Hollowfication, Rampage

Several swishing sounds rang out around Sawada Tsunayoshi. Aside from Kuna Hak and Hachigen, the remaining Visored surrounded Tsuna. Each of them drew their Zanpakuto and pointed their blades at him.

"Oh? Are you all planning to make a move too? I'll be happy to oblige." Tsuna smiled.

"Can't be helped, kid. Even as the boss, I have to listen to the team's opinion." Hirako pressed down the little bucket hat on his head and slowly drew his Zanpakuto. It went without saying that the Visored intended to help Muguruma Kensei save face.

"Who are you calling the boss, baldy?!" Hiyori cursed at Hirako in dissatisfaction. Still, considering the team's situation, she chose not to grab her sandal and smack Hirako with it right then.

"Don't sweat the small stuff." Hirako pointed his blade at Sawada Tsunayoshi. "Surrender quietly. As long as Kensei is all right, we won't hurt you."

Kuna Hak and Hachigen had gone to check on Muguruma Kensei. News should come back soon enough.

"Don't worry. Muguruma should be fine. I didn't even use half my strength."

Tsuna tilted his head toward his left arm. Only then did Hirako notice, to his surprise, that more than half the flames on the sun-like disk on Tsuna's left arm still remained. Of the ten torches, Tsuna had used only four to beat Muguruma Kensei so badly that he had vanished from sight.

"As for this surrendering quietly business, I'm still looking forward to seeing your Hollowfication."

Tsuna reluctantly took a step forward. The Visored immediately went on guard. Everyone knew Tsuna still had more than half his strength left. Even Muguruma Kensei's Bankai had failed to withstand him; the power Tsuna still possessed was dangerous to anyone present.

Hirako reacted even more intensely. He had personally witnessed Tsuna's wounds heal, which meant ordinary damage had little effect on him. With that in mind, Hirako reversed his Zanpakuto and began to chant.

"Fall, Sakanade!"

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

A strange fragrance entered Tsuna's nose. Then he saw the entire world turn upside down, heaven and earth exchanging places. The Visored stood inverted in the sky, looking down at him. This was a reversed world.

"If you can say my name backward, then you should understand my ability, right? Welcome to the inverted world." Hirako paced through the sky as he spoke. "Until we confirm Kensei's condition, you can stay here for now..."

Before Hirako could finish, his face seemed to suffer a heavy blow as he leisurely paced. His eyes bulged with rage, blood sprayed from his mouth, and he fell from the sky.

The world in Tsuna's eyes shifted again. The inverted heaven and earth returned to normal. The Visored were still standing around him, while the falling Hirako had actually been sent flying by one of Tsuna's punches.

Hirako executed a clean backflip and steadied himself in midair. Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, he said in disbelief, "How is that possible?"

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

Hiyori held a serrated Zanpakuto. Unlike Hirako's bizarre Sakanade, this was a direct-attack type of Zanpakuto.

"Just intuition," Tsuna said flatly. While Hirako had been walking upside down, Tsuna had sensed him approaching. Seeing that only Hirako was putting on an act, Tsuna had punched him without hesitation.

Hirako was still considering how Tsuna had seen through the illusion when the hot-tempered Hiyori charged at Tsuna with her Zanpakuto. Lisa, Rose, and Aikawa Love followed suit. No matter what, they could not let Hiyori, a former Vice-Captain, go up against Bankai-state Sawada Tsunayoshi alone.

But the moment the Visored moved, they immediately stopped and listened intently.

Tsuna felt Hachigen's spiritual pressure ripple. Combined with the Visored's expressions, he instantly understood what was happening.

Bakudo #77: Tenteikūra, otherwise known as the casual-clothes loudspeaker, a Bakudo used to transmit messages. Hachigen Ushōda must have confirmed Muguruma Kensei's condition.

After hearing Tenteikūra's message, every Visored's expression changed. Anxiety and urgency appeared on their faces.

Hiyori could not hide what she was thinking at all. "Go help him, quick! That bald Muguruma's Hollowfication has gone berserk!"

At that moment, every Visored turned as one, abandoning Tsuna and rushing toward the direction from which Tenteikūra had come. From there came a violent spiritual pressure belonging to Muguruma Kensei.

Through Hiyori's words, Tsuna also understood the situation. Most likely, when Muguruma Kensei had forcibly endured his Sunlight Counter, the Hollow power inside him had violently erupted to help resist Tsuna's attack and restore Kensei's injuries.

As for why Muguruma Kensei had gone berserk, that remained unclear. Had he been too badly injured? Had Kensei's spiritual pressure depleted too quickly, leaving him unable to suppress the Hollow within? Or had Kensei simply never mastered Hollowfication while in Bankai?

Tsuna immediately became interested. He had sought out this group of Visored precisely to witness the Hollowfication of others, so he smiled and said, "Hollowfication? Perfect!"

"Wait!"

Hirako had just wanted to stop Tsuna. He did not want an outsider making things worse at a time like this. But before he could speak, Tsuna had already vanished from sight.

Hirako could hardly believe what he had seen. He had not even managed to see Tsuna's movement.

What was that? Was that Flash Step?

Hirako felt that it was nothing like the Flash Step he knew. It bore the shadow of Flash Step, yet it did not resemble Flash Step at all. Worse, he realized his own Flash Step seemed unable to catch Sawada Tsunayoshi. In other words, Tsuna could defeat them using Flash Step alone.

Hirako concealed that realization. No matter what, they had to catch up and restrain Kensei first. If that Sawada brat did not know his own strength and accidentally killed Kensei, that would be a problem.

Deeper in the warehouse, a white humanoid monster was wreaking havoc. If not for the fist blades still clutched in its hands and the ribbon-like ornaments trailing behind its back, it would have been nearly impossible to recognize it as Muguruma Kensei.

Just as Tsuna had guessed, Muguruma Kensei had entered Hollowfication while in Bankai, resulting in this rampage.

Near Kensei stood a green-haired girl in a bodysuit and Hollow mask. Kuna Hak had also entered Hollowfication. From time to time, she struck superhero poses in an attempt to stop Muguruma Kensei, but the gap in strength was too great. She did not even have a chance to get close.

Hachigen Ushōda had just formed a Kido barrier in front of Kuna Hak to block Kensei's frenzy, but it did not even last a second. Like tofu, it shattered at the touch of Kensei's fist blades and had no real effect at all.

It was not that Hachigen had not considered using Bakudo to bind the crazed Muguruma Kensei. But in this state, Kensei was not merely powerful. His movements carried a trace of Sonido on top of Flash Step, making him both fast and slippery, impossible to control.

The moment Tsuna arrived, he saw Kuna Hak and Hachigen Ushōda being chased by Hollowfied Muguruma Kensei. Without hesitation, Tsuna used Flash Step to stand before Kuna Hak and raised a hand to block Muguruma Kensei's attack.

"You!"

Kuna Hak had just been about to question Tsuna, the one who had turned Muguruma Kensei into this, when she heard his reply. "Hirako and the others are on their way. I'll take over here for now."

With that, Tsuna ignored Kuna Hak. Using the jets beneath his feet, he fought and maneuvered around Hollowfied Muguruma Kensei, gradually drawing Kensei's aggro and pulling him away from Kuna Hak.

His strength and speed had both improved tremendously, Tsuna silently evaluated as he caught Hollowfied Muguruma Kensei's punches. More than that, every punch carried terrifying explosive force. This forced Tsuna to consume one flame of spiritual pressure from his armlet to heal the injuries he sustained while exchanging blows with Muguruma.

Of course, every injury Muguruma inflicted on Tsuna could also ignite flames. During their exchange, the flames on Tsuna's armlet unexpectedly maintained a delicate balance.

Tsuna could clearly sense that this Hollowfied Muguruma wielded Tekken - Danpū better than Muguruma himself. Every strike unleashed considerable destructive power. If it had been the clear-headed Muguruma Kensei instead, their clash would not have put Tsuna under such pressure.

If Tsuna had to judge it, Hollowfied Muguruma's strength was probably at the level of Hachiguruma or above.

"That guy!"

While Tsuna and Hollowfied Muguruma were deadlocked, Hirako and the others arrived. At a glance, they saw Muguruma Kensei continuously trading blows with Tsuna. They had never seen a Hollowfication state like this before. At most, they had only seen Muguruma use Hollowfication in Shikai. It was precisely because they understood how terrifying Hollowfication was that they had never dared to take the step toward Bankai.

"Sawada brat, keep Muguruma evenly matched like this! We'll act and bind Kensei!" Hirako shouted at Tsuna.

At Hirako's call, whether or not they excelled at Kido, the Visored all used whatever Bakudo they could.

Bakudo #30: Three Flash Beak; Bakudo #4: This Rope; Bakudo #61: Six Rods Prison of Light x2; Bakudō #63: Chain Lock; Bakudo #75: Five Pillars of Iron.

Six Bakudo were unleashed at once. To pursue speed, every Visored abandoned their chants. Tsuna was also cooperative, blasting away with the jets beneath his feet and allowing their Bakudo to land on Muguruma Kensei.

Why did Tsuna allow the Visored to interfere with his observation of Muguruma Kensei's condition? Because he felt that Bakudo of this level could not restrain Muguruma Kensei in his current state. Judging from their earlier clash, Muguruma Kensei's strength was still rising.

One Kido restraint after another landed on Kensei, binding Muguruma Kensei tightly. Then five enormous iron pillars fell from above and slammed down on him. Each limb was suppressed by a massive pillar, making it seem as though Muguruma Kensei had been completely subdued.

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

"We can only wait for Kensei to regain consciousness on his own. He has experience with Hollowfication, so he should wake up soon," Hirako said. This was how they had mastered Hollowfication: endure it, and they gained control; fail, and they became Hollows that could only be killed.

"Is that so? I don't think so." Tsuna pointed at the prone Muguruma Kensei. More and more white liquid spread from his arms, gradually wrapping around Kensei's fist blades. At this rate, even Kensei's Bankai would be consumed by Hollowfication.

"Those seem like bad changes." Hirako also sensed Kensei's increasingly violent spiritual pressure. Even the five massive iron pillars gradually began to shake. "Hiyori, hurry and get Urahara here!"

"Why do I have to go, baldy?!" Hiyori protested in dissatisfaction.

"Your Bakudo is the weakest. Hurry! At this rate, Kensei's finished!" Hirako roared, adding two more Bakudo restraints.