Anime/Manga: Bankai Starting with Demon Slayer

"Oh no! He's about to unleash a Cero! Get out of the way!"

call out--!!

Zhibo felt that too many twists and turns had occurred tonight, and his straightforward information processing system was simply struggling to cope.

An arrow of spiritual energy, radiating a dazzling blue light, pierced through the dark rain curtain.

It carried a sacred and pure aura, and accurately struck the monster's bone horn just as it was about to unleash a phantom.

Boom!

A massive explosion rocked behind the two men.

The Cero, which was originally deadly, was severely deflected by the blue light and grazed Shiba Isshin's shoulder before blasting into the building behind him.

"Who is it?"

Asuka and Isshin were both stunned.

They turned their heads to look in the direction from which the arrows had come.

In the middle of the rain-soaked streets of Karakura Town, a figure stood up at some unknown time.

She was a young girl.

She was wearing a school uniform, her short orange hair was completely wet, and her bright eyes were fixed on the monster in front of her.

In her hand, she held a giant bow made of blue spiritual particles, radiating an astonishing aura.

"Are those two people over there still able to move?"

Her voice was steady, and she sounded quite young.

But that calm and collected demeanor gave the bird a strange sense of security.

Chapter 124 Natural

What kind of power is this?

Is this a human?

Asuka's gaze pierced through the heavy rain and landed on the girl, filled with a sense of unreality.

In this rainy night filled with the stench of blood, her light was as dazzling as the sun piercing through the long night.

"I said, are you both alright?!"

Seeing that Asuka and Isshin did not respond, the girl asked again loudly.

But this also displeased the monster.

Those empty eye sockets stared intently at the girl with the bow, and a highly aggressive roar came from deep in his throat.

"Gahh ...

It suddenly abandoned the injured Shiba Isshin and transformed into a black gust of wind, rushing towards the girl.

"Oh no! Get out of the way!" Shiba Isshin exclaimed in alarm, instinctively trying to move to stop him.

But he had only taken half a step when the wound on his back burst open with a cloud of blood due to the violent pulling.

The piercing pain made his knees buckle, and he froze in place.

However, the boy in front of her had already rushed out!

At that moment, the bird's lungs emitted a violent roar.

He forcefully squeezed every last free spiritual particle from within the spirit body, commanding them to surge and pump towards his legs—

"Thunderbolt Flash - Instant Shadow!!"

hum!

The bird's figure vanished in an instant!

Clang—!!!

The black, illusory blade and the broken, yellow-tinged oyster shell were extinguished by the torrential rain.

The bird forcefully used this momentum to press the monster's bone blade all the way to the ground, where it sank deep into the asphalt.

But that was all; his knife was being parried away bit by bit by his opponent.

"Hey! You woman over there! Don't stand there!" Asuka's voice was hoarse from the exertion: "Attack! My sword... won't last much longer!"

Seeing this, the girl drew her longbow to its full extent, and several blue arrows shot out like a sudden storm!

call out!call out!call out!

These two strangers, whose names they didn't even know, reached a strange understanding at this moment.

The bird was responsible for close-quarters combat, fighting to the death to tightly control its movement trajectory; while the girl used her superior long-range attack ability to constantly disrupt its balance.

However, the situation in the battle did not improve as a result.

That guy is too fast.

Its fighting style, which is not typical of normal creatures, allows it to perform various unconventional dodges and killing moves in mid-air.

Unable to unleash his Zanpakuto, Asuka could only awkwardly dodge, narrowly avoiding the bone blade aimed at his throat time and time again.

The opponent's attacks were completely haphazard, and with each collision, Asuka could feel her Zanpakuto shattering.

At this moment, the dark red rust on the rusted blade was gradually peeling away, revealing the cracked blade underneath.

Meanwhile, on the roof of a tall building in the distance.

Three figures draped in black cloaks, completely isolating themselves from spiritual pressure, were quietly observing everything.

"It's really ugly."

The voice came from under the cloak, from a dark-skinned swordsman.

His tone carried a hint of dissatisfaction and disgust: "He's the first Hollow created based on the soul of a Shinigami—[White], he should be from a different dimension than the previous ones... how come he can't even handle a lowly squad member?"

"Yes, calm down."

Beside him stood a squinty-eyed swordsman with silver-white hair, his hands tucked into his sleeves, a nonchalant smile playing on his lips. He raised his chin and gestured towards Shiba Isshin in the distance: "After all, there's still a captain, isn't there?"

"But Shiba Isshin is injured after all. If even the captain in his initial state can't solve it, it only proves that he is a failure."

"Don't be so harsh. Besides, I think the guy with the broken sword is quite interesting. He's not like those old-fashioned guys from the Gotei 13."

However, the person standing in the middle never responded to his subordinates' idle chatter.

His face, which usually wore a gentle smile, now looked unusually excited.

His gaze pierced through the torrential rain, and he paid no attention to what his subordinates were saying.

His gaze did not linger on the evolving Hollow White, nor on the young Quincy girl, nor on Isshin Shiba, who was about to break into the battle.

He locked his gaze firmly on the black-haired swordsman who was struggling in the rain.

He stared in disbelief.

"This is unbelievable... They actually came back... How did they manage to do that..."

"Number 78..."

At the heart of the battlefield, the situation has reached its most tense juncture.

The ethereal white seemed to tire of this meaningless tug-of-war. It suddenly opened its arms, allowing Masaki's spirit arrow to pierce through its chest.

Driven by intense pain, it channeled all its strength into the bone blade on its right arm and slashed fiercely at the bird!

"not good!"

The man in black in the distance narrowed his eyes, and even considered stopping Xu Bai's actions despite the risk of revealing his identity!

"Damn it! Stop it right now!"

Shiba roared and charged down, but it was too late to stop him!

At that moment, Asuka felt the approach of death.

He tried to dodge, but his body had reached its limit, and his legs were losing strength.

click-

The crisp cracking sound stood out so abruptly amidst the roar of the torrential rain.

Under Hollow's all-out slashing, the already riddled Zanpakuto finally reached its limit.

Starting from the tip of the blade, the red and black metal shattered like ceramic pieces, turning into countless crystalline particles that dissipated into the air.

The blade was cleaved in two!

"Varied.....?!"

Asuka stared in astonishment at the remaining half of the blade in her hand.

The next second, the black bone blade sliced ​​through his chest without any resistance.

Sizzle—!

Blood gushed out, staining the rainwater a grim dark red.

It was a huge, diagonally torn wound that ripped open half of the chest cavity, revealing a beating heart and broken ribs inside.

"Asuka-!!!" Shiba Isshin's roar was drowned out by the rain.

His body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, and excruciating pain overwhelmed him like a tidal wave.

But what's even more terrifying isn't the physical injury, but the emptiness that comes from the depths of the soul.

The raccoon has broken off.

This was his reliance in battle, his most important partner.

Asuka felt her connection to the world being abruptly severed.

At that moment, he felt a pang of regret.

"...We shouldn't have cared about Death's life or death..."

My consciousness began to fall.

It didn't fall to the ground, but rather into an endless abyss.

The sounds of rain, shouts, and faint roars were all rapidly fading into the distance.

The bird felt itself transform into a feather, drifting in the pitch-black void.

[Hey, you bastard... is this all you've got?]

An old, mocking voice echoed in his mind.

The bird suddenly opened its eyes and found itself standing in a completely white, mirror-like plain, so white that there wasn't a speck of dust.

“This is…” Asuka looked at her hands, where she still tightly gripped the broken hilt of the sword.

"My inner world? No... this isn't... Where's the robbery? Where's that guy?"

【Hadouken? What a disgusting name.】

A pure white figure rose from the pure white mirror. If it weren't for the malevolent light emanating from its side, the bird wouldn't even be able to make out its outline.

It has no facial features, no clothes, it is simply pure white.

The figure smiled coldly and approached the bird step by step:

You use it to imitate the breathing techniques of those weak humans... You treat it like a stinging stick.

You've never truly seen this knife...you've never truly heard its name.

As his words rang out, the pristine white mirror world began to tremble, and countless broken swords rose from the mirror, stretching endlessly towards the horizon.

It stopped in front of the bird, grabbed his neck suddenly, and lifted him up.

However, I still want to thank you. If you hadn't meddled, I'm afraid I would never have been able to break free from this constraint.

Listen up, I'm a hybrid who's neither human nor Grim Reaper, my name is—

"Wake up, Asuka!"

The familiar sound rang out, and the bird, which was about to suffocate, suddenly felt a release in its throat.

He turned his gaze, and a giant, snow-white wolf was rushing towards him!