Prologue

Dark clouds overshadowed the round city of Souls, the Seireitei, home to the Shinigami and the base of operation of the Noble families and the Gotei 13 itself.

Unlike the Rukongai, nighttime in the Seireitei was peaceful and at times quiet, while winds blew to and fro the round superstructure.

In one beautiful home, a woman sat on a small mat in her compound while gazing at the dark sky. Her beautiful dark hair was let down running on either sides of her shoulders, barely covering her bountiful chest.

Her beauty was unobscured and glowed even more in the moonlight, as she drank from a goblet in her hand while moongazing. To her left was a long katana gently resting, awaiting the day it would once be challenged by a worthy foe.

Suddenly, her brows furrowed and she turned her head to her left only to witness one of the rarest phenomenon in the world, something even someone as old as her rarely saw.

The space to her left suddenly folded and shattered like mirrors, as glass like shards burst off. The fraying of dimensional gap evident by the chiming sounds and the purplish rift in space, from which a figure slowly walked out.

Clad in an all black haori, with an Asauchi strapped to his waist, a masked man walked out of the rift in space, completely unharmed, as his pure violet irises glared towards the woman.

The darkness obscured the blood that stained his robes and hair, however the woman, with her years of killing and bloodshed sensed the immense killing intent radiating off the figure and gently arose, grabbing her blade without hesitation.

"Who are you?"

Her voice, as melodious as birds chirping, sounded out, however the intruder merely got into a stance, crouching low, with one hand on the handle of his blade, and the other being held upwards.

Being a former assassin herself, she understood what his gesture represented- a duel to the death. Something she had longed for, a gratifying battle, however she made sure not to raise her hopes. She didn't know if he would turn out like all the others before him, dying to a single move.

*SWOOOSH!*

*CLANG!*

In a split second, the two of them instantly moved , like shadows, clashing their blades together in an epic battle. The intruder moved, like a ghost, his blade swift yet decisive, not wasting a single stroke and going directly for the kill, while the woman tried her best to counter his moves, using different types of sword styles, yet even she who held the title of a Yachiru, couldn't hope to stop the man's blade.

Executing multiple slashes to the left, and right in a quick succession he spotted an opening and moved without hesitation, and by increasing his speed to untold levels, he executed a slash in double succession.

*SLASH!*

The sound of a blade ripping through flesh resounded, as both of them separated in an instant, and moved to opposite sides, followed by an immense shockwave which instantly ripped through multiple buildings.

The woman suddenly coughed out blood, as a long gash appeared from her shoulder to her abdomen, while the man immediately sheathed his blade.

'He's fast. His zanjutsu is unlike anything I've ever seen before. To think a day would eventually come when I'd lose in a battle of technique..'

The woman coughed more blood, however the wound on her chest instantly healed itself, much to the surprise of the man, as a ln ecstatic smile formed on her face.

Without hesitation or emotion, the man leapt into the air, unsheathed his blade and descended with an overhead slash.

*BANG!*

The woman instantly leapt out of the way, and instantly rushed towards him, moving at near Mach speed. Planning on catching him off guard, she began unleashing multiple slashes in quick succession, each stroke, stirring huge winds, proof of the immense strength behind her attacks, however the man was even faster.

Parrying all her attacks with the littlest effort he leaned in, sheathed his sword, and then exploded forth with a strike that slashed into her body and sent her flying.

While, Unohana Retsu of the 4th Division was known to be one of the physically strongest Captains, he believed in his own techniques and his speed which was the main deciding factor in most of his battles with the Captains he had killed previously.

Watching her smash into the ground, he slowly sheathed his blade and turned around, about to leave, when he stopped in his tracks.

"To this day I've found someone who is stronger than me and worthy of the title of Kenpachi, however for the first time in my life, Ive been completely outclassed in a sword battle...by you."

She, who was supposed to be dead suddenly spoke with a laugh, healing all her wounds in an instant, while in her mind, the image of a young boy with a tattered blade from a long time ago was slowly being replaced by this mysterious masked figure.

"There is therefore no need for me to hold back anything. Do not hold back against me...."

"Bankai...."

She grabbed her blade, above the blade guard and pulled it out of her hand, and as she did so, the blade seemingly morphed into sticky crimson blood.

With her head lowered, drops of blood dripped down the blade and as they reached the ground they slowly sizzled out and evaporated.

"Minazuki...."

Unleashing the most powerful move in her arsenal, she slowly got into a stance and readied herself.

Watching her action intently, the man slowly unsheathed his blade and reversed his grip.

"From the depths of the abyss...

Mugenjin..."

His voice, calm, sounded out, as the phenomenon occured once more.

Space folded around his body, as the sheer amount of reiatsu off his body seemed to fray dimensional gaps, shattering space like mirrors.

A forbidden shikai Vs a powerful bankai.

They were about to make their move when a figure, like a meteor smashed into the ground in between them. The power and heat from the flames that covered his body, melting the ground below his feet.

"We finally meet, Battosai...."

The newcomer, an old man dressed in a white haori over black robes spoke as his eyes rested on the young man whom space seemed to obey.

Slowly sheathing his blade, the man addressed as Battosai turned around and was about to leave when he halted, sensing multiple figures rapidly appear, and surround him.

"There's nowhere to run Battosai. Today you will pay for the sins you have committed against the Seireitei and Gotei 13.."

The old man spoke, as the flames on his body increased in intensity with every word. Soon he was covered in a flaming tornado, which body in the center of it all.

"Tsk. What about the sins the Gotei 13 has committed against me? Who will pay for that?!"

Sensing the reiatsu of the multiple figures surrounding him, he knew they were no ordinary Shinigami based on the sheer pressure their reiatsu gave off, and were mostly Captains and Vices.

At that point, he knew his assassination of Retsu Unohana of the 4th division would no longer be possible and he had to leave, however the Captain Commandant's words fueled his wrath, and in that moment, the Hitokiri Battosai, known for his calmness and stoicism made a rash decision.

"Humph!!"

*BANG!*

The old man coldly harrumphed and blasted towards the Battosai like a meteor. In a split second, both of them clashed. A shockwave erupted from the point of collision, as both fighters pressed on with unparalleled fierceness. While the Captain Commandant outclassed the Battosai in physical strength much like Unohana, the Battosai's unpredictable movement and speed, reaction time and overall agility completely outclassed both of them.

*KYAAAAA!!*

The old man roared out, as a swirl of flames encapsulated his blade. With a massive swing, an extreme force erupted, along with a burst of flames that totally razed everything within a 2km radius to the ground.

At the incoming attack, the Battosai crouched low, before he executed a upward swing with his right hand holding the blade. Instantly the flames immediately parted, as if a rift had been torn in between space itself.

'This technique, could it be?....'

Furrowing his eyebrows as he watched the Battosai execute his counter, Yamamoto instantly went in for a surprise attack, planning on catching him off guard and finishing everything in one move.

Meanwhile, the Captains and Vices watched the battle play out with their hands gripping their zanpakutou immensely.

"The criminal seems to be holding his own even against the old man. Not bad at all.."

One Captain, a man with long and neatly combed blonde hair that reached his neck spoke, with a smirk, as he watched the battle unfold.

"He looks completely unaffected by the Captain Commandant's flames, how is that possible?"

Another Captain, a young handsome man with long ash hair spoke with a hand on his chin, while he assessed the battle.

"Doesn't matter, Jushiro, Yama is holding back majority of his strength in order not to accidentally kill us.."

One Captain who had draped in a pink robe over his white haori spoke. His dark curly hair was tied behind him, as a small smile formed on his face.

Meanwhile, behind the Captain with the nearly combed long blonde hair, a tall handsome man with dark brown hair wearing spectacles looked towards another Captain with messy blonde hair who seemed to be completely engrossed in battle, with a smile.

'I guess I'm not the only one who can see through the secrets of this so called Battosai..'

The man in the glasses thought before he turned his gaze back to the battle.

"Oi, what is going on. How the hell is this guy managing to withstand the flames of old man Yama?"

A dark skinned beautiful woman with purple hair dressed in a black suit that left her arms back bare underneath her Captain's haori, poked the messy blonde haired Captain in the waist and asked.

"He seems to be manipulating space in some sort, based on the revolving dimensional shards around his body. But even with that, I don't know how he is remain completely unaffected.."

The messy blonde haired Captain spoke with a hand on his chin, and a serious expression.

"Space manipulation? Could it be his Zanpakuto's ability? Isn't that like forbidden?" She asked, however the man paid her no attention.

Meanwhile, on the battlefield, the battle between the Battosai and the old man reached a stalemate, as both of them separated and stood several meters away from each other.

"There's only been one man who was able to match me step for step and outclass me in a sword battle.....

Burn all creation to ashes: Ryujin Jakka!!!"

The old man eyes hardened, as he spoke, and in that moment, a swirl of flames burst out of his body with increasing intensity.

He instantly moved, having gained a speed boost, reached Battosai in an instant and slashed out, accompanied by blazing flames that seemed to ignite the air around him.

Being almost caught off guard, the Battosai suddenly disappeared from his position, completely shocking everyone on the battlefield, as the old man's blade struck nothing.

Before the Captains could even begin to speculate, a figure reappeared in their midst with a drawn blade.

Without hesitation, the Captain's withdrew their blades and rushed out.

*CLANG!!*

Even with battling all the Captains at once, the Battosai did not panic, he parried their attacks and unleashed his own matching them step for step.

Without hesitation, the Captain in the pink haori reached out for a sneak attack, however before his blade could even touch the Battosai, he mysteriously disappeared once more, reappeared before the long blonde haired Captain and engaged him in combat.

"Instant teleportation?"

The messy blonde haired Captain asked with furrowed brows, watching the assassin appear and disappear like a ghost, making him nearly untouchable.

Reappearing before the Captain wearing the straw hat and pink haori, the Battosai readied himself in a stance, crouching low and sheathing his blade.

"Come on, we don't need to fight, now do we?"

"Katen Kyokotsu..."

With a wry smile on his face, he unsheathed his blade and instantly transformed into shikai state, revealing two uniquely shaped blades.

*SWOOSH!*

Taking a simple step forward, the Battosai moved like the wind, leaned in, unsheathed his blade and unleashed a powerful strike backed by nearly all of his strength.

Bracing himself to block the attack, the Captain in the straw hat was about to unleash his own move, when Yama reappeared before both of them in an instant and slashed out with his Ryujin Jakka, unleashing a powerful torrent of flames that swallowed the Battosai in a moment.

*BANG!*

Smashing hard into the ground, a crater formed below his body, however the assassin was unrelenting. He slowly arose from the ground only to see blood dripping from a long gash on his chest and his blade shattered.

Gripping his shattered blade tightly, the Battosai dropped to his knees, as tears pooled within his eyes, mixing with the blood that dripped down from the wound on his body.

"A remarkable talent. Outside shikai and Bankai, almost no one present could hope to match you in terms of skill. Not even me. However, your death was decided the moment you decided to go down this path..."

Yamamoto's steps were steady,.as the intensity of the flames on his body increased with each passing second, melting the ground beneath his feet and igniting the air around him.

"I will never forgive the soul society for what it has taken away from me.."

The assassin finally uttered, this time laced with grief and pain.

Tightly clenching his teeth, he gripped the shattered blade, poured an immense amount of reiryoku within it and instantly slashed out to his left, fraying a dimensional gap and creating a rift in space.

In a last ditch effort to escape, the Battosai hurled his injured body into the rift, however Yama moved in an instant. Summoning nearly all the power of Ryujin Jakka at his disposal, he slashed out with his blade, sending out a massive burst of flames, that was almost that of the surface of sun.

About a few inches away from the rift, Battosai was immediately swallowed by the attack, before he disappeared together with it into the rift.

As the gap in space slowly repaired itself, all the Captains and Vices stood there with furrowed brows, their mind burdened with thoughts.

If in a stroke of fate the Battosai somehow managed to survive that and should return would any of them be able to stop him?

Aside the fact that it had been revealed that he was manipulating space to a degree, they knew nothing else about his abilities.

What was even shocking was that even the Captain Commandant had mentioned that without shikai or bankai, none of them could stand a chance against him.

It was clearly evident, seeing as how he managed to go toe to toe with him and even wound Unohana, the first Kenpachi to such a degree. Although it would've been a different case if she had completely manifested her bankai in the battle.

"A remarkable talent indeed..."

The messy blonde haired Captain, scratched his head with a small smile and commented.

"I think we're all overreacting here. We all know for a fact that none of us can take that attack from the Captain Commandant head on without dying.."

The other blonde haired Captain chipped in his thoughts with a sarcastic smile, before waving his hand and disappearing from the scene.

Soon, the remaining Captains slowly left on their own, one after the other, leaving behind only Yamamoto and Unohana standing in the destroyed courtyard.

"You didn't come to truly kill him, did you?"

As the old man slowly sheathed his blade, Unohana walked to her goblet, picked it up and drank from it with a sigh.

"If I hadn't come, you would've killed him eventually..."

The old man spoke and took a deep breath, relaxing his taut shoulders. All of a sudden, he resembled an exhausted old man rather than the headstrong Captain of the Gotei 13.

"To think you'd let the infamous Hitokiri Battosai, go even after his crimes against the Seireitei. It seems even you have changed, old friend.."

Unohana drank from her goblet and looked to the moon with a small smile.

"My debt to that person is greater.."

The old man spoke and began to walk away. His back, lonely in the darkness.

"What if he comes back? The boy.."

Unohana asked and the old man halted for a moment.

"If he knows what is good for him, he'll stay out of the Seireitei. Otherwise, I won't hold back the next time.."

Leaving these words behind, the old man disappeared leaving his old friend standing in her destroyed courtyard alone in the moonlight.

****

Meanwhile in the outskirts of the Rukongai, near a thick bush, a middle aged man walked barefooted to his destination, carrying on his back a forgers hammer with a stern expression on his face towards a small hut.

However in a moment, he halted and turned around with furrowed brows. In that moment, space shattered like mirrors as dimensions folded rending and ripping apart, as a massive wave of reiryoku exploded forth sending him flying.

Right then, a charred figure fell out of the rift in space, smashing into the ground as a crater formed beneath his body.

"What the h-.."

Rubbing his head in annoyance, the man suddenly noticed the figure on the ground and rushed to him ignoring the shattered space which wws raoiy restoring itself.

"No way..."

Pulling of the mask on his slightly charred face, the man reeled in shock, as his eyes widened seeing a familiar face in such an injured state.

A/N: You know what it is👌🤙. Back with another banger. Stay tuned for more. Unlike my other fanfics😅👀, I plan to hit 200 chapters with this. Let'sotjvate each other as we go along this thrilling journey together.