Bleach: Awakened — Chapter 36 - Clash of Strength (Part One)

The blazing sun hung directly overhead. It was nearly noon, yet Seireitei remained unusually busy. Yesterday had seen three groups causing trouble; now only two remained active. The numbers had dropped for reasons no one could explain, but the atmosphere among the Soul Reapers had grown even more murderous since that morning, Squad Five's captain was dead.

"This just doesn't end."

Curly brown hair falling over the eyes, floral shirt stretched over a powerfully built frame, Yasutora Sado knocked down every Soul Reaper in front of him. Since morning the numbers had surged, and the attacks were fiercer than the day before.

"Damn it... what kind of monster..."

The Soul Reaper crumpled to the ground, struck square in the abdomen, too drained to move. Fifth seat of Squad Seven, there was no one above that rank still on the field, and Sado had put him down without breaking a sweat.

"Sorry." Sado said flatly. "Sleep tight—?!"

The pupils behind the brown hair snapped tight. A massive shadow fell across the ground ahead. From behind, a large gloved hand reached out, and hadn't even made contact before Sado spun aside, stepped back several paces, then raised his head to look at the newcomer.

"Are you... a captain..."

The figure stood nearly three meters tall, a large wooden bucket sitting on the head, Shihakusho beneath and a white Captain's Haori draped over it.

"Captain of Squad Seven, Sajin Komamura." The voice that carried out from beneath the bucket was low and barrel-deep. "Ryoka, surrender quietly."

"Squad Seven..." Sado closed a fist. The right forearm shifted instantly into a red shield. "Looks like a very strong opponent."

"Even knowing I am a captain, you still intend to fight." Komamura said. "Admirable fighting spirit. But I will show no mercy."

"Whatever justification you may have—invading Seireitei, gravely injuring a captain, even being suspected of killing one—you are the most heinous of criminals! Come at me with the resolve to kill! Human!"

"Yasutora Sado." Sado said flatly. "I won't kill you, Captain Komamura."

"Insolence!" The Zanpakuto cleared the hip. Komamura's voice rose to a roar. "Roar, Tenken!"

A colossal arm appeared above Komamura's head, blade in hand. As Komamura swung downward, the enormous arm followed. Just as declared, facing a criminal, there would be no mercy. The opening strike was already Shikai.

"That's enormous!"

Sado's pupils tightened. Nothing this size had ever come down before. Not a shred of fear. The right arm came up high, shield forward.

BOOM!

A thunderous crack split the sky. The giant blade drove into the shield, and the shockwave threw up vast clouds of dust. Squad Seven's members had long since cleared the center of the battlefield, they knew exactly what their captain was capable of. Not even the lieutenant would dare get close.

The dust settled.

The small figure was still standing.

The giant sword had come down directly onto Sado's shield, yet not a single step had been taken. The ground all around was shattered completely, and Sado's feet had sunk deeper into the earth, but the stance had not broken.

"Remarkable strength!" The exclamation carried from beneath the wooden bucket. "It has been a very long time since any Soul Reaper could fully receive my released strike. I never expected a human to manage it."

"Your strength is greater than the gatekeeper's." Sado raised his head and looked directly at the bucket. "But it still isn't enough to defeat me."

"Is that so?!"

Komamura drove the Zanpakuto skyward, blade tip piercing toward the heavens. The giant arm behind mirrored the motion exactly. Spiritual pressure surged from within, and Komamura's voice thundered out.

"Bankai, Kokujo Tengen Myo'o!"

Spiritual pressure exploded to its absolute limit. A colossal black-armored warrior materialized behind Komamura, two horns rising from its crown, thirty to forty meters of towering height, as terrifying as a King of Hell stepped out of legend.

"So this is a captain's... Bankai..."

Sado stepped back slightly. Tall and powerfully built by any human measure, Sado felt utterly small in that moment, as if the black-armored giant could bring one foot down and end it there.

"Very strong." A quiet murmur. Sado thought back to the training from not long ago. "But still not enough to make me afraid!"

"Then let's find out!"

The Zanpakuto slammed down. The colossal warrior followed every motion, the enormous sword crashing down with it. The shriek of air being torn apart was piercing beyond measure.

"Come on then!"

Sado held the stance without flinching. Blue spiritual pressure erupted from the right shoulder, converging there with force. Facing a Bankai captain's full-power strike, Sado gave everything back.

BOOM!

The roar that followed shook all of Seireitei. The collision of spiritual pressures on that scale drew every eye in range. The black-armored giant was visible from far away.

No captain came running. If it had been anyone else's fight it might have been different, but Komamura's destructive power and range were unmatched among the captains, making coordinated combat nearly impossible. And besides, they were confident. Komamura was more than enough to handle this. As long as the opponent wasn't the one who had cut down Gin Ichimaru.

"How is this possible..."

Komamura stared in disbelief, eyes wide. Beneath the great sword, that tiny human figure was still standing. Immovable as a mountain range.

"A powerful strike."

The same words as ever. The small shield had stopped a blow that felt like divine punishment. The terrain around Sado was long since destroyed, nearby buildings collapsed in great swaths, yet Sado stood there still, the shield bearing only faint white marks.

"But it's still not enough!"

The right arm pulled back. The great sword dropped to the ground. Sado charged straight at Komamura. Blue light flared at the right shoulder again, immense spiritual pressure converging to a single point. Standing still and taking hits was not the style.

"Don't underestimate me! Ryoka!"

The empty left hand swept forward in a wide hook. Behind Komamura, the black-armored warrior mirrored it exactly, a hook punch thrown at the same instant.

"Ha!"

The attack range was too wide. Sado had no choice but to stop. The strike aimed at Komamura redirected, slamming instead into that enormous left fist.

"El Directo!"

BANG!

The giant fist stopped dead. A dent appeared on the back of the hand. Sado's sharp eyes caught it immediately, Komamura's left hand shuddered hard at the exact same moment, and drops of blood seeped out from the glove.

"So when the Bankai takes damage, the user does too."

Watching what had just unfolded, Sado understood. It made sense. If that weren't the case, this Bankai would be far too terrifying, before its duration ran out, it would be nearly impossible for anyone to push past that enormous form and land a hit on Komamura directly.

"And what does knowing that change?!"

The weakness was exposed. Komamura showed not the slightest fear, and raised the sword again.

"It means I don't have to keep fixating on attacking you directly."

➤ Next: Clash of Strength (Part Two)