Descend, Tenraimaru."
With Kurotsuki Renya's low whisper, his Zanpakutō dissolved into reishi.
Above, dark storm clouds gathered unnaturally, spiraling as if the heavens themselves were bending. Blue arcs of lightning twisted within the roiling mass, casting the training grounds in a pale, ominous glow.
"Oh?" Zaraki Kenpachi tilted his head, eye widening in savage delight as he looked skyward.
Boom… boom… boom!
Thunder roared, shaking the ground. A jagged bolt split the clouds and crashed before Renya. He reached out with his bloodied hand and seized the lightning itself.
The searing bolt condensed instantly into a weapon — a short spear of reishi and lightning, about four shaku long. Its tip branched into four prongs, crackling with dangerous energy, arcs racing across his body, wrapping his limbs and sparking from his wounds.
"So this is your Shikai?" Zaraki's grin widened, teeth glinting. "Now things are getting interesting."
Renya's eyes were sharp, cold. "Captain Zaraki… take off your eyepatch. Otherwise, I may kill you."
The Eleventh Division captain barked out a laugh, a sound more beast than man. "Finally! You sound like someone worth cutting." He tore away the eyepatch, and instantly his spiritual pressure erupted like a tidal wave. The ground cracked under its weight, the air itself shuddered.
Despite his battered state, Renya smiled faintly. Good… now this fight is real.
⸻
Elsewhere in Seireitei, the sudden storm drew many eyes.
Kyoraku Shunsui, lounging in his division's courtyard with sake in hand, gazed at the dark sky. His hat tilted back, his expression grew serious. "Well, well… that's no Kidō. A Zanpakutō that alters the weather?"
Then his gaze narrowed. "And that reiatsu… Kenpachi. Don't tell me he's found someone new to toy with?"
At First Division headquarters, Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni stood with Sasakibe Chōjirō. The old captain's brow furrowed.
"Chōjirō. That Zanpakutō's power rivals those that manipulate the heavens. Who wields it?"
Chōjirō bowed respectfully. "Not yet certain, Head Captain. It is elemental, like Hyōrinmaru or Ryūjin Jakka. We will know once the dust clears."
⸻
Meanwhile, in Fifth Division barracks, Aizen Sōsuke observed the storm from his window, ever-smiling. "Gin, remind me — which Zanpakutō are known to command the weather?"
Ichimaru Gin's grin widened, eyes narrowed. "Sasakibe's Huanghuang, Hitsugaya's Hyōrinmaru… and of course, Ryūjin Jakka. But this storm? Ain't one of theirs."
Aizen's smile deepened. "Then Seireitei has just gained a new piece on the board."
⸻
Back in the Eleventh Division training hall, the battlefield was charged with killing intent.
"Shikai or not, brat — it won't save you!" Zaraki thundered forward, blade crashing down with terrifying force.
Renya thrust Tenraimaru upward, channeling lightning.
CRACK!
A thunderbolt tore from the heavens, striking Zaraki's blade. Sparks exploded, racing up his arm. For an instant his massive frame shuddered as lightning coursed through him.
"Tch—!" Zaraki snarled, shaking his arm violently, blasting the thunder away into the crumbling walls. Rubble fell around them. He sneered, rolling his shoulder. "That it? Barely stung."
"Of course not," Renya muttered, his voice low.
The storm above pulsed again, multiple bolts descending in unison.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
The world erupted in light. Lightning engulfed Zaraki, drowning his form in a sea of crackling blue.
But when the glow faded, he still stood — body scorched, skin blackened and bleeding, yet his spirit unbroken.
Renya's breath caught. He tanked all of that?
Kenpachi grinned wildly through the smoke. "Not bad. More!"
Renya raised Tenraimaru, reishi condensing at its tip into a spiraling storm of raw thunder. He thrust forward.
"Hadō no hachijūhachi: Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō!"
The massive thunder-cannon roared, engulfing Zaraki, tearing through walls and blasting straight through the Eleventh Division barracks.
When the light faded, Kenpachi stood again, chest burned and bleeding, his sword raised defensively across his heart.
Still grinning. Still laughing. Still standing.
"Good… good!" he rasped, stalking forward. "You've got more, right?"
Renya's body trembled, his spirit pressure flagging, but he roared back, wings of lightning sparking to life from his back. He vanished in a flash of speed and reappeared behind Zaraki, Tenraimaru pressed against the captain's back, an inch from his heart.
The battle could end here.
But Renya's battered body finally gave way. His spear dropped, and he collapsed into the rubble, blood pouring freely. The storm dissipated, clouds scattering, leaving only silence.
Kenpachi loomed over him, laughing hoarsely. "Too bad. You had me going. Guess you burned yourself out."
He raised his blade one last time—
—until a new voice cut across the field.
"That will be enough, Captain Zaraki."
Suì-Fēng appeared, swift and silent, face set with grim resolve. She crouched beside Renya, cradling his broken body.
Zaraki's eye glittered with curiosity. "Hah… so this was your plan, huh, Captain of the Second? Using me to push him into Shikai?"
Suì-Fēng met his gaze without flinching. "Yes. He needed the brink of death to break through. You were the only one who could push him there."
Kenpachi barked out a laugh. "You're crazy, but I like it. Just know… if he hadn't released, I'd have killed him. No hesitation."
Her eyes narrowed. "And if you had tried, I'd have stopped you."
For a moment, silence. Then Kenpachi smirked. "Heh. Big words. I'll look forward to testing them one day."
Suì-Fēng didn't respond. She vanished in a flash, carrying Renya toward Fourth Division.
Left alone amid the wreckage, Kenpachi lifted his blade, murmuring to himself, "So… a real fight's still waiting for me. Good."