Bleach: Awakened — Chapter 105 - Senna's True Power

"Damn it!"

Muramasa's right hand was pinned, but the blade that had clattered away reappeared in the left. Gritting through the pain, Muramasa reversed the grip and thrust backward.

"Useless."

That strange red-and-white arm caught the blade without effort. Sado's expression stayed flat, spiritual pressure noticeably higher than it had been a month ago.

"Tch!"

Both hands locked down now, Muramasa's face went dark. Muramasa tried to wrench free, Sado tightened the grip at exactly the right moment, and the pain became unbearable.

"Tell me where you come from!" A spirit particle arrow leveled straight at Muramasa's face, Ishida said flatly. "What exactly are you?!"

"Heh." A cold laugh. "A Quincy helping Soul Reapers come after me—how laughable."

"Centuries ago, quincy and Soul Reapers were mortal enemies, you know."

"Someone from centuries ago, are you." The arrow dipped slightly; Ishida narrowed both eyes. "I'm not helping the Soul Reapers. I just don't want Karakura Town destroyed."

"Release your ability right now. Let the Zanpakuto return to normal."

"Impossible!"

Twang,

"ARGH!"

The bowstring snapped. The spirit particle arrow arrived in an instant, punching into Muramasa's left foot, from the ankle down, the entire foot was gone. Blood dripped slowly to the ground.

"Next time, it's the right foot." Ishida's expression didn't change. "After that, both hands. Then your head."

"Even if you refuse to release your ability, it doesn't much matter. With Sado and me here, this Zanpakuto rebellion will be suppressed sooner or later."

"Well then. I'll continue."

Ishida drew the bow again. The spirit particle arrow blazed with intense light, and those eyes settled on Muramasa's right foot.

"Don't underestimate me! Quincy!"

"?!"

Behind Muramasa, Sado's pupils contracted sharply. An invisible force pushed straight into Sado's inner world, but humans have no inner world, so Sado's consciousness only blurred for a moment. By the time it cleared, Muramasa had already broken free.

"A psychic attack." The spirit particle arrow condensed in Ishida's hand once more; Ishida had blanked out for an instant too. "So that's how you've been manipulating the Zanpakuto—with that kind of trick."

"But against a Quincy and a human, your ability doesn't do much, does it."

The two sides faced each other across a short distance. Muramasa felt the frustration keenly, the technique that came most naturally, invading inner worlds, could only produce a brief daze against humans.

"Let me handle this." Senna stepped forward. "Sado, Ishida—cover me."

"An opponent at this level is perfect for testing how far my training has come."

"...Fine." Ishida gave a small nod. "Be careful. That psychic attack of his still lands."

"Got it, got it." Senna stepped forward with a smile. "Let's go then, Hollow man."

"My name is Muramasa."

"Senna."

CLANG,

"?!"

A flash of violet light, and Senna was already there, right in front of Muramasa. Years of battle instinct took over; at the very last moment, Muramasa barely got the blade up across the chest and blocked the thrust.

"Not bad."

Both hands gripped the staff tight, its tip ending in a sharp spike. Senna let out a small laugh and jumped back a step.

"That's not a Soul Reaper's Shunpo..." Muramasa narrowed both eyes. "A Zanpakuto ability? To move that fast..."

"Well, who knows."

Senna twirled the staff and strolled through the air, perfectly at ease.

'Damn it! The wound on my back is deep... left foot's hampering me too... is there really no other way...'

"What are you thinking about?!"

"?!"

That small figure rushed forward again without warning. Muramasa's eyes went wide, there was no time to block.

SLASH,

The spike grazed along the left hand. Blood dripped from the fingertips. Muramasa raised the shoulder slightly, confirmed the arm could still move, and let out a slow breath.

"You're so weak." Senna pursed her lips. "Is this really all you've got? Sparring with Yoruichi Shihoin is more of a workout than this."

"...Don't look down on me! You little brat!"

The blood-soaked left arm came up. Muramasa let out a furious roar, and a strange ripple of spiritual pressure surged outward.

"This is... an illusion?"

Senna's eyes went wide. Reflected in them were more than a dozen versions of Muramasa, in front, behind, left, right, above, below, every direction covered.

"Yes, it is indeed an illusion." All of them spoke in unison. "But can you tell which one is the real body?"

SLASH,

The Muramasa behind swung down. Senna raised the staff to block, and felt nothing. Not a trace of force. That Muramasa had already dissolved.

"Over here."

The one on the left spoke, blade already raised high.

WHOOSH,

"?!"

The strike hit empty air. Muramasa's eyes went wide. The Senna standing there was an afterimage, a phantom left behind by speed too great for the eye to follow.

"An illusion-type Zanpakuto." Senna reappeared a short distance away, a faint current of wind trailing off her body. "What an annoying ability!"

Everyone present had worked it out by now. Muramasa wore no Shihakusho, but that blade in hand was unmistakably a released Zanpakuto.

"Wind, is it." Muramasa murmured, piecing it together. "Augmenting the body with wind, pushing speed beyond what the eye can follow, not a bad ability."

"You figured it out."

An invisible breeze streamed continuously from the tip of the staff's spike, coiling around Senna's body, making her feel impossibly light.

"Mirokumaru's ability is releasing wind." Senna gave the staff a light wave. "Every wielder before me released it outward, tornado-style attacks."

"But I found that besides using it offensively, wind can wrap around my own body and make me faster. Far more useful than just blasting it outward."

"Speed alone isn't much use."

The strange spiritual pressure surged again. In Senna's vision, the Muramasa figures multiplied once more, nearly doubling in count, and whether by sight or spiritual sense, every single one registered as a physical body.

"What use is speed if you can't hit anyone?"

Dozens of voices spoke at once. The layered echo was grating, and Senna couldn't help but furrow her brows.

Ishida and Sado nearby did the same. As Muramasa kept pushing spiritual pressure higher, the illusions had started bleeding into them too.

"Let me step in."

Spirit particles gathered from the surrounding air in a steady stream. The bow in hand blazed with dazzling light; Ishida took aim at the crowd of Muramasas, a rain of light arrows charged and ready.

"Wait, Ishida." Orihime, who hadn't said a word until now, suddenly spoke. "Let Senna handle it."

"...It's not that I doubt her ability." Ishida said slowly. "But against this kind of opponent, speed alone won't cut it."

"Have you forgotten, Senna isn't a Soul Reaper?" Orihime watched the violet-haired girl in the midst of battle. "The power of wind isn't Senna's own power. It belongs to the Soul Reaper who was swallowed by the Kototsu."

"You've been doing Quincy training at home this whole time, so you don't know. Senna's own power."

➤ Next: Muramasa Dons the Mask