Chapter 116: I am your justice!
At the location of the Second Division's stone pillar.
"Hmm?"
Apache let out a baffled sound.
Beside her, Loly Aivirrne asked lazily, "What is it?"
"Can't you feel it? Nelliel's spiritual pressure is gone… and even that Nnoitra who just showed up has…"
"It's the enemy's reinforcements, right?" Sung Sun replied in an offhand tone. "For a moment, I felt a spiritual pressure flash by that could rival Lady Harribel."
"…Even so, he was too useless." Apache clicked her tongue. "No wonder Grimmjow kept him pinned down."
Even while mocking him, the moment Harribel's name surfaced, Apache's eyes slid toward the semicircular barrier nearby, surrounded by countless blades.
That was the second battlefield Byakuya had carved open with his Bankai.
Inside it, the commanders of both sides were locked in a fight to the death.
They could not see what was happening within, but the three of them had absolute confidence in their leader.
"Enough sarcasm," Mila Rose said, sharp and firm. "Focus on the enemy in front of us."
Apache curled her lip, irritation rising. "I just watched that red haired baboon get beaten so badly by Ggio that he couldn't even lift his head. I'm not exactly motivated."
Ggio was the monster born from the fusion of their left arms after Resurrección.
Its alias was the Chimera God.
It looked humanoid, with deer antlers and hooves, black curly hair, and a white snake for a tail. Its body towered like a Gillian.
Yet its strength was far beyond any Gillian.
Even a captain class Shinigami might not be able to defeat it.
Renji had already learned that the hard way.
"Damn monster…!"
After activating his Bankai, Renji undeniably possessed captain class strength. His ultimate technique, Babylon Cannon, carried horrifying destructive power. Against an opponent this massive, an opponent without strange abilities, it should have been straightforward.
But Ggio's vitality was absurd.
Its obvious vital points, skull, chest, had been heavily damaged again and again, only to return to perfect condition through Super Regeneration.
Worse, once it lost itself to instinct, it fought with savage killing intent. Its body swelled and warped further, amplifying its power instead of diminishing it.
Calling it a monster was not exaggeration. It was the plain truth.
Even so, he had to fight.
"Ooooooooooh!"
Renji swung his hilt with everything he had, driving the massive skeletal snake forward. Dozens of connected bone segments surged like a living battering ram, pouncing straight at Ggio.
The snake's skull opened wide and screamed, fangs bared. With its sheer mass and speed, the impact would have shattered a swath of skyscrapers.
Ggio seized the upper and lower jaws with its hands and forced them apart.
Its deer hoof iron feet sank deep into the desert, carving trenches through sand for dozens of meters before it finally stopped Renji's momentum.
Then it grabbed the snake head and swung it like a whip.
Because Renji held the "tail," he was yanked into the air with it.
His reactions saved him.
Those segments were linked by his spiritual pressure, which meant he could break the connection at will.
In an instant, the skeleton split.
Ggio was left holding only the snake head.
It paused, like a child who had lost its toy, then hurled the skull at Renji in a rage.
"That was close!"
Renji flared his spiritual pressure and fought to control the bones, stopping the snake head just before it crushed him.
He barely had time to wipe away the cold sweat in his mind.
Ggio moved.
Despite its massive frame, it erupted with a divine speed that made no sense. In a blink, it was in front of Renji, and its palm swung down.
"Waaah!"
Unimaginable force struck the bone segments, and the shock transferred straight into Renji.
Both man and bones slammed into the ground.
Renji was buried in sand so deep it felt like his body was splitting apart. Blood poured from his mouth, but he did not let go. He tightened his grip on the hilt, spiritual pressure coiling around it, blooming into a thick red glow.
Ggio raised its right hoof, ready to trample him without hesitation.
At that moment, the scattered segments snapped upward and converged again, binding Ggio like a rope.
Even the snake head that had pinned Renji leapt up, reconnected, and clamped onto Ggio's throat.
"Heh… even a snake that loses its head can still kill…"
Renji grinned, blood staining his teeth. He erupted with every last drop of spiritual pressure and injected it into the hilt.
The power surged through the segments, piece by piece, until it condensed into a terrifying crimson light within the snake's mouth.
"…Babylon Cannon!"
A massive red blast, like a Cero, erupted at point blank range.
It incinerated the head.
Renji did not stop.
The opponent's recovery was too terrifying, and each time it regenerated, it went berserk and grew stronger.
If this dragged on, he would be ground down and killed.
So he forced the output higher, eyes burning.
"I'll burn you into ash. Let's see you revive then!"
The snake head aimed at the main trunk where the neck had been severed. Like a python swallowing prey, it poured the crimson cannon down the body from top to bottom.
Without a head, the torso was dissolved as well.
Only scraps remained, bits of fur, fragments of flesh.
Even those were charred black by the heat, drained of all vitality.
It clearly could not regenerate anymore.
Renji crawled out of the sand pit, gasping.
Because he had sustained Babylon Cannon for so long, both he and his Bankai were under crushing strain. He voluntarily dropped back into Shikai.
Then three figures appeared.
Apache, Mila Rose, and Sung Sun.
Their expressions were twisted with fury, murderous intent aimed at the Shinigami who had killed Ggio.
"You actually took down Ggio…!"
"He's at his limit too. Kill him!"
"Oh my, oh my."
Facing the three Fracción, all missing their left arms yet still holding their Resurrección, Renji's eyes turned cold.
"I knew you'd come. Higa Zekko!"
He had intentionally deactivated Bankai and stayed in Shikai for this moment.
Renji drove the blade, shaped like a stegosaurus spine, into the ground.
Boiling spiritual pressure snapped it apart. The segments transformed into spikes and shot upward from beneath the sand like arrows.
"Watch out!"
"Mila Rose?!"
"…!"
The lioness like woman threw herself forward, sacrificing her body to block the brunt of it.
Several segments pierced straight through her. Blood sprayed as she fell into a near death state.
Apache and Sung Sun were struck too, one or two segments each, suffering serious injuries.
This was the result of Renji's brutal training during this period.
He had refined both trump cards, Higa Zekko and Babylon Cannon, pushing each to a higher level so he could decide battles in the instant it mattered.
But there were three opponents.
The power had been dispersed.
A killing blow became severe wounds.
Mila Rose took the worst of it and hovered near death. Apache and Sung Sun, though injured, still had enough strength left to fight.
"Crap…!"
Renji's expression changed. He had no strength left to face two more Arrancar.
His spiritual pressure and stamina were at the brink.
Maybe, if he was driven into a true near death corner, he could squeeze a final surge from his soul and drag one of them down with him.
But that would not be worth it.
"You bastard!" Apache's eyes went bloodshot. "I'll slaughter you! Then I'll have Ggio chew you up and eat you!"
"Ggio can still be revived?!" Renji blurted, shocked.
Apache answered with a Bala.
The shot slammed into Renji and sent him flying.
"Sung Sun, you take care of Mila Rose," Apache snapped. "Don't let her die like this. Leave that Shinigami to me!"
"…Hm."
Sung Sun nodded grimly and caught the unconscious Mila Rose.
Apache lunged toward Renji.
A bolt of white lightning screamed toward her.
"What?!"
The flash drowned Apache's vision.
Despair surged through her chest.
Someone stepped in front of her, just as Mila Rose had done earlier, and lifted a hand, crushing the lightning with a casual motion.
"Lady Harribel!"
Apache's face lit up with joy, only for alarm to crash down a heartbeat later as she saw Harribel's condition.
Wounds covered Harribel's body, countless cuts of every size. Most terrifying of all, the right arm that should have held a sword was gone.
Below the shoulder was only empty space, blood flowing without pause.
There was no sign of the shark gilled giant blade from her Resurrección either.
It looked as if it had been destroyed by some terrifying force.
"I'm fine…" Harribel said quietly.
Her eyes were not on Apache.
They were on Renji.
More precisely, they were on Byakuya, who now stood beside Renji.
Apache and Sung Sun noticed him too.
That Kidō had been Byakuya's.
It had almost assassinated Apache when she was defenseless.
But Byakuya's condition was no better than Harribel's.
"Captain…!" Renji stared, shocked and pained.
The blood loss alone looked lethal. And there was a gash across Byakuya's chest that looked as if it had been torn open by a massive blade. Flesh turned outward. Ribs and organs were faintly visible.
It was nearly disembowelment.
"…Renji, it's time to retreat," Byakuya said, pale but steady. "Go and regroup with Captain Unohana."
"Yes!"
Renji had no reason to refuse. He could still move, but Byakuya's injuries would become catastrophic if they delayed.
In the next instant, the two vanished.
"Don't run!" Apache snarled.
"Don't chase," Harribel said, stopping her.
Apache hated letting the enemies who hurt her companions escape, but she also knew the truth.
Their side had almost no strength left.
Even if she and Sung Sun pursued, that captain class Shinigami could still kill them.
"How is Mila Rose?" Harribel asked as she approached.
"Not good at all," Sung Sun answered, shaking her head.
Harribel fell silent, then made her decision.
"Take her back to Las Noches. Find Kisuke Urahara."
"Then what about you, Lady Harribel?" Apache asked, voice tight.
"Even though we fought to a mutual defeat," Harribel said, gaze drifting toward the stone pillar nearby, "strictly speaking, we won."
"Because of Super Regeneration, a war of attrition favors me. Perhaps they received orders beforehand. After exhausting every method, they chose to retreat decisively once they judged the situation."
"It was the wise choice."
"But once they retreat, they can no longer protect the pillar."
"In other words, our offensive succeeded."
Harribel's tone hardened.
"However, the battle is not over, and my mission is not finished."
"You three return to Las Noches."
"I will destroy this pillar, then continue fighting elsewhere."
"Understood," Apache said, swallowing grief. "Please take care, Lady Harribel. We'll be waiting for your return."
Apache and Sung Sun supported Loly Aivirrne and left with heavy hearts.
"Ah… we will meet again soon," Harribel murmured, as if savoring the joy of reunion. A faint smile touched her lips.
Then she walked to the pillar and placed a hand on its surface, feeling a hardness that did not seem like it would break from a single punch.
She used her own blood as a catalyst.
Gran Rey Cero.
As expected, a Cero powerful enough to warp space pulverized the stone pillar.
But in the very next second, a freezing dread stabbed into her heart.
"Not good!"
The Cero's heat had evaporated the pillar's surface, exposing glowing crystals beneath.
They were clear and bright like fragments of stars, yet fitted together like dragon scales, wrapping the entire pillar.
By the amount revealed, there had to be tens of thousands.
The instant they touched Hollow spiritual pressure, every crystal detonated at once.
Each one was like high explosive compressed to the limit.
With that many exploding together, the scale rivaled a nuclear bomb from the World of the Living.
The lethality was even greater.
Harribel's first thought was not for herself.
It was for Apache and the others, who had not gone far.
But she had no time. No options.
She poured all her strength into releasing Gran Rey Cero again, trying to suppress the blast.
It worked, partly.
When Apache and Sung Sun heard the explosion behind them and turned back in horror, they saw an earth shattering shockwave spreading like ripples across water.
Yet by the time it reached them, it weakened drastically.
There was even a gap in the destruction, a hole in the wave where none should have existed.
"Lady Harribel…?!"
"Run, quickly!"
The sight instantly reminded them of Harribel destroying pillars before, but this clearly was not her attack.
It was a trap.
If so, it explained everything. The blast, and the way the shockwave failed to kill them.
Harribel had triggered the mechanism and then risked her life to suppress it.
After going that far, survival was almost impossible.
"Which bastard set this?" Apache's voice shook with rage. "Can they even call themselves guardians who maintain the world?"
Grief and indignation flooded them, hatred searing toward the Shinigami, especially whoever planted that trap.
It was too insidious.
No wonder Renji and the cold faced captain retreated so decisively.
How hateful. They won the fight, yet it still became mutual destruction.
…Meanwhile.
Omaeda's eyes widened as he stared at the mushroom cloud rising in the distance.
A strong wind slammed into them, but the barrier around their position kept the sand from shredding their faces.
"That's the area Captain Kuchiki and Abarai were in, right?" Omaeda said, voice cracking. "What happened?"
"No need to worry," Unohana answered gently as she treated Soi Fon.
"If nothing unexpected occurred, the pillar self destructed."
"?!"
"Self destructed?!"
Omaeda went pale. His tongue nearly twisted itself.
"You're joking, right? These pillars can self destruct? I've never even heard of that!"
"You probably missed it because you were too busy eating snacks," Soi Fon said flatly.
"That function isn't very useful. It only activates when it detects no Shinigami spiritual pressure nearby and then comes into contact with Hollow spiritual pressure."
"Our goal is to protect the pillars."
"Only as a last resort do we use that feature to eliminate the enemy's effective forces at the cost of sacrificing a pillar."
"Otherwise, if we lose and just run, wouldn't that damage the dignity of the Gotei 13?"
"Th that… kind of makes sense," Omaeda forced out, his smile uglier than tears.
So the pillars could "fight" too.
He stared at the immovable stone pillar, swallowed hard, then released a little more spiritual pressure without meaning to.
As if he feared the pillar would not notice him.
Not long after, Byakuya and Renji arrived.
When Byakuya reported that their opponent had been the Third Espada, Soi Fon nodded in satisfaction.
"Trading one pillar for one of their high end combatants is acceptable," she said.
"I just wonder how the other locations are doing. I hope they didn't lose and fail to retreat in time, letting the enemy destroy the pillar without the self destruct even triggering."
"That would be a terrible trade."
…At the location of the Third Division's pillar.
The pillar collapsed with a roar.
Komamura could only watch, powerless to stop it in time.
Kaname Tosen was simply too fast.
Even Iba, who had been guarding the pillar, had been defeated. If Komamura had not rescued him in time, Iba would have been cut down along with the pillar.
"Do you see, Komamura?" Tosen's robes and hair fluttered in the dust cloud as half the pillar fell. His thin silhouette carried a heavy burden that pressed on the heart at a glance.
"Your strength may be great, but you can't protect anything. The world is the same. It appears stable and orderly, yet it cannot protect everyone."
"Even this so called stability is exploited by villains to shield themselves. If the weak resist, they face unimaginable opposition."
"Are you speaking of your friend," Komamura's voice rumbled from within Kokujō Tengen Myōō, "the one who died tragically at the hands of a villain, with you having no place to seek justice, and that lawless murderer?"
"…You already know?" Tosen's body stiffened.
"Yes." Komamura's tone lowered. "When I paid my respects to your friend, I spoke with Hisagi and learned some of your past from him."
"I blame myself. I called myself your friend, yet after years together, I only learned this from others."
"There is nothing to blame," Tosen said softly. "You did nothing wrong."
"We became friends because you were ostracized by those around you. You too suffered unjust treatment."
"So you should understand even more clearly that everything I'm doing is true justice."
"I understand your desire for revenge," Komamura said, voice resolute, "and your longing to change everything."
"As I told you before, sometimes one cannot retreat."
"Once you retreat, you crush the self, and the beliefs that carried you this far. That would be too tragic."
Komamura's stance did not waver.
"So I never thought of changing your mind. I don't want you to retreat or repent."
"I simply… as a captain of the Gotei 13, as a Shinigami, and as your friend… must seize you no matter what."
"I will stop you. Nothing more."
"This is also my persistence. My justice."
"What a laughable justice," Tosen mocked, shaking his head.
"Laughable? Tosen, anyone else could say that, but you cannot be the one to say it."
"…What did you say?"
Komamura's words caught Tosen off guard.
"Tosen, you have changed," Komamura said. "Even though I told you I would not try to change your mind, the old you would have understood what I mean."
"That alone proves I must stop you."
"If you are left alone, you will eventually destroy yourself."
"…I don't understand your meaning," Tosen said, spiritual pressure rising, "and yes, I have changed."
"But that change has lifted my perspective above yours, and above the world."
"The true world I now see, and the guide who led me to it, will give me the answer I seek."
"Even death is indispensable to justice."
"So your inferior view is irrelevant."
"If you refuse to retreat, then fall, just like the pillar."
Tosen raised his Zanpakutō and pushed his spiritual pressure to the limit.
An ominous murky pressure overflowed.
"Suzumushi Hyakushiki. Grillar Grillo!"
"Tosen…"
Komamura had prepared himself, yet watching his friend fully degenerate into a monstrous Hollow still stirred a complex ache.
"I see it… I see it…"
Now pitch black like an insect, with multiple arms, Tosen opened spheres that could barely be called eyes. The world reflected within them filled him with emotion.
"So this is your Bankai, Komamura. This is the world in your eyes."
"It is exactly as I expected. Built upon a pile of dead things."
"That is why it can be toyed with at will."
"Even if it is wrong, it persists to this day."
"…I am also saddened that you gained your sight in such a form," Komamura said.
"Hahahaha." Tosen's laughter turned sharp. "Your tone is as arrogant as your appearance!"
Komamura did not answer.
He raised his blade into a mid level kendo stance. Wrapped in heavy armor, he stood as steady as a mountain.
Tosen chuckled, then vanished.
Myōō parried, but struck air.
Tosen flew past the giant blade and reached Myōō's face. The giant hand tried to seize him, but still failed.
"By merging yourself with your Bankai, you avoid the risk of being harmed," Tosen said, voice cold, "while focusing fully on controlling it."
"You add your power to it and double its performance."
"I admit your strength left even my Hollowfied self helpless."
"But after my Resurrección, it is your turn to be helpless against me!"
Tosen reached the top of Myōō's head and gathered spiritual pressure.
A vast eerie green soundwave erupted.
"Enma Kōsen!"
"Ugh!"
The soundwave slammed down.
Myōō shuddered as if struck by lightning. Cracks spiderwebbed across its armor, and the body beneath split open. Blood seeped through gaps in the plating, and blood poured from eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
Komamura roared in agony.
He had not truly merged with Myōō.
He was inside the chest cavity, connected like an organ.
Normally, Myōō being damaged would not directly injure him.
But soundwaves were different.
They penetrated armor and flesh, striking Komamura inside.
Enma Kōsen ravaged Myōō and inflicted heavy wounds on Komamura.
In a confined space, resonance compensated for what might have been lost.
To be safe, Tosen moved around, front and back, releasing Enma Kōsen once from each side.
"It ends here," he said as the armor shattered and Myōō began to collapse, as if its bones had been removed. "Farewell, Komamura."
Thud.
Suddenly, Myōō took a step back and forced itself upright.
"Ooooooooooh!"
With Komamura's roar, Myōō's armor fell away.
Not shattered.
Cast off intentionally.
The helmet and face cloth dropped too.
Beneath was a body covered in wounds, muscles knotted and surging.
Its head bore the wrathful expression of a Buddha.
"This is…?!" Tosen froze, feeling Komamura's spiritual pressure climb sharply. "Komamura, your Bankai evolved again?"
"It's not evolution," Komamura said, voice ragged but firm. "It's like the mask I wore when I first showed myself, and then removed."
"Whether I wear it or take it off, I am still myself."
"The same is true for my Bankai."
Komamura had taken the semi finished Bount potion. It restored power that had been lost when his Zanpakutō was materialized after being killed, returning it to the blade.
His Bankai was closely tied to his own state.
So when he changed, his Bankai changed with him.
The potion not only hastened the recovery of his Zanpakutō's power, it also carried the nature of fusing the puppet and the user, making this form of merging possible.
That was why he could take off the mask in reality, and why Kokujō Tengen Myōō could take off its mask and even its armor, though Komamura normally would not do so.
"Tosen, you were the one who reached out to me back then," Komamura said.
"Today, I will open my heart to you, and answer you in this form!"
He slashed down.
The speed of the strike more than doubled.
Tosen almost could not react.
He dodged, but part of his wings and two arms were still severed.
"You're faster after shedding the armor," Tosen hissed.
"I see. A state that sacrifices defense for mobility."
"To think you dare match my speed, to challenge me in the very field I excel at."
"That arrogance is too much, Komamura!"
"You're the arrogant one!" Komamura roared.
His sword speed surged again. He drove Myōō forward, leaping and fighting with wild abandon like a beast.
In fewer than five moves, he struck Tosen down.
Boom!
"Ah…!"
Tosen crashed like a meteor, carving a crater hundreds of meters wide.
Komamura deactivated his Bankai and walked to the rim, panting.
"Tosen, even though it was Myōō fighting you, you know my swordsmanship better than anyone."
"Why couldn't you dodge?"
"There's only one reason."
"You were too arrogant."
"You abandoned your past fighting style and relied on an unfamiliar pattern against me. Your reaction time slowed."
"So no matter how fast you are, it becomes useless."
"It might even make you run straight into my blade."
"Because I am different from you."
"Even if you change your fighting style, traces of your original self remain."
"So if you make a single mistake, you will be cut down."
"Komamura…!"
The strike forced Tosen out of Resurrección too.
Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. His eyes were clouded and pale, and his long braid spilled across the ground.
His spiritual pressure plunged to rock bottom.
Even so, he struggled to rise, trying to fight again.
Komamura watched him in silence for a long time.
"Tosen," he said at last, "do you truly not want to return to the Soul Society with me?"
"I should be asking you," Tosen rasped, swaying, "do you really want to drag me back to the Soul Society?"
"Yes," Komamura answered without hesitation.
"Hmph."
"You disdain it," Komamura said, "because you think I'm naive, selfish."
"But you must understand."
"This is my justice."
"And it is the justice you longed for."
Tosen froze mid motion.
Komamura inhaled deeply.
"It seems you finally understand."
"The justice you laughed at earlier, the persistence you mocked, it wasn't my one sided effort that ignored your suffering."
"It was my belief that doing this would make the you from back then, the one with no recourse against injustice, sincerely approve."
"No matter how deep our friendship, I will not bend the rules for you."
"Isn't that what you wished Central 46 had done back then?"
"To be a true enforcer, fighting only for the righteousness in one's heart."
"Therefore, even though I understand your plight and acknowledge your ideals, I must still break your limbs and take you back to face the judgment you deserve."
Tosen let out a grim smile.
"Judgment? You mean you'll let the newly selected Central 46 judge me?"
"It's not certain who will judge you," Komamura said. "Soul Society is different now."
"And if the judgment is wrong, I will plead your case, just as you once did."
"If even that fails, then I will pay for it with my life."
Komamura was badly injured, breathing heavy, yet his words were unwavering.
"Komamura… you bastard…"
Tosen's voice trembled with emotion.
Then.
Puchi.
A blade pierced straight through Komamura's chest from behind.
"Ugh!"
Komamura's eyes widened. He swung his sword back by instinct, but his condition made the strike powerless.
The attacker withdrew the blade, blocked, and kicked in the same motion.
Komamura cried out and was sent tumbling into the crater.
Tosen felt Komamura's spiritual pressure rapidly declining.
Near death.
"Lord Tosen."
The attacker landed before him and knelt respectfully.
"Rudbornn?"
"Yes," Rudbornn answered, head bowed.
Though he had no number, his strength was considerable.
More than that, his loyalty and caution had earned him the role of captain of the Exequias, responsible for maintaining order in Las Noches.
"The pillar is destroyed," Tosen said. "We're leaving."
"Please wait," Rudbornn requested. "Allow me to deliver the final blow."
"No need."
Tosen waved him off and walked away without looking back.
"Just leave that idiot."
"…As you command."
Rudbornn's bull like mask showed no expression, but a faint confusion lingered in the air.
After they left, Iba emerged from behind broken stones at the crater's edge and rushed to Komamura, ignoring his own injuries.
"Captain, hold on! I'll take you to Captain Unohana right away!"
Komamura's wolf ears twitched. He opened his eyes a fraction, but he did not answer.
He only stared in the direction Tosen had vanished.
"…Did we fail?"
"What are you saying?" Iba bit out, forcing his voice steady. "Captain Shimiya said surviving is a huge success!"
"As Captain Shimiya said, only by preserving a useful body can you be of use!"
"…Yeah," Komamura whispered.
"Next time… we fight again."
Komamura slipped into unconsciousness.
Iba gritted his teeth, swallowing the hatred born from his own helplessness, then hoisted Komamura and rushed toward Unohana's location, guided by the denreishinki report.
.....
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