The Dangai (interstitial world), Hell, lost spaces, shattered spaces…
This world hides countless dangers. Step in carelessly, and even a Captain-Commander-class shinigami could die.
Cole didn't disagree. Ichigo Kurosaki had already proven how perilous the Dangai could be. Back then, to master Saigo no Getsuga Tensho (Final Moon Fang Heaven-Piercer), Isshin Kurosaki took him into a Dangai pocket where time ran two thousand times faster—two thousand years inside for one year outside. Sounds great—unless you fail to escape; then you simply die of old age in there.
And those Dangai pockets are as numerous as the stars in the seams of reality.
Some accelerate time.
Some burn with sun-like fire.
Some plunge to absolute-zero cold.
"Sounds fun—but I'm not stepping in now…"
Cole shook his head and wiped away the Garganta (Black Cavity).
The Dangai is riddled with hazards. Even Genryusai Yamamoto wouldn't rush in lightly; Cole didn't fancy himself at that level—yet. If he surpassed Genryusai someday, he'd take a tour. It did sound… interesting.
"If Seireitei is blocked, that only leaves the World of the Living…"
He muttered, then raked his right hand through the air. Silent, but space trembled violently. A black fissure opened again. This one was far more stable than the last.
Hueco Mundo and the World of the Living sit close; the membrane between them is fragile. Even small fry hollows can tear it. Cole was a Vasto Lorde—an upper-tier one at that—so his Garganta was naturally more stable.
"Did it work this time?"
Unohana peered curiously at the black rift. In over a thousand years, it was her first time watching a Garganta open right before her eyes.
Compared to a shinigami's World Gate, a hollow's Garganta was indeed more convenient.
"It's a little unsteady, but it leads to the World of the Living."
Cole stretched, then, still holding Hana-nee, walked in. He blinked playfully.
"We don't have to go. As long as Hana-nee's here, I could stay in this boring place for half a year."
Unohana's ears went scarlet. If they stayed, Cole would have her played to pieces in a few years…
At the last moment, Cole flicked his hand. The sky-piercing golden staff shrank and flew to him. One arm around Unohana, one hand gripping the staff, he stepped into the Garganta and vanished.
"…"
"It's gone!!!"
Grimmjow stared, stunned, at the vanished golden pillar.
"That really was a shinigami's zanpakuto (zanpakuto: soul-cutting sword)?"
He'd roamed Hueco Mundo for years and visited the World of the Living. Shinigami had never felt that terrifying—not even Aizen's trio. But this…
A pillar bigger than a thousand Cero (Hollow Flash) stacked together—still a zanpakuto?
How strong was that shinigami's reiatsu?
Up ahead, Aizen slowed to a halt, face dark.
"Gone…"
"Gone?" Tosen frowned.
"I could feel his reiatsu a moment ago. It vanished just now," Aizen said coldly, glaring over the white desert. If not for the vast distance, he'd have seized that human brat.
Gin, smiling with narrowed eyes, said, "But, Aizen-taicho, we turned on the disruptor for the shinigami transit—how'd he still escape?"
Aizen had already cooled.
"Likely another of Kisuke Urahara's toys. No matter. A day is enough to patch this hole."
Gin nodded, the corner of his mouth quirking.
"Strange, then. If Cole can do that, why come now? Wouldn't showing up at the 'right' moment be better?"
Aizen's face grew uglier. Anger licked up his spine; his fists clenched.
A provocation. It had to be.
If it were anyone else, he wouldn't believe it. But Cole—this lowly human—had wrecked his plans again and again.
"Return," Aizen said, wheeling toward Las Noches.
The gathered hollows exchanged shocked looks. It was their first time seeing Aizen this unsettled.
Who was this Cole, really?
…
The World of the Living, sky over Karakura Town.
Crack, crack—
Space shattered like a mirror, a round-edged, near-perfect Garganta yawning open. Before it was even big enough for an adult, a single fist punched the opening wider—malice spilling out like a tide.
Shinigami across Karakura felt it—a suffocating spiritual pressure brushing against despair.
Inside an old warehouse, sweat beaded on Hiyori Sarugaki's brow. She whipped out her zanpakuto, voice taut.
"Hey, baldy, tell me that's not Aizen. How's he here so fast!?"
Shinji Hirako tensed as well.
"Not sure. But if it is, it wouldn't be weird. His target is the royal seat—and to get there, he needs the key to the Soul King Palace."
The Visoreds fell silent, all reaching the same conclusion.
To reach the Soul King Palace, you need the Ouken (Royal Key).
To forge it, you must annihilate a reishi-rich zone and claim 100,000 human souls.
And the "reishi-rich zone" was Karakura Town.
Seireitei's captains knew this. Preparations had already begun.
"Thinking won't help now…"
Kensei Muguruma clenched his fists and glared up.
"Let's go take a look!"
Whether or not Seireitei was ready—if they weren't, the Visoreds would have to be.
They could not allow Aizen to forge the Ouken. If he opened the Royal Realm's gate, even the Soul King could be in danger—and if the Soul King fell, the world might collapse with him.
Crack—crack—
The sky's rift rounded out under brute force.
Cole, in a custom casual outfit, stepped out with Unohana in his arms. He took a deep, satisfied breath.
"Ahh… that noisy chorus. Gotta be the World of the Living."
Car horns, chatter, arguing below—annoying, maybe, but alive. It felt like being reborn.
Unohana squirmed, pressing a hand to his chest, cheeks pink.
"Enough. We're in the World of the Living—how long are you going to hold me?"
This wasn't Hueco Mundo. Streets teemed, cars streamed. She knew they couldn't see shinigami, but still—it was embarrassing, especially when she only had her captain's haori wrapped around her, bare feet peeking out.
"We're going home now," Cole chuckled. "Let me hold you a bit longer."
Right then, Hiyori popped up from who-knows-where, face red, pointing at the two of them.
"C-Cole! Unohana! Don't scare people like that! What's with that aura…?"
A moment ago she'd nearly been crushed by that "evil" reiatsu—like a Hueco Mundo king stepping into town. And it turned out to be… flirting? Unohana, barefoot, shoes gone—what they'd been up to was… obvious enough. Just imagining it made Hiyori blush.
Unohana flushed to the tips of her ears. Part of her wanted to hide her face against Cole, but that didn't fit her image. A thousand-year shinigami pretending to be a shy girl… mortifying. Worse, her clothes were a mess and her feet were bare. The more she thought, the hotter her cheeks burned.
On the side, Shinji and the others kept quiet—but they each gave Cole a furtive thumbs-up.
Good grief.
He'd tamed the "great villain" into… this. Impressive.
Unohana reddened even more. She didn't even have the nerve to slash them for it; she just wanted to find a hole to crawl into.
Lisa Yadomaru blinked, stepped over with hoho (flash step), and offered Cole a little adult magazine. She murmured,
"A present. Might help you and Unohana enjoy—"
"Ah!"
A blood-red blade flashed across the sky. Unohana bared her teeth at the Visoreds.
"One more word of nonsense, and I cut you down."
Gulps rippled through the group. They bobbed their heads like pecking chicks and shut up. Right—before Cole, she might be a fluffy lamb, but to everyone else she was still the infamous demon.
Soon, Cole dropped Unohana off at home to rest, then returned to the warehouse with a smile.
"So, what'd you need me for?"
Seeing Unohana absent, Shinji let out a long breath—then looked at Cole, eyes shining.
"You went to Hueco Mundo, right?"
"Mm."
"Did you see Aizen?"
The Visoreds leaned in, tense. A hundred years since Aizen had ruined them; a century without seeing the traitor. Now he'd fled Seireitei and fused with the Hogyoku—who knew how strong he'd become?
Cole coughed, a touch embarrassed.
"Didn't see him…"
He'd wanted to find Las Noches, but Hueco Mundo was boundless. Even with his reiryoku sense stretched to the limit, he hadn't located the fortress.
Shinji deflated a little.
"What about his subordinates? How strong are they?"
"Don't know…"
Cole's embarrassment deepened. He'd killed a few small hollows; not even many Gillian. That was about it.
The Visoreds' mouths twitched.
Seriously? You go to Hueco Mundo, and… what did you and Unohana do? Not even basic intel?
Shinji rubbed his temple.
"Then why are you here? Just to show off?"
He'd wanted fresh Aizen intel. Instead, the brat had basically gone on a joyride.
Cole cleared his throat twice, then his expression turned serious.
"I haven't crossed blades with Aizen, but I'm sure his power right now outstrips mine by a good margin."
The Visoreds winced.
No kidding. If he didn't, they wouldn't be in this mess.
Seeing the misunderstanding, Cole sighed and raised a finger.
"You don't think I've been standing still, do you?"
A dim red glow condensed at his fingertip—black-red light pinched to a point. He aimed at Shinji and smiled.
"Shinji, don't die."
Shinji's eyes sharpened—then widened—as the black-red beam lanced for his chest like a laser.
Gritting his teeth, he yanked his zanpakuto and shouted,
"Fall, Sakanade!!!"
The world flipped—Sakanade's power scrambled up/down, left/right, all bearings, a mini-Kyoka Suigetsu.
The blade struck the red Cero—and was blown clear away. Shinji himself skidded back, airborne.
The Visoreds paled and flashed to his side.
"Shinji, easy—"
"You couldn't block it?"
"That was just a single Cero!"
(End of Chapter)
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