A vast urban landscape stretched beneath the darkened sky — skyscrapers surrounded by wide streets illuminated faintly by flickering lights. On the tallest building, two figures stood facing each other, the air thick with tension.
"So… to control your power, I have to defeat you?"
Kurotsuki Renya asked quietly, his voice echoing in the hollow night as he faced the Hollow reflection before him.
"Defeat me?"
The white version of Renya — Bai Renya, the manifestation of his inner Hollow — let out a cruel laugh, his grin splitting wider.
"You'll be the one to fall. When this is over, I'll take control of your body and everything you are."
Renya's expression remained calm, his Zanpakutō Tianraijin glowing faintly in his grip.
"Then come," he replied, and vanished in an instant.
He reappeared behind Bai Renya, striking with the speed of lightning.
"Too slow,"
Bai Renya growled, spinning sharply to block with a short spear of condensed reiryoku. Their blades clashed — sparks crackled — then Bai Renya kicked Renya backward.
But Renya vanished mid-air. From a distance, his eyes glowed cold silver. He raised his hand, and thunder split the sky.
Boom!
A bolt of lightning crashed down upon Bai Renya — but when the smoke cleared, he stood unharmed, a mocking smile twisting his face.
"Sorry," Bai Renya said, spreading his arms, "but we share the same nature. When my Zanpakutō is released, thunder-type attacks are useless against me."
Renya's eyes narrowed.
"So it's like that… Our Zanpakutō both draw from the same elemental source — the storm. That means your resistance mirrors mine."
"Exactly," Bai Renya sneered. "And now—die!"
Wings made of crackling lightning burst from Bai Renya's back, propelling him forward. He disappeared from view — only for his form to suddenly flicker back into visibility, his thunder aura collapsing mid-flight.
"Since you can control lightning," Renya said coolly, "you can't rely on it against me."
He understood now.
This Hollow before him was not some mindless creature — it was the other half of his soul, born from his merging Death God and Hollow essences. Once he overcame it, he would fully harmonize with Tianraijin and claim its true form.
Yet, unlike Kurosaki Ichigo's Shiro Zangetsu, this was no manifestation of his Zanpakutō's spirit. Bai Renya was his pure Hollow self, the embodiment of his instincts, chaos, and destructive will.
Ichigo's inner Hollow later became one with Zangetsu — the Quincy side of his soul, Yhwach's fragment — but for Renya, the relationship was different. Bai Renya was not a sword-spirit nor a guide. He was a rival.
They were equals — and opposites.
That meant neither could overpower the other's elemental affinity. Thunder was meaningless between them.
"No matter," Bai Renya grinned. "I don't need thunder to crush you. My instincts are enough."
In an instant, Bai Renya vanished and reappeared behind him, kicking him hard in the ribs. Renya was sent flying — but then Bai Renya was suddenly hurled backward, slamming through a skyscraper.
Wind whirled violently around Renya's body, spiraling upward like a storm column.
"If Zanpakutō and lightning are useless," Renya murmured, "then I'll rely on Kazekōka — the art of wind acceleration."
Whoosh!
Renya vanished again, reappearing before Bai Renya, and delivered a powerful kick. The Hollow caught his ankle mid-strike, smirking.
"Did you forget?" Bai Renya hissed. "I'm you. I know everything you can do."
He swung Renya violently, slamming him through concrete. Cracks spread like a spiderweb through the nearby buildings.
Whirlwinds now cloaked Bai Renya as well — mimicking his every motion.
"You see?" he sneered. "I represent your raw instinct. When I fight without thought — purely by reflex — I'm faster. Stronger. More dangerous than you'll ever be."
Renya wiped blood from his lip, breathing evenly.
"Instinct, huh?"
Bai Renya lunged again, his movements erratic and savage. Renya barely managed to deflect a punch before a shoulder slam sent him skidding across the rooftop, his chest bleeding from the wind-imbued strike.
Renya could feel it — his Hollow self's combat rhythm was wild, unpredictable. Every movement was reaction, no hesitation, no restraint. Pure killing intent embodied.
"You can't win, Renya!"
Bai Renya shouted, rushing forward.
"Accept me — or die by my hand!"
⸻
Elsewhere…
A figure was sent flying through the air, crashing into a nearby wall.
"Tch…" muttered Sarugaki Hiyori, her body trembling as she steadied herself.
"This kid's power keeps rising!"
From afar, Liuche Kenji (Love Aikawa) shouted,
"Hiyori! You'd better use your mask! Otherwise, you'll lose control before he does!"
"Yeah, yeah!"
Hiyori snarled, summoning her Hollow mask — a one-horned visage marked with pink tear-like streaks.
Renya, fully Hollowfied now, lunged forward again. Hiyori barely dodged, swinging her Zanpakutō.
Slash!
Her blade cut across Renya's shoulder, blood splattering — but the wound closed instantly as white Hollow matter crept over his arm.
"It's starting…" muttered Hirako Shinji, his brow furrowed as he observed from outside the barrier.
"Full Hollowfication — we're running out of time."
Renya's speed and strength surged as his mask thickened, his reiatsu rising exponentially. His punch collided with Hiyori's guard, sending her stumbling back.
"Damn it," she cursed. "He's still getting stronger."
Even among the Visoreds, this level of spiritual pressure was impressive. Renya's natural reiryoku — already at the seventh-tier Captain-class — was amplified to terrifying levels under full Hollowfication. His physical power was monstrous, his instincts sharpened beyond reason.
But Hiyori's mission wasn't to kill him — it was containment.
She had to suppress Renya's Hollow form, not destroy it.
Boom!
Another exchange — and Hiyori was blown backward, her mask cracking under pressure.
"Time's up!" Liuche Kenji shouted. "Ten minutes! Open the barrier!"
"Got it!"
Hachigen Ushōda raised his hands, opening a glowing gap in the barrier as Kenji stepped through.
Renya charged again, his claws gleaming white, but before he could reach Hiyori, a massive fist struck his chest.
BOOM!
Kenji's punch sent Renya crashing backward, carving a trench through the rooftop. He quickly flipped back onto his feet, growling lowly, Hollow energy swirling violently around him.
"Hiyori, fall back,"
Kenji ordered calmly.
"Tch, fine!"
She removed her mask and stumbled out of the barrier. Hirako caught her.
"Rest up," Hirako said. "Eight of us, ten minutes each — that's eighty minutes of control time."
Hiyori glared at him.
"Baldy, don't count yourself in! That's seventy minutes, not eighty!"
Hirako smirked.
"Then seven rotations it is. Seventy minutes."
Hachigen wiped sweat from his forehead.
"If I'm maintaining the barrier, does that mean I don't get rest?"
"Then it's six of us,"
Hiyori snapped.
"Sixty minutes of rest — and that's if the kid doesn't tear through it before then."
Inside the barrier, Kenji's eyes narrowed.
Renya's arm had already transformed completely into Hollow armor — white, segmented, pulsing with unstable energy.
The battle had only just begun.