Chapter 48: A Small Clash Against Gin
Narrator POV
Gin blocked Akira's second dagger strike. This time, though he kept his usual smile, he had to apply more force. His arms trembled slightly as he held back the attack—Akira was far stronger than he had anticipated.
"Interesting…" Gin murmured, leaping back quickly.
His figure slid like a silver shadow under the light of the Seireitei. Once he was at a safe distance, Gin raised his sword again.
"Ikorose… Shinso."
The thin blade of his zanpakutō shot forward once more at impossible speed—a lightning bolt of steel aimed directly at Akira's face. This time, it targeted his eye. The tip stopped just two centimeters away from piercing it. From going straight through his head.
But Akira didn't flinch. He remained cold… and in a way, mocking his opponent.
With a flick of his wrist so fast it was barely visible, his daggers crossed in front of his face. Shinso's extended blade was deflected at the last instant, grazing his hair. Three dark strands were cut in midair… but Akira didn't even blink.
At that very moment, he activated Quicksilver.
His body blurred—an ephemeral silhouette closing the distance between him and Gin in less than a heartbeat. The Captain barely had time to react.
"Stop running just to play with your toothpick."
Akira's sarcastic comment came right before the impact.
Gin narrowed his eyes, his smile fading for a fraction of a second for the first time. That speed… it wasn't shunpo. It wasn't sonido. It was something else. Something that did not belong to this world.
Akira clenched his fist. Dark lightning, like tendrils of cursed energy, crackled around his arm. And then—
"Black Flash."
His punch struck Gin's stomach with brutal force. Instantly, an explosion of black lightning erupted like compressed thunder.
The sound echoed through the Seireitei walls, sending dust and stone flying everywhere. Gin was launched backwards as if hit by a storm. The impact shattered more than just his composure… it shattered his smile.
From Akira's perspective, Gin was fired into the distance like a human bullet. He crashed through one of the thick Seireitei walls as if it were cardboard, leaving behind a dry explosion and raining debris.
Akira's raw strength, even without channeling cursed energy, was overwhelming. But that strike… was no normal attack.
It was a Black Flash—a physical blow empowered by cursed energy at its absolute limit. A technique that multiplied his force to absurd levels. A punch from Akira taken to 2.5 times its power.
Not even a Captain of the Gotei 13 like Gin could come out unscathed from something like that. Shinigami were strong—but not invincible. They had limits.
Akira did not. Akira grew. He leveled up. He adapted. He evolved. And that made him fundamentally different from everyone else.
Dust rose in a massive cloud, covering the destroyed section of the wall. Akira stood firmly, expectant, his daggers still vibrating from the impact. His gaze—sharp as blades—stayed fixed on the crater in the wall.
Silence followed. The group behind him couldn't even blink. Ichigo, Chad, Uryū, and Orihime had witnessed many battles before—but nothing like this.
Chad, with his usual stoic expression, muttered low—eyes locked on where Gin vanished:
"…Even I felt that hit."
He could imagine it—feel it in his bones. As if the air itself had shattered. Ichigo, still holding Zangetsu, clenched his jaw, wide–eyed in shock.
"W-what…? What the hell was that?!" Sweat dripped down his forehead.
He had fought Jidanbō, he had felt Gin's spiritual pressure… but the brutality of this fight, the intensity of each move, the crushing power of that last punch—made him question things he never questioned before.
Am I really strong…?
And for the first time, Ichigo felt something beyond awe: doubt.
Yoruichi watched from a distance in her feline form, eyes wide, unable to look away from Akira.
(That boy… No zanpakutō… no spiritual pressure released… and he just dealt a fatal blow to a Gotei 13 Captain… What kind of power does he have?) —she thought, swallowing hard as unease grew in her chest.
Akira didn't follow the rules of the spiritual world. No zanpakutō. No measurable reiatsu. His energy was something else. Alien. As if the spiritual world itself rejected him… or feared him.
Yoruichi's tail flicked nervously—her inner turmoil exposed. She didn't know if Akira was a weapon... or a ticking bomb.
But right now, she was grateful he was on their side. Because if he weren't… none of them would be standing.
However, the damage was already done. Gin—a Captain—had been defeated—or at least temporarily taken out—by an outsider, a "Riokai," a foreigner.
The Seireitei would not ignore this. Alarms must already be ringing throughout the Gotei 13. Surprise was dead. Akira had killed it with that punch.
If they crossed that gate now, they wouldn't find scattered resistance—they would face the true military heart of the Seireitei… and the wrath of all its squads.
Yoruichi understood. Moving forward was madness. Even with Ichigo, Uryū, Chad, Orihime, and herself—she doubted they could take on the entire Seireitei.
—"Enough, Akira!" —she shouted firmly— "Come back! We need a new plan!"
But Akira didn't even turn. His eyes stayed locked on the dust cloud hiding Gin's body.
"Retreating isn't an option. Not when Rukia's life grows more endangered every second."
Akira was fully aware of the danger Rukia faced—and not only her, but the ticking bomb that was Aizen.
There was only one path: forward. And for the first time in a very long while… Yoruichi didn't know if that comforted her or terrified her.
Heavy footsteps resounded like thunder. Dozens. Hundreds. Vibrations shook the ground like an invisible stampede.
From every alley of the Seireitei, black silhouettes emerged. Armed shinigami, mobilized by the chaos, moved like a synchronized dark wave.
They had trusted Jidanbō to stop the intruders.
But then they saw it. Gin Ichimaru—Captain of the 3rd Division—lying on the ground. No foxlike smile. Motionless. Eyes closed—something unheard of—making it impossible to know if he was even conscious.
Panic hit instantly. Some shinigami froze, paralyzed by the sight.
Gin Ichimaru… defeated?
Fear crawled into their bones. If someone like Gin had fallen… what could they do?
But not everyone reacted with fear. Others reacted with rage.
Shinigami 1: "Get them! Don't let them escape!"
With that cry, the stampede began. Dozens of blades were raised. Zanpakutō ready. The ground shook beneath their charge—a united force seeking vengeance for their fallen Captain.
Uryū pushed up his glasses slightly, adjusting them with two fingers. His expression turned cold as his spiritual bow materialized—ice–blue and shimmering. A Reishi arrow formed, trembling with tension.
"Seems we'll have to fight." His calm voice revealed his eagerness—perfect timing to prove Quincy superiority.
Beside him, Chad stepped forward. His right arm was covered by a black, ink-like substance that soon solidified—forming his Brazo del Gigante. The pointed extension on his shoulder gleamed under the sun. Chad nodded—silent, firm, a wall that never breaks.
Ichigo already had Zangetsu on his shoulder. His gaze flicked between the enemies and Akira. He didn't fully understand what was happening… but he knew one thing:
He wasn't backing down. They were surrounded. But not one of them trembled. The battle was about to begin.
"No! Everyone fall back! We have to find another way in!" Yoruichi's voice cut sharply—urgent— "This is just the beginning! If we stay, more will come… and eventually even the Captains could show up." Her eyes hardened— "Even if Akira defeated one—there are still twelve more! You're not strong enough to face the Captains! Did you hear me, Akira?!"
But Akira didn't answer right away.
He looked calmly at the incoming shinigami. Then at his comrades—Ichi go and Chad ready to fight; Uryū's arrow glowing; even Orihime, breathing nervously but resolute, prepared to stand with them. They were ready to fight—for Rukia, for themselves, for what was right.
A smile crossed Akira's lips. Not kind. Not calm. A predator's smile. In an instant, he dodged a swing from a shinigami whose zanpakutō whistled past his face.
With ruthless reflexes, Akira grabbed him by the head and tossed him with such force that his body slammed into several others—knocking them down like bowling pins.
"Fighting a bunch of Captains together…" he said mockingly as he turned toward the stunned shinigami— "…might be too much for me right now."
Then his eyes glowed a deep, unnatural blue.
He activated his skill: Bloodlust.
A dark, overwhelming pressure surged from his body like a cursed tide. Light vanished around the shinigami. The ground beneath them turned into murky water, darkness swallowing everything. The fog thickened—almost solid.
In the middle of that darkness, a pair of massive, glowing blue eyes—no pupils—opened before them.
The shinigami froze. Fear cut like blades into their hearts. None of them could move forward… or back… or even breathe properly. Their world became an abyss—dominated by one presence:
Akira. As panic gripped them, Bloodlust's second effect triggered. A system notification appeared before Akira.
---
[Notification]
[Debuff activated: –50% to all stats of targets affected by Bloodlust]
[Affected: 17]
---
One by one, the shinigami felt their spiritual power drain—like a force ripping energy from their souls. Their muscles weakened. Their speed dropped. Their spiritual pressure flickered.
Their very essence was being devoured by the dark aura around them. Another alert blinked in Akira's vision.
---
[Notification]
[Bloodlust has leveled up: 1 → 2]
[MP Cost reduced: 100 → 90]
---
A cold, satisfied smile formed on Akira's face.
—(I think I'll use this skill more often… It's way more useful than I thought.)
Without wasting another second, Akira turned, his cursed aura dissipating like smoke—and ran toward his allies.
Yoruichi watched the scene with growing concern. More and more shinigami appeared from every street and rooftop—answering an invisible alarm. Too many. Continuing the fight would be like challenging an entire colony of ants—and she knew it.
In her feline form, she couldn't give her all—and she wasn't ready to reveal her true body yet. For now, retreat was the only viable option.
"Move! Move now!" she shouted, turning immediately to lead them out.
"I—" Ichigo was about to protest, but a single serious glance from Yoruichi made him swallow his words. "Tch…"
With that, they had no choice but to retreat. Not a victory—yet not a defeat. A warning:
The Seireitei would not let them through easily.
"I'll be back… and next time I'll walk through the main gate," Akira said with a confident grin before he shot forward—carrying Orihime under one arm… and Yoruichi under the other.
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End of the Chapter.