(T/N: Third chapter! Hope you guys enjoyed the read! and Thanks for the support!!
Don't forget to drop power stones and add this novel to your collection!! It helps greatly! Your support already helped with the ranking!! So, I'm dropping a bonus chapter after this!!)
Nanatsuki held Yoruichi in his arms as he dashed out of the dust cloud.
"That Cero was so fast!" Yoruichi was still a little dazed. She hadn't been able to react in time to that Cero Oscuras — if not for her teacher pulling her away, she would've taken the full blast.
"That's an ancient Menos. At full strength, it might rival a Vasto Lorde." Nanatsuki carefully felt the shifts in spiritual pressure. He quickly concluded that the Menos was in bad shape — after firing that Cero Oscuras, its Reiatsu had noticeably dropped.
Ancient Menos were incredibly rare — maybe only a handful still existed in all of Hueco Mundo. Nanatsuki didn't want to waste such a rare opportunity for valuable material.
"I've been thinking about another way to use Raibyō," he said, setting Yoruichi down. "Watch closely!"
He activated his shadow ability with a mere thought.
Behind him, a black shadow with a high ponytail slowly emerged.
Yoruichi found the silhouette strangely familiar.
The shadow stepped forward, overlaying itself onto Nanatsuki's body — merging with him.
He gripped the shadow's Zanpakutō.
"Enter the shadow and reflect its form! Eikō Mugen'ei!!"
Holding the shadow blade, Nanatsuki softly called out Raibyō's release phrase:
"Shine, Raibyō."
Only when the blade morphed into a short black dagger did Yoruichi realize — the shadow must've been her own.
After activating Raibyō, Nanatsuki began channeling its lightning through a modified Shunkō: Raikiri form.
Even if the copied power only reached half the strength of the original, it was still more powerful than any thunder generated by Kidō. Using Kidō to generate lightning meant factoring in the body's tolerance — Nanatsuki could only safely boost himself with low-tier spells.
But lightning summoned from a Zanpakutō wouldn't harm its wielder — allowing Nanatsuki's Shunkō: Raikiri form to gain a massive power boost.
The turbulence behind him wove together with arcs of electricity, forming radiant lightning wings.
Nanatsuki glanced toward the ancient Menos. It was gathering another Cero Oscuras, but much slower than before.
"Yoruichi, watch this. I think Raibyō can be used like this too."
Electricity surged in his hand, high-voltage lightning dancing around the short black blade.
A crack of thunder echoed as he sliced through the shadow space.
Raikiri: Flowlight Thunderblade.
The short black blade, wreathed in arcs of lightning and Reiatsu, struck the underside of the ancient Menos's skeletal jaw.
It shattered bone instantly and tore into the forming Cero Oscuras inside its mouth.
The half-formed Cero detonated with a thunderous explosion inside the beast's skull.
The ancient Menos couldn't withstand such an internal blast. Fractures spread across its massive frame.
Chunks of bone rained from the sky.
For a moment, it looked like a downpour of bones inside the shadow space.
"That sword technique you used just now — what was it? So strong! Way more powerful than Flowlight!" Yoruichi exclaimed, eyes gleaming.
"That was something I just came up with. Let's call it Raikiri: Flowlight Thunderblade," Nanatsuki explained. "It hits harder than Raikiri: Flowlight because it uses a Zanpakutō as the base. Compared to Reiatsu Blades, it can handle more pressure and more lightning."
"Seems like that technique really suits Raibyō — since it's a thunder-type Zanpakutō…" Yoruichi trailed off in thought, then asked, "Wait — is that your own Bankai? You can actually use Raibyō's powers?"
"Yeah," Nanatsuki smiled faintly. "I can replicate part of someone else's powers once they've released their Shikai."
"But I've never shown this to anyone else before. Information gaps can decide battles. Yoruichi, can you keep this secret for me?"
"I'll definitely keep your secret, Teacher!" Yoruichi nodded rapidly, clearly honored to be trusted.
Yoruichi's trust level with him was already maxed out — Nanatsuki had no concerns about her leaking anything.
The Wandenreich might possess the technology to steal Bankai abilities. Until Nanatsuki found a way to counter it, he didn't want to expose this power. If the enemy learned about it, they could possibly snatch it away.
To steal a Bankai, the Quincy would first need to understand the entire ability set.
"Damn Shinigami! You've ruined everything!!"
A furious voice rang out from above.
The two looked up.
The massive skeleton of the ancient Menos had collapsed, bones scattered across the ground — but floating in the air was a glowing cluster of thorns.
Nanatsuki's eyes narrowed — his earlier assumption had been wrong.
That glowing thorn cluster… was the real body.
The ancient Menos skeleton had just been a puppet it controlled.
No wonder it had moved so sluggishly, shattered so easily, and its power never matched what you'd expect from an ancient Menos.
The glowing thorns unfurled, forming a long, serpentine body like a caterpillar covered in bone spikes.
It was a thorn-cluster Hollow, an Adjuchas-class Menos.
After discovering the ancient Menos skeleton, it had fused with it and hidden deep in the Forest of Menos — slowly feeding it blood, flesh, and Reishi from other Hollows to nurture it.
Given enough time, it might have fully possessed the ancient skeleton — and with that foundation, evolved into a Vasto Lorde.
But the arrival of Shinigami had shattered that dream. The skeleton was destroyed — all its plans undone.
Furious, the thorn-cluster Hollow vowed to tear them apart.
Its caterpillar-like body vanished in a blur.
In the next instant, it reappeared above Nanatsuki and Yoruichi, barreling toward them at full speed.
Now freed from the skeleton, it moved with the true speed of an Adjuchas-class Hollow.
While it had been using the corpse, its control was limited — like trying to pilot a clumsy puppet.
Nanatsuki slashed upward, triggering a wave of blistering heat.
Yoruichi, standing beside him, immediately felt her mouth go dry. Her skin cracked with dryness, and even the tips of her hair curled slightly.
Then, sand and dust swirled through the air, merging with the thermal current. As they fused, the material began to melt — and then solidified again.
Above them, a colossal golden arm formed, wreathed in flames.
The flaming giant hand clutched a blazing longsword — and brought it down in a furious slash.
Flamebound Armor of Dust!