In order to protect Nanao, Kyoraku opened his remaining right eye and looked at the sword that approached Nanao. It was a zanpaku-to that looked like a swift whip with a spearhead at its end.
—This is Rose’s…
—But from the smoke?
—Oh no. —That voice was a bluff.
—He hasn’t invoked the game.
As all these words crossed his mind, he was led to one conclusion…
He couldn’t close his eyes to it.
Even if “The Bodhidharma falls down” was a bluff, the blade that was approaching Nanao before her eyes was coming from her blind spot. Tokinada’s attacks were not so weak as to allow someone to defend against them while their eyes were closed.
“Don’t look! Close your eyes!”
Several moments delayed, the words that he was attempting to say finally came out of his mouth. However, they didn’t come in time. Before those around him could understand what the words meant, Tokinada had already finished.
Even though Kyoraku had come upon what Tokinada was aiming for, he ended up already seeing it.
It wasn’t just him.
Some of them, in order to dodge the approaching Senbon Zakura…
Some in order to intercept the still writhing Gagaku Kairo…
Some before they could escape from the thin smoke of Haineko…
Some, some, some…
They were all carefully watching, trying to determine the infinite number of “zanpaku-to” that Tokinada dispatched.
At around the same time as Kyoraku, Hirako, who had realized Tokinada’s aim, looked at the Shinso blade that approached him. His sense of logic was exceeded by his battle experience and the instincts that told him he would not be able to dodge that attack with his eyes closed, which made him too late to close his eyes.
Because of that, no one was able to evade it.
Crunch. Along with the noise of something being smashed to pieces, all the zanpaku-to in front of their eyes seemed to disperse like water evaporating.
Kyoraku and Hirako had expected that, but for that reason, they were mortified.
The Soul Reapers and Arrancars who understood what it meant opened their eyes in fright.
The Quincies, who had no idea what significance it held, looked on in disbelief.
With the exception of Kenpachi, who only had eyes for his duel high in the sky with Hikone, they had all seen it.
In other words, they had seen the moment that Sosuke Aizen’s zanpaku-to, Kyoka Suigetsu, shattered its shikai.
≡
“What is going on here? How big is this tower?”
Even as he complained, he ran through the palace with complete concentration. Although he had been able to leave the throne room, he still hadn’t found anything that looked like an exit from the building itself.
He felt that he’d been heading in the direction from which he sensed countless spiritual pressures for quite some time, but the structure was like a complex maze and hadn’t allowed Hisagi to escape easily.
He sensed that the spiritual pressure of Hikone had swelled explosively, and Kenpachi Zaraki’s had shot up with a staggering force. It seemed they were clashing far up above in the sky.
“Damn it… So I was too late!”
All he could think was that Hikone and Kenpachi’s fight to the death had begun.
Though Hisagi continued to move his legs, trying to find a way out even a second sooner, at that point he realized that there was another spiritual pressure he recognized. Though it had been hidden by Kenpachi’s spiritual pressure and he hadn’t noticed it, there were several other familiar spiritual pressures too.
“Captain General Kyoraku?! And also Ms. Yoruichi…and even Captain Muguruma!”
That so many powerhouses had gathered meant that Karakura Town’s isolation had probably become a larger issue, even to them. That was what Hisagi assumed, but…
“Hm? These spiritual pressures…are Arrancars…and Quincies?! What the hell is going on here?!”
Not understanding what was happening, Hisagi suppressed his nerves and his heart thumped as he ran.
After he had run for a while, Hisagi’s anxiety grew.
“Their spiritual pressures have started to weaken?”
Accompanying that realization was the beginning of a fear that was different from the one he’d had until now. Hikone, who had that absurd spiritual pressure, was fighting Kenpachi, he realized. In that case, who was currently making the Captain General and the others’ spiritual pressure weaken moment by moment?
Is it Aura? No, or is it…?
Since Aura’s spiritual pressure was scarce to begin with, he couldn’t tell whether she was there from where he was. However, he could make out an ominous spiritual pressure that he had never felt before ensconced where Kyoraku and the others were.
This spiritual pressure…it couldn’t be Tokinada’s…
Hisagi earnestly held back his unease as he continued to run. Finally he discovered nonartificial light breaking through and used shunpo to run to it at once.
It was likely a window to allow in outdoor light. Jumping onto the window frame, which was big enough for a single Soul Reaper to pass through with room to spare, Hisagi immediately surveyed the situation outside…
That was when he first realized he was not in a multistory tower, but a gigantic building floating in the air.
“Wha…?”
A gale of pronounced spiritual pressure brushed his cheek. The wind that blew up from below cycled around the gigantic building, making the structure that floated in the air seem as though it were in its own cramped world.
“This is practically like the Reiokyu…”
As he uttered this impression, which was the same as Hirako’s and the others’, Hisagi looked above his head momentarily. From that position, at a height that made their forms hazy, he saw what looked like two stars snapping at each other. If he were to approach them without enough caution, he would likely end up caught and torn to shreds between the two spiritual pressures. In fact, even looking up at them like this, Hisagi was seized by the illusion that his own spiritual pressure was twisting his flesh.
Meanwhile, when he turned his eyes to Kyoraku and the other presences he sensed below, he found a scene that made him doubt his eyes.
“There’s no way…”
Seeing it from afar he couldn’t be certain, but it looked as though Kyoraku and the others had partnered with the Arrancars and Quincies and that they were being drastically overpowered by a single Soul Reaper.
Hisagi was unable to just stand there. He leapt from the window, falling down toward the battleground spread below his eyes.
He still had no idea what he would learn of the Soul Society’s darkness on that battlefield.