BLEACH Chapter 175-177: Struggle (Patreon)

A/N: Took my time with this. I had to make sure it didn't have any plot issues.

...

Meanwhile, Kazuya’s dearest black cat, Yoruichi, observed the four beings emanating the dual-natured Reiatsu of Shinigami and Hollow. She had anticipated trouble from Hollows, but an ambush by high-level Arrancars, especially those aligned with Aizen, was beyond anyone's predictions. The evidence was clear in the intricate high-class barrier spell shrouding the power plant zone — a Kidō spell so precisely timed with the Garganta’s opening that it almost escaped her notice.

Everyone focused on the Garganta rather than the real threat.

As long as the barrier stood, nobody from the Gotei 13 would sense these Arrancars. And Kazuya, the Senior-Captain equivalent, wouldn’t sense them either. She needed him here as the Vice-Captains, under the effect of their seals, wouldn’t be a match for the Espada.

Her concern grew as she glanced at Nanao, who appeared visibly shaken, her body trembling as if overwhelmed by the intensity of the Reiatsu — a surprising reaction for a Vice-Captain who should have some resistance to such power.

‘Captain Kyoraku is protective of her.’

At least Rangiku acted reliably in shielding Toshiro and Renji from Arrancars. Her face lacked any playfulness, only a somber expression that reflected the dire circumstances.

‘She might buy enough time. I’ll go and dismantle the barrier quickly.’

She patted Toshiro’s head intently. “Shiro, use your Shikai and support the Vice-Captains from afar.”

Toshiro could barely nod when Yoruichi leaped off of him and darted to Nanao. She slapped the shaken Vice-Captain’s face with her paw. Her soft slap snapped the Vice-Captain back to the present.

Nanao rubbed her face with wide eyes, unable to believe that a cat just slapped her like a human and escaped. “Yoruichi…” She shook off the distracting thoughts and looked up at Loly. “You must be the leader of the group.”

Loly crossed her arms arrogantly. “Will a bottom feeder make a grand declaration of war?”

Rangiku’s giggle cut through their conversation. “Grand? Please. Even a thousand of you won’t stand a chance against the Soul Society.”

Loly responded with boisterous laughter of her own. “You won’t live long enough to see us demolish the Soul Society. Because all of you will die here.”

Rangiku unsheathed her katana from its red sheath. Either it was her love for cats or her own cat-like nature that granted her Zanpakutō a unique design characteristic of a cat — her katana’s hand-guard was shaped like a cat’s head, with pointed ears on the top half and a sleek tapering point on the bottom. “Loly, let the students leave. I’ll take on all four of you on my own.”

Loly sneered contemptuously. “You take on everyone? It’s not a competition to use your vulgar body, bitch.”

Rangiku’s eyes flashed with anger. “Everyone can see who’s acting like a bitch. And please stop projecting your vulgarness on others. You might’ve reached your rank through bootlicking and sexual favors, but I’m a Vice-Captain for my ability.”

Rather than jumping into battle, she continued the fiery conversation to stall for reinforcements. Unlike Yoruichi, she hadn’t sensed the high-level barrier obstructing the transmission of Reiatsu and hoped the reinforcements would arrive soon.

“Rangiku-sensei, you own her,” Toshiro added and casually kicked Renji’s ass. “Oi, dumb buffoon.”

Renji rubbed his rear, a hint of tears in his eyes. “What was that for?”

Toshiro narrowed his eyes smugly. “You looked frightened like a little girl. The kick on your ass worked.”

Renji grabbed Toshiro’s collar and pointed at Loly. “Rukia will tease me to death if I let a girl named ‘Loly’ scare me. Who the hell names their child ‘Loly’?”

Toshiro slapped Renji’s hand away and smiled. “I know right.”

Renji cracked his knuckles and pulled out his Zanpakutō from his back. “Yeah, I agree with you on this.”

Their banter infuriated Loly, rightfully so. She looked venomous. “I’ll kill you bastards.”

“Not if I’ll kill you first.” Renji chuckled and leaped over Rangiku. He raced towards Loly, creating platforms of Reishi beneath his feet. “Here I come.”

“You idiot, come back!” Toshiro yelled, but his warning fell on deaf ears. Gripping his blade, he whispered the chant to release his Shikai, “Sit Upon—I won’t make it in time. Rangiku, help him.”

Finding his Shikai chant too long, he yelled at Rangiku to stop Renji from dying foolishly.

Loly’s lips curled into a smirk. She vanished — followed by the explosive sound of Sonído — and arrived before Renji in the blink of an eye. Caught off-guard by her high-speed technique, Renji couldn’t react to the curved dagger swinging down at his face.

Just as the blade touched his forehead, Rangiku flashstepped to his side and parried the dagger with her katana.

“Too reckless, Renji!” Rangiku grabbed Renji by the collar and yanked him back to safety. Her eyes locked onto Loly, a fierce determination burning within. “No one will hurt these students on my watch.”

“This is a war, dimwit. We don’t take hostages or spare enemy soldiers.” Loly gestured to Ggio Vega, the Arrancar with a saber-tooth helmet. “Kill the rest of the students.”

Ggio shrugged. “I’m not interested in tainting my claws with the blood of weaklings. Menoly, why don’t you please your friend?”

Menoly, though hesitant, drew her katana. “Fine, if I must.”

She dashed, only to collide against a translucent yellow wall — a high-level barrier spell. Her katana — her Zanpakutō — slipped from her hands and clattered to the ground. As she scratched her head, her back bumped into another massive wall. Confusion and panic set in as she realized she was imprisoned in a shrinking box of energy.

“Vessel of the divine, fury of the lord.”

Menoly’s gaze followed the direction of the voice, seeing Nanao extending her hand with a claw-like gesture. The Vice-Captain was controlling the barrier, unafraid of the two Espada attacking her in this state.

“I won’t let you kill them,” Nanao said through gritted teeth and forcefully closed her claw hand. “With light, crush the prisoner. Shimen-sei no shi.”

The barrier responded to Nanao’s command, contracting with a force meant to compress Menoly into oblivion. Menoly frantically reached for her Zanpakutō to activate her Resurrección, but it was futile; her sword was beyond her reach. In a panic, she pounded against the barrier with her fists, but it was like striking steel.

Desperation in her eyes, Menoly turned to Ggio Vega. “Ggio, help me,” she pleaded for her comrade’s help, hoping they’d help get her out of the pinch.

Ggio Vega, the Arrancar with the saber-tooth helmet, looked on with cold indifference. “Fear not. I’ll gladly take the #7 from you.”

Menoly’s heart sank. She had always seen Ggio as an ally, a friend even, but he was going to let her die for her rank. “We’re on the same side. Why won’t you help me?!”

“Miss Menoly, we don’t need incompetent Hollows filling our ranks. Zommari, do you agree with me?”

Zommari glanced down at Menoly briefly before closing his eyes. The silence spoke his decision louder than words. Menoly was shocked beyond words. Even though she had done her best to please them and make herself useful to her comrades, they abandoned her at the drop of a hat.

At last Menoly turned to Loly for help. Her bully colleague happened to be looking at her, her face twisted in raw disgust.

She shivered, closing her eyes out of fear. “Please save me…”

“You utter trash of an Arrancar,” Loly growled. “Kill yourself. Kill yourself now—argh…”

Loly’s attention was drawn away by a sudden, sharp pain. Her eyes widened in shock as she looked down to see a blade protruding from her chest. “Damn you, Vice-Captain.”

Rangiku had swiftly taken advantage of Loly’s distraction and stabbed her. As Loly crumpled to her knees, Rangiku pressed her foot firmly onto Loly’s shoulder, wrenching her bloodied katana free with a fluid motion. Confident in her final blow, she didn’t register Loly’s trembling hand reaching for her dagger.

Rangiku’s gaze swept over the other three Arrancars. The strongest among them, the dark-skinned man resembling a monk, showed utter indifference to Loly’s last gasp. Ggio, with a smirk playing on his lips, seemed almost entertained by the turn of events. Menoly, on the other hand, was slowly being crushed under Nanao’s absurdly strong barrier spell. Rangiku might think Nanao wasn’t under a seal had she not walked through the Senkaimon with her.

“Nanao, don’t get soft now.”

The Arrancars became her enemy the moment they chose to declare the war. Showing mercy to the enemies was the same as stabbing her allies in the back.

“But…” Nanao hesitated. “Maybe she won’t—”

“Vice-Captain, Nanao,” Rangiku said firmly. “I won’t say it again…”

“Poison,” a familiar voice whispered from her side, seizing her attention. “Escolopendra (Centipede).”

Suddenly a storm of pink Reiatsu whipped around Loly before covering her body. Her form began to change dramatically, her mask extending across her face while white armor encased her body. Her arms transformed into elongated, headless centipedes.

Most importantly, her Reiatsu had amplified to the point she would be in the same league as Nanao in raw Reiatsu.

Rangiku blinked her eyes. “Did you just use… Shikai?”

Loly got to her feet and laughed maniacally. “It’s Resurrección, dickhead. It fully heals our wounds. Now, I’ll poison you. I’ll poison everyone in this city.”

Toshiro frowned. Observing Zommari and Ggio’s movements, he hadn’t paid any attention to Loly, or he wouldn’t have allowed Loly to recover. He had to make sure the Vice-Captains fight one opponent at a time. The Arrancars’ lack of camaraderie made his job so much easier. “Rangiku-sensei, you aren’t qualified to lecture Nanao-sensei.”

“Ugh, my bad.” Rangiku assumed a serious expression, holding her katana with both hands. “Growl, Haineko (Ash Cat)... Huh?”

But to her shock, nothing happened. Her Zanpakutō remained unresponsive to her chant. Pouring Reiatsu into her Zanpakutō, she frowned.

“Haineko, this isn’t the time to joke around. Haineko? Haineko?!”

Her screams received no response from her Inner World. Haineko was whimsical, but she never messed around during a serious battle. She gritted her teeth, a sinking realization hitting her — without her Shikai, she was at a significant disadvantage.

“I can’t use it…”

Engulfed in a whirlpool of confusion and fear, Rangiku didn’t notice Loly’s monstrous arms closing in on her. The headless centipedes slammed into her from both sides and coiled around her. Rangiku winced and bashed her elbows on Loly’s arms, feeling as if she was hitting steel rather than arms made of bone — she had yet to learn about the Hierro defense of Arrancars.

“Die, wench. Melt away in my poison,” Loly hissed, her face twisted in sadistic pleasure. The tiny, razor-sharp claws — the centipede’s legs — began to secrete a violet toxin.

Loly’s ecstasy was disrupted by a pleading voice.

“Loly…” Menoly barely squeezed out a whimper, the barrier forcing her into a curling position. “Please…”

Loly’s expression contorted with contempt. With a violent swing, she attacked the barrier with her poison-coated limb. The impact didn’t weaken the barrier but her purple poison corroded the barrier within seconds.

Menoly, unable to believe Loly’s kindness, stared in disbelief. “T-Thanks…”

Loly swung her arm again. This time, the massive limb connected to Menoly’s face and sent her crashing into a building. “Gross—”

“Sit upon the Frozen Heavens, Hyorinmaru!”

Toshiro unwillingly released his Shikai and pointed his katana at Loly. An immense Reiatsu overflowed from his Zanpakutō as three chains of ice spiraled out of the base of the blade, condensing into a thick chain. The ice chain moved through the air, absorbing moisture from the environment to grow into a massive dragon with blazing crimson eyes. The frost dragon roared at the heavens before flying down towards Loly.

“Fuck.” Loly hurriedly released Rangiku and slapped the ice dragon. Of course, with her higher Reiatsu, she easily shattered the ice dragon, but not without consequences. Her poison began to crystalize, the frost creeping along her limbs.

The ice forced her to expend Reiatsu in shattering the ice crystals. “A little brat has Shikai.”

“I’m not a brat,” he growled. “Rangiku-sensei, let’s fight her together.”

Rangiku’s Shihakusho was half-melted and her skin singed by the poison. It was pure agony. But she didn’t let her injuries slow her down. She had joined the Gotei 13 with the intention to get her childhood friend back, but she ended up becoming a responsible Shinigami.

Giving her life to duty wasn’t something she frowned at.

“Okay, let’s end this pathetic worm.”

…

Nanao, meanwhile, aimed an arm at Loly, whispering a chant under her breath.

“It’s getting boring for you, isn’t it?” Ggio asked, yawning. “I’ll join too. Miss Vice-Captain, I apologize for killing you.”

Cold shiver went down Nanao’s spine — Ggio was already behind her, his left leg raised over her head. In a fit of panic, Nanao raised her hand and whispered a chant under her breath.

“Seki.”

Ggio smirked and brought his leg down, unbothered by the tiny orb of energy floating above Nanao’s back of hand. As soon as his leg touched the orb, the counterforce of the spell sent him reeling back into a wall.

“Hahaha, impressive. You’re very impressive.”

“I don’t feel happy with your praise…” Nanao whispered, feeling sweat cover her face. “What do Arrancars want from attacking students?”

“You’ll know soon. In the meantime, enjoy your death at the hands of Ggio Vega, the #8 Espada.”

Ggio once again vanished. Nanao didn’t slow down this time and utilized Shunpo to stay away from him while muttering chants to a Kidō spell.

Whirling to face her opponent, she thrust her hand forward. “Hadō #31. Shakkahō!”

A blazing orb of crimson energy erupted from her palm, hurtling towards Ggio. Even a Hado spell in the thirties had highly destructive power in the hands of Nanao. Ggio could’ve easily dodged the flame projectile but he casually deflected the flame ball with his bare hands. The intense flames barely singed the back of his hand.

“Anything else you want to try, Vice-Captain?”

Nanao’s heart pounded. Her repertoire of destructive Hadō spells was severely limited by the seal, and Shakkahō was her most efficient option. There was nothing else she could do to harm her opponent. She had only ever been in battles with Hollows far weaker than her. Fighting an opponent of such strength left her feeling overwhelmed.

“You’re not amusing me anymore, Miss Vice-Captain. Well, I should end this now.”

He rushed at Nanao with his peak speed. Nanao couldn’t even register his movement as he arrived before her. He seized her throat and ruthlessly flung her into the wall. He continued his onslaught, relentlessly throwing, kicking, and punching her through the air. She crossed her arms in defense, which did nothing to stop him.

She was no match to a peak-Adjuchas Arrancar in her peak form, much less with a seal limiting her strength.

Meanwhile, Rangiku and Toshiro were engaged in a stalemate battle with Loly. Her enormous centipede arms swept in wide, venomous arcs, creating a hazardous barrier of poison. They couldn’t approach her but she couldn’t chase them either.

On the sidelines, Renji watched the brutal scene unfold, rooted to the spot in shock. His brush with death had left him momentarily incapacitated, his mind racing to find a way to intervene and save Nanao from Ggio’s relentless attack.

He couldn’t think of any way.

…

On the other side of the city.

Kazuya stared at Ulquiorra, whose Reiatsu was terrifyingly close in nature to his own Hollow Reiatsu. “Momo, go back to the flower shop. Tell them to send the masked reinforcements to the field trip site immediately.”

He wouldn’t be able to help Rangiku and others in time. After all, his Shikai wasn’t offensive enough to destroy Ulquiorra, and revealing Nami’s flames risked exposing his Hollow side. He wasn’t sure that Aizen wouldn’t sense Nami’s Hollow origin through her flames.

Momo stared at him briefly before nodding her head, fully following her earlier vow of always obeying his command. “Kazuya-kun, don’t get hurt…”

He couldn’t help but smile. “Who do you think you are talking to?”

Momo giggled and made a beeline for Sung-Sun’s flower shop, unaware of the true purpose behind her actions.

Ulquiorra trailed Momo with his gaze but didn’t intervene. His objective was Kazuya, not Momo. “I do hope you put up a fight comparable to your confidence.”

“I absolutely will, my Arrancar friend.” Kazuya chuckled and drew his Zanpakutō. “Weave, Shinku-no-Tsubasa.”

…

In a dimly lit room, Aizen sat before a bank of screens, each one displaying a different scene of the unfolding chaos.

“He wasn’t lying about seizing Zanpakutō Spirits,” Gin said. “A frightening Zanpakutō indeed.”

“Hmmm.” Aizen’s gaze, however, was drawn not to the high-stakes duel between Kazuya and Ulquiorra, but to a more subtle, yet equally compelling confrontation. On one of the screens, a black cat tinkered with the barrier around the power plant zone as if she was a human. It reminded Aizen of a certain amusing fact about the Shihōin Clan’s bloodline, which sounded rubbish at the time he read it.

“Shihōin’s descendants can assume the form of an animal. It has only happened two times in the past.” [1]

Gin pointed at the black cat on the screen. “Yoruichi Shihōin.”

“Interesting…”

After a few moments, Yoruichi brought down the barrier setup by Tosen.

Aizen threw one leg over the other and smirked. “The final spectacle will start.”

…

[#1: Kubo confirmed it in a Q&A.

Q: I want to know why Yoruichi can take the form of a black cat. One way of interpreting things is that it is some sort of binding that changes her from her humanoid form to that of a black cat, but it seems to be fundamentally different from Hado and Bakudo. Is it a power not related to Kido? Or does it have to do with Kisuke's technology?

A: It's due to the Shihouin bloodline. Sometimes the Shihouin clan breeds people that can assume the form of an animal.]