Bleach: The Shinigami Who Inherited Hashirama

"Well, Bai Chen? After my Zanpakutō release—"

"Pretty stylish, isn't it?"

"Doesn't lose to that flaming fan on your back at all, huh?"

With Sakanade released, Shinji Hirako's confidence surged.

His expression turned smug again, slipping back into his usual lazy irreverence. The way he looked at Bai Chen no longer held caution—it was the gaze of someone toying with prey.

Bai Chen, however, remained utterly expressionless.

Unmoved.

Uninterested.

Seeing no reaction, Shinji felt a flicker of irritation—but he simply changed the subject, eyes narrowing.

"Bai Chen… you smelled it, right?"

"The fragrance in the air."

A sly glint crossed his eyes.

Bai Chen's nose twitched slightly.

"Yes. I smelled it."

"So… what now?"

The tiny motion was all Shinji needed.

His grin widened.

"Good. That means you've already entered the Inverted World."

"Now… enjoy it."

"The agony of everything around you being forcibly reversed."

He didn't attack immediately.

Instead, he idly swung Sakanade, savoring the moment—waiting for panic to appear.

Behind him, the other Visoreds shouted encouragement:

"Shinji—don't let your guard down!"

"That Shinigami's dangerous!"

Kensei, Love, Hiyori—each tense, eager to jump in.

"After you've played enough—kill him."

"Our location's already exposed."

"We can't let him return to Soul Society alive."

At this point, they no longer cared about Bai Chen's purpose.

Only one thought remained:

Kill him. Restore their hidden life.

The scent was real.

And yes—after inhaling it, Bai Chen's senses were inverted.

His vision flipped.

The entire world turned upside down.

Ground became sky.

Sky became ground.

Opposite him, Shinji appeared hanging inverted from the "ceiling," grinning mockingly.

A wave of vertigo struck Bai Chen's brain.

He blinked—

and the inversion fully took hold.

"…I have to admit," Bai Chen said calmly, "among Zanpakutō abilities, one that manipulates perception and neural signals like this is exceptionally rare."

"Sakanade's power is indeed formidable."

If his opponent were anyone else—

even a current captain—

and didn't know the ability beforehand…

the sudden sensory reversal would shatter ingrained combat reflexes instantly.

They'd be toyed with endlessly by Shinji.

But Bai Chen had inhaled the scent deliberately.

Not out of arrogance.

Because—

he had the Sharingan.

Three-tomoe Sharingan perception could pierce illusion and neural distortion alike.

All he needed was to open his eyes—

and the inversion would be nullified.

The ones truly blind to what was happening…

were the Visoreds themselves.

"Oh?" Shinji smirked. "Frozen already?"

He misread Bai Chen's stillness as disorientation.

As despair.

Satisfied, he finally moved.

"Then I'll end it."

Whoosh—

Sakanade slashed forward, reiatsu trailing the blade.

"Bai Chen… you've already lost."

"The moment you inhaled it—"

"you were never leaving this warehouse alive."

The strike cut through air, racing toward Bai Chen's throat.

At the last instant—

Bai Chen's eyes opened.

Sharingan.

Scarlet flooded his pupils.

Three black tomoe rotated slowly.

A burst of ocular power rippled outward—

and in that instant—

the inverted world snapped back into alignment.

Up became up.

Down became down.

Illusion shattered.

So when Sakanade's blade reached him—

Bai Chen moved at last.

He raised one hand.

And casually—

caught the blade bare-handed.

"—?!"

Shinji's pupils shrank violently.

Behind him, the other Visoreds froze in shock.

"Impossible—!"

"He inhaled Sakanade's scent!"

"His nervous system should be reversed!"

"How did he negate the inversion instantly?!"

To them, this was more shocking than Bai Chen bypassing the Kidō barrier earlier.

Shinji gritted his teeth.

He tried to pull back.

But Sakanade's edge didn't budge.

Bai Chen's grip was immovable.

Which meant—

to retreat, Shinji had only two options:

Release the sword entirely.

Or overpower Bai Chen with reiatsu.

Both were absurd.

Neither would work.

Seeing Shinji trapped, the others rushed in instinctively.

Hiyori, Mashiro, Kensei, Love—

all lunged simultaneously, weapons drawn, aiming to force Bai Chen to release.

But the moment they moved—

their expressions froze.

Because without warning—

their own senses flipped.

Vision reversed.

Orientation inverted.

Balance destroyed.

Like all of them had fallen into illusion at once.

Their targets shifted.

Movements misaligned.

After nearly a century without real combat…

their neural reflexes failed to adapt.

So instead of converging on Bai Chen—

their attacks veered.

Blades meant for him—

turned on each other.

Steel clashed.

Reiatsu burst.

And in a single chaotic instant—

the Visored captains' assault became

mutual slaughter.

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