Rukia Kuchiki was so shocked she couldn't even speak.
When Nanaya fought the Menos Grande as a regular human, she had already found it unbelievable. She had never heard of a human like that before.
But now, what just happened was even more impossible. He had killed a Menos Grande — as a human.
What was that black flame!?
Why hadn't it gone out yet!?
And why did he suddenly have such an overwhelming spiritual pressure (Reiatsu)?!
While all kinds of questions rushed through her mind, Rukia noticed that the Soul Slayer sword had pierced straight through Kurosaki Ichigo's heart. She quickly looked up.
BOOM!!!
A massive burst of Reiatsu exploded from Ichigo's body.
When the pressure faded, Kurosaki Ichigo had completely changed. He was now wearing a black Shinigami robe and carrying a giant sword on his shoulder.
"It worked... he's become a Shinigami..."
Rukia stared at Ichigo in a daze. But then she looked down at herself — and realized almost all of her own Shinigami powers had been drained away.
She could barely even stay in her Shinigami form. Her clothes had turned into simple, blood-stained white robes.
"...."
Meanwhile, Nanaya, who hadn't even noticed that Ichigo had become a Shinigami, turned his cold, crimson eyes toward the second Hollow.
His scarlet eyes burned with heat.
In his left eye, it felt like an endless sea of black flames was surging, waiting to be unleashed.
But the right eye was even more dangerous — the burning sensation was so intense that it almost felt like it was on fire.
Without hesitation, Nanaya spoke coldly:
"Inferno Style: Flame Control."
At his command, the black flames on the ground twisted and moved, shaped by some invisible force.
In an instant, they condensed into seven black flaming javelins.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
The seven black flame javelins shot forward, piercing straight through the second Menos Grande.
The monstrous Hollow was lifted into the air, skewered by the seven burning spears.
"Roar... Roar..."
The Menos Grande screamed and flailed in the air, but no matter how hard it struggled, it couldn't escape.
The javelins held it in place, burning it from the inside out.
As Nanaya withdrew his control, the javelins melted back into black flames.
The Menos Grande's body was instantly swallowed by the flames, roaring in agony until it burned completely to ashes.
All of this happened in less than three seconds.
"Is this... Inferno Style: Flame Control?"
Nanaya stared at the black flames quietly burning on the ground, amazed.
He touched his right eye lightly.
The left eye's ability seemed to be Tsukuyomi.
The right eye's ability was Flame Control.
It matched exactly with Uchiha Sasuke's Mangekyō Sharingan powers from the Naruto world — both eyes specialized in attack.
"...."
"Uh... is it over already!?"
On the empty street, Kurosaki Ichigo stood there, holding his massive sword, looking totally lost.
He stared down at the weapon in his hand, confused. After all that, why had he even needed to become a Shinigami?
Seeing Ichigo's face, Nanaya chuckled, walked over, and patted him on the shoulder.
"Don't be disappointed. Becoming a Shinigami is the best thing that could've happened to you."
If Ichigo hadn't become a Shinigami, Nanaya thought, there was no telling what disasters could have followed. Maybe even more Menos Grandes would have shown up in Karakura Town.
Ichigo's mouth twitched. He didn't really understand why Nanaya said that, but he kept quiet.
"Nanaya... it's really over?"
Not far away, Yuzu and Karin — Ichigo's younger sisters — called out to them with wide, trembling eyes.
Today had completely shattered their view of the world. They had no idea things like this even existed.
Nanaya turned toward them, gave a warm smile, and nodded.
"It's over."
Now that Ichigo was a Shinigami, and the Menos Grandes were gone, there shouldn't be any more danger.
Hearing Nanaya's words, Yuzu and Karin both teared up, their eyes shining.
Then they ran toward him with all their strength.
"Nanaya, you're amazing!!"
Yuzu threw herself into Nanaya's arms like a little bird finding its home again, rubbing her head against his chest.
"Thank you, Nanaya-kun!"
Karin grabbed Nanaya's sleeve tightly and looked up at him with deep gratitude.
"Hey, what about me!?"
Kurosaki Ichigo pointed at himself with a helpless expression.
He had been trying his hardest too — and even became a Shinigami — but somehow, he felt completely left out.
Karin (Xiali) looked over, her heart a little touched, but she still puffed out her cheeks proudly and said:
"Brother Ichigo, you didn't really do anything."
Crack.It felt like a bolt of lightning struck Kurosaki Ichigo on the spot.
Thinking about it carefully... it was true.Besides being slapped around by the Menos Grande, he hadn't done much at all.
Ichigo's mood sank even deeper.
"Xia Li, you shouldn't say that," said Yuzu, peeking out from Nanaya's arms. She quickly tried to comfort him, turning to Ichigo with a bright smile:
"Don't be sad, Brother Ichigo! Even though you didn't do much... we're still very grateful to you!"
It hurts...Ichigo clutched his chest dramatically, feeling like he was about to cry.His own little sister's "comforting" words hurt more than any Menos Grande.
Nanaya couldn't help but laugh a little and said:
"Alright, Yuzu, Xia Li, that's enough. Ichigo did try hard. He just didn't get the timing right."
After all, when Ichigo became a Shinigami, the Reiatsu he released was terrifying.
If Nanaya hadn't burned the Hollows to ashes with Amaterasu first, Ichigo would've probably wiped them out easily with his Zanpakutō.
"Thanks, Nanaya..."Ichigo looked at him with genuine gratitude.Only real brothers would try so hard to cheer you up at a time like this.
"Come to think of it," Yuzu said, tilting her head, "why did those monsters suddenly appear in our house?"
Karin nodded too, her face still pale. Today had scared her more than she wanted to admit.
"Well, uh... remember that Shinigami? No, I mean Rukia Kuchiki..."Ichigo scratched his head hard, trying to recall what she said.
"I think she mentioned... some bad soul thing... fallen spirit? No, wait, a Hollow...!"
Nanaya narrowed his crimson eyes slightly and repeated thoughtfully:
"Why did Hollows suddenly show up here...?"
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.
If he hadn't awakened the Sharingan by chance, today could've ended very badly.
Even Nanaya, with his usually calm nature, clenched his fists tightly in frustration.
Then suddenly — he spotted something.
"Wait a minute..."His enhanced vision caught something unusual.
Thanks to his Sharingan, even in the dark night, he could see clearly across dozens of meters — and on the rooftop of Kurosaki Hospital, he spotted two figures.
"Those two... are they just watching us from up there!?"
Nanaya's face darkened instantly.After thinking for a moment, he raised his hand and pointed at the hospital's roof:
"Wait — there are two more Menos Grandes over there!"
"What!?"
Ichigo immediately leapt up, gripping his huge sword tightly, and dashed toward Kurosaki Hospital.
After being "bullied" by his sisters, Ichigo was furious. He was determined to slice a Hollow in half to vent his anger.
"...."
Meanwhile, on the rooftop—
"...No way, they spotted us!?"
Two middle-aged men stood there, exchanging shocked glances.
One of them turned to the other and said in disbelief:
"Urahara, didn't you use Kidō?"
The man called Urahara — a blond, lazy-looking man wearing a bucket hat — shook his head slowly, glancing around the rooftop.
"I did. I used Bakudō No. 26: Kyokko (Bent Light).Logically, they shouldn't be able to see us at all."
He frowned, his gaze drifting back toward Nanaya.
Especially... those burning scarlet eyes.
"Maybe... those eyes are special?"
The other man sighed, shaking his head helplessly.He glanced down at his own reckless son, who was charging into the hospital.
"Forget it. It's fine for today. The result we wanted was achieved anyway."
"Yeah..." Urahara nodded in agreement.
Just as the two were preparing to quietly leave—
Nanaya's eyes locked onto them.
In his spinning Mangekyō Sharingan, the black windmill pattern twisted violently.
He muttered coldly:
"Amaterasu."
The next moment — a burst of black flames ignited.
The two men staggered awkwardly, smoke rising around them, as they scrambled off the rooftop in a hurry.