Bleach: Awakened — Chapter 103 - The Ongoing Rebellion

The Zanpakuto rebellion had been going on for some time now. All across Seireitei, battles between materialized Zanpakuto and Soul Reapers raged in every direction.

Looking at the overall battlefield, the Zanpakuto held an overwhelming advantage. Most Soul Reapers had never fought their own blades before, falling behind at the start was only natural.

That said, most of those early losses were temporary. Once the Soul Reapers adjusted, they found their footing and began holding their own. Some exceptional ones had already reclaimed their Zanpakuto entirely, a certain scientist among them.

But there were others who had been suppressed from the very first exchange. Not just losing ground. Getting crushed.

"Ahh... something is seriously wrong with us here!"

Renji Abarai tightened the grip on Zabimaru. The fight against the materialized Zabimaru had dragged on for a while now, and it had been one-sided the entire time, Renji getting hammered flat out.

"Do you still not understand, Rukia Kuchiki?"

The tall, striking woman, Sode no Shirayuki, spoke in a cool, clear voice.

"You have never once drawn out my true power."

"It has nothing to do with spiritual pressure. Nothing to do with raw strength. You simply do not understand me—the true nature of Sode no Shirayuki."

"What true nature?!" Rukia gritted her teeth, gripping the blade tight. "If I haven't figured it out, why won't you just tell me?! Sode no Shirayuki!"

"Should I just tell you, hm?" A cold laugh. Sode no Shirayuki swung the blade in hand. "If I told you outright like that, should I hand you the power of Bankai on a silver platter as well."

"Don't be naive. If this is the extent of what you can do, forget protecting Karakura Town—the only thing waiting for you is a dead end."

"Tsugi no mai, Hakuren!"

Words were useless. Rukia drove the tip of her blade into the ground and a powerful surge of cold air swept toward Sode no Shirayuki like an avalanche.

"That move..." A delicate brow arched. "Too weak."

Sode no Shirayuki didn't bother driving any blade into the ground. Just swept a hand, and an even more powerful torrent of freezing air came surging out, slamming straight into Rukia's.

CRACK,

The two surges of cold air froze solid on contact. Bone-piercing ice nearly grazed Rukia's cheek. Cold sweat slid down as the chill passed, and Rukia stared blankly at Sode no Shirayuki, unable to understand why the gap between them was this enormous.

"It is understanding." The monkey woman swayed the iron chain, voice unhurried. "You two have never truly understood the power within yourselves."

"That is to say—the true power that is ours, as Zanpakuto. If you cannot find the answer, then die here."

WHOOSH!

A blue arrow of light struck the materialized form of a Soul Reaper's Zanpakuto. It stiffened mid-motion. The Soul Reaper's eyes lit up and erupted into action, swinging the blade and cutting the materialized Zanpakuto down.

"Thanks, Lieutenant Ishida!"

The Soul Reaper called out toward Uryu Ishida not far away, then headed off toward another part of the battlefield.

"Tch! What lieutenant?" Uryu clicked in displeasure. "I don't accept that title."

"Don't say that, Ishida."

BOOM,

The right hand already shifted into a shield, Yasutora Sado blew apart the materialized Zanpakuto standing in the way. Another Soul Reaper's expression stiffened briefly, offered thanks, and left.

"Still don't say that?" Uryu's expression darkened. "If those Soul Reapers had explained things properly back then, would Ichigo have been gone this long?!"

"What else was there, should Senna have been sacrificed instead? Should the Kido Cannon have been used to destroy everything?" Yasutora Sado said flatly. "Ichigo resolved it all. Ichigo knows that too."

"Wait until he comes back. Then we can talk."

"...Who even knows if we'll still be around by the time that guy gets back." Uryu pushed up the glasses and turned away, looking out over Karakura Town. "Karakura Town has been transferred all the way out here, if those Soul Reapers fail to hold the line, it'll be our turn."

All around was an unbroken expanse of wilderness. Standing a little higher, you could faintly make out scattered houses in the distance, the sprawling Karakura Town, sitting out here in the open.

This was the wilderness of a certain Rukongai district. Four Tenkaiketshu stood at the four corners of Karakura Town, and through them, the town had been transferred into Soul Society. The Soul Reapers' method of keeping it safe.

But the fighting between Soul Reapers and their Zanpakuto was intensifying, and the Soul Reapers originally posted to guard the Tenkaiketshu had fallen one after another, now locked in their own battles with materialized blades.

And because those Zanpakuto had been subdued by external force, if the instigator of the rebellion appeared and exercised that ability again, every Zanpakuto that had just been reclaimed would turn against its wielder once more. In fact, the two Soul Reapers who had just left, this was already the second time Uryu and Yasutora Sado had helped them reclaim their Zanpakuto.

"Let's head back." The blue light at the soles of Uryu's feet flickered. "Such a short time, and things have already gone wrong again."

"It seems whoever triggered this rebellion is keeping a close eye on us."

A few minutes earlier.

"Hah!"

In a dark corner of Karakura Town, Muramasa bit at those long fingernails, watching the two human males head off once again to help the Soul Reapers, and felt a measure of relief settle inward.

"Damn humans!" Muramasa stared at the brown-haired girl with the shield not far away, eyes filled with venom. "That's enough time..."

"Kill one first, then figure out the rest!"

One hour earlier, Muramasa had already triggered a widespread Zanpakuto rebellion, then used the chaos to slip into the Great Spirit Library and successfully located the record of the master Muramasa sought: Koga Kuchiki's place of sealing.

If Muramasa had searched alone, going through it personally, the Soul Reapers would likely have quelled the entire rebellion before any information about Koga Kuchiki's sealing site could be found. The records of the Great Spirit Library were vast beyond measure, and pinpointing a specific piece of information was no easy task.

And if the master were to subdue the Zanpakuto alone, Muramasa's power of influence could only take effect once within a short window.

The reason Muramasa found the location so quickly was simple: one month prior, Sosuke Aizen had already told Muramasa exactly where within the Great Spirit Library the relevant record could be found.

[The answer you seek is recorded inside the Great Spirit Library. I can tell you the precise location of that document. What I need from you is to use your own power, approximately one month from now, after you sense that the spatial lockdown on Hueco Mundo has lifted, and throw all of Seireitei into absolute chaos. What is the spatial lockdown? You will come to know.]

Those were the words Sosuke Aizen had spoken to Muramasa. Muramasa had no fixed desire to make enemies of the Soul Reapers, the only thing that mattered was rescuing the master.

But the Great Spirit Library was a forbidden area. Without authorization, not even a Soul Reaper Captain was permitted to enter, and Muramasa had no means of slipping in quietly. The only option was to force the way in.

And since forcing the way in was necessary, Muramasa decided it might as well be done loudly, in line with what Sosuke Aizen had suggested. As for the one-month timing requirement, there was no urgency. Hundreds of years had already passed. There was patience enough to spare.

And ultimately, even being deceived by Sosuke Aizen would not be a fatal blow. Because on one point, Aizen had offered something genuine: the Great Spirit Library, which records all things and encompasses all phenomena, would certainly contain a record of the master's sealing site. That gave Muramasa a goal to hold onto. Even if this attempt ended in deception, it didn't matter. The search could continue.

Once was not enough, then twice. Three times. Four times. Ten years was not enough, then a hundred. A thousand. Ten thousand.

It was with that resolve that Muramasa had set this sweeping, thunderous Zanpakuto rebellion into motion.

➤ Next: Muramasa's Natural Enemies