The Scythes of the Holy Weeping Mantis and the Fate of the Skeletal Emperor
Just as Tsuna arrived in Soul Society and, together with Kyōraku, searched for Tsunayashiro Tokinada, Urahara Kisuke was engaged in a fierce battle in an unknown space. His opponent was none other than Nnoitra, who had been Ichigo Las Noches!
If we move the timeline slightly forward, back to when Urahara Kisuke Dohane Aura.
Looking at the desolate land before him, Urahara recalled the feeling of being swallowed by the unknown space. It was very familiar, somewhat like the feeling of the Senkaimon he often used.
The Senkaimon connects the World of the Living and the Soul Society; one must cross the Dangai) to reach either. Does this mean this is the Dangai?
No, Urahara Kisuke grabbed a handful of fine sand, feeling the Reishi attached to it, "Valley of Screams?"
In that instant, Dohane Aura opened the door to the Valley of Screams, trapping Urahara Kisuke inside the Valley of Screams space, which was like countless tiny bubbles scattered throughout the Dangai.
After the incident with the Thought Bead, Urahara had done some research on the Valley of Screams Space. It wouldn't be difficult for him to get out of there and find the corresponding direction in the Dangai.
"In that case, let's create a little gadget first." Urahara prepared to summon Red Princess. This Valley of Screams space had nothing but Reishi, which was enough to satisfy Urahara's creation needs.
"I knew I couldn't leave you alone, Urahara Kisuke." Dohane Aura's figure slowly appeared, holding a black Hogyoku in her palm.
"Is this young lady here to take me out?" Urahara Kisuke's eyes were fixed on the Hogyoku in Dohane Aura's hand.
"I can't let you cause trouble before that person ascends the throne." The Reishi slowly coalesced beside Dohane Aura. "I'm here to bring you two playmates."
There were two corpses, one fat and one thin, one old and one young. Urahara Kisuke recognized them: Barragan and Nnoitra, former Espada.
"So you stole these two." Urahara Kisuke had heard a little about the missing Espada corpses, but his research at the time wasn't on the Arrancar, so he didn't pay attention to it.
"I simply appear and then take it away, just like this Hogyoku." The Hogyoku in Dohane Aura's hand shimmered with Reishi light.
Suddenly, two more identical black Hogyoku appeared in Dohane Aura's hand. Urahara Kisuke's pupils shrank, and he exclaimed in shock, "Reishi creation replication?"
Urahara Kisuke left only one fake Hogyoku in the lab, but now Dohane Aura has produced two right in front of him. Is it a fake of a fake, or a genuine fake?
If it's the latter, Dohane Aura's abilities are somewhat frightening. Urahara Kisuke remained silent, gripping his cane tightly, ready to strike at any moment.
"I found some interesting things in Hueco Mundo before. That sheep must have put the Hogyoku into the Hollow Hole, right?"
Propelled by Dohane Aura, the two replicas began to fly towards Nnoitra's eyes and Barragan's chest.
At that moment, Urahara Kisuke drew his Zanpakuto Shikai, "Bind me, Red Princess!"
The net-like spiritual pressure flew towards Barragan, Nnoitra, and Dohane Aura. Dohane Aura ignored it, smiled and said goodbye, then disappeared into this space.
Have fun!
The net-like spiritual pressure couldn't destroy the two Arrancar's corpses. Urahara Kisuke slammed his sword into the ground with a backhand motion. "Play with fire, Red Princess."
Red orbs of Reishi particles appeared on the Reishi network, exploding along with the two corpses.
"Is it resolved?" Urahara Kisuke was a little unsure. He had stopped Dohane Aura's actions as quickly as possible. As long as the two corpses were blown to pieces, it wouldn't matter whether the two Hogyoku were genuine or not.
"Idiot, how could it be solved so easily?"
In this unfamiliar space, someone actually answered Urahara Kisuke's question. Two figures emerged from the smoke of the explosion: one was a skeleton wearing a crown and wielding a heavy axe, and the other was a thin man with crescent-shaped horns, resembling a praying mantis with multiple arms and wielding several giant crescent-shaped scythes.
Skeletal Emperor and the Holy Weeping Mantis, Barragan and Nnoitra all transformed into their Resurrección forms.
"How is this possible? You're all dead!" Urahara Kisuke's serious expression was tinged with disbelief.
"Indeed, the original owner of this body possessed such power, yet he died at the hands of those few people. It's laughable," Nnoitra said arrogantly. "Although it wasn't long, it was more than enough time to kill you, Urahara Kisuke!"
Through Nnoitra's words, Urahara understood that they weren't truly resurrected, but rather their original consciousness and memories had been copied and placed onto the original corpses—it was still a copy. Could that woman's ability be copying?
Gradually, Urahara Kisuke's thoughts drifted away from the two individuals. If Dohane Aura's abilities were truly that powerful, wouldn't they be incredibly useful in experiments?
"Have I been ignored?" Nnoitra tilted her head and immediately tried to rush towards Urahara Kisuke.
"Halt! Time is running out. Don't you want to try this power?" Barragan clutched his chest, where a black Hogyoku (a type of magical orb) was visible in the Hollow Hole his chest.
"Interesting!" Nnoitra ripped off the blindfold, revealing another Hogyoku inside.
Crimson and bright yellow spiritual pressure erupted simultaneously, emanating completely different auras from Barragan and Nnoitra. The Hogyoku gradually merged with them, and their forms changed to varying degrees.
Barragan's cloak swung open, revealing his skeletal frame. His crown grew sharper, with four blood-red horns sprouting from its sides. The blade of his massive axe turned blood red, and the skeletal arm that gripped it became pure gold.
His deep red spiritual pressure billowed as he draped his cloak, his dark gold accessories adding to his self-proclaimed supreme majesty as an emperor.
Compared to Barragan's wild and unrestrained aura, Nnoitra was much more reserved. His Las Noches uniform had completely disappeared, and his entire body was covered in black armor, like a mantis covered in sharp spikes.
A bright yellow spiritual pressure enveloped the sharp parts of his body, his long hair and tail whip swayed freely with the pressure, and there were four floating scythes behind him. Scythe-shaped blades shot out from his two forearms, which were his sharpest weapons.
"Oh? Is this the Hogyoku fusion form that Tsuna mentioned?" Urahara Kisuke straightened up and seriously assessed, "It seems to only look impressive."
"If you think it's all show and no substance, then try it yourself!"
A sharp blade flashed towards Urahara Kisuke's neck, and in the blink of an eye, they split up. Nnoitra appeared in front of Urahara, and before his power form had fully solidified, he launched an attack on Urahara Kisuke.
Nnoitra showed no joy on his face after completing the decapitation; he knew very well that the blow had not truly struck the body.
Sure enough, the Urahara Kisuke in front of Nnoitra suddenly exploded, leaving only a cloud of pink gas. At the same time, many Urahara Kisuke in different poses appeared in the entire area, all of them portable Reigai.
"Hey, Barragan, it's your turn!" Nnoitra shouted at Barragan impatiently. All his abilities were focused on single-target combat, and large-scale battles like this were not his forte.
"Watch your tone, I am the Skeletal Emperor!" Barragan's deep voice conveyed his displeasure.
"Tch! He's dead, and he still thinks he's the Espada?" Nnoitra had never shown respect to anyone during his time Espada, and now he was even less likely to be subservient to Barragan.
Barragan said nothing, raising his heavy axe high. Crimson spiritual pressure condensed on the blade as he chanted incantations. The spiritual pressure grew stronger and stronger. "Fault against the King, turn to dust, forever regret, fate of the Skeletal Emperor!"
Barragan slammed his axe heavily on the ground in front of him, and intense energy burst forth from the blade. In an instant, the earth shattered into pieces. Urahara Kisuke's secret actions had caused all the portable Reigai to explode, forcing him to reveal himself.
"Haha, see where you run to!" Nnoitra instantly pursued, three or four scythes swinging with every movement of his body. "Tear me to pieces, Holy Weeping Mantis Scythe!"
In an instant, a storm of bright yellow blades appeared before Urahara Kisuke. The dense, high-frequency sharp attacks transformed into a machine capable of shattering everything, forcing Urahara Kisuke to use his Bankai.
"Bankai!" The sudden burst of spiritual pressure pushed Nnoitra dozens of meters away. A female doll dressed in a red kimono appeared on Urahara's head. "Kannonbiraki Benihime Aratame!"
"Bankai? It's useless!"
Nnoitra launched another fierce attack on Urahara Kisuke. The giant doll Red Princess lowered fine threads that connected to Urahara, instantly creating eight shields around Urahara that blocked all of Nnoitra's attacks.
In this space formed by the gathering of wandering Reishi, Urahara Kisuke had an abundance of raw materials for his Bankai, but these shields only managed to block one of Nnoitra's attacks before falling to pieces the next moment.
"I told you, it's no use!"
Nnoitra's expression gradually turned frenzied. He could kill his opponent in one swift motion, but only the one who resisted to the point of suffocation could give him pleasure.
"Nnoitra's got a little wild, huh?" Barragan made no move to step forward; as the Skeletal Emperor, charging into battle was rather unseemly for him.
"It's really useless. My Bankai isn't really suited for head-on combat."
Barragan turned his head sharply and suddenly found Urahara Kisuke standing behind him, the giant doll closely following Urahara.
When exactly did this happen? And who were the people Nnoitra was fighting?
Just as Nnoitra took a step forward, a huge hole suddenly appeared, and he fell into it without warning. As he tried to use the Sonido to escape, a Reishi flew in from all directions and bound him tightly. His spiritual pressure manipulation was instantly disrupted, and he fell into a trap.