Boom! Boom! Boom!
Deafening explosions reverberated, the howling wind lashing their faces like whips, stinging as if it could tear skin.
"Ora! Ora! Ora!" The six-armed Adjuchas roared, its bone-white mask contorted in frenzy. Its six steel-pillar-like arms barraged Ryoma, unleashing visible ripples of force in the air. The shockwaves alone cratered the white desert with deep, jagged pits.
Fast. Heavy.
Ryoma, towering by Shinigami standards, seemed a child before the colossal Adjuchas, its single arm dwarfing his entire frame.
Under the relentless storm of fists, the churning air threatened to shred him like a brittle leaf.
Yet…
Whoosh!
Facing the near-unstoppable onslaught, Ryoma advanced.
His tall figure wove through the barrage without pause, his Shunpo mastery threading the needle between each crushing blow. Twisting, ducking, rolling forward, he blurred into an afterimage.
Hundreds of punches rained down in a breath, yet none grazed his shihakusho.
Seizing the fleeting gap, Ryoma closed the distance, stepping within arm's reach of the beast.
His steady hand gripped his Zanpakuto's hilt.
His eyes locked onto the Adjuchas' crimson gaze.
In that instant, a primal alarm surged in the six-armed Hollow's core, driven by instinct and fear. It recoiled half a step.
Zing!
The blade sang, a high-density reiatsu slash carving a deep arc through the air.
Three arms, tougher than steel, fell.
Skin, muscle, bone, none offered resistance.
Had it not stepped back, the Adjuchas couldn't be sure if it would've lost arms or its entire body.
"Cero!" it bellowed, a crimson-black orb of reiatsu erupting in a wide torrent between it and Ryoma.
Ryoma didn't flinch.
Hum!
A low-frequency tremor drowned out the explosion's roar.
Billowing dust cloaked the scene.
The Adjuchas leaped back like an ape, landing on a pale giant tree's branch, staring at the rising dust cloud.
Heavy panting echoed from its mask, the severed arm stumps throbbing with agony.
Without pause, it burned reiatsu, rapidly regenerating new arms from writhing flesh.
High-speed regeneration.
From centuries of combat, it knew that hasty Cero, though powerful, likely did little to a foe of that caliber.
"Damn it…" it muttered. "That's a 'captain'?"
"Lousy luck, running into one."
Its voice dripped with frustration.
Centuries of war had taught most surface-dwelling Hollows that the Soul Society had changed. Noble rule had given way to the Gotei 13, an organization that even recruited Hollows.
The strongest Shinigami, the "captains." were said to be untouchable. No Hollow had survived facing one head-on.
The realization sparked retreat in its mind.
But glancing at its comrades, locked in fierce combat with the other Shinigami, it saw they weren't alone in struggling.
"Hadō #63: Raikōhō!"
A blazing golden thunderbolt tore through a nearby Cero, piercing a bull-headed Adjuchas' abdomen, leaving a gaping wound crackling with residual sparks.
Sōsuke lowered his hand, nimbly dodging the bull's desperate swing, his Asauchi slashing a deep gash into its arm, drawing another roar.
"Well done, Sōsuke!" Jūshirō called.
Before the bull could turn, Jūshirō flashed forward with blinding Shunpo, his blade tracing a white ribbon in the air.
Clang!
The bull's mask and massive head split in two under his strike.
The young Shinigami's face showed no joy, only cold efficiency, like a worker on an assembly line, redirecting his blade to the next fight.
Jūshirō moved faster than Sōsuke, his white hair whipping in the wind.
His usually strained office demeanor gave way to a thrilling intensity, as if venting every ounce of workplace resentment on the battlefield.
Each slash was fiercer, as if carving into his despised superiors.
His combat prowess was formidable.
The screech of blades and Cero blasts echoed across the vast battlefield, each sound hammering the six-armed Adjuchas' heart.
Its pack, meant to dominate, was losing ground to this small squad, intensifying its dread.
"They're underestimating me." Ryoma's cold voice cut through from behind. "Distracted while fighting me?"
Without hesitation, the Adjuchas swung a regenerated arm toward the sound, the strike howling with mountain-shattering force.
This time, Ryoma didn't dodge.
Thud!
The blow sank him half a foot into the desert, a shockwave rippling outward, carving a slanted trench in the sand.
Yet he stood firm, unmoved.
"As expected." He said. "This is all an Adjuchas can do?"
"You…" The Adjuchas' voice sharpened, almost shrill, beneath its mask.
"No need to panic." Ryoma said, slowly drawing his Zanpakuto, a bloodthirsty smile spreading. "I strike fast. Let me show you my Shikai."
The Adjuchas' eyes widened.
Fear of facing a captain vanished, replaced by fury. It roared, "Don't underestimate me, you damned Shinigami!"
As its bellow faded, its five remaining arms fanned out like a peacock's tail, each palm conjuring pearl-like Bala orbs.
Its reiatsu, far beyond its peers, surged to its peak, pooling in its hands.
The arms spun like flywheels, hurling a barrage of Bala toward Ryoma.
The dense volley converged, explosions cascading in waves, fire and dust swallowing him whole.
"Die! Die! Die!" The Adjuchas screamed.
The relentless Bala could obliterate a Gillian herd with its aftershocks.
In that moment, the Adjuchas felt it had touched an indescribable "limit."
"And I'm not done!" it roared, its emotions soaring. It opened its maw wide.
Dark reishi streamed into a dense, elusive orb of reiatsu.
Swallowing it, the Adjuchas unleashed a Cero.
The shriek of the black-red beam shredded all in its path, its super-dense heat warping the air with vacuum ripples.
The surging reiatsu engulfed the dust-covered zone.
Silence followed the thunderous blast.
All eyes turned to the explosion's source.
Even Jūshirō furrowed his brow at the reiatsu's intensity.
"Quite a beast." He murmured.
After a pause, he exhaled in relief. "Good thing we're the ones who found it."
The six-armed Adjuchas, panting heavily, watched the spreading shockwaves, a grin breaking through.
"Heh… hahaha! A measly Shinigami captain? That's all you've got? Worried me for nothing."
Exhausted from the reiatsu drain, it shook its head, scanning the scene with a hint of regret. "Shame. Devouring someone that strong might've pushed me to Vasto Lorde today. Couldn't hold back, though."
Muttering, it turned to leave, too depleted to stay.
"Really?" Ryoma's familiar voice rang out. "I wouldn't mind 'eating' you."
The Adjuchas whipped around toward the sound.
Even through its mask, the six-armed Adjuchas' crimson eyes betrayed raw terror and disbelief.
As it turned, a massive, pure-white furred sphere, larger than the Adjuchas itself, emerged silently from the shadows behind.
The fluffy surface bore no limbs or features, only a gaping, abyss-like maw splitting its center.
It opened soundlessly.
Pop!
A muffled, wet burst echoed.
The Adjuchas' upper body, arms and all, vanished into the maw.
Three rows of razor-sharp teeth, denser and keener than any blade, pierced its steel-like hide, crushing it until it shattered.
Crunch, crunch…
Ryoma strolled to the creature's side, stroking its furry bulk, gazing at the mangled lower half on the ground. "A bit late to say, but I'm just a vice-captain."
With his calm words, several more of these creatures, Gagaku Kairō, shot toward the other battlefields.
A chorus of prey-like wails followed, then silence.
Only Sung-Sun, coiled at the battle's edge, hissed warily, her slit eyes fixed on Ryoma at the center. "This guy is monster."
…
"Remarkable subordinates." Katori said, turning to Makoto.
Alone with him, the usually demure captain dropped her facade, flashing a sly smile. "Sometimes, even I wonder, Makoto. It's like you can see the true potential in people."
"Jūshirō, Ryoma, Sōsuke…" She paused, her gaze flicking to Harribel, standing guard nearby, without breaking her words. "All prodigies beyond the norm."
"So." She said, edging closer, nudging his shoulder with a grin, "Tell me, just me. How do you do it?"
Harribel's sharp eyes caught the glance, then lingered on Katori's casual contact with Makoto, her expression pensive.
Makoto shot Katori a sidelong glance, lowering his voice. "You want to know?"
Her large eyes sparkled behind her glasses, brimming with curiosity.
As Makoto smirked, poised to play the sage, his Zanpakuto erupted with enthusiastic shouts.
[Hey, Katori-chan! Asking that question means you're ready, right? Baring your soul's basic etiquette! I'll take a hundred rubs!]
Harribel's head snapped toward them, her pupils quaking.
Makoto's lofty demeanor froze.
Katori's grin widened, her narrowed eyes glinting at his hand.
As awkwardness threatened to suffuse the air, Makoto's head jerked sideways, his voice spiking. "What's that?!"
A lie not even a child would buy, Harribel thought.
But Makoto shot forward, hand thrusting toward a giant tree's trunk.
Rip!
His strike pierced the tough bark.
When he withdrew, a pale, spherical insect writhed in his palm, its six jointed legs flailing.
Harribel and Katori froze.
There really was something?
***
Bonus Chapter:
100 Power Stones = 1 BC
300 Power Stones = 2 BC
500 Power Stones = 3 BC
700 Power Stones = 4 BC
1000 Power Stones = 5 BC
***
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