After Kensei Muguruma activated his Hollow mask, his speed spiked instantly. His foot slammed against the ground, the air buckled, and his figure vanished. In the next heartbeat he reappeared in front of Kurotsuki Renya, his short, wind-forged blade sweeping across Renya's neck with brutal precision.
Renya bent backward sharply, the blade grazing just above the bridge of his nose. Kensei's slash cut empty air—only for him to twist his torso mid-movement and drive his elbow toward Renya's face.
Renya lifted both arms to block, but even through the guard he felt the crushing force behind the blow.
Speed and strength—both had risen dramatically.
Comparable to Renya's own Thunder-Step impact.
Renya dug his right foot into the ground and shot backwards, trying to widen the distance. But the wind around the training ground rose in spirals, forming crescent-like blasts that converged on him from all directions. The wind blades were larger now, sharper, and carrying the explosive force that came from Kensei's Hollowfied reiatsu.
Renya gripped his Zanpakutō with both hands. His blade flickered with a thin arc of lightning as he slashed rapidly through the air. More than a dozen strikes crashed into the blades of wind in an instant. The majority fragmented, but two remained—striking just as they detonated.
The concussive shock tore trenches across the ground.
Amid the explosion, Kensei's figure flashed behind Renya, leaping high with his blade descending toward Renya's back.
I can't block both.
If he focused on the wind blades, he would be carved open by Kensei himself.
Standing at a distance, Aikawa Love folded his arms.
"After Bankai plus Hollowfication, Kensei's on a whole different level. Renya won't keep up unless he masks up too."
Hachigen Ushōda, watching calmly beside him, shook his head.
"No. Renya hasn't needed his mask yet."
Within the training field, Renya narrowed his eyes. He let the wind blade detonate before him, accepting the impact as Kensei's slash struck—
—but instead of flesh, his blade struck a glowing circular shield.
"Bakudō #39: Enkōsen."
The barrier shattered instantly, but the moment was enough. Renya slipped away with Shunpo, reappearing at a safer distance.
"Runs pretty fast."
Kensei tilted his head and stepped forward, once again disappearing with a burst of pressured wind.
But as he reappeared, six golden rods of light slammed down around him, pinning him into a small hexagonal prison.
"Bakudō #61: Rikujōkōrō."
Even strengthened with a decade of training, the light bars cracked under the brute force of Kensei's reiatsu. But immediately afterwards, a massive iron chain shot forward, spiraling around him. Pillars of spiritual iron formed from above.
"Bakudō #63: Sajō Sabaku."
"Bakudō #75: Gochūtekkan."
Three high-level binding spells stacked at once—pinning Kensei to the ground.
Renya raised his right hand, fingers glowing with a deepening violet reiatsu.
The incantation rolled softly off his tongue:
"Seeping crest of turbidity, arrogant vessel of madness—"
Kensei's eyes widened.
Damn it—he's going for that one!
Still restraining the chains and pillars, he tore himself free just as Renya reached the final lines of the chant.
Too late.
A massive black coffin formed instantly, slamming shut around Kensei.
In the darkness, crosses of light formed across the surface—followed by countless spears of black spiritual pressure ripping through the coffin's interior.
Hirako Shinji shot to his feet.
"That's Hadō #90… Kurohitsugi. And he did the full chant! Hachi—get ready!"
Lisa's eyes narrowed.
"If Kensei takes that head-on—"
Aikawa Love exhaled slowly.
"Don't panic. Kensei ain't done."
A roar of spiraling wind burst from the ground.
The black coffin cracked apart, dissolving as storms of sharpened wind filled the air. Kensei stepped out—covered in blood, holes punched across his upper body. White bandage-like wind armor wrapped around his arms and back, his twin-toothed dual blades spinning with cutting pressure.
"Bankai—Tachikaze Tengoku," he growled.
"Even with a shield of pressurized wind, your Kurohitsugi tore through it. Damn impressive."
His voice sharpened.
"But it ends here. Use your Zanpakutō, Renya. Otherwise, you're not lasting another minute."
Wind roared violently, tearing apart the ground as a massive vortex formed and hurled itself toward Renya. He dodged the first blast—only for Kensei to appear before him instantly, blade ready.
Renya tried to escape with Thunder-Step, but the compressed wind around him burst outward, tearing apart the protective lightning around his arms and locking his movement.
Pinned—
—until a Hollow mask erupted across Renya's face.
A burst of lightning exploded outward, shattering the wind and throwing Renya free as he flickered to safety.
"Finally blurred, huh?"
Kensei smirked behind his own mask.
"But Hollowfication won't save you. These winds fill the whole space. Touch one and you're shredded."
Renya understood.
Hollowfication gave him speed—but not enough to surpass a full Bankai-powered storm.
So he whispered:
"Descend—Tenraijin."
Dark clouds materialized instantly, swallowing the ceiling of the training ground. Arcs of electricity twisted violently, converging downward. A thunderbolt struck—landing neatly in Renya's outstretched hand.
His sealed Zanpakutō transformed into a spear-like weapon of condensed lightning.
"A thunder-type Zanpakutō?"
Yoruichi raised a brow, smiling in interest.
"First time he's shown it."
Shinji whistled.
"Judging from that lightning density, it ain't weak."
In the center of the storm-lit room, Kensei faced Renya.
"So that's your Shikai?"
Renya nodded.
"Yes."
"Good. Come at me with everything—Shikai and Hollowfication both. Show me your real power."
Renya's expression shifted—calm but weighted. Blue lightning covered his entire body, forming two ethereal wings of thunder. His Hollow mask hardened, the horned design glowing faintly.
He vanished.
And appeared behind Kensei in a single instant.
The thunder spear struck his back—leaving a deep, bleeding wound.
Kensei spun, shocked. Renya was already far away again, hovering lightly above the ground.
"I… lost?"
Kensei stared at him, disbelieving.
He couldn't even track the movement.
Yoruichi narrowed her gaze.
"That speed… even I couldn't follow it clearly. Faster than Raijin Step. Only my full Shunko form could match that."
Renya didn't feel surprised. Hollowfication boosted his reiatsu and speed, the thunder wings magnified acceleration, and his pure movement surpassed the threshold of perceptible motion. To him, beating Bankai-level Kensei made sense.
Aizen's speed wouldn't surpass this level.
He could fight him—at least briefly.
But then—
Renya's mask shattered.
His thunder wings dissolved.
His Shikai vanished.
His body sagged as his spiritual pressure dropped to zero.
He'd burned everything.
Hollowfication, double-layered thunder wings, Raijin Step, a fully chanted Kurohitsugi, and high-level Bakudō—his seventh-tier reiatsu simply couldn't sustain it all.
With a full tank he could maintain the form for around twenty seconds.
After chaining so many techniques, he barely lasted eight.
To reach true combat parity with Aizen, Renya needed eighth-tier spiritual pressure—captain+ level—minimum.
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