Renji Completes His Bankai Training

In the Training Base late at night, the air was filled with the aftershocks of the collision of Reiatsu. When Liu Hao led Momo Hinamori through the heavy gate, the scene before him made the Fifth Division Vice-Captain gasp.

On one side of the Training Ground, Renji Abarai —the always hot-blooded and impulsive Squad Six Vice-Captain —was fiercely battling a bizarre being. This being wielded a snake- Zanpakuto, its face covered by a mask fused with both a baboon and a snake, revealing inhuman pupils beneath. Each clash of blades sent up blinding sparks.

"Abarai is here too?!" Momo Hinamori's voice was filled with surprise.

Almost simultaneously, an even more intense clanging of metal came from the other side of the Training Ground. Momo Hinamori turned her head and saw an orange-haired boy fighting a man dressed in black who was wielding a huge Zanpakuto. The boy's movements were wild and tenacious, and although he was clearly at a disadvantage, he got up again and again.

"Is that boy Ryoka?" Momo Hinamori asked in a low voice, her hand unconsciously resting on her Zanpakuto.

"Yes," Liu Hao replied calmly, "They are training their Bankai in preparation for saving Rukia."

"But..." Momo Hinamori frowned, "Even if they achieve Bankai, there are so many Captains in the Seireitei, how are you going to rescue Rukia?"

A meaningful smile played on Liu Hao's lips, "The Seireitei isn't all enemies; their numbers are far fewer than you imagine. The truth will be revealed tomorrow."

His gaze returned to Renji Abarai's battle. At this moment, Abarai and the being known as "Zabimaru" were nearing their limits. Sweat mixed with blood dripped from Renji Abarai's body, his breathing was heavy, and his arm holding the sword trembled. On the other side, Zabimaru had cracked, and a dangerous light flashed in his eerie pupils.

Yoruichi Shihōin —the former Second Division Captain in her Black Cat form—was about to step forward to end the battle. But Liu Hao raised his hand and stopped her.

"Wait a little longer." His voice was soft, but it left no room for argument.

Liu Hao walked towards the center of the Training Ground, his footsteps echoing softly on the empty ground. He stopped Renji Abarai, his voice clearly reaching everyone's ears:

"Renji, is this all you've got?"

Renji Abarai whirled around, his scarlet hair plastered to his forehead with sweat. He glared at Liu Hao, his eyes filled with both exhaustion and defiance. "What do you mean?"

"At your current level, you can't surpass Byakuya Kuchiki." Liu Hao's tone was calm, but every word struck Renji Abarai's heart like a heavy hammer.

Liu Hao slowly wiped the smile from his face, his expression turning unusually serious. "I received news before I returned that Rukia's execution date has been changed to tomorrow noon. So we don't have any more time to waste with you."

The air seemed to freeze.

Renji Abarai froze, his pupils suddenly contracting. After a few seconds of silence, he repeated in a low voice, "Tomorrow... noon?"

Then, some kind of change happened to him.

The already weakened Reiatsu suddenly surged again, rising at an alarming rate. The Training Ground trembled slightly, and the density of Reishi in the air increased dramatically. Renji Abarai slowly turned around, facing Zabimaru again. His eyes had changed—no longer filled with the previous anxiety and exhaustion, but with an almost resolute calm.

"Zabimaru," his voice was deep and firm, "It seems I don't have time to waste with you. I might get a bit more violent from now on, I hope you understand."

Zabimaru's eyes narrowed beneath his Zabimaru mask, his voice hissing in a low, echoing tone. "Is that so? Then let me see just how violent you can be."

Before he could finish speaking, Renji Abarai had already moved.

It wasn't the skillful advance of before, but a pure, unreserved charge. The ground beneath his feet cracked instantly, his body became a blur, and his Zanpakuto drew a blinding arc in the air before slashing down.

Zabimaru dodged to the side, the blade grazing his shoulder and sending sparks flying. Almost simultaneously, Zabimaru swung his sword horizontally with a backhand motion, the blade aimed straight for Renji Abarai's waist.

But Renji Abarai did not retreat. He bent down, the blade grazing his head, and at the same time, his Zanpakuto suddenly extended— Zabimaru's Shikai ability was being used perfectly at this moment. The tip of the blade pierced Zabimaru's chest like a venomous snake.

Zabimaru retreated rapidly, parrying with his sword at the same time. The sound of metal clashing was sharp and piercing.

In that instant, Renji Abarai caught up. In his other hand, a crimson light began to gather, flickering erratically and radiating a dangerous aura.

The pupils beneath the Zabimaru suddenly contracted. The snake tail behind it—that strange entity formed by the joints of connected blades—suddenly opened its massive jaws and bit at Renji Abarai's arm.

"Renji!" Momo Hinamori couldn't help but exclaim.

But everything happened too fast.

Just as the snake's tail was about to bite his arm, the red light in Renji Abarai's hand exploded uncontrollably. It wasn't a conscious release, but a spontaneous burst of power that had exceeded its limits.

Boom--

The shockwave from the explosion swept across the entire Training Ground. Smoke and dust filled the air, and debris flew everywhere. As the smoke and dust gradually dissipated, two figures were simultaneously thrown backward and crashed heavily to the ground.

Momo Hinamori turned to look at Liu Hao, her eyes filled with worry. "Liu Hao, can Abarai's body handle this kind of fighting style?"

"There's nothing we can do but accept it." Liu Hao's voice was unusually calm, but his gaze never left Renji Abarai. "Right now, all his methods are useless against Zabimaru. If it were before, Zabimaru would only guide him, letting him master Zabimaru's power and abilities."

He paused, then continued, "But now, Zabimaru only wants to seize control of his body."

Momo Hinamori keenly noticed a fleeting, almost imperceptible hint of reluctance and heartache in the depths of Liu Hao's eyes.

"Why is this happening?" she pressed.

Liu Hao remained silent for a moment. Moonlight streamed through the broken roof, illuminating half of his face and making his expression appear even more stern.

"Because someone injected a Hollow's soul into his soul." His voice was soft, yet it sent a chill down Momo Hinamori. "His power had been at its peak before, so he had been suppressing it. After his last battle with Ichigo Kurosaki, the Hollow's power tried to take advantage of the situation and erode his soul."

Liu Hao's gaze fell on Renji Abarai was still struggling on the ground in the distance. "I could only use my power to forcibly fuse that Hollow power with his Zanpakuto. See the mask on Zabimaru's face? That's the manifestation of Zabimaru's Hollowfication."

Momo Hinamori gasped. Her gaze returned to the battlefield, and she finally understood the meaning of the inhuman pupils beneath the mask.

"Who... did this?" Her voice was filled with suppressed anger.

"You'll know tomorrow." Liu Hao's answer was brief and cold.

On the Training Ground, Renji Abarai had struggled to his feet. His Shihakushō was torn in many places, and his exposed skin was covered with wounds and bloodstains. But he stood straight, his eyes as resolute as iron.

Without hesitation or pause, he charged at Zabimaru once more.

Zabimaru managed to stand up with difficulty. Half of his mask had been blown off, revealing one eye—a completely black eye with a golden pupil, like the vertical pupil of some dangerous creature.

"Renji," Zabimaru's voice became hoarse, "It seems you really are risking your life."

It also raised its sword to meet the charging Renji Abarai.

The two swords clashed again. This time, they did not separate immediately, but began a pure contest of strength. At the point where the blades met, Reiatsu clashed violently, emitting a piercing buzz.

"Yes," Renji Abarai's voice squeezed out through clenched teeth, "I must risk my life. I cannot let Liu Hao down, I cannot let Rukia be executed, and I cannot... lose my soul!"

The moment the last word fell, Renji Abarai exerted his strength. It wasn't a skillful way of deflecting or borrowing force, but a pure, savage burst of power.

Zabimaru was knocked back several steps.

Renji Abarai gave it no chance to breathe. He launched a frenzied attack—slashing, chopping, thrusting, sweeping, without any pattern or method, each strike carrying the momentum of mutual destruction.

This isn't how Soul Reaper fights; this is the battle of beasts.

Zabimaru had to be careful. Faced with this style of fighting that completely abandoned defense and only sought offense, even it felt the pressure. Cracks began to appear on the two swords in the high-intensity collision, and small fragments kept flying.

Finally, Zabimaru found an opening, withdrew, and tried to create distance to regroup.

However, Renji Abarai did not pursue them.

He stopped his frenzied attack and plunged his badly damaged Zanpakuto —its blade riddled with cracks and almost unrecognizable—into the ground.

"I'm sorry, Zabimaru!" he said in a low voice, then raised his head and roared at the retreating Zabimaru:

"Fang of the Baboon King: Absolutetooth!"

The Zanpakuto fragments on the ground, those blade fragments that had been scattered and broken apart during the battle, suddenly all lit up with a scarlet light. Like awakened venomous snakes, they rose from the ground, transforming into countless red beams that shot towards Zabimaru at an astonishing speed.

The pupils beneath the Zabimaru mask suddenly contracted. It tried to dodge, but there was too much red light, too dense, covering every possible angle from which to evade.

The first beam of red light struck its shoulder, tearing a deep wound.

The second, the third, the fourth...

The crimson light rained down on Zabimaru, each strike tearing away a piece of flesh and creating a wound. The mask on its face shattered completely under the impact, its fragments scattering everywhere.

When the last glimmer of red light faded, Zabimaru could barely stand. His body was covered in wounds, dripping with blood. But his eyes—the eyes revealed after the mask shattered—were no longer the inhuman black and gold they had been before; they had returned to normal human pupils.

Zabimaru —or rather, the true form of his Zanpakuto —looked at Renji Abarai, his voice becoming calm:

"Renji, you've won. But this isn't enough to make me submit. We'll fight again in the future."

After saying that, its body began to disintegrate, turning into soft rays of light along with all the Zanpakuto fragments on the ground, flying towards the only remaining hilt of the sword in Renji Abarai's hand.

As the light merged, the hilt began to regenerate. The shattered blade reformed, and the segmented, serpentine blade reappeared, ultimately restoring the complete Shikai form of the Zabimaru.

Renji Abarai looked down at the Zanpakuto in his hand, a tired but sincere smile playing on his lips:

"Idiot, we are one. What do you mean by fighting again in the future? From now on, we will only fight side by side. Even if you have absorbed the power of the Hollow, you will still be my partner, my blade."

The Zabimaru seemed to respond to his words, emitting a slight hum, like the whisper of a living creature. Then, the light shifted again, and the snake-shaped blade returned to its most ordinary Asauchi form.

The battle is over.

Renji Abarai swayed, then fell straight backward. But before he hit the ground, a pair of arms caught him.

Liu Hao had appeared beside him without him noticing and steadily supported him.

"Very good, Renji." Liu Hao's voice carried a rare hint of approval.

Renji Abarai barely opened his eyes and forced a weak smile, "Of course... I'll catch up with you."

"Yes, you can do it." Liu Hao nodded seriously. "Alright, go and rest for a bit. We still need to rescue Rukia."

"Okay," Renji Abarai, his eyes already almost closed.

Liu Hao hoisted him onto his shoulder and headed deeper into the Training Ground. Momo Hinamori followed behind him, and seeing her usually impulsive and passionate Vice-Captain looking so exhausted, she felt a mix of emotions welling up inside her.

They arrived at a natural hot spring deep within the Training Base. Steam rose from the surface of the hot spring, which contained a faint Reishi that was said to have miraculous effects on the recovery of injuries.

Liu Hao carefully placed Renji Abarai into the hot spring. The warm water enveloped his tired body, Renji Abarai let out a satisfied sigh, falling into a deep sleep almost instantly.

"Once his Reiatsu and injuries have recovered, we can set off." Liu Hao turned to Momo Hinamori and said, "I'll take you out to gather some information first. Tomorrow at noon is the execution time, and we must gather all the intelligence."

Momo Hinamori nodded. Her gaze finally fell on Renji Abarai, who was sleeping in the hot spring. His face, with its furrowed brows even in his sleep, reminded her of the scene during the Tōshirō Hitsugaya.

We're all working so hard for the people who matter to us.