Anime/Manga: Bankai Starting with Demon Slayer

He called out in his sleep.

But when he opened his eyes again, what he saw was not the sea of ​​wisteria flowers, but the Urahara Store's slightly low and oppressive wooden ceiling.

This is...right, that swindler!

Asuka remembered that when she expressed her anger at Kisuke Urahara's behavior, that guy actually knocked her unconscious!

Compared to him, my body felt incredibly weak.

"No, we have to hurry..."

"Oh, you're awake, buddy?"

Kisuke Urahara pushed open the door and entered, holding a long bill in his hand.

It was clear that it sensed the moment the bird awoke and was prepared.

"Now that you're awake, let's get to work."

"After all, I used up quite a few expensive materials to save your life. Until you pay off this debt, you'll be a shop assistant here—Asuka-kun."

Asuka stared intently at Urahara, her eyes, which had once slain countless demons, now filled with rage.

"What nonsense are you spouting! Give me back my power!"

"Oh dear, she's so easily angered!"

Although Asuka really wanted to defeat Urahara directly and force him to restore her.

But this body was so heavy it was like lead, making even breathing difficult, which made him feel like a helpless child under Urahara's agile evasion.

After struggling for half a day, the bird was finally exhausted and collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.

"Hey, it's nice to do some morning exercise like this once in a while."

"...My power...is it really gone forever?"

"Who knows?" Kisuke Urahara opened his folding fan, obscuring half his face, and smiled meaningfully.

"In this world, sometimes losing something is a kind of gain. Look, isn't Captain Shiba next door smiling happily?"

Asuka followed Urahara's gaze.

Through the half-open door, he saw Shiba Isshin grinning foolishly as he busied himself pouring water for Masaki.

That man... isn't he the captain of the Shinigami team? Why doesn't he have any spiritual pressure at all right now?

However, Asuka could sense that the other person was burning with a light he had seen before, called 'protection'.

That light is exactly the same as the Pillars of the Demon Slayer Corps.

Asuka slowly closed her eyes and clenched her hands, which had lost their calluses and become as delicate as those of an ordinary teenager.

"How absurd!" he suddenly thought.

"...Whether what you're saying is true or false is beside the point. I'd like to ask you for a favor."

"Clerk, you should use polite language when you talk to the manager."

"Can you help me find a soul?"

.....

I searched for a long time.

Kisuke Urahara pulled a compass-like device from the cluttered shelves, with an instrument panel that shimmered with a ghostly blue light.

"I found it, I found it."

He dusted himself off and showed the device to Asuka: "This is a modified version of the spiritual pressure detector. As long as you can provide the target's residual aura or similar soul characteristics, you can search over a wide area."

"Detector?"

Asuka was seeing something this high-tech for the first time. He had assumed that Kisuke Urahara would unleash some kind of mysterious magic.

“Not bad, not bad. Although I have temporarily sealed off your spiritual power, there must be the soul aura of the soul you are looking for deep within your soul. Hold it and concentrate.”

The bird closed its eyes and gripped the detector tightly with both hands.

Kisuke Urahara spoke up at the opportune moment: "So, what's the name of the soul you're looking for?"

"...Her name is Shinobu Kocho."

"Butterfly? What a gentle name... Now, please carefully recall her appearance and characteristics..."

Following Urahara's instructions, Asuka's mind was flooded with memories, including the days and nights in Hayama, the fragrance of wisteria, and the smiling face of the woman who always wore a butterfly kimono...

Om-!

The detector trembled slightly, and its pale blue light was instantly tinged with a faint purple.

"Oh? The reaction is quite strong!" Kisuke Urahara raised an eyebrow and quickly typed on the screen: "Found it. There's a spiritual pressure feedback with a similar wavelength in the western suburbs of Karakura Town. Let's go and see if it's the 'butterfly' you're looking for."

However, when the two arrived at an abandoned park in the western suburbs, Asuka's eyes dimmed instantly.

There is indeed a female spirit under that old locust tree.

She was wearing a traditional kimono, with delicate features, and was staring blankly at the withered leaves on the tree.

The bird only glanced at it before stopping.

"It wasn't her."

Aside from the fact that she is a woman, she has absolutely no connection to Shinobu Kocho.

Over the next few hours, Kisuke Urahara took Asuka to every corner of Karakura Town.

On the bustling streets, they found a soul lingering because of a car accident; in a dark alley, they rescued the soul of a young girl who was nearly swallowed by the Void.

Each time, the detector's purple light ignited a glimmer of hope in the bird, but each time, it only brought deeper disappointment.

Some of them share a love for collecting flowers, some have petite figures, and some even have similar voices.

But none of them are Shinobu Kocho.

The woman who broke through the barrier with him and came here seemed to have completely vanished into the turbulent current, leaving not even a trace of ashes.

"No, that won't work..."

Kisuke Urahara looked at the dejected Asuka, put away the detector, and his tone became serious: "These conventional search methods have reached their limit. If she is in a more distant place, we won't be able to find her with this little toy."

Asuka clenched her fist and punched the ground in frustration.

"Is there any other way?"

"Although the risk is a bit high, if you want a full-area search... Mr. Tetsuya, I'm sorry to trouble you again."

Inside the Urahara store, a burly man with glasses and a neatly trimmed beard sat quietly.

He wore a simple apron, yet exuded an aura of composure as imposing as Mount Tai.

Former Great Ghost Master – Woling Tiezhai.

Tessai raised his head, his gaze sweeping over Asuka, before he said in a deep voice, "Lord Asuka, I can try to explore the entire Karakura Town and the area of ​​Naruki City where you appeared, but I will need your cooperation."

As he spoke, he gave Kisuke a wink.

“Ah, I know.” Kisuke Urahara’s expression turned solemn: “Asuka, Mr. Tessai will use [Ten-Ting Kong-Luo] to conduct the search.”

"He will use fragments of your memories as a medium to lock onto the locations of multiple similar souls through spiritual pressure. Do not resist."

Asuka didn't know what these terms meant, but he could feel the tension gradually tightening in the air.

“Come on.” He nodded firmly.

Tiezhai stood up and began to rapidly form hand seals.

The complex movements were so fast they overlapped like shadows, and as he chanted, a complex golden array appeared on the floor.

"A web of black and white, a bridge of twenty-two, a crown of sixty-six!"

"Footprints, distant thunder, peak, return to the earth, night ambush, sea of ​​clouds, azure formation!"

"Draw the perfect circle and let it soar straight into the sky!"

"Binding Path No. 77 - Heavenly Void!"

Chapter 132 It turns out I'm a butterfly that saves lives.

With a muffled shout from the Iron Lamp Studio.

Countless transparent threads extended from the array in front of him, crisscrossing and forming an invisible giant net that spread wildly in all directions.

Asuka felt his consciousness being forcibly pulled away at that moment, his vision transcending the constraints of space, like a gust of wind sweeping across the earth.

His vision continued to rise, passing through the jungle of reinforced concrete, and he saw the lights of countless homes in the modern world, and the endless stream of people.

The vast city stretched out before him like an ever-expanding scroll, with countless living people and souls yet to be reincarnated flashing in his vision.

The light of the Heavenly Void swept across the sky, attempting to capture even a trace of Shinobu Kocho's soul below.

Karakura Town, no.

Naruki City: No.

Even the surrounding villages still don't have it...

The bird's consciousness trembled wildly; he almost tore his soul apart just to see a little better.

No matter how fine the spiritual pressure net was, the feedback that came back was always deathly silent.

That familiar figure, that butterfly headdress he had seen countless times, never appeared.

"puff--!"

In the center of the formation, Fei Niao suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed to the ground.

Tessai withdrew his hands, shook his head at Kisuke Urahara, and sighed with a hint of regret.

"No similar soul wavelengths were detected."

“Gone…” Asuka murmured dejectedly, looking at his hands. “Could it be… that she really couldn’t come to this world?”

"Could it be that she really...?"

Kisuke Urahara squatted down in front of him, looking at the ashen-faced boy: "There are only two possibilities that Ten Ting Kong Luo couldn't find her."

"First, she has indeed been completely annihilated and returned to the cycle of spirit particles. If that's the case, there will be no trace of her in this world anymore."

The bird's body trembled violently.

“Second…” Kisuke Urahara lowered his voice, a glint of wisdom flashing in his eyes, “Tetsuzai-sensei’s Kido is inaccessible from her location, so naturally he can’t detect it…”

Asuka looked up, a spark of hope rekindling in her eyes: "You mean she might be..."

Soul Society?

“That’s just speculation.” Kisuke Urahara stood up and patted Asuka on the shoulder. “Young man, you’re still a long way from being able to enter that place and find the truth.”

...

into the night.

Fuyuki City, a southern city located some distance from Karakura Town.

The night was deep, and the moonlight was particularly cold, casting an unsettling chill on the white walls.

In a secluded alley, a faint smell of blood permeated the air.

"Cough cough... Damn it, how come the number of these lower-level Void beings has suddenly increased..."

A low-ranking Shinigami, wearing a black Shinigami uniform and carrying a Zanpakuto at his waist, was leaning against a corner, panting heavily.

His left arm was ripped open with a deep wound that exposed the bone, and spiritual energy was seeping out with the blood, even tinged with a faint blue.

This is a sign of blood loss from the soul. If not treated in time, he will soon perish due to exhaustion of spiritual pressure.

Meanwhile, the roar of the void was still approaching.

"Damn it! What on earth is going on...?"

Suddenly, a cheerful greeting rang out in the quiet night sky.

"Moshi Moshi, are you alright?"

who?!

The wounded Grim Reaper gripped the hilt of his knife warily, searching for the direction of the sound.