Chapter 177: The Struggle (III)
<span style="font-weight:400">Toshiro unwillingly released his Shikai and pointed his katana at Loly. An immense Reiatsu overflowed from his Zanpakutō as three chains of ice spiraled out of the base of the de, condensing into a thick chain. The ice chain moved through the air, absorbing moisture from the environment to grow into a massive dragon with zing crimson eyes. The frost dragon roared at the heavens before flying down towards Loly.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Fuck.” Loly hurriedly released Rangiku and pped the ice dragon. Of course, with her higher Reiatsu, she easily shattered the ice dragon, but not without consequences. Her poison began to crystalize, the frost creeping along her limbs.
<span style="font-weight:400">The ice forced her to expend Reiatsu in shattering the ice crystals. “A little brat has Shikai.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I’m not a brat,” he growled. “Rangiku-sensei, let’s fight her together.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Rangiku’s Shihakusho was half-melted and her skin singed by the poison. It was pure agony. But she didn’t let her injuries slow her down. She had joined the Gotei 13 with the intention to get her childhood friend back, but she ended up bing a responsible Shinigami.
<span style="font-weight:400">Giving her life to duty wasn’t something she frowned at.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Okay, let’s end this pathetic worm.”
<span style="font-weight:400">…
<span style="font-weight:400">Nanao, meanwhile, aimed an arm at Loly, whispering a chant under her breath.
<span style="font-weight:400">“It’s getting boring for you, isn’t it?” Ggio asked, yawning. “I’ll join too. Miss Vice-Captain, I apologize for killing you.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Cold shiver went down Nanao’s spine — Ggio was already behind her, his left leg raised over her head. In a fit of panic, Nanao raised her hand and whispered a chant under her breath.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Seki.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Ggio smirked and brought his leg down, unbothered by the tiny orb of energy floating above Nanao’s back of hand. As soon as his leg touched the orb, the counterforce of the spell sent him reeling back into a wall.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Hahaha, impressive. You’re very impressive.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I don’t feel happy with your praise…” Nanao whispered, feeling sweat cover her face. “What do Arrancars want from attacking students?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“You’ll know soon. In the meantime, enjoy your death at the hands of Ggio Vega, the #8 Espada.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Ggio once again vanished. Nanao didn’t slow down this time and utilized Shunpo to stay away from him while muttering chants to a Kidō spell.
<span style="font-weight:400">Whirling to face her opponent, she thrust her hand forward. “Hadō #31. Shakkahō!”
<span style="font-weight:400">A zing orb of crimson energy erupted from her palm, hurtling towards Ggio. Even a Hado spell in the thirties had highly destructive power in the hands of Nanao. Ggio could’ve easily dodged the me projectile but he casually deflected the me ball with his bare hands. The intense mes barely singed the back of his hand.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Anything else you want to try, Vice-Captain?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Nanao’s heart pounded. Her repertoire of destructive Hadō spells was severely limited by the seal, and Shakkahō was her most efficient option. There was nothing else she could do to harm her opponent. She had only ever been in battles with Hollows far weaker than her. Fighting an opponent of such strength left her feeling overwhelmed.
<span style="font-weight:400">“You’re not amusing me anymore, Miss Vice-Captain. Well, I should end this now.”
<span style="font-weight:400">He rushed at Nanao with his peak speed. Nanao couldn’t even register his movement as he arrived before her. He seized her throat and ruthlessly flung her into the wall. He continued his onught, relentlessly throwing, kicking, and punching her through the air. She crossed her arms in defense, which did nothing to stop him.
<span style="font-weight:400">She was no match to a peak-Adjuchas Arrancar in her peak form, much less with a seal limiting her strength.
<span style="font-weight:400">Meanwhile, Rangiku and Toshiro were engaged in a stalemate battle with Loly. Her enormous centipede arms swept in wide, venomous arcs, creating a hazardous barrier of poison. They couldn’t approach her but she couldn’t chase them either.
<span style="font-weight:400">On the sidelines, Renji watched the brutal scene unfold, rooted to the spot in shock. His brush with death had left him momentarily incapacitated, his mind racing to find a way to intervene and save Nanao from Ggio’s relentless attack.
<span style="font-weight:400">He couldn’t think of any way.
<span style="font-weight:400">…
<span style="font-weight:400">On the other side of the city.
<span style="font-weight:400">Kazuya stared at Ulquiorra, whose Reiatsu was terrifyingly close in nature to his own Hollow Reiatsu. “Momo, go back to the flower shop. Tell them to send the masked reinforcements to the field trip site immediately.”
<span style="font-weight:400">He wouldn’t be able to help Rangiku and others in time. After all, his Shikai wasn’t offensive enough to destroy Ulquiorra, and revealing Nami’s mes risked exposing his Hollow side. He wasn’t sure that Aizen wouldn’t sense Nami’s Hollow origin through her mes.
<span style="font-weight:400">Momo stared at him briefly before nodding her head, fully following her earlier vow of always obeying hismand. “Kazuya-kun, don’t get hurt…”
<span style="font-weight:400">He couldn’t help but smile. “Who do you think you are talking to?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Momo giggled and made a beeline for Sung-Sun’s flower shop, unaware of the true purpose behind her actions.
<span style="font-weight:400">Ulquiorra trailed Momo with his gaze but didn’t intervene. His objective was Kazuya, not Momo. “I do hope you put up a fightparable to your confidence.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I absolutely will, my Arrancar friend.” Kazuya chuckled and drew his Zanpakutō. “Weave, Shinku-no-Tsubasa.”
<span style="font-weight:400">…
<span style="font-weight:400">In a dimly lit room, Aizen sat before a bank of screens, each one disying a different scene of the unfolding chaos.
<span style="font-weight:400">“He wasn’t lying about seizing Zanpakutō Spirits,” Gin said. “A frightening Zanpakutō indeed.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Hmmm.” Aizen’s gaze, however, was drawn not to the high-stakes duel between Kazuya and Ulquiorra, but to a more subtle, yet equallypelling confrontation. On one of the screens, a ck cat tinkered with the barrier around the power nt zone as if she was a human. It reminded Aizen of a certain amusing fact about the Shihōin n’s bloodline, which sounded rubbish at the time he read it.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Shihōin’s descendants can assume the form of an animal. It has only happened two times in the past.” [1]
<span style="font-weight:400">Gin pointed at the ck cat on the screen. “Yoruichi Shihōin.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Interesting…”
<span style="font-weight:400">After a few moments, Yoruichi brought down the barrier setup by Tosen.
<span style="font-weight:400">Aizen threw one leg over the other and smirked. “The final spectacle will start.”
<span style="font-weight:400">…
<span style="font-weight:400">[#1: Kubo confirmed it in a Q&A.
<span style="font-weight:400">Q: I want to know why Yoruichi can take the form of a ck cat. One way of interpreting things is that it is some sort of binding that changes her from her humanoid form to that of a ck cat, but it seems to be fundamentally different from Hado and Bakudo. Is it a power not rted to Kido? Or does it have to do with Kisuke''s technology?
<span style="font-weight:400">A: It''s due to the Shihouin bloodline. Sometimes the Shihouin n breeds people that can assume the form of an animal.]