Tonight, Seireitei's sky was red.
Not its own color, but the earth's reflection.
Gyoukaku lifted the restraints on those Bakkōtō operatives who had fallen into Hollowfication.
Those Shinigami—long since mindless and on the verge of insanity—streamed out of the Kasumiooji clan manor and the hidden chambers at the Kasumiooji estate.
Nobles, the Gotei 13… all of them were targets.
Tonight, succeed or die.
Rivers of blood were only the beginning.
Who could stop this in time?
The captains inside Central 46 tried to break out, but dozens of Bakkōtō operatives bogged them down. With multiple levels of prisons beneath Central 46 holding critical criminals, even with many captains present, they all had their weaknesses gripped. No one dared go all out, much less release Bankai (Final Release) here.
Probably only the Eleventh's captain, Kenpachi, felt real joy before such a spectacle.
Outside, Retsu rose from her seat with unhurried grace and looked at the Hollowfied Shinigami who'd chopped off corners of the building.
"Only four?"
"First Evil—Release!"
Meanwhile, on another battlefield, the chain at Kurando's right arm snapped, and a layer of shadow coiled around both his arms.
"Oni of Strength!"
The ground underfoot had collapsed.
A hundred meters vanished in two steps.
With one punch, Kurando launched Shuuichi's treant flying; the anchor point vanished, and the reishi construct's possession state failed at once, breaking into motes that rained to the earth.
"…???"
Only three very dirty words filled Shuuichi's head.
That's it?
All those Reiatsu-forged anchors—erased by a single punch after Kurando's Bankai? Was he One Punch Man?
Only now did Shuuichi realize the Tenth's captain had been hiding deep.
That one punch was at least on the level of Kensei—maybe beyond.
Fortunately, Shuuichi had more than one anchor in the area.
Stone doll, wooden doll, even paper doll—anchors and reishi constructs were the last thing Shuuichi lacked.
Kidō roared from all sides—Bakudō and Hadō alike, all accounted for.
Kurando still couldn't find the actual controller behind these strange beings.
But the heaven-rending howls of countless Hollowfied Shinigami in the distance, and the nobles' pained wails, hammered at what little reason he had left.
Because of his earlier carelessness, his body hovered on the brink of collapse. Even borrowing his Bankai's properties to stabilize himself for the moment, his internal reishi was draining fast.
Dragging this out would be bad for him, bad for Seireitei, bad for the nobles.
"Second Evil—Unseal! Oni of Guard!"
The chain on his left leg snapped; pitch-black shadow wrapped around Kurando's body in a ring. A grimace of pain twitched at his lips.
With iron will, Kurando ignored the Kidō the reishi constructs hurled and charged toward the nobles' district.
"Sharp read of the situation."
Shuuichi frowned.
Watching his Kidō fall short of expectations, he pieced together Kurando's Bankai.
Those five chains driven into his body were five seals; each one Kurando broke granted a corresponding power-up.
First was Strength—the shadow on his arms amped his power.
Second was Guard—the shadows orbiting him shielded against attacks.
That left three chains. Shuuichi didn't know their traits, but he knew he couldn't keep sniping from afar.
Reishi constructs could work against foes weaker than him. Against someone like Kurando—whose Reiatsu might even edge out Shuuichi's and whose Bankai was rock solid—using them to stall was tough.
A razor hiss split the air; Kurando skidded to a halt by a hair. Less than half a meter in front of him, the shadow that had endured a hail of high-level Kidō was neatly cut in two.
This time, he didn't need to feel for the source of Reiatsu.
Because the attacker stood right before him.
A plain, unadorned slash, paired with a long-prepared Shunpo (Flash Step) burst—this was the lunging cut Shuuichi had honed for decades, the kind even Kenpachi would praise.
Speed, strength, and hyper-compressed Reiatsu in one. Against monsters like Retsu and Kenpachi, Shuuichi never got much traction.
But Kurando didn't fall into that category.
In the night sky's red, a deep-crimson silhouette swayed, blending with the color behind it.
Kurando tightened his grip on his blade.
"Shuuichi."
The voice was hoarse, anger held on a leash.
Kurando would never forgive a traitor.
"Third Evil—Rise! Oni of Hunt!"
The chain on his right leg snapped. Shadow wrapped his legs, gnawing, cackling.
The body held together by Bankai began to degrade further.
Kurando could barely speak from the pain—but his eyes saw only that single figure.
Blades struck, strength collided, speed stretched thin.
Shuuichi and Kurando threw away everything else and fought in the most primal way.
They both knew—Kidō would only split their focus.
At last, Kurando caught an opening and severed Shuuichi's left arm with a single cut.
Before a smile could form, a wound blossomed on Kurando's own shoulder blade.
"Your ability… is a little too pure."
Shuuichi's eyes were icy as Kurando stared in shock.
"Byōhō Sogen—War Smiles in the Sleeve!"
He followed with another thrust; the tip of his blade pressed to Kurando's heart—only to be stopped by the shrieking shadow, which blocked with suicidal fury.
Shuuichi had delayed using War Smiles in the Sleeve because he didn't know whether those eerie shadows would backlash on him.
After all, his technique differed from the famous captain's Shikai "Sōgyo no Kotowari"; the latter absorbed directly, whereas Shuuichi had to take the hit first.
If the shadow carried a curse-like hidden debuff, then even infinite regeneration might not save him.
Fortunately, Kurando's "evil ghosts" only bullied their own host.
He drew back, sliding half a step.
Blood sheeted across the ground. Watching Kurando sway on the edge of collapse, Shuuichi gave no quarter.
If those ghosts wouldn't let Kurando die cleanly, then they could all burn together.
A low incantation. Blade lifted over his shoulder. Beneath the red sky, a scarlet glow rose.
"Hadō no 96: Ittō Kasō (Single Blade Cremation)!"
After discussing with a certain reader, I made medium edits to Chapter 61—mainly revising the cause-and-effect of Rangiku living with the protagonist. It doesn't affect what comes after much; check it out if you're curious, or skip it if not.
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