Chapter 149: Cleanse


    <span style="font-weight:400">Lisa Yadōmaru, a maid whose snarky demeanor opposed her subservient title, folded her arms over her chest. Her eyes flickered with a mischievous glint as theynded on Kazuya and Yoruichi, thetter adorned in a crisply red military uniform. “You turned her into ady of culture. As expected of the man who nearly took my heart.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">He chuckled. “You’re still not over that date.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“As if I could forget. You brought great shame to my name. I can’t look my seventy-three suitors in the eye.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“What is that number without the people in your imagination, Maid-chan?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Lisa averted her gaze. “Zero.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Make it one.” He extended his hand. “For you shall be the mother of my child.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">With a swift motion, Lisa pped his hand away. “To propose to me despite having multiple lovers, your skin is thicker than a rhinoceros.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Yoruichi stared at them with narrowed eyes. “Soul Society, Living World, or Hueco Mundo. Is there a ce where I can’t find your admirers?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“There is one.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">{The Soul King Pce. The cuddly and cheerful chef Kirio Hikifune or the regal yet yful weaver Senjumaru Shutara. Pick your poison, Partner.}


    <i><span style="font-weight:400">‘We’ll think about that if I survive my first meeting with the Royal Guards.’</i>


    <span style="font-weight:400">Given that the Royal Guards had the unenviable job of guarding the lifeless husk of a god, they were more than likely well-versed in the intricacies of Soul King’s essence. Which, unfortunately, meant that they could see right through Kazuya’s peculiar origins. And Ichibei, the most ancient of the Royal Guards, would most certainly discern his true nature.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Even though Kazuya was a formidable force in the current timeline, facing the Royal Guards would be a fool’s errand. His best chancey in mastering his Zanpakutō’s shield, working towards achieving the Bankai Release. Additionally, there was the untapped potential of hisplete Resurrión, a form made essible ever since Nami’s ascension to Vasto Lorde status.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Thankfully, Ichibei’s motto was to never interfere with the events of the Soul Society, so he wouldn’t be meeting the Royal Guards anytime soon.


    <span style="font-weight:400">{There is a possibility Oetsu knows about me through his Zanpakutō Sense.}


    <i><span style="font-weight:400">‘I know. He’s probably baffled about your existence.’</i>


    <span style="font-weight:400">Snapping back to the present, he found Yoruichi and Lisa staring at him, their eyes riddled with confusion. Yoruichi touched his shoulder gently. “Limit monologues with your Zanpakutō when you’re in the middle of something. You look like a goofball with those unfocused eyes.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“The frequency of such conversations will wane as your bond deepens.” Lisa wrapped her fingers around her Zanpakutō’s hilt. “Since my own Hollowification, my Haguro Tonbo barely talks to me. But when it matters, they lend their power to me without hesitation.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Kazuya held back the retort that danced at the tip of his tongue. Lisa and the other Visoreds had so much untapped potential — they could grow so much more than just a Shinigami sprinkled with Hollow traits. Kaname Tosen had shown the Visored’s full potential through mixing his Inner Hollow and Zanpakutō Spirit, transforming it into a Resurrión.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Tosen’s Resurrión took his existing Zanpakutō abilities to the next level.


    <span style="font-weight:400">{She needs to embrace her Inner Hollow, not shun it like it’s a monster. It’s about bing a bridge between the Zanpakutō Spirit and the Inner Hollow.}


    <i><span style="font-weight:400">‘It ain’t that easy, Chief. Her Hollow isn’t exactly sentient like an Adjuchas. It’s a risky maneuver to introduce it to her Zanpakutō Spirit.’</i>


    <span style="font-weight:400">{Yet, it’s through risk that we evolve, that we surpass the limits imposed upon by the world.}


    <i><span style="font-weight:400">‘True.’</i>


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Then there’s little old me who never uses Zanpakutō.” Yoruichiughed. “I fight better with my body.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">He raised an eyebrow. “And they made you Captain of the 2nd Squad, how?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Grinning, she prodded his waist with her elbow. “I’m an excellent assassin, and an even better stealth expert.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Lisa nced at her wristwatch and opened the door. “Kazuya, we don’t have time to dally around. Shinji and rest will return around the afternoon.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“You’re certain they won’t return sooner?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I shooed them off to step outside and enjoy life for once.” Lisa gave him an exasperated look. “It won’t be a surprise if they stay outte. Do you not trust me?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">His eyes met hers, steady and unyielding. “I trust you as much as I’d trust a cat to babysit a rat.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Lisa’s eyes red, her mouth opening to unleash what would undoubtedly be a scathing retort. But before the words could escape, Kazuya interjected, “The cat I’m referring to is Yoruichi, who never eats rats. That means I trust you as much as I trust Yoruichi, and I trust this girl with my life.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">A smirk yed at the corners of Lisa’s mouth. “I know, doofus, or else I won’t be part of your inner circle.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Yoruichi, however, took a step away, her eyes widening just enough to betray her surprise. His words echoed in her mind, heavier than she’d expected, and they filled her chest with an unanticipated warmth.


    <span style="font-weight:400">She collected herself before her uncharacteristic reaction could draw attention. “Yadōmaru is right. We shouldn’t waste time, My Prince.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">…


    <span style="font-weight:400">Standing in the vast underground chamber, Kazuya held his Zanpakutō before him. Despite harboring a Vasto Lorde-ss entity, the weapon remained as light as any regr katana. He slowly unsheathed the katana, and as it reached halfway, he whispered, “Weave, Shinku-no-Tsubasa.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">As the incantation dissolved into the air, his Reiatsu erupted. A furious tempest of energy that picked up particles of dust, swirling them into an impromptu cyclone around him. Tongues of soft, ethereal mes crawled out of the sheath and wrapped around the de.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Kazuya slowly drew his katana, its de aze with me. He reoriented the searing de and pointed it towards his own chest before he plunged the ming sword inward, piercing the core of his very being.


    <span style="font-weight:400">A convulsion of spiritual energy surged through him, the mes igniting him from the inside. His eyes turned incandescent. With a sudden, explosive burst, the mes detached, condensing into dual, luminescent des that hovered in the air beside him.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Lisa shielded her eyes, peering through the gaps between her fingers. Her Reiatsu sat somewhere between a Vice-Captain and Captain-ss, yet next to Kazuya’s overwhelming force, she felt like a flickering candle facing the sun’s searing might. But fear was a stranger to her at that moment as the Reiatsu had no intent to harm her.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Goodness,” Yoruichi whispered, licking her lips subconsciously. “I didn’t think he’d grow this much. What a terrifying man.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“For all that show-off, his Shikai is just two weird floating des.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Yadōmaru, did no one ever tell you not to judge a Zanpakutō by their appearance?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Keep your wisdom to yourself, Cat Lady.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Ignoring their sidelinementary, Kazuya gestured with a wave of his hand. The hovering des responded, swirling around him in a beautifully choreographed dance, harmonizing to his mentalmands and physical movements. “Yoruichi, get into your Shunkō form. Lisa, use your Bankai. Give me your best.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Yoruichiughed. “You’ll apologize to Sung-Sun for what I’m about to do.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">She thrust her hand to the side and clenched her fist. Her Reiatsu turned ferocious, materializing ayer of white energy around her. Her ponytail danced in the wind, a sharp contrast to the white lightning crackling and snaking around her. The Kidō enveloping her grew denser and denser until— Crackle! — the pressure reached a crescendo, and arcs of lightning erupted.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Her sleeves were ripped apart, as was the fabric covering her back. Sung-Sun’s dress was half ruined.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Yoruichi grinned, turning to Lisa. “Don’t hold back. This guy can take on both of us.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“As they say, the road to ruin is paved with overconfidence.” Lisa pushed up her sses and unsheathed her Zanpakutō. “For you, the road will lead to thrashing by two beautiful onee-san.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">She mmed the hilt of her Zanpakutō into the mouth of its scabbard before twirling it over her head with both hands. As the de twirled, her Visored Mask manifested — a diamond shaped white mask with a cross-shaped opening instead of a mouth and eye slits. “Smash… Haguro Tonbo!”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Her Shikai activated, transforming the de into an elongated polearm, its spearhead mimicking the shape of a monk’s spade. Lisa, the former Vice-Captain with all the qualifications of a Captain, aimed her weapon at Kazuya.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“My fellow abomination, prepare to bleed magma from your heart.”