Anime/Manga: Bankai Starting with Demon Slayer

Naoto seriously observed Asuka's physical condition, and after confirming that there was no brain injury, he said, "Generally speaking, we ordinary members can pinpoint the direction of a wandering spirit by using spiritual pressure perception and the guidance of the Hell Butterfly."

"Of course, if Mr. Asuka wants to find multiple souls at once, or if the target you are looking for is more hidden, then you can only ask the ghost to thank you. But I don't think it should be that difficult."

Hearing him say that, Asuka nodded silently.

...Let's stay a little longer and see if we can find Shinobu Kocho with their help.

Time slowly passed.

The rain in Naruki City finally began to fall heavily.

Asuka sat cross-legged beside the flagpole, placing the rusty Zanpakuto across her lap.

“貉奪”.

He called out in his heart.

However, the depths of consciousness remain a desolate and lifeless wasteland.

What's wrong with this guy...? Is he being difficult?

Just then, a voice, accompanied by the whistling of the wind, landed in the center of the green field.

The raging rain briefly swirled as he fell, revealing a figure draped in pure white feathers.

Although they were soaked and looked rather disheveled, the man's powerful spiritual pressure, which was almost impossible to conceal by the rain, instantly calmed the previously anxious team members down.

He had slightly messy black hair, and his eyes looked carefree, even exuding a sense of nonchalance.

As he walked, he kept looking at the rain soaking his clothes, muttering complaints under his breath:

"Honestly, the weather forecast in this world is so inaccurate. It said it would be cloudy turning sunny, but now it's completely dirty my freshly washed haori... If Toshiro sees this, he'll nag me for ages..."

The cross on the back of this person's haori (a type of traditional Chinese garment) revealed his identity.

Isshin Shiba, captain of the 10th Division of the Gotei 13.

"Captain!" Arai, accompanied by two team members, saluted with perfect form.

Asuka slowly propped herself up and began to observe the man who had suddenly appeared.

This person... is very strong.

His spiritual pressure was like a blazing fire. Although he deliberately concealed his sharpness, the explosive power contained within still put Asuka under pressure.

Shiba Isshin's gaze swept around the stadium, finally settling on Asuka.

"Oh?" He let out a soft exclamation of doubt, then strode over to Asuka.

He was very tall; even though Asuka was already quite tall, she appeared slightly shorter next to him.

Shiba carefully examined Asuka's face, scratching his head every now and then.

"Have we met somewhere before?"

"Captain, these are the Asuka brothers from the Fifth Division who have come to provide support."

Before Asuka could answer, Arai quickly explained from the side, "He had a little accident inside the gate and just escaped the severance."

"Team 5?"

Upon hearing this name, Shiba raised an eyebrow.

He reached out, as if to pat the bird on the shoulder.

But just as his fingertips were about to touch the bird, he paused for a moment, then casually withdrew his hand.

"Those guys' team members... they seem so refined, yet they managed to train someone like you who looks so menacing. That's quite rare."

Shiba Isshin laughed heartily and nodded with satisfaction: "Not bad, you're quite sturdy, and those eyes are very imposing! But... your spiritual pressure seems a bit unresponsive?"

The bird felt a chill in its heart.

This man may seem carefree, but he is actually quite meticulous.

With just one encounter, he noticed something unusual about the bird.

The bird feels strange now. Even though it is in a spirit state, it doesn't feel as comfortable as it did when it was in a physical body.

Not only did it stop replying, but its spiritual energy manipulation also became strange.

Maybe it's jet lag, who knows?

"The impact of the broken boundary," Asuka said succinctly.

"Yeah, in that godforsaken place, it's a miracle you didn't die." Shiba Isshin shrugged and didn't ask any more questions.

He turned his head, his expression suddenly turning serious, and looked at Arai:

"Enough with the chit-chat, Arai, tell me the specifics of the recent situation! I sensed something was off about the air around here on my way here."

On the night of June 4th, Naruki City, Choihara 2-chome.

heavy rain.

Chapter 122 Hunting the Hollow of Death

As Shiba listened intently to Arai's report, his brow furrowed deeper and deeper.

He stroked his chin, his gaze fixed on the dark sky:

"...In just two months, three Grim Reapers have died due to 'accidents,' their souls disappearing with them in abnormal ways..."

"Speaking of which, the Grim Reaper also disappeared on a rainy day, right?" He suddenly scratched his head.

"Captain...don't say such scary things..." Arai and the others looked at Isshin helplessly, seemingly already used to his style.

However, Shiba didn't bring this up to scare people.

His gaze turned serious, and he instructed the group, "Now that I'm here, and it's raining, you should all go back."

"Captain, you mean...."

"Whether the opponent is targeting Shinigami themselves, or simply some kind of Hollow reacting to high spiritual pressure... in any case, it doesn't seem like a battle you should get involved in. It's best to..."

Shiba was analyzing to himself when, just as he was about to give further orders, his body suddenly froze.

Not only him, but Asuka also turned her head at the same moment and looked towards the east side of the stadium.

A chilling aura of spiritual pressure is spreading!

"Waaaaaahh ...

A piercing scream came from outside the stadium; it was Naoto, who was on guard duty.

"Naoto!!" the two team members shouted, pulling out the worm and carrying it out.

"Back off!" Shiba Isshin shouted sharply, "That's not something you can handle!"

But before the words were finished, a dark figure had already crashed through the side wall of the stadium.

Bricks and stones flew everywhere, and an extremely twisted entity appeared in the scene.

It has a human-like outline, but its entire body is covered by a layer of hard armor that is as black as ink and has a metallic texture.

A pale bone mask was embedded in his head, his white hair fluttered in the wind, and his arms were extremely long, covered with long bone blades that gleamed with a cold light.

As it appeared, the two Death Squad members who had rushed out swayed and let out a muffled groan—

That was the strange sound produced by the sudden severing of the throat and the backflow of air and blood.

Then, he collapsed to the ground with a thud.

"What kind of aura is this... is it an illusion?"

Shiba stood in front of Asuka, carefully observing the monster before him:

"...Although his entire body was pitch black, and the hole in his chest was blocked by something... his spiritual pressure was definitely illusory!"

Asuka looked at the monster and felt an unprecedented pressure.

That was an extremely strong threat, and reason told him he needed to leave immediately.

Compared to this monster, Muzan Kibutsuji is as innocent as an infant.

But the monster did not give Xing Shun any chance.

It let out a high-pitched roar, and the ground beneath its feet instantly cracked, appearing directly next to Arai behind Isshin!

So fast!

Arai had no time to react and could only watch helplessly as the sharp bone blade rapidly enlarged in his pupils.

Clang!

A piercing metallic clang rang out.

Sparks bloomed in the rainy night.

Although the mongoose was still asleep and its spiritual pressure was still chaotic, the bird's fighting instincts had already taken action.

At the critical moment, he appeared in front of Arai and used his rusty Zanpakuto to firmly block the monster's bone blade.

Due to the immense force, the bird's feet plowed two deep furrows in the ground.

"Is this... a monster of the present world?" Asuka gritted her teeth, pushing the only breathing technique she could rely on to its limit.

He channeled the spiritual energy from the atmosphere into his body, using all his strength to resist the monster's attacks.

That power was immense! The overwhelming force made Asuka's hands go numb, and the ground beneath her feet continued to crack!

Strangely, after clashing with the bird's blade, the bone mask, which clearly had no facial features, showed a puzzled spiritual pressure and was obviously stunned for a moment.

But seeing that the bird was using its strength to fight against him, the guy roared, his doubt disappeared, and another bone blade swept across!

Asuka leaned back, barely dodging the fatal blow, and then followed up with a kick to the monster's abdomen.

Bang!

The monster remained motionless, but Asuka felt as if he had kicked a piece of wrought iron, the impact causing him considerable pain.

"Bastard! How dare you kill my comrade!"

Arai's eyes widened in fury as he roared and drew his Zanpakuto, attempting to ambush the Hollow from behind.

"Arai! Don't go!"

This monster is faster than Shiba Isshin's voice.

It retracted the bone blade that had confronted the bird, its body twisting strangely in the air, the black blade drawing a cold semicircle.

Arai's body froze.

A red line appeared between his eyebrows, and then he was cleaved in two in terror, turning into spiritual particles that dissipated in the torrential rain.

In just one encounter, apart from Isshin Shiba and Asuka, the rest of the patrol team was wiped out.

too fast.

This speed, this efficiency of killing, was completely beyond the bird's comprehension.

Even if Muzan Kibutsuji were at his peak, Asuka could stop him from instantly killing a Demon Slayer Corps member.

But faced with the monster's slaughter, Asuka was helpless.

He subconsciously tried to mobilize his spiritual pressure, wanting to call upon the guy who fought alongside him.

But deep down, there was still a deathly silence.

"...Tch, messing up at the crucial moment!" Asuka bit his lower lip, the stinging sensation calming him down a little.

Since we can't rely on spiritual pressure, let's use the old method.

"Complete Collection: Breath of Arashi".

Although he reversed his own Sun Breathing technique, he still prefers this name.

Asuka took another deep breath of the cold air, saturated with spiritual energy.

He forcefully drove the raw spiritual pressure within his body, pumping the power through his heartbeats to all the meridians of his body.

hum-

A faint ripple appeared on his skin, his body's reaction was pushed to its limit at this moment.

Although it cannot compare to the self that has been freed from the scourge, it is still much stronger than before.

Asuka lowered her center of gravity, assuming a sword-drawing stance, preparing to fight the monster again.