Karakura Town, Human World.
At this moment, Natsuro was staring at the two people blocking his path. One was a short figure with an annoyed expression, golden hair tied into two spiky pigtails.
The other was also blond, but of normal height, sporting slightly feminine side-swept bangs. That one was smiling lazily at him, giving off a slouchy, unserious vibe.
"And you are?" Natsuro couldn't sense any spiritual pressure from them. But if they were humans, why were they blocking him?
"You're that Shinigami called Natsuro, right?" the short one asked with clear displeasure.
"That's me. And you are…?" Natsuro looked the two over, particularly the slouchy one, he seemed familiar, as if he had seen his face somewhere in the Gotei 13's library.
"Shinji Hirako. And this is Hiyori Sarugaki." It wasn't the short, fiery girl who answered, but the slouchy one, speaking in a normal tone.
"Shinji Hirako… the former captain of Squad 5?" Natsuro's expression shifted in recognition. He chuckled, "Makes sense you'd be here, you should've come to the Human World with Kisuke Urahara."
"Didn't think anyone would still remember us after all this time." Shinji seemed surprised. Based on their information, Natsuro had only become a Shinigami within the last few decades.
They themselves had left the Soul Society for the Human World nearly a hundred years ago.
"I just read some history from time to time." Natsuro shrugged, then glanced at them again.
"So… any reason you're standing in front of me? Because technically, I'm still the vice-captain of Squad 4, and you two are fugitives from the Soul Society. I'm obligated to take you in."
"But you won't," Shinji replied.
"That's not certain." Natsuro yawned. "Your gigai must be Kisuke Urahara's handiwork, right?"
"Yeah."
"I figured." Natsuro clicked his tongue. No wonder he couldn't sense their spiritual pressure, clearly, the gigai was messing with detection again.
"Alright, then. What do you want from me? I doubt you're here for no reason."
"We want you to help us take down someone," Shinji said seriously.
"Someone from the Gotei 13?" Natsuro asked casually.
"That's right." Shinji nodded. It wasn't hard to guess.
He had decided to approach him only after hearing from Urahara about the man's strength and temperament.
First, there was Natsuro's combat record, easily defeating the current captain of Squad 11, that monster of a man. Shinji knew all about that.
Second, Natsuro clearly wasn't aligned with the Soul Society's authorities, especially the Central 46. Which meant even if they appeared before him, as long as they didn't provoke him, he probably wouldn't try to arrest them.
What truly convinced Shinji was the matter of Isshin Kurosaki, the guy had blatantly broken Soul Society law right in front of him, and he had merely watched, even seeming inclined to help.
Given all that, Shinji concluded: if they could get Natsuro's help, their odds against that man would greatly improve.
Natsuro looked at him. Of course he knew who "that man" was, Aizen Sōsuke, the mastermind behind everything.
The problem was…
"While I've no interest in arresting you, why should I help you?"
"Tch!"
Beside Shinji, Hiyori was itching to curse him out, but Shinji stopped her immediately.
With her temperament, she'd probably want to start a fight and drag him back by force.
The issue was, the man before them wasn't someone you could just beat that easily.
"I've heard you really like to fight, right?" Shinji asked, knowing he needed to offer something.
"Kisuke tell you that? Well, it's true. But you guys might not meet my standards for a good fight," Natsuro said bluntly.
"You won't know until you try, right?" Shinji replied.
"That's true enough. Alright, lead the way." Natsuro thought for a moment, then smiled and agreed.
Shinji and Hiyori exchanged a glance and breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Shinji was also impressed by his confidence, he showed no concern at all about the possibility of them leading him into a trap.
Then Shinji remembered Urahara's guess that Natsuro's zanpakutō had spatial powers, the sort of ability that would render most traps useless.
That was probably the ace up his sleeve.
With that in mind, Shinji led him to an unassuming house.
Natsuro hadn't sensed anything from it before, but now he could tell there was someone inside skilled in kidō.
Following Shinji inside, they went through a tunnel and emerged into a vast underground chamber.
Several figures were already waiting for them.
"Tch, just as I thought, they're all here." Natsuro scanned the group, particularly a few notable faces.
"Former Squad 7 Captain, Rabu Aikawa aka Love. Former Squad 3 Captain, Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi. Former Squad 9 Captain, Kensei Muguruma."
With Shinji included, that made four captain-level combatants here. And anyone able to stand alongside them was likely vice-captain level at the very least.
This was clearly no small force.
"Ooh, so handsome!" a braided girl in a sailor uniform exclaimed, her eyes lighting up when she saw Natsuro.
"Shinji, is it done?" Kensei asked, eyeing the newcomer.
"Not yet. As expected, we'll probably need to put in some effort," Shinji replied.
"So, are you coming at me one at a time, or all together?" Natsuro asked, running out of patience. Seeing this many captains and vice-captains at once actually got him a little excited.
The air went still at his words.
They all knew his record, but saying something like that was still basically an open insult to everyone present. Only the large, round, and very gentle-looking man in the corner seemed unfazed.
"Tsk tsk… No wonder you beat that monster from Squad 11, you've got the personality to match." Shinji sighed. When they'd first met, he hadn't acted like this.
Now, his "arrogance" was on full display.
"Since I'm the one who brought you here, I'll be your first opponent." Shinji stepped forward and drew his zanpakutō.
Seeing this, the others, though clearly irritated, held back as they were curious to see how he would perform.
Natsuro studied Shinji's blade. Compared to most zanpakutō, it was rather distinctive. A rectangular hilt with square patterns, four rectangular cutouts around the blade.
It looked to already be in shikai.
"If you want my help, you'll have to prove you're worthy. So show me your full strength, and entertain me." Natsuro grinned. At that moment, he stepped out of his gigai.
In the battle to come, staying in it would only destroy it, so he might as well discard it now.
Then, glancing around the wide-open space clearly meant for combat, he unleashed his spiritual pressure without restraint.
In an instant, the sheer force of it made everyone's eyes widen.
The former captains could manage, but the vice-captains were hit with a crushing pressure that made it hard to breathe.
In that moment, Natsuro's earlier "arrogant" words echoed in their minds again, only now, they realized…
It might not have been arrogance at all. He really did have the right to say it.
Natsuro held Meikyō Shisui pointed straight at Shinji, a smile tugging at his lips."Come on, show me your full strength."
Cold sweat beaded on Shinji's forehead. He had planned to test Natsuro's skill with some probing swordplay first, but it was clear now he wasn't going to get that chance.
So he stopped hesitating, gripping the peculiar hilt of his zanpakutō with one hand.
"Collapse Sakanade!"
As Shinji spoke the shikai release command, his zanpakutō transformed, the end of the hilt becoming a hollow circle, the blade sporting five small circular holes.
Shinji hooked a finger through the hollowed end of the hilt and swung the blade loosely there.
Aside from that… nothing seemed to happen.
Natsuro watched, and suddenly, he caught a faint, strange scent. The next moment, his vision changed completely...
The ground that had been below was now above, and the sky that had been above now appeared below.
Up, down, front, back, left, right, his entire field of vision was inverted.
"So this is your shikai?" Natsuro was mildly impressed. It was indeed a strange and highly practical ability.
In a world suddenly flipped in every direction, most people couldn't adapt quickly.
During the time it took for them to adjust, Shinji could seize an overwhelming advantage, perhaps even win outright.
Unfortunately for Shinji, his opponent was Natsuro. For him, his control over his own body was absolute. Especially in the state of Meikyō Shisui, he could alter his movements at will.
In fact, his battles no longer relied on sight at all, he could fight purely on instinct.
"Tch… you adapted this fast?" Shinji exclaimed, startled.
"Of course. For me… this does nothing," Natsuro said with a light laugh.
At that instant, warning bells went off in Shinji's mind. He didn't want to believe his shikai was completely useless against him, but this man wasn't one to boast idly…
Then, in the next heartbeat, Shinji heard a sound like a lightning strike.
And a voice in his ear:
"First Form: Hekireki Issen (Thunderclap and Flash)"
An instant later, Natsuro stood a short distance behind him. Shinji glanced down at the clean slash in his clothing, cold sweat rolling down his face.
He didn't for a second believe he had missed his neck, he knew the man had simply chosen not to cut him down.
Shinji also realized that the moment he had heard Natsuro's voice, it had already been too late to dodge because… Natsuro's speed far outstripped sound. Hearing the words meant the slash had already landed.
Shinji turned his head with difficulty, staring at him in disbelief. His shikai… truly had no effect?Spotting its function wasn't hard, but adapting to it instantly was another matter entirely. How had he done it?
Whatever the answer, the fact was clear: his shikai had been completely neutralized.
Natsuro looked at him and said softly, "You know bankai, don't you? Show me your full power."
"Sorry. My bankai can't be used here, and against a single opponent, it's useless." Shinji glanced at his companions and gave a wry smile. "So I've lost."
Natsuro frowned. Judging from the shikai, it was based on inversion. If the shikai inverted the senses, then perhaps the bankai inverted the mind?
And since Shinji had glanced at his allies while speaking, it probably meant his bankai's effect couldn't be controlled precisely, it might affect both friend and foe alike…
Natsuro shook his head. He couldn't be sure of the exact ability, but it likely wasn't weak.
This shikai just happened to encounter him, its lack of effect here didn't mean it lacked power.
"But that only means I've lost as a Shinigami."
Shinji's mouth curved into a sly grin.
"What do you mean?" Natsuro raised an eyebrow, then saw Shinji pull a mask from inside his coat.
Natsuro's eyes narrowed sharply. From that mask, he could feel Hollow energy, no, this was a Hollow mask!
And then he watched Shinji place it over his face.
In the instant it settled, Shinji's entire presence changed. His spiritual pressure became indistinguishable from that of a Hollow, and it surged noticeably in strength.
As the energy settled, Natsuro saw that the mask had transformed into a helmet fully covering Shinji's head, styled much like a samurai's kabuto.
At that moment, Natsuro's eyes lit up, not because of Shinji's sudden increase in strength, but because he had become deeply interested in Shinji's Hollowfication ability.
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Currently on Chapter 484 - Sōkyoku