Bleach: Stirring Up a Storm

Komamura’s words were a signal. In the next second, he and Tōsen flanked Zaraki from the left and right. There were no superfluous techniques, just simultaneous horizontal slashes aimed at Zaraki, forcing him to face attacks from both the front and the back.

Finally, it was starting to look like a real fight. Zaraki neither fled nor yielded; he simply raised his arm, resting his long sword against his shoulder. This simple motion neutralized their seemingly inevitable assault.

But just this wasn’t enough to satisfy him. With a sudden flick of his wrist, the tip of his blade thrust violently against Tōsen’s blade behind him.

Tōsen seemingly never expected Zaraki to do this. Caught off guard, the thrust forced him to stumble back repeatedly.

Blocking the attack with the blade’s tip and stopping Komamura with the hilt—this balanced stalemate was actually broken by Zaraki first. But Tōsen didn’t think this response was good for Zaraki. One advances, one retreats; with Tōsen forced back, wouldn’t it be easier for Komamura to land a strike?

It all happened too suddenly. So suddenly that before Komamura himself could react, his Zanpakutō slid along Zaraki’s hilt, slicing straight toward the man’s neck.

Was he trying to see if Komamura’s blade could decapitate him? No, although Zaraki constantly spouted things like ”cut me to death,” he wasn’t an arrogant fool.

Being forced on the defensive was never his style, no matter who the opponent was!

His left hand firmly gripping Komamura’s wrist, Zaraki let out a loud shout and pressed down hard. The tall, burly Komamura bowed his head before him for the first time—forced to bow!

*’This guy...’* Komamura turned his head, only to be met with Zaraki’s ecstatic gaze.

”I’ll finish you off first, hehehe...”

At this moment, Komamura was like a condemned prisoner awaiting execution, waiting for the blade above his head to fall. Save himself? Perhaps he could, but it was a bit too late.

The one to stop all this was Tōsen. Holding his sword with both hands, he blocked Zaraki’s chipped long sword—a blade that had taken countless lives. Just a little more, and it would have claimed another: the life of Komamura Sajin.

”Cry, Suzumushi.”

*Bzz...* A low hum, like the chirping of insects, left a distinct ripple in the air. Zaraki felt his own sword hum in response, pushed by the sound wave, making his grip feel somewhat light.

Suppressed by Zaraki, Komamura also found an opening. His own physical strength was immense, rivaling even that of Zaraki Kenpachi.

Swinging his right arm with the momentum, Zaraki—who was still pondering the ability of Tōsen’s Zanpakutō—was unexpectedly thrown off by Komamura. He flipped once in the air before landing on the ground.

”You have my thanks, Tōsen,” Komamura expressed his gratitude, but the recipient of his thanks had already charged forward.

Zaraki, having just landed and not yet found his footing, was met with a thrust to the face from Tōsen. Though he tilted his head and dodged it, his cheek was still grazed.

Tōsen raised his elbow, turned the blade, and gripped the hilt with his left hand simultaneously. It was as if he wanted to seize this opportunity, using all his strength to cut down the man before him.

But these intentions seemed to have been anticipated by Zaraki. Almost at the exact moment Tōsen turned his blade, Zaraki preemptively grabbed onto his hilt.

”Hey, that trick just now was pretty interesting. You know how to use it too, right? Bankai. Bring it out and show me.”

Tōsen didn’t answer. Instead, he suddenly ducked his head. The arriving Komamura didn’t even need to speak; he just swung his sword directly.

This time, Zaraki didn’t hold onto Tōsen. He took a step back, perfectly avoiding Komamura’s attack. ”Oh right, you know it too. Why don’t you both use it and show me?”

Komamura had no obligation to satisfy Zaraki’s curiosity. After rescuing Tōsen, he immediately warned, ”Stay calm, Tōsen.”

To him, whether it was the initial pursuit of the Ryoka or this relentless pressure on Zaraki, it didn’t seem like the Tōsen he knew.

”I am very calm, and I know exactly what I am doing, Komamura,” Tōsen disagreed. ”All I can do is cut him down, so the justice we uphold will suffer no further insult!”

But did he really know?

”To think Tōsen would be the first to lose his patience.” Inside the small room, Kōe continuously rubbed his chin with his index finger. ”I thought Zaraki would be the one who couldn’t hold back.”

The Reiryoku Detection Section, operating twenty-four hours a day within the Department of Research and Development, synchronized its monitoring results of the Seireitei directly to Central 46.

Although he couldn’t see it with his own eyes, based on the different Reiryoku fluctuations, Kōe could roughly guess the flow of the battle. At the very least, he could tell who was taking the initiative.

Just now, Tōsen Kaname’s Reiatsu had suddenly spiked significantly—earlier than Komamura’s, and even earlier than Zaraki’s. Therefore, the one who wanted to end the battle with a swift victory was Tōsen Kaname.

This was quite unusual. To think someone was more eager to cut people down than Zaraki, and it was Tōsen Kaname of all people—a man who wore the mask of justice on his face.

”Stirring up Zaraki’s will to fight isn’t exactly a good thing. Or, are you trying to use Komamura to actually kill Zaraki, Captain Aizen?”

”Let him try, and see if he can defeat Zaraki Kenpachi.” After saying this, Aizen looked up and asked in return, ”Though I believe it’s impossible. What do you think, Kōe?”

Arranging for Tōsen Kaname to team up with Komamura to stall the potentially problematic Zaraki Kenpachi—this order was given by Aizen right in front of him. Kōe had originally thought ”stall” meant ”kill if possible,” but now it seemed Aizen meant it entirely in the literal sense.

Did Tōsen Kaname overinterpret it?

”Zaraki should have a lot of fun playing with them. However, you don’t look surprised in the slightest.”

Indeed, Aizen’s breezy, unbothered demeanor made it seem like he knew Tōsen would act this way all along. If Tōsen were naturally a show-off, that would be one thing, but Kōe knew the man was entirely Aizen’s loyal hound. Following orders to the letter should have been his normal reaction.

”Do you know of Tōsen’s past, Kōe?”

*’Of course I do. Is there anyone here I don’t know about?’* That was what he thought, but Kōe’s actual words were different. ”Does this past have anything to do with Zaraki?”

Aizen didn’t answer directly. Instead, he began to recount what he knew of Tōsen Kaname.

Before entering the Seireitei, Tōsen once had a female friend. She successfully joined the Gotei 13 and fought as a Shinigami to protect many people like Tōsen. ’Justice’ was probably the word she spoke to him the most.

She was indeed a righteous person, which also attracted the attention of a prominent figure in the Seireitei, who took her as his wife.

Righteous people ought to be treated kindly. At that time, Tōsen sincerely gave his blessings to his friend, believing that righteous people deserved to be treated well. And Tōsen was willing to strive to become such a person himself.

If things had continued that way, Tōsen would have become someone like his friend—full of justice, never judging people by their status, physical disabilities, or the strength of their abilities.

But unfortunately, in the Seireitei—a place already defined by strict hierarchies and disparities in status—her existence was like a firefly in the night sky: eye-catching, yet completely out of place with her surroundings.

This also meant that accidents were bound to happen, and the probability of one befalling her was far greater than for anyone else.