Chapter 29 — Shikai: Bakudatsu's Plunder
Ever since that day—when he had accidentally released the true name of his Asauchi—Asuka had never attempted to fully unleash that power again.
There were two reasons.
First, during the past two years he had spent nearly all his time training in Hayama, where there had simply been no proper opportunity to use it. At most, he experimented with techniques derived from the Asauchi itself—special sword skills such as the thrusting technique "Gatotsu."
Second—
He had deliberately avoided using that power.
An Asauchi, also known as a Zanpakutō, was a weapon forged by craftsmen of the Soul Society using souls themselves. It resonated with the wielder's spirit and guided forth the user's true power.
Once the wielder learned the sword's true name, they could release a unique ability belonging only to them.
A weapon unlike any other.
In Asuka's hazy memories, he had some understanding of what an Asauchi was.
But he knew one thing clearly—
A street orphan from Rukongai could never possibly own such a blade.
Which meant there was only one explanation.
The man named Aizen must have placed this sword in his hands.
Just like him—
It was an exiled experiment.
Whenever that thought surfaced, a quiet resistance rose within Asuka. Unless absolutely necessary, he avoided drawing upon the blade's true power, using it only in its sealed Asauchi form.
But now—
He had no choice.
The demon before him was strong.
So strong that Wind Breathing alone could not defeat it.
While Rokuro continued to ramble on endlessly, Asuka's consciousness had already begun sinking inward—into the depths of his own mind.
He searched anxiously through the landscape of his soul, seeking the truth hidden within it.
His awareness sank deeper and deeper, as though plunging into a bottomless abyss.
When he opened his eyes again—
His heart sank.
This place was not empty.
Beneath his feet stretched cracked, barren streets. The air was choked with a suffocating, leaden smog.
___
Soul Society — District 78, Inuzuri.
The endless cold and gnawing hunger of that place seemed to pierce through reality itself, shaping the desolate streets of his inner world.
Filthy.
Ruined.
A world where he wandered alone.
"Grr…"
A low growl, thick with warning, broke the silence and drew Asuka's attention.
A few steps away stood a skinny, ragged little boy.
His clothes were torn. His hair was wild like dry grass.
And beneath that tangled mess—
His eyes burned with the ferocity of a starving wolf cub.
They stared straight at Asuka.
Beside the boy crouched a creature just as gaunt—
A wolf.
Thin.
Silent.
Watching him.
Its fur was dull and lifeless, its ribs clearly visible beneath the skin. Only its eyes remained vivid—two beastly pupils burning with a pure, brutal wildness.
Though they were a boy and a beast, the resemblance between them was uncanny.
[Why?]
The wolf had not opened its mouth, yet Asuka could hear the rasping growl echoing in his mind—hoarse and cold.
[Why fight for people who have nothing to do with you?]
[Why provoke a monster you cannot defeat?]
[Why not run away?]
The voice struck against Asuka's soul again and again as the
wolf crept closer.
[Asuka… have you forgotten?]
[Forgotten the lessons we learned with blood, sweat, and pain?]
[Don't forget—we are your true family!]
The skinny boy beside it said nothing.
He simply stared at Asuka with those savage eyes, filled with the same fury and confusion.
Asuka watched silently as the
wolf approached step by step.
At last, he spoke.
"…They saved me. Taught me. Acknowledged me."
"At the very least… I have to avenge them."
[Fool!]
The wolf suddenly rose onto its hind legs. With a blur of motion, it lunged forward and appeared before Asuka in an instant.
[Your heart has grown weak, Asuka!]
[Live! Remember?! That was our promise!]
[No matter how miserable, no matter how desperate—we survive!]
[And now what are you doing? Risking your life for others?! Have you forgotten how we crawled through garbage like maggots just to stay alive?!]
Its claws lashed forward, tearing through the air with murderous intent, aiming straight for Asuka's face.
Asuka's movements were sluggish here. The wolf's claws ripped open his cheek.
He tumbled backward, and an agonizing pain tore through his soul.
But the wolf did not relent.
It kept attacking, lunging again and again.
Every slash and bite carried the hunger to devour his very existence.
Asuka knew what it meant.
This was his Zanpakutō punishing him—for what it saw as cowardice and betrayal of their shared creed of survival.
Gray-black claws tore phantom wounds across his spiritual body, yet the pain felt utterly real.
[Fight back! Defeat me!]
[Take it like you used to! Steal it if you must!]
The wolf was growing impatient now, baring rows of sharp teeth as it roared.
But Asuka still refused to strike back.
"I haven't forgotten. And I haven't changed."
"The pain, the hunger… the icy touch of death brushing past my soul."
"I will never forget."
"They only make me grateful for what I have now."
"This isn't weakness."
"I've simply found a reason to fight… beyond merely surviving."
"Help me."
"Help me defeat that monster!"
They were, after all, one and the same.
Fighting each other was meaningless.
He had to make his Zanpakutō acknowledge his will.
Only then could their hearts truly resonate.
Only then could the blade become his strength.
Just as the wolf's fangs were about to pierce his throat—
The boy in the distance finally spoke.
"Enough Bakudatsu."
He casually reached out.
Though small, his hand seemed to cross space itself, grabbing the
wolf by the scruff of its neck.
The savage beast that had just been ferocious moments ago instantly became obedient, letting out pitiful whines as it was dragged back to the boy's side.
The boy lifted his head and met Asuka's gaze from afar.
His voice echoed directly in Asuka's mind.
"I have heard your resolve…"
"Asuka, since you have chosen to fight for others…"
"Then as your family—"
"We will fight with you."
His voice suddenly rose, tinged with manic cruelty.
"And besides… we can't let that thing go."
"That creature killed people."
"It stole what belonged to others."
"So we'll kill it."
"We'll devour everything it stole—principal and interest alike."
"Let it taste what it means to be completely plundered… erased from existence!"
"Whether they are demons or Shinigami…"
"We will devour them all."
Beside him, the wolf sensed the violent killing intent and threw back its head with a greedy howl.
[Awooooo—!!]
The boy's voice grew louder and louder, reverberating like thunder inside Asuka's mind.
The entire landscape of Inuzuri District in his soul began to tremble, as though on the verge of collapse.
[You must live, Asuka! No matter the cost!]
[Face forward! Do not grow weak!]
[Plunder! Devour!]
[Call my name—!!]
---
Reality — Ōsaki Shrine
Rokuro had finished laying out his proposal.
But instead of a reply, he noticed something else.
After sheathing his Nichirin blade, the boy's aura had grown more and more dangerous.
Rokuro had already decided to retreat.
But suddenly—
Asuka's fingers curled like claws around the battered Asauchi.
A gray-black aura surged violently from his body, thickening until it became almost tangible.
Even Rokuro stared in disbelief at the spiritual pressure erupting from him.
"—Chew and Devour."
"Shikai-Bakudatsu's Plunder!!"
BUZZ—!!
Gray-black spiritual pressure erupted like a volcano that had been suppressed for ten thousand years.
A violent shockwave exploded outward from Asuka!
The blood-soaked stone tiles beneath his feet shattered instantly, ripped apart into dust.
The broken pillars of the shrine cracked under the force, splinters raining down like a storm.
The battered Asauchi in his hand began to change under Rokuro's stunned gaze.
The rust peeled away.
The blade expanded and twisted.
In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a massive five-foot serrated greatsword, gray-black and savage in shape.
The blade curved slightly, its brutal arc seeming ready to rip and tear anything apart.
The jagged teeth along its edge glinted beneath the moonlight—
Like the monstrous maw of some ancient beast.
"What… what is that thing?!"
"What the hell are you?!"
All composure vanished from Rokuro's face.
The aura radiating from that blade was far too dangerous.
If it struck him—
He would die.
Asuka answered with action.
Rokuro saw only a gray-black afterimage flash before him.
Then—
A sudden chill passed over his sleeve.
SPLASH—!!
His severed arm flew high into the air.