A sky full of blood rained down, pattering onto the Seireitei that had already been reduced to ruins.
The Twelfth Division Captain, Kurotsuchi Mayuri, together with his gargantuan Bankai monster, had been obliterated by a single punch—so completely that not even a trace of flesh remained.
The air was thick with a nauseating stench of blood.
The dozen or so Captains suspended in midair all felt as if they had been frozen in place, their bodies stiff, their scalps numb with terror.
Too horrifying.
That was a peak Captain-level combatant, yet he had been swatted to death like an insect.
"Unforgivable…"
In the deathly silent ruins, a suppressed roar filled with rage suddenly erupted, like the growl of a wounded beast.
Boom!
A violent surge of yellow Spiritual Pressure shot into the sky.
The Seventh Division Captain, Sajin Komamura, shattered the stone beneath his feet. Towering and massive, his eyes burned blood-red beneath his helmet.
"You demon who slaughters the innocent!!!"
Killing intent boiled as he violently drew his Zanpakutō, Tenken.
"No matter who you are! To massacre the soldiers of the Gotei 13 and kill a Captain!"
"Even if I must sacrifice my life today, I will slay an evil like you right here!!!"
Just as Komamura prepared to release his Bankai—
A white-gloved hand pressed down on his shoulder.
"Sajin, step back."
The calm, rippleless voice carried an unyielding firmness.
The blind Ninth Division Captain, Kaname Tosen, stepped forward.
"Kaname! He's far too dangerous—!" Komamura shouted.
"It is precisely because he is dangerous that this must end with the least bloodshed."
Tōsen raised his head slightly. Though blind, his face was filled with cold, self-righteous conviction.
"The ugliest thing in this world is meaningless slaughter."
He slowly drew his Zanpakutō, Suzumushi.
"You demon who treats life as grass."
"Your existence itself desecrates the justice and peace I uphold."
"Therefore, I will use the most painless and quiet method… to grant you salvation."
In midair, Uchiha Tobirama kept both hands in his pockets, looking down at the blind man with unmistakable mockery in his purple Rinnegan.
"Do the cripples of the Shinigami world all love hearing themselves talk this much?"
"I crushed a few bugs, and now a blind man wants to lecture me about justice?"
"Arrogant."
Tōsen's expression darkened.
He poured his Spiritual Pressure into Suzumushi.
"Suzumushi—Final Form…"
Hum—!!!
Nine massive reishi rings shot out, rapidly expanding until they completely enveloped both men.
"Enma Kōryō!!!"
Boom!
The rings erupted into an extremely dense black curtain, forming a gigantic, pitch-black barrier above the Seireitei.
Absolute darkness descended.
…
Outside the barrier, the surrounding Captains finally relaxed slightly.
"It's Tōsen's Enma Kōryō!"
Komamura clenched his fists, certainty flashing in his eyes.
"Once trapped inside, no matter how strong he is, he's finished."
Soi Fon wiped cold sweat from her brow.
"Within Enma Kōryō, sight, hearing, smell, taste—even spiritual perception are completely erased."
"Only Captain Tōsen can sense anything inside."
"He can only be slaughtered."
They believed the nightmare was finally over.
…
Inside the barrier.
There was nothing.
No sight. No sound. No sensation. Not even the beating of one's own heart.
An absolute void.
"Do you feel it?" Tōsen's voice echoed softly. "This is true fear."
Holding Suzumushi, he walked silently behind Tobirama.
"You are like an infant cast into the abyss, unable to even confirm your own existence."
He raised his blade.
"Die quietly."
The Zanpakutō swung down—
Less than a centimeter from Tobirama's neck.
A pale hand suddenly reached back and clamped onto Tōsen's wrist with absolute precision.
Thud!
The blade froze in midair.
"What?!" Tōsen's mind went blank.
In a space where all senses were stripped away—
He had been caught.
"Depriving the five senses?"
A cold, mocking voice boomed directly within Tōsen's mind.
"You blind man… do you truly misunderstand power this badly?"
Tobirama turned slowly.
His Rinnegan glowed eerily within the darkness.
"Senses are tools for lesser life forms."
"My perception…"
"Transcends dimensions."
Tōsen's body trembled.
"This is impossible! My Bankai is an absolute rule—!"
"Noisy."
Crack!
Tobirama shattered Suzumushi along with Tōsen's arm.
"Aaaaah—!"
The scream ended abruptly.
Tobirama's right hand shot forward and clamped around Tōsen's neck.
"Go preach your justice in hell."
With brutal force, he ripped upward.
Riiiiiip—!!!
Tōsen's head, along with a section of his spine, was torn free.
Blood erupted like a fountain, staining the darkness crimson.
…
Outside.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The black barrier fractured.
Boom!
Enma Kōryō shattered into fragments.
Sunlight poured down.
Tobirama stood unharmed in midair.
In his hand—
The severed head of Kaname Tōsen.
Thud.
The headless corpse fell into the ruins.
"Kaname——!!!"
Komamura's scream echoed in despair.
Another Captain had fallen.
Barehanded.
Tobirama casually tossed the head aside and looked down at the terrified Captains.
"Next."