In the original work, the duel between Sajin Komamura and Kaname Tosen had always left a deep impression on Alex. Because of that, this time he spent an entire episode on their battle, not merely showing the clash of blades, but slowly unfolding the emotions buried between two men who had once walked the same road.
By the end, there was no need for grand speeches anymore. On that blood-soaked battlefield, the two finally reached a place of true understanding, heart to heart, and walked together toward death.
It was tragic, but there was a strange romance in it.
Yes.
The kind of romance only men truly understood.
And just as Alex had expected, the moment the ending theme began to play, the entire episode was flooded with praise. Viewers who had never cared much about Komamura or Tosen suddenly found themselves wiping tears from their faces. Some declared that from that day on, they were loyal fans of the big dog captain. Others sighed that being able to meet a friend like that in one lifetime was already a blessing beyond measure.
For once, the Soul Reaper fans did not immediately rush into the next episode after the credits rolled. Instead, they lingered in the comments, discussing Komamura and Tosen, talking about friendship, loyalty, regret, and that final shared silence before death.
The level of discussion was almost comparable to Orihime's legendary confession from the previous season, when she said that even across five lifetimes, she would love only one person.
And honestly, Alex understood why.
If not for hormones getting in the way, men might actually prefer spending time with other men.
The reason he had dedicated an entire episode to Komamura and Tosen's friendship was simple: he admired that kind of bond. That rough, wordless loyalty between men. The kind where someone could throw himself into hell for a friend without needing to dress it up in pretty words.
That sort of friendship had become increasingly rare in the anime circles of his previous life.
After the era of the great battle shonen gradually ended, it felt like many creators had forgotten how to write male friendship. Everything slowly started drifting into weirdly ambiguous territory. Sports series were the worst offenders. At first, the bonds between teammates still felt normal enough, full of rivalry, trust, frustration, and growth. But later on, whether because the creators wanted to appeal to certain audiences or because they had their own preferences, the atmosphere between teammates became more and more suspicious.
In some basketball stories, the dynamic between the main trio almost felt like a love triangle.
In certain tennis series, one particular prodigy practically became the unreachable moonlight in every male character's heart. Rivals, teammates, opponents, even the protagonist himself - all of them seemed like part of his invisible harem.
Alex did not hate that kind of interpretation, but he still missed the older flavor. The clean brutality of two men understanding each other better through combat than through conversation. The silence. The respect. The kind of feeling that did not need to be explained in order to be felt.
After the discussions finally began to settle, countless Soul Reaper fans clicked into the next episode with eager anticipation.
"Captain Tosen is dead, Captain Sosuke Aizen."
At the very start of the episode, Gin reported the news to Sosuke Aizen with that familiar thin smile on his face.
"Is that so?"
Sosuke Aizen's response was calm, almost indifferent. There was no sadness in his voice, no anger, not even the faintest ripple of surprise, as if Tosen's death was nothing more than a minor shift in the wind.
"By the way, Gin," Sosuke Aizen said with a faint smile. "Are you planning to stay here the entire time? Or are you reluctant to raise your blade against your former comrades?"
"Oh, come on, Captain Sosuke Aizen. How could that be?"
Gin lowered his eyes slightly, still smiling.
"I'm a snake. Cold. Emotionless. I flick my tongue and swallow interesting prey. That is all I am." His voice remained soft and lazy, yet the words carried a chill beneath them. "Feelings are something I have never possessed."
Sosuke Aizen merely smiled and offered no reply. His gaze returned to the Seireitei below, now drowned in blood, smoke, and the stench of corpses.
Meanwhile, on the battlefield near the Tenth Division barracks, even though distrust still lingered between them, Hitsugaya, Hiyori, and Lisa moved together.
When Halibel once again activated the power of Great Red Lotus Ice Ring, an ice dragon roared into existence, its wings and fangs tearing through the air like a living storm. Hitsugaya swung his blade, releasing a wave-like surge of freezing breath that intercepted the dragon, swallowed it, and crushed it within the current of ice.
Under Halibel's faintly surprised gaze, Hitsugaya spoke coldly.
"Ice Ring is my Zanpakuto. I know its weaknesses better than anyone."
As he spoke, he turned his wrist slightly, showing the genuine Ice Ring in his hand.
"And besides… among the captains, mine may be the Zanpakuto with the smallest gap between its Shikai and Bankai."
At that moment, Hiyori and Lisa, both wearing their Hollow masks, attacked Halibel from the left and right.
With strength far surpassing theirs and the stolen power of Great Red Lotus Ice Ring at her disposal, Halibel still managed to handle the assault with composure. Her movements were sharp, efficient, and devastatingly calm. Yet because of Hitsugaya's constant interference, her rhythm gradually began to shift.
Then came the opening.
Hiyori and Lisa forced Halibel down, driving her into a specific corner of the battlefield.
Hitsugaya's eyes flashed.
"Got you."
Halibel lowered her gaze. Around her feet, six points of light were glowing with a pale silver radiance.
"Sixfold Ice Burial Formation."
Seen from above, a massive flower-shaped pillar of ice erupted from beneath Halibel's feet, rising violently and sealing the beautiful Espada inside.
"Now! All together!" Hitsugaya shouted.
"Sit upon the frozen heavens, Ice Ring!"
"Sever him, Great Serpent!"
"Crush him, Iron Dragonfly!"
The three released their blades at the same time and concentrated their attacks on the frozen Halibel. Spiritual pressure slammed into the ice, and a crack suddenly appeared across the medal on Halibel's chest - the device she had used to steal the Bankai.
In the next instant, the dragon wings of ice attached to Halibel's back disappeared.
They reappeared behind Hitsugaya.
The audience exploded.
Countless fans who supported the Soul Reaper side leapt up from their sofas in excitement. Finally. After so much pressure, after so much humiliation, the Bankai had finally been taken back.
But their joy did not even last three seconds.
Despair descended again.
A golden slash, like a Cero compressed into the shape of a blade, suddenly tore through the flower-shaped ice pillar. Its force did not weaken in the slightest as it continued roaring toward Hitsugaya, Hiyori, and Lisa.
Hitsugaya was still young, and among captain-class fighters his combat experience was somewhat lacking, but he was still a captain. At the critical moment, the ice dragon wings behind him spread open, allowing him to avoid the golden slash by a hair's breadth.
Hiyori and Lisa, however, were not so lucky.
At the last possible second, Hiyori gritted her teeth and slammed Lisa out of the way with her own body.
Then, in the very next instant, the golden sword pressure cut Hiyori in half at the waist.
"Hiyori!"
Lisa's face turned deathly pale as she screamed in horror.
Hitsugaya's expression was no better. His eyes froze on Hiyori's falling body for two seconds, but there was no time to grieve. He forced himself to look up immediately.
The ice pillar that had sealed Halibel had already shattered into fragments.
The tall, brown-skinned beauty stood among the remains, holding that strange hollow short blade in her hand. The weapon was glowing with the same golden light as her hair.
There was no doubt.
The strike that had killed Hiyori had come from her.
The comments erupted again. Some viewers could hardly believe that another lieutenant-level fighter had been killed so easily. Others warned everyone never to underestimate the speed at which Alex handed out tragedy. A few even admitted, with guilty relief, that at least Hitsugaya had survived, especially since Hiyori's sharp tongue had never made her the easiest character to love.
"Does taking back your Bankai make you that happy?"
Halibel's voice was cold and indifferent, half-hidden behind the high collar covering the lower half of her face.
Hitsugaya did not even have time to feel joy over reclaiming Great Red Lotus Ice Ring. He immediately raised his sword and assumed a defensive stance.
"Let me tell you something," Halibel continued. "When we use your Soul Reaper Bankai, we cannot use our Hollow abilities. In other words…"
Her spiritual pressure changed.
"Only now am I using my true strength."
Halibel swung her blade again, and another golden wave of sword energy shot forward like artillery fire.
Azure Blade Cannon.
Hitsugaya, finally back in his Bankai state, raised his sword to block. With great difficulty, he managed to redirect the attack, sending it flying toward the Tenth Division barracks behind him.
The explosion came instantly.
The moment the spiritual-pressure blade landed, nearly the entire Tenth Division barracks was blown apart.
The fans who had just been cheering for Hitsugaya's recovered Bankai suddenly could not smile anymore.
This was too much.
So using stolen Bankai was not a power-up for the Espada.
It was a restriction.
Then Halibel, now fully entering combat mode, raised her hand and pulled open the white garment covering part of her body.
For a moment, the battlefield itself seemed to go silent.
After the zipper came down, the lower half of Halibel's face was revealed to be covered by a white bone mask. And on the right side of her powerful figure, the number "3" was clearly marked.
The comment section detonated instantly.
Halibel's cold beauty, her dark skin, golden hair, terrifying strength, and unreachable aura struck directly at the tastes of countless male viewers. It was not just beauty. It was dominance. It was distance. It was the kind of presence that made men feel both fear and a dangerous desire to conquer.
Alex knew exactly what he had designed.
That kind of dark-skinned blonde beauty had already been a beloved attribute among certain anime fans in his previous life. Add to that Halibel's cold expression and overwhelming power, and it became almost impossible for many men not to be drawn in.
He could already imagine the countless fans staring at the screen and letting their thoughts run wild.
Unfortunately for them, imagination was all they had.
Alex, on the other hand, could go straight for the real thing.
That was why, young people, transmigration truly was wonderful.
And similar situations began unfolding across several battlefields.
Just as Hitsugaya had said, even though their Bankai had been stolen, the enemy did not understand those Bankai the way their true owners did. Every Bankai had weaknesses, limits, and habits. As long as the captains targeted those flaws, coordinated with their allies, and shattered the medals, they had a real chance to reclaim what belonged to them.
Biakuya, Soi Fon, and the others gradually recovered their Bankai one after another.
But for the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, this was not necessarily good news.
Because once the Bankai were no longer in the enemy's hands, the Espada were finally free.
Free to release their true forms.
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