"Spin, Getsurin Kuro!"
As the release chant left Yoshima Ōshu's lips, the Zanpakutō in his hands transformed—its center a hollow ring, flanked by twin blades curving in opposite directions, a bizarre symmetry of death and elegance.
He stepped atop the enormous Kurohitsugi he had conjured, staring down at the inky void beneath him, voice loud and clear:
"Carriage of thunder, gap of the spinning wheel. Divide this light into six!
Bakudō #61 – Rikujōkōrō!"
Six glowing rods of light shot out, slicing the air as they surged toward the remnants of Charlotte Chuhlhourne's sealed form.
Shuuichi's lesson echoed in Ōshu's mind: Kurohitsugi isn't just Hadō. It can act as a powerful seal, a Bakudō in disguise. When a target is caught inside, they can't move until they've broken free. Use it smart.
Ōshu had remembered. He had applied it.
But theory was rarely enough.
He had hesitated—too long celebrating next to Shuuichi-sama—and in that breath of delay, Charlotte broke free.
A golden flare exploded outward, a jagged rip opening the coffin of darkness.
"You think your little black coffin could contain the glorious Charlotte Chuhlhourne?! Watch now, as I unleash my ultimate, exquisite, dazzlingly strong, and seductively powerful Cero!"
With a roar, the Cero shot skyward—ripping through air like a starburst of violence—aimed directly at Ōshu.
"That Shinigami can't block a Cero from Charlotte!" Harribel called out, heart thudding. "He's Baraggan's top Fracción!"
It felt odd to worry. A Shinigami was their natural enemy. But that man had saved Mila. And this boy followed him.
Did that make him an ally?
Shuuichi, arms folded, smiled. "Relax."
Ōshu, meanwhile, flinched—but only for a moment.
Then he remembered.
Shuuichi had explained it before—his Zanpakutō could absorb spiritual attacks formed from pure reiryoku. Even if they were stronger than his own.
Ōshu gripped the central ring of his Zanpakutō, rotating it toward the incoming Cero.
As it spun, the black-gold sheen turned crimson.
"Akasagari Shigure!"
The name of the technique echoed—and then he was swallowed by the Cero.
"How tragic~" Charlotte cackled. "You fought valiantly, little Shinigami. But all resistance before my beauty is futile~"
In Hueco Mundo, even weaker Espada were torn apart by his full-name Cero. This boy wasn't even a Captain!
Harribel gritted her teeth. "If I go all out… maybe I can intercept the next one."
She'd forgotten Shuuichi's words. She only saw Charlotte as a threat that demanded their combined strength to defeat.
But Shuuichi took one step forward—just one—and positioned himself between Harribel, Sung-Sun, Apacci, and Mila.
"I told you, didn't I? Just trust me."
He said it gently, smiling back at Harribel as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
A mere Arrancar like Charlotte—he didn't need help for this.
He had a reputation to uphold. Especially in front of his disciple.
Harribel stared. That back… it wasn't big, but it felt like it shielded the world. It cast shade where before there had been only sunlight and blood.
For the first time in her existence as a Vasto Lorde, someone else stood in front of her.
On the battlefield, Charlotte's eyes widened.
Ōshu was alive. Not only alive—but glowing with even denser reiryoku.
"What… what is this?! That's impossible! That change—it defies my aesthetic understanding!"
Ōshu was still trembling, but not from fear.
He had done it—exactly as Shuuichi predicted. If the attack was reiryoku-based, his Zanpakutō could absorb it, purify it, and empower him.
Shuuichi-sama understood his blade better than he did.
No wonder even the mighty Tsunayashiro Clan, the highest of the Five Noble Houses, had rescinded his warrant and begged him to return to head the Kenpachi Retrieval Unit.
He was a prodigy among prodigies.
"You're ignoring me?!" Charlotte seethed. "I'm offended!"
Suddenly, black thorns burst from the ground, encasing both him and Ōshu in a giant thorn prison.
"Look upon my true power! Within my Black Briar Cage, no reiryoku can enter. You'll wither like a flower without sun! And once I use White Rose Execution, you'll be embraced by death itself~!"
From outside, Harribel flinched.
"That's one of his Resurrección powers. If the white rose fully blooms over his target inside the thorns… they die instantly!"
"Yeah, I know," Shuuichi said casually.
…Was he not going to help?
Wasn't that boy his subordinate?
Could he really be so indifferent?
Was he just here for her?
As a Vasto Lorde, her spiritual essence was immensely potent—irresistible prey.
But before her fears could spiral further—
"Hadō: Hakutei Kūri!"
Ōshu's voice echoed from within the cage.
Then it cracked.
Shards of black thorns shattered outward as Ōshu, bloodied and blazing with energy, ripped open the cage with his rotating Zanpakutō.
The reiryoku composing the thorns disintegrated, flooding into his body.
"I did it, Shuuichi-sama…! I really did it!"
It was a theoretical evolution of his blade—Shuuichi had drawn it out with countless demonstrations, even manifesting his own body into reiryoku just to teach it.
Now, Ōshu had achieved it.
He could break down any reiryoku-formed structure and absorb it into himself.
But the cost…
His body began to tear.
Blood sprayed.
Muscles split.
His spirit strained past the brink.
"No… not like this… I can't—Shuuichi-sama is watching—I can't fail!"
Even as crimson drowned his eyes, he kept spinning his blade.
He had to defeat Charlotte.
He would not fall.
And then—
A hand.
Warm. Familiar.
"You've done well, Ōshu. Leave the rest to me."
A gentle voice. A calming presence.
The whirr of his Zanpakutō slowed.
Healing Kidō swept over his shredded flesh.
"Shuuichi-sama…" Ōshu whispered, tears and blood mingling as his body went limp.
"I failed…"
A soft touch pressed to his face.
Shirofuku—a simple sleep-inducing Kidō.
To cast both healing and sleep spells, Shuuichi had to drop his Hollowfied form.
The pale mask cracked, crumbling from his face. His uniform revealed itself again—the Captain's haori unmistakable.
"Higashi Shuuichi?!" Charlotte gasped.
Even Harribel froze.
So he was… a Shinigami Captain?
But they had no time to dwell.
The Black Briar Cage snapped shut again, enclosing Shuuichi, Ōshu, and Charlotte in isolation.
"Let me guess," Shuuichi said lightly, adjusting his grip on Ōshu's unconscious form. "Of all Baraggan's lapdogs, you're the only one who survived the Arrancar conversion?"
Charlotte smiled through his paint. "Indeed, Captain Higashi~ The beautiful Charlotte Chuhlhourne offers you greetings from Lord Baraggan~"
"Is that so? Then this lovely white rose of yours… is your way of saying hello?"
"Of course! It's how Baraggan-sama greets people too~"
Charlotte's grin widened. To have Shuuichi voluntarily walk into his cage?
That was luck!
There was no way Shuuichi had the same power as that green-haired brat—he couldn't break free.
This time, he'd win.
"Blame yourself," Charlotte sneered, "for knocking out your pet Shinigami. Maybe he could've saved you."
"Save me?" Shuuichi laughed, eyes glittering. "You misunderstood. I didn't come in here to escape.
I came in here to kill you.
And every Hollow in Hueco Mundo who knows my past?
I'll kill them all.
One. By. One."
Charlotte's smile vanished.
Not because of the words.
But because of how confidently they were said.
He truly intended to kill Baraggan?
He had to run. Warn his lord.
"Hadō – Infernal Requiem."
A low voice rumbled inside the flower cage.
The world turned gray.
The air ignited.
Black thorns, white petals, and Charlotte himself—
shattered
beneath a skeletal hand stained with the aura of Hell.
Outside, Harribel and her Fracción stood paralyzed.
They had no idea whether to run or kneel.
That power—
That man—
Even at her strongest, she doubted she could touch him.
But still…
Still…
When she remembered him standing before her,
Saying:
"Just trust me."
She made her choice.
She raised her chin.
And waited.