Scatter, Senbonzakura

"The Anbu are outside. I'll be going."

As soon as he spoke, Uchiha Ryūha used Flash Step and vanished from the courtyard in a few quick blinks.

Hatake Sakumo rose and walked toward the gate.

Having reclaimed his ninja way, he was now unafraid of anything.

"Lord Sakumo, how did you just..."

The Anbu ninja trailed off when he noticed Chakra surging along Hatake Sakumo's short blade. He immediately turned and left.

It was clear that the former White Fang of the Leaf had somehow found the strength to stand again.

"Hatake Sakumo, don't leave the village for now. Wait for Lord Hokage to summon you."

This news had to be reported to Lord Hokage at once!

It was three in the morning when Uchiha Ryūha returned to his lodgings in the Uchiha Compound.

When they parted, Hatake Sakumo said nothing. He only gave Ryūha's shoulder a firm pat.

The force was heavy, carrying the weight of a solemn promise.

Everything had finally settled.

Ryūha closed the door and leaned against it, letting out a long breath.

At last, the tension in his nerves began to ease.

But he didn't rest.

Instead, an unprecedented excitement surged through him with every beat of his heart.

Ten thousand Karma Points!

An SSR selection ticket!

He hurried to the center of the room and sat cross-legged.

"System, open my inventory."

[Received.]

A card shimmering with every color of the rainbow floated quietly in his mental space, like a star waiting to be plucked from the sky.

Ryūha's gaze settled on it, and his heartbeat quickened slightly.

What should he choose?

He had gone over that question countless times on his way back.

Offense, defense, stamina, special abilities... every path offered top-tier options.

But in the end, one name took shape in his mind.

Not Ryūjin Jakka, with its flames that could destroy everything. Not Shinsō, with its peerless penetrating power.

But—

"Senbonzakura."

He murmured the name.

[Confirm selection: Zanpakuto Senbonzakura, including Shikai and Bankai forms?]

"Confirmed."

The instant the words left his mouth—

Bzzzz!!!

The rainbow-colored selection ticket in his mental space suddenly erupted in brilliant pinkish-white light.

Amid the radiance, countless phantom cherry blossoms appeared from nowhere, whirling through the air and forming a vast vortex.

At its center, a slender Zanpakuto slowly took shape. Its blade was mirror-bright, its guard shaped like a hand, and pink tassels hung from the end of its hilt.

At the same time, information about the Zanpakuto flooded into Ryūha's mind like a rising tide.

Senbonzakura.

Kuchiki Byakuya's Zanpakuto.

Shikai command: "Scatter, Senbonzakura."

Ability: The blade breaks apart into countless tiny, invisible blades that can be controlled for offense and defense.

The number of blades and the precision with which they can be controlled increase with the user's Reiatsu Enhancement.

When the blades dance through the air, they resemble falling cherry blossoms—beautiful and deadly.

Bankai: Senbonzakura Kageyoshi.

It has three stages:

Gokei: The countless blades of Senbonzakura gather into long blades that surround the enemy and slice from every direction in a dense, inescapable attack.

Senkei: The blades of Senbonzakura arrange themselves into a specific formation, creating a domain of blades.

Within this domain, the blades' attack trajectories and power increase substantially.

Shukei: Hakuteiken: The power of all the blades gathers into a massive sword of light, unleashing a final strike powerful enough to rival a nuclear explosion!

The flow of information abruptly stopped.

The light faded.

A brand-new card appeared in Ryūha's inventory.

[SSR · Zanpakuto · Senbonzakura]

[Status: Bound]

[Shikai Ability: Fully unlocked (Base blade count: 1,000; can increase with Reiatsu)]

[Bankai Ability: Preloaded]

[Bankai Unlock Condition: Reiatsu reaches Vice-Captain level (met; can be activated, barely)]

[Bankai Limitation: At his current Reiatsu level, he can maintain Bankai for no more than 30 seconds.

Exceeding the time limit will severely deplete his mental energy and may cause him to lose consciousness.

After use, he needs at least 24 hours to recover.]

[Compatibility: 1% (Initial)]

[Note: Senbonzakura is a Zanpakuto that requires a high degree of control. Only powerful mental energy and precise control can unleash its true potential.

The host's Kyōka Suigetsu is exceptionally compatible with this blade, accelerating the rate at which compatibility increases.]

Ryūha opened his eyes.

Moonlight poured in through the window, spreading a silvery-white sheen across the floor.

He looked down at the Ninja Blade at his waist. It was a standard Uchiha weapon, made of ordinary steel. Aside from being sturdy, it had nothing special about it.

But now...

Ryūha reached out and gripped the hilt.

The touch was cool.

He closed his eyes, sinking his consciousness into his body and sensing the power within him. It came from the same source as Kyōka Suigetsu, yet was completely different.

Sharper, and... more elegant.

"Scatter..."

He murmured the words, his voice as soft as a song.

"Senbonzakura."

Clang—!

A faint crack rang out, like glass breaking.

The Ninja Blade at his waist silently began to disintegrate from its tip.

It became countless silver blades, almost invisible to the naked eye and finer than strands of hair.

In the moonlight, they reflected a faint pinkish-white glow, like cherry blossoms.

Like petals scattered by the wind, they drifted lightly through the air.

They circled Ryūha, turning slowly around him.

They made no sound and stirred no air. They were as quiet as an illusion.

Yet Ryūha could clearly feel that every blade was connected to his consciousness.

He could "see" them as clearly as the fingers of a hand reaching out from his body.

With the slightest thought, one blade broke away from the swirling mass and shot silently toward the wall.

Pfft.

A soft sound.

A hole no bigger than a pinprick appeared in the wall, revealing the scene beyond it.

The blade returned and rejoined the swirling mass.

Ryūha opened his eyes.

He watched the blades dance around him like a rain of cherry blossoms, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

Beautiful.

Deadly.

And... the perfect match for Kyōka Suigetsu.

Kyoka Suigetsu controlled the five senses, trapping enemies in illusions.

Senbonzakura, meanwhile, attacked in the real world with countless blades, striking from every direction.

One false, one real. One illusion, one killing blow.

"Perfect."

Ryūha murmured to himself.

He willed the blades to move again.

"Return."

The countless blades whirling through the air instantly swept back and gathered in his hand, once again forming the ordinary Ninja Blade.

The blade was whole, without a single crack.

As if that dazzling rain of cherry blossoms had been nothing but a dream.

But Uchiha Ryūha knew it hadn't been a dream.

It was the power in his hands.

Power enough to cut through any obstacle.

"I'll save my ten elite pulls for before the Third Great Ninja War. I hope my luck is good."

He sheathed the blade, walked to the window, and looked out at the sky as it slowly began to pale.

Dawn was near.

And Konoha was about to witness... the return of a hero, in a way no one could have expected.