8-1 An Enemy Unsuited to Soul Reapers

Roar!

Above you!

Damn it!

Gahhhh!

He went that way! There he is!

Urg...

Gahhhh!

What the hell?

Well done, Kazeshini. You're getting good at cleaning up these messes.

............

What's the matter?

Nothing. Everything's fine.

Sorry we're late, Shuhei.

What? Is the fight over already?

It happens all the time. Monkey's big butt always slows us down. She needs to stop eating so much.

What are you talking about?!

Don't worry about it. The Sword Beast didn't put up much of a fight.

Judging by their recent activity, Sword Beast appearances seem to be dwindling down.

Yeah, you're right. Looks like we've been effective. Perhaps there are only a few of them remaining.

Now that the reconstruction of the Seireitei is coming along, things are finally getting back to normal.

Yeah.

You've been eating nothing but sweets lately. Look around. I don't think it's my butt that's getting bigger.

Hey, I'm a growing boy, so that makes it all right.

Don't forget, you and I together are one. So the bottom line is, if you're still growing, so am I.

Hey.

That Sword Beast we caught. It returned back to sword form even though I never struck a fatal blow.

Are you sure?

Nice moon tonight, wouldn't you say?

No, it's too bright in my opinion.

Hey.

Hm? Now, there's something new under the moon. So, I guess you guys are buddies now?

It's only unusual in your eyes. Our masters hang out together quite often.

Heh. Yeah, whatever.

So what brings you here tonight? Or did you just come by to kiss your master's ass?

What?! You'd better watch your mouth, you big slug! You're asking for a beating!

Okay, okay. Don't get so excited.

Feh.

Hey, I thought we came here to discuss something.

The Sword Beast we worried about has appeared.

You sure about that?

Absolutely.

An incident happened right in front of me. Before I could attack, a Sword Beast was sucked dry of its spirit energy and returned to sword form.

It has to be his doing.

As we know, Sword Beasts were originally Zanpakuto that lost their masters and became wild. They each have a finite amount of spirit energy. They eventually lose their power and disappear.

Huh? Looks like they're one step away from extinction.

That's right. Except this guy is able to take spirit energy from other Zanpakuto and make it his own.

So what? I'm able to do that as well.

Yes, but what makes him both unique and troublesome is that he's one of those rare Zanpakuto who's able to surpass his master's powers.

Why is that so troublesome?

To him, his master was a nuisance from the very beginning. And now that his master has died, there's no one around to control the way he uses his power.

This isn't good. He's dangerous. Everything he comes in contact with will be stripped of its spirit energy and used to make him stronger.

With that ability, it's too big a risk for us to let Soul Reapers face him.

We're going to have to take action. And if we're successful, we'll be able to put an end to the Sword Beast hunt.

And destroying him means a grand finale for us.