"Wait—what just happened!?"
Abarai Renji, who had just retrieved his Zanpakutō and rushed over for backup, froze in shock at the sight before him.
Matsumoto Rangiku rubbed her eyes, as if doubting what she was seeing.
Byakuya Kuchiki's expression grew darker, his grip on Senbonzakura tightening slightly.
Before them knelt a woman—cruel, terrifying, yet oddly beautiful. The Quincy who had been fighting so viciously only moments ago was now bowing in front of two of Nanaya's "Pain" bodies.
Her kneeling posture wasn't casual—it was the formal, precise stance of a samurai stepping down from their seat to show respect.
And yet, because of her short skirt and loose, open-front uniform, the pose appeared far more suggestive than respectful.
Her face carried an expression of submission so exaggerated it seemed unnatural—her eyes turned into hearts, her lips parting as though she wanted to kiss Pain's feet. She looked less like a warrior and more like a broken pet, trained into obedience.
If not for the seriousness of the situation, the three Shinigami might have thought Nanaya had done something indecent to her—her expression was almost that of someone lost in obscene ecstasy.
Nanaya, controlling one of the Pain bodies, raised an eyebrow and muttered:
"I can feel your dirty thoughts from here..."
He puffed out his cheeks in mock annoyance. "It's only been a single minute—what do you think I could possibly have done? Even if I wanted to, it's not like I'd let my puppet handle something like that..."
He stretched casually, as if the matter was trivial, and explained:
"Relax. I just dragged her into my Tsukuyomi space. In there, I gave her about two years' worth of... training."
Byakuya's mouth twitched ever so slightly.
He was well aware of Nanaya's strange abilities, but to trap someone for two years in the span of a single minute—that was more brutal than he imagined. Two years of torment was beyond what most could endure.
"You mean... you stabbed her for two years straight?" Rangiku asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. She looked between Nanaya and Bambietta's collapsed form.
Something in her gut told her it hadn't been just simple torture in that illusory world.
Nanaya coughed, brushing off her suspicion with an irritated look.
"Enough out of you, woman whose head is filled with nothing but breasts..." he muttered under his breath, then quickly changed the subject.
"Anyway, since you've recovered your Zanpakutō, go support the others. That bastard Mieshi is still strong. They'll need your help."
The three exchanged doubtful looks, but ultimately nodded. They could sense the chaos in the spiritual currents around them—countless Quincies tearing through Seireitei, wreaking havoc everywhere. Reinforcement was desperately needed.
Byakuya opened his mouth to ask about Captain-Commander Yamamoto, but before he could finish, Nanaya spoke through another Pain body, his tone calm and unshaken:
"Don't worry. I'll deal with the old man myself... even if it means wiping out all of Seireitei to do it."
The three Shinigami froze.
Byakuya: "???"Renji: "???"Rangiku: "???"
Then, under their stunned gazes, a violent surge of spiritual pressure erupted from the heart of Seireitei.
At that same moment, Nanaya's voice thundered across the battlefield:
"Shin: Tree World Birth!!!"
A deep rumble shook the ground.
From the very center of Seireitei, massive brown roots tore out from beneath the tiles, each as thick as a dragon's body. They twisted and coiled like serpents before plunging back into the earth, shattering everything in their path.
In an instant, colossal trees began bursting from the ground, their towering trunks splitting through streets, walls, and buildings. Like an ancient forest reclaiming forgotten land, they consumed everything in sight.
Stone tiles shattered. Walls crumbled. Entire districts collapsed beneath the spreading forest.
The growth was unstoppable, spreading at a terrifying pace.
In the blink of an eye, Seireitei's once-orderly landscape had been reshaped into something primal and wild. Where once stood the solemn white walls and pristine structures of the Soul Society's heart, now stood a vast, untamed jungle.
At its center—directly where the Central 46 once stood—the forest was densest, massive trees rising like pillars toward the heavens.
The destruction was merciless.
The Shinigami across Seireitei could only stand in shock, their mouths dry as they watched their home swallowed by this impossible growth. Buildings that had stood for centuries were ripped apart, reduced to rubble beneath endless roots and branches.
It was a scene reminiscent of Captain-Commander Yamamoto's Bankai, Ryūjin Jakka.
The difference was striking, however—Yamamoto had turned Seireitei into a sea of flames, an inferno of heat and death. Nanaya, on the other hand, had turned it into a living, suffocating jungle, an ancient forest where no civilization could survive.
Elsewhere, on a side street, Kyōraku Shunsui leaned lazily against a broken wall. He watched the trees continue to rise, scratching his head beneath his straw hat.
With his usual nonchalance, he sighed and muttered:
"Well, this is new... Yamamoto burns everything to ash, and this kid turns us into a bunch of monkeys living in a forest. Guess I'll have to get used to bananas."
Human Path Pain snapped his fingers, his voice calm but absolute.
"Once these trees cover all of Seireitei, there will be nowhere left to hide. We'll find every last one of them."
Byakuya Kuchiki's jaw tightened, his mouth twitching slightly. He could already imagine what Seireitei would look like in the future if this madness continued.
A sprawling jungle. Wooden houses scattered high among the branches. Shinigami from every division leaping from tree to tree like wild monkeys.
The mental image was so absurdly humiliating that Byakuya had to shut his eyes. He did not want to imagine himself—or anyone else—living like that. Settling down in trees was beneath him.
Second Division Barracks
Omaeda Marechiyo, half-dead and barely conscious, blinked rapidly as if in a daze. In front of him stood Asura Path Pain. For a second, he thought he was hallucinating.
But when reality sank in, his survival instincts kicked in. Tears welled in his eyes and he stumbled forward, clutching desperately at Pain.
"L-Lord Nanaya, save me! I'm gonna be killed by this guy! Even our captain's Zanpakutō is trying to kill me!"
His sobbing was pitiful, his body shaking with desperation.
Asura Path Pain—bearing Nnoitra Gilga's face—glared at him with disdain.
"Get away from me, you useless lump."
His sharp gaze then shifted past Omaeda to the enemy standing across from them: a Quincy of the Sternritter.
The young man had short, sleek black hair, sharp phoenix-like eyes, and a thin scar stretching across his left lip. Draped in the pristine white robe of a Quincy, he radiated quiet menace.
As soon as he saw Asura Path Pain, a glowing blue bow formed in his hand. His voice was low but steady.
"I am Cang Du. My Schrift is 'I'."
In response, Asura Path Pain raised his massive scythe. Spiritual pressure erupted violently from his body, suffocating the air. A savage grin twisted his lips, his eyes burning with fanaticism.
"My name is Nnoitra Gilga. Now reborn as Asura Pain. Quincy... drown in despair!"
Though molded into a Pain by Nanaya, remnants of his old personality still lingered—the bloodthirst, the arrogance, the insanity.
He roared with ecstasy:
"Pray... Santa Teresa!!!"
With that crazed cry, Asura Pain entered his Resurrección.
A crescent-shaped horn sprouted from his forehead, while six regenerated arms burst from his torso, each gripping a gleaming double-edged scythe.
But his transformation did not stop there. Through the Asura Path's ability, two additional mechanical arms of steel extended from his body—each one armed with built-in missile launchers, their metal frames whirring with deadly power.
The battlefield darkened beneath the shadow of his overwhelming presence.
Fourth Division Barracks
"Fascinating... utterly fascinating..."
Unohana Retsu's serene voice trembled with excitement as her eyes glimmered with rare intensity. She gripped her Zanpakutō tightly, her delicate smile masking a deadly eagerness.
She unleashed a wave of spiritual pressure without restraint. Each swing of her blade shifted through countless forms of swordsmanship—thrusts, slashes, cuts—all of them sharp enough to grievously wound even someone as durable as Komamura Sajin.
And yet, her opponent absorbed every strike, meeting her blade with equal ferocity.
Facing her was a woman in tattered, blood-soaked clothes. Her expression was gentle, almost tender, but her attacks were relentless—merciless, even more vicious than Unohana's own strikes.
It was like fighting her own reflection, a mirror of cruelty and skill.
From the side, an impatient voice interrupted the clash.
"Jie Jin, even if you won't let me intervene, I need to end this quickly. Muramasa ordered it."
The speaker was another Sternritter—a blonde-haired Quincy woman draped in the traditional white. She twirled an umbrella in her hand with casual elegance, though her eyes held thinly veiled annoyance.
Her short golden hair framed her face, and her lips curled with the confidence of someone used to being obeyed.
Her name was Liltotto Lamperd—one of Yhwach's elite Sternritter. Her Schrift was "G", representing Gluttony. She was considered one of the brains of the Sternritter, a strategist beneath her youthful exterior.
She clicked her tongue as her sharp gaze shifted between the dueling women.
She had expected that with the aid of a manifested Zanpakutō—this one called Jie Jin—she would quickly overwhelm Unohana. But things hadn't gone the way she planned.
Jie Jin, the manifested Zanpakutō, fought with the same unhinged bloodlust as her master. Rather than cooperating with Liltotto, she treated the Quincy as an outsider, determined to monopolize the battle for herself.
The thought made Liltotto's expression darken further.
"Tch... what a pain. I didn't think I'd end up stuck watching a bloodthirsty sword spirit throw a tantrum."
The clash between Unohana and her manifested Zanpakutō raged on, each strike shaking the barracks around them, while Liltotto stood with simmering impatience, her umbrella spinning idly in her hands.
---------------------------------------
For Advanced chapters Visit :: patreon.com/Kaguyahime20