Fate in Bleach: Unlimited Blade Works!-Chapter 314: Esdeath’s Request

Just when Ichigo Kurosaki was stunned by the overwhelming spiritual pressure of Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto and Ailin, a familiar voice reached his ears.

"Shoot to kill—Shinsō!"

A white light flashed that pierced through Ichigo's body. The impact sent Ichigo staggering backwards.

The white light, undeniably, was Gin Ichimaru's Zanpakutō, Shinsō!

As Ichigo was flung back after being pierced by Shinsō, the blade continued to extend, inflicting further damage.

"Ugh..."

After Ichigo spat out a mouthful of blood, he instinctively reached out with his left hand to grab Shinsō's blade. He halted his retreat and prevented further injury.

He looked at Gin Ichimaru standing dozens of meters away with his pupils constricted. At that distance, Ichigo couldn't reach Gin with any ordinary attack.

Thankfully, Zangetsu had taught Ichigo one technique.

It was his only technique.

White spiritual pressure coalesced in Ichigo's right hand, which was absorbed and compressed by Zangetsu, forming a dense white aura around the blade.

Then, Ichigo swung his Zanpakutō towards Gin.

"Getsuga—Tenshō!"

A crescent-shaped energy wave, over a meter long, shot towards Gin while spinning rapidly.

Swoosh!

Gin retracted his Zanpakutō and instantly used Shunpo to escape.

BOOM!

Ichigo's Getsuga Tenshō slammed into the ground, creating a trench over a hundred meters long and dozens of meters deep.

Ichigo wasn't surprised that he had missed.

While Getsuga Tenshō was his strongest attack, he knew he couldn't possibly hit Gin from that distance.

His goal was simply to break free from his passive position.

And now, while he was injured, he had at least prevented further harm.

However, a question lingered in Ichigo's mind.

His left hand had clearly grasped the blade of Gin's Zanpakutō.

Logically, if Shinsō's ability was to extend its blade, then when it retracted, Ichigo, who was holding the blade, should have been dragged towards Gin.

But when Gin retracted Shinsō, Ichigo found himself grasping at thin air. It was as if Shinsō had become intangible.

Meanwhile, after evading Ichigo's attack, Gin immediately launched another assault. With a few flashes of Shunpo, he appeared before Ichigo with his Zanpakutō raining down like a storm.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Ichigo swung Zangetsu, creating a blur of blades as he desperately defended himself.

However, his strength was still inferior to Gin's. Moreover, as he blocked Gin's attacks, Shinsō's blade would occasionally extend, inflicting further damage.

Cuts appeared across Ichigo's body.

As Ichigo was wounded, black markings emerged from his eyes, slowly spreading until they covered his entire eye sockets, turning his sclera black.

White spiritual pressure gathered around his face, forming a Hollow mask with three-colored markings.

"Hahahahahaha, hahahahahaha..."

When the white bone mask, adorned with three-colored markings, completely covered Ichigo's face, maniacal laughter erupted from his mouth. His fighting style and combat strategy changed drastically.

"Is this... a Shinigami's Hollowfication?"

As Gin saw Ichigo's current state, a thought crossed his mind. He now understood why Aizen valued Ichigo Kurosaki so highly.

Practically all the Hollowfied Shinigami in the world were Sōsuke Aizen's creations. They were all Aizen's experiments.

However, Gin had never seen a successful Hollowfication. Even those captains from a century ago hadn't succeeded.

But now, Gin saw Hollowfication in a human?

Moreover, judging by Ichigo's laughter, this Hollow was clearly sentient!

The Hollow residing within Ichigo was, at the very least, a Menos Grande that had achieved sentience!

"Hahahahahaha..."

An eerie laughter echoed from Ichigo's mouth. After Hollowfying, his spiritual pressure transformed from white to black-red, increasing several times over.

"Getsuga—Tenshō!"

...

"Hmm?"

Yamamoto and Ailin, high in the sky, frowned.

The other spiritual pressures were negligible. However, the Hollow-like reiatsu emanating from Sōkyoku Hill was like a beacon in the darkness, impossible to ignore.

"A Shinigami's Hollowfication!"

Yamamoto turned his gaze towards Ichigo Kurosaki on Sōkyoku Hill, immense spiritual pressure was erupting from his body. Having led the Seireitei for over a thousand years, Yamamoto could sense the unrest brewing beneath its seemingly calm surface.

And it all stemmed from "Shinigami Hollowfication"!

Seeing another Hollowfied Shinigami, how could Yamamoto not be enraged?

BOOM!

An explosive wave of spiritual pressure erupted from Yamamoto, the air temperature instantly rising. Distorted ripples appeared before everyone's eyes. The air itself was warping from the intense heat of Yamamoto's reiatsu.

Swoosh!

Just as Yamamoto prepared to head towards Sōkyoku Hill, Ailin used Shunpo and appeared before him, blocking his path.

"Captain Ailin, step aside! Or I'll attack you as well!"

Yamamoto was furious. He believed that this Hollowfied Shinigami was undoubtedly connected to the Hollowfication incident over a century ago.

He would never allow such a thing, which threatened the Seireitei's stability, to exist!

"Captain Yamamoto, it seems you've forgotten what I just said. The current situation is unclear. We don't know who is friend or foe. Captain Unohana is at Sōkyoku Hill. If necessary, I believe she will handle the situation.

Your actions might have unintended consequences. They might even benefit our enemies. Therefore, Captain Yamamoto, I'll say it again. Either you go and play with Captains Kyoraku and Ukitake. Or you stay here with me until this chaos subsides."

"Or... I'll fight you!"

Hum...

As Ailin spoke his final words, golden spatial ripples appeared in the sky above the Seireitei, dyeing the entire Seireitei gold.

Countless Zanpakutō, already in Shikai, emerged from these ripples and pointed at Yamamoto.

Ailin's figure seemed minuscule beneath the expansive golden ripples. But no one dared underestimate him.

The Zanpakutō emanating from those golden ripples sent chills down their spines just from a glance.

"Hmph, Captain Ailin. It seems you've forgotten who is the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13. In that case, let me see if you truly have the qualifications to challenge my authority!"

With those words, Yamamoto charged towards Ailin as his overwhelming reiatsu created a powerful gust of wind.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The moment Yamamoto initiated his attack, the Zanpakutō within the golden ripples transformed into streaks of golden lightning and attacked Yamamoto.

BOOM!

Facing the onslaught of Zanpakutō, Yamamoto unleashed the flames of Ryūjin Jakka, forming a blazing barrier around him.

"Inferno Fortress!"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Countless golden lightning bolts slammed into the Inferno Fortress, erupting in thunderous roars.

However, while the Zanpakutō from Ailin's Unlimited Blade Works were incredibly powerful, Yamamoto's Inferno Fortress could even trap three captains—Aizen, Gin, and Tōsen.

It wasn't easily broken.

When Yamamoto trapped Aizen, Gin, and Tōsen within his Inferno Fortress, he had declared that they couldn't escape.

This showed his confidence in his technique. And Yamamoto's confidence wasn't misplaced.

Dozens of Zanpakutō, transformed into golden lightning, bombarded the Inferno Fortress, creating massive mushroom clouds. But even so, they couldn't break through.

Ailin raised his hand slightly, and instantly, the golden ripples practically covered the entire sky above the Seireitei.

Then, golden lightning rained down—

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The blinding light, illuminating the sky, made it seem as if two suns had appeared, or a colossal volcano had erupted.

The shockwaves from the explosion shattered the Shakonmaku, the Seireitei's first line of defense. They ripped through the other barriers above the Seireitei, slowly dissipating as their energy was absorbed.

Most of the Seireitei's buildings were cracked and crumbled from the impact. If not for the stronger Shinigami shielding those around them, the casualties would have been immense.

Under Ailin's concentrated assault, Yamamoto's Inferno Fortress finally shattered.

Amidst the roar of the explosion, Yamamoto swung Ryūjin Jakka to deflect the incoming Zanpakutō. He charged towards Ailin with overwhelming power.

Seeing this, a golden spatial ripple appeared beside Ailin, revealing the hilt of a Zanpakutō.

Just as Ailin was about to draw the Zanpakutō from Unlimited Blade Works, an intense wave of cold erupted from below.

An ice mountain rose from the ground, blocking the path between Ailin and Yamamoto.

BOOM!

Yamamoto slashed downwards, creating a black line across the ice mountain. The mountain instantly split in two along the black line.

Moreover, the black line transformed into blazing flames that threatened to melt the ice mountain.

As the ice mountain shattered, a young woman with long blue hair, clad in a military uniform, appeared before Yamamoto. Her gaze was fixed on Yamamoto with an intense battle lust.

Seeing the woman, Ailin's hand, which had been reaching for the Zanpakutō, paused.

"What are you doing, Esdeath?"

Hearing Ailin's question, the blue-haired woman in the military uniform shifted her gaze from Yamamoto and knelt before Ailin.

"Lord Ailin, I sense great strength in that Shinigami. Please allow me to fight him!"

Looking at the woman before him, her eyes burning with battle lust, Ailin felt a headache coming on.

Besides Alice, this woman was another Zanpakutō Ailin had materialized to protect Haruko Kuchiki. She was Ailin's strongest trump card, besides Avalon.

Alice was meant to deal with ordinary captain-level Shinigami. This woman, however, could at least handle "century captains."

Because this woman, originally, was from a healing anime in Ailin's memories.

Her name was Esdeath.

Her Zanpakutō's true name was Demon's Extract!

Based on the character Ailin had materialized, Esdeath was a general who craved war.

However, there were no soldiers in the Soul Society for her to command. Therefore, her desire for war had transformed into a battle lust similar to Zaraki's.

It was precisely because of this that Esdeath had volunteered to protect Haruko Kuchiki when Ailin selected his Zanpakutō for this task.

However, to Esdeath's disappointment, she hadn't had a chance to fight in all these years.

But hard work always paid off.

Today, her chance had finally arrived!