"Ha!"
Ikkaku Madarame roared as he released his Zanpakutō—Hōzukimaru—and charged toward the Reigai version of Kenpachi Zaraki.
Though the opponent in front of him was just a Reigai, the power it wielded was a perfect replication of the real Kenpachi—amplified even further by Inaba Kagerōza's enhancements.
Calling him the strongest enemy Ikkaku had ever faced in his life was no exaggeration.
Ikkaku's Shikai was quickly overpowered and he was sent flying effortlessly.
The Reigai Kenpachi descended from the sky, his blade wrapped in golden spiritual pressure.
Ikkaku gritted his teeth and pushed back, forcing his spiritual pressure to block the strike. But he knew—he couldn't afford to hold back against a monster like this.
Slowly standing up from the rubble, Ikkaku shouted with all his might,
"Bankai—Ryūmon Hōzukimaru!!"
The moment he released his Bankai, his spiritual pressure and destructive power surged exponentially!
He flash-stepped toward the Reigai Kenpachi and launched a barrage of furious blows, each strike a whirlwind of destruction!
But even under this onslaught, Reigai Kenpachi remained completely unfazed—
He hadn't even removed his eyepatch, and with just one hand, he blocked every strike with ease.
As time passed, Ikkaku's Bankai fully charged.
The dragon crest on the massive axe behind him began to glow brightly—this was his full-power attack!
And yet, even after unleashing it, all he managed to do was carve a shallow wound into Reigai Kenpachi's chest.
The power gap was overwhelming.
Just as Reigai Kenpachi prepared to deliver the finishing blow—
Nozomi Kujō appeared, her newly awakened Zanpakutō in hand!
The Reigai Kenpachi was visibly surprised—according to Kagerōza, Nozomi was supposed to be non-combative.
But she didn't flinch. Raising her blade high, she struck with a powerful slash—unleashing the spiritual pressure she had absorbed earlier from Ichigo and the others!
"Scatter and descend… Crimson Rain Retreat!!"
A green aura of spiritual pressure enveloped her entire body—and to everyone's shock, her output exceeded even Ikkaku's!
"Well now… This is fun!" Reigai Kenpachi grinned as he raised his sword to meet her.
But what came at him was no ordinary slash.
A massive pink wave of spiritual power roared toward him, and before he could react, it struck with enough force to create a spiritual pressure pillar visible across Karakura Town!
Witnessing this, Ikkaku collapsed with a smile.
He had held out as long as he could.
"NOZOMI!!" Ichigo and Yumichika finally arrived on the scene, just in time to see the aftermath.
Nozomi turned and threw herself into Ichigo's arms.
"Thank you, Ichigo. If not for you… I would never have awakened my Zanpakutō."
Ichigo gently embraced her, looking around at the devastation.
"…This was all your Zanpakutō's doing?"
Nozomi nodded, glancing at the blade in her hand.
"I absorb my enemy's power… and convert it into my own—then send it right back at them. That's the ability of Crimson Rain Retreat."
"…Sounds like a seriously annoying power," Yumichika muttered as he tended to Ikkaku's wounds.
"Fighting someone like you would be a nightmare."
Then he looked down at Ikkaku and said softly, "You did well."
However—this wasn't over.
Reigai Kenpachi, as a reinforced version of the real one, wasn't defeated so easily.
From within the ruins, golden spiritual pressure erupted once more.
Aside from some dust on his clothes, he looked completely unharmed.
Seeing this, Yumichika immediately stepped in front of Nozomi.
"Please, go on ahead. I'll avenge Ikkaku!"
Where he found the courage, no one knew—but he charged forward with resolve.
Ichigo sighed, scooping up Ikkaku and escorting Nozomi to safety.
"I'll head to another battlefield!" Nozomi told Ichigo and flash-stepped away.
After all, battles were raging on multiple fronts—and the vice-captains were fighting hard against the Reigai captains.
Elsewhere, Ōmaeda had the misfortune of facing off against… Reigai Byakuya.
"Smash it—Gonryōmaru!"
He launched his meteor hammer at Byakuya.
But Reigai Byakuya casually dodged with a side-step. He even took the time to critique it.
"What an unsightly weapon."
Then he flash-stepped behind Ōmaeda—causing Ōmaeda to panic.
Reigai Byakuya smirked.
"And your appearance is equally unsightly."
With one clean swing, he sliced off the gold chain around Ōmaeda's neck.
Had Ōmaeda not instinctively backed up, his head would've flown clean off.
Facing death, Ōmaeda dropped to his knees and bowed so hard it looked like he was pounding garlic.
"Name your price! I'll give you anything you want—just spare me!"
But Reigai Byakuya simply scoffed.
"Trying to solve everything with money? Pathetic."
Yeah, no matter what Ōmaeda did—Reigai Byakuya just found him disgusting.
"Scatter—Senbonzakura."
With a single move, Ōmaeda was defeated.
Just then, Renji and Rukia arrived at the scene.
"Roar, Zabimaru!"
Renji led with a preemptive strike—but it was far too slow for Reigai Byakuya.
"So that's what the Reigai version of my brother looks like…" Rukia sighed.
"He's way more annoying than the real one."
Renji crossed his arms and scoffed,
"If that were the real captain, I'd have already injured him."
Before they could attack again—Nozomi arrived.
Seeing her, Rukia tensed.
Even if Nozomi had awakened her Shikai, it didn't change the fact that she was the enemy's target. She shouldn't be on the front lines!
Anyone who's played Dynasty Warriors understands what this means.
"Nozomi, you shouldn't—" Rukia began.
But Nozomi wasn't discouraged. She knew her powers were useless unless she fought directly. So she moved on to the next battlefield.
Unfortunately, every battlefield rejected her.
Even vice-captains like Ikkaku and Yumichika harbored lingering distrust toward her.
Dejected, Nozomi returned to Ichigo's side.
Ichigo immediately noticed something was wrong.
"What's the matter?" he asked.
Nozomi buried her head in his chest.
"They won't let me fight…"
Ichigo held her gently. He understood.
The other vice-captains had lived for over a century. It wouldn't be easy to gain their trust.
Such was the stigma of being a Modified Soul.
"Nozomi… It's okay. They just don't want you getting hurt, that's all."
"But no matter how hard we try… we'll never defeat captain-level opponents," she whispered.
She wasn't wrong.
As more Reigai captains activated their Bankai, the vice-captains stood no chance. They began to fall one after another.
Eventually, the Reigai sensed Ichigo's spiritual pressure and tracked him to a park.
Seeing the severely injured Kira still struggling to stand, Reigai Hitsugaya prepared to finish him off.
But Nozomi flash-stepped in front of him.
"I won't let you run wild anymore!"
Hitsugaya—already blinded by battle-lust—launched an ice dragon straight at her.
But Nozomi raised her Zanpakutō calmly.
The moment the dragon struck her blade—it was completely absorbed.
The blade turned pitch black.
Hitsugaya was shocked.
"What…?"
"No, you're the one who needs to be stopped!"
"Scatter—Crimson Rain Retreat!!"
A monstrous wave of pink energy surged forth—
Instantly obliterating the Reigai Hitsugaya.
Just like that… he was down.
Yes—Hitsugaya, destroyed in one move. Even as a Reigai, he got steamrolled.
With this, the other vice-captains finally began to understand and respect Nozomi's true power.
But defeating one Reigai wasn't enough to end the war.
Reigai Byakuya and Kenpachi quickly regrouped and launched another attack.
Having seen Nozomi's abilities firsthand, Reigai Byakuya devised a countermeasure.
If she absorbed spiritual pressure—then don't give her anything to absorb.
Abandoning the incantation, he cast one of his fastest spells:
"Bakudō #61: Rikujōkōrō!"
Six rods of light pinned Nozomi in place!
Seizing the moment, Reigai Komamura directed Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō to attack her.
Luckily—Uryū Ishida arrived just in time, using Hirenkyaku to pull Nozomi to safety.
Ichigo, however, was pinned down by Reigai Kenpachi.
"Damn it! If my spiritual pressure wasn't a mess right now, I'd take you down in one swing!"
Chad rushed in to relieve Ichigo, now strong enough after training in Hueco Mundo to at least stall the Reigai Kenpachi.
But it didn't end there.
Reigai Byakuya spotted Ichigo and struck again.
Nozomi, seeing that Ichigo was still not at full strength, immediately threw herself in front of him.
Uryū took the opportunity to fire a spiritual arrow at the Reigai—but shockingly, he dodged it with a flash step.
The arrow instead headed… straight for Nozomi!
In that instant, Nozomi raised her Zanpakutō.
To everyone's amazement—Crimson Rain Retreat absorbed the Quincy spiritual arrow with ease!
Uryū landed beside her. "Kujō-san… Your Zanpakutō can absorb my arrows too?"
Nozomi nodded.
After absorbing his arrow, her blade had partially turned black—like a charging progress bar.
This Zanpakutō… was truly broken.
(End of Chapter)
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