Bleach: The Shinigami Who Inherited Hashirama

The black reiatsu shockwave had erupted—

and Bai Chen hadn't even moved.

He simply stood where he was.

Yet that vast tide of dark spiritual power slammed forward and blew the former captains away head-on.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Heavy bodies hit the floor one after another.

The Visoreds dropped from the air in sequence, sprawled across the ground in disarray.

Arms that had been gripping Zanpakutō throbbed from the violent impact, numb and aching.

"Damn it…!"

"This reiatsu shockwave—what the hell is this?!"

"He's only a Third Seat—how can he have this level of pressure?!"

"This black spiritual power… it's already on par with old man Yamamoto's!"

Grinding their teeth through bone-deep pain, the eight Visored captains forced themselves up on trembling arms.

When they looked again at the surging black aura ahead—

alongside dread, unmistakable fear crept into their eyes.

Under that dark reiatsu veil, they felt as if they'd been dragged into a lightless abyssal sea.

Even though Bai Chen hadn't deliberately pressed them—

even though he'd only repelled them in self-defense—

the pressure was suffocating.

For a moment, the hundred-year captains could barely breathe.

"…Is it just me?"

Shinji Hirako frowned.

Amid the fear, a memory stirred—

something eerily familiar.

Then it hit him.

Bai Chen's earlier introduction:

"I joined the Gotei 13 less than half a year ago."

Shinji's eyes widened violently.

"You—"

"The Bai Chen who went to the Human World months ago with the Academy trainees…?!"

When he said the name, his voice carried stunned disbelief—

like he was naming a legend… or a monster.

Bai Chen raised a brow, intrigued.

"Oh?"

"You know me?"

He didn't answer directly—

but that was confirmation enough.

It was him.

The prodigy from months ago.

"…I knew it," Shinji muttered, exhaling slowly. "There's no way the Gotei 13's overall power could've changed that much in just a few decades."

But the wariness on his face didn't lessen at all.

"What I never imagined…"

"Bai Chen—recognized as the greatest genius in Soul Society history…"

"…would grow this fast."

"Half a year—and you're already near the very pinnacle of Shinigami."

"It's absurd."

His expression turned complicated.

Back then, during that field training day—

Shinji hadn't been inside the warehouse.

He'd been wandering outside.

So when Bai Chen fought the Arrancar subordinates, Shinji had sensed everything from afar, hiding his presence and observing the entire battle.

Afterward, he'd even questioned Urahara Kisuke about the boy.

That was why he recognized him instantly now.

"…Only half a year as a Shinigami?"

"What kind of monster growth rate is that…?"

Behind him, the other Visoreds stared at Bai Chen as if he were something inhuman.

"Now that you've figured out who I am…"

Bai Chen smiled faintly, black spiritual pressure whipping his cloak like a storm.

"You still think you can subdue me easily?"

"Hah—don't get cocky, kid!"

Shinji straightened fully.

Yellow bowl-cut framing a suddenly serious face.

"No denying it—your power's insane."

"But I was one of the elite among captains back then."

"Don't underestimate me."

Moments ago, Bai Chen's dark reiatsu had nearly frozen him in place.

The shock was real.

The fear was real.

But Shinji Hirako was still Shinji Hirako—

leader of the Visoreds.

The only captain who had ever stood above Aizen.

And he believed in one thing absolutely:

Sakanade.

His Zanpakutō's inversion power.

A distortion so bizarre it could ignore raw power gaps entirely.

Even someone stronger could be toyed with once trapped in its reversed perception.

He could turn the tables.

He would.

His gaze shifted briefly to Bai Chen's back.

"That oversized flaming fan on your back…"

"That's your Zanpakutō, right?"

He lowered his eyelids, studying Great Flame-Extinguishing Fan while slowly raising his own blade.

Eyes lifting again, he said quietly:

"I don't know how you keep your sword in a constant released state."

"But it doesn't matter."

"In a moment…"

"your senses will collapse."

"And in that dizziness…"

"I'll beat you easily."

A crooked smile spread across his face.

Then—

his spiritual power surged and poured into the blade.

"Collapse… Sakanade."

Light burst from the Zanpakutō.

The hilt's end reshaped into a large hollow ring.

As release completed, Shinji tilted his head, grin widening, and began to swing the blade in slow rhythmic arcs.

Each motion shed a strange glimmer—

and a faint, sweet fragrance drifted outward.

Retreating automatically, the other Visoreds cleared the space, leaving a one-on-one arena.

From the safe distance, Hiyori sneered while deliberately holding her breath.

"If he's been a Shinigami less than half a year…"

"then with no real combat experience…"

"Sakanade's ability will be absolutely inescapable for him."

The scent spread.

Bai Chen's breathing remained natural.

Unchanged.

Unrestricted.

Seeing that—

Hiyori's grin stretched wide.

The suffocating pressure from earlier vanished from her mind.

She could already picture it—

Bai Chen trapped inside the Inverted World…

left-right reversed…

up-down swapped…

unable to correct his movements…

panicking under Shinji's disorienting illusion.

Yes—

that would finally vent the humiliation

of eight captains being crushed by one man.

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