefield, and Hitsugaya were definitely within the barrier.
"Understood!"
Renji leapt onto Hihiō Zabimaru, riding the enormous skeletal serpent as it surged toward the tower of the Tower of Repentance.
"Mr. Sawada! Captain says we should take down that dragon first!"
Renji quickly found the extremely conspicuous Tsunayoshi on the battlefield.
"This barrier really is unsettling… Hitsugaya!" Tsunayoshi shouted.
Moments later, Hitsugaya descended beside him, his ice wings beating in the air.
"Just charge ahead. Leave the rest to me and Renji!"
Hitsugaya nodded and immediately rushed upward along the tower toward the sky.
Renji and Tsunayoshi followed close behind.
Tsunayoshi drew his blade and activated a Resurrección, layering it together with his Sun-attribute flames.
"Lizard — Regeneration!"
Green scales spread across his waist and arms, covered with the fine scales of a reptile. His eyes transformed into vertical pupils.
With the combined power of Bankai and Resurrección, a terrifying surge of power erupted.
The Hollows that tried to intercept him were instantly crushed by the pressure of his Reiatsu before they could even approach.
Purplemaru sensed the terrifying Reiatsu rising from below the tower.
There was no point holding back anymore.
Drawing on the power of the Ōin, he forcibly pulled Menos-class Hollows directly from Hueco Mundo into this world.
That wasn't all.
Purplemaru split off part of his Reiatsu and infused it into the two Arrancar at his feet. Their bodies transformed rapidly.
Two bizarre angel-like Hollows appeared—humanoid torsos without legs, their wings reshaped into massive floating armored arms. Their faces were completely expressionless.
The only difference between them was the power within their abdomens:
One burned with red flames.
The other crackled with blue lightning.
These two Arrancar were sent down from the tower together with a group of Menos, tasked with blocking Tsunayoshi and the others from advancing.
Fireballs and lightning spheres shot through the air.
The Menos fired Ceros, creating a barrage that obstructed the path.
Hitsugaya ignored them completely.
He believed Tsunayoshi would clear the path ahead.
A flash of golden light—
Tsunayoshi appeared directly in front of Hitsugaya.
Not just one Tsunayoshi—
In a single instant, six identical figures appeared.
It was extreme acceleration. The six images were simply Tsunayoshi moving at such speed that multiple afterimages manifested at once.
In truth, there was only one Tsunayoshi.
Six fists struck simultaneously.
Ignoring the incoming Ceros and elemental attacks, the six punches landed at once.
Six Menos were obliterated instantly.
"…So strong," Renji muttered.
Unwilling to fall behind, he dove into the skeletal serpent of Hihiō Zabimaru and charged toward the lightning-element Arrancar.
While Renji clashed with the lightning Hollow, another incredibly fast figure wrapped in Kidō-enhanced Reiatsu attacked the fire-element Arrancar.
It was Soi Fon.
After Purplemaru activated the barrier, she had unleashed Shunkō and rushed straight toward the battlefield's center—intercepting the other Arrancar before Tsunayoshi could reach it.
Tsunayoshi froze for a moment.
Was someone… actually stealing his opponent?
Thinking of Soi Fon's aggressive personality, Tsunayoshi decided not to interfere with her fight.
With that, there wasn't much left for him to handle.
Hitsugaya had already rushed toward the tower's summit, and the lesser Hollows couldn't even approach Tsunayoshi.
Casually scanning the battlefield, Tsunayoshi brushed his arm.
A cluster of green scales fell from his skin and scattered outward.
They landed precisely on the Menos.
Under the influence of the Sun flames' activation property, the scales rapidly grew into humanoid figures resembling Tsunayoshi.
These hollow-eyed replicas clung to the Menos, punching them repeatedly until they were knocked into the abyss below.
The crisis was essentially resolved.
The rest depended on how Hitsugaya would defeat Purplemaru.
Tsunayoshi ignited the jets beneath his feet and flew toward the tower's peak.
At the summit of the tower—
Hitsugaya didn't hesitate for even a moment.
He immediately slashed at Purplemaru.
Clang.
Hyōrinmaru's blade stopped against the ice dragon's scales.
Purplemaru remained completely unharmed.
"Is that all you have, Hitsugaya Tōshirō?"
Purplemaru rapidly shrank his body until he matched Hitsugaya's size.
His claws flashed—
Two wounds instantly appeared across Hitsugaya's body.
Hitsugaya said nothing.
Snowflakes clung to the blade of Hyōrinmaru as he continued to strike again and again, ignoring Purplemaru's taunts.
"You don't even dare to use ice anymore? Then hand Hyōrinmaru over to me!"
Purplemaru had no such hesitation.
Several ice dragons split from his body and surged toward Hitsugaya.
Killing Hitsugaya and seizing Hyōrinmaru's power had become his most urgent goal.
He could already sense the overwhelming Reiatsu approaching from below.
Purplemaru unleashed everything.
The ice dragon armor around Hitsugaya shattered piece by piece, and more wounds appeared across his body.
If not for the freezing effects of Daiguren Hyōrinmaru dulling his pain, Hitsugaya—now covered in blood—would likely have collapsed already.
Despite enduring so many attacks, Hitsugaya had never used a single ice-based technique.
Instead, he simply continued carving slashes across Purplemaru's icy body.
As the cuts multiplied, the shallow marks gradually deepened into engraved grooves.
At last, Purplemaru sneered.
"It's time to end this. Return to me—my other half of power!"
He bent down to seize Hyōrinmaru from the fallen Hitsugaya.
But suddenly—
Hitsugaya spoke softly.
"Don't underestimate… the power of the weak."
"What?"
Purplemaru had barely spoken when—
Crack… crack…
A series of fracturing sounds erupted from his chest.
Then—
BOOM.
A massive crack burst open across his torso.
Within the fracture bloomed elegant ice flowers.
Purplemaru staggered back in disbelief.
He recognized them immediately.
"…Hyōten… Hyakkasō…?"
This was a variation of Hyōten Hyakkasō.
Hitsugaya knew that using ice techniques directly would allow Purplemaru to steal them. So he had concealed the move from the very beginning.
The snowflakes clinging to his blade were actually the seeds of Hyōten Hyakkasō.
With every slash, Hitsugaya had implanted them deeper into Purplemaru's body.
By the time Purplemaru noticed them, the ice flowers had already taken root.
They fed on Purplemaru's own Reiatsu, drawing nourishment until they consumed him entirely.
"Impossible! Don't joke with me!"
Purplemaru tore the ice flower from his chest.
But when the flower was pulled out, shards of ice came with it.
His chest instantly fractured into multiple blocks of ice.
"I knew it! Mere ice flowers can't kill me!"
Just as he began to laugh again—
That irritating voice sounded once more.
"How do you know… I only planted a few snowflakes?"
As Hitsugaya slowly rose to his feet, the cracking sounds across Purplemaru's body multiplied.
More and more ice flowers blossomed across his body, spreading along the fractures.
"I defeated you once with a weak body… and I will defeat you a second time!"
Hitsugaya's voice was unwavering.
In his eyes, the version of himself in the past—the one who couldn't bring himself to strike Sōjirō Kusaka—had been far weaker.
Back then, it was Kusaka's mercy that allowed Hitsugaya to survive.
This time—
Hitsugaya would personally deliver Kusaka's final end.
Purplemaru had no way to stop it.
All he could do was tear out the ice flowers again and again.
But the more he tore them out, the more his body shattered.
Gradually, beneath the thick ice dragon armor, a humanoid form began to emerge.
Seeing the left side of Kusaka's chest, Hitsugaya's hand trembled uncontrollably.
Their past battle had ended with Hitsugaya's blade piercing Kusaka's left chest.
Now—
That same moment had come again.
Hitsugaya dispelled Daiguren Hyōrinmaru and casually planted Hyōrinmaru into the ground.
With his left hand, he grabbed his trembling right hand and forced it to steady.
Then he drew the empty-shell Zanpakutō from his back.
He took deep breaths.
The images of the past and present overlapped before his eyes.
In the past, Kusaka's mercy allowed Hitsugaya to live.
But this time—
Hitsugaya would send him off himself.
"Sōjirō… I'm no longer weak."
"This slash is my own will."
"Goodbye… Sōjirō Kusaka."
Past and present merged into one.
The slash from the past manifested in reality once more—
The same position.
The same strike.
This was Hitsugaya Tōshirō's resolve.
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