"You bastard! I'm going to kill you!"
Kazuma's fury shot through the roof.
The Kuchiki founder really had some nerve, hiding inside that damn turtle shell and taunting him like this.
Did the old bastard honestly think Kazuma was helpless just because he'd found a sturdy defense?
"Demon Slayer!"
Kazuma roared and swung his Zanpakutō.
This time, he finally drew upon the precious power inside his body.
It was only an infinitesimal amount, barely a thread of the power he possessed, yet even that made his heart ache.
Still, if it meant chopping this smug bastard apart, the expense would be worth it.
"Come on!"
Completely unaware that disaster was already descending upon him, the Kuchiki founder continued mocking Kazuma from inside his protective shell.
"Keep swinging! Let's see you break through!"
"Cut!"
Kazuma barked a single word.
A terrifying blade of light tore across the void.
It struck the shell formed from condensed deathly energy with overwhelming force — and the slash was so powerful that it ripped open the chaotic space itself.
For a brief moment, the tear revealed a familiar landscape beyond.
The Fifth Layer of Hell.
Kazuma's eyes sharpened.
So Hokushin Raitei had been right.
This strange space was still part of the Bleach world.
He hadn't somehow transmigrated into yet another universe.
Crack!
The seemingly indestructible shell split apart like paper.
The Kuchiki founder's smug expression vanished instantly.
His face went white as terror flooded his eyes. He hurriedly raised his Zanpakutō to block, but he was already too late.
Kazuma's blade crashed into the sword held across his chest.
CLANG!
The next sound was even sharper.
The Kuchiki founder's Zanpakutō shattered.
Fragments of steel scattered through the void.
And Kazuma's slash didn't stop.
The overwhelming force continued downward, heading straight for the founder's body.
'Shit!'
Only now did the Kuchiki founder fully understand just how badly he'd miscalculated.
He'd been far too confident in his defense and hadn't prepared to evade at all.
There was no time left.
All he could do was watch the descending blade draw closer and closer.
At the critical moment, the Tsunayashiro founder finally moved.
His body blurred into a wisp of smoke as he rushed forward, grabbed the stunned Kuchiki founder, and yanked him backward.
Kazuma immediately saw his chance.
The spatial tear was still open.
If he moved now, he could return directly to Hell.
Unfortunately, these ancient schemers had no intention of letting him escape so easily.
The Shihōin founder appeared before him in an instant, blade already drawn.
A bleak, withered aura poured from his body.
The moment it washed over Kazuma, an awful weakness seeped into his limbs.
It felt as though he'd gone days without food.
His strength drained away so rapidly that even holding his sword became difficult.
Forced to retreat several steps, Kazuma watched the spatial fissure seal itself again.
The familiar sight of Hell disappeared.
"You're asking to die!"
Rage erupted inside him.
Do you know how long he'd agonized before spending that tiny sliver of immortal power?
And what had he gotten for it?
He'd failed to kill the Kuchiki founder.
He'd failed to escape.
The whole thing had been wasted!
That was a precious thread of immortal power!
Sure, he still had countless more threads.
That didn't make wasting one feel any better.
Every bit he used was one bit less than before.
What if he eventually ran out?
Throwing it away like this was practically financial irresponsibility.
Kazuma poured every ounce of frustration into his sword and charged the Shihōin founder like an enraged beast.
His Zanpakutō became a blur.
Each strike carried savage force, as though he intended to carve the man into pieces on the spot.
The Shihōin founder immediately regretted volunteering to stop him.
He knew perfectly well that he couldn't defeat Kazuma head-on.
But there was nowhere to retreat except backward.
So he gritted his teeth, raised his sword, and desperately blocked the storm of attacks while giving ground step by step.
Within moments, he'd been driven all the way back to the other three founders.
Kazuma's killing intent remained intense, but he hadn't lost his mind.
Four against one was a terrible position.
Charging straight into their formation would only invite trouble.
He immediately activated Shunshin 2.0, disappearing from where he stood and reappearing at a safe distance.
"You really are cautious."
The Ise founder adjusted her glasses.
A faint smile touched her lips, but there was no warmth in it.
"We carefully arranged a trap specifically to lure you into position. I didn't expect you to notice it before stepping inside."
Despite her delicate, scholarly appearance, the woman's gaze was as cold and watchful as a snake's.
She folded her arms and calmly stared at Kazuma.
"Huh?"
Kazuma blinked.
"You actually set a trap?"
He scratched his head, looking genuinely baffled.
"I only backed off because I didn't feel like getting surrounded by four people at once."
The Ise founder's smile immediately vanished.
"What?"
Shock and irritation replaced it.
She'd assumed Kazuma had seen through their carefully prepared scheme, which was why she'd openly mentioned the trap.
Apparently, he'd avoided it entirely by accident.
Kazuma stared at her for a second.
Then his expression changed.
"Hmph!"
He folded his arms with sudden confidence.
"You think I didn't notice?"
"The Shiba founder is obviously your hidden trump card."
"You four deliberately showed yourselves while leaving him concealed. The plan was to lure me toward a specific location, then have that bastard jump out from somewhere even I couldn't detect and launch a surprise attack."
Kazuma sneered.
"Pretty childish trap, if you ask me."
He now spoke as though he'd understood everything from the beginning.
After all, only four of the five Great Noble Clan founders had appeared since this confrontation started.
The Shiba founder was still nowhere to be seen.
There was no way Kazuma would overlook something that suspicious.
He still couldn't sense where the missing founder was hiding, but years of life-and-death combat had sharpened his instincts.
And his instincts were telling him that the Shiba founder was absolutely waiting somewhere nearby.
"My, my."
The Ise founder paused briefly before recovering.
"I'm impressed, Captain Kazuma. You saw through our preparations that quickly."
She smoothly followed his reasoning and admitted it.
In truth, the Shiba founder was not their real trump card at all.
But if Kazuma had already convinced himself otherwise, why correct him?
Let him keep believing it.
If playing along with his assumption could distract him and make him waste attention searching for a threat that wasn't the true danger, then all the better.