Hitsugaya Tōshirō leapt into the sky and fired a powerful ice dragon toward Inaba Kagerōza with Hyōrinmaru.
But in an instant, Reigai Ukitake Jūshirō stepped forward, and his Sōgyo no Kotowari absorbed the ice dragon completely—then reflected it right back at Hitsugaya!
Of course, Hitsugaya knew well how Ukitake's Zanpakutō worked. Even Ryūjin Jakka struggled to exceed its absorption limit—let alone Hyōrinmaru.
So, when the attack was rebounded, Hitsugaya simply sidestepped, dodging it effortlessly. However, at that very moment, Reigai Kyōraku Shunsui flash-stepped right behind him!
Katen Kyōkotsu struck without mercy.
Forced to turn and block Kyōraku's attack, Hitsugaya had no choice but to abandon his pursuit of Kagerōza.
That's when Kuchiki Byakuya seized the opening. He thrust his Zanpakutō into the ground.
"Bankai. Senbonzakura Kageyoshi."
In an instant, a massive sea of sakura petals exploded out, binding all the Reigai Shinigami in one fell swoop.
"Now! Go!" Byakuya barked, carefully restraining the Reigai with his petals while coordinating with his allies.
"Shunko!"
Yoruichi and Soifon responded immediately. The moment Byakuya bound the Reigai, both erupted with spiritual pressure and activated Shunko at full speed.
"No need to panic!" Kagerōza shouted confidently as he spun Raikū in his hand.
A portal to the Dangai appeared instantly, intercepting their Shunko strikes.
But that wasn't the end.
As Yoruichi and Soifon retreated, the center of the battlefield erupted—
A massive forest of ice pillars encased Kagerōza completely.
Hitsugaya's killing move—Hyōrinmaru's Thousand-Year Ice Prison—had been launched!
Yoruichi and Soifon flash-stepped to Hitsugaya's side.
But then, with a single twist of Raikū, Kagerōza copied and reversed their Shunko and shattered the entire ice prison!
"He used a Zanpakutō to cast Shunko?!" Yoruichi was genuinely shocked.
They had only just arrived and weren't aware of what had happened earlier.
Stripping off his tattered captain's haori, Kenpachi stepped forward and explained,
"He can mimic our moves."
"Is there any way to seal off that technique?" Hitsugaya asked, turning to Yoruichi and Soifon.
Seeing Kagerōza's reaction, Yoruichi nodded. "There is. Soifon."
"Yes!"
With the two on the same page, Hitsugaya and Kenpachi exchanged a glance and charged at Kagerōza together.
Having just broken free of the ice prison, Kagerōza was immediately attacked by the two captains.
"Pointless!"
He spun Raikū once more, but just then—Yoruichi and Soifon flash-stepped beside him again.
"Reverse and reflect the enemy's Kidō!"
"Anti-Kidō Reverse Slash!"
The technique struck Raikū directly, breaking its active release and rendering it inert!
Seizing the moment, Hitsugaya and Kenpachi descended from above, their blades slashing down in tandem—
—And killed Kagerōza on the spot!
But even with Kagerōza slain, the Reigai Shinigami didn't stop fighting.
They shattered Byakuya's Senbonzakura and, from behind, held Yoruichi and the others at swordpoint.
Confused, Yoruichi looked down at the body of Kagerōza… only to see it melt into black shadow and vanish!
From above, a completely unscathed Kagerōza jumped down and immediately struck four recovering Shinigami, injuring them all.
The one who'd just been defeated was only a clone, created using Raikū's ability to replicate space and time.
Byakuya, seeing his comrades wounded and vulnerable, dashed in to prevent the Reigai from delivering a finishing blow.
Meanwhile, Kagerōza—smugly satisfied—retreated to the second-floor hallway.
Though his movements were confident, his spiritual pressure was unstable. The battle had drained him far more than it seemed.
Still, he didn't forget to signal the remaining uninjured Reigai captains.
But just as he began to catch his breath… his body was suddenly stabbed through from behind!
Everyone froze.
Kagerōza looked back, shocked—
The one who pierced him was none other than… Reigai Mayuri Kurotsuchi!
With the appearance of this "Mayuri," the tide turned once again.
But Kagerōza instantly realized—
"You're not a Reigai… You're Mayuri!"
Still, he couldn't understand when the switch had happened.
Mayuri coldly sliced the armband off his wrist and explained,
"Back when the Reigai lieutenants were sent to the World of the Living to capture Nozomi Kujō, I used a stealth device to sneak into Soul Society."
"Not only that—I personally killed my Reigai and took his armband. I simply walked right back into my rightful post in the R&D Bureau."
Kagerōza looked at him, half amused, half impressed.
"As expected of the head of the R&D Bureau… But don't forget—you're still under my control!"
He stood, proud and confident.
Mayuri's only response was to stretch his arm like a wire and strangle Kagerōza by the throat.
Desperate, Kagerōza slashed Mayuri's arm off—
—but Mayuri, being Mayuri, simply regrew it with regenerative serums.
Still, something was wrong.
Kagerōza shouldn't even be able to move after being struck by Ashisogi Jizō. Mayuri was stunned.
How?
Simple. Kagerōza, too, was a scientist. And he had already studied Mayuri's Zanpakutō—
And developed an antidote.
Mayuri nodded.
"This level of resistance… was expected."
Kagerōza smiled in triumph.
But Mayuri suddenly closed his eyes and walked toward him—arms open, completely unguarded.
"Come. If you can still move, try and stop me."
Kagerōza blinked, confused.
Why wasn't he moving?
Before he could react, Mayuri reopened his eyes and drove Ashisogi Jizō deep into his chest!
The pain snapped Kagerōza back to reality—but he still couldn't understand…
Why hadn't he defended himself?
Mayuri held up a small, purple vial.
"This," he said calmly, "is a drug I injected during my first strike. It's a compound that halts cognition."
"If I had suddenly slashed at you, your instincts might've saved you. But I gave you time to think—and since your brain couldn't process it, your body simply froze."
"For a scientist, what is the greatest treasure?"
"It's knowledge."
"And when your brain shuts down, you lose access to everything you've recorded. That means—no calculations, no defense, no survival."
In other words, Mayuri's drug had stripped away Kagerōza's autonomy.
To a scientist, it was a fate worse than death.
Kagerōza howled in anguish—
But just then, Reigai Isane Kotetsu flash-stepped in front of him and slashed at Mayuri.
Mayuri dodged.
Kagerōza collapsed to the ground, gasping.
Reigai Kiyone rushed forward, "I'll heal you right away!"
But Kagerōza ignored her and muttered,
"To surpass me… and then stop my thoughts. Hahaha…"
He laughed.
"I admit defeat."
Then, to everyone's shock, he killed Reigai Isane with a single slash—
—and pulled out her artificial soul: a modified gikongan.
And ate it.
Immediately, Kagerōza's body began to transform.
Another Kagerōza split off from within—fully healed and no longer affected by Mayuri's drug.
He had used the gikongan to absorb the drug's effects—
transferring the condition to Reigai Isane's body, which now stood behind him, paralyzed and brain-dead.
It was frighteningly similar to Szayelaporro's "Gabriel" technique.
With his mind restored, Kagerōza slashed at Mayuri.
Mayuri, knowing he couldn't handle the revived Kagerōza alone, instantly flash-stepped to the floor below.
Kagerōza didn't chase.
Instead, he called the remaining Reigai captains to him.
As they gathered on the second-floor hallway, Kagerōza raised Raikū—and a wave of green spiritual pressure shattered the armbands on all of them!
These armbands, like Kenpachi's eyepatch, were actually spiritual pressure limiters.
Now that they were broken, the Reigai's power skyrocketed.
Even the ones previously defeated rose again, healed and ready to fight.
Inaba Kagerōza—scientist, tactician, and now resurrector—was truly a menace worthy of the title.
The berserk Reigai stormed the room, surrounding the original Shinigami, releasing their Zanpakutōs and attacking without mercy.
Very soon, most of the captains and lieutenants were knocked down!
Reigai Byakuya faced his counterpart, now bleeding and at a third of his usual power.
"I don't think your broken body stands a chance," the clone sneered.
Even Byakuya's expression darkened.
Kagerōza looked at the battlefield and roared with laughter.
Back in the World of the Living—
Urahara Kisuke hadn't just returned with Ichigo.
He also recovered a set of forbidden research notes on modifying souls—a subject the Soul King's government had long since banned.
From this, Urahara deduced the truth:
Kagerōza had only been able to create so many captain-level Reigai…
because he had found these records.
But how did a mere division head know these top-secret documents were hidden in the Dangai?
Sitting silently nearby, Nozomi Kujō finally spoke.
"Because Inaba Kagerōza… was one of the original scientists who developed artificial souls decades ago."
As for why no one recognized him—it was simple.
He had completely changed his appearance… and even his name.
Not even Mayuri, Nemu, or the other elders in the R&D Bureau noticed.
Not even Urahara Kisuke—the very founder of the Bureau—knew he'd been hiding there all along.
(End of Chapter)
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