NOVEL NEXT CHAPTER 81:Depressed Zaraki Kenpachi
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There was no trace of a city left.
Only a wasteland remained — a scorched desert stretching for tens of thousands of meters, its surface fractured by craters, littered with burning meteorite fragments, the air shimmering with heat.
Naruki City… gone.
Utterly erased.
Kyoraku Shunsui stood frozen at the sight.
What happened to the city?
Who could explain where Naruki City had gone?
"Hey! Kuchiki Shiraha! Did he die already?"
The booming voice snapped Shunsui from his thoughts. Zaraki Kenpachi stepped out of the World-Transmitting Gate, massive Zanpakutō resting casually in his grip. On his shoulder sat Kusajishi Yachiru, grinning as always. The gate closed behind them, vanishing without a trace.
"Captain Zaraki, Eleventh Division, Vice-Captain Yachiru," Shiraha appeared before them in a flash of Shunpo, offering a calm smile.
"Hah! I knew you wouldn't just roll over and die. So where's that big-shot Menos Grande — the Vasto Lorde?" Zaraki tilted his blade over his shoulder, a wide grin splitting his face.
When he'd heard a captain-level threat had appeared in the World of the Living, Zaraki had been ready to rush here instantly. Only a riot in the Maggot's Nest had kept him and Shunsui tied up until now.
"Yo, Shiraha! A Jian and I came to back you up. Where's the enemy?" Yachiru hopped down, greeting him with her usual cheer before darting her gaze around, searching for anything left to fight.
"This is Naruki City, right?" Shunsui's eyes swept the ruined expanse.
"It is — or was. My battle with that Vasto Lorde leveled it." Shiraha gestured at the endless desert. "As for the Vasto Lorde… it's dead."
He kept any mention of Arrancar to himself.
"What? You killed it? You've only been stationed here for a few days. Are you certain it wasn't just an Adjuchas?" Shunsui's brow furrowed. A true Vasto Lorde's strength exceeded that of most captains. When Shiraha had last fought in Soul Society, he'd been slightly stronger than Komamura Sajin — not someone who could easily handle such a threat.
"I'm sure," Shiraha replied evenly. "If I hadn't unlocked my Shikai a few days ago, you'd be here to retrieve my corpse, not talk to me."
The Arrancar he'd fought — Grimmjow — had once been an Adjuchas, but with Aizen's evolution, his strength had rivaled any true Vasto Lorde.
"You learned Shikai?" Shunsui's eyes sharpened with interest.
"Yes. I was lucky. Otherwise, I wouldn't be standing here." Shiraha smiled faintly.
"Then let's fight!" Zaraki's grin widened. With a rough yank, he removed his eyepatch, the bells in his hair jingling as his golden Reiatsu exploded outward. He charged, blade raised high.
"Come on, A Jian! Come on, Shiraha!" Yachiru called from the sidelines, her small fists pumping in excitement.
Shunsui didn't stop him. Stroking the beard on his chin, he watched closely, eager to see the Shikai that could slay a Vasto Lorde so soon after awakening.
Yet as Zaraki closed in, something felt wrong. Shiraha didn't move, didn't draw his blade, didn't even seem to brace. And strangely, Zaraki's own speed began to drag — as if the air had thickened into syrup.
"Kuchiki Shiraha! Haven't even drawn your Zanpakutō? Are you looking down on me?" Zaraki snarled, forcing his blade forward.
"Not at all," Shiraha replied calmly. "There's simply no need."
Within a meter of Shiraha, Zaraki felt his movement grind to a crawl. His swing slowed to an agonizing pace, every motion heavy and unnatural, as if time itself resisted him.
"What did you do to me?" he roared, straining to push through.
Shunsui's eyes narrowed. "A space-based Shikai…?"
He knew Zaraki's raw strength better than most. For Shiraha's ability to restrain him so completely — without even touching him — was nothing short of terrifying.
"Come on, A Jian!" Yachiru shouted again, bouncing in place.
"I've done nothing except release my Zanpakutō," Shiraha said with a faint shrug.
"Ha! Now this is exciting!" Zaraki's grin turned feral. He vanished in a blur, reappearing from every angle, testing Shiraha's defenses again and again.
But no matter the approach, each time he breached that one-meter radius, his body slowed to a crawl.
After hundreds of attempts, the truth was unavoidable. He couldn't even reach Shiraha.
The gleam in Zaraki's eyes dulled. For once, battlelust gave way to frustration.
How could he fight an opponent he couldn't touch?
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