Cruel War

What was there to resent? What was there to long for? To survive?!!!

Yoruichi Shihōin, Kūkaku Shiba, and Kensei Muguruma all fell silent for a moment. They had seen scenes like this before—whether during the training incident more than a decade ago, the previous war between the Bleach and the Quincy, or this battle that had yet to end—but those pairs of eyes yearning to live still tugged at their heartstrings.

As if by unspoken agreement, all three drew their Zanpakutō and cut down the countless Hollow before them.

"Hadō #31: Shakkahō!"

"Hadō #63: Raikōhō!"

"..."

Boom! Boom!

Explosions, screams, roars, and howls rang throughout the battlefield.

Before they knew it, the battle had gone on for a long time—long enough for countless Bleach to fall here forever, long enough for countless Hollow to be destroyed, turned into Reishi, and scattered through the air.

Shadow remained concealed around Yoruichi Shihōin, never showing himself. The shuriken in his hand traced arc after arc like the scythe of a messenger from Hell, destroying the Gillian-class Menos Grande that closed in. He only let some Lesser Hollow through to Yoruichi Shihōin, occasionally allowing one or two Gillian to reach her.

After fighting for so long, Shadow dared not lower his guard in the slightest. Even though Yoruichi Shihōin possessed Captain-class strength, it was not exactly that he did not trust her. He simply did not want her to fight. In the end, it was still fear. What had happened in his previous life had affected him too deeply.

Shadow did not know whether what he was doing was right or wrong, but no matter what, he could not bring himself to harden his heart. He could disregard anyone, even himself, but he could not disregard Yoruichi Shihōin.

He truly did not want Yoruichi Shihōin to suffer even the slightest injury.

They said battle was one of the best ways for people to mature, and Shadow agreed with that. Watching Yoruichi Shihōin clearly grow so much amid the fighting, Shadow sighed. He did not even know what he should do. He did not want Yoruichi Shihōin to face danger, but...

"Ahhh!!!"

Suddenly, a scream came from afar. It was from the battlefield where the captains faced six Adjuchas. A short figure wearing a captain's haori was abruptly flung out, one arm missing entirely.

"Captain Nanma!!!"

"Captain!" Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi, who happened to be fighting nearby, caught Juji Nanma as he fell.

"Damn it!"

Juji Nanma coughed up blood, shoved Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi away with his remaining arm, and struggled to curse under his breath as he tried to rise and rejoin the fight.

"Captain!" Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi grabbed Juji Nanma and said, "Let me go!"

"Get lost! Don't joke around!" Juji Nanma snapped in rare fury. "I am the captain of the Third Division. There are only captains who die on the battlefield, never captains who run away—let alone captains who let their subordinates stand in front while they hide behind them. As a captain, dying in battle is my honor!"

Ignoring Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi's reaction, Juji Nanma raised his Zanpakutō and charged forward again, his eyes filled with the resolve to die.

"Hahaha... Since you want to die so badly, I'll be merciful and grant your wish, Bleach!"

Another bird-shaped Adjuchas with wings flew out from somewhere, standing in the air and staring at Juji Nanma. With a vicious grin, he said, "I wonder what a Captain-class soul tastes like!"

"Damn it! Why is there another Adjuchas?" Shinji Hirako gritted his teeth, his gaze sharp. "That makes seven Adjuchas. On our side, Captain Nanma is seriously wounded. Even if he can still fight, his combat strength has greatly diminished. Damn it!"

"Hey, birdman, why are you here!"

The wolf-shaped Adjuchas blocked Kenpachi Kiganjō's massive blade, then looked up at the bird-shaped Adjuchas with dissatisfaction.

"Don't say that, you stupid wolf!" the bird-shaped Adjuchas said teasingly. "I came to help out of the goodness of my heart!"

"We don't need you interfering, Yasko!" The tiger-shaped Adjuchas drove back Kitagawa Guobu's attack and said coldly, "I don't need your help!"

"You really don't appreciate kindness, Naeldo. I..."

"Stop disturbing me!" The bear-shaped Adjuchas fighting Shinji Hirako impatiently interrupted Yasko.

"Fine!" Yasko shook his head without caring and pointed at Juji Nanma. "Then that Bleach is mine. No problem, right?"

"Problem!" The snake-shaped Adjuchas who had been fighting Juji Nanma cursed loudly. "He's my prey, Yasko!"

"You don't get to speak here!"

"What did you say? Say that again, bastard!"

Ignoring the argument between the two Adjuchas, Shinji Hirako forced back the bear-shaped Adjuchas before him with a slash and appeared beside Juji Nanma.

"What do we do, Captain Hirako?" Kitagawa Guobu and Wangyuan Baoren, who had also retreated, asked in quick succession.

"There's no other way. Do our best to hold them back!" Shinji Hirako said gravely. "We probably can't count on that kid Shadow. We can only rely on ourselves. Captain Kiganjō and I will hold off five Adjuchas. The remaining two are up to you three. No problem?"

"No problem!"

"Then let's go!"

"Ahhh!!!"

Two Bleach were pierced through by a Hollow's claws and nailed to the ground. Though their bodies had been pierced, they could not die. They tried to pull the claws from their bodies, but they would not budge at all. Despair, pain, panic—their shrill screams tore through the air.

"Shakkahō!"

One Bleach tried to save his two companions, but before he could even get close, a mantis Hollow cut him in half from the side.

"Damn it!" Kūkaku Shiba's eyes went bloodshot. "Hadō #63: Raikōhō!"

After a thunderous boom, the mantis Hollow and several other Hollow turned into Reishi and vanished.

"Kukaku, watch your back!"

Yoruichi Shihōin shoved Kūkaku Shiba aside, then drove the short blade in her hand viciously into the head of the Hollow attempting a sneak attack. Once it gradually turned into Reishi, Yoruichi Shihōin pulled out her Zanpakutō and slashed backward.

With a tearing sound, another Hollow was struck and vanished into thin air.

"Thanks, Yoruichi!" Kūkaku Shiba smiled.

"Cut it out!"

Yoruichi Shihōin used Shunpo at incredible speed, constantly weaving through the surrounding masses of Hollow. While her Zanpakutō struck again and again, her fists, legs, elbows, and every other part of her body became weapons. Indeed, Yoruichi Shihōin had truly grown a great deal.

Yet faced with the Hollow horde that still surged like a tide, the Bleach all felt a trace of helplessness. Even so, not a single one retreated. Rather than kneeling without dignity and begging the enemy for that sliver of survival, then clinging miserably to life, everyone chose to fight to the very end—even if death was all that awaited them.