Benxing Zaiye Tengu

"Uncle Aikawa Love, don't be so stiff. With the shopkeeper and Hirako here, are you really worried about accidentally hurting someone else?" Tsunayoshi Flash Stepped to Aikawa Love's side and patted his arm as he spoke.

"Well..." Aikawa Love still hesitated and didn't agree right away.

"Agree to it, Love. If we want to train Bankai Hollowfication, this kid might be our best helper." Hirako Shinji spoke up to persuade him.

"Fine, but don't blame me if you get hurt." Aikawa Love reluctantly handed his manga to Lisa.

Taking the manga, Lisa immediately hugged Hiyori beside her and, along with the other Visored, used Flash Step to clear the field.

"Let me go, Lisa!" Hiyori complained discontentedly.

"Don't fuss. Love's Bankai is no joke. If you mess around, you really could get caught in it." Lisa pushed up her glasses as she spoke. She had been fortunate enough to see Love's Zanpakuto Bankai once before.

"Come to think of it, I've never seen Aikawa Love's Bankai either." Urahara clapped his palms together.

"That was before you became a captain. Aikawa Love used his Bankai during an internal Seireitei rebellion. He won in the end, but it caused massive destruction to Seireitei's buildings, and in the process, he accidentally killed quite a few Squad Seven members."

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

"Was that the time half of Seireitei got smashed?" Urahara had a vague memory of it. Seireitei had been in complete chaos, and he'd taken the opportunity to uncover quite a few secrets of Soul Society.

As Urahara and Hirako chatted, the cleared field was left with only Aikawa Love and Tsunayoshi.

Having seen Tsunayoshi's strength, Aikawa Love didn't hold back. He immediately released his Zanpakuto: "Shatter it, Tengu Maru!"

Tengu Maru was a massive cactus-studded spiked club. Just from its appearance, one could tell its offensive power was extraordinary, yet this enormous club moved in Aikawa Love's hands as easily as a toy.

Gazing at Tengu Maru, Aikawa Love's eyes once again saw the squad members he had accidentally hurt. Soon the image shifted, and the Visored appeared before him. He had once sealed his blade for his comrades; now, for his current companions, he would once again use his strongest power.

"Bankai!"

Violent Reiatsu coiled around Tengu Maru, then spread across Aikawa Love's entire body. A gale swept through, currents of air tightly enveloping him. After a few breaths, the airflow suddenly exploded, and Aikawa Love completed his Bankai.

The once-ordinary cactus spiked club was now wreathed in eerie flames, vaguely forming the shape of some kind of demonic beast. A pair of pitch-black wings spread from Aikawa Love's back, and armor composed of rock encased his body. The only exposed part—his face—was covered in many strange patterns that looked like some kind of totem.

"Benxing Zaiye Tengu!"

As Aikawa Love's words fell, three enormous spheres suddenly appeared behind him. Each sphere was half the size of a soccer field, floating there behind Aikawa Love, adding a terrifying presence to his form.

Tsunayoshi had initially thought Aikawa Love's Bankai looked simple, but the moment those three massive spheres appeared, he completely changed his mind. No matter how you looked at it, those three things resembling planets appearing together was quite intimidating.

"So this is the Bankai that destroyed half of Seireitei?" Urahara, hiding his face behind a folding fan, showed no expression. "Legend says tengu have the power to chase stars and devour the moon, and some have called falling meteors 'tengu.' The true form of this Bankai isn't the spiked club, is it? It's those meteors behind him."

"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 Kisuke was a little surprised. "So Aikawa Love's Bankai isn't just the three meteors we can see?"

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

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

A massive meteor came crashing straight down toward Tsunayoshi, its momentum overwhelming. Tsunayoshi seriously doubted whether a Vice-Captain could withstand this attack. If that was the case, he needed to bring out his true power.

"Bankai! Assume damage, eliminate threats, Lightning..."

Green lightning flickered continuously across his body. Tsunayoshi's Zanpakuto transformed into an off-road helmet. The helmet was entirely black, with a bull-head emblem on the forehead. At the center of the bull's head was a pattern symbolizing the Vongola. This was the Lightning Attribute Bankai: Vongola Gear—Lightning Helmet Ver. X.

The meteor was about to land on Tsunayoshi's head, but he calmly activated the Lightning Helmet's power. Form change—a massive, elongated spiral horn over a meter long appeared on Tsunayoshi's head, and thick black armor covered his upper body and limbs.

Lightning Attribute Flames directly empowered the horn. With a crackling sound, the green lightning lengthened the horn even further. Tsunayoshi lowered his center of gravity and charged straight at the meteor above him.

Electric Horn!

Boom! Tsunayoshi was instantly swallowed by the meteor. The meteor struck the ground, kicking up a massive gust of air, forcing Hachigen Ushōda, who was watching from the side, to reinforce the barrier protecting everyone.

Hiyori and Kuna Hak shouted excitedly. Neither of them had ever seen Aikawa Love use this kind of power. So that otaku uncle actually had such terrifying strength.

The scene didn't stay still for long. Cracking sounds erupted from within the meteor, and then the entire sphere shattered. At the center of the debris stood Sawada Tsunayoshi, horned head held high, completely unharmed.

As the Lightning Attribute Flame—characterized by Hardening among the Sky Seven Attribute Flames—Tsunayoshi in this state had the strongest defensive capabilities. A mere small meteor couldn't take him down.

"Good. Now I can attack without holding back." Aikawa Love said, flapping his wings and swinging his spiked club as he charged swiftly at Sawada Tsunayoshi, one meteor accompanying him.

Tsunayoshi showed no fear. He bent slightly and rammed straight into the enormous spiked club.

Thud! The collision erupted with terrifying Reiatsu, which spread once again across the entire warehouse. Not only that, but the meteor following Aikawa Love crashed straight down onto both of them.

At that moment, Tsunayoshi finally understood the purpose of Aikawa Love's heavy armor. It was equipment designed to protect him from meteor damage while clashing blades with an enemy.

Another meteor fell. Tsunayoshi quickly draped lightning over his body, mimicking Aikawa Love's method to enhance his own defense—Lightning Armor.

"Hachigen, stop reinforcing the barrier for us. If these two keep fighting like this, they'll destroy this entire space." Urahara Kisuke pressed down on his hat and said, "You, Tessai, and I—let's work together to stabilize the whole barrier!"

"Understood!"

Urahara Kisuke, Kukaku Shiba, and Hachigen Ushōda simultaneously struck Kido seals into the surroundings of the warehouse.

"Leave the defense to me and Rose." Hirako and Rose stood together in front of the group, shielding them from the flying sand and debris.

Tsunayoshi and Aikawa Love exchanged blows continuously. Meteor after meteor fell without pause, the impacts never ceasing. The two of them clashed at the very center of the shockwaves, relying on their own formidable defensive abilities.

This couldn't go on. Tsunayoshi was puzzled—did Aikawa Love have that much Reiatsu? Why hadn't the meteors stopped? He needed to figure out what was going on.

D. Spada's Magic Mirror.

Tsunayoshi muttered, and a floating one-way mirror appeared over his face. The moment he looked at Aikawa Love, he understood.

Behind Aikawa Love's wings was a strange Reiatsu space, densely packed with spherical meteors. They weren't something Aikawa Love had temporarily condensed with his Reiatsu. No wonder his spiritual pressure never seemed to run out.

The spiked club in Aikawa Love's hand was the key to opening that Reiatsu space, which is why every swing caused a meteor to fall—meaning Aikawa Love's Benxing Zaiye Tengu was never a Kido-type Zanpakuto that condensed meteors, but rather a space-type Zanpakuto.

This was not good news. Tsuna deactivated D. Spada's Magic Mirror, meaning Aikawa Love had fought him until now with almost no Reiatsu consumption. There was also another question: Benxing Zaiye Tengu—he had seen the "Benxing" (flying stars), but what about the "Zaiye" (calamity)?

Aikawa Love thought the same as Tsuna. He no longer wanted to maintain this stalemate. Flames ignited on his spiked club as he leaped into the sky. A tengu-shaped flame streaked across the heavens, and a meteor crashed into the fire. A tengu carrying a fireball charged straight at Tsuna.

Zaiye · Meteor!

Tsuna mobilized the power of VG. The horns on his head began to spread outward, widening into broad horns. Then lightning coursed through the spiral-shaped horns. These twisted, coiled horns acted like electromagnetic coils—when lightning passed through them, they could convert it into powerful magnetic force. Through this magnetism, Tsuna could control the surrounding Iron Sand.

A black pillar formed in the center of the spiral hollow horns—an Iron Horn condensed by magnetic force. Electric Coil Horn!

Tsuna's attack power and defense surged once more. Terrifying lightning erupted from his horns, wild and chaotic arcs dancing in all directions. He stepped into a Flash Step and charged straight at Aikawa Love's attack.

The attacks collided in a massive explosion. The flaming meteor shattered into countless fragments of fire that rained down across the battlefield. The flames still blazed fiercely, like a scene of apocalyptic disaster.

Aikawa Love's expression turned grim as he flew high into the sky. He could still sense Tsuna's vast, surging Reiatsu—meaning his attack had barely posed any threat to Tsuna. It was time to prepare his next move.

The handle of Aikawa Love's spiked club suddenly extended, drawing a long line of fire across the sky. A bizarre space opened up like a Hollow's cavity. Aikawa Love threw open the gates of Meteor Space!