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The World of the Living.
Urahara's Shop.
"Oh ho ho ho ho…"
"Well, if it isn't been a while. Yoruichi-san, you're just as sexy as ever! Come to think of it, that bunny suit looks familiar. Wasn't that the one I picked out with him back when we went shopping in the city?"
Fanning himself lazily, Urahara Kisuke teased with a grin.
It was rare to see familiar faces show up on screen, and his enthusiasm instantly flared up.
"Wait a second…"
Kurosaki Isshin scratched his cheek, eyeing Urahara suspiciously as he demanded, "Why is Yoruichi hanging around with Ichigo and the others? Don't tell me you'd already had your eye on my son from the start?"
Isshin had always known about the close, brother-in-arms relationship between the shopkeeper and Yoruichi.
If Urahara hadn't been pulling the strings, then with Yoruichi's personality, she probably wouldn't have gone out of her way to get close to Ichigo.
And the moment Isshin imagined his precious son being led astray by Urahara…
Shiba Isshin's face darkened instantly.
"Ah… so now you're suspecting me?"
Under Isshin's openly hostile stare, Urahara smacked his lips and spread his hands helplessly. "You're overthinking it, Isshin-san! I won't deny that Ichigo's constitution is special, with multiple bloodlines mixed together. But I haven't sunk so low as to scheme against a friend's kid."
"Hmph, you'd better not!" Isshin shot him a glare. "Otherwise, I'll tear that lousy little shop of yours down!"
Only after issuing that deliberate threat did he finally pull his gaze away, satisfied.
When dealing with an old fox like Urahara Kisuke, a bit of pressure was absolutely necessary.
"Putting that aside," Urahara continued, narrowing his eyes slightly, "Yoruichi-san's presence feels far stronger than before. She doesn't even need a Zanpakutō anymore?"
He couldn't sense one on her at all.
"Looks like in the future, Yoruichi-san has pushed her hand-to-hand combat to its absolute peak," he mused. "That's another viable path within a Shinigami's power system, isn't it?"
"Tch… impressive," Tessai Tsukabishi muttered sincerely.
Aside from Zanpakutō, the arts of Zankensōki were core combat disciplines for Shinigami as well.
Yoruichi had chosen to focus on Shunpo and Hakuda.
As for himself, he had devoted several centuries to mastering Kidō.
If Yoruichi could succeed on her chosen path, didn't that mean his own future self might also shine brilliantly through Kidō?
That thought alone made Tessai's eyes burn with excitement.
He couldn't help but hope that the coming footage might include a powerful entrance of his own.
...
Meanwhile, the battle within Wahrwelt continued unabated.
"The Flash Goddess, Yoruichi."
Standing at the center of the purple poison pool, Askin Nakk Le Vaar locked eyes with her from afar. "I never imagined you'd been hiding in Wahrwelt all this time. Quite the surprise."
"Heh. If you know my reputation, then you should know what I was best at back in the day," Yoruichi replied confidently, arms crossed. "Stealth and assassination."
"That's true enough," Askin said, raising his thumb and deliberately pointing it at the purple pool beneath his feet. His tone dripped with provocation. "But tell me, how exactly do you plan to deal with this?"
"Want to find out?"
Yoruichi slowly lowered her arms. Her playful expression vanished, replaced by a razor-sharp gaze.
Then—
Boom!
She didn't move at all.
Yet an overwhelming, unstoppable aura erupted from her body like a pillar of thunder.
Golden light blazed violently.
Lightning particles crackled wildly through the air.
The highly concentrated poison diffused around them seemed to be blown away in an instant.
"A pure-blood Quincy…"
"I've hated that lazy look on your face for a long time now!" Yoruichi cracked her knuckles, rolling her shoulders. "Get ready to be beaten into a punching bag."
Her figure vanished from the spot.
"What? That speed… I can't sense her at all!"
Askin's relaxed expression froze solid, his pupils shrinking sharply.
The instant an overwhelming sense of danger washed over him, Yoruichi's lightning-wrapped fist had already filled his vision.
"Shunkō: Raijin Form!"
With a sharp cry, she threw her full weight into the punch.
The lightning-charged strike roared so loudly it shook the air itself.
"This is bad…"
Askin's eyes widened in despair.
The thought had barely crossed his mind when the fist slammed squarely into his forehead.
In the next instant, all the lightning detonated at once.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!
Countless arcs of lightning rained down within the frame.
The explosive blaze shattered the ground, expanding outward in violent waves, completely obliterating the poison pool Askin had been so proud of.
The figure of the "Deathdealing" was swallowed whole by a pillar of thunder.
...
Sixth Division barracks.
"So strong!"
"That woman is the legendary Flash Goddess? She really lives up to the name!"
Staring at the blinding white screen left behind by the lightning explosion, Abarai Renji gaped in shock.
She looked like a sexy bunny girl just moments ago.
But once she started fighting, she was basically a terrifying thunder god straight out of myth.
Unbelievable.
Talk about gap moe taken to the extreme.
"Compared to a hundred years ago, Shihōin Yoruichi has changed a great deal," Kuchiki Byakuya said quietly. "It seems her mastery of Shunpo has reached its absolute limit."
Though his expression remained as cold and unyielding as ever, a complicated glint flickered in his eyes.
Yoruichi had been one of his mentors.
At the very beginning of his path as a stoic, expressionless Shinigami, she had given him guidance that shaped him for life.
And the Kuchiki and Shihōin clans had been close allies for generations, sharing honor and disgrace alike.
So seeing Yoruichi again inevitably stirred something deep within him.
"Captain, do you think that pure-blood Quincy is still alive?" Renji asked, holding his breath. "After taking that much lightning head-on, there's no way he's still standing, right?"
His eyes never left the transparent screen, terrified of missing even a single moment.
"Visually speaking, Shihōin Yoruichi's Hakuda is certainly explosive," Byakuya replied. "And she did successfully destroy all areas affected by the poison."
"But don't forget," he continued gravely, "this round's featured individual is that Quincy who loves spreading poison everywhere."
After watching so many of these segments, Byakuya had already figured out the pattern.
Anyone highlighted in the current showcase, no matter how badly they seemed to lose at first, would inevitably turn things around in the end.
So patience was key. It was far too early to celebrate.
"…Fair enough," Renji shrugged helplessly, then muttered, "But seriously…"
"If even a bunny girl that sexy ends up getting killed by a Quincy…"
"I'm giving the video creator a one-star rating for sure."
...
Back on the battlefield.
"Yoruichi-san, thank you…"
"If you hadn't arrived in time, the three of us would've probably collapsed in that poison pool and died slowly," Ichigo said gratefully.
Earlier, when the lightning had erupted in full force, Yoruichi had casually grabbed him and pulled him out, freeing him from the poison's effects.
His limbs still felt a bit stiff, but after resting briefly, he'd be fine.
"No big deal," Yoruichi said calmly, patting Ichigo on the shoulder with a smile. "Catch your breath and move on. There are bigger problems ahead waiting for you."
"Alright! Let's go!"
After being thoroughly pumped up, Ichigo quickly regained his energy and headed deeper into Wahrwelt, his back soon disappearing from view.
But…
Not long after their figures vanished,
Within the fading thunderstorm, where the golden light was just about to dissipate,
Askin Nakk Le Vaar's voice suddenly rang out, sounding shaken but unharmed.
"That was close… I almost got taken out there, Flash Goddess Yoruichi."
As his words echoed through the air, the remaining golden light scattered away.
Askin's figure reappeared on screen.
Only this time…
His appearance was completely different from before.
The white uniform unique to the Wandenreich was gone.
In its place hovered a complex, angelic halo shaped like an intricate molecular structure, along with a full array of tiny, venomous spirit particles suspended behind him.
After entering Vollständig.
Askin Nakk Le Vaar had likewise transformed into a divine messenger.
Every casual movement of his hands and feet felt as though he could effortlessly control every poison in the world.
That sight alone was enough to send shockwaves through everyone watching.
Silver Frame City.
"So he was forced into Vollständig, huh? Pretty embarrassing, honestly…"
In a shadowed corner, watching himself emerge from the storm of lightning and mist, Askin Nakk Le Vaar let out a self-mocking chuckle.
Vollständig: The Gift of God's Poison.
Because he despised the name, Askin almost never released his Vollständig unless he was truly cornered with no other option.
And his transformation immediately stirred unease among some of the Sternritter.
"First Valkyrie, then Lille Barro… and now it's Askin."
"Everyone His Majesty took to the Soul King's Palace keeps getting pushed into Vollständig one after another. Doesn't this feel worse and worse by the minute?"
There was no denying it.
Askin Nakk Le Vaar's performance had been dazzling.
He had taken down a Vasto Lorde in one move, instantly defeated an even more terrifying Ichigo, and now stood unharmed after clashing head-on with the Flash Goddess herself.
No one argued with those results.
And yet…
The Soul Reapers' counterattack made the future impossible to read.
No one could predict how this would end.
Even the confidence of the pure-blooded Quincy began to waver.
Of course, a handful of hardliners like Cang Du, Bazz-B, and Bambietta remained as fired up as ever.
"Go, Askin Nakk Le Vaar!"
"Use Vollständig and smash that arrogant woman to pieces!"
"Fighting us without even drawing her Zanpakutō. That Flash Goddess Yoruichi is way too full of herself!"
"I refuse to believe she still has more trump cards!"
…
Just then, the transparent light screen flickered violently.
The ranking video suddenly fast-forwarded, skipping straight to a later stage.
When the image stabilized again, a thunderous roar nearly shattered the screen itself.
"Shunkō, Thunder Beast Form!"
"Raijin Black Cat War Goddess!"
Amid roaring golden lightning, Yoruichi's figure slowly emerged once more.
This time, things were different.
The tight black bunny suit was gone.
In its place was a golden garment woven entirely from lightning, clinging perfectly to her sleek, sculpted figure and radiating raw sensuality and power.
Bathed in blazing arcs of gold.
Yoruichi stood fierce and radiant, lightning crackling in her eyes.
Crouched in midair, she looked like a black cat war goddess poised to pounce on her prey.
"Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap!"
Inside the Second Division barracks.
Faced with a scene that was equal parts seductive and violent, Omaeda lost his mind on the spot. Blood shot from his nose like a geyser, and his vision went black as he nearly fainted.
Even so.
Despite his brain clearly being starved of oxygen from sheer excitement, Omaeda kept babbling nonstop.
"Video creator, I'm begging you!"
"Can you manually remove the censoring and get rid of Lady Yoruichi's lightning armor?"
"I'm waiting online. This is urgent!"
"..."
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