"This is the release of the Shinigami-dono's Zanpakutō!"
From a distance, Uchiha Shisui watched as Shihoin Yanagi's blade ignited with brilliant light. Delicate filaments of energy spread outward, binding the Uchiha in their newly forged contract.
He'd experienced this himself not long ago, already bound by his own pact with the death god.
In the short time spent studying at Yanagi's side, Shisui had gained some understanding of a Shinigami's combat methods.
The foundation of Shinigami combat—Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Kidō, and Hohō—the four pillars of strength.
Of these, the primary offensive tool was the Zanpakutō.
A Zanpakutō's form, state, and abilities were constructed from the Shinigami's own soul as a template. Each blade was unique to its wielder.
By speaking its true name, a Shinigami could release its genuine power, manifesting in two stages: Shikai and Bankai. Upon release, the Shinigami's strength increased dramatically.
When Yanagi had recognized Shisui's potential to become a Shinigami, he'd resolved to cultivate him. The earlier teachings had merely been preliminary tests.
And Shisui's talent proved exceptional. He'd mastered Hohō in a short span of time, which only strengthened Yanagi's confidence.
"Once we return to the Soul Society, I'll find you an Asauchi," Yanagi had said.
An Asauchi—the most primitive form of a Zanpakutō. The mark of becoming a true Shinigami.
Yanagi's words stirred something within Shisui. Longing. Aspiration.
'Can someone like me, a mere human, truly become a Shinigami...?'
The contract Yanagi had just forged with the Uchiha was one of his Zanpakutō's Shikai abilities—Kirikiri.
It could connect two things. Create communication between them.
Over the years, Yanagi had discovered various applications for his blade's power.
The most notable was connecting with other people, binding them into an unbreakable web of shared fate.
As the Zanpakutō's master, Yanagi held complete dominance in the relationship, able to enforce any terms he wished.
Through the connection threads themselves, he could absorb a portion of the contractor's abilities and spiritual pressure. There was no limit to how many he could bind—only his reiatsu determined the ceiling.
This single ability bore similarity to Yhwach's Almighty, though nowhere near as tyrannical or absolute.
As Yanagi's reiatsu grew stronger, he could bind more and more people.
Contracting with nearly a thousand Uchiha at once had consumed roughly half his spiritual pressure, utilizing half his total capacity.
The reason was practical: to ensure safe transport to the Soul Society, he'd needed the bindings to be ironclad.
If they became burdensome later, Yanagi could always sever the contracts of the elderly and children once they'd established stable lives in the Soul Society.
"Next, I'll open a Senkaimon," Yanagi announced to the gathered Uchiha. "Pass through it and you'll reach the Soul Society. That will be your home from now on.
"Shisui will relay the necessary precautions once we arrive. See that you follow them."
"We obey, Shinigami-dono!"
Yanagi moved through the crowd. Each time he passed an Uchiha, they dropped to one knee, lowering their proud heads in deference to their new master.
Reaching the clearing at the street's end, watched by a thousand Uchiha eyes, Yanagi raised his Zanpakutō once more.
"Sever, Kirikiri!"
The blade erupted in crystalline light, but this time it didn't fragment into threads. Instead, the luminescence flowed across the steel, gleaming with icy menace beneath the moon's pale rays.
Yanagi swung the blade through empty air.
The accumulated reiatsu exploded outward, transforming his slash into a silver crescent moon that tore through space itself.
Crack.
Crack. Crack-crack.
A sound like shattering glass echoed repeatedly.
The assembled Uchiha watched in awe as the crescent slash carved a massive fissure through the void. The tear gaped open, utterly black inside—like some colossal beast revealing fangs within an open maw.
Yanagi snapped his fingers silently.
A weathered wooden door materialized within the spatial rift.
He swept his hand outward.
Whoosh.
His reiatsu surged, condensing into a broad, straight pathway that bridged the ground and the door within the void. The entrance pulled open, revealing pale white light beyond.
"This is the Senkaimon—the gateway between worlds. Cross it and you'll reach the Soul Society, where the dead dwell."
Yanagi stood at the edge of the spatial rift, his blade extending into it, preventing the space from sealing itself shut.
Every Uchiha stared, eyes wide, mouths agape in stunned wonder.
'Space itself... torn open as easily as paper.'
'This... this is the power of a god.'
Fugaku's mind reeled.
Even in this strange shinobi world, tearing through dimensions was the stuff of legend. Space-time jutsu were virtually unheard of.
To witness Yanagi accomplish it with such casual ease transformed every Uchiha's awe into reverence.
Yanagi's gaze found Shisui. "Go in first and reassure your people. The compound beyond was prepared for your arrival. And remember—keep your clan in line. No wandering."
"Understood!"
Shisui's throat tightened. His face flushed with barely-contained anticipation and anxiety.
One step through that gate. A new world. A new life.
Under all eyes, Shisui walked the reiatsu-formed path, approached the Senkaimon, and entered the white light.
Moments later, his silhouette reappeared, giving the waiting Uchiha a firm nod before disappearing again.
Yanagi commanded the gathered clan: "Move! Everyone, go!"
"Yes, Shinigami-dono!"
Under Fugaku's direction and with the police force maintaining order, the Uchiha proceeded in disciplined succession toward the unknown.
"I'll carry the child, my love."
"Mother, let me carry you."
"Siblings, hurry. Don't waste time."
One by one, they stepped onto the reiatsu pathway and passed through the gate.
Each one, as they drew level with Yanagi, would pause, bow respectfully, then quicken their pace to catch the group ahead.
Watching the Uchiha file through, Yanagi's expression remained unmoved, though he internally gauged how much longer his reiatsu could sustain the gateway.
At this rate, he had more than enough power to see them all through, with time to spare.
His gaze swept across the spatial rift, and he felt a measure of satisfaction.
This was his Zanpakutō's second Shikai ability—Kiri (severance).
It could cut anything—tangible or intangible. Anything within his perception, anything his reiatsu could reach—could be severed.
Even the formless void itself.
Using this power, Yanagi could carve openings through the very fabric separating different worlds, allowing him to traverse freely between them.
Establishing a passage between the Soul Society and the shinobi world had consumed nearly two full days.
But once a pathway was established and fixed in place with the Connection ability, future crossings would be trivial. Using the coordinates left behind by his Shikai, a single slash would tear open the shinobi world's spatial barrier and reveal the entrance once more.
Severance and Connection.
Just like his Zanpakutō's name—Kirikiri—his release command revealed the fundamental duality of his blade's power. Two abilities, opposite in nature yet perfectly complementary.