Benxing Zaiye Tengu

"Uncle Aikawa Love, don't be so rigid. With the shopkeeper and Hirako here, are you still afraid of accidentally hurting someone else?" Tsuna Flash Stepped to Aikawa Love's side and patted his arm.

"This..." Aikawa Love still hesitated and did not agree right away.

"Just agree, Love. If we want to train Bankai Hollowfication, this kid might be our best helper," Hirako Shinji advised.

"Fine, then. But if you get hurt, don't blame me." Aikawa Love reluctantly handed the manga in his hand to Lisa.

The moment Lisa took the manga, she hugged Hiyori beside her and Flash Stepped away with the other Visored, clearing the area.

"Let go of me, Lisa!" Hiyori said unhappily.

"Stop messing around. Love's Bankai is no joke. If you fool around, he really might accidentally hurt you." Lisa pushed up her glasses. She had been fortunate enough to witness Love's Zanpakuto Bankai before.

"Come to think of it, I've never seen Aikawa Love's Bankai either." Urahara clapped a hand against his palm.

"That happened before you became a captain. Aikawa Love used his Bankai while dealing with an internal Seireitei rebellion. Although he ultimately won, a huge number of buildings in the Seireitei were destroyed, and quite a few Seventh Division squad members were accidentally killed in the process."

"After that, Love half-sealed his Bankai. Even during that experiment a hundred years ago, he never used it," Hirako said.

"The time half the Seireitei got smashed up?" Urahara vaguely remembered it. The Seireitei had been a complete mess then, and he had taken the chance to uncover quite a few secrets of the Soul Society.

While Urahara, Hirako, and the others chatted, only Aikawa Love and Tsuna remained in the cleared area.

Having witnessed Tsuna's strength, Aikawa Love did not hold back. He immediately released his Zanpakuto. "Crush it, Tengu Maru!"

Tengu Maru was a massive cactus Kanabo. Just from its appearance, one could tell its offensive power was formidable, yet Aikawa Love wielded the enormous Kanabo as easily as if it were a toy.

Looking at Tengu Maru, Aikawa Love once again saw the squad members he had accidentally injured. Soon, the scene shifted, and the Visored appeared before him. He had once sealed his blade away for the sake of his companions. Now, for the companions he had, he would once again use his strongest power.

"Bankai!"

Violent spiritual pressure churned around Tengu Maru before spreading across Aikawa Love's entire body. A gale swept forth, currents of air tightly enveloping him. Several breaths later, the airflow abruptly exploded, and Aikawa Love completed his Bankai.

Strange flames coiled around the formerly ordinary cactus Kanabo, vaguely taking the shape of some demonic beast. A pair of pitch-black wings spread from Aikawa Love's back, while armor formed from stone covered his body. Numerous bizarre markings appeared on his only exposed face, resembling some kind of totem.

"Benxing Zaiye Tengu!"

As Aikawa Love's voice fell, three enormous spheres suddenly appeared behind him. Each was half the size of a soccer field, floating behind him and adding an intimidating presence to his figure.

Tsuna had originally wanted to say that Aikawa Love's Bankai looked rather simple, but the instant those three enormous spheres appeared, he completely changed his mind. No matter what, three planet-like things appearing at once was pretty intimidating.

"So this is the Bankai that destroyed half the Seireitei?" Urahara's face was hidden behind his folding fan, revealing no expression. "Legend says tengu can chase stars and devour the moon. Falling meteors have also been called tengu. The true body of this Bankai isn't the Kanabo, is it? It's those meteors behind him."

"Just as expected of you, Kisuke. Love's Bankai is simple enough. Every time he swings his Zanpakuto, he can bring down a meteor," Hirako said.

"Every time?" This time, Urahara was surprised. "So Aikawa Love's Bankai doesn't only have the three meteors we can see?"

"Of course not. How could three meteors destroy nearly half the Seireitei?"

Aikawa Love lightly raised his Kanabo and pointed it at Tsuna. "Take this, Sawada Tsunayoshi!"

A massive meteor descended directly toward Tsuna with overwhelming momentum. Tsuna doubted whether even a Vice-Captain could withstand Aikawa Love's strike. Since that was the case, he needed to bring out his real strength.

"Bankai! Bear the damage, erase the threat, Lightning..."

Green lightning continuously flickered around Tsuna's body. His Zanpakuto transformed into an off-road helmet, entirely black, with a bull-head emblem on its forehead. At the center of the bull's head was the symbol of Vongola. This was the Lightning Attribute Bankai, the Vongola Gear Helmet of Lightning Ver. X.

The meteor was about to strike Tsuna's head, but he calmly activated the Helmet of Lightning's power. Its form changed, and a gigantic extended spiral horn over a meter long appeared atop Tsuna's head. Heavy black armor also covered his upper body and limbs.

Lightning Attribute Flames directly empowered the horn. Amid crackling sounds, green lightning extended it even further. Tsuna lowered his center of gravity and charged straight into the meteor overhead.

Electric Horn!

With a boom, Tsuna was swallowed by the meteor. The meteor slammed into the ground and kicked up a tremendous blast of air, forcing Hachigen Ushōda, who was watching nearby, to reinforce a barrier to protect everyone.

Hiyori and Kuna Hak cried out in shock. Neither of them had ever seen Aikawa Love use such power before. That two-dimensional old man actually possessed such terrifying strength.

The scene did not remain quiet for long. Crackling sounds erupted from within the meteor, followed by the entire sphere shattering apart. At the center of the fragments stood Sawada Tsunayoshi, a horn protruding from his head, completely unscathed.

Among the Sky Seven Attribute Flames, Lightning Attribute Flames specialized in Hardening. In this state, Sawada Tsunayoshi's defense was at its strongest. A mere little meteor could not possibly take him down.

"Good. Now I can attack without worry," Aikawa Love said. With a flap of his wings, he swung his Kanabo and rapidly charged at Sawada Tsunayoshi, accompanied by another meteor.

Tsuna showed no fear whatsoever. He bent slightly at the waist and charged straight toward the enormous Kanabo.

Boom! Their collision erupted with terrifying spiritual pressure, which spread outward once more and swept through the entire warehouse. Not only that, but a meteor following closely behind Aikawa Love smashed directly down toward them.

At that moment, Tsuna finally understood the purpose of Aikawa Love's heavy armor. It was entirely equipment meant to protect him from meteor damage while he clashed blades with his enemies.

Another meteor came crashing down. Tsuna hurriedly gathered lightning around his body, copying Aikawa Love's method to strengthen his own defense.

"Lightning Armor!"

"Hachigen, stop reinforcing barriers around us. If these two keep fighting like this, they'll destroy this entire space." Urahara pressed down his hat. "You, Tessai, and I will maintain the stability of the entire barrier together!"

"Understood!"

Urahara Kisuke, Kukaku Shiba, and Hachigen Ushōda simultaneously struck Kido markings around the warehouse.

"Leave the defense to Rose and me." Hirako and Rose stood before everyone together, blocking the flying sand and shattered stones rushing toward them.

Tsuna and Aikawa Love exchanged blows without pause, while meteors continued to fall one after another. The impacts never ceased. Relying on their formidable defenses, the two clashed at the very center of the destruction.

This could not go on. Tsuna was puzzled. Did Aikawa Love have that much spiritual pressure? Why had the meteors never stopped? He needed to figure out what was happening.

D. Spada's Magic Mirror.

Tsuna muttered the words, and a floating one-sided mirror appeared before his face. The moment he looked at Aikawa Love, Tsuna understood.

Behind Aikawa Love's wings was a strange spiritual pressure space, densely packed with meteor spheres. Those meteors had not been temporarily condensed from Aikawa Love's spiritual pressure at all. No wonder his spiritual pressure showed no signs of running out.

The Kanabo in Aikawa Love's hand was the key that opened that spiritual pressure space. That was why each swing caused a meteor to fall. In other words, Aikawa Love's Benxing Zaiye Tengu was not some Kido-type Zanpakuto that condensed meteors at all. It was a spatial-type Zanpakuto.

That was not good news. Tsuna dispelled D. Spada's Magic Mirror. This meant Aikawa Love had consumed almost no spiritual pressure fighting him so far. There was also another question: he had seen the Benxing part of Benxing Zaiye Tengu, but what was the Zaiye part?

Aikawa Love thought the same as Tsuna. He did not want to maintain this evenly matched state any longer. Flames ignited atop his Kanabo as he leaped into the sky. Tengu-shaped flames streaked through the air, and a meteor collided with the flames. A tengu carrying a fireball in its mouth charged toward Tsuna.

Zaiye · Meteor!

Tsuna drew upon VG's power. The horns on his head began spreading outward, becoming broad horns. Lightning then ran through the spiral horns. Like coils, these curved and twisted horns could convert passing electricity into powerful magnetic force, allowing Tsuna to control the Iron Sand around him.

A black pillar appeared within the hollow spiraling horns. It was an Iron Horn condensed through magnetic force.

Electric Coil Horn!

Tsuna's attack power and defense rose once more. Terrifying lightning erupted from his horns, thunderbolts dancing wildly as Tsuna used Flash Step to charge toward Aikawa Love's attack.

The attacks exploded with a deafening roar. The flaming meteor turned into countless fiery fragments that rained down across the field. The flames continued to burn fiercely, like an apocalyptic disaster.

Aikawa Love flew high into the air with a grave expression. He could sense that Tsuna's spiritual pressure remained immense, meaning his attack had posed virtually no threat to Tsuna. It was time to prepare his next move.

The handle of Aikawa Love's Kanabo suddenly extended, drawing a long line of fire through the sky. A strange space opened like a Hollow passage as Aikawa Love completely opened the gate to the Meteor Space!