Executioner of the Devil

As Tsunayoshi pulled farther and farther away from him, Kugo Ginjo, chasing from behind, finally could not hold back anymore. He shouted, "Bankai!"

Reiatsu enveloped Ginjo, and his body began to change. His hair turned white, the whites of his eyes went black, and fluffy red fur grew around his collar. Plates of white armor fitted themselves over the vital points of his body. Two large red crossed markings appeared on his face, making him look like a demon.

That was not all. Ginjo's weapon, Cross of Scaffold, changed as well. The blade gained many fang-like decorations, the guard shifted into the shape of a ram-horned skull, and the hilt began to extend into an uneven, sharp form, like a ram's spine.

"Executioner of the Devil." Kugo Ginjo slowly spoke the name of his Bankai, and a burst of Reiatsu spread from within him. "Execution time!"

Ginjo was shocked to discover that the execution time he had used had not locked onto the ever-distant Sawada Tsunayoshi at all, but onto an empty spot behind him. In that instant, Ginjo understood what was going on. Illusion. This new enemy used Illusion.

Kugo Ginjo's Bankai was the process of turning him from the scene of an execution into a participant who carried out the execution himself. In other words, Cross of Scaffold had become the Executioner of the Devil, who personally performed the execution. The ram-horn-like decorations on the greatsword and Ginjo's appearance all showed that he was a demon who governed life and death.

And once he became the executioner, Ginjo gained the right to determine who would be executed. His execution time was an ability used to lock onto his target.

Ginjo knew his own ability perfectly well, so without the slightest hesitation, he shouldered his greatsword and slashed toward that empty space behind him.

Clang!

Ginjo felt it. That was the sensation of hitting something. Even though there was still no one in front of him, he activated his ability. "Pressure Execution!"

Kugo Ginjo's strength abruptly increased, making things somewhat difficult even for Tsunayoshi, who was only holding a small Trident. This was Kugo Ginjo's Bankai ability: the various methods of execution.

Facing Ginjo in his completed state, Tsunayoshi once again transformed into Mist, showing no intention of getting entangled with him.

But Ginjo, whose swing had missed, had no intention of letting Tsunayoshi go. With a casual sweep of his greatsword, he activated an execution again. "Hanging!"

A green noose shot out from the tip of the sword, chasing straight after Tsunayoshi's position. Tsunayoshi hurriedly knocked it away with his Trident, but the noose turned a corner and came back again. From the look of it, it was determined to hang Tsunayoshi no matter what.

Kugo Ginjo's Bankai really was troublesome. The Illusion from Tsunayoshi's Mist-attribute Shikai was already useless against him. In that case, Tsunayoshi held the Trident horizontally in front of him, his voice dreamlike and illusory.

Creating something from nothing, reducing something to nothing, false phantoms, Mist...

The Trident in Tsunayoshi's hand began to change form, and a weapon resembling a khakkhara appeared in his grasp. At the top of the staff was an indigo crystal, surrounded by six kunai-like spikes, while the end of the staff was also decorated with sharp points.

This was Tsunayoshi's Mist-attribute Bankai, Vongola Gear Mist Earring Ver. X. However, Tsunayoshi did not use the equipment's initial form, instead directly transforming the earring into its battle-weapon form.

After the power of his Illusion was strengthened once again, Ginjo's noose missed. But Ginjo's expression did not change. He activated execution time once more, intending to capture his execution target.

But this time, Ginjo miscalculated. After Tsunayoshi used Bankai, his Reiatsu was far stronger than Ginjo's, and with Tsunayoshi deliberately concealing himself through Illusion, Ginjo's execution methods could no longer target Tsunayoshi.

This time, it was Ginjo's expression that changed drastically. He grew terrified. An enemy even Bankai could not deal with, and his bound companions—was he going to experience that scene from the past all over again?

Damn it! Ginjo's heart filled with resentment. Why did he not have a one-hit-kill technique? If he had one, he could have finished off the enemy the instant their attacks clashed.

The so-called power of execution meant torturing the target step by step and watching them die with an expression of utter agony. That power was indeed very strong, but it had left Ginjo without the ability to kill in a single blow.

Scenes from the past flashed through Ginjo's mind. No. He didn't want this. He didn't want to see his companions die in front of him again while he could do nothing...

Tsunayoshi seemed able to see through Ginjo's thoughts. He drove the khakkhara hard into the ground. Through the power of the staff, everything in this space would now be controlled by Tsunayoshi's Illusion.

Eyes grew all across heaven and earth. Within those eyes were numerical symbols from one to six. This was the illusory space Tsunayoshi had created, and everything in it was under his control.

Kugo Ginjo's heart sank to rock bottom. He knew his life and death were already in Tsunayoshi's hands. Just as Ginjo was preparing to struggle one more time, the most despairing scene appeared before him.

One figure after another appeared around Kugo Ginjo. Those faces were so familiar. Weren't they the obsession buried in the depths of his heart? His companions, who had been slaughtered to the last by the Shinigami side.

Kugo Ginjo panicked. He could already guess what would happen next. Immediately after, he saw figures dressed in Shinigami Uniforms, holding long blades as they pointed them at the people beside him.

Run! Hurry, run!

Ginjo wanted to shout, but he discovered that he could do nothing. He could not make a sound, could not move. He could only watch helplessly as white blades went in and red blades came out, as his former companions died in front of him once again.

Tears of resentment streamed down uncontrollably, and Ginjo's body trembled without stopping. Why? He had clearly almost forgotten this scene. Why was he being forced to remember it again?

Shinigami. Damn Shinigami!

Kugo Ginjo only hated that he had no power. If he had power, he would surely wash Soul Society in blood and avenge those innocent companions of his!

The scene before him did not stop just because the Fullbringers had all been killed. Immediately after, Ginjo saw an unfamiliar figure appear. This person had not shown himself during the slaughter just now. What had he come to do now?

Ginjo soon got his answer. The newly appeared stranger turned his butcher's blade toward the Shinigami who had killed Ginjo's companions. Those Shinigami, who had once seemed so arrogant and untouchable, looked as if they had fallen into a daze, allowing the newcomer to slaughter them.

What frightened Ginjo even more was that the Zanpakuto in this person's hand had actually transformed into his Cross of Scaffold!

Kugo Ginjo had no memory of ever seeing this scene. Back then, when they were attacked by the Shinigami, Ginjo had passed out for some reason. By the time he woke up, all he saw was a group of Shinigami he had never seen before chasing him down, forcing him to hide in the World of the Living.

Seeing this scene before him, a flash of insight pierced through the doubts in Ginjo's mind. That was it. Someone had impersonated him and killed a large number of Shinigami, which was why he had been wanted by Soul Society. On top of that, the wounds on those Shinigami were exactly the same as those caused by Cross of Scaffold, leaving Ginjo with no way to defend himself.

Why had the mastermind left him behind while he was unconscious? To take the blame? Ginjo quickly thought of one possibility.

Immediately after, the scene before Ginjo changed. A bird's-eye view from high in the sky appeared before him, and Ginjo recognized it at a glance. That was Soul Society, the Seireitei.

The scene suddenly sped forward. In a bottomless place, Ginjo saw a series of display screens. On those screens, he saw the scene from just now: the moment when the person pretending to be him killed the Shinigami.

Ginjo saw a pair of unknown hands operate something below the screen. The person holding Cross of Scaffold turned into Ginjo himself, wearing a savage grin.

He understood everything now. He had been framed. Ginjo felt dazed. All he wanted to know now was who the mastermind was, and why that person had framed him.

The scene changed again. In an unfamiliar room, Ginjo saw sheet after sheet of white cloth. Beneath those white cloths were the faces of his former companions.

Ginjo's mind shook violently. Back then, the moment he woke up, he had been hunted by Soul Society and had not noticed at all where his companions' bodies had gone. By the time he was somewhat safe and went back to look, he could not find anything.

A series of cracking sounds rang out. Fracture lines appeared throughout the entire space, and then the whole illusory space shattered like a mirror. Ginjo returned to that old house of his, with Shukuro Tsukishima beside him, unable to move.

An illusion? Or reality? Kugo Ginjo could no longer tell the difference. All he wanted now was to know the truth of what had happened back then. Ginjo suddenly raised his head. That person. Only the guy sitting by the bar with his legs crossed could give him the answer.

"Hey!" Ginjo struggled to get up, only to fall heavily to the floor again. Only then did he realize that at some point, he had been fitted with the same handcuff-like restraints as the others.

"Ginjo!"

Tsukishima called out in concern, but Ginjo had no attention to spare for him. He only stared at Tsuna with a somewhat crazed look, asking over and over, "Was that real? Was it real? The things you showed me! Who exactly are they? Answer me!"

Compared with the commotion on Ginjo's side, things were peaceful and quiet around Tsuna. He sipped his milk while looking over the liquor behind the bar. On the counter beside him lay the book Tsukishima was often seen holding—the Book of the End.

To prevent Tsukishima from using his ability to escape, Tsuna had picked up the book Tsukishima dropped while guiding Ginjo with an illusion.

The instant he picked up the book, Tsuna's expression became wonderfully vivid. Realization and joy appeared on his face. He casually opened the book, and the fallen bookmark automatically slipped back into its pages.

Tsukishima knew nothing about anything Tsuna had done. In his eyes, Tsuna had merely strolled unsteadily over to the bar and continued drinking milk.

And the reason Tsuna ignored Ginjo's shouting was that Tsuna's real body was no longer in this room. The Tsuna drinking milk was only an illusion he had created, while Tsuna himself had already appeared in a nearby alley, carrying the Book of the End.

"Shopkeeper, Yoruichi, come out. It's already settled."

"My, you even noticed us hiding here? Your perception is no joke, Tsuna." Urahara stepped out from the shadows, and a dark-skinned figure also appeared atop the wall.

"You know how it is, Shopkeeper. The area covered by mist is always very wide, and it seeps into every crack."

After using his Mist-attribute Bankai, the range over which Tsuna's Reiatsu spread was terrifyingly large. It was the foundation for constructing his illusion space, so it was no surprise that Tsuna could detect Urahara's position.

(P.S. This also adds a bit of explanation for why Ginjo always liked using Getsuga Tensho.)