The first-generation Squad Ten captain, Ōtogawa Furūki, stared solemnly at the demon-like figure bathed in a mist of blood, a strong sense of bewilderment flashing in his eyes.
*Didn't they say Naraku Sora had developed a method to convert third-class Reishi?*
*Then what is with this brutally formidable display?*
*Have all the researchers in the Soul Society adopted this kind of fighting style nowadays?*
*And what the hell is this 'freedom' he mentioned?*
Despite the countless questions in his mind, instinct drove him to charge at Naraku Sora.
A crimson eye descended from the heavens, quietly looking down and casting a powerful blessing of strength upon him.
Ōtogawa Furūki's eyes turned silver-white, radiating a searing light like boiling steel.
His violent nature poured out, revealing his true colors.
As one of the first-generation captains who followed Yamamoto, no matter how deceptive his appearance might be, it could not change his tyrannical essence.
A calm gaze looking down from above.
It was enough to instill an indescribable fear and chill in the hearts of countless Soul Reapers.
This was his Zanpakutō, Dokutō.
Any enemy gazed upon by that eye in the sky would birth a strong, uncontrollable fear in their heart.
At the same time, this fear would be absorbed by the eye and converted into power, which was then bestowed upon him.
If there was enough fear, his Reiatsu would grow infinitely.
Therefore, large-scale battlefields were Ōtogawa Furūki's true domain.
*Taste the fear!*
Feeling the continuous influx of power, Ōtogawa Furūki regained his calm and solemn demeanor.
Even though there was still a gap between him and Naraku Sora, he could alter the course of the battle through his superior techniques.
Ōtogawa assumed a fighting stance, looking at the young man opposite him.
Meanwhile, the giant eye in the sky locked onto the burning figure, attempting to instill even more fear into him.
The guy was just standing there completely unguarded, his entire body full of openings.
It would only take a split second to shatter his defenses and drive straight in; his waist, spine, throat, and even his head—all his vital spots were right there for the taking.
Victory seemed to be right within reach.
Ōtogawa took a deep breath. A fierce glint appeared in his eyes as the killing intent he had brewed in Hell for hundreds of years erupted, accompanied by a sharp, piercing howl.
However, to his bewilderment, Naraku Sora did not choose to continue using Hakuda. Instead, he drew the Zanpakutō that had been hidden in its sheath.
*Isn't this guy better at Hakuda? Why did he suddenly draw his sword?!*
With no time to seek answers, the ferocious figure stepped forward, bringing down a simple, unadorned downward slash right at his head.
A massive amount of materialized Reiatsu gathered on the Zanpakutō, causing the ruins beneath their feet to tremble. Waves of dust rose from the ground, surging like a tide.
The light of Kidō bloomed on the blade.
*Is that Hadō #78: Zangerin?*
Ōtogawa's eyes lit up. To deal with a Kidō of this level, he only needed to instantly cast Bakudō #81: Dankū to easily block it.
By then, before his opponent could muster a new wave of strength, he would only need to burst forward with his accumulated power of fear to completely secure the victory.
*This kid is completely bringing this upon him—*
Boom!!
The next moment, their blades clashed.
Ōtogawa's expression instantly froze. An explosive roar reached his ears, sounding as if heaven and earth were resonating.
The sky twisted, and the earth trembled. The world within his line of sight began to face destruction; the ruins were obliterated, and a scorching wind kicked up, soaring straight into the heavens.
In just a split second, his proud techniques collapsed with a crash, and his so-called stance was entirely shattered.
Ōtogawa Furūki looked down, his vision going dark.
Accompanied by a violent fit of coughing, thick blood surged from his suddenly ruptured internal organs.
After a momentary daze, his consciousness gradually drifted away.
Naraku Sora flicked the beads of blood off his Zanpakutō and curled his lips in disdain.
"Striking all those poses, I thought you were some kind of master."
"Weakling."
After taking care of two first-generation captains in a row, the remaining Sinners were nothing to fear.
Aside from the astonishingly well-endowed girl who had been holding a long-handled naginata, the rest were nothing but a motley crew, not even worth mentioning.
Some did not even possess the strength of a captain; they had simply committed so many atrocities that they fell into Hell after death.
Naraku Sora looked at the girl who had maintained a calm expression from beginning to end and asked probingly,
"Katori Batsu'unsai?"
The girl nodded. "I didn't expect Lord Naraku to actually remember my name."
"I've always had a good memory."
"What were the names of the two who just fell?"
Naraku Sora fell silent. "..."
Katori Batsu'unsai shook her head, not minding these details. She simply lifted the naginata resting against the center of her chest and said with a serious expression,
"The reason I was able to watch from the sidelines is that my will is relatively firmer."
"Zenjōji and Ōtogawa couldn't defy Hell's orders, so they had no choice but to fight you. Please don't take it to heart."
"This is the destiny of us Sinners."
"Now that those two are out of the way, we can slaughter each other to our hearts' content."
"Lord Naraku, here I come."
As soon as her voice fell, that calm face appeared right in front of Naraku Sora. The heavy naginata cleaved through space, slashing forward with immense, crushing momentum.
Clang!!
The moment their blades crossed, a force several times more terrifying than that of the previous two first-generation captains surged forth.
Judging from her performance, this first-generation Squad Eight captain seemed to be the strongest one here.
Moreover, this strangely shaped Zanpakutō was also very bizarre.
With every clash, Naraku Sora could clearly sense that he was losing a bit of his Reiatsu.
It was as if it was being forcibly absorbed.
"Lord Naraku, my Zanpakutō can forcibly steal the enemy's Reiatsu."
Katori Batsu'unsai delivered a powerful overhead strike, carrying an indomitable momentum that knocked Naraku Sora back, while simultaneously calling out a warning.
"The longer this battle drags on, the more disadvantageous it will be for you."
"If you have any trump cards, you'd better play them as soon as possible."
"Zenjōji and Ōtogawa are also about to revive. In a few minutes, it will be the three of us ganging up on you."
Despite her love for battle and the joy she found in slaughter...
...and having a personality somewhat similar to Unohana Retsu's, Katori Batsu'unsai still cared about the comrades she had once fought alongside and the Soul Society they had worked so hard to protect.
Therefore, she forcibly suppressed her own desires, doing her best to tilt the scales of victory.
Naraku Sora took a moment to glance at the nearby ruins, only to see countless streams of pitch-black phosphorus gas gathering, reforming into human shapes and exuding powerful Reiatsu.
"Although the fight is indeed thrilling, if I drag this out too long, the old man will throw a fit."
"Katori, this next part might hurt a little. Bear with it."
Katori Batsu'unsai tilted her head. "?"
*Why does that sound so weird?*
A piercing, screeching anomaly echoed from their clashing blades. Black and red arcs of lightning danced between them, radiating a heart-palpitating power.
Space twisted around it.
Katori Batsu'unsai looked down, her pupils shrinking drastically as an unconcealable terror surfaced from the depths of her heart.
*What kind of technique is this?!*
*Why do I feel the same instinctive fear as when facing Senior Yachiru?*
*Could it be...*
A strong sense of dread permeated her heart. Katori Batsu'unsai instinctively withdrew her blade and retreated, attempting to block the strike by combining Bakudō with her Reiatsu.
But just as the invisible barrier formed...
...the distorted, blurred blade was already upon her.
"Black Flash!"
In that instant, Dankū shattered on impact, turning into countless Reishi fragments that splattered in all directions.
Bakudō #81 failed to cause even the slightest hesitation in that slash.
Like a hot knife through butter, it melted away instantly.
Immediately, pure destruction transformed into a frenzy. The black and red sword pressure landed on the naginata, and the fragmentation continued to spread until it crushed Katori Batsu'unsai along with it.
Her slender yet well-endowed figure instantly vanished, hurtling backward into the buildings behind her. Trailing a long wake, she crashed through dozens of structures in succession, plowing a massive, abyss-like trench into the ground.
Finally, she was completely buried beneath the collapsed ruins.
Looking at the massive wave of dust kicked up at the edge of his vision, a hint of surprise flashed in Naraku Sora's eyes.
There was actually still a strong fluctuation of Reiatsu coming from the ruins.
He had thought Unohana Retsu was already the cream of the crop among the first-generation captains, but he didn't expect there to be another master.
To take his Black Flash head-on without completely breaking down, and even retaining the ability to continue fighting...
Compared to those other two weaklings, she was more than just a little bit stronger.
Although he hadn't completely defeated her, it still bought him a few seconds of free time.
That was enough.
Naraku Sora shook his head and directly vanished from his spot with a Flash Step. When he reappeared, he was already beside Zenjōji Uhin and Ōtogawa Furūki.
By this time, the two had already begun to take on human forms again, filled in by the phosphorus gas.
Without any hesitation, he immediately pulled out the portable Gigai capsules provided by Kirio Hikifune. With a *poof*, they enlarged at his feet.
Naraku Sora gathered his Reiatsu, clasped his hands together, and with a solemn expression, spoke in a deep voice like some sort of charlatan:
"Edo Tensei!"
The next second, an intense white light suddenly erupted. The phosphorus gas belonging to Hell's will abruptly grasped at thin air, completely losing the subjects it was trying to reconstruct.
The two souls composed of Reishi plunged straight into the Gigai.
Dust and debris swirled as the two first-generation captains were grandly resurrected.
Zenjōji Uhin looked in disbelief at his palm-leaf-fan-like hands, opening and closing them.
Although his power had diminished somewhat, the forced control exerted over his soul had been completely lifted.
"..."
Ōtogawa Furūki also shed his usual lethargic demeanor, excitedly stretching his body and taking deep breaths of the long-lost air.
At this moment, he finally understood what Naraku Sora meant by 'freedom.'
No wonder Hell was in such a hurry to obliterate this guy.
As long as Naraku Sora existed, he would pose an unimaginable threat to the order of Hell.
However, whatever happened to Hell had nothing to do with him.
All he knew was that the Lord Naraku standing before him had granted him his long-lost freedom, allowing him to break away from the cruel memories of the past.
This debt of gratitude was even greater than the one he owed to that old man Yamamoto.
It was no exaggeration to say that this was the grace of a second life.
Ōtogawa Furūki took a deep breath. Looking at the smug young man beside him with a deeply moved expression, he said with utmost seriousness,
"Lord Naraku, who do you want me to kill?"
Naraku Sora blinked. "?"