"Shinji, I'm back!"
A cheerful voice rang out as Nilu, sitting atop Shinji's waist, called out playfully.
"Nilu, you really are..."
Shinji sat up, dumbfounded.
Given the speed of a Vasto Lorde-class Arrancar like Nilu, combined with a high-speed headbutt like that, any other captain would've likely had their soul knocked clean out of their body.
A bit of blood would've been the lightest outcome.
Fortunately, he was protected by the Hōgyoku.
Now that he had entered the "Second Stage Fusion State," he wasn't someone who could be broken that easily.
With a helpless smile, Shinji pulled Nilu to her feet, only to notice she was holding something in both hands.
Tsunayashiro Tokinada noticed it too.
His eyes nearly bulged out of His sockets when he recognized the object in her hands and blurted out, "Impossible!"
That was... Hikoya?
Hikoya had lost?
This had to be a joke!
That was the Soul King candidate!
Even though the current generation had lost all desire to ascend to that position, it didn't change the fact that Hikoya was still capable of inheriting the Soul King's power.
He was the cornerstone of Tokinada's entire plan!
To strengthen Hikoya, Tokinada had even infiltrated the Soul King Palace and stolen a Zanpakutō.
That Zanpakutō had been sealed beneath the Phoenix Hall's sea in the Blade Vault, and Tokinada had risked everything to get it into Hikoya's hands.
The Zanpakutō could take on multiple forms, had various release chants and abilities, was self-aware, and could open the Garganta. It was incredibly powerful.
And yet, Hikoya, armed with this Zanpakutō and stronger than even a Captain, had still lost?
Lost to a woman?
One that looked like a matured version of Nilu?
No... could it be?
Could she be not just any Arrancar, but a Vasto Lorde-class Arrancar?
As the realization hit, Tokinada's expression twisted with disbelief.
A Vasto Lorde-class Arrancar, someone with power far beyond a captain's!
Why would someone of that level fight alongside Kuchiki Shinji?
Why?!
"Kuchiki Shinji, I envy you... I resent you... I hate you!"
"Die!"
Tsunayashiro Tokinada roared, slashing toward Shinji and Nilu in a fit of madness.
Shinji: "....."
"Die!!"
Shinji: ""
"Drop dead!!!"
Shinji: "..."
"Perish!"
"???"
After ten or so slashes, all he managed to produce was some gusts of wind, he couldn't even manifest a proper wave of spiritual pressure.
Seeing this, a question mark metaphorically popped up over Tokinada's head.
What had gone wrong?
Clearly, Shinji had casually unleashed sword strikes strong enough to split the sky.
So why couldn't he?
"Confused, aren't you? Wondering why you can't swing the same strikes?"
Shinji walked forward slowly, smiling.
"Don't come any closer!"
Tokinada's face twisted in denial as he kept slashing, but he couldn't reproduce Shinji's destructive power.
"Reki," Shinji said, chuckling, "is a pure Zanpakutō. Its ability is to control lightning, and that's it."
"In other words, the one unleashing those slashes wasn't Reki, it was me."
Tokinada shook his head wildly, refusing to believe. "Impossible! Someone like you could never wield that kind of destructive power. You don't deserve it!"
"Deserve or not, it's not up to you."
Shinji raised Reki toward the sky.
The clouds darkened instantly.
A dense thunderstorm formed overhead.
"First Sword Technique: Judgment of Lightning."
Crack!
A tear opened in the heavens.
A pillar of lightning, thick as a tree trunk, shot down with an earth-shattering roar. The scorching heat and electricity tore through everything as it struck Tokinada dead center.
Zanpakutō ability, invoked.
"Did you hear that, Tokinada? That was Reki's scorn."
"Death, by lightning."
Within the pillar of lightning that pierced heaven and earth, the intense heat vaporized everything.
The ground turned black and molten, starting to flow like magma.
The air crackled with static, suffocating all who breathed it.
The Tsunayashiro clan watched in stunned silence as the divine bolt erased their leader from existence.
As the lightning faded,
In the center lay a massive, hundreds-of-meters-deep crater. Everything inside had been vaporized.
Tsunayashiro Tokinada's Reiatsu was gone.
He was dead, annihilated by Shinji's true power.
"Kuchiki Shinji, what the hell have you done?!"
A furious shout came from afar.
A figure rushed Shinji's way, only to be blasted back even faster.
Nilu stepped forward protectively, eyes full of hostility.
The Tsunayashiro clansman who had attacked now knelt on the ground, gasping.
Shinji gestured for Nilu to back off and looked at him.
"You still standing, Tsunayashiro Chimine?"
"My name is Tsunayashiro Aomine! Not Chimine, you bastard! Remember it!"
"Close enough."
"Not even!" Aomine gritted his teeth, then stood up clutching his stomach. He glared at Shinji. "Kuchiki Shinji, explain yourself! Why did you kill our Clan Head Tokinada?"
"Look what you've done!"
"You've destroyed the entire Tsunayashiro estate!"
Shinji approached, and under Aomine's panicked gaze, he calmly explained:
"Then maybe ask what your clan head did."
"While the Shiba family was weakened, he tried to annex them."
"He sent assassins into the Kuchiki estate to kill Nilu and me."
"He conducted secret human experiments, using the corpses of Shinigami, humans, Quincy, and Fullbringers, to create that child, Hikoya."
"Not that it matters now. He's been vaporized."
Without another glance at Aomine, Shinji looked away.
The Reiatsu of Kyoraku Shunsui was rapidly approaching.
Seconds later, Kyoraku Shunsui arrived, holding his straw hat in place as he touched down.
His face twisted at the scorched landscape, molten ground, and residual spiritual pressure.
"Kuchiki Shinji," he sighed, "you really made a mess."
Tsunayashiro was one of the Four Great Noble Houses.
For Shinji to storm in, kill the clan head, and level their estate?
That was a capital crime.
If Central 46 didn't sentence him to death, it'd only be because of the Kuchiki family's political power.
"Shinji-kun... you were too impulsive."
Jūshirō Ukitake had also arrived. His expression was complicated.
He was grateful to Shinji for helping Shiba Kaien master Bankai, but couldn't understand this drastic action.
Soon after, other captains arrived.
"Kuchiki Shinji," Sui-Feng said, standing at the front with hostility in her eyes, "you've defied the Soul Society's order. Cease resistance and submit to investigation."
But unexpectedly, Tousen Kaname, who had been previously humiliated by Shinji, spoke up for him.
"Perhaps... Kuchiki Shinji had his reasons."
His expression was conflicted as he turned his head.
Tsunayashiro Tokinada was truly dead.
Finally, justice had been served, for his friend.
His Friend, had been murdered By Tokinada
Tokinada, being from a noble house, was never punished.
Since then, Tousen Kaname had sworn to carry out justice behalf, by becoming a captain and biding his time.
And now, Tokinada is dead.
Thinking of this, Tōsen Kaname took a deep breath.
His body seemed to relax slightly.
"Then let's hear Shinji's explanation."
Kyoraku Shunsui winked at Shinji, signaling discreetly.
So, Shinji briefly described what Tsunayashiro Tokinada had done.
All those present were captain-level Shinigami.
Naturally, they could easily judge that the child named Hikoya had an extremely unusual body and held multiple powers, clearly the result of experimentation.
"To think that such a twisted experiment was not only conducted but also successful… ahhh, the Tsunayashiro family head really was a terrifying man," Ichimaru Gin said with a smile, exchanging a glance with Aizen.
"For something so dangerous, it seems we've misunderstood the captain," Aizen said softly, pushing up his glasses.
Behind the lenses, his gaze landed on the boy named Hikoya.
His degree of completion didn't seem inferior to "White".
So what exactly had Tsunayashiro Tokinada done?
A very interesting experiment, perhaps.
"Then, I'll take this child and this Zanpakutō with me," Shinji said, picking up Hikoya and the sword. "I need to report what happened here to the Captain Commander."
After speaking, he nodded and used Shunpo to flash toward the First Division's barracks.
Nilu followed close behind.
"Let me go too," said Kyoraku Shunsui.
After hesitating for a moment, he nodded at the others and chased after Shinji.
Old Man Yama probably won't blame Shinji too harshly for this, right?
At the First Division Barracks…
By the time Shinji arrived, the Captain Commander was already waiting in the room.
He sat cross-legged, eyes closed, in his long white captain's haori, as if asleep.
Captain Yamamoto opened his eyes. A sharp glint flashed across them, and sparks faintly danced in the air.
"Kuchiki Shinji, Captain of the Tenth Division. Why did you attack Tsunayashiro Tokinada? I want your explanation."
After speaking, he looked directly at Shinji.
"Will this explanation do?"
Shinji sat across from him and placed the Zanpakutō and Hikoya on the wooden floor.
"That child, and that sword…" Captain Yamamoto narrowed his eyes, and a terrifying pressure dropped upon the room. The whole area felt like it had suddenly been subjected to hundreds of times normal gravity.
"Uh, old man… I mean, Head Captain…" Kyoraku Shunsui glanced nervously at his teacher and smiled awkwardly. "Kuchiki Shinji uncovered Tokinada's secret activities. His behavior was too dangerous."
"What's more, he openly sent assassins after Shinji, a sitting captain and direct heir of the Kuchiki family."
"Shinji's actions, while…"
Captain Yamamoto cast a sidelong glance.
Kyoraku Shunsui immediately shut his mouth obediently.
Too scary!
That look reminded him of his days learning swordsmanship from this old monster.
"That Zanpakutō… it came from the Soul King's Palace."
Captain Yamamoto stared at the sword on the floor and spoke slowly.
And that child… was meant to replace the Soul King?
Tsunayashiro Tokinada truly harbored dangerous ambition.
"Soul King's Palace?!"
Hearing this, Kyoraku Shunsui's pupils shrank as he looked at Shinji. He hadn't expected Shinji to withhold such an explosive detail about Tokinada's crimes.
"Back then, I saw that sword during a visit to the Palace," Captain Yamamoto said. "It was specially forged by Ōetsu Nimaiya from a Vasto Lorde-class Menos Grande."
As a Captain Commander, of course he had visited the Palace more than once, and during one of those visits, he caught a glimpse of that sword.
"Vasto Lorde?!" Kyoraku Shunsui's expression twisted in shock. "That sword was made from a Vasto Lorde-class hollow?!"
Doesn't that mean the sword alone holds captain-level power?!
"As for that child, if I'm not mistaken, Tsunayashiro Tokinada intended for him to replace the Soul King."
Captain Yamamoto's voice grew even more serious.
"Replace the Soul King? Is he insane?!"
Kyoraku Shunsui could no longer stay calm.
As a veteran captain and Yamamoto's direct disciple, he knew the truth about the Soul King, a secret among secrets.
To tamper with such a taboo…
Was this the real reason Shinji killed Tokinada?
Kyoraku Shunsui thought quietly.
"Kuchiki Shinji, Captain of the Tenth Division. You did well this time, but your actions also violated the laws of Soul Society."
"You acted without informing the Gotei 13 and destroyed a large part of the Tsunayashiro estate."
"Therefore…"
Captain Yamamoto looked at Shinji and said:
"I've decided to strip you of your position as acting captain."
Shinji's eyes lit up with excitement.
Yes! Strip the title! Let me go free!
"From this moment forward, you are the official Captain of the Tenth Division."
Shinji: "…"
No, that's not what I meant!
Why promote me?! I just committed a huge violation!
Shinji's smile froze. His expression became stiff.
"…Sorry about that," Kyoraku Shunsui sighed and patted Shinji on the shoulder. "Back in my day, I was tricked by the old man the same way."
"Come over here, Kyoraku Shunsui, let me give you a little buff," Shinji said, casting him a side glance.
"???"
Wait, Yamamoto gave you a promotion, why am I getting buffed?
Kyoraku Shunsui was thoroughly confused.
Suddenly, he coughed awkwardly and changed the subject.
"By the way, that Adjuchas-class Arrancar vice-captain of yours… why is she in that form?"
She looks… surprisingly nice.
He rubbed his nose awkwardly.
Nilu, however, responded with an unimpressed look and didn't bother speaking to him.
Seeing this, Kyoraku Shunsui smiled awkwardly again.
Looks like I've been ignored.
"Captain of the Flowery Band, let me correct you a bit."
Shinji stroked Nilu's hair. She responded like a purring cat as he smiled and said:
"Nilu isn't an Adjuchas-class Arrancar. She's a Vasto Lorde-class Arrancar."
Kyoraku Shunsui: "What the hell did you just say?!"
Captain Yamamoto Said Camly: "Repeat that?"