Back to the video.
"Bankai—!!!"
"Daiguren Hyōrinmaru (Great Crimson Lotus Ice Ring)!!!"
Spiritual pressure exploded.
Frozen waterfalls surged outward.
In an instant, as the zombified Hitsugaya let out a low shout,
his Zanpakutō, Hyōrinmaru, was released!
Frost coiled around the blade, tangible and solid,
as he swung forward—
a massive white shockwave of ice slashed ahead—
and with it, the man who had once been his comrade,
now his opponent because of zombification—
Kurotsuchi Mayuri.
The icy strike struck home.
Behind his mask, Mayuri's eyes widened.
He collapsed within the ice explosion, his eyelids falling shut.
"Hitsugaya Tōshirō… you…"
The footage froze at that instant.
The camera lingered on the scene,
as if confirming Mayuri's death.
That single image—
a zombie Hitsugaya, cold, emotionless,
cutting down his fellow captain—
sent shock through the viewers.
Not only for his ruthless behavior—
striking without hesitation, killing without mercy—
but also for the new record he had just set.
One blow.
One captain-level enemy defeated.
A second victory in front of everyone's eyes.
The Soul Society erupted.
"No way!"
"Even Mayuri's been killed?!"
"The guy I remember was never that easy to deal with…"
At Urahara's shop,
Kisuke frowned in disbelief.
As someone who had known Mayuri for over a century—
ever since he'd pulled him from the Maggot's Nest—
Urahara knew him far too well.
After founding the Technology Development Bureau,
Mayuri had served as his deputy,
sharing ideas and research with him daily.
And from that long acquaintance,
Urahara knew one thing:
Mayuri Kurotsuchi was dangerous—
brilliant, cunning, endlessly calculating.
For a man like that to die so easily?
Impossible.
Beside him, Tessai Tsukabishi rubbed his chin.
He, too, found it hard to believe.
But the footage was there,
and the ranking video's credibility was absolute—
it couldn't be faked.
That could only mean it was real.
So despite his doubts, Tessai sighed and reasoned,
"Perhaps Mayuri was too arrogant, underestimated zombie Hitsugaya's power."
"After all, it seems that once zombified, his combat ability actually increased—more savage, more decisive."
"If Mayuri let him close the distance… no wonder he died instantly."
The logic sounded convincing—
and it did match Mayuri's personality—
but Urahara still shook his head, unconvinced.
Meanwhile, Mayuri himself sneered as he watched.
"Heh…"
"Kill me? Ridiculous."
"Death… will never happen to me."
Behind his blue-and-white mask,
he laughed coldly, dismissing the entire scene with disdain.
He was confident.
Even if his future self made no progress,
he would never let an opponent get that close.
Never expose such a weakness.
Never die so trivially.
Clearly, the clip was deceptive.
There must be more to the story.
At least for now,
Mayuri refused to believe that his fate would end so simply.
Moments later—
less than three minutes after the footage faded to black,
the transparent screen lit up again.
A new scene began.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Explosions.
Shockwaves.
Devastation.
The scene had changed—
back to a familiar battlefield,
filled with shattered Western-style buildings,
ruined and smoking.
"Look!"
"It's that ever-growing giant again!"
"Is this a rewind? He's back to slaughtering the captains all over!"
With a single glance, everyone recognized him—
the Sternritter 'M', Gerard Valkyrie,
his Schrift power turning him into a literal god among men.
Once again,
he was crushing the Visored captains,
their small figures scattering like ants before his colossal form.
It was a massacre—again.
"Damn it…"
"That bastard of a video creator!!!"
"Why are we the only ones getting replayed?! Everyone else only lost once—why is the Visored Corps getting humiliated twice?!"
"This is infuriating!!!"
Inside a ruined warehouse,
Hiyori Sarugaki was trembling with rage,
gritting her teeth hard enough to crack them.
Just one glance at the scene was enough for her to blow up.
She snatched off her sandal and hurled it at the holographic screen.
But—
the screen wasn't real,
a projection hanging in the air, separate from their world.
Her sandal passed straight through it,
spinning in an arc before hitting the ground.
Completely useless.
Leaving her red-faced with frustration.
"Ugh…"
Shinji Hirako opened his mouth,
wanting to calm her down—
but then—
the screen changed again.
"Freeze—seal—icebound!!!"
As despair consumed the battlefield,
with the remaining captains collapsing one after another,
and Valkyrie raising his foot to crush them—
suddenly—
the sky dimmed.
The air grew heavy.
The temperature plummeted.
White frost turned into a flurry of snow,
falling in wide sheets across the battlefield.
In mere moments,
the entire environment transformed.
The cold surged forth,
freezing Valkyrie's colossal body in place,
halting his rampage,
saving the Shinigami from annihilation.
That instant,
everyone realized—
the footage seamlessly continued
from the earlier ranking,
where Byakuya Kuchiki had unleashed Senbonzakura's ultimate technique.
Now it was clear—
"So that's what happened!"
"At that moment, Hitsugaya appeared—
he froze the battlefield, stopped the giant,
and gave Byakuya the chance to strike back!"
"So Hitsugaya was the key—
a savior in that fight!"
"And Hyōrinmaru, his Zanpakutō,
played a decisive role in turning the tide!"
"Without Hyōrinmaru,
everyone there would've been dead!"
The realization spread among the viewers.
And now—
expectation built again.
Could Hyōrinmaru, like Senbonzakura,
still be hiding one final ultimate ability?
(End of Chapter)
If I see that this fanfic has support, I will upload it to Patreon!!
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[[email protected]/Zukooo]
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