Anime/Manga: Bankai Starting with Demon Slayer

His pupils constricted sharply when he saw the clearly visible hole in her chest.

"Hey, hey, hey, what's going on here!"

"Is that even a question! It's all your fault! If it weren't for saving you, Masaki would have..."

"This is really a big problem."

He was gritting his teeth, having no intention of arguing with Long Xian.

His mind raced as he recalled the address Yoruichi Shihōin had whispered in his ear before he left.

"Come with me, bespectacled guy! If you want her to live, I know a place!"

Chapter 130 The Two Sides of the Balance

When Isshin and Ryugen, carrying the unconscious Masaki, stumbled open the store door in a disheveled state.

Kisuke Urahara was squatting behind the counter, repairing an old radio.

"Oh my, isn't this Captain Shiba?"

“Although I said you are always welcome here, this kind of ‘gift’ is a bit too heavy.”

Urahara pushed up the brim of his hat, and the moment his eyes, hidden in the shadows, met Masaki's, the frivolous look vanished completely.

On her fair skin, a black hole, like a greedy vortex, throbbed menacingly in her chest.

"Mr. Tetsuya, please activate the barrier immediately."

"Understand".

The burly man was not an ordinary handyman, but the former Great Demon Master, Wolling Tiezhai, who had 'defected' from Soul Society with him.

Under his guidance, the succulent, carrying Masaki who was sealed by the barrier, quickly arrived at the underground training ground.

Ryugen Ishida stood beside the unconscious Masaki Kurosaki, his mind completely blank.

"Damn it... why did it turn out like this!" A suppressed growl escaped from between Long Xian's teeth.

"Well, Quincy, please calm down."

Kisuke Urahara walked to Masaki's side and gently tapped his palm with his fan: "Before I begin to help, I must first explain what exactly happened to this Ms. Masaki."

"Her case is not an isolated incident... I've been studying this for almost a century..."

"A hundred years?!" The two people opposite each other were both startled.

"Indeed, Miss Masaki's condition is called [Hollowfication]." He spoke coldly, as if recalling unpleasant memories:

"The so-called 'virtualization' is the process of injecting a virtual soul into another soul, causing the boundaries between souls to collapse, ultimately achieving the goal of sublimation..."

"Although it was originally intended to strengthen the Grim Reaper's soul, in reality, after becoming ethereal, the soul will eventually become a mindless monster, uncontrollably self-destructing..."

He pointed a finger at Masaki, whose face was deathly pale: "That is, [soul suicide]."

"What?! Then hurry up and restore Masaki to her original state!" Ryugen Ishida shouted urgently.

Kisuke Urahara shook his head: "It's impossible to restore the original state. Hollowfication is a technique that cannot be controlled..."

Shiba Isshin spoke up anxiously, "What should we do? Are we just going to sit and watch Masaki-san die?"

Urahara added, "While restoring her to her original state is impossible, at least we can save her life..."

"How do I do it?"

Faced with Isshin Shiba's question, Kisuke Urahara pointed to Ryugen, Isshin, and Masaki in turn:

"To prevent the soul from committing suicide, we need to inject something that is the opposite of etherealization into the soul to maintain its balance."

"For example, injecting a vaccine that combines Quincy power with a human soul into a Shinigami suffering from Hollowfication symptoms can maintain that Shinigami's condition..."

"It's too complicated, I don't understand at all!" Shiba interrupted Urahara Kisuke's explanation, completely bewildered, and said bluntly, "Why don't you just tell me what to do now!"

"Alright, alright, Captain Shiba, I'll just get straight to the point."

"If you want to save Miss Masaki, this Quincy, you must... use your powerful Shinigami power as a vaccine."

“You need to separate your power and stay by her side until she dies in order to suppress this symptom.”

Ryugen Ishida suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with struggle and pain.

He has realized the problem.

Asking a Shinigami captain to give up his Shinigami powers to save an evil Quincy? That's simply impossible!

He looked at Masaki, opened his mouth, but found that the words "Let me do it" were stuck in his throat and he couldn't utter them.

He knew very well that as a Quincy, he was completely unable to provide the Shinigami power that could neutralize Hollows.

A deep sense of powerlessness quickly spread through his heart.

What to do... Masaki...?

"I understand! I'll do it!"

A loud voice broke the silence.

Shiba Isshin untied the captain's haori from his body and casually threw it on the floor.

"You're making it too complicated! Isn't it just about giving up the power of death and protecting her for the rest of your life? Then just do it already! What a waste of time!"

“Grim Reaper…do you know what this means?” Long Xian asked through gritted teeth, “You will lose everything…your seat, your power, your pride as the Grim Reaper…”

"Don't you have any attachment to Soul Society?" Kisuke Urahara asked curiously.

"How could there not be! There are plenty!" Isshin laughed heartily, then turned to look at Masaki, who was groaning in pain: "But if I just stand by and watch my savior die in front of me without doing anything, then tomorrow I'll definitely laugh at today's me!"

This person... Ishida Ryugen was stunned, completely unprepared for his answer.

Kisuke Urahara looked at Isshin, bowed slightly, and showed a hint of respect in his eyes: "As expected of the head of the Shiba family, his magnanimity is truly admirable... In that case, I would like to ask Captain Shiba to show me a model."

He turned around, walked to one side of the Japanese-style room, and opened a wooden door.

Shiba Isshin saw that the Asuka team members were lying on the tatami mat with their eyes closed.

His breathing was even but heavy, and his body exhibited an unusual stiffness.

"This is..."

"His current condition and the subsequent treatment plan are remarkably similar."

Kisuke Urahara pointed at Asuka and said calmly, "In order to save his life, I also put his soul into a special artificial body."

"However, the guy wasn't very appreciative, so I knocked him out..."

"This prosthetic body will suppress and disperse his original power, turning him completely into a 'human.' Perhaps only in this way can his shattered soul not completely disintegrate."

"And the method to save this Quincy lady is the same."

Urahara turned his head and looked directly into Isshin's eyes: "You will enter the same Gikai, except that you will bind Miss Quincy... with your own soul."

"You will become human, just like this young man."

Shiba's gaze was fixed on Asuka.

Indeed, I can no longer sense any spiritual energy from him.

"What? You're making it sound so scary..." Yixin smiled, his usually carefree face now radiating an open and honest optimism: "Feels pretty good! Let's get started!"

"...Then please enter the artificial body."

……

Masaki's inner world.

That was a place shrouded in darkness and torrential rain.

A huge rift opened in the sky, and a pure white being wearing a bull's head mask let out a mournful roar.

Its claws are deeply embedded in the heart of the earth, attempting to devour the entire world.

Where am I? Am I going to die? Masaki looked at the huge Hollow with a confused expression.

Someone please save me....

The giant mouth slowly swallowed her.

"Hey, big guy."

A familiar voice rang out from behind Masaki, and she felt herself being picked up.

"I've already decided on this girl's future. So, could you please move aside?"

Shiba Isshin's figure appeared in the torrential rain.

"Ah—! It's Mr. Death from that day!" Masaki exclaimed.

"Hey, I'm here to protect you."

Isshin hugged Masaki tightly, turned his head, and gave her a bright smile.

roar--!!!

Upon seeing Shiba Isshin suddenly appear, the Hollow phantom let out a deafening roar.

"Although I'd love to chat with you a little longer, it seems like I don't have the time right now."

Yixin's gaze instantly turned sharp as a knife.

He gripped the Blade of Light, and at that moment, all the spiritual pressure in his body frantically converged onto the blade.

"I might not be able to use this again... Consider this a farewell gift to you!"

With a single, misstepping movement, his feet shattered the wasteland within Masaki's heart, and his Zanpakuto drew a perfect arc—

"Crescent Moon Sky Piercing—!!!"

In an instant, a massive crescent-shaped strike, large enough to span the sky, roared out!

That was the ultimate spiritual pressure, the final cry of Shiba Isshin as a Shinigami.

……

In the real world, Masaki's furrowed brows finally relaxed, revealing a smile.

Yixin sat slumped on the ground, panting heavily.

Standing guard beside him, Ryugen Ishida watched Isshin's back, which remained as upright as a mountain even though his spiritual pressure was completely gone.

He suddenly realized.

Masaki has found her home.

Chapter 131 Soul Search Plan

Shiba, feeling the emptiness of spiritual energy within his body, gave a bitter laugh: "This feeling... is frighteningly unfamiliar. Urahara, are you sure I won't suddenly die of old age?"

"As long as you pay your rent on time, I don't think so."

Kisuke Urahara resumed his businessman demeanor, tidying up medical equipment while thoughtfully glancing at the next room: "Now that Ms. Masaki is stable, we should talk about Mr. Asuka."

Ryuken calmed down at this moment. He glanced at the unconscious Asuka, then at Isshin: "Will he become like this too?"

“No, his situation is more complicated than Isshin’s.” Kisuke Urahara tapped his folding fan. “Captain Shiba took the initiative to become the anchor to keep Masaki in check, while Asuka… I can’t say for sure.”

"A very peculiar energy remains in his soul... seemingly rotating between life and death, torn between creation and destruction..."

"If Captain Shiba willingly donned the human clothes, then Asuka was imprisoned in a human prison by me..."

Urahara looked at Isshin beside him, his expression stern: "Captain Shiba, in a sense, you and he are now the same kind. Live as ordinary people in this city."

"Until the day fate turns again."

"Ah, I understand. But you don't need to call me Captain Shiba anymore. I don't have Shinigami abilities anymore, do I?" Shiba Isshin scratched his head helplessly.

"Just call me Isshin."

……

The first rays of dawn pierced through the gaps in the clouds and fell upon the signboard of Urahara Store.

Asuka, still unconscious, twitched her fingers slightly.

His consciousness was immersed in a fragmented memory.

That was the wind of Hayama, the herbal scent of the Butterfly Mansion, and Shinobu's smile.

"Shinobu..."