After returning from Tsuna's inner world, Muramasa took several deep breaths. A lingering fear rose from the depths of his heart. He had a strong feeling—if he had been even a little slower just now, he might never have returned.
Since Sawada Tsunayoshi hadn't worked, then he would simply change his target.
Muramasa's Reiatsu quietly extended toward Urahara Kisuke.
Because Tsuna had chatted with Byakuran for a moment, his return was slightly delayed. The instant he came back, he saw Muramasa already whispering to another Zanpakutō again.
Without a word, Tsuna launched a flying kick straight at Muramasa's endlessly muttering face.
Muramasa rolled across the ground two or three times, but instead of getting angry, he burst into loud laughter.
"You were too slow."
As he spoke, his head was turned toward Urahara.
Tsuna followed his gaze.
A gentle woman dressed in flowing red robes was draped across Urahara's back. Her hair was tied into a neat bun, her demeanor soft and elegant.
Muramasa had moved quickly. Earlier he had already stirred up Benihime's dissatisfaction. During the brief confrontation between her and Urahara, he had interfered directly in their connection and pulled Benihime into the real world—bringing her to Soul Society.
It didn't matter that Tsuna's Zanpakutō refused to rebel.
Muramasa could still use Benihime's power to escape. Once he gathered enough Zanpakutō, Sawada Tsunayoshi 's death would be inevitable.
The moment he saw Benihime appear, the frustration Muramasa felt from encountering the Tenth Generation earlier eased considerably, and he couldn't help laughing loudly.
Click.
Muramasa immediately looked down.
At some point, a pair of handcuffs had appeared around his wrist.
Holding the other end of the cuffs… was Sawada Tsunayoshi .
"Laugh while you can," Tsuna said with a smile. "You won't be laughing soon."
The handcuffs—Arnold's handcuffs—snapped straight.
A rapid series of locking sounds echoed as more cuffs multiplied along the chain. In moments, Muramasa had been wrapped from head to toe like a mummy made entirely of restraints.
Muramasa tried to open his mouth to negotiate with Tsuna.
Two more cuffs instantly formed and sealed his mouth shut.
At that moment, Urahara finally came back to his senses.
He glanced at the woman behind him and cautiously called out,
"…Benihime?"
"Kisuke… why are you so cruel to me?"
Her voice carried three parts resentment, six parts gentleness, and one part blazing obsession.
The tone made Tsuna shiver.
He grabbed Muramasa and immediately used Shunpo, retreating far away to avoid getting caught in whatever was about to happen.
Urahara's eyes widened.
Was Tsuna really his friend?
Not helping was one thing—but running away just to watch the show?
Regardless of how Urahara tried to calm Benihime, Tsuna casually tossed Muramasa onto a nearby hillside and sat down on the "Muramasa bench," leisurely watching the interaction between Urahara and Benihime.
After all, moments when the cunning shopkeeper actually looked afraid were rare.
And it truly was fear.
When Tsuna had tried to run earlier, he had clearly seen that emotion in Urahara's eyes.
That made Tsuna extremely curious.
Just what exactly had the shopkeeper done to Benihime?
"Kisuke… why won't you look at me?" Benihime's resentful tone deepened.
Urahara stiffly moved the two arms draped over his shoulders. Step by step, he carefully slipped out of her embrace.
"Kisuke… don't you want me anymore?"
Benihime's expression looked as if she might burst into tears.
"No, Benihime," Urahara quickly explained. "I just wanted to look at you properly. If I don't turn around, how could I admire your beauty?"
Truthfully, when Urahara first saw Benihime's manifested form, he had been surprised.
When a Zanpakutō spirit materializes, its appearance often differs slightly from its form in the inner world.
The Benihime before him looked far more human.
Gentle. Elegant. Almost fragile.
The kind of person who made others feel an irresistible urge to bully her.
"Benihime… this isn't the place to talk. How about we return to the inner world and discuss things slowly?"
Without realizing it, Urahara had revealed the aura of a suspicious adult coaxing a child.
"Why? Kisuke doesn't love me anymore?"
Benihime pressed her lips together. One wrong answer and she looked ready to cry.
"No, of course not. I've always loved you."
Urahara continued his coaxing strategy.
"If you love me… why would you do something like this to me?"
Benihime gently lifted her sleeve.
Underneath were numerous stitched scars.
Not just on her arm—there were many more across her body. She chose not to reveal them all, trusting that Urahara would understand the implication.
And of course he did.
Beneath her clothing were countless surgical seams.
Showing just her arm was already generous.
"Benihime… what do you mean by this?" Urahara feigned ignorance, even though he already suspected the answer.
It couldn't possibly be something he himself had done, right?
"These are proof of your love for me."
Benihime stroked the scars as if they were medals of honor.
Then she cupped her face with one hand, her eyes filled with intoxicated devotion.
"I want… I want to personally carve marks of love onto you."
Urahara's heart trembled.
He knew exactly where those scars had come from.
Just like Mayuri Kurotsuchi, he enjoyed modifying his own Zanpakutō.
Every scar on Benihime's body was the result of Urahara's experiments.
The details of those modifications didn't need explaining.
They certainly weren't pleasant.
Now Benihime wanted to leave the same marks on him.
Which meant—
She intended to perform real human experimentation on Urahara.
Urahara instinctively stepped back half a step.
That single motion was enough.
"Kisuke… was that half-step backward serious?"
As soon as Benihime said those words, the surrounding temperature dropped several degrees.
"Now now, Benihime… calm down. Is there anything else you'd like to do first?"
Urahara waved his hands frantically, trying to redirect her thoughts.
"Kisuke… I want to hold you… and knead you completely into my body…"
Her resentful tone had now shifted into something disturbingly obsessive.
This was not good news.
Knead him into her body?
That sounded suspiciously like it would kill him.
Urahara swallowed.
This time he didn't retreat by half a step.
He turned and sprinted backward rapidly, quickly putting what he believed to be a safe distance between them.
The atmosphere instantly changed.
Benihime's expression turned terrifyingly cold.
Her head tilted slightly downward as she stared at Urahara with dark intensity.
A straight blade appeared in her hand.
"It's alright, Kisuke."
"I'll personally prove… that you belong to me."
She slowly lifted her head.
The gloomy expression transformed instantly into manic obsession.
A sharp and dangerous gaze swept freely over Urahara Kisuke.
In Benihime's mind—
Urahara already belonged to her.
Completely.
From afar, Tsuna watched the scene unfold.
He had roughly figured out what was happening.
Patting the restrained Muramasa beneath him, he asked curiously,
"Hey, Muramasa… how did you turn Benihime into a lovestruck maniac?"
What Tsuna didn't say aloud was that this state went beyond infatuation.
It was almost pathological.
A full-blown yandere.
Tsuna unlocked the restraints sealing Muramasa's mouth.
Benihime was already free anyway, and Muramasa's ability didn't work on him. Letting him talk didn't matter.
Muramasa stared at Tsuna deeply.
Even now, he couldn't understand why a Zanpakutō spirit could trust its master unconditionally.
"I didn't turn Benihime into this," Muramasa said calmly. "I only amplified the dissatisfaction in her heart. If you want someone to blame, blame her master."
Tsuna glanced at him.
An interesting idea suddenly appeared in his mind.
"Muramasa… you've persuaded so many Zanpakutō to betray their masters. Have you ever thought that one day you might be the one betrayed?"
Muramasa's face instantly flushed red before Tsuna even finished speaking.
"Impossible! My loyalty to my master surpasses even your Zanpakutō! I would never betray him!"
To be fair, Muramasa's devotion to Kōga Kuchiki truly was terrifyingly deep.
Even after his master was sealed away and he himself abandoned, Muramasa had survived by devouring Hollow power, desperately clinging to life.
All for the sake of someday freeing his master.
His loyalty itself was unquestionable.
But Tsuna already knew the answer.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"What if… it's not that you betray your master—"
"—but that your master simply no longer needs you?"
"Impossible! I—"
Muramasa tried to refute him.
But for a brief moment, doubt flashed across his heart.
Could such a day ever come?
A day when his master no longer needed him?
The thought vanished quickly.
Muramasa began angrily cursing Tsuna instead—his only remaining form of resistance.
Tsuna rubbed his temples in irritation.
With a thought, the handcuffs sealed Muramasa's mouth again.
Facts didn't need arguments.
Time would reveal the truth.
All Tsuna had done was plant a small nail of doubt in Muramasa's heart.
Looking down at the scene below—Benihime attempting to murder her own master out of obsessive love—Tsuna suddenly had an idea.
He pulled out the latest model Soul Pager and snapped a photo, sending it to Yoruichi.
Caption:
Message
I just witnessed the most touching love story in the world.
Yoruichi's reply came quickly.
Message
?
Tsuna didn't bother explaining.
He simply sent the location.
Putting away the Soul Pager, Tsuna silently calculated how long it would take for her to arrive.
With the title Flash Goddess, and a precise location, Yoruichi would get here far faster than anyone else.
Shopkeeper…
You'd better finish quickly.
What would happen when a yandere saw another woman standing beside the man she loved?
Just imagining it made Tsuna excited.
Suddenly, Urahara shivered.
Some instinct told him he had to end this quickly.
Otherwise…
There would be serious trouble.
A bitter smile appeared on his face.
His Zanpakutō couldn't even enter Shikai right now.
Hakuda wasn't his specialty either.
With only Kidō and the tools he carried on him, defeating Benihime quickly would be difficult.
After all—
Benihime knew every technique and tool he possessed.
And once she was prepared for them…
Their effectiveness dropped dramatically.
BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 + chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789