Cutting Deeper Than a Blade

Ichigo dodged again and again as pillars of fire burst from the ground beneath him.

The attack followed his movements with unsettling precision. No matter where he stepped, another pillar rose under his feet a heartbeat later.

Once Ichigo understood the pattern, he flashed upward.

If the fire had to rise from the ground, then it could not reach him in midair.

Amagai had already predicted that.

The moment Ichigo appeared above him, Amagai reached the sky first. Raika Goen Kaku gathered a massive fireball and hurled it straight at Ichigo.

The idea was sound.

The execution was too slow.

Raika Goen Kaku's size dragged at Amagai's mobility. His strength ranked high even among captains, but against Ichigo's speed, he was still a step behind.

Even with his own oversized white blade in hand, Ichigo moved far faster than Amagai expected. He slipped past the fireball with Shunpo and glanced back.

"Captain Amagai, that was kind of insulting. Did you really think a fireball like that would hit me?"

Amagai's expression darkened.

Even after sealing Ichigo's Soul Reaper power, this boy was still difficult to handle. Worse, the reiatsu now leaking from him felt less like a Soul Reaper and more like an Adjuchas-class Hollow he might have met in Hueco Mundo.

The tactic had exposed Amagai's weakness.

Ichigo took advantage of his superior mobility and turned the fight into a hit-and-run assault. He slashed once and withdrew, then attacked from another angle. The huge white blade flipped and spun in his hands as if it weighed nothing.

Amagai blocked as best he could, but his speed could not match Ichigo's. When he finally caught the blade, Ichigo's foot slammed into his stomach.

Amagai managed to put his arm in the way, but the kick drove his own hand into his gut and launched him into the wreckage of the Squad One building.

He coughed hard. If he had failed to guard in time, that kick might have ruptured something important.

This could not continue.

Amagai forced his reiatsu higher and poured everything into Raika Goen Kaku.

The massive blade spun wildly before he plunged it into the ground again.

"Raika Ryuga!"

This was different from the tracking pillars before.

Countless pillars of flame formed a crossing web around Ichigo, closing him in from every direction. For an instant, it looked almost like the cage of Senbonzakura that Byakuya had once used against him.

"Explode!"

The flame pillars detonated.

Amagai stared into the smoke, breathing hard. The Bakkoto gave him an advantage, but the strain of using Raika Goen Kaku at this level was enormous. His Bankai had power, but its shape was not refined enough for free, fluid combat.

"That should have killed you," he growled.

Rurichiyo watched the smoke with fear in her eyes.

Rukia placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Relax. You cannot sense reiatsu, so you cannot feel it, but Ichigo's pressure has not weakened at all."

The smoke cleared.

Ichigo stood at the center of the blast with only a few scorched marks on his shihakusho.

He was unharmed.

Amagai stared.

"Impossible."

Fighting Ichigo was enough to make a person doubt reality. The boy kept answering every attack with some strange new method, and now he had taken Raika Ryuga head-on without suffering any damage.

"The pillars spread out too much," Ichigo said, brushing soot from his sleeve. "They blocked my routes, but that also weakened each strike. An attack like that cannot even pierce my shihakusho."

Amagai's expression turned colder.

Ichigo did not give him time to recover.

He attacked again, circling Amagai like a spinning blade. This time, he offered no room to counter. Strike after strike drove Amagai into defense, and Amagai quickly realized every slash was aimed at his right arm.

Ichigo was targeting the Bakkoto.

If that weapon broke, both Ichigo's Soul Reaper power and Yamamoto's would return.

Amagai protected it even when doing so meant taking hits elsewhere. The pressure of constant defense began to wear on him, and fury pushed him to draw more power from the Bakkoto.

"Stop!" Ichigo shouted. "Keep using that thing and it will devour you."

Amagai's mind did not break.

He laughed harshly instead.

"You underestimate me, Ichigo Kurosaki. I am nothing like those people. As a captain-class Soul Reaper, I can control the Bakkoto perfectly. Even if it tries to devour me, I can suppress it."

Ichigo relaxed a little.

At least Amagai was still in control of himself. Yamamoto clearly knew more than he was saying, and Ichigo did not want Amagai dying before the whole truth came out.

Amagai fired three fireballs in quick succession.

This time, Ichigo did not dodge.

"Getsuga Tensho!"

A massive black crescent tore through the air. The fireballs struck it and vanished into it without slowing its momentum.

The black Getsuga was too fast for Amagai to avoid with Raika Goen Kaku weighing him down. He had no choice but to meet it head-on.

"Raika Goen!"

He focused all his remaining spiritual power into his Zanpakuto. Molten fire battered the Getsuga until the black crescent finally broke apart.

Amagai gasped for breath and searched for Ichigo through the aftermath.

Then his eyes widened.

Ichigo had already reached him.

There was a cold smile on his face.

He did not release another Getsuga at once. Instead, he slashed down with the white blade. Amagai felt a moment of relief. A direct cut, at least, was something he could still react to.

He caught the blade with Raika Goen Kaku.

For an instant, he thought the previous attack had drained Ichigo too.

That instant was enough.

Ichigo pressed Raika Goen Kaku down. Black reiatsu gathered along his blade again.

A point-blank Getsuga Tensho.

There was nowhere to dodge.

Amagai had no choice but to raise the Bakkoto on his right arm and take the strike.

The explosion swallowed him.

Ichigo moved out of the smoke with Shunpo and lowered his sword.

"No need to hide. I controlled the power. You are not dead. Come out."

Everyone looked into the smoke.

Amagai still stood there, panting, but the Bakkoto on his right arm had split apart. Its sealing power vanished with it, and Raika Goen Kaku collapsed back into an Asauchi.

Amagai gripped the plain blade and turned toward Yamamoto with bloodshot eyes.

He knew he could no longer kill the Head Captain.

But the grudge for his father's death was not something a son could simply abandon.

"Yamamoto Genryusai!"

His shout was hoarse and furious.

By then, the other captains had arrived at the ruins of Squad One. The explosion had not been subtle; any fool would know something had happened here.

Amagai ignored every stare and charged with the last of his strength.

Even if he could not kill Yamamoto, he would die on the road to revenge.

No one present believed he could wound the Head Captain.

Yet Yamamoto did not move.

He stood still and allowed Amagai's Asauchi to pierce his body.

Shock swept through the gathered Soul Reapers.

Shunsui and Ukitake drew their Zanpakuto at once.

"Do not interfere," Yamamoto said.

They stopped, confused.

Amagai did not understand either. When he saw such a huge opening, he tried to press the attack.

Yoruichi's voice cut across the battlefield.

"Shusuke Amagai, stop. You wanted revenge for your father, did you not? Then you chose the wrong target."

Her words struck him like thunder.

"Impossible," Amagai said. "That is impossible."

"Your father's name was Shin'etsu Kisaragi, correct?"

Amagai nodded.

"Then there is no mistake. Your father discovered that the Kasumioji Clan was secretly creating Bakkoto. He immediately reported it to his teacher and superior, Head Captain Yamamoto."

Yoruichi continued before Amagai could interrupt.

"The Head Captain approved his request to infiltrate the Kasumioji Clan and gather more evidence. At the same time, he asked Central 46 to investigate the clan."

Her expression turned cold.

"Central 46 rejected the request. Great noble families enjoy privileges that place them outside ordinary investigation. The Gotei 13 could not touch them through official channels."

The silence around them grew heavier.

"Your father refused to give up. He infiltrated the Kasumioji Clan anyway, hoping to collect evidence strong enough that Central 46 could not ignore it. Unfortunately, Shin'etsu Kisaragi was captured. They forced a Bakkoto onto him and made him kill several Soul Reaper comrades."

Amagai's grip trembled.

"In the end," Yoruichi said softly, "your father personally begged Head Captain Yamamoto to kill him. He believed that was the only way he could atone."

She took out the old records she had recovered through the Shihoin family's resources.

Everything was written there.

Amagai read the file with shaking hands, unable to believe what he was seeing.

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