Ok, I'll be fast today...This chapter was betareaded by Cloud Link Zero and there's also a new Concept Covers story here in ff: Alone which is about Szayel Aporro Granz.
Chapter 037 - Time is Running Out! Gotei 13 vs Arturo, Part II
"For all of you to come out here must mean that you have resigned yourselves to die and feed my Fénix." Arturo pointed his sword to the small Shinigami army, before chuckling. "Seriously, what can you do against me?"
"Oh! They haven't started yet!" Someone spoke from behind the Shinigami group. Everyone started to spread to the sides, so that they could allow Kisuke Urahara to pass. "It seems we have arrived just in time."
"Hai." The person who came along with Urahara agreed with his words, while she followed him. The red-haired woman and the mirror-like artifact that she was holding in both her hands became visible to everyone.
"Konoka-sama?" The shocked Kudō twins shouted, as their hearts fell to the floor.
"Konoka?" Seigen asked, as confused as his children were. His sister's presence in the battlefield couldn't mean anything good. "What are you doing here?"
"You've always been taking care of me, Seigen." Konoka reminded him, with her usual kind smile on her face. She then closed her eyes and released the mirror in her hands. The mirror didn't fall though, as it remained floating in front of her. The central, glass part of the mirror started to glow, before some smoke started to come out of it. "Now it's time for me to help you."
"That is…" Arturo's eyes widened greatly, before the most enraged look that the Shinigami ever saw from him appeared on his face. "No! It couldn't be!"
"Ah yes…I guess you have seen it once before." Urahara stared to the mirror for a moment, before looking back to Arturo. "As you may have assumed, we're here to take your Spiritual Power."
"Is that…the Shisuikyō?" The Captain of the 5th Division asked, to which Urahara answered with a nod. "Are you sure you want to do this, Konoka?"
"Yes, there's no need to worry." She calmly answered, before opening her eyes. "I know you'll keep me safe, Seigen. Just to do what you have to do."
"I hope you know the consequences of what you're doing here!" Arturo furiously shouted, before his wings started to glow more intensely. "If you take my power, I will simply have to kill more Shinigami to regain it! Fall victim to my Fénix, Shinigami!"
"It's time." Yamamoto whispered, before he suddenly opened his eyes, with a most fierce look on them. "All personnel execute an all-out attack on Arturo!"
"Ahahahah! It seems you're in a bad spot, Arturo." Baraggan spoke from high above the battlefield, from where he had been watching the battle, before he opened a Garganta to return to Hueco Mundo. The Arrancar was already too much busy in fending off his opponents to listen to the Skull Emperor. "I may not get Soul Society, but your death will be more than enough for me today."
Kensei launched a new punch assault, which was easily dodged by the green-haired Hollow. Yoruichi interfered in the confrontation and aimed a kick to his head, but Arturo backed away from them both. As soon as his feet touched the ground once again, something covered the sky as Arturo found himself surrounded by a large shadow.
"Tenken!" A gigantic phantom sword crashed down on Arturo, who dodged by inches. The impact on the ground was quite strong, easily breaking it apart. As Arturo looked up, he saw Tenken's owner, a very tall Shinigami who had his face hidden behind a mask, standing between the two Captains. While his focus was on the 1st Division's 3rd Seat, 13 members of the Onmitsukidō's Executive Militia surrounded Arturo and attempted to stab him from all possible angles.
"How pitiful…" The Arrancar stated as all 13 swords stopped when they hit his body. He then swung his Fénix, immediately killing the two Shinigami who were right in front of him. "Did you really think you could hurt me with such puny spiritual powers?"
"Kōburitsuchi!" After Arturo killed three more, Marenoshin came flying from above and slammed his mace down on the Shinigami killer, who simply sidestepped him. As the Vice-Captain tried to attack him a second time, after opening a small crater on his first try, Arturo drove his right heel into his abdominal region, sending him flying away. Marenoshin only stopped when he crashed through the wall at the right side of Jidanbō's gate.
"Is that how much strong he becomes after absorbing another person's power?" The shocked Kensei asked as he stared in Marenoshin's direction. Seeing as her men were still in danger for being so near Arturo, Yoruichi quickly charged forward.
"Move!" The Onmitsukidō leader ordered the surviving Executive Militia members, before thrusting a sphere of condensed yellow energy in Arturo's direction. Yoruichi's enemy jumped away from her and the sphere hit the ground, causing quite an explosion considering the sphere's size. "His speed is at my level! Now I understand why Suzunami took such a beating."
"Ryūsei Gekido!" Bringing both knuckle blades together, Kensei appeared behind the midair Arturo and unleashed the powerful energy blast, only for the Arrancar to quickly turn around and deflect it with his sword. The blast was sent some Districts away from the battlefield, causing it to explode in the form of an expanding, light blue dome. "Damn it! The old man was right in evacuating the nearby Districts…"
"C'mon guys! Let's just throw everything we have at him!" Seigen shouted, while he generated violet lightning around Shiden. As he fired the lightning bolts, Sasakibe mimicked him and unleashed some of his own from Gonryōmaru. Kensei, Kiganjō and Komamura all repeated their last attack, while a number of Shinigami prepared some Kidō spells.
"Hadō #33: Sōkatsui!" The group which included Aizen, Sōjun and Fujimaru released powerful torrents of blue spiritual energy. On the opposite side, another group finished gathering large spheres of fire in their hands.
"Hadō #31: Shakkahō!" The team composed of Tōsen, Miyako, Matsuri and some others fired the spell, with the many spheres merging into a wave of red flames.
"USELESS!" Arturo roared as he focused an enormous amount of reiatsu in the shape of a dome that surrounded him and nullified the attacks. The dome then expanded, with the resulting shockwave sending every attacking Shinigami flying away.
At the same time…
"C'mon! Everyone who can still fight should join our comrades!" A Shinigami who had bloody bandages around his head shouted to the others. Every Shinigami who was on the Seireitei side of Jidanbō's gate had either small injuries or had just been healed from more severe ones. They all roared in agreement and started to pass through the gate to join the battle against Arturo.
"Why can't we join?" Byakuya demanded to know, as he represented every Academy freshmen. "Most of us know how to handle a sword already! And while none of us has the power to defeat him, we may be able to provide a distraction to allow you to deal the finishing blow!"
"I told you already boy…The answer is no!" Todō Gizaeimon once again denied their wishes. "I was ordered to keep you under watch. None of you will go there. You're the future! You'll have a lot of time to fight for Soul Society."
"W-Well…He's right, you know? We're too young to die!" Marechiyo tried to convince his colleagues to give up on the idea, but that only made everyone glare at him. "What? At least I am…"
"Real men don't back away from what they fear! Real men face fear and overcome it!" Tetsuzaemon scolded Marenoshin's son, who immediately walked two steps back and raised both hands in defense. "Cowardly fatass!"
"Hey! I'm not fat! I'm just well-built!" Marechiyo finally showed some fire in his words, but everyone around him sweatdropped as they realized he wasn't denying being a coward.
"Please! Let me go too, sir!" A nearby argument caught Todō's attention. Ōko Yushima was begging his superior to allow him to join them in the battle.
"This is a real fight!" The 10th Division's 3rd Seat, a man with spiky brown hair and thin mustache, immediately scolded the green-haired Shinigami. "Sending along a weaker man puts that much more of a burden on the others."
"But, I…" As Yushima was about to answer to that statement, all the Shinigami in front of him turned around and left. Visibly shaking, Yushima punched the nearest wall.
All the way back to North District 79, Kusajishi…
"Hmm? It seems like something interesting is going on…" An eerie man, with long black hair and a thin, long scar running down the left side of his face, stated as he felt the confrontation between the Shinigami and the Arrancar. Even though he wasn't able to properly sense reiatsu, his heart of a warrior was beating faster by each second that passed. He stood from the pile of corpses where he had been sitting until then, all from Hollows who had appeared before him during their arrival in Soul Society, and looked around for a while. Suddenly, a little baby girl with pink hair, who he had found and named days earlier, popped up on his right shoulder and pointed to her right, happily giggling while doing so. "Eh, I'll probably get lost on my way there, but it's definitely worth the try…Let's go, Yachiru!"
Back to the West Gate…
"One more!" Arturo lunged for the fallen Miyako, who was unconscious and had blood running down the right side of her face. Fortunately, someone arrived in time to save her before the Arrancar could collect her soul.
"Bushōgoma!" Kyōraku generated a large wind blade from each one of his swords and fired them towards Arturo. The wind blades joined together, forming a spinning circle of wind that was about to envelop the former Vasto Lorde. However, Arturo effortlessly cut through the attack with his Fénix. While the Hollow with Shinigami powers was busy with that, Kyōraku sheathed both his wakizashi and his tachi, and picked up Miyako. "Let's take you out of here, little girl. If I'm correct…"
"Sōgyo no Kotowari!" As Kyōraku predicted, Ukitake used his Zanpakutō to absorb, amplify and redirect the wind blast that Arturo had just cut through back to him. "Good! Miyako is safe for now…"
"Such weak attempts on your part, Shinigami!" Arturo claimed, before deflecting the wind blast upwards, right to the place from where Kensei was attacking from. The Captain of the 9th Division brought both knuckle blades down, cutting through the blast much like Arturo did earlier. As he finished though, the Arrancar used Sonído to move past Kensei, using his sword to completely destroy the armor-like purple band wrap that surrounded his left arm. Not only that, the sword cut through Kensei's tendons, rendering his arm useless. Grunting in pain, the silver-haired Shinigami unwillingly dropped one of his knuckle blades into the ground.
"You…You bastard!" Kensei swung his remaining blade, aiming for the Arrancar's throat. When Arturo prepared to block the slash with his left forearm, Kensei unleashed a surprise Bakudantsuki at point-blank range, with the energy blast quickly engulfing Soul Society's number one enemy. "What do you have to say about that now, huh?"
"Nothing much, to be honest." Arturo answered, as he came out unscathed following Kensei's attack. The Arrancar swung his sword outwards, but Kiganjō appeared to block it with his huge claymore, before it could reach Kensei. The Captain of the 11th Division made use of his massive size and strength to push Arturo back, until they reached the ground once again. "I must admit that I'm surprised that you were able to push me back this far. That's a great achieve…"
"Shut it, pretty boy! I don't need your praises!" Kiganjō raised his sword and prepared to bring it down once again. "I'm the Captain of the 11th Division, Kenpachi Kiganjō! The best swordsman of my generation! That's all there is to it!"
"The best?" Arturo questioned, just before his sword clashed with Kiganjō's. To the latter's great shock, and for those watching as well, Kiganjō's claymore cracked upon contact, with a considerable chunk of its blade falling to the ground. "If you're the best, then this is just how low the Gotei 13 has fallen."
"Im-Impossible!" Kiganjō wasn't able to do much more after that word. Arturo drove his right heel into Kiganjō's right arm with so much strength that his arm and shoulder bones became completely shattered. The almighty Kenpachi fell to his knees, while he screamed in pain. Kensei rushed to take Kiganjō out of Arturo's reach, but the Arrancar knocked him away with a Hierro-enhanced backfist.
"Best swordsman…you're dead." Arturo informed the dark-skinned Captain, while he raised his sword to deliver the final blow.
"Shatter, Kyōka Suigetsu…" Aizen whispered, causing a mist to come out of his Zanpakutō and envelop Arturo.
"What is…this?" Before Arturo could figure out what the mist was, Kiganjō suddenly disappeared from his sight, something that made him lose track of his thoughts. As he looked around, everyone had disappeared, just for him to find copies of himself in their places. "Is this a trick?"
"Aizen-fukutaichō's Kyōka Suigetsu's ability!" Fujimaru shouted, as he had seen that before. "He put Arturo under an illusion!"
"Diffused reflections from mist and water to confuse the enemy…" Matsuri added, as a new ray of hope had just appeared. "With this, the Captains will be able to attack him while he's distracted."
"I can't make use of a more powerful illusion with so many people around, so…" Aizen rushed towards Arturo and slashed at his opponent, only for the Arrancar to cut him through the chest first.
"Aizen-fukutaichō!" The twins screamed in horror, as they saw Aizen fall on his back.
"This was nothing more than a magic trick. In fact, it's already disappearing…" As soon as Aizen fell, Arturo was once again able to see every Shinigami in their respective places. "Even if everyone looks the same, the fact that I fight alone means that I can cut through every single one of you without a worry. Your plan was a failure from the start, Shinigami."
"That's where you're wrong, Arturo Plateado. I could only use this particular illusion. Otherwise, I would expose my Kyōka Suigetsu's true abilities, which is something I don't want to do." Aizen closed his eyes and a very discreet smirk formed on his lips. "You're indeed right, though. This illusion would never work on you, so the next logical step was for you to wound me. That's why I let you cut me. I could've faked the injury entirely, but after an entire day of fighting, my spiritual power reserves aren't that high, so I need to keep the illusions to a minimum. I'll take a breather while the 4th Division closes my real…wound." Aizen chuckled as he stared down to his chest. "Of course, it's not as bad as it seems. You only grazed me, when in fact it seems like I'm about to die."
"Who follows?" Arturo turned around to challenge the remaining Shinigami.
"You may not understand yet, Arturo, but you belong to me now. In a few moments, I'm going to fake your death and force you to obey me. You'll help me to achieve my goals." The Aizen in everyone's line of sight suddenly coughed a lot of blood, while the real Aizen remained immobile on the ground. "I win, Arturo Plateado! Everything went just as I planned!"
"Fujimaru! Matsuri! Take Aizen back to the Advanced Relief Teams!" Seigen ordered the twins, who immediately went to pick up Aizen. As they ran back to the Advanced Relief Teams, the truth was that they were actually carrying nothing, while the real Aizen walked by their side. Yet, everyone who saw the twins also saw the nearly dead Vice-Captain on their arms.
"This is the beauty of my Kyōka Suigetsu's true ability, Kanzen Saimin." Aizen proudly told himself. "I can make everyone who has seen me release my Shikai believe whatever I want. It's a really fitting name for this ability, as it is really complete hypnosis. And…over the last couple of weeks, I was finally able to get everyone in Seireitei under that hypnosis."
Flashback
"Rescuing the hostage is our first priority." Aizen said as he stared to Mad Eater and his hostage, Rangiku, before turning to the twins. "I'm sorry to have to ask you to do this, you two, but it can't be helped."
"H-Hai!" Both nodded and started to walk towards the Hollow.
"So, we have a deal, do we?" Mad Eater asked between laughs. "Then lay down your Zanpakutō, both of you and then walk this way."
"As long as you let me take a little insurance first." Aizen interrupted and lifted his Zanpakutō in front of his body for everyone to see, before a thick mist started to spread out of it. "Shatter, Kyōka Suigetsu."
(…)
"Good morning, Kuchiki-fukutaichō." Aizen answered to the greeting, before locking eyes with the Vice-Captain's son. "I see you've brought Byakuya-kun with you today."
"Yes, I think it will be good for him to watch these training sessions. He'll learn a lot." The smiling Sōjun ruffled his son's hair, causing a blush to appear on his face.
"Father, you're embarrassing me..." Byakuya complained in a whisper. While he stared down to avoid eye contact with the older men, Byakuya's eyes locked themselves on the cover of Lisa's book.
"Hey, kid! Wanna take a look?" Lisa extended the book to Byakuya, who actually pondered on doing so. Before he could though, a thick mist came out of Aizen's Zanpakutō, making it impossible for them to see around them. As the mist released by Kyōka Suigetsu's Shikai release dissipated, Aizen reappeared with Lisa's book on his hands. "What the hell? Give it back to me, Sōsuke!"
End of Flashback
"And now…"
Flashback
"Best swordsman…you're dead." Arturo informed Kiganjō, while he raised his sword to deliver the final blow.
"Shatter, Kyōka Suigetsu…" Aizen whispered, causing a mist to come out of his Zanpakutō and envelop Arturo.
End of Flashback
"Let us pass please!" Fujimaru shouted as he and Matsuri passed through the gate. With the 4th Division's barracks already filled with injured people, Unohana had ordered for an improvised relief station to be set up near the West Gate. There were so many people on the inside being treated by the Shinigami of the 4th Division that they had a hard time moving.
"Even the individual strong enough to make Genryūsai Yamamoto truly fear for Soul Society's existence is under my control, now…" Aizen moved his right hand to the inside of his robes, to take out a small cylindrical container which had a crystal-like sphere that greatly resembled one that Rangiku once possessed. "I believe it's time to proceed to the next phase…"
"What is this?" Gin questioned himself, as he saw Fujimaru and Matsuri carrying what seemed to be an invisible man and everyone around them acting like they were actually carrying something. Even the other students, who were near him, seemed to believe that. "Fujimaru must have hit me a bit too hard, because I'm…wait just a minute!" Gin couldn't believe what his eyes were seeing. With brown hair, wearing glasses and carrying something that so closely resembled Rangiku's "sphere of wishes", the Shinigami he had been looking for was closely following Matsuri and Fujimaru. He then put the container back on its place and laid on the ground, where the invisible man was supposed to be, unaware that there was actually one person who had never seen him release his Shikai. "That's him!"
"Let's go back, Fujimaru!" Matsuri told to her brother, before quickly looking to the Shinigami who was going to treat Aizen. "Please, take good care of him."
"Sorry for the delay, Yamamoto-sōtaichō." Tessai Tsukabishi excused himself, as soon as he arrived in the battlefield along with his Vice-Kidō Chief, Hachigen Ushōda, and four other members of the Kidō Corps, each one carrying a golden spear. "This procedure hasn't been done in a while."
"I'm aware of it." Yamamoto told him, as he had been the last one to use the intended technique. The Captain Commander looked to his left, so he could see Konoka, the wielder of the Shisuikyō. "Arturo's spiritual power hasn't been increasing that much with the last few deaths. I believe the mirror is starting to make effect."
"I hope it doesn't take that much longer…" Tessai thought, with a lump forming on his throat.
"Are you feeling alright, Konoka?" Urahara questioned the redhead, with worry all over his face. Konoka was sweating quite a lot, while the mirror continued to float in front of her.
"Yes…I can still go on." She answered.
"At least someone doesn't run with his tail between his legs…" Arturo complimented Seigen in his own way, as he saw the Captain once again stepping in front of him to challenge him. "I've been waiting for a decent kill for quite a time."
"There's no point in running. If we don't defeat you here, then we're all going to die anyway." Seigen shifted his position, so that he could hold the handle of Shiden with both hands. "Just let me ask you…Why are you doing this?"
"Doing what?" Arturo asked, as if he failed to realize what Seigen was referring to. "A Shinigami's function is to get rid of Hollows, which means that Hollows are the greatest enemies of the Shinigami. If that's how it is, I guess the reverse can be applied as well. Shinigami are the greatest enemies of the Hollows. Isn't that enough?"
"So, you say this campaign of yours is happening…just because?" The surprised Seigen's eyes widened for a short moment, before he shook his head. "No…I think you're hiding something. I find it weird that someone like you is doing all this without a motive."
"You want a motive?" Arturo questioned, with a bit more serious expression. "I just gave you one. Again…Isn't that enough? And why are you so interested all of a sudden? Are you so desperate that you're now relying on smooth talk to convince me to walk away?"
"Not really…I just think there are many things that could be improved. Just because things are balanced, it doesn't mean they are balanced in the right way. I…" Seigen stopped for a moment and only restarted after he shrugged. "I think I know your real motive, but if this is the way you want to settle things…Shall we?"
"You're not a god. Don't talk like you know everything." Arturo started to run in Seigen's direction and swung his sword down. The Captain, having seen what happened to Kiganjō's claymore, sidestepped the slash instead of blocking it. The redhead tried to use Hakuda instead, so he jumped and aimed a kick to the right side of the Arrancar's neck, with the latter allowing him to hit him. Seigen cringed as a stinging pain traveled up his left leg, all because of Arturo's hard Hierro. As he tried to gain some distance, Arturo grabbed him by his ankle, stopping him from going away.
"Takaoni!" Kyōraku announced as he came down from above both Seigen and Arturo. The Arrancar threw Seigen skyward so that he could block the cross slash of both of Kyōraku's swords. To Arturo's surprise, Kyōraku was able to handle the Arrancar's strength. "I guess I should explain…In Takaoni, whoever is higher up wins."
"Higher up? Then that means…" Arturo looked up, but it was already too late. Seigen, who was the one who was higher up of the three, brought his sword down, cutting through the Hierro on Arturo's back. Furious by being wounded, Arturo kicked Kyōraku away and turned around to swing his sword towards Seigen, who had no choice but to block with Shiden. Surprisingly, Shiden withstood the cutting power of Fénix. "Another trick? How is this possible?"
"I shouldn't be able to hold on against his Zanpakutō at this point! Takaoni is over after all…" Seigen's eyes widened as he sensed a very familiar reiatsu increasing. Looking slightly to the side, Seigen found Konoka surrounded in a pink reiatsu outline. "Konoka?"
"No! My power!" Arturo immediately realized that it was the Shisuikyō that was weakening him, so he kicked Seigen away and started to move towards Konoka. "Disgusting flea! You were talking all that trash just to buy some more time for that thing to steal my power!"
"Brace yourself, Komamura!" Tōsen warned his friend, as they intercepted Arturo. Any action they had planned was rendered useless, as the Arrancar increased his reiatsu to such a point that it was enough to blow them both away. So eager to destroy the mirror, Arturo failed to notice the last line of defense.
"Sing, Benihime!" Urahara swung his sword, unleashing a strong crimson-colored energy blast shaped in the arc of the sword's swing. Arturo, who was still in the middle of a straightforward Sonído movement, was only able to block the blast with his Fénix and parry it away with some difficulty. The Arrancar then attempted a piercing blow in Konoka's direction more than in Urahara's, but the Captain raised a hexagonal-shaped crimson barrier in front of Benihime, which was able to withstand the force of Arturo's attack. "That's my Chikasume no Tate."
"How…How were you able to block my attack?" Arturo asked, even though he knew the truth already. However, it was just too frustrating for him to admit it.
"The greater the power, the harder it is to notice variations on it. Perhaps you did, perhaps you didn't…But there was a moment when the energy you gained from killing Shinigami started to be immediately nullified by the Shisuikyō. And since then, you haven't killed anymore Shinigami, so your energy has been decreasing continuously." Urahara said out loud what Arturo already knew. "Plus, each time you increase your reiatsu to attack, the faster that energy is drained by the mirror. And, of course, Konoka-san's own reiatsu increase has helped as well."
"That means we can do it!" Fujimaru realized, immediately turning to his sister. "We can win!"
"Don't relax now!" Yamamoto warned everyone. "Keep your focus until it's over!"
"Bring your shield down, Kisuke!" Yoruichi ordered and her friend immediately complied. The Captain charged forward, until she successfully drove the same sphere of yellow energy she had tried to use earlier into Arturo's abdominal region. The Arrancar was sent dragging a good distance across the ground. As soon as he stopped, both Ukitake and Kyōraku came from above, bringing down each of their pairs of swords.
"Takaoni…" At the same height, both Captains had the same power increase, which could've caused great damage if Arturo didn't flew away into the sky. The impact of the four swords opened a large crater, which caused Arturo to growl lowly as he stared to it from above.
"No! If this keeps up, I'll…" Whatever Arturo was about to say remained unknown, as he was in complete shock by seeing a golden spear hit his left arm. Instead of hurting him though, the spear's blade released sparkling yellow energy, which enveloped his arm up to the elbow. Looking down, he saw that the one who had thrown the spear had been Ginrei Kuchiki. "No…You wouldn't dare to seal me!"
"A seal?" The surprised Matsuri questioned to whoever could listen to her. Yoruichi, who had landed near the twins after her last attack on Arturo, nodded to answer her question. "So that was the plan all along? Weaken him to the point we could seal him?"
"Not quite. We're not sure if the seal will hold on, because of the amount of spiritual power he possessed." Yoruichi admitted, while Sōjun threw the second spear, locking his left leg up to the knee. "He may have lost a great amount of energy now, but there's the chance that he will regain it with time. Since his body has the memory of that extraordinary amount of power, it may happen naturally. Once it reaches a certain amount, the seal will break and he will be released. We're not sure if this scenario is possible, but it might be."
"So, what are you going to do to him?" Fujimaru asked, while Hachigen Ushōda sent the third spear towards the right arm. Unlike the others, instead of launching the spear, Hachigen sent it flying with what appeared to be a form of telekinesis.
"The restraining power of this seal is very high, even before it is completed." Yoruichi revealed, while they watched Tessai positioning the last spear on the Arrancar's right leg, in a similar way to the technique used by Hachigen. "Before the seal is completed, we're going to finish him in two strikes!"
"In two strikes?" The confused twins asked, unable to believe that anything less than a combined assault from everyone could take Arturo down now, before they noticed that Yoruichi had pointed to their right.
"Sting All Enemies to Death, Suzumebachi!" Suì-Fēng quickly transformed her sword into the black and gold gauntlet with a stinger-like blade on the middle finger, before charging in Arturo's direction.
"Nigeki Kessatsu is just what it sounds. It's a way to kill in two strikes. If Suì-Fēng strikes the same point twice with Suzumebachi, it's over. And if you look carefully…" Yoruichi didn't even need to tell them to do so, as their eyes were fixed on the Candidate 3rd Seat of the 2nd Division and her target. "With both arms and legs spread to the side, Arturo's upper body is an easy target."
"Hōmonka…" Suì-Fēng announced the first strike, as soon as she stabbed Arturo in the chest with her stinger. Even though the wound wasn't deep at all, much because of the Arrancar's Hierro, a butterfly-shaped black stamp spread from the center of it. "Nigeki Kessatsu!"
"YOU WON'T!" Arturo roared, as he understood what the technique meant just by its name. He pulled out as much spiritual power as possible, so that he could break his right arm free from its respective spear. The yellow energy that surrounded his forearm broke apart, allowing him to grab and crush Suì-Fēng's Suzumebachi, along with her right middle finger. The young assassin let out a horrible scream of pain that made the twins' hearts fall to the ground.
"SUÌ-FĒNG!" Fujimaru immediately darted forward to help the girl and Matsuri was about to do so as well, but Yoruichi stopped the latter by pulling her by her shoulder.
"You're actually smarter than that idiot of a brother of yours, so don't mimic him!" Yoruichi ordered, before she disappeared in a long Shunpo. In very fast motion, she appeared between her bodyguard and Arturo and took her away from there in another Shunpo, which also served to intercept Fujimaru and push him back to where he originally was.
"Bakudō #4: Hainawa!" Sōjun generated a crackling yellow energy rope within his hands and used it to entangle Arturo's free arm, as soon as Yoruichi rescued Suì-Fēng.
"Bakudō #4: Hainawa!" Ginrei performed the same spell as his son, but this rope was used to wrap the Arrancar's body. "Carriage of Thunder, Bridge of a Spinning Wheel, with Light Divide this into Six!" Ginrei quickly recited the incantation, causing six beams of light to form from the previously created Hainawa. "Bakudō #61: Rikujōkōrō!"
"Bakudō #63…" Hachigen lifted his right palm and closed into a fist, causing a thick rope of yellow energy to descend from the sky and completely wrap Arturo's upper body, even forming knots around the six beams of light. "Sajō Sabaku!"
"Bakudō #79: Kuyō Shibari!" Tessai summoned eight black holes with purple outlines around Arturo. Those black holes started to emit spiritual energy in the personal space surrounding the Arrancar, with a ninth black hole manifesting in the center of his chest, right in front of his Hollow hole. "This along with the seal should hold him long enough."
"So you had a plan B…" Fujimaru realized, while he shifted his attention between what was happening with the Arrancar and Yoruichi's first aid treatment to Suì-Fēng. His attention shifted to a third thing, as a loud and long thunderclap sounded from above. The sky was covered in dark clouds, even though nothing had indicated that such an atmospheric change would happen. "What the hell happened to the sky?"
"That is the true plan B!" Yoruichi started to reveal, while Sasakibe fell to his knees, many meters away from the Captain of the 2nd Division and the twins.
"I put all…the spiritual power…I…I could on… making those…" Sasakibe panted heavily, after he used Gonryōmaru to create the dark clouds. It was just a matter of seconds for a heavy rainstorm to start, with continuous thunderclaps echoing throughout the entire Soul Society.
"You did a very good job, Sasakibe. Rest for now." Yamamoto allowed, before he turned to the one who could capitalize on such weather conditions. "Suzunami!"
"I see…those clouds are all filled with natural lightning." Seigen immediately realized what he had to do, so he raised Shiden up to the sky and sent all the electric essence he still could release towards the dark thunderclouds.
"That is…You did that earlier!" Arturo remembered the falling lightning bolt attack from earlier and was quick to understand how much worse this one would be. The high-ranking officers of the 6th Division and Kidō Corps decided that the right moment to flee from the soon to be impact area had arrived. "There were no clouds in the sky earlier, but the attack still had considerable strength. With so many clouds here now…Oh no…"
"Hurry…Seigen…" Konoka asked him, as she was becoming dangerously pale from the effort of using the Shisuikyō.
"Hang on, Konoka! It won't take long now!" Seigen told her, as he was also making a great effort to make sure the technique succeeded. With all the lightning finally focused on a single point, Seigen only had to let it fall. "SHIDEN RAIKŌ!"
The first Shiden Raikō wasn't even half of this one. The combined efforts of Seigen and Sasakibe created a lightning bolt so massive that everyone who was able to still stand had to raise a barrier to protect themselves. Over all those singular barriers, the Kidō Corps members set many more, so that they could all survive the overly destructive impact of Seigen's technique. As the shockwaves caused by the impact stopped, a mushroom cloud emerged, blocking the visibility of the Shinigami for a while.
"I think it should be more or less safe now." Tessai revealed after some minutes of probing the area outside of the barriers with Kidō. The barriers finally came down, allowing the Shinigami to freely walk around. Even the heavy rainstorm had stopped during that time. "Is everyone alright? While I'm not Unohana-taichō, I can start to heal those in major need."
"The same services are also offered by me." Hachigen added. Overall, there were still many injured on the battlefield: Kensei and Kiganjō both remained there until the end of the battle, even though both of them were unable to use one arm each; Suì-Fēng had a broken finger, with the bones probably as crushed as Kiganjō's were; Tōsen and Komamura had some bruises but were otherwise all right, even though that no one dared to examine the latter; Miyako had been knocked unconscious after being hit in the head; and some of Seigen's wounds which had been healed by Chikane and Seinosuke had reopened during the battle; along with many nameless Shinigami who were able to survive somehow.
"You did a great job, Seigen-sama!" Matsuri complimented her father, who answered with a tired smile, but still the kindest one he had ever shown. The blond girl then turned to compliment her aunt as well. "You were also grea…K-Konoka-sama?"
"Konoka-sama!" Startled by the sudden change in the tone of his sister's voice, Fujimaru quickly turned around, still in time to see Konoka's eyes rolling into the back of her head, before she fell backwards.
"Konoka!" Seigen quickly rushed to her side and lifted her head, but she didn't show any signs of life. Desperate, the Captain turned to the one who could help him the most. "Tessai! Please, heal…What's with that face? C'mon! Do something!"
"Suzunami-dono…" Tessai started to speak, only to be interrupted by the sound of the Shisuikyō, which had been floating until then, falling to the ground. That only made Tessai, Yoruichi and Urahara's expressions to become even more dejected. Fujimaru even noticed a look of disgust in Suì-Fēng's eyes, before she looked away from the twins. "The truth is that Konoka…"
"Eheheheh…AHAHAHAHAHAH!" Tessai was once again interrupted, this time by a hysterical laugh combined with a familiar reiatsu which was increasing very slowly, but increasing nonetheless. As the smoke raised by the last Shiden Raikō started to clear away a bit more, Arturo stepped forward with a crazed look in his eyes. Covered in burn marks, his clothes ripped to shreds after the last explosion and parts of his broken mask missing, all that mattered was that he was still alive nevertheless. "It appears I'm victorious after all...YOU LOSE, SHINIGAMI!"
Next Chapter: Evanescence! Sacrifice of Twin Souls
Author's Note:
- Shinkodama - The yellow energy sphere used by Yoruichi, first seen in the series when Yoruichi pushed Sui-Feng down the Sokyoku Hill; According to Blade Battlers, this is an attack version of Hanki. However, Hanatareshi Yabou calls it Shinkodama... In the end, I prefer to have a different name for each version, so I went with Shinkodama for this one.