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[Vision Feed] The screen flickered—battle about to erupt!
"Get out of the way!"
Kurosaki Ichigo had already lost his patience. His anger at being blocked while trying to save his sister was boiling over. He had zero interest in listening to these three weirdos introduce themselves. The air exploded beneath his feet, and he vanished in an instant.
The next second, he was right in front of the bloated man known as Taikon.
"Getsuga… Tenshō!"
Even without Hollowfication, Ichigo in Bankai was terrifyingly fast. A red-black crescent slash tore through the air with a shrill howl, cleaving straight toward Taikon's head!
"Oh my, you're really impatient," Taikon chuckled.
Despite his massive body, his reactions were razor-sharp. He hopped backward, narrowly dodging the lethal strike.
But just as Ichigo prepared to press the attack—
Whoosh!
A green blur shot in from the side, fast as lightning. It was Gunjō's long braided ponytail, snapping forward like a steel-forged whip, aimed straight at Ichigo's temple!
Clang!
Sparks flew.
At the last possible moment, a jagged, serrated blade made of snake bones blocked the strike.
"Hey, Ichigo! Don't charge in alone like that!"
Abarai Renji grinned as he tanked the heavy blow. "Roar, Zabimaru!"
Zabimaru shot forward, extending like a living serpent. It wrapped around Gunjō's braid and flung him violently aside.
At the same time, backup arrived from the others.
"Hado Number Four: White Lightning!"
A bolt of white electricity burst from Kuchiki Rukia's fingertips, blasting Gunjō away before he could attempt another sneak attack.
"That fat guy's mine!"
Ishida Uryū pushed up his glasses. His spirit bow snapped fully open, and a storm of blue spirit arrows rained down on Taikon.
"With this level of spirit particle density… think you can dodge it?"
What happened next made viewers across countless worlds feel a chill crawl up their spines.
Faced with the arrow barrage, Taikon didn't dodge at all. Instead, he spread his arms wide, a greedy grin stretching across his face.
Pffsh! Pffsh!
The arrows pierced his bloated flesh—but no blood spilled. The struck areas writhed unnaturally, morphing into gaping mouths lined with sharp teeth.
Those mouths extended crimson tongues and, one by one—
Ate the arrows.
They swallowed them.
"Gulp… thanks for the meal!"
Taikon patted his belly, looking satisfied. "Quincy spirit particles. A bit spicy, but not bad."
...
Across the heavens, viewers felt physically ill.
Bungou Stray Dogs World
"Oh my~"
Dazai Osamu stared at the screen, a strange glint flashing through his bandage-framed eyes. "Being eaten, huh? Sounds painful… but also kind of unique. I wonder if that fat guy would get indigestion if it were me?"
"DAZAI! You waste of bandages!"
Kunikida Doppo roared. "Is now really the time to discuss suicide methods?! Those people are way too reckless! Charging straight at unknown enemies is a textbook mistake!"
Port Mafia
Akutagawa Ryūnosuke coughed into his hand, eyes dark. "Devouring attacks… it's similar to Rashōmon's Jaws. Hell really is a place steeped in sin."
King of Fighters World
"That's disgusting…"
Nikaido Benimaru shuddered at the sight of a body covered in mouths, brushing back his spiky blond hair. "Zero aesthetic value. An insult to martial artists. Though… that archer kid hits insanely hard. I doubt I could tank more than a few of those."
Goro Daimon spoke gravely. "That world's energy scale is on another level. We're fighters, but against monsters like that…"
Iori Yagami glanced at the screen coldly, then turned away. "Boring. Burn it to ashes and see what he eats then."
...
Back in the video, the fight raged on.
"What?!" Ishida's expression shifted as his arrows vanished into Taikon.
"If spirit arrows won't work, then try this!"
Rukia shouted, palm thrust forward.
"O ruler of all that is! Mask of flesh and blood, all creation, beating wings—Bear the name of Man!Scorching heat and strife, turn the sea and march south, step forward!"
"Hado Number Thirty-Three: Sōkatsui!!!"
Boom!
A massive burst of deep-blue flame erupted, swallowing Taikon whole in searing heat.
"Did we get him?" Renji asked.
From the smoke came a wet, chewing sound.
Smack. Smack.
Taikon's chest split open, revealing an enormous mouth that slurped the blue flames like noodles, sucking them straight inside.
"Burp~"
Taikon wiped his lips, eyes gleaming. "Shinigami kido… richer flavor. Delicious."
"Since I'm full," he continued lazily, "guess it's time to move around."
Dozens of mouths across his body snapped open at once.
"But first, let me return the favor."
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
Countless pink spirit-pressure orbs sprayed out from those mouths, dense and overwhelming, like carpet bombing.
"Everyone, dodge!!!"
BOOOOM!!!
The pink orbs slammed into the white lotus platforms beneath them. The bone-like structures, once seemingly solid, were riddled with heart-shaped craters before collapsing completely.
"WAAAH—!"
Everyone fell with the debris.
"Not so fast!"
Gunjō snarled, hoisting a boulder the size of a house and hurling it downward toward the vast blue water below.
Boom!
The rock smashed into the surface, kicking up a hundred-meter-high wave that surged toward the falling group like a tsunami.
"We're done for!"
At that critical moment—
Midair, Kuchiki Rukia's eyes turned icy calm. She reversed her zanpakutō, the tip lightly touching the air itself.
"Second Dance… Hakuren."
Hummmm—!
Four massive ice pillars burst from the water. In the instant the towering wave met the freezing aura—
It froze.
Crack crack crack!
The raging torrent became a colossal ice sculpture, suspended in midair.
The shift from violent motion to absolute stillness was breathtaking.
...
Naruto World – Akatsuki
"Tch. Ugly as hell."
Hidan scowled at Taikon's mouth-covered body. "That guy's got more mouths than Deidara's bombs. Hey Deidara, lost cousin of yours?"
"Shut it, you cult freak!"
Deidara exploded. "My mouths create art! That fat guy is just gross! Though… that ice woman—no explosive instant beauty, but freezing something like that? Yeah… there's a bit of art in it."
Konoha
"Ugh… that's nasty," Ino muttered, covering her mouth. "My trypophobia is acting up."
Shikamaru stared at the screen, mind racing. "Orange hair's Bankai boosts speed. Redhead's blade extends. The guy in white uses a bow. Now the female Shinigami controls the battlefield with ice. That's a seriously balanced team. That fat guy absorbs energy—so beating him probably means physical attacks, or outputting more than he can swallow."
Kirigakure
Terumī Mei watched the frozen tsunami, eyes shining. "That level of ice release… it might even surpass Haku. If a technique like that could be integrated into the Seven Ninja Swords…"
Ao shook his head. "Mizukage-sama, that power comes from a soul-bound blade. Ninja tools couldn't handle it."
Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan World
"Wow! That ice is amazing!"
Oikawa Tsurara's eyes sparkled. "That sister's ice is so pure—colder than my snow! Tsuchigumo-sama, what do you think?"
The massive Tsuchigumo stared at the hellish scene, his battle-hungry expression unusually grim.
"That place… that aura…"
"Worse than any hell I've ever seen. There's no fear there—only endless resentment."
...
In the video, everyone landed atop the frozen ice.
The immediate danger had passed, but the three powerful denizens of Hell still watched them like predators.
Ichigo tightened his grip on Zangetsu, staring into the unfathomable depths ahead.
"We can't waste time here."
Black Blade appeared behind him, voice low. "Your friends can handle the fat one. You're coming with me to the next layer. Otherwise… your sister won't make it."
Ichigo clenched his teeth and looked back at Renji and the others.
"Go, Ichigo!"
Renji swung Zabimaru, blocking Gunjō's path. "We've got this! Don't forget why you came!"
"Kurosaki, don't die," Ishida said, adjusting his glasses as he locked onto Taikon.
"Ichigo, you have to save Yuzu," Rukia said, gripping Sode no Shirayuki as she faced the tentacle-armed, navy-blue enemy.
"Yeah! Leave it to us!"
Ichigo didn't hesitate again. He turned and followed Black Blade deeper into Hell.
"Then…"
Ishida Uryū stared at Taikon, eyes cold.
"As a Quincy, I'm not losing twice to the same kind of enemy… with the same move."
"....."