The Final End (2)

The World of the Living, a battlefield.

"The sea... the Kaien!"

Yoruichi Shihōin, Kensei Muguruma Hiyori Sarugaki, Lisa Yadomaru were all stunned, their expressions a mixture of joy, surprise, confusion, and disbelief.

Why is it that the man in front of me should have been... more than fifty years ago?

"Big brother!"

Kūkaku Shiba trembled violently; "You're my older brother? No, it can't be! My older brother died a long time ago!!!"

Despite saying this, she could feel a deep sense of familiarity, a closeness that came from her bloodline. But how could someone come back to life?

"Kukaku... everyone!"

Kaien Shiba lowered his deep smoky eyes, looking at his sister's sorrowful gaze, at the horrified expressions of his friends Yoruichi Shihōin, at his seriously injured brother, and at the shocked Rukia Kuchiki, Jūshirō Ukitake, and their colleagues, all of whom held a hint of hope in their eyes.

What are they hoping for?

Although no one knew why Kaien Shiba was standing there again, they all hoped it was true.

"Kaien!" Rangiku Matsumoto shouted, "You're way too slow!"

"Ah! Yes! It's too slow!"

Looking at Rangiku Matsumoto, who was clearly badly injured but was still forcing herself to stay strong, Kaien Shiba's voice was filled with indescribable emotions: sadness, self-blame, resentment, and even more so.

"Feel sorry······"

Kaien said in a hoarse voice, "I... I'm late!"

"Big brother!"

Unable to resist, Kūkaku Shiba ran forward and hugged Kaien Shiba tightly. Or perhaps it could be said that from the very beginning, she had already decided that the man in front of her was her long-dead brother.

"The Kaien!"

"Shiba... Kaien!"

Upon hearing Sōsuke Aizen's voice, Kaien Shiba's expression suddenly changed. He instinctively pushed away Kūkaku Shiba beside him, and then, with a flick of his longsword, he pierced through the abdomen, severing both his upper and lower body.

"Hateful!"

Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Kaien Shiba gritted his teeth. Although he was talking, he had been keeping an eye on Sōsuke Aizen the whole time. However, the speed was too fast, too sudden, and he had underestimated Aizen too much.

"Big brother!!!"

"Kaien!!!"

Kūkaku Shiba, Yoruichi Shihōin, and Kensei Muguruma's faces turned deathly pale instantly. The bloody wounds from being cut in half at the waist made them feel a sense of unease, even though they had just returned!

"Don't worry, you won't die..."

Seeing the worried expressions on his sister's and friends' faces, Kaien Shiba waved his hand dismissively. With his voice, under the shocked gazes of everyone, countless Reishi surged forth, and in the blink of an eye, his severed lower body grew back.

"But it hurts a lot!"

Stretching his newly grown legs, Kaien Shiba bared his teeth.

What happened?!

"Hey! Hey!"

Kensei Muguruma was dumbfounded. High-Speed Regeneration?! They couldn't do that!

"It's High-Speed Regeneration!" Hiyori Sarugaki shouted.

"But something just doesn't feel right!" said Lisa Yadomaru.

"No, it's more like High-Speed Regeneration!" Yoruichi Shihōin voice; "But compared to High-Speed Regeneration's restorative ability, Kaien's is more like the ability to reorganize and construct Reishi particles!"

"Big brother!"

"I'm very curious about this power!" Seemingly also intrigued by the Kaien Shiba's regeneration ability, Sōsuke Aizen stopped.

"Ah! It's nothing really!"

Kaien Shiba raised the corners of his mouth; "This body of mine! It was forcibly reconstructed by that guy Shadow using Reishi, and it's maintained and operated by my consciousness. So as long as my consciousness remains, as long as Reishi still exist in this world, I will absolutely not die!"

"·····"

Forcibly condensing Reishi and reconstructing the spiritual body...

These two simple sentences, spoken by Kaien Shiba, stunned everyone who heard them. This was something else entirely, something utterly unbelievable...

Yoruichi Shihōin Shihouin glanced at Rangiku Matsumoto and Gin Ichimaru out of the corner of his eye. These two guys... recalling their previous conversation, Rangiku Matsumoto had clearly met Kaien Shiba before, and Gin Ichimaru was definitely directly related to Kaien Shiba's resurrection.

"Damn it, that Shadow guy!"

"Don't blame Shadow! Yoruichi, it was I who told him not to tell you!" Kaien Shiba said softly.

"Kaien!" Yoruichi Shihōin was taken aback.

"Shadow is doing this for your own good!" Kaien Shiba said. "Resurrecting someone who is already dead is impossible no matter how you look at it. Shadow had Ichimaru collect my Reiatsu, and he prepared for this for over fifty years, but he still wasn't very confident. How could he dare to tell you? If he succeeds, that's fine, but if he fails, wouldn't it be even more painful? To save me, Shadow was also severely injured by the backlash and was almost in danger, so he dared not tell you even more!"

"If it was successful, why Shadow..." Kūkaku Shiba asked.

"Didn't I tell you? I told him not to tell you!" Kaien Shiba interrupted. "Although I was saved, I lost all my power in the process. I don't want to appear before you like this and rely on you for protection when I'm in danger. So I asked Shadow to help me regain my power. I absolutely cannot tell you. If I'm destined to be a cripple, I will never appear before you!"

"Big brother!"

"Kaien!!!"

"I've always wanted to protect my comrades, but I've always been the one protected by you. You're also the ones who helped me regain my strength..."

Kaien Shiba raised his Zanpakutō and placed one hand on his face.

"I don't want to see everyone's backs anymore, I want to fight alongside everyone no matter what..."

With a single slide of his hand, the Whale Mask instantly appeared, Kaien Shiba's voice carried a unique, strange tremor.

"We're partners, isn't this just common sense!"

Kensei Muguruma, Hiyori Sarugaki, Lisa Yadomaru all made the same gesture, swiping their faces with one hand to reveal their Visored.

"Ah!"

Kūkaku Shiba raised his Zanpakutō.

"Let's go!"

Yoruichi Shihōin was the first to dart out.

"Shunkō!"

"Let the Revolve, Water and Heaven, Nejibana!"

"Fade to ashes! Tachikaze!"

"Sever him! Kubikiri Orochi!"

"Beat him! Iron Slurry Dragonfly!"

"Release! Mimic Eye!"

"Bankai..."

······

Hueco Mundo, a dark world of Shade.

Aaaaaaah!!!

His entire body was naked, covered in blood, and there wasn't a single unscathed spot on his body.

The man let out a series of the Roar...

The blood-covered body trembled, and the hand holding the knife trembled as well.

Countless Shade swarmed forward, and countless Shade blades pierced his entire body.

And, the heart!

Blood splattered...

His trembling body paused, and the man reached out to grab the Shade longsword that was piercing his heart.

"Have we arrived yet?!"

The Eroding Wolf spoke, its voice low and deep.

"It seems so!"

The man slightly opened his eyes; the scarlet color appeared even more eerie and serene in the darkness.

"If we compare strength!" Eroding Wolf said, "795 for the Third Seat, 377 for the Lieutenant, 33 for the captains, and 11 for the Super-Captain, you've killed a total of 1,216 people!"

The Eroding Wolf grinned slightly; "How does it feel?"

"Ah! Not bad!"

"I'm asking if it reached its destination!"

"Didn't I say it was okay?!"

The hand gripping the Shade blade tightened, and the Shadow looked up at the Eroding Wolf. The crimson in its eyes began to fade, and wisps of black began to emerge.

At the same time, wisps of blackness surged into the Shadow's body.

It was that Shade blade. As the power dissipated, the entire blade gradually disappeared. No, not just this one, but all the Shade blades stuck in his body were disappearing.

Power surged into his body.

The wounds disappeared, the blood evaporated, and even the old scars were gone from the robust body.

Then, the countless Shadow Puppets began to dissipate, transforming into power that surged into the Shadow's body.

black······

The darkness of this world...

"Finally, the final step!" The Eroding Wolf sighed softly, then gently raised the corners of its mouth.

"Ah! Yes!" Shadow nodded; "The final step, it's time!"

"How does this power feel?"

"Power!"

The Shadow lowered its head, clenched its fist, and then released it.

"I'd rather call it instinct!"

"Instinct!"

"The body still possesses power, breaking through dimensional barriers. I am Shade. Shade has no physical form, therefore, it cannot be injured, it cannot die. Precisely because it has nothing, everything is instinct..."

"The limits of humanity, the limits of Bleach, the limits of Zanpakutō, the limits of power!"

The voice from the Shadow grew increasingly deep and solemn.

"It's not about giving up something, nor about gaining something. Limits are meaningless; they're just instinct..."

The Eroding Wolf grinned, and then its body began to blur.

"Go to sleep, Little Wolf!"

"Ah!"

A muffled response came through; it was the Eroding Wolf.

Shadow raised his head, looking at the black sky of Hueco Mundo. He could see and sense the purple figure engaged in battle in a place called the Battlefield.

Yoruichi Shihōin

Lady Yoruichi ······

"So-called instincts, whether human, Bleach, Hollow, or even Zanpakutō or power—whatever they may be—are predetermined from the moment of birth..."

"Everyone knows to stand up from birth, birds know to fly, and fish know to swim; this is what we call instinct..."

"We all live by instinct, even God, and the world does!"

"Lady Yoruichi Ye Da..."

"You are my instinct! Because I am your Shade, your Shade..."

The blackness gradually hardened, slowly enveloping Shadow shadow's naked body—legs, waist, chest...

"Looks like I need to take a nap too. I really don't want to close my eyes, but oh well, it'll be over soon!"

Neck

Head!

Sealed off!!!

"Lady Yoruichi, wait for me, I'm coming home..."

······

So, from now on...

I will name it Shadow...

To be your Shade for life...

I live only for you, I exist only for you...

······

Those destined to become strong will never easily pledge allegiance to anyone; however, once they do, they will never betray.

That summer.

A young boy met a girl who was also young, and they made a promise to each other for eternity.

To become your Shade...

Perhaps the ending was already predetermined from the moment we met.

Perhaps from that moment when I bowed my head, my world became you, and all this power is only for you.

This, too, is an instinct...

My name is Shadow.

I will forever protect your Shade.

Lady Yoruichi ······