Darting back to create some distance, Muten Natsu raised a hand and manipulated the Spirit Ink into a blade. With a swing, the viscous Spirit Ink transformed into an ink blade, passing through the Sakaemadowashi Senkōhō in front of him before engulfing Hollowfied Sakanade and the Sakaemadowashi Senkōhō beside him.
"Useless." Hollowfied Sakanade easily broke through the ink blade's blockade. "The Sakaemadowashi Senkōhō exists in another dimension. Only a Sakaemadowashi Senkōhō can harm another Sakaemadowashi Senkōhō. Seriously, if it belongs to another dimension, why does it have to become visible in this one?"
If the Sakaemadowashi Senkōhō remained invisible, Hollowfied Sakanade's attacks would be even more unpredictable. Unfortunately, as the Sakaemadowashi Senkōhō absorbed more Reiatsu, its connection to the original body grew increasingly strong, making it inevitable that it would eventually be seen.
With Captain-level strength, Hollowfied Sakanade was extremely fast. Using the Sakaemadowashi Senkōhō as a distraction, he left more and more wounds across Muten Natsu's body.
Keeping track of both battles at once was difficult enough. Combined with Sakanade's interference with his sight, hearing, and touch, even with Myōki's assistance, Muten Natsu was struggling to react in time.
Then... he simply wouldn't react.
A stark white skull covered his face. Muten Natsu let out a low growl as icy Hell Flames erupted, igniting the surrounding Spirit Ink.
Hollowfied Sakanade tried to retreat, but it was already too late.
The Spirit Ink Muten Natsu had scattered during his earlier attacks now came into play, becoming fuel for the Hell Flames. Icy black fire engulfed everything around them.
Hollowfied Sakanade immediately darted backward. "You lunatic..."
"You call this crazy?" Muten Natsu sneered. "I'm just getting started!"
With Bokukō in his left hand and Myōki in his right, Muten Natsu used his body as an axis and spun violently.
Bokukō released Spirit Ink, which ignited in the black flames and became a raging inferno that danced like a black dragon.
Myōki absorbed the power released from it, extending the fire dragon's range.
In an instant, it was as though an enraged black dragon had twisted its body and begun thrashing through the air, indiscriminately attacking everything around Muten Natsu.
Just as Hollowfied Sakanade was about to be swallowed by the flames, a violent gale suddenly erupted.
A burly figure crashed to the ground. A stark white mask covered half his face, while white armor encased his entire left arm and extended up to his shoulder. Several white cylinders protruded from his shoulder and back, their tips burning with blue-green flames.
That was... Kensei Muguruma's Zanpakutō, Hollowfied Tachikaze!
Hollowfied Tachikaze violently yanked his left arm backward. It was as though he had grabbed hold of the air itself, dragging the surging black flames toward him.
"Haa!"
With a thunderous shout, Hollowfied Tachikaze threw a powerful punch and forcibly blasted apart a vast swath of black flames.
A long golden whip wrapped around Muten Natsu's body. Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi's Zanpakutō, Hollowfied Kinshara, had also joined the fight.
Hollowfied Tachikaze and Hollowfied Sakanade attacked together, rushing Muten Natsu.
"Bankai."
Muten Natsu stomped down hard. A burning, ferocious skull burst from the Spirit Ink covering the ground.
"Rin'en Bokukō!"
The terrifying skull snapped shut, swallowing everyone inside. The corrosive power of the Spirit Ink and the burning Hell Flames ravaged their bodies without mercy.
By the time the Spirit Ink receded, Muten Natsu was the only one still standing.
Gripping Myōki tightly, Muten Natsu slowly approached Hollowfied Sakanade.
Of the three, Hollowfied Sakanade's ability was the most troublesome. He had to be dealt with first.
"Cough!"
As Muten Natsu drew closer, Hollowfied Sakanade coughed lightly.
"Our mission is complete, Muramasa."
At the same time, several light screens popped up before Muten Natsu's eyes:
[Abnormal Reiatsu Detected]
[Abnormal Bokukō Status Detected]
[Abnormality Detection Failed]
[Abnormal Condition Worsening]
[Initiating Emergency Protocol]
[It's a voice...]
[Connection Lost]
"Roam, Bokukō."
Muramasa appeared, his eye sockets sunken and his face deathly pale. He softly recited another command.
"Bound by convention, Myōki."
Muten Natsu suddenly lost all connection to the Spirit Ink. The Ink Blade in his hand lost its shape and dissolved into Spirit Ink, spilling onto the ground.
The Spirit Ink on the ground churned, and a strange creature crawled out from within it.
It looked like a black cat, but it had a shark-like dorsal fin and a tail shaped like a shark's tail. It was none other than the Bokukō from Muten Natsu's inner world.
Bokukō opened its mouth, revealing layer upon layer of sharp fangs, and let out a warning cry at Muten Natsu.
"Meow!!!"
Without Bokukō, Muten Natsu no longer had Spirit Ink to fuel the Hell Flames. To keep the flames from burning his own body, he had no choice but to extinguish them himself.
The skull mask on Muten Natsu's face shattered and disappeared. Meanwhile, Bokukō, which had run over to Muramasa, had a stark white substance writhing across its head. It condensed into half a skull mask, with trails of ink moving across its surface.
A light screen appeared above Bokukō's head. Strange characters rapidly flashed across it before resolving into a complete sentence:
[Connection Successful]
"Myōki!" Muten Natsu stared at the light screen floating above Bokukō's head. "Why... why did you leave me?"
[Because...]
The characters on the screen changed.
[I hate tsundere.]
Muten Natsu: "...?"
"Thank you very much for your contribution." Muramasa looked at Muten Natsu. "We've gained two more companions."
Muten Natsu's gaze turned cold. "What exactly are you trying to do?"
"I want... freedom."
Muramasa turned and walked away.
"I'll leave the rest to you."
Bokukō let out a low growl. Spirit Ink seeped from beneath its paws, then curled back around its body and solidified.
In an instant, the black cat swelled into a tiger-like creature the size of a man. Blades sprang from the elbows of its forelegs, while the tip of its tail extended into the blade of Myōki.
Even though the Hell Flames would damage his body, Muten Natsu had no other choice.
Just as he was about to unleash the Hell Flames again, four figures appeared. Shinji Hirako, Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi, Kensei Muguruma, and Mashiro Kuna.
"You actually tricked us into going the opposite way..." Shinji Hirako looked at Hollowfied Sakanade, who was struggling to his feet. "That's pretty nasty."
"You caught up this quickly..." Hollowfied Sakanade snorted. "Bokukō, we..."
[The disparity in strength is too great. Probability of victory is below thirty-two percent.]
The characters floating above Bokukō's head changed.
[Run.]
Without the slightest hesitation, Bokukō's body shrank and disappeared into the Spirit Ink.
Neither the Hollowfied Zanpakutō nor the four who had just arrived expected Myōki and Bokukō to retreat so decisively.
By the time they realized what was happening, it was already too late to stop them.
The Hollowfied Zanpakutō also tried to escape, but they lacked anything as effective as Bokukō's Shadow Stealth. On top of that, Muten Natsu had already severely injured them, so they were quickly subdued without much difficulty.
Muten Natsu did not join in. He immediately rushed toward Rukia Kuchiki and Orihime Inoue.
He had already encountered Hollowfied Sakanade, which meant there was a good chance Rukia Kuchiki and Orihime Inoue had run into enemies as well.
He had to reach them as quickly as possible.
***
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