"This guy… is Cole!?"
Gin had recovered, still smiling faintly at the black-haired boy before him, though irritation brewed in his chest. He had come here to block Cole's entry into Seireitei, yet Cole had simply hoisted the White Road Gate and forced his way inside.
He chuckled. "Cole, I've heard of you. They say you fought Captain Byakuya to a draw, but perhaps you don't know—"
"Die already!!!" Cole snarled, golden staff swinging toward him.
Gin's smirk twitched. He was used to ambushing others with Shinso, but this was the first time someone tried to ambush him. He quickly retreated as the golden staff smashed down.
"Boom!"
The ground shattered, a five-meter crater forming, cracks spreading like lightning. Dust choked the air, engulfing the gate. Sweat trickled down Gin's temple. If that had struck his zanpakuto, even Shinso might have been swatted away.
Byakuya, you called it just "slightly strong"… Gin cursed inwardly. He had never seen a zanpakuto ability more brutish than this. Not even Komamura's Tenken matched such raw force.
"Don't dodge, you smiling fox!" Cole charged again, staff pounding down.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Each blow rattled the White Road Gate itself. Distant Soul Reapers gaped, thinking some Eleventh Division berserker had gone mad.
"How much strength does this kid have!?" Even Gin was shaken. He thought Cole was already strong, but this was on another level.
Before he could react, chains of golden light snaked around him.
"Bakudō #63: Sajō Sabaku (Locking Bondage Stripes)!"
Gin's eyes widened. No incantation…? Byakuya said he was skilled in kido, but level sixty-three cast without chanting!?
Cole's staff stretched, crashing down like a golden comet. Gin barely slipped aside as it pulverized the earth. He strained, finally snapping the chains, muttering, "As expected of a captain-class monster…"
Cole withdrew his staff, exhaling. Even he had to admit Gin was slippery.
Gin had no desire to fight further — Cole's hoho, kido, and zanpakuto all surpassed his. But suddenly, his eyes gleamed with relief.
"Captain Komamura! Captain Tōsen!"
Indeed, two figures stormed in: Komamura Sajin and Tōsen Kaname.
Gin wasted no time. "Captain Komamura, be careful. This ryoka is almost on par with me."
Sajin drew his zanpakuto. "Then leave him to me. In the name of Seireitei's justice, I will capture this ryoka and deliver him to Central 46."
Gin chuckled inwardly and quietly slipped away.
"Komamura Sajin. Tōsen Kaname." Cole recognized them instantly, sensing the swelling reiatsu.
"Roar, Tenken!!!"
Sajin's blade released, yet looked unchanged — still a heavy longsword. But above him, a titanic black iron arm materialized, gripping a blade of colossal size.
The godlike arm mirrored Sajin's motion, cleaving down as though judgment itself fell.
Cole grinned. Raising his golden staff, he smashed against it.
"Boom!!!"
The clash shook the air. Sajin's veins bulged, teeth grinding as a bestial roar tore free. "Rooaaar!!!"
The force ripped apart the paper bag on his head, revealing the snarling wolf's face beneath.
"Crack!"
Sajin's eyes widened in shock. The giant blade in Tenken's grip splintered, fissures racing across it as Cole's staff hurled it aside.
Fragments shattered in midair, raining down like glass.
Cole chuckled. "Pretty sturdy!" Then in a blur, he darted deeper into Seireitei.
"Stop!" Tōsen roared, drawing his zanpakuto. "Cry, Suzumushi!"
The blade trembled with a shrill resonance, insectlike cries echoing.
But before he could act, Sajin bellowed, "Ryoka! As the Captain of Squad Seven, I cannot allow you to escape! Bankai!!!"
"Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō (Black Rope Heavenly Punishment King)!!!"
Reiatsu exploded. The ground quaked as a massive armored giant appeared, towering nearly eighty meters, clad in black armor, helm gleaming, sword vast enough to cleave the heavens.
Its oppressive presence suffocated the Soul Reapers watching from afar.
The colossus mirrored Sajin, swinging its blade down at Cole.
"Bankai? Do you think you're Byakuya?" Cole sneered. Of all the captains, he considered Komamura the weakest.
"Grow! Grow! Grow!!!"
His staff swelled, ten meters, fifty, a hundred, three hundred, a thousand — until it was a golden pillar piercing the sky.
Cole hugged its base, swinging upward.
The two giants collided. Tenken's blade was flung aside, while the staff's shaft smashed into its armored chest, sending the colossus crashing through walls and houses.
"Boom!!!"
"Boom!!!"
"Boom!!!"
Seireitei shook as the black-armored titan tumbled, crushing everything in its path.
In Squad Eleven's barracks, Ikkaku and Yumichika were sparring with their men. Ikkaku barked, "Come on! Don't give up so easily!"
A bruised subordinate groaned, "Ikkaku-san, my ribs are broken…"
Yumichika admired himself in a mirror. "Ikkaku, be reasonable. For such ugly men, they've done quite well—"
Then he froze. "Wait… do you hear that?"
"Sound?" Ikkaku frowned.
"Like… something falling from the sky…"
"Crash!!!"
The ceiling exploded. With a thunderous quake, Komamura's Bankai plummeted straight into their training hall, flattening the building and everyone inside.
"What the hell!!!" Ikkaku shrieked, barely shielding himself.
As the dust settled, the titan sat heavily, burying Squad Eleven's soldiers beneath its weight.
Cole smirked from afar. "Flew pretty far. Wonder how many unlucky ones it crushed." With a few flickers, he vanished into Seireitei before Gin or Tōsen could pursue.
"Uuugh!!!"
"Captain Komamura!!! You're crushing us!!!"
Cries of agony echoed under the giant. Only Ikkaku and Yumichika clawed their way free, fuming.
"Ikkaku, he used Bankai inside our barracks! Does Komamura want war with Squad Eleven!?"
Yumichika raged at his cracked mirror. "My beautiful face! Komamura, you'll pay for this!!!"
But Komamura staggered forward, coughing blood. His Bankai flickered, armor dented with a massive crater in its chestplate.
As Bankai and master were one, Komamura collapsed.
Ikkaku and Yumichika's eyes narrowed. "Who hurt Captain Komamura like this!? Don't tell me… Zaraki?"
In Seireitei, captains weren't supposed to fight each other — their strength could level the city. But if Zaraki was involved, rules meant nothing.
Before they could guess further, Tōsen rushed in, shouting, "Komamura!" He caught his fallen comrade, eyes filled with worry.
Komamura spat blood. "Go… chase that ryoka. He's too dangerous. Don't let him escape…"
Tōsen clenched his teeth, shaking his head. "Impossible. He was too fast. I stayed to protect you."
"Damn it…" Komamura slammed the ground, spitting more blood.
Tōsen quickly sent a Hell Butterfly to Squad Four for aid. Watching his friend's broken Bankai vanish into spirit particles, he muttered, "Komamura… how strong is that boy, to shatter your Black Rope Heavenly Punishment King?"
Komamura clutched his chest, grimacing. "He's… a monster. That strike… his raw power was more terrifying than even the Head Captain's."
Nearby, Ikkaku and Yumichika's eyes gleamed with fighting spirit at those words.
(End of Chapter)
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