Bleach Seireitei's Discipline Captain - Chapter 163
The aftermath subsided.
At the center of the blade clash, the white sand within a radius of dozens of miles had been wiped clean, replaced by shimmering crystalline glass.
Scarlet magma-like patterns extended from the blade to the sand and stretched to the horizon.
The reishi storm raged, devouring the remaining white sand and sweeping it into the thinning clouds above.
The two figures remained locked in their stances, their faces drained of color.
Until…
Crack!
A sharp sound broke the silence as Tsukishiro S?ya’s sword fractured, forming countless cracks before shattering into fragments of reishi, scattering faint light.
Rainfall Pomegranate appeared behind him, but unlike before, she carried him gently in her arms, showing an unprecedented tenderness.
“Swordsmen, always fighting so recklessly…” she said softly, as though reminiscing. “This is the second time I’ve seen you like this since I can remember.”
“Thinking about it now, it’s quite nostalgic…”
Tsukishiro S?ya remained silent; his gaze lowered, lost in thought.
At the same time, Maki Kurosaki used Hirenkyaku to instantly appear behind Tokikaze, supporting his faltering body in the same manner.
Their final clash had drained the last of their spiritual pressure.
Tokikaze’s condition was even worse than before—he didn’t even have the strength to draw his sword.
“Mr. Tokikaze,” Maki whispered, “I’m stronger than the last time we met. Do you want me to finish this?”
As she spoke, she made a cutting gesture across her white neck.
“Hey, you idiot woman over there!” Rainfall Pomegranate protested. “The swordsman isn’t dead yet! What nonsense are you spouting?”
She vented her frustration, though only Tsukishiro S?ya and Tokikaze could hear or see her.
Maki clenched her fists eagerly, indicating that she could easily take down Tsukishiro with her current strength.
Tokikaze waved his hand, signaling it wasn’t necessary.
A being like Tsukishiro, practically a bug in the system, was almost impossible to kill completely. The only effective method would be to seal him.
“Is this the true power of your zanpakut??” Tsukishiro asked after a brief pause, lifting his head to stare at Tokikaze in the distance. His eyes flickered with red traces left by the Scorching Wind of Wrath.
Leaning against Maki’s plump thighs, Tokikaze let his spiritual pressure recover and answered without looking, “You could say that…”
It was an ambiguous answer.
Genry? Battozan had gradually led Tokikaze to understand the true essence of wind and thunder, with Scorching Wind of Wrath being one of his developed and refined techniques.
Using wind-based release as the foundation, the technique compresses spiritual pressure without limits and infuses it with intense lightning, unleashing destructive force instantly.
In terms of raw destructive power, it was on par with—or even more potent than—Tsukishiro’s Had? 96: Itt? Kas?, which had cost him hundreds of Gigai.
If there was any downside, it was the massive energy consumption.
“This battle… I’ve lost,” Tsukishiro admitted, not getting the answer he sought but remaining an honest man by nature.
“When I return to the Seireitei, I will recall all the reishi I’ve fused and then accept my final fate.”
Victory or death wasn’t just a saying for someone as rigid as Tsukishiro. In his mind, his life had ended the moment he lost.
“Hey, can I ask you something?”
Tokikaze instinctively raised his head, only to bump into Maki’s body, immediately pushing him back down with a firm rebound.
“Ugh, what do you want to ask?” Tsukishiro responded.
“Have you heard of Hell?”
“The Great Underground Prison in the Central 46?”
“I mean the literal Hell, the place that defines the boundary between life and death.”
…
Hell was known only to a select few who wielded absolute power among the Five Great Noble Families. Even within the Gotei 13, only a handful knew its true nature.
Even the noble Shunsui Ky?raku only learned about Hell after becoming the Captain-Commander and gaining access to restricted records.
Tsukishiro, who had merged with the entire Seireitei, only knew part of the truth.
He had little understanding of Hell’s real form.
As Tokikaze explained, the Eighth Kenpachi’s expression shifted from shock to deep contemplation.
“In simple terms,” Tokikaze said, muffled as he sank back into his original position, “if you die, it will destabilize Hell and disrupt the balance of the Three Worlds.”
He continued, “If the Gates of Hell break open, you’ll be facing Kenpachi Kuruya, who’ll start with Bankai and won’t hold back.”
Maki, shocked by this revelation, remained lost in her thoughts for a long time.
Even Ury? Ishida, who had been standing guard, unconsciously lowered his reishi bow, struggling to process Tokikaze’s words.
“The duty of a Soul Reaper,” Tokikaze went on, shifting his head to find a more comfortable position on Maki’s lap, “is not just to eliminate Hollows.”
“It’s more about inheriting the Soul King’s will and maintaining the balance of the Three Worlds.”
“Hollows and the living are two sides of the same coin, like light and darkness.”
“The loss of either side would disrupt that balance, plunging the world into endless chaos.”
“That’s one of the reasons why Soul Reapers oppose the Quincy.”
Maki remained silent, now understanding why the Quincy had been targeted by the Soul Reapers.
“Why are you telling me this?” Tsukishiro asked, his sharp gaze fixed on Tokikaze, though the angle made it impossible to see his facial expression.
“Exterminating all Hollows is clearly against the Soul King’s will,” Tokikaze said with a smirk, attempting to look smug, but the nearby “scenery” completely blocked his expression.
“But remember, the Soul King doesn’t care if the ruler of Hueco Mundo is a Soul Reaper or a Hollow.”
“As long as balance is maintained, there’s room for negotiation.”
A faint breathing sound came from above.
Before Tsukishiro could respond, Maki spoke nervously: “Are you saying… you plan to rule all of Hueco Mundo!?”
Tsukishiro’s expression stiffened, stunned by Tokikaze’s bold idea.
Throughout the Soul Society’s million-year history, there had been Soul Reapers with similar grand ambitions, but they had always abandoned such lofty dreams due to various limitations, the most important of which was power.
“Ruling might be an overstatement; Hueco Mundo is too vast,” Tokikaze admitted. “As far as the Soul Reapers have explored, we haven’t even covered one percent of it.”
“With that guy over there in a daze,” he added, pointing to Tsukishiro, “it would take thousands of years, maybe even longer, to truly rule Hueco Mundo.”
“And let’s not forget, even Soul Reapers have their limits.”
Just the size of Las Noches alone was comparable to an entire city in the living world.
“Hee hee, what an interesting little guy you are!” Rainfall Pomegranate cackled, her sharp laughter piercing the air. “Only someone with a mind like yours could come up with such fascinating ideas.”
“I’d love to keep that brain of yours and admire it every day!”
Tokikaze ignored her crazed remarks and said plainly, “Don’t even think about dying.”
“You have two choices: return to the Underground Prison and let time erase both your duty as a Soul Reaper and the honor of the Tsukishiro family, or take up my proposal and become the true king of Hueco Mundo!”
The cold wind howled across the battlefield, carrying with it rolling white sand that sought to erase all traces of their battle.
A heavy silence fell over the scene.
“As a Soul Reaper, I can never become the king of Hueco Mundo,” Tsukishiro finally said, gazing up at the stars now visible as the clouds dispersed, and at the cold crescent moon hanging in the western sky.
“But I’m willing to become the sole representative of Soul Reapers in Hueco Mundo.”
“I will prepare everything for the true king’s arrival…”
As his words trailed off, Tokikaze’s face filled with question marks. Just as he was about to ask who the “true king” was, Tsukishiro’s body disintegrated like foam.
“Hee hee hee, this is too much fun! This might be the happiest day of my life since I was born!” Rainfall Pomegranate’s sharp voice echoed in the wind. “Next time we meet, little guy, your name will be famous throughout Hueco Mundo!”
“Maybe when we meet again, we’ll have to call you by a different title.”
“Great Hollow King…”
While Tokikaze had paved the way for Tsukishiro’s future, Tsukishiro had also prepared Tokikaze’s path.
You set the goal, and I’ll help you achieve your dream.
We both have bright futures.
For a moment, Tokikaze fell into silence.
“Mr. Tokikaze?” Maki nudged his shoulder and said, “That guy ran away. What do we do next?”
“Nothing much…” Tokikaze began, but before he could finish, a fresh wave of spiritual pressure erupted in the distance.
The Quincy, using Hirenkyaku, rushed toward them with great speed, kicking up dust like a small sandstorm.
“Miss Kurosaki, Mr. Ishida, Soul Reaper!”
“Hollows—Menos Grande are coming!!”
At the front, their faces were filled with terror, their features twisted in fear.
As the words left their mouths, a violent and brutal spiritual pressure descended like a wave, making even Ury? tense up.
Tokikaze could also feel Maki’s body tense beneath his head.
In the sky, a massive shadow loomed.
Accompanying it was a sharp, piercing shriek.
“Look what we have here?!”
“A whole bunch of Quincy and a severely wounded Soul Reaper!”
“You trespassers in Hueco Mundo will face your fate—death!”
The shadow spread its wings, and countless scarlet feathers shot down like missiles.
The sharp sounds of them cutting through the air approached instantly.
Maki leaned down, picked up Tokikaze in her arms, and with a burst of Hirenkyaku, vanished from their spot, dodging the rain of attacks.
To her, her life had been saved by Tokikaze, and now was the time to repay that favor.
Taken by surprise, Tokikaze found his face smothered, barely able to breathe, let alone speak.
“Mr. Tokikaze, please wait here a moment,” Maki said carefully, placing him down. “I’ll knock that thing out of the sky!”
With that, before he could respond, she had already charged back into the battlefield.
Tokikaze sat up, watching her retreating figure. He sighed and muttered to himself, “Her intentions are good, but she could have at least asked first.”
“Recovering my spiritual pressure wouldn’t have taken that long…”
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