"Konka: Ōjō no Mon (Gate of Rebirth)!"
Saitō Furōfushi advanced straight into the backlit rain of arrows that Higashino Shuuichi had unleashed.
Behind her, that enormous sōjō silhouette struck its khakkhara staff down at the same time.
A purple, translucent gate took shape in front of Saitō Furōfushi—and pushed forward along with her.
Any Seinaru Metsuya (Sacred Destruction Arrow) that touched that Gate of Rebirth was instantly "guided on," broken down into the most primal reishi.
"…So strong."
Seeing this, Nemu couldn't help letting those words slip out.
When Saitō Furōfushi had dealt with her earlier, she probably hadn't even used one-tenth of her power.
No wonder Soul Society had been entangled with these original Captains for so many years, and still couldn't wipe them out.
But… that was all.
Even facing a Saitō Furōfushi like this, it still wasn't enough to truly make Higashino Shuuichi suffer.
"Seiiki Razan (Sanctuary Hymn)!"
This time, Higashino Shuuichi didn't bother with the extra, showy circle-drawing motion. He cleanly dispersed the surrounding reishi under his control.
Only after Saitō Furōfushi stepped into his "range" did he snap his defensive matrix open in an instant.
The moment those massive Seishō Jūjika (Star-Emblem Crosses) rose around Saitō Furōfushi, confusion finally appeared in her eyes.
Because she had never seen this power before.
Even a thousand years ago, the Quincy King, Yhwach, had never displayed anything like it.
Could it be that among the Quincies—besides Yhwach—another genius of this caliber had been born?
What Saitō Furōfushi didn't know was that Higashino Shuuichi was, in a sense, nothing more than a thief.
He was simply copying the "future Yhwach" template and mimicking the abilities—
By relying on his fabricated Shurifuto (Schrift).
And to both the Shinigami of today and those of the past, Shurifuto (Schrift) was still an unknown mystery.
It was a new system Yhwach only awakened after he'd been defeated by Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni.
And the "reference" for it was the method Yamamoto had used to beat him back then: sacrificing several original Captains to gain a temporary surge in power.
Yhwach didn't just copy the idea—he upgraded it.
First, he distributed power by granting it through his blood, then let those people develop their abilities on their own.
Finally, he used Seibetsu (Holy Selection) to reclaim every bit of power he had ever handed out—everything, all at once.
Of course, Higashino Shuuichi's Shurifuto (Schrift), in some sense, was something he'd "bug-exploited" into existence—an outright system loophole.
So in theory, he didn't need to worry about being harvested by Seibetsu (Holy Selection) from the "proper" Yhwach of this timeline.
Back to the point—
Even though Saitō Furōfushi had never seen Seiiki Razan (Sanctuary Hymn), as one of the strongest thirteen who survived that brutal, savage era, her instincts for danger were far sharper than any ordinary Shinigami's.
This domain… is dangerous!
That was the immediate feedback her brain screamed at her the instant she saw those towering Seishō Jūjika (Star-Emblem Crosses).
So what now?
Charge Higashino Shuuichi and gamble?
Or retreat immediately?
The rational answer was retreat.
Because at that moment, she stood at the very edge of Seiiki Razan (Sanctuary Hymn). If she turned around right now—paired with her Zanpakutō's ability—she'd likely be able to withdraw.
But—
"If I did that… would I still be me?"
Saitō Furōfushi's face twisted into a feverish grin.
Retreat was what cowards did.
A thousand years ago, to defeat that Quincy King, she had been willing to throw her own life away, becoming nothing more than a stepping stone for Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni.
So a thousand years later—after clawing her way back from Hell—how could she show weakness before some "mere" human Quincy?
"Konka: Kotsuzuka (Withered Grave)!"
Saitō Furōfushi roared the name.
The gigantic sōjō silhouette understood at once—bending down, raising its arm—
And then smashing the skull in its hand violently into the ground.
Did the earth shake?
Did the sky split?
No. None of that.
Higashino Shuuichi only saw the enormous skull sink into the earth like a sponge, perfectly merging with the ground.
Every ounce of experience screamed one thing at Higashino Shuuichi:
If something looks big and dramatic but shows no immediate effect, then it's brewing something nasty underneath.
Yet Saitō Furōfushi was already charging again.
That enormous Gate of Rebirth… Higashino Shuuichi didn't know what would happen if a "proper" Shinigami ran into it.
Would they be broken down into reishi too?
Or—true to the name—would they be reduced to a newborn?
Whatever the answer, it wouldn't be anything good.
There was no time for hesitation.
Seiiki Razan (Sanctuary Hymn) fully unfolded—
And endless Seinaru Metsuya (Sacred Destruction Arrows) began to rage inside the sealed space.
They would annihilate anything that did not belong to Higashino Shuuichi.
And thanks to Saitō Furōfushi's stubborn insistence…
Higashino Shuuichi realized something.
Her Gate of Rebirth did not only cover the visible "gate" he could see.
Strictly speaking, the visible gate was only a symbol—marking the "radius" of the Gate of Rebirth's influence.
Even outside that radius, anything that tried to step closer would be affected.
One hundred steps… fifty… ten…
Within the storm of Seinaru Metsuya (Sacred Destruction Arrows), Saitō Furōfushi's charging speed didn't slow at all.
It grew faster—faster and faster.
Higashino Shuuichi could guess why.
It was the Gate of Rebirth's effect.
Every Seinaru Metsuya (Sacred Destruction Arrow) that touched it was decomposed into the purest reishi.
So in a very short time, the reishi density around Saitō Furōfushi had become unimaginably high.
Even the very center of Seireitei probably didn't have one percent of the reishi density now swirling around her.
In an environment like that, if you could endure the pressure—
Even a pig lifting a leg could kick up wind strong enough to rival a vice-captain's full-force strike.
In Higashino Shuuichi's previous life, there was a term: "oxygen intoxication."
He felt like Saitō Furōfushi was experiencing "reishi intoxication" right now.
So even if she wasn't especially skilled in Shunpo (Flash Step), she could still move at speeds comparable to Shihōin Yoruichi—perhaps even beyond her—inside this environment.
Of course, it wasn't free.
The price was that the Gate of Rebirth condensed around Saitō Furōfushi finally collapsed with a thunderous rupture when she was only seven steps away from Higashino Shuuichi.
At last, the endless Seinaru Metsuya (Sacred Destruction Arrows) could vent their fury on her body.
They wanted to wash away the humiliation from before!
Seven steps—under normal circumstances, that was a distance Saitō Furōfushi could cross in the blink of an eye.
But now—
Every step forward became agonizing.
Five steps.
She advanced only two more steps, and her body had already been pierced countless times by Seinaru Metsuya (Sacred Destruction Arrows)!
If her body weren't built from that very special Reigai (Spirit Shell), then with her original Shinigami body, she would have been erased long ago.
Three steps.
Two more.
This time, it looked like she'd burned through everything she had.
Even with the special rule-bending blessing that came from the Reio (Soul King)'s power, she couldn't keep wrecking herself like this.
Large portions of her body didn't have time to regenerate anymore.
Only one step remained.
Higashino Shuuichi was right there.
But Saitō Furōfushi couldn't even raise her Zanpakutō.
Her arms had already been cut away.
Her lower body was nothing but mangled remains.
The Zanpakutō she had held had fallen beside her.
Is it over?
Higashino Shuuichi desperately wanted the answer to be—
"Yes. It's over."
But the answer Saitō Furōfushi gave him was—
"Come. Let's die together!"
Facing Saitō Furōfushi kneeling on the ground, Higashino Shuuichi dropped to one knee as well.
He still had power inside him.
But the Reigai (Spirit Shell) on the outside had been drained of almost everything.
In truth, when Saitō Furōfushi had been three steps away, the Seinaru Metsuya (Sacred Destruction Arrows) inside Seiiki Razan (Sanctuary Hymn) had already been nearly exhausted.
"…Kotsuzuka (Withered Grave)."
Higashino Shuuichi lifted his gaze toward the gigantic sōjō silhouette in the distance.
No—at this point, it was no longer a silhouette.
Its exterior had solidified into a fully physical existence, like Komamura Sajin's Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō.
A saying from his previous life surfaced in his mind:
"A general's success is built on a mountain of bones."
The Kotsuzuka (Withered Grave) Saitō Furōfushi had set earlier was constantly devouring everything on it.
It didn't even distinguish friend from foe.
That gigantic sōjō treated all of it as nourishment.
Saitō Furōfushi had thrown herself into the trap—just for this moment.
If she couldn't break through Seiiki Razan (Sanctuary Hymn) personally…
Then her Zanpakutō would strike the final blow in her place.
Higashino Shuuichi saw through it all.
All he could say was: the original Captains who survived that era… almost none of them were simple.
That kind of resolve—ruthless to the enemy, even more ruthless to themselves—was something most Shinigami of this era simply couldn't possess.
"Haa…"
In the distance, the now-physical sōjō discarded its khakkhara staff and began bringing its hands together, preparing to press its palms in prayer.
Higashino Shuuichi let out a long breath.
In this battle, he had done the best he could.
If he hadn't been constrained by the Reigai (Spirit Shell)—unable to fully unleash Quincy abilities—
Then what Saitō Furōfushi had just done would have been genuine suicide.
He wouldn't have needed to wait until she got within seven steps.
Higashino Shuuichi was confident he could have dropped her long before that.
But now—
Facing that fully manifested gigantic sōjō…
He didn't dare gamble on luck.
Any contempt would be an insult to Saitō Furōfushi, an original Captain.
For Higashino Shuuichi, abandoning this disguise and revealing his true self—unleashing his real power—was likely the best option now.
At this point, he finally understood why Urahara Kisuke had specifically chosen Saitō Furōfushi for this plan.
Urahara might say he believed him, that he would give him an explanation—
But inside, he never stopped guarding against him, never stopped probing for more.
Maybe he hadn't guessed Higashino Shuuichi's true identity.
But it definitely wasn't as "simple" as he'd pretended.
Yeah.
That was very Urahara Kisuke.
Higashino Shuuichi remembered the promise he had made to Aizen Sōsuke before coming to the Human World—that he would give him an explanation.
An explanation about the half of the Hōgyoku in Urahara Kisuke's possession.
He felt like he might have to break that promise.
Because the first thing he would do after his disguise was blown… would be to kill Saitō Furōfushi right in front of him.
And the second thing?
He would turn his gun on Urahara Kisuke and unload on him—no matter what the outcome was, he'd vent his anger first.
But that plan never had the chance to happen.
Maybe it was "bonds."
Someone completely outside Higashino Shuuichi and Urahara Kisuke's plan appeared in the sky at the most abrupt, ill-timed moment imaginable.
"Not long ago, not far from here, something like that happened… and you still dare show yourselves openly.
Seems you truly don't take the Shinigami of Soul Society seriously at all, do you~?"
The speaker was a male Shinigami wearing black-framed glasses.
Over his body was a long-sleeved white captain's haori marked with the Fifth Division's insignia.
His tone was gentle, and his presence radiated warmth and friendliness.
It was Aizen Sōsuke.
As a Shinigami Captain, he had no need to hold back against Saitō Furōfushi's attack.
Higashino Shuuichi stared at the man's back.
His feelings were… complicated.
"He didn't just happen to be watching this whole time, did he? And he chose this exact moment to step in and 'save' me on purpose?"
Honestly, Higashino Shuuichi did have to be grateful for Aizen's arrival.
But precisely because he understood Aizen so well…
He couldn't help spiraling into conspiracy thinking.
Because he himself did this kind of thing all the time.
And Aizen would only be worse.
After all, Aizen was one of the very few people who knew about Higashino Shuuichi's "Kabuno Takuya" disguise.
With the web of arrangements Aizen had built inside Soul Society over so many years…
Keeping real-time eyes on Higashino Shuuichi—who never really tried to hide himself in the first place—would be ridiculously easy.
But…
"Can you really 'beat' that thing?"
Higashino Shuuichi had reservations about whether Aizen could defeat that gigantic sōjō in its current state.
After all, Captain Aizen Sōsuke of the Fifth Division was widely acknowledged in Soul Society as a "watered-down" Captain, wasn't he?
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