"Kenma—what on earth did he do to me to steal my Zanpakuto?!"
Kisuke Urahara rapidly replayed every encounter he had had with Kenma.
From beginning to end.
Suddenly, something clicked, and his eyes narrowed.
He remembered the contract he had signed with Shikashuin Kenma when Kenma had locked him in the Worm Nest.
That's it. It has to be!
It has to be because of that contract.
Kisuke was certain he had figured out how Kenma had taken his Zanpakuto.
But what good did knowing do?
Kisuke's spirits plummeted.
Without Benihime, he had lost his final trump card. How could he fight back now?
They were trapped, waiting to be slaughtered.
Were he and Hirako's group really going to die here?
Kenma held Benihime and gave it a couple of swings, then nodded in satisfaction.
"A fine Zanpakuto indeed. Benihime, was it? What a lovely name."
He remembered that Benihime's Bankai could remodel anything it touched to deal with all manner of crises.
Kisuke had used that very ability to defeat the poison-wielding Quincy.
It was undeniably powerful!
Unfortunately, Kenma had no use for it right now.
An ability like that was better suited to research and development than straightforward combat.
Just as Kisuke had used it.
In the hands of the right researcher, Benihime would be far more useful than it would be to an ordinary fighter.
Who among his people would make a suitable researcher?
Kenma considered it, then suddenly waved to Shisui ahead of him.
"Shisui, if I recall, Orochimaru's done good work lately. He's dug up quite a few talented people for us."
Shisui appeared before Kenma and said respectfully, "Yes. The Second Kazekage, Third Kazekage, and Second Raikage in the Onmitsukidō were all found by Orochimaru."
Dug up in the most literal sense.
Orochimaru and