"Did you call for backup?" Ibuki Pōgō shouted.
The first Shinigami who had been slammed into the wall replied, "I already did."
They all stared at Naruto, standing in the center of the gym.
Pōgō's expression was complicated. He had to admit that he had spoken a bit too loudly earlier.
All that "make sure he doesn't get too hurt"—
Bah!
That was nonsense, spoken when he had no grasp of the situation.
Facing an opponent of this level of terror, they were barely keeping themselves from falling apart.
Not that Naruto's current strength had completely surpassed what a few seated officers could handle if they worked together—
But—
His combat logic was unlike anything they had ever faced before—whether it was Shinigami or Hollow.
After the initial pounce, the berserk Naruto abandoned his high-speed mobility and rooted himself in place.
Tactically, this was unwise. It made him a sitting duck.
But it didn't give Pōgō and the others any advantage.
That sword gave Naruto a huge boost.
The red spiritual energy cloak was more than just cosmetic.
It had incredibly strong defensive properties!
Low-level Hadō spells below number 10 couldn't even scratch it.
Even abandoning incantations, anything below level 30 Hadō could only leave minor cracks.
Only high-level Kidō, and with full incantation, could cause barely any real damage. That had been what Pōgō hoped for.
But—
With Naruto's rapid healing speed, those faint flesh wounds disappeared in the blink of an eye—as if they never existed.
And even though Naruto stood motionless, his offensive power was still terrifying.
He plunged his hand into the ground.
It was as if the entire gym had become his territory.
Red spiritual-energy hands, molten in form, surged up from the floor in unexpected places to strike.
And the "molten" spiritual energy wasn't just visual.
It actually had molten properties—highly corrosive and burning.
Once they realized this, the Shinigami tried to dodge more carefully to avoid taking damage.
The gym was in ruins.
Holes in the floor. Skylights shattered.
"Captain, I can't take this anymore." One of the Shinigami drew his sword, his voice heavy. "If this goes on, he'll endanger the other students."
He was about to release his Zanpakutō.
Without its release, it was nearly impossible to suppress Naruto in this state.
"The reinforcements are too slow," another grumbled. It had already been five or six minutes.
Pōgō was just about to give the order.
Suddenly, from above the skylight came a calm voice with a flippant tone: "Ugh, so annoying. When is the 10th Division going to appoint a captain already?"
"And now I have to handle this?"
Pōgō looked up, eyes lighting with relief. "Captain Hirako!"
The speaker was a man with long blond hair, wearing a captain's haori over his kimono—with a necktie added for flair. His posture was slouched, his face a mix of contempt and restlessness.
Behind him stood a man with unassuming brown hair and plain black-rimmed glasses, looking harmless.
"Aizen Vice-Captain!"
Shinji Hirako clicked his tongue. "They really wrecked this place, huh?"
"That berserk student is the fox monster?"
"That spiritual pressure..."
"Pretty scary."
He raised his hand.
Down below, Naruto also sensed the threat above.
Instinct warned him—
Both the blond man and the brown-haired one were extremely dangerous.
WHOOSH WHOOSH—
Two molten-red tails shot upward to attack.
"Captain, be careful!" Aizen Sosuke rushed forward, skipping the chant.
"Bakudō #39: Enkōsen!"
A spinning yellow spiritual shield bloomed in his palm.
CRACK—
The tail struck with such force that it shattered the shield.
The red spiritual residue on the fragments let out sizzling, corrosive sounds.
Even spiritual energy was burning.
Aizen narrowed his eyes, thoughtful.
This was... quite an interesting ability.
The tailed hands continued charging upward.
Hirako sneered. "Sōsuke, this guy's about your level—take it seriously."
"Don't embarrass the 5th Division."
He drew his sword and flash-stepped, slashing into the twin hands.
The spiritual energy was disrupted.
"Captain Hirako, careful! Naruto's energy has corrosive properties!" Pōgō shouted.
Hirako rolled his eyes. "You think I'm blind? I noticed that ages ago."
"His spiritual pressure isn't strong enough to damage my sword."
As he spoke—
Aizen raised his right hand and chanted.
"Hadō #33: Sōkatsui!"
A faintly glowing blue sphere of lightning hurtled toward Naruto.
BOOM—
The explosion kicked up thick smoke.
The red cloak cracked in a spot, revealing damaged flesh underneath, bloody and raw.
But...
Both the wound and the outer spiritual armor regenerated before their eyes.
"Very strong defense," Aizen observed. "And very fast healing."
"This kind of ability..."
...was very Hollow-like.
There was admiration in Aizen's eyes.
It was an almost perfect mimicry.
The light wound only drove Naruto further into frenzy. Four tails whipped around wildly, tearing up the floor.
"Don't state the obvious," Hirako raised his hand.
No chant.
"Bakudō #62: Hyapporankan!"
Purple spiritual pillars condensed and rained down on Naruto, pinning his limbs and tails to the ground.
They began to corrode, releasing wisps of white smoke.
But at this rate, breaking the seal would take time.
"He's not that hard to deal with," Hirako grinned, mocking. "I thought he'd be a huge pain, so I went and applied for release authorization from Central 64."
"Let's cut off his spiritual energy."
"Without it, this state should—"
His words cut off.
GURGLE GURGLE—
The spiritual armor started boiling, the energy churning.
Pinned down, Naruto raised his head and opened his mouth unnaturally wide.
Spiritual energy flooded out, gathering at his mouth.
It formed a massive black sphere, sucking in surrounding energy like a core.
It had overwhelming spiritual pressure—
And a strange spiritual pulse.
"That's..." Pōgō's eyes widened, astonished. "A Cero?!"
Aizen pushed up his glasses.
Concentrated spiritual energy, spherical shape, pitch black...
It definitely looked like a Cero.
A technique only Menos-class Hollows could use—not part of a Shinigami's toolkit.
"Interesting!" Hirako grinned. "But this isn't a Cero."
"Have your brains been pickled that badly? Can't even tell from the spiritual pressure?"
"But with this kind of threat..."
"Good thing I applied."
He raised his sword—and let go.
The blade didn't fall. It hovered before him.
"Collapse, Sakanade."
His Zanpakutō transformed—the end of the hilt opened into a circular ring.
CLANG— The blade began to spin.
A strange fragrance spread, instantly invading the noses of everyone in the gym.
The world flipped upside-down.
In that moment—
The Tailed Beast Bomb fired, but veered wildly off target, soaring skyward.
Moments later, it exploded in a massive blast.
Spiritual energy surged, wind howled.
The already-wrecked gym could no longer withstand it and collapsed.
Hirako raised his hand.
Taking advantage of the chaos—
"Bakudō #4: Hainawa."
Golden energy ropes flew from his palm, tightly binding Naruto's fox-shaped head.
Aizen moved to leap down—
But Hirako beat him to it, sealing Naruto's Kekkai and Hakusui—two pressure points in the soul body critical to maintaining spiritual energy. Damaging them doesn't kill, but renders one unable to use spiritual power. Sealing them has the same effect.
Without the flow of spiritual energy—
The red cloak faded.
Revealing the host beneath—a blond-haired boy.
Exhaustion from physical strain, spiritual depletion, and loss of rationality caused the still-young Naruto to fall unconscious.
"Captain Hirako, what should we do with him?" Aizen asked with a mild smile.
Pōgō quickly spoke up, "I was the one who told him to attempt Shikai."
Hirako shot both of them a look, then grabbed Naruto and sneered, "Are your brains made of soup?"
"Of course we take him to the 4th Division."
"That kind of overwhelming spiritual power, that kind of corrosive energy—who knows what damage it's done to his body?"
He smirked coldly.
"What, you want to send him to the 2nd Division instead?"
(End of Chapter)