In a secluded extradimensional space beneath Osaka, the rain above could not reach them, but tension soaked the room just the same.
Kiryuu Shuusuke paced near the sealed gateway, hesitating at each step. Every time he raised his foot to exit, a voice pulled him back.
"Shuusuke! Lord Shuuichi told you not to leave. Have you forgotten?" Nagasawa Rimi stood hands on hips, her tone sharp.
"But..."
"No 'but'!" Matsumoto Rangiku cut him off before he could make his case. "You've forgotten your Zanpakutō was shattered when we escaped the Soul Society, didn't you? A Zanpakutō broken in Bankai is irreparable. Without it, you'd only drag Lord Shuuichi down."
Kiryuu clenched his fists, breath heaving with frustration. He knew it. Of course he knew it.
But still, he'd kept lying to himself. I can still be useful, he told himself. If I just master Bakudō, maybe...
He'd spent over two years tirelessly training in demon arts. Now he barely reached Hadō #63. Not enough. Not even close. And now, when his companions' disguises were blown, and only he, Rimi, and Shuuichi—hiding behind an alternate Gigai—could move freely, he couldn't even step outside.
"Damn it! How can I ever claim to be Lord Shuuichi's sharpest blade when I can't even leave this room?!" he roared, slamming his fist into the wall.
Memories surged: the night he first met Higashi Shuuichi, when his father, overtaken by a Makyou Blade—a corrupted weapon that consumed its wielder—had tried to kill him. Shuuichi arrived in time to intervene. To save him. And to release his father from suffering.
That night changed everything.
And now, that very Makyou Blade... Shuusuke remembered something. Shuuichi had kept one, a memento and warning. Rangiku had carried it into the World of the Living during their escape.
If it were true that a Makyou Blade carried the fused essence of Shinigami power—if wielding one required only guiding the power forth...
Shuusuke's heart pounded.
"Rangiku—didn't you bring a Makyou Blade with you when we left Soul Society?" he asked abruptly, turning to her with intensity.
"Huh? I did, yeah... why?" Rangiku blinked, caught off guard.
"Then give it to me," he said with conviction.
Sixth Division Captain Muguruma Kensei, who had just completed his warm-ups for Hollowfication endurance training, immediately looked up. "Wait—Makyou Blade? Are you serious?!"
Every Shinigami who survived that night in Seireitei remembered the bloodbath tied to that cursed weapon. Kensei especially—he had witnessed rivers of blood firsthand.
"Yes," Rangiku replied hesitantly. "Captain Shuuichi took one with him. He entrusted it to me after we arrived here."
"You've got to be kidding me! Does Shuuichi have any idea how dangerous that thing is?!" Kensei snapped.
"He does," Shuusuke said sharply. "That's why he kept it near—to remind himself of the line never to cross."
"What even is a Makyou Blade?" Rimi asked softly.
Sayako stepped forward. "To put it simply: it's a weapon that corrupts its wielder. It can devour the soul. A Shinigami who fails to control it becomes a beast driven by base desire."
Rimi gasped. "Then no! Absolutely not! Rangiku-san, you can't give that to him! Shuusuke, you're already amazing. Why risk your soul?!"
The room fell silent. Even in the nearby cell where Sugita Ranbu—the Fullbringer they'd captured—was detained, ears turned toward the tension.
"I want to become stronger," Shuusuke declared. "I don't want to be a burden. If I can't walk beside Lord Shuuichi, then I'd rather be consumed by the blade!"
Silence, again.
Finally, Rangiku spoke. "I understand how you feel. But we wait for Lord Shuuichi to return. He'll make the final call."
"No," Kensei said firmly. "Even if Shuuichi returns, I won't allow this."
"I agree!" Rimi said, hands clenched. "You don't need this, Shuusuke!"
Shuusuke lowered his head. Alone in defiance.
Then Sayako's voice cut through: "If we wait for Shuuichi-kun to return, he'll say no."
Everyone turned.
Sayako continued, "He always tries to bear everything alone. Always shielding us. That's why someone needs to stand beside him. Even if just to carry a little of that weight."
She remembered—how Shuuichi once told her, "I'll carry the dream of your family." How he had stood against half of Soul Society for the sake of justice. How, when she faced death to use her Bankai, he had risked exposing his Hollowfication to shield her.
He always fought alone.
So she would speak now.
"Shuusuke," Sayako said, eyes resolute, "Do you swear to become Shuuichi-kun's shield?"
Shuusuke froze. Then, "Of course!"
"Then Rangiku, hand him the blade," Sayako said.
The room stood stunned. Rangiku stammered, "But, Sayako-san—"
"I'll explain everything to Shuuichi," she said calmly.
Even Rimi and Kensei fell silent.
Left with no more resistance, Rangiku brought forth the Makyou Blade—its name etched into its hilt: Raika, Thunderfire.
The sword oozed malice. Yet Shuusuke, staring at it, felt something... familiar. As if it were forged for him.
"Sayako-san, Rangiku, Captain Kensei, Rimi... if I lose control, if the blade devours me—please, kill me."
Sayako nodded. "I believe in you, Shuusuke. You'll master it."
And so, with a deep breath, Kiryuu Shuusuke grasped Raika's hilt.
Darkness fell.
Elsewhere, Higashi Shuuichi cleaved through a Fullbringer, his blade flashing in silence. The enemy fell in a pool of blood—clean, efficient, unhesitating.
He needed no Bankai. No flashy tricks. He had studied them all.
Only Ranbu's strange ability had proven troublesome. The rest were simple—once their powers were understood, they crumbled.
Unfortunately, Soul Society's investigation team had paid the price for that knowledge. Many had fallen.
Still, Shuuichi's strategy had been sound: use the guise of Musashi Kojirou to lure out enemies via sword training with Zaraki's men—then strike with precision.
Everything had gone according to plan… except the other Shinigami had ignored his warning, disguised as Yoruichi, and rushed headlong into the traps.
Even Kaien Shiba had nearly died, saved only by the Vice-Captain of the 13th Division's sacrifice.
Shuuichi sheathed his Zanpakutō and bent to collect the Fullbringer's focus item.
"You're no ordinary human! Who are you?!" the dying enemy gasped.
Shuuichi smiled, cast a healing Kaidō spell just strong enough to save him, and said:
"You can call me Musashi Kojirou. Or… Higashi Shuuichi, former Vice-Captain of the 11th Division."
Gasps. Ikkaku. Yumichika. Even the downed Fullbringer.
No one had expected that.
And the implications? Terrifying.
Shuuichi knew they'd try to warn the others. He flicked his fingers—Bakudō #37, White Crawl. The man collapsed, unconscious.
The Soul Society's team was shattered. Only three remained—and all three were, in some way, allies of Shuuichi.
He was done hiding.
"Let's go," he said with a smile to Ikkaku and Yumichika. "Let's see how Kaien's doing."