The Eve of Scarlet

Kaien Shiba let out a roar, a vicious gleam flashing through his eyes as he decided to charge in recklessly one more damn time.

The trident named Nejibana spun into a hurricane-like circle.

At one moment, he leaped into the air and slammed the great trident downward, risking his life in a move meant to trade wounds for a kill!

Zaraki laughed wildly and thrust out his Soul-Cutter Sword, driving it straight toward Kaien's abdomen without the slightest intention of dodging the great trident capable of smashing buildings apart.

At the critical moment, Uchiha Yato Flash Stepped beneath Kaien. Scarlet Eye struck Zaraki's blade tip with precise timing, knocking it aside.

The ferocity in Zaraki's eyes surged. He actually released his grip and tossed aside his Soul-Cutter Sword before lunging forward, clamping one hand around Kaien's face and the other around Yato's, then viciously smashing them into the ground!

Both Kaien and Yato were outstanding graduates of Shin'ō Academy, with considerable mastery of Hakuda. They instinctively struck back fiercely as well, driving knees and elbows into Zaraki's body.

"Urgh!"

The three of them spat blood almost simultaneously and staggered as they fell.

Yet the next moment, Zaraki grinned savagely and pushed himself back up. He hooked his fallen Soul-Cutter Sword into his hand with his foot and, ignoring his severe injuries, prepared to slash at them again.

Seeing this, even someone as tough as Kaien Shiba could not help drawing in a sharp breath.

A few minutes earlier, when he had seen Uchiha Yato gradually losing ground, Kaien had known he needed to join the battle and face the enemy alongside Yato.

But what he had not expected was that Zaraki, fighting one against two, not only showed no sign of retreating, but grew braver the longer he fought. He became increasingly reckless, suppressing both Kaien and Yato.

"What is going on... Why are this man's strength, reaction speed, and Reiatsu getting more and more absurd?"

Kaien clicked his tongue inwardly. Staring at Zaraki charging toward him, he gritted his teeth and prepared to use a powerful Kidō.

However, Zaraki's savage slash landed on a huge boulder by the roadside instead.

Boom!

The boulder was cleaved apart by Zaraki's Soul-Cutter Sword, turning into countless fragments that rained down.

Zaraki frowned and looked at Uchiha Yato with hostility filling his gaze.

"Was that your doing?"

Yato panted heavily. Within his eyes, the six-pointed Mangekyo slowly rotated.

"That's enough, Zaraki."

The beast-like man seemed to have heard the greatest joke in the world and sneered.

"The blood of the three of us hasn't run dry yet, brat."

"Don't worry. You'll have plenty of chances to bleed. Come with me, and go—"

"You sure talk a lot of crap!"

Zaraki roared and swung his blade, striking a tree some distance away once more.

"Little Ken." Yachiru Kusajishi, propping up her head, burst into laughter, her voice carrying from afar. "Where exactly are you trying to cut?"

"Idiot Yachiru!" Zaraki snapped furiously. "This kid knows how to pull tricks!"

"I don't want to keep fighting. As Soul Reapers, Kaien-senpai and I have to return to guard the mountain." Yato swayed as he rose to his feet. "What do you think? Want to take my suggestion? I guarantee you... today was only an appetizer."

Zaraki snorted. Against a Soul Reaper with illusion-type abilities, there really was nothing he could do if the other side did not want to continue fighting.

He stood where he was with his sword in hand, feeling the warmth of blood flowing over his skin and the unrelieved desire to fight deep within his heart. After a long while, he finally spoke.

"How... did it taste?"

Uchiha Yato narrowed his eyes, seriously recalling the pressure Mochizuki Hanzō had given him, and answered word by word.

"An unprecedentedly lavish feast."

The intruder leaned against a tree trunk, allowing the drizzle to wash over his body.

The rain in Soul Society was still as cold as ever.

"Teacher." Behind him, the pale-faced young man stepped forward. "The people we caught are all inside. What next?"

Mochizuki Hanzō made a downward chopping gesture.

"Yes, Teacher."

The young man withdrew. Before long, muffled groans of suppressed agony entered Mochizuki Hanzō's ears.

Inside the cave, the incapacitated Soul Reapers were killed one by one.

Blood stained Mochizuki Hanzō's shoes red, flowing through holes in the ground and pooling beneath his feet.

Kidō Reiatsu boiled within the intruder's body. It was not long before Mochizuki Hanzō stopped moving.

"This method works, but it requires killing many people..." he murmured softly, patting his disciple on the shoulder. "Go to Hueco Mundo and hide."

"But, Teacher..."

"This is an order." Mochizuki Hanzō's tone was not stern. Instead, it carried the affection of a father. "Remember everything I did for Captain Saitō, and live on with those memories."

"...Yes."

The young man bowed solemnly and limped away.

—The wounds Uchiha Yato had left him had not fully healed.

Mochizuki Hanzō watched his disciple's departing back in silence for a long time.

Suddenly, he dropped to the ground with a thud, allowing blood and rainwater to soak his entire body.

Only this could bring a trace of coolness to his bewildered soul.

"That man named Uchiha Yato has a Soul-Cutter Sword with multiple release forms."

He spoke to himself, his expression turning sorrowful.

It seemed that you really were gone, Captain.

Lieutenant Kirio Hikifune, you deceived me.

You once told me that Captain Saitō had been sentenced to seven thousand four hundred years of imprisonment in Muken for the grave crime of "attempting to slay the Soul King," suffering endlessly there.

Was it a kind lie? Ha. Lieutenant, you were still such a worrier.

Then did what I was about to do still have any meaning?

Rescue the Captain?

—But she had been dead for many years. Even if I truly fought my way into Muken, I would only see a pile of bones.

Seek justice and clear the Captain's name?

—But although the Seireitei had erased the deeds of the first generation of captains, it had not slandered them. Back then, Captain Saitō truly had raised her blade against the Soul King. When she fled to Hueco Mundo, she had admitted it herself. It was an indisputable fact, impossible to refute.

So it was completely meaningless. Even if I really found that so-called [Royal Key]...

And what exactly was the [Royal Key]?

Could finding it truly reveal the truth of that year?

But even if I learned the truth, what use would it be? Captain Saitō was already dead. Right and wrong had long since become settled.

Lying in the rain, Mochizuki Hanzō's entire body was cold.

Yet the more hopeless and sorrowful he became, the stronger that flame grew in his heart, until it broke through reason and ignited his entire soul.

"Everyone has forgotten you... Captain." He stared blankly at the sky, and the crisscrossing vicious scars on his face seemed to soften as well. "But I will let them know that someone is still willing to raise a blade for you, even if it changes nothing, even if death is inevitable."

He remained there beneath the rain and fell into a deep sleep on the eve of the great battle.

For the first time in centuries, Mochizuki Hanzō dreamed.

In the dream, he seemed to return to that summer, to the days when the Gotei 13 had only just been founded.

"Can you still stand, brat? If you can, follow behind me."

The one-eyed girl with twin ponytails wore a wantonly wicked smile.

"Big sis will take you to kill people."