Chapter Seventy-One: The Ring

Bang!
With a forceful stomp, the stone slabs beneath his feet shattered beyond recognition.
The sword in his hand, wielded by its master, brimmed with murderous intent.
Clang.
The metal ring gave off a crisp, resonant chime.
Boom!
The target of his charge suddenly vanished. Tousen’s attack struck only empty air. Yet, unless one had a flawless plan in battle, it was common sense never to expose one’s back so carelessly to an opponent.
Tousen quickly planted his foot to halt his forward momentum, spinning around in an instant. His senses—sharper than any other’s—let him easily pinpoint Chojirou’s new position after the man dodged his attack with a flash step.
But the ground crumbled again beneath that very foot!
Since the Ryoka invasion, the first place within the Seireitei to suffer destruction was the inner court, yet the destroyers turned out to be the very Captain and Vice-Captain who should have been its protectors!
Crack...
Raising his blade once more, Tousen bent low, then lunged at Chojirou, who hovered in midair.
“That move again…”
Chojirou frowned slightly.
It seemed that relying solely on information from the original tale was insufficient.
Tousen was indeed a captain who never revealed overwhelming strength; apart from his Zanpakuto’s Bankai and Hollowfication, he was almost a background character, not even on par with Komamura.
But only after truly crossing swords with him did Chojirou realize how foolish such judgments had been.
His blindness had rendered his other senses preternaturally acute; his lack of brute force compensated for by the extraordinary speed of his flash steps.
Just these two traits alone placed Tousen on equal footing with any other captain.
This thrust was the perfect union of those strengths—a flawless assault.
He could predict his opponent’s movements by heightened senses, then launch a surprise attack with his prodigious speed. The trajectory of his thrusts was ever-changing—an exasperatingly troublesome technique.
It was a style of combat that belonged to Tousen alone.
Swish.
Even suspended in midair, Chojirou could nimbly shift his position with shunpo. Once again, he evaded Tousen’s thrust with agile grace.
“Sing, Suzumushi.”
Beep—!
Ugh!
Landing on the ground, Chojirou was struck by a strange force emanating from that peculiar Zanpakuto. The power assaulted his five senses, aiming to disrupt his mind.
He instinctively pressed his hand to his forehead—the impact had brought on a headache he hadn’t felt in ages.
Compared to last time, the force had grown considerably.
Crackle.
Tousen, still airborne, did not immediately descend after unleashing Suzumushi. Instead, he twisted in the air, brandishing his blade and leaving behind rows of sharp, gleaming steel spikes.
“Red Flying Locusts.”

Boom boom boom boom boom!
A merciless rain of steel fell upon Chojirou, who was momentarily slowed by Suzumushi’s assault.
Thud.
Now Tousen landed, standing in silence before the spot where the Red Flying Locusts’ spikes struck, motionless—as if waiting for something.
Crash!
The steel spikes lodged in the ground suddenly shattered. Just as Tousen had expected, Chojirou burst out from the midst of the storm, blade in hand, bearing only a few scratches.
Crack...
Raising his blade once again, Tousen met him head-on.
Clang!
The clash of their swords sent a shower of bright sparks into the air.
Blade to blade, the two men were locked in close combat.
...
Meanwhile, Komamura, who had been watching all along, was shaken to his core.
What was happening?
Even from a distance, his sharp eyes could clearly follow every move the two combatants made.
What on earth was going on?
Tousen was never one to show mercy to an enemy—especially not to someone he had personally branded as “evil.” Mercy was out of the question.
But why…
Komamura’s gaze focused on the man who parried Tousen’s blade and then counterattacked in one fluid motion.
Why could that man—a mere vice-captain—stand on equal footing with Captain Tousen?
Was Tousen not at his best, or…
Clang!
For the umpteenth time, Chojirou deflected Tousen’s thrust and swiftly kicked him back, forcing him to retreat.
Whoosh…
Tousen’s white captain’s haori fluttered in the air.
Even as he retreated, Tousen extended his left index finger toward Chojirou.
“White Lightning.”
Beep!
A slender beam of white light shot toward Chojirou’s head.
Though a low-level kido spell, in the hands of a captain it was as deadly as a laser cannon from a science fiction film.
But unfortunately for him, his opponent was formidable as well.
Bang... Boom!
Chojirou brushed aside Tousen’s White Lightning with his bare hand, closing the distance between them in that instant.

!
Apparently not expecting his kido to be so easily deflected, Tousen was caught off guard, allowing Chojirou to close in.
Shlick!
Clang!
Though Tousen managed to parry the blade as it swung toward him, his momentary lapse proved fatal up close. Chojirou’s sword ruthlessly carved a long gash across Tousen’s chest.
Guh...
Groaning, Tousen immediately retreated with shunpo, seeking to regain his composure.
The wound wasn’t deep—just a long slice across the skin, stretching from below Tousen’s right chest almost to his left shoulder.
“It seems I’ve scored first, Captain Tousen.”
Chojirou grinned, beckoning Tousen with a crooked finger, the provocation clear in his gesture.
“It would appear so…”
Tousen wiped the blood from his wound with his fingers, then raised his blade before him, pressing the other hand to the ring upon his sword.
“Then there’s only one path left.”
“That stance…”
Though Tousen had used it only once in the original, the unique posture had left a lasting impression on Chojirou’s mind.
That power—a darkness like an impenetrable domain.
Screech!
The metal ring began spinning at high speed, stirring the air itself. With a flick of Tousen’s hand, the ring split into nine, rapidly fanning out to encircle both Chojirou and Tousen at the center.
“Bankai—”
Screech!
From the center, the rings erupted with streams of blackness, the substance spreading through the air, merging until it formed a fixed shape.
Though nothing could be seen within that pitch-black void, Chojirou knew at once—it was an enormous dark lantern.
“Suzumushi Tsuishiki: Enma Kōrogi.”
Chojirou could see nothing. Before his senses were completely engulfed, he heard Tousen announce the name of his Bankai.
“Now, then…”
Within this darkness, Tousen gripped his blade, his tone grave and measured.
“It is time to punish your evil.”
Tousen’s blind eyes shone with a divine, inviolable radiance.
“Sinner.”