"Bankai? You're using Bankai already!?"
Kuukaku looked at Tōshirō in disbelief, unable to stop herself from shouting:
"Are you crazy? This is Seireitei! Captains aren't allowed to use Bankai here, the entire Ninth Division could be affected…"
"Cough, cough!!"
Cole coughed loudly twice, cutting her off.
"New Seireitei regulations. For now, all captains are permitted to use Bankai."
Kuukaku gasped again, whipping her head toward Cole.
"Because of you alone, the restrictions on the entire Seireitei were lifted!?"
"Don't spout nonsense, it's because of Aizen and the other two." Cole hurried to deny it. He didn't want such a massive black pot on his back.
Then he turned, rubbing his chin, eyeing Hitsugaya strangely.
"I heard people say, even though you're only a hundred or so, you're unusually mature and steady. Why are you being so irrational today?"
Logically, under these circumstances, Seireitei wouldn't make a move against him.
Cole's expression grew even stranger.
"Don't tell me… it's because your childhood sweetheart fell for someone else? Even knowing she betrayed Seireitei, you still can't let her go, so you're burning up inside?"
Hitsugaya, who had just released Bankai and felt like he could freeze the whole Seireitei, suddenly turned pale, then purple.
Cole clapped his hands, confirming his thought.
"I was right, you got NTR'd!"
"Shut up!!"
Hitsugaya nearly exploded. What was worse than your childhood friend loving someone else?
That others knew about it.
And that the one she loved was a damn traitor.
Seeing his furious face, Kuukaku couldn't help her surprise.
"What girl is it? For a captain's childhood friend to like her, and she still prefers a traitor—she must be crazy."
Cole coughed twice and said quietly:
"Miss Shiba, you don't understand. Sometimes being too much of a genius isn't a good thing… like when the body hasn't even developed yet."
Kuukaku blinked, stared at Hitsugaya for two seconds—then suddenly understood.
Even though he was a captain, his body was still that of an eleven- or twelve-year-old.
He hadn't even grown hair yet.
The stronger a shinigami was, the slower they aged—like Yamamoto, who lived a thousand years.
At Hitsugaya's current strength, it'd take hundreds of years before he looked like an adult.
What girl could wait that long?
Their faces both twisted oddly.
Being stared at with pity, Hitsugaya felt like he would combust, slashing down in rage:
"Shut up, you two bastards!!!"
…
He didn't want to stay small forever either.
But who told him to be so talented, with vice-captain strength before even turning ten?
By the time he realized, it was too late. No point regretting.
Boom!
An avalanche of cold and ice came surging, moisture in the air freezing into a massive iceberg pressing downward, ready to swallow the entire street.
Kuukaku and Orihime both shivered as the intense cold invaded even their organs, like their blood was freezing.
Cole sensed it too. He stabbed his Ruyi Jingu Bang into the ground, shouting:
"Grow! Grow! Grow! Grow!"
The staff swelled nearly a hundred times its size in an instant, slamming into the end of the iceberg.
A deafening crash—
The massive ice shattered, collapsing like a ruined castle, burying the streets in falling chunks.
Far-off shinigami trembled and fled, not wanting to end up as ice statues.
Cole grinned, grabbing the icy staff and swinging it like a heavenly pillar.
"Captain Hitsugaya, one more round?"
Hitsugaya's pupils shrank. He knew how terrifyingly heavy that staff was.
Though unwilling, he dodged.
But the staff shrank again, and Cole kicked off, his form a black streak, chasing him through the air.
The two clashed mid-air, but Cole's speed had the edge. He swung the golden staff down viciously.
Hitsugaya gritted his teeth and countered with a slash.
"Ryūsenka! (Dragon Hail!)"
The clash of sword and staff shook the air. The instant they connected, Hitsugaya's face changed—Hyōrinmaru nearly flew from his hands.
Forcing himself to grip it, his body plummeted like a cannonball.
Boom!
The Ninth Division's barracks shattered into rubble, wood and dust flying everywhere.
Cole wasn't much better. Frost crept up the staff and froze him solid within a second.
Crash!
The ice exploded apart, Cole gasping, "Too cold! Brat, you knew I wasn't wearing much, and you're targeting me on purpose, huh?"
"Who are you calling brat!?" Hitsugaya's furious voice rose from below.
"I'm the Tenth Division's captain, became one a hundred years ago! At my age I could be your great-grandfather!"
Shattered dragon wings spread wide, a new ice dragon forming behind him.
Blood dripped from his hands as Hitsugaya rose again, glaring bitterly at Cole.
Even with Bankai, he still couldn't beat this guy.
"Pfft!"
Cole couldn't hold it, bursting out laughing, pointing at him.
"You, my great-grandpa? You're just a little shota who hasn't even grown hair yet, hahaha…"
Hitsugaya's face went green. He wanted to kill.
Mocked where it hurt most—his childlike appearance.
If he had an adult's body, he would've confessed to Hinamori long ago.
For once, he hated his talent.
But Cole didn't let up. Laughing even louder, he flashed to Orihime's side.
"Cole-kun!"
Orihime blinked up at him, confused why he appeared beside her.
Cole pulled her into his arms, kissed her soft cheek, and smiled.
"Orihime, we're childhood friends, right?"
Her face turned crimson. Her mind went blank. She nodded dumbly.
"Yes… Cole-kun always treated me well since we were little, always protecting me… even my brother liked you…"
She didn't even know what she was saying.
Cole winked at Hitsugaya and kept smiling.
"So let's not be like this little shota, pining for his childhood friend for a hundred years, only to be abandoned for someone else…"
"You bastard!!!"
Hitsugaya's face darkened to deep green. With a grief-filled roar, he charged.
"I'll kill you!!!"
Cole smirked, hefting his staff.
"Lived a hundred years, and you're still so reckless?"
Sensing something off, Hitsugaya had no time to retreat. He swung desperately.
"Sennen Hyōrō! (Thousand-Year Ice Prison!)"
"Eat my staff!!!"
Blade and staff clashed again, shrieking metal echoing across the Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Divisions.
This time, Hitsugaya was blasted away in a straight line.
"Ahhhh!!"
His anguished scream rang through the sky.
Cole clicked his tongue. After smashing through countless walls and houses, Hitsugaya vanished from sight.
"That trajectory… Ninth, Eighth, Seventh, Sixth… why straight toward First Division?"
A distant boom answered.
Inside the First Division—
Yamamoto sat by the injured Sasakibe, eyelid twitching as he glared at the ruined office.
Damn brat!
The new captain's office hadn't lasted two hours before being demolished.
Moments later, a battered Hitsugaya staggered in, face full of guilt.
"Head Captain, forgive me, I didn't mean to disturb you—I'll go capture that bastard Cole right now…"
Yamamoto coughed, cutting him off.
"Captain Hitsugaya, I'm here."
The young captain realized he'd been apologizing to a random shinigami. His face flushed crimson with shame. He smacked his forehead, turning to Yamamoto.
"Head Captain…"
Yamamoto opened his mouth, then softened his tone.
"Captain Hitsugaya, though your growth is slow, look on the bright side—you'll live longer."
Hitsugaya froze, as if thunderstruck. His mind went blank.
After several seconds, he stammered, voice breaking:
"Head Captain… you didn't hear what Cole and I were talking about earlier, did you?"
Yamamoto stayed silent.
He hadn't heard with his ears. But with spiritual threads, he had.
Hitsugaya's world collapsed. He recalled every word.
That he'd loved Hinamori for a hundred years.
That she loved someone else.
That he was cursed with a child's body.
He walked out of the First Division like a soul without spirit, eyes hollow.
…
On the street, Cole grinned, ruffling Orihime's hair.
"Orihime, you did great. Without you, beating that dodgy brat would've been a pain."
Her cheeks flushed as she nodded. Her mind was still blank, replaying the kiss.
At that moment, Rukia and Yoruichi finally arrived.
Seeing Cole in Aizen's twilight-colored uniform, Rukia stormed over and bit his arm hard.
"Who let you come in alone? Do you know how dangerous that was? What if you got hurt? How guilty would I feel!?"
"Yes, yes, but look, I'm fine." Cole let her gnaw, smiling as he rubbed her head.
"And everything went smoothly. I even convinced old man Yamamoto. You'll be cleared soon."
Rukia was stunned, releasing him.
"Don't joke like that! The Head Captain would never forgive me. I broke the law, gave power to a human—Central 46 will never pardon me. He's too stubborn to change his judgment."
"It's true!" Cole sighed. With Aizen already branded a traitor thanks to him, Yamamoto couldn't possibly punish her.
And if he tried, Cole would take her back to Karakura Town himself.
Suddenly, scorching reiatsu washed over them.
Cole's face twisted.
"No way, the old man's still holding a grudge?"
Grabbing Orihime and Rukia, he bolted in the opposite direction.
Yoruichi padded alongside, smirking.
"Didn't you say you convinced him? Why does his reiatsu feel so pissed, then?"
Cole's mouth twitched.
"Maybe because I smashed the First Division office… again."
Yoruichi's eyes widened.
"What do you mean, again!?"
(End of Chapter)
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