Bankai / The Bonds of the Shiba Clan

Shiba Miyako immediately ran behind Kaien Shiba and shouted, "I'll cover you."

Her attacks couldn't deal effective damage to the three Hollows, so she would devote herself to covering him, using Bakudō to create openings for Kaien to attack.

"Good!" Kaien Shiba roared and charged forward again.

He swung the spear in his hands over and over. Water streamed from both the tip and the butt with each swing, turning into waves that battered the three Hollows and drove them back again and again.

The two worked very well together.

Whenever the three Hollows attacked at once, Shiba Miyako used Bakudō such as Hainawa and Kyokkō to disrupt them, creating openings and gaps in their attacks.

Meanwhile, Kaien Shiba attacked with all his strength, swinging his trident fiercely forward. A stream of water appeared with the swing, turning into a deep-blue blade that slashed hard across the mask of a Hollow whose mouth was wide open.

With a crack, fractures appeared in its mask.

"Aaargh!" The thing let out a roar of pain, and the red light in its eyes grew more intense.

Kaien Shiba stepped back. "Their defenses are strong. I have to give it everything I've got to hurt them, so I'll leave defense to you."

As soon as he finished speaking, a ring of water suddenly appeared beneath his feet. It began spinning around his body, forming a whirlpool that enveloped him.

Shiba Miyako gathered the Reishi around her and began chanting again, using Bakudō to hold back the three Hollows and buy Kaien time to charge up his big attack.

And just as Kaien Shiba's technique was gathering power and nearing its peak,

a faint cracking sound suddenly rang out.

The next moment, a spray of red blood burst from Shiba Miyako's back and spattered across the whirlpool around Kaien Shiba.

"Miyako!"

Chapter 70: Bankai—

"Get away."

Kaien Shiba pointed his spear forward, and the whirlpool turned into a waterspout that swept the three Hollows high into the sky.

He had no time to see what had become of his attack. Instead, he rushed to Shiba Miyako's side and stood guard.

But he found no other enemies.

He immediately crouched to examine the wound on Shiba Miyako's back. His eyes widened, and his pupils trembled.

A blade wound.

It was unmistakably a wound that could only have been inflicted by a blade.

It proved that someone wielding a blade had been hiding nearby and had taken the opportunity to attack Shiba Miyako.

The cut wasn't particularly deep, though. It hadn't killed Shiba Miyako outright, but it left her bleeding profusely.

She couldn't even use her own Reishi to seal the wound. Her attacker had deliberately struck with just the right force.

Shiba Miyako was gravely wounded and unable to help, but not so badly that she would die.

Yet if she didn't receive treatment soon, she would bleed to death before long.

Shiba Miyako struggled to her feet, but Kaien Shiba hurriedly stopped her. "Don't worry," he said loudly. "I'm here."

"Idiot, if you unleashed your full power, you could definitely escape from here.

But the person behind this gravely wounded me precisely to keep you from escaping."

Shiba Miyako gripped Kaien's forearm tightly with both hands and spoke word by word. "Go. Now."

"No, I'm not leaving!" Kaien roared. "I'll never leave you."

Shiba Miyako sighed. She understood that Kaien was not someone she could convince with reason. Even if she died here, he wouldn't run.

"Focus on the enemy. Don't worry about me."

She gathered Reishi once more and chanted:

"Light, bend these footsteps, and hide silently in the gap between illusion and reality. Let the form reflected be a mirage, an elusive illusion."

"Bakudō number twenty-six: Kyokkō."

The space around them instantly warped.

A moment later, her figure blended into the surroundings, and even her Reishi could no longer be detected.

Shiba Miyako spoke again. "I have a great talent for Kyokkō. Other Soul Reapers can only stand still when they use this Bakudō, but I can move."

"Let's find a way out of here first."

Kaien nodded.

He took some strips of cloth from his sleeve and gave Shiba Miyako emergency bandaging. Then the two slowly made their way out under the cover of Kyokkō.

Thud, thud, thud.

The three Hollows that the waterspout had swept into the sky crashed back to the ground, all unharmed.

Their heads were merely a little dizzy, and they opened their mouths wide and roared.

They scanned their surroundings but couldn't detect their enemies. Furious, they vented by attacking the trees around them at random.

But attacking their surroundings didn't calm them down. Instead, they grew increasingly frenzied, and the range of their attacks grew wider and wider.

The shattered branches and flying dirt struck the two of them several times as they moved slowly under Kyokkō.

Kyokkō's ability only distorted light to camouflage a small area. It offered no defense.

Nor could they use Spiritual Power recklessly while inside it, because that would interfere with Kyokkō and cause it to disappear immediately.

As the Hollows attacked wildly in their frenzy, the stones, dirt, and branches they sent flying became sharp projectiles. They struck Kaien hard, punching several bloody holes in him.

"This won't work," Shiba Miyako said slowly, enduring the pain in her body as she maintained Kyokkō.

Although the Bakudō had a camouflage effect, not only could they not use Reishi to attack recklessly, but they also couldn't move quickly.

The three Hollows were now attacking wildly in their frenzy, with no sign of stopping.

If this continued, the collateral damage would kill them, and there was still an enemy hidden in the shadows.

She turned her head and studied Kaien's face again. "Will you go?"

"I'm not leaving," Kaien answered again.

"Then let's turn back and kill the enemy." Shiba Miyako stopped and canceled Kyokkō.

The two instantly came into view. The three Hollows found their targets again and charged toward them with frenzied howls.

Shiba Miyako gave Kaien a pale smile. "Kaien, you must never give up."

"I'll get you out of here." Kaien Shiba straightened up again, closed his eyes, and drew a deep breath, his chest swelling.

The water and Reishi that had burst outward suddenly surged back to the tip of his spear.

"Kaien?" Shiba Miyako murmured, her vision gradually growing blurry.

Kaien Shiba stepped forward, shielding his wife behind him. His eyes were still closed.

The three Hollows charged toward them again and attacked.

They had also noticed the gravely wounded Shiba Miyako, and this time all three Hollows aimed their attacks at her.

Three attacks tore through the air toward her with piercing shrieks.

A thunderous boom rang out.

Blue radiance burst from Kaien Shiba's body.

The radiance spread outward in layers like ocean waves, surging forth without pause.

He gripped his trident tightly in both hands, bracing his waist and abdomen. His arm muscles tensed, and veins stood out.

The layers of water-blue radiance spreading outward sent all three Hollows flying.

The radiance also surged toward the sky. At a height of roughly a thousand meters, it seemed to break through something with a series of cracks.

"Bankai—"

"Nejibana Myriad Waves Coil: Heavenly Whirlpool Gate!"

Kaien Shiba snapped his eyes open and spoke the release command.

The trident in his hands transformed. Its metallic shaft became translucent, deep-blue crystal, with silver Reishi patterns flowing and swirling inside it like seawater.

The shaft lengthened to three meters, and a blue Reishi ribbon wound around its end. The Shiba Clan's crest, a heavenly whirlpool flower pattern, appeared upon it.

Behind him, a waterwheel-shaped vortex of Reiatsu more than five meters across was taking shape.

The vortex turned slowly, growing a little larger and spinning faster with every revolution.

The air churned with a whimpering sound.

Blue radiance burst from Kaien Shiba as he thrust his spear at the three Hollows, who had lost their balance in the air.

"Heavenly Whirlpool Pierce!"

The instant the spear thrust forward, all the water coiled around its shaft converged ahead, compressing and spinning into a spiral water drill several meters in diameter.

It shot straight toward the three Hollows in the air.

With a sharp pop, the water drill swallowed the three Hollows in an instant, and they vanished from sight.

Then he turned to look at a tree behind him and spoke coldly:

"Come out, you sneak."

At the instant he had used Bankai, he had discovered that someone had concealed the area around him with Kidō.

Fortunately, he had broken through it, and he had also detected a trace of Reiatsu hiding behind the tree.

He held his spear in one hand, pointed its tip at the tree, and spoke again:

"Still not coming out?"

Chapter 71: The Bonds of the Shiba Clan

Tokoyo Misao and his companion, who had already reached the edge of the district, suddenly sensed a tremendous Reiatsu soaring into the sky behind them.

Both turned around at once and saw a deep-blue stream of Reishi and water rushing into the sky.

Even from several thousand meters away, they could feel the air growing damp.

"Brother Misao, isn't that Lieutenant Kaien's Reiatsu?" Tōshirō Hitsugaya asked with a frown.

Although that Reiatsu was incredibly violent, its source was definitely Kaien Shiba.

He had most likely encountered an enemy and been forced to unleash such tremendous power.

"Go back to the Tenth Division immediately and request reinforcements."

Tokoyo Misao turned around, and before Tōshirō could respond, he had already vanished.

Tōshirō immediately raced toward the Seireitei.

Sōsuke Aizen, in the shadows, was also drawn by this sudden turn of events.

He hadn't expected the lieutenant of the Thirteenth Division to have already mastered Bankai.

It was no wonder the Kidō originally laid to deal with the lieutenant had been broken through.

He also noticed Tokoyo Misao rapidly approaching and a glint flashed in his eyes.

Did Tokoyo Misao have some special sensory ability or not?

If he didn't, why had he been moving slowly toward another soul district ever since parting from Kaien Shiba, as though deliberately stalling for time?

But if he did, why had he waited until now to turn back and help?

Just now, Shiba Miyako and Kaien Shiba had almost been in a desperate situation.

After pondering for a moment, he smiled and said softly, "Kaname, let's go back."

He turned, merged into the shadows, and disappeared.

Meanwhile, Kaien Shiba was still confronting the tree.

He didn't know what his opponent was capable of, and he hadn't attacked rashly.