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"Ice Flower Burial!"
With a furious shout, Hitsugaya swung his zanpakuto.
Blinding white light burst along the blade and shot into the clouds. A heartbeat later, the sky split open. Billions of crystalline ice blossoms filled the heavens, packed so densely that their shadows alone nearly covered all of Karakura Town.
That pressure, that apocalyptic scale of destruction, was enough to make anyone's scalp prickle.
Tenth Division Barracks
"No way. I actually get that strong in the future?!"
Hitsugaya trembled with excitement in front of the hovering projection. Moments earlier, he saw himself being overpowered by Harribel and slashed out of the sky, and he honestly thought that was the end.
He never expected the fight to flip so suddenly.
Just when it seemed like he had been cornered with no escape, future-him dropped a hidden trump card.
"This is incredible. Controlling the entire sky and turning nature itself into a weapon—this is beyond anything I imagined." Rangiku covered her mouth, wide-eyed, the reflection of the falling frost dancing in her pupils.
She could hardly imagine what would happen once so many ice blossoms fell at once. Harribel's flower of life would probably wither instantly.
First Division
In the quietly traditional squad room, the Head Captain, Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto watched the rampaging heavens and the falling sea of ice.
His ancient, deep eyes flickered with rare surprise. "So this is the true power of Hyorinmaru. It lives up to its title as the strongest."
For a man known as the strongest Shinigami of the last thousand years, even he couldn't hide his admiration.
"Head Captain, it looks like the Arrancar is backed into a corner. Power that can control the weather is absolutely unstoppable!" Sasakibe said excitedly, eyes glued to the screen.
His zanpakuto, Gonryomaru, was one of the very few besides Hyorinmaru capable of influencing the climate. So when the entire sky turned pure white, he felt the thrill in his bones. His blood was practically boiling.
Eleventh Division
"This is insane!"
"Didn't think the kid captain could wield something this powerful at his age. That's seriously impressive."
Even the Eleventh Division's battle maniacs were shaken watching the avalanche of ice blossoms.
Ikkaku's throat tightened. He instinctively gripped his zanpakuto, Hozukimaru.
Technically he was just a seated officer, but in secret he had already mastered Bankai. He simply refused to reveal it because he wanted to stay by Kenpachi's side.
Now, with the whole division swept up in the moment, a spark lit inside him.
"One day… my Bankai will grow to that level too."
Meanwhile, in the video…
Harribel was already swallowed by the massive shadow above her. As the cold poured endlessly from the sky, the burning torrents swirling around her began to destabilize.
They were… losing their liquid form.
"What… my ability is being completely suppressed?" She glanced down at her shark-toothed broadsword and saw frost beginning to form along the edge. For the first time, her confidence cracked.
Her green eyes no longer held certainty. They were filled with tension and unease.
Before she could steady her thoughts, Hitsugaya's icy voice echoed from the towering crown of ice overhead. "Espada. It's too late to realize it now."
"Once the frost surrounds you, even brushing against a single snowflake will freeze you instantly."
His words fell together with the rapidly descending snow.
Every frozen blossom locked onto Harribel, ready to bloom.
"Freeze me? Keep dreaming."
Frowning, Harribel slashed upward with her massive shark-blade, unleashing a tsunamilike wave of scorching current toward the sky.
But nothing changed.
Her attack only deepened her despair.
Before the heated current even reached Hitsugaya, the falling white specks neutralized it on contact, turning the entire wave into glittering pillars of ice.
Hundreds of them formed at once, rising like a forest of frozen spears.
"This… this can't be happening!"
Her pupils shook violently. Watching her own attack freeze mid-air shattered whatever remained of her composure.
A shark that loses the ocean it swims in can only await its fate.
So it would be for Harribel, whose very aspect of death was sacrifice. Even as an Espada ranked among the top three, she would fall for the sake of the Arrancar's pride.
"It's over," Hitsugaya said coldly. "From here on, you'll be trapped inside that ice sculpture, forced to watch your subordinates die one by one."
As his words faded, the frost exploded into blooming ice flowers.
Harribel, surrounded with no escape, could only let the endless cold crash down upon her. Ice blossoms sprouted across her body, layer after layer, until she stood frozen midair like a towering monument. It felt almost like a solemn, beautiful funeral.
Fifth Division
"Harribel actually got taken out?!"
Gin stared at the projection, stunned. He repeated his scan several times, making sure Harribel—frozen solid inside the Ice Flower Burial—showed no sign of movement.
Once he confirmed it, a sharp gasp escaped him.
Who would've thought?
The third-ranked Espada. A Vasto Lorde, the rarity of Hueco Mundo for centuries.
Gone.
Just like that.
The air felt heavy, suffocating even.
Even if this was only a recording of the future, the outcome still hit Aizen's group like a hammer.
Not just Gin.
Even Aizen was rattled after watching this battle.
"..."
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