The Cracked Sky

Shrill alarms rang incessantly through the streets of Karakura Town.

Yoriichi stood atop a residential building and slowly closed his eyes.

Through the perception of the Transparent World, chaotic Reiatsu lay scattered throughout the town. The nearest Hollow was chasing several students near the school.

I can't let them hurt humans.

At that thought, Yoriichi vanished in an instant.

In an alley behind the school, a Hollow raised its claws and slashed down at a boy who had fallen.

The boy's face was pale. Though he could not see the Hollow, he could feel death approaching.

The next moment, a crimson blade flashed.

The Hollow froze mid-motion. A thin line appeared down the center of its mask, then Sun Reiatsu burned its entire body to ash.

Yoriichi sheathed his blade, turned, and looked into the near distance.

There are still so many.

Elsewhere.

Ichigo Kurosaki raced across the rooftops of a residential neighborhood, his Zanpakuto over his shoulder.

Hollows instinctively pursued targets with high Reiatsu, and both his younger sisters possessed spiritual power far beyond that of ordinary people.

With Hollows all over Karakura Town, the Kurosaki Family would naturally not be safe.

"I have to make it."

Ichigo gritted his teeth and picked up speed again.

At the intersection ahead, a Hollow charged out from behind a wall, opening its jaws to bite a fleeing woman.

Ichigo leaped from the rooftop and brought Zangetsu straight down on the Hollow's mask, smashing it into a roadside shop.

"Get out of my way!"

The blade pressed down, shattering the Hollow's mask on the spot.

The woman fell back onto the ground, looking around in terror. She could not see Ichigo; she only felt a fierce gust sweep past her.

Ichigo did not stop. He continued hurrying home.

He had indeed agreed to compete with Uryū Ishida.

But who killed more no longer mattered at all.

If even one ordinary person was hurt because of this contest, then both of them had lost.

Meanwhile, Uryū Ishida stood atop a high-rise in the commercial district, the Spirit Bow in his hand fully drawn.

Three spirit arrows shot out at once, crossing hundreds of meters and piercing the masks of three Hollows with precision.

He adjusted his glasses and quickly searched for his next target.

"Twenty-three."

As long as he maintained this pace, Ichigo Kurosaki could not possibly beat him.

Suddenly, a crash came from the street below.

Uryū Ishida looked down and saw Ichigo standing in front of several passersby, under attack from two Hollows at once.

One of the Hollows lunged at Ichigo from behind.

Ishida raised his hand and shot an arrow through it.

Ichigo glanced back, then swung Zangetsu and cut the Hollow in front of him in half.

"You're so busy killing Hollows and counting them. Have you even looked at the people around you?"

Uryū Ishida jumped off the rooftop. Reishi gathered beneath his feet, letting him land steadily in the middle of the street.

"I'm protecting them by eliminating Hollows, too."

"If you hadn't used bait to lure so many Hollows here, they wouldn't be in danger in the first place!"

Ichigo grabbed Ishida by the collar, his face filled with anger.

Uryū Ishida did not back down, staring coldly at him.

"Soul Reapers only send Hollows back into the cycle of reincarnation. Sinful souls may still fall again. Only by eliminating them completely can we eradicate the threat."

"I don't understand grudges from two hundred years ago."

Ichigo released him and hoisted Zangetsu onto his shoulder.

"But I can see the people right in front of me who could get hurt. Even if you win the contest, you've lost sight of basic human decency."

Uryū Ishida's fingers paused slightly.

He did not answer. He simply formed his Spirit Bow again, turned, and leaped onto a high-rise.

Ichigo watched him go, muttered a curse about what a pain he was, then continued toward the Kurosaki Clinic.

Near the school.

Yoriichi drew his blade and slashed, and three Hollows stopped moving at once.

Crimson flames ignited along their wounds, and their enormous bodies soon dissipated.

Yoriichi was about to search for his next target when the ground beneath his feet suddenly shook.

A dense, oppressive Reiatsu abruptly descended in the distance.

Yoriichi raised his head, his calm expression changing.

"A Menos Grande."

And it's very close to the Kurosaki Family's home.

Damn it.

Yoriichi tightened his grip on Hekyō and hurried toward the source of that Reiatsu.

Outside the Kurosaki Clinic, a huge black rift stretched across the sky.

A Gillian, its body as enormous as a high-rise, emerged from the rift, its pale mask looking down over the streets below.

Ichigo stood on a rooftop, gripping Zangetsu with both hands.

"There's no way I'm letting that thing near my home."

The Gillian opened its mouth, red Reishi gathering continuously in front of it.

Ichigo stood in the middle of the street, gripping Zangetsu tightly.

Behind him lay a vast stretch of residential buildings.

I can't dodge.

If I move aside, that attack will destroy half the neighborhood.

An enormous golden slash soared into the sky, colliding head-on with the crimson Cero.

The blast sent a shock wave sweeping through the street. Ichigo's feet sank into the ground, his arms trembling continuously from the impact.

Yet the Gillian did not stop charging its attack.

"I'm not done yet!"

He gritted his teeth and forced all the spiritual power in his body into his Zanpakuto.

Even stronger Reiatsu erupted from within him, cleaving the Cero apart by force.

A crack was slashed into the Gillian's mask, and its enormous body began retreating.

But Ichigo's condition was just as bad.

His Reiatsu had gone out of control and was pouring wildly out of him.

Uryū Ishida landed on another rooftop. His expression changed instantly at the sight.

"You idiot, this was only supposed to be a contest! Why push yourself until your Reiatsu makes you explode?"

Ichigo propped himself up with Zangetsu and panted, "I couldn't just watch it destroy this place."

"We can settle the contest later. Right now, we have to stop it."

Ishida looked at him, suddenly remembering his own master.

Sōken Ishida had always hoped that Soul Reapers and Quincies would fight side by side.

Yet to prove that Quincies were stronger, he had deliberately lured in a huge number of Hollows, nearly getting innocent people killed.

What exactly am I proving?

Ishida closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the fixation in them had faded.

"I'll help you."

He drew his Spirit Bow and aimed behind Ichigo.

"You keep it occupied. I'll channel your overflowing Reiatsu."

Ichigo grinned.

"Why didn't you just say that earlier?"

The two forces converged in the night sky.

Ichigo swung his blade again, sending a huge slash crashing into the Gillian's mask. Meanwhile, Ishida gathered all the scattered Reiatsu and condensed it into a gigantic spirit arrow.

"Get up there!"

The spirit arrow shot into the sky, carrying away the power raging out of control within Ichigo.

The Gillian let out a low roar and retreated into the rift.

Ichigo collapsed into a sitting position, gasping for breath.

Ishida dismissed his Spirit Bow and said quietly, "I lost this contest."

"As long as you've figured it out."

Ichigo lay on the ground and waved a hand weakly.

"Don't drag innocent people into your grudges again."

Yoriichi arrived just then. Seeing the slowly closing rift, he gradually released his grip on his sword hilt.

Looks like it's over.

But the very next moment, a tearing sound suddenly came from the sky.

A force pried open the rift that had been about to close.

Yoriichi looked up.

Ichigo and Ishida also looked toward the sky at the same time.

Beyond the rift, one deathly pale mask after another crowded together.

Packed densely together.

They were all Gillians.