BLEACH: Blade of Purification

Half a month ago.

Shihouin Souichirou investigated in the Rukongai for several days and had basically pinpointed the direction from which the Hollow swarms were appearing. Although the reports mentioned large numbers of Hollows appearing in different locations, ordinary Hollows do not have the ability to open a Garganta to Soul Society. Therefore, some being in Hueco Mundo must be opening the gates, sending batches of Hollows to Soul Society and giving them missions.

At the same time, Shihouin Souichirou also managed to gather more information about the man who interested him, gaining a preliminary understanding of the man who denied being a Shinigami. From the impressions he gathered before even meeting him, Souichirou's opinion of him was not bad. According to the rumors, he was a calm and brave individual with a strong will, a sense of responsibility, and a great deal of humanity. A person like that was well-suited for the current Seireitei.

Thus, Souichirou's desire to see him with his own eyes grew more urgent.

Fortunately, just as Souichirou was preparing to head directly to the region beyond the 80th District to investigate, he made one last inquiry about the man and received good news. The man, whose whereabouts had been unknown, had returned. And it was said that an unbearable pressure was emanating from him—not a psychological pressure, but a physical force. The residents of the Rukongai didn't know what it was, but Shihouin Souichirou knew perfectly well. Such a situation could only mean one thing: the person's spiritual pressure was too powerful and not being consciously controlled, causing it to oppress ordinary souls.

Although the ones finding it unbearable were only ordinary souls and not Shinigami, it shouldn't be forgotten that these were not students from the Shin'ō Academy who had undergone systematic training, but residents wandering the Rukongai. Even among the students of the academy, it would be rare to find such a person even across several, or even a dozen, graduating classes.

At their first meeting, the man was packing his things, seemingly preparing to go somewhere. Souichirou could see at a glance that he seemed to have realized the problem with himself and was consciously trying to restrain his overly powerful spiritual pressure. Although his methods were primitive and crude, they were effective. From the spiritual pressure leaking from him, Souichirou confirmed his judgment: this man had definitely turned his Asauchi into a Zanpakutō, and had likely even achieved Shikai.

The Seireitei could not afford to miss such a genius. Thus, Shihouin Souichirou extended an invitation to him.

For the next half a month, Shihouin Souichirou deliberately slowed his pace. Although he had received a message from the Onmitsukidō stating that the final negotiations with the Quincy had, as expected, failed, and the Head-Captain had ordered him and the captain of Squad 11, Kuruyashiki Kenpachi, to go to the World of the Living to carry out the final extermination, Shihouin Souichirou remained unhurried. Squad 11 was sufficient for the combat aspect, and the rest could be commanded by him remotely without any problems for the time being. The noble affairs within the Seireitei could be put on hold for a while longer; they hadn't brewed enough yet.

The most important thing at the moment was the man traveling with him.

Throughout their journey, Shihouin Souichirou constantly observed the man. He discovered that this man truly knew nothing about how Shinigami... or rather, the Shinigami of the Seireitei, fought. Of the four basic combat forms—Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hohō, and Kidō—he probably only knew Zanjutsu (swordsmanship). But even that was astonishing enough. He had an incredible talent for the sword; every technique he used made Souichirou secretly click his tongue in amazement, calling him a genius.

Since he hadn't seen him fight without a sword, he couldn't judge his Hakuda (hand-to-hand combat), and the same went for Kidō. However, in the 'Hohō' (footwork), or 'Shunpo', category, although he didn't use the standard Shinigami footwork, he had developed a new style of movement different from what the Shinigami used. Souichirou observed for a long time and could only come to one conclusion—this was a footwork that only the truly strong could use!

Unlike Shunpo, which was so fast it was like teleportation, his footwork seemed slow but firmly controlled the rhythm of the battle. From an observer's perspective, his speed was indeed not fast, even leisurely, but once you put yourself in the opponent's shoes, you would suddenly realize just how terrifying he was. He didn't need excessive speed; he only needed to appear in the right place at the right time to deliver the right sword strike. He firmly controlled the tempo of the battle, speeding up when he wanted to be fast, and slowing down when he wanted to be slow. Only then would his opponents be shocked to realize a fact: he was like a ghost, always appearing in unexpected places to attack!

This footwork had its merits, and in some aspects, it was even superior to Shunpo. Unfortunately, even among the captains, few could afford to use this style of movement. Another drawback was that it was not suitable for long-distance travel.

Without a doubt, this man was a genius. And in terms of personality, although he seemed a bit cold at first glance, after getting to know him, one would realize he was just a bit introverted. He was actually quite warm and full of humanity. At least, that was Shihouin Souichirou's personal feeling; he found him quite to his liking. Originally, he had only thought of bringing him back to the Seireitei, but now he was entertaining the idea of recruiting him into his own Squad 2. Although Souichirou knew that the young man was actually more suited for Squad 11, he found it hard to let such a talent go. He couldn't resist the temptation.

A few minutes ago, before the Gillian appeared, Shihouin Souichirou suddenly realized a very serious misjudgment. He had always thought this man had already achieved Shikai, but in reality, he didn't even have his own Zanpakutō yet!! He was still fighting with an Asauchi!! If he possessed this level of power relying solely on his own strength, not complemented by a Zanpakutō, then he was no longer a being that could be described by the simple word 'genius'!!

When he realized this, his keen political senses were consumed by a certain fear on the spot! Both unfortunately and fortunately, the appearance of the Gillian temporarily interrupted his instinct to immediately draw his sword and restrain the man.

And now, Shihouin Souichirou stood by and watched the man fight an Adjuchas-class Gillian. This wasn't because he wanted to use a borrowed knife to kill someone. It was because he realized that the shock and... fear... the man brought him was not yet over.

"The materialization of a Zanpakutō."

Shihouin Souichirou clenched his jaw, staring intently at the being that had suddenly appeared from nowhere, looking almost identical to the man. For a Shinigami, the process of turning an Asauchi into a Zanpakutō was not even considered a particularly important stage in their training, yet he had achieved this!!!

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