April. Light rain.
Southern Rukongai, District 78.
Higashi Shuuichi stood quietly, now surrounded front and back by two of the notorious criminals, visibly frustrated.
It wasn't that he didn't want to keep running—it was that no matter how far he ran, that blinding reiatsu always maintained the same distance.
Back in District 79, it had been behind him.
But now, in 78, it was ahead of him—blocking the only route back toward District 77.
Clearly, whoever it was had no intention of letting him escape.
"…Hopefully Unohana Retsu gets the message and comes to save me."
Shuuichi grimaced, eyes locked on the smug, blood-slicked fat bastard in front of him.
He had just fired off the emergency signal the Kasumiōji had equipped him with—but expecting the Kasumiōji to personally send help? A joke.
The best he could hope for was that they'd notify Unohana immediately.
As for Aizen? Shuuichi could only chuckle darkly.
Aizen coming to save him over something like this? That'd require him to be Aizen's actual son.
And even then—
"Trash. You think you deserve to be my son?"
"Run, little Shinigami! Thought you were good at that, huh? Why aren't you running now?"
The fat one licked the blood clinging to his lip, his voice giddy and mocking.
"I've only killed one of you Soul Reapers so far. The other got snatched by Maro. But now you're here. Lucky me—two's a pair!"
Behind Shuuichi, the square-faced man grinned with the ease of a killer at play.
Shuuichi's earlier retreat had boosted their confidence. In their eyes, he was just another greenhorn Soul Reaper—nothing to worry about.
But now, Shuuichi began to settle his breathing.
Since escape was no longer an option, he had only one choice: create a battlefield tilted entirely in his favor.
First order: eliminate the two thugs in front of him immediately.
If that other one joined in, even their mediocre strength could tip the balance at a critical moment.
In a fight like this—no leeway could be afforded.
Their taunts had barely finished when Shuuichi exhaled deeply.
He had five seconds.
Five seconds to finish this before that monster in the distance could react.
He whispered:
"Advance… Hisha."
Green light shimmered across his Zanpakutō, the blade morphing into a dark jade katana, exactly three shaku long.
His reiatsu exploded, fully unsealed.
At a moment like this—life and death balanced on a knife's edge—he couldn't care less about Soul Society's laws.
Didn't matter if unsealing without permission was illegal.
Didn't matter if the Captain-Commander hadn't authorized it.
"A good tactician strikes with surprise—Hadō #73: Twin Lotus Blue Fire Crash!"
Flames burst to life across Hisha's edge. Shuuichi stepped forward and slashed.
Red and blue spiritual fire surged outward like a tidal wave, engulfing the sky.
But the fat man, despite his appearance, had fought his way out of countless corpses.
Though panic flashed briefly across his face, he instantly tucked into a bizarre rolling dodge, barely escaping the searing heat.
He laughed wildly. "Hahaha! A rookie Captain? Didn't even wear a haori—must be some noble brat playing dress-up!"
Shuuichi said nothing.
Because that move hadn't been meant for him.
If it had, he wouldn't have survived it.
Shuuichi's target had always been the one further away—the one cloaked in that overwhelming reiatsu.
Even he would need to respond to that level of kidō.
And that five-second window—Shuuichi's gambit—began.
First second: He spun and chanted,
"Hadō #57: Thunder—Earthen Waltz!"
Second second: The ground ruptured. Lightning crackled. Earth and stone surged upward in chaotic arcs.
Third second: Shuuichi charged straight into the erupting debris, letting shattered earth tear through him, slashing his skin bloody.
Fourth second: With a single curved-blade strike, he beheaded the fat one, and his Zanpakutō activated.
Reishi burst free from the corpse, then reassembled.
Fifth second: Flung upward by the quake, the square-faced man flailed in the air—unaware—until Shuuichi spun, thrust, and drove his blade through the man's throat.
Five seconds.
Two criminals—each with vice-captain level reiatsu—fell without landing a single blow.
But it wasn't over.
Shuuichi stared toward the scar ripped into the distant skyline by his Twin Lotus Crash—a divine fissure.
Debris rained from the heavens like a broken constellation.
Had he not known Unohana was safely inside Fourth Division headquarters, Shuuichi would have sworn the presence beyond that slash was her.
That blade—it could cleave the world.
He raised Hisha again and whispered:
"The Pacifist—Peach Garden."
One after another, Reishi Soldiers erupted from his blade, spreading out to hide.
Those without cover activated Bakudō: Kyakko—Bending Light—to cloak themselves.
Shuuichi spared nothing.
Not when death stood so close.
He would spend every ounce of his twenty-year stockpile of Reishi Soldiers if that's what it took to survive.
But then—
The rage he'd expected didn't come.
That distant presence hadn't budged.
No burst of grief. No bloodlust.
They had no reaction at all to the deaths of their allies.
And that, to Shuuichi, was far more terrifying.
It meant the enemy wasn't just strong.
They were rational.
Cool-headed.
The kind of opponent who'd never expose a single opening.
"So… I won't be baiting a mistake."
Shuuichi's mind raced.
His original plan had been to provoke an emotional outburst—get the third figure angry enough to slip, then exploit that lapse with a horde of Reishi Soldiers.
Now, only one strategy remained:
Strategic Depth.
He'd use his forces to draw out the battlefield, trade space for time.
Make them chase him.
No hesitation—Shuuichi turned and ran once more, issuing mental commands to his soldiers to initiate suicide interception runs in staggered waves.
But he hadn't gotten far when the vision from one fallen soldier froze him in place.
"…Wait a second—do I even need to run?"
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For this week I will do more release depending on the power stones !
100 Power Stones = 1 chapter (in addition to the daily update)
So give stones if you want mooooar !