From the moment the empty-shell Zanpakutō pierced Sōjirō Kusaka's body, the purple ice dragon stopped struggling.
Threads of violet Reiatsu began to seep out from Kusaka's body and flow into the blade.
The Zanpakutō was like an empty syringe, gradually being filled by the power of Hyōrinmaru that Kusaka had once wielded.
As the Reiatsu was extracted, the ice dragon's body shattered into crystalline fragments, breaking apart into specks of purple light that slowly faded away.
Kusaka's true body gradually became visible.
Without Hyōrinmaru's domination suppressing him, clarity finally returned to his eyes. Struggling to lift his head, he looked at Hitsugaya with the gentlest smile he could muster.
"…Hitsu…gaya…"
"Sōjirō!"
Hitsugaya Tōshirō cried out in shock.
He had believed Kusaka had been completely consumed by Hyōrinmaru, yet somehow they were able to speak again.
Hitsugaya didn't need proof to believe the person before him was the real Sōjirō Kusaka.
Just as when he had instantly recognized that the person who attacked him before was merely an impostor wearing Kusaka's face.
Looking at Kusaka's familiar face, Hitsugaya tightened his grip on the Zanpakutō.
Only one thought filled his mind:
Pull it out.
If he removed the blade—perhaps Sōjirō could still live.
He pulled with one hand.
The blade did not move.
He used both hands.
The sword trembled slightly, but still refused to come free.
"…That's enough… Hitsugaya…"
Hearing Kusaka's voice, Hitsugaya lifted his gaze from the sword to Kusaka himself.
Only then did he realize—
Kusaka was also gripping the blade with both hands.
But the direction of his force was the exact opposite of Hitsugaya's.
"Why? Defend yourself, Sōjirō…!"
Tears slid silently down Hitsugaya's face.
When he called Kusaka's name, his voice nearly failed him.
Was he destined to endure that pain again?
Why was it always you who chose to sacrifice yourself?
As his closest friend, Kusaka could read Hitsugaya's thoughts.
Despite the agony, he forced a strained smile, tightening his grip on the blade so it wouldn't move.
"…Hitsugaya… I can't survive…"
Kusaka understood his situation better than anyone.
Without the power of Hyōrinmaru and the Ōin (Royal Seal) sustaining him, he should have died long ago.
Being able to see Hitsugaya one last time at the brink of death was already enough.
"No… No!"
Hitsugaya still refused to abandon the idea of pulling the sword free.
But why was this blade so heavy?
Why wouldn't it move?
"…After that battle… I realized many things…"
"…Hyōrinmaru was always your Zanpakutō…"
"…I was just a failure… someone who couldn't even communicate with an Asauchi…"
During the long years under Hyōrinmaru's control, Kusaka had replayed their battle over and over in his mind.
In the end, he had to accept the truth.
Hyōrinmaru had never acknowledged him.
It had never been Kusaka's Zanpakutō.
His eventual loss of control had only been a matter of time.
From the moment he and Hitsugaya had obtained their Asauchi together, his tragedy had already been decided.
"…No… that's not true…"
Hitsugaya felt as though something had clogged his chest.
Hearing his best friend belittle himself just to comfort him made it impossible to respond.
"…I'm glad… I could see you again…"
Kusaka's voice was gentle.
"…Hitsugaya… carry my strength… and the dream we once shared…"
"…and keep moving forward…"
Suddenly—
The purple glow within the empty-shell Zanpakutō surged violently.
Kusaka had acted.
No matter what, Hyōrinmaru had once belonged to him. In its weakened state, he could still manipulate the flow of its Reiatsu.
"Sōjirō!!!"
The blade was nearly full.
Kusaka's body grew more and more transparent.
Hitsugaya's desperate cry was answered only by Kusaka's final tenderness.
"…Goodbye… Hitsugaya…"
Kusaka opened his mouth as if he still had something left to say—
But suddenly his expression changed.
A violent surge of Reiatsu erupted within his body.
Because of Hitsugaya's earlier attacks, the portion of power belonging to Hyōrinmaru had weakened. That was how Kusaka had temporarily regained control of his body.
But now, with his overall Reiatsu being drained into the Zanpakutō, he no longer had the strength to suppress Hyōrinmaru's final madness.
With its last remaining Reiatsu—
Hyōrinmaru issued a command to the Ōin.
Self-destruction. Devour this world.
It understood it had already lost.
But it would never accept someone else's victory.
If it must fail—
Then everything would be destroyed.
Kusaka panicked.
The Royal Seal's light empowered Hyōrinmaru, not him.
He had no way to stop what was happening.
With the last fragment of strength he had left, Kusaka leaned forward and reached out.
"Go—take him away!"
The first word was meant for Hitsugaya.
Kusaka struck Hitsugaya's chest with his palm, sending him flying backward. The Zanpakutō embedded in Kusaka's chest was pulled free at the same time.
The second "go" was meant for Tsunayoshi.
Tsunayoshi had already arrived at the top of the tower.
He had simply chosen not to interfere in the final farewell between Hitsugaya and his closest friend.
Looking at Tsunayoshi, Kusaka's expression showed faint relief.
Someone this strong… is Hitsugaya's ally?
That's good.
Hitsugaya… you deserve companions who will walk with you into the future.
As for me…
I'll stop here.
All of Kusaka's Reiatsu faded away.
The final ice flowers blooming from his body opened fully—flowers nourished by Kusaka's own spiritual power.
And those flowers carried Sōjirō Kusaka's life away with them.
"Sōjirō!"
Hitsugaya struggled to his feet and crawled desperately toward the ice statue that Kusaka had become.
But the short distance between them was a path he could never cross.
The boundary between life and death.
Suddenly—
Someone grabbed the back of Hitsugaya's collar.
Tsunayoshi picked up the purple Zanpakutō and shoved it into Hitsugaya's arms. Then he sheathed Hyōrinmaru and, with a single motion, hurled Hitsugaya off the tower.
"Protect your friend's keepsake."
"And remember his final wish."
Those were the words Hitsugaya heard as he flew away from the tower.
Tsunayoshi wasn't being cruel.
He simply didn't want Hitsugaya to witness what came next.
Hitsugaya only needed to remember Kusaka at his best.
Cracks spread rapidly through the ice statue.
Kusaka's chest collapsed into a dark hollow.
His face shattered beyond recognition.
Ice flowers drifted away as the frozen statue finally broke apart, completely crushed by the surrounding Reiatsu.
Cruel.
Using Kusaka's corpse to deceive his best friend—
And once he lost his value, even the corpse was reduced to dust.
Tsunayoshi couldn't imagine what would happen if Hitsugaya witnessed this scene.
Perhaps he would lose all reason and attack the black void before him.
"…You almost fell for its trap, Hitsugaya," Tsunayoshi said calmly.
A black aura condensed into the shape of a small dragon.
It was the final consciousness of the purple Hyōrinmaru.
Even at the very end, it had still been scheming.
If Hitsugaya had gone berserk, it might have obtained the power of both Hyōrinmaru at once.
"Damn it!"
With Hitsugaya no longer present, its scheme had failed.
The tiny dragon roared in fury.
"Hitsugaya! Do you really think you can escape?!"
"Everyone will die!"
The purple Hyōrinmaru's consciousness dove back into the black hole.
The void began expanding rapidly.
The Royal Seal possessed power over space itself. By forcing that power into chaos, Hyōrinmaru had triggered a spatial collapse.
The entire Ice Domain barrier began to crumble.
That was why it had sworn to drag Hitsugaya down with it.
But there was one condition for forcing the Royal Seal into this rampage—
The power had to be controlled by Hyōrinmaru itself.
That small black dragon.
Tsunayoshi smiled faintly.
Originally, he had been worried that when Hitsugaya absorbed the other half of Hyōrinmaru's power, the remaining consciousness might interfere.
Now that problem had solved itself.
The consciousness and power were completely separated.
In a way, that other Hyōrinmaru had done them a favor.
"Well then," Tsunayoshi murmured.
"Let me send this once-in-a-lifetime Zanpakutō spirit on its final journey."
The Sun Bracelet on Tsunayoshi's left arm ignited with blazing flames.
It shone like a miniature sun.
The conditions to ignite the bracelet were extremely harsh.
It required injuring oneself to trigger the flames.
But after activating Resurrección, that cost was no longer a problem.
The regenerative power of the Sun-attribute lizard ability allowed Tsunayoshi to recover instantly—even regrowing severed limbs.
During his ascent up the tower, he had scattered pieces of his own flesh toward the surrounding Menos.
In the process, he had injured himself repeatedly.
He had essentially ignited the bracelet through self-inflicted damage.
The flames of the Sun attribute engulfed him.
Tsunayoshi now looked like a blazing sun—too brilliant to look at directly.
The radiance of the sun could cleanse evil.
At that moment, Tsunayoshi literally became the brightest object inside the barrier.
Everyone could feel the terrifying Reiatsu contained within that blazing sun.
Spatial collapse was indeed terrifying.
But what if it was filled with overwhelming Reiatsu?
Tsunayoshi wanted to see the limit of the Royal Seal's power.
And he would respond to Hyōrinmaru's arrogance with his own ultimate strike.
"Limit Break Straight Punch — Ultimate Solar Radiance!"
The sky suddenly darkened.
All of Tsunayoshi's Reiatsu condensed into a single punch.
Then—
Blinding light exploded outward.
Every ounce of spiritual power he possessed surged into the black hole through that strike.
The void expanded violently, as though Tsunayoshi's Reiatsu had become nourishment.
The Sun flames' activation property accelerated the expansion drastically.
The purple Hyōrinmaru laughed maniacally.
It seemed to be mocking Tsunayoshi's foolishness.
But the next moment—
The laughter stopped abruptly.
The black hole had stopped expanding.
Instead—
It began to shrink.
As Tsunayoshi's Reiatsu continued pouring in, the collapse accelerated.
Within moments, the void had shrunk to the size of a millstone.
The purple Hyōrinmaru struggled in panic.
But it could no longer control the Royal Seal's spatial power.
The Royal Seal had truly run rampant.
And its rampage had far exceeded Hyōrinmaru's ability to control it.
Activation.
Over-activation.
Even Tsunayoshi himself did not dare maintain such power for long in battle.
Injecting an enormous amount of hyper-activated Sun flames into the Royal Seal had only one possible result—
With the help of that overwhelming activation, the Royal Seal skipped across countless moments in time…
And reached its own destruction.
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