The moment Shiraha performed Shikai, the Zanpakutō in his grasp flared with blinding radiance. His Reiatsu surged sharply, climbing in an instant until it rivaled that of Captain Kyoraku Shunsui himself.
At once, the blade in his hand released a piercing brilliance.
"Pfft!"
Before Ulquiorra could react, Shiraha's Zanpakutō swept through the air. A single flash—Ulquiorra's right arm was severed cleanly.
Blood spilled onto the sands of Hueco Mundo. Yet before the wound could truly bleed out, Ulquiorra activated High-Speed Regeneration. His severed arm began to reform, but what followed made even him freeze in disbelief.
His body began to distort. The pale figure before Shiraha shifted, the Resurrección fading, the demonic wings retracting. In seconds, Ulquiorra's appearance reverted—his form turning stark white, his face masked, the features smooth and expressionless except for a pair of eyes devoid of a mouth.
More alarming was the drop in Reiatsu. It plummeted rapidly until it matched that of an Adjuchas-class Hollow.
"It seems this reversal ability isn't bad," Shiraha murmured. Sliding his blade back into its sheath, he released the sixtyfold gravity pressing on Ulquiorra and gave a small, satisfied nod.
As for the aging ability, there was no point testing it. Hollows like Ulquiorra possessed lifespans near a century—its effect would be negligible.
The transformation explained itself: Shiraha's Zanpakutō had reversed Ulquiorra to the form he had a hundred years ago. Back then, Ulquiorra had been a white Hollow, distinct from his kin—while his entire clan bore black bodies and bared teeth, he alone was different. Rejected by his own kind, attacked by them, Ulquiorra left the pack to wander Hueco Mundo alone—until the day he met Aizen.
"What... what is happening?" Ulquiorra half-knelt, disbelief clouding his usually calm eyes. Just moments ago, he had been at full strength—yet a single swing from Shiraha had undone it all.
Before he could process the change, his arm was gone. Then, as his regeneration began, his very evolution had been undone—his power stripped back a century.
"Ah? Is this Captain Shiraha's Zanpakutō ability?" Ichimaru Gin's voice carried a note of genuine shock. "Ulquiorra turned back into an Adjuchas... incredible, right, Captain Aizen?"
Gin's smile faltered slightly, his eyes narrowing. From the moment Shiraha's blade had sliced through Ulquiorra, Gin had already begun to piece together the truth.
Time.
The Zanpakutō's ability was time reversal.
A power unseen in the Soul Society since its founding.
He did not yet know the limits of Shiraha's Zanpakutō, but the fact remained—one cut had reverted the Fourth Espada, a Vasto Lorde-class Hollow, to a far weaker state.
Shiraha's Shikai was monstrous.
"How fascinating," Aizen murmured, his calm mask rippling with rare intrigue. "A time-type Zanpakutō... even among the captains, this is something special."
He remembered Shiraha's previous domain—an infinite space capable of nullifying all attacks. That ability alone had forced Aizen to calculate countermeasures even with the Hōgyoku in hand. But this—this was different.
Even Aizen himself was uncertain if his Hōgyoku-enhanced body could withstand a weapon that tampered with time.
"Master Aizen," Tousen said beside him, brow furrowed, "what just happened? Ulquiorra's Reiatsu has fallen to an Adjuchas level. Is this... Kuchiki Shiraha's Zanpakutō ability?"
Tousen couldn't see the transformation with his eyes, but through spiritual sense alone he could feel Ulquiorra's Reiatsu collapsing.
"Yes," Aizen said evenly. "Gin, Tousen—we're moving. Ulquiorra still has his uses. He must not die at Shiraha's hands."
The moment he spoke, Aizen vanished with Shunpo. Gin and Tousen followed instantly.
Shiraha's gaze lingered on Ulquiorra's kneeling form. "Get up, Ulquiorra," he said lightly.
But Ulquiorra did not rise. His gaze lowered, voice calm and resigned. "I lost. Kill me."
He spoke without emotion, as if death itself were a triviality. Among Hollows, defeat meant only one thing—obliteration. That was the law of Hueco Mundo.
Just as the words fell, a metallic tone echoed in Shiraha's mind.
"Successful sign-in. Task reward: Dior Template progress increased by 10%."
"Dior Template progress—20%. Exclusive ability activating."
"Exclusive ability activation complete."
"First Template: Fujitora Issho – 100%."
"Second Template: Gojo Satoru – 100%."
"Third Template: Dio Brando – 20%."
Abilities unlocked:
Perfect-level immortality.
Perfect-level regeneration (body tissues rapidly restore through spiritual power consumption).
Primary Hypnosis (non-spiritual beings can be controlled through eye contact or voice).
Primary Transformation (by infusing spiritual power into organic matter, Shiraha can transform human subjects without spiritual energy, granting them regeneration and partial immortality; the transformed remain under total control).
Exclusive Ability:
Time Stop — Elementary.
(Halts time for 0.5 seconds, during which Shiraha can move freely. Cooldown: one hour. Range: equivalent to the Soul Society.)
As the voice faded, new power surged through Shiraha. Abilities, knowledge, and instinctive control crystallized in his mind. His Reiatsu swelled again—surpassing Byakuya Kuchiki's by a vast margin even without invoking Shikai. Only captains of Shunsui or Ukitake's caliber stood beyond his current level.
To bridge that gap, his Dio template would need to progress beyond fifty percent.
"Regeneration, hypnosis, transformation..." Shiraha murmured thoughtfully. "A refined version of High-Speed Regeneration... but this hypnosis and transformation—these could be interesting."
Though the abilities were still basic, once perfected they could likely affect even captain-class beings. What intrigued him most was how different this template's activation had been—it required no manual trigger. Once progress conditions were met, the power had awakened on its own.
"The biggest reward this time," he mused, "is exactly what I predicted—Dio's exclusive ability: time stop."
A faint smile crossed his lips.
Half a second may seem negligible—but with Shiraha's speed and Reiatsu amplification, half a second of frozen time was lethal. Against anyone even slightly weaker, he could deliver dozens of fatal strikes before the world resumed.
The cooldown of an hour was inconvenient, but manageable. It was only the beginning stage. Once the ability evolved, how long could it extend?
Ten seconds? Twenty? Longer?
He could only imagine.
It was, undeniably, a bug-like ability—something beyond the logic of any world.
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