Hollowfication, Rampage

Shush, shush, shush—a series of sounds rang out around Sawada Tsunayoshi. Aside from Kuna Hak and Hachigen, the remaining Visored surrounded Tsuna, each drawing their Zanpakuto and pointing them at him.

"Oh? Everyone wants a piece too? I'm game." Tsuna said with a smile.

"Can't help it, kid. Even as the leader, I have to listen to the team's opinion." Hirako pressed down on his small felt hat as he slowly drew his Zanpakuto. It went without saying—the Visored were going to settle the score for Muguruma Kensei.

"Who's your leader, baldy!" Hiyori yelled at Hirako in dissatisfaction. But considering the team's situation, she held back from grabbing her slippers and smacking him right then.

"Don't sweat the small stuff." Hirako pointed his blade at Sawada Tsunayoshi. "Give up quietly. As long as Kensei's fine, we won't hurt you."

Kuna Hak and Hachigen had gone to check on Muguruma Kensei's condition. News should be coming back soon.

"Relax, Rokusha should be fine. I only used less than half my strength."

Tsuna tilted his head toward his left arm. Hirako was startled to see that the sun-like disc on Tsuna's left arm still had over half its flames remaining. Out of ten torches, Tsuna had only used four to send Muguruma Kensei flying out of sight.

"As for your 'give up quietly'—I'm actually looking forward to seeing your Hollowfication."

Tsuna took a reluctant step forward. The Visored immediately tensed up. Everyone knew Tsuna still had most of his power left. Even Kensei's Bankai couldn't withstand it—the remaining portion of Tsuna's strength was dangerous to anyone present.

Hirako's reaction was even sharper. He had seen firsthand how Tsuna's injuries healed. That meant ordinary damage barely affected him. With that in mind, Hirako reversed his Zanpakuto and muttered under his breath.

"Collapse, Sakanade!"

A palm-sized ring appeared on the hilt of Hirako's Zanpakuto, and five small circular holes dotted the blade. Hirako hooked his finger through the ring and spun Sakanade.

A strange fragrance drifted into Tsuna's nose. Then, the entire world flipped upside down. Heaven and earth swapped places. The Visored stood inverted in the sky, staring down at Tsuna. It was a world of opposites.

"You can say my name backward, so you should understand my ability, right? Welcome to the inverted world." Hirako paced across the sky as he spoke. "Until we confirm Kensei's condition, you'll stay here—"

Before Hirako could finish, his leisurely stride was interrupted. His face looked as if it had taken a heavy blow. Eyes bulging and blood spilling from his mouth, Hirako plummeted from the sky.

The world in Tsuna's eyes shifted again. The inversion returned to normal. The Visored still stood around him. The falling Hirako was the one Tsuna had just punched away.

Hirako executed a clean backflip and landed in midair. Wiping the blood from his lips, he said in disbelief, "How is that possible?"

"Baldy, your illusion was seen through. I told you that little trick wouldn't work." Hiyori didn't miss the chance to mock Hirako. "I say we just go straight in. Cut him down—Kubi Orochi."

The Zanpakuto in Hiyori's hand was saw-toothed. Unlike Hirako's bizarre Sakanade, this blade was a direct-attack type.

"Just intuition." Tsuna said flatly. When Hirako had been walking upside down, Tsuna sensed him moving close. Seeing Hirako putting on airs all alone, Tsuna didn't hesitate to throw a punch.

Hirako was still pondering how Tsuna had broken the illusion. Hot-tempered Hiyori charged straight at Tsuna with her Zanpakuto. Lisa, Rose, and Aikawa Love followed suit. No matter what, they couldn't let a former Vice-Captain like Hiyori go head-to-head with a Bankai-state Sawada Tsunayoshi.

But the moment the Visored moved, they all stopped abruptly, tilting their ears as if listening.

Tsuna sensed Hachigen's Reiatsu vibration. Combined with the Visored's reaction, he immediately understood what was happening.

Bakudō #77: Tenreikyūra. Colloquially known as the private-service megaphone. A binding spell for transmitting messages. Hachigen Ushōda must have confirmed Muguruma Kensei's condition.

After hearing the Tenreikyūra's message, every Visored's expression changed. Anxiety and urgency painted their faces.

Hiyori couldn't hide her thoughts at all: "Hurry and help! That baldy Rokusha has gone berserk from Hollowfication!"

In that instant, all the Visored turned on their heels. Abandoning Tsuna, they rushed toward the direction the Tenreikyūra had come from. From there, a violent Reiatsu belonging to Muguruma Kensei surged forth.

Through Hiyori's outburst, Tsuna also understood the situation. As expected, when Kensei had been enduring his Sunlight Counter, the Hollow power inside him had forcibly erupted to help resist Tsuna's attack and heal Kensei's injuries.

As for why Kensei had gone berserk—was it because the damage was too severe? Or had Kensei's own Reiatsu drained too fast, making him unable to suppress the Hollow inside? Or maybe Kensei simply hadn't mastered Hollowfication in his Bankai state?

Tsuna's interest was piqued. The whole reason he had sought out these Visored was to witness their Hollowfication firsthand. So he said with a grin, "Hollowfication? Sounds great!"

"Wait!"

Hirako tried to stop Tsuna. He didn't want an outsider causing more trouble in this situation. But before the words left his mouth, Tsuna had already vanished from his sight.

Hirako couldn't believe what he had just seen. He hadn't even caught a glimpse of Tsuna's movement.

What was that? Was that Flash Step?

Hirako felt it wasn't the Flash Step he knew. It had the shadow of Flash Step but wasn't Flash Step at all. And he realized his own Flash Step couldn't catch up to Sawada Tsunayoshi. That meant Tsuna could defeat them all with just Flash Step alone.

Hirako buried the fact he had just discovered. No matter what, he had to catch up first and get Kensei under control. What if this Sawada kid didn't know his own strength and accidentally killed Kensei? That would be a real problem.

Deeper in the warehouse, a white humanoid monster was rampaging everywhere. If not for the blade-fists still in its hands and the ribbon-like decorations on its back, it would have been hard to recognize as Muguruma Kensei.

Just as Tsuna had guessed, Kensei had entered Hollowfication while in Bankai state, resulting in a berserk rampage.

Near Kensei was a green-haired girl in a skintight suit wearing a mask. Kuna Hak had also entered Hollowfication. She kept striking superhero poses, trying to stop Muguruma Kensei. But the gap in power was too great—she couldn't even get close.

Hachigen Ushōda had just condensed a Kido barrier in front of Kuna Hak to block Kensei's frenzy. But the barrier didn't last even a second. Like tofu, it shattered at the touch of Kensei's blade-fists. It was barely effective.

Hachigen had considered using Bakudō to bind the rampaging Kensei. But in this state, Kensei wasn't just powerful—his movement had a hint of Sonido mixed into his Flash Step. He was fast and slippery, incredibly hard to control.

Tsuna arrived just in time to see Kuna Hak and Hachigen Ushōda being chased by the Hollowfied Muguruma Kensei. Without hesitation, Tsuna used Flash Step to block in front of Kuna Hak and raised his hand to intercept Kensei's attack.

"You!"

Kuna Hak was about to demand answers from Tsuna, the one who had caused Kensei to end up like this. But Tsuna replied first: "Hirako and the others are on their way. I'll handle this for now."

With that, Tsuna ignored Kuna Hak. Using the jets on his feet, he traded blows with the Hollowfied Kensei while kiting, gradually drawing Kensei's aggro away from Kuna Hak.

Both strength and speed had increased significantly. Tsuna silently evaluated as he parried the Hollowfied Kensei's fists. Not only that—every punch from the Hollowfied Kensei carried a terrifying explosive force. This forced Tsuna to consume one torch of flame Reiatsu from his armlet to recover from the injuries sustained in their exchange.

Of course, every time Kensei damaged Tsuna, it also ignited the flames. In the midst of this exchange, the flames on Tsuna's armlet maintained a delicate balance.

Tsuna could clearly feel that this Hollowfied Kensei's mastery of Tekken - Danpū surpassed the original Kensei's. Each blow unleashed considerable destructive power. If it were the lucid Kensei instead, their fight wouldn't have put this much pressure on Tsuna.

If Tsuna had to rate it, the Hollowfied Kensei's strength was probably at the level of eight cars or more.

"That guy!"

While Tsuna and the Hollowfied Kensei were locked in stalemate, Hirako and the others arrived. They immediately spotted Muguruma Kensei, who kept grappling with Tsuna. This form of Hollowfication was something even they had never seen before—at most, they had witnessed Kensei's Shikai Hollowfication. It was precisely because they understood the terror of Hollowfication that they had never dared to take the step toward Bankai.

"Sawada brat, keep Kensei at a stalemate like that. We'll move to trap him!" Hirako shouted loudly toward Tsuna.

At Hirako's signal, regardless of whether they were skilled in Kido or not, all members of the Visored unleashed the binding spells they could manage.

Bakudō #30: Mouth-Biting Triple Shot, Bakudō #4: This Rope, Bakudō #61: Six-Rod Light Restraint x2, Bakudō #63: Chain Lock, Bakudō #75: Five Pillars of Iron.

A series of six Bakudō were fired simultaneously. To prioritize speed, the Visored all forwent incantation. Tsuna, playing along, blasted backward with his feet to create distance, letting the spells land on Muguruma Kensei.

Why did Tsuna allow the Visored to interfere while he observed Kensei's state? Because he felt that this level of Bakudō couldn't hold Kensei in this form. From their earlier exchange, Kensei's power was still rising.

One after another, the Kido restraints landed on Kensei's body, binding him thoroughly and then some. Five massive iron pillars fell from the sky, slamming into Kensei, each pinning one of his limbs. It looked like they had subdued Muguruma Kensei completely.

"What do you plan to do next?" Tsuna asked curiously.

"We can only wait for Kensei to wake up on his own. With his experience in Hollowfication, he should come around soon," Hirako said. This was how they mastered Hollowfication—if you could endure it, you gained control; if not, and you became a Hollow, you had to be killed.

"Is that so? I don't think so." Tsuna pointed at the prone Muguruma Kensei. More and more white fluid spread from his arms, gradually enveloping Kensei's gauntlets. If this continued, even Kensei's Bankai would be consumed by Hollowfication.

"This looks like a bad change." Hirako also sensed Kensei's increasingly violent Reiatsu. Gradually, the five great iron pillars began to tremble. "Hiyori, go notify Urahara to come here!"

"Why does it have to be me, baldy!" Hiyori protested in dissatisfaction.

"Your Bakudō is the weakest. Hurry, or Kensei will be done for!" Hirako barked, slapping two more Bakudō onto Kensei.