BLEACH: DRINKING MAKES ME STRONGER

 Buzz!

A strange reiryoku pulse echoed as arcane symbols—part of a high-grade Kidō incantation—flared to life across the translucent barrier.

The cursed script raced across its surface, quickly stabilizing the previously trembling boundary.

Though muffled collisions still thundered incessantly from outside, the once-fragile barrier no longer seemed ready to shatter at any moment.

The panicked candidates inside gradually regained their composure.

Even from within the safety of the barrier, they couldn't hide their astonishment as they watched a storm of Asauchi—the unnamed Zanpakutō—crash against the walls like a wave of madness.

Some of these blades radiated a strange aura, almost as if they'd partially awakened, exuding power that rivaled the earliest stages of Shikai.

Their fierce momentum, the suggestion of will, and the ominous resonance stirred envy—and fear.

"Such powerful Asauchi... but none of them are ours," a candidate whispered bitterly.

Those who had failed to attune with any Zanpakutō clenched their fists.

Still, seeing Shiba Kuroba—in the center of the chaos, they couldn't help but smirk.

If he was dragged down into failure like them, then their own humiliation wouldn't sting as much. Misery, after all, loved company.

Besides, with the barrier reinforced using Captain-class Kidō, they were confident: no more Asauchi would breach through, no matter how frenzied the spiritual storm became.

But they underestimated what they were witnessing.

That near breach had triggered alarms far beyond the Academy.

In the First Division barracks of the Gotei 13...

Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni, the Captain-Commander, opened his eyes slowly. His ancient face, usually impassive as stone, betrayed a faint twitch.

"Chōjirō... What's happening in the narrow space?" he asked quietly.

Sasakibe Chōjirō, his loyal lieutenant and master of high-level Kidō, bowed deeply.

"There was a violent disturbance within the Zanpakutō resonance chamber. A large number of Asauchi rioted. Witnesses report that several even attempted to breach the barrier on their own."

Of course, Yamamoto already knew. The chamber had been constructed by his own hands centuries ago, with spiritual monitoring seals that fed directly into his perception.

But he needed Chōjirō to confirm it with field intel before making his next move.

"I see," Yamamoto murmured, eyes closed once more. "That seal barrier... Even with its full strength activated, it shouldn't be reacting like this."

A pause.

"Go. Investigate. If the Zero Division gets wind of instability in the resonance space, Ōetsu Nimaiya will make demands again."

Even Yamamoto showed discomfort at the mention of the Blade God of the Zero Division, who had created the Asauchi.

"As you command," Chōjirō said, straightening. "If the barrier is truly intact, then we should be able to—"

Boom!

A suffocating spiritual pressure detonated inside the First Division office.

Chōjirō was forced back several steps, his sandals grinding across the polished wood as he raised his arm instinctively.

"Taichō?!" he exclaimed.

But Yamamoto was already standing—eyes wide. The bark-like wrinkles of his face creased with genuine alarm.

"That... wasn't just a spike of reiatsu. Something just resonated inside the chamber—on a level I haven't felt since..." He trailed off.

"Prepare the emergency displacement protocol. The barrier is about to be breached."

Without another word, Yamamoto vanished with shunpō, streaking toward the Shin'ō Academy grounds.

Simultaneously, emergency klaxons sounded in the barracks of the Gotei 13.

From the Eleventh to the Fifth Divisions, Captains bolted from their offices, all converging on the Maō Spirit Academy's resonance chamber.

Boom!

Another violent impact echoed above the frozen lake where the chamber was housed.

A towering shadow surged upward—a single, pitch-black Asauchi, fused with spiritual pressure so dense it warped the air.

It erupted like a geyser, piercing the heavens.

Dark wind spiraled around it, condensing into the form of a massive black dragon, its serpentine body formed entirely of corrupted reiatsu.

It howled silently in the void, coiling around the blade, suspended high above the frozen chamber.

And at the base of it all stood Shiba Kuroba, eyes half-lidded, reeking faintly of sake—yet completely untouched by the surrounding chaos.

The scene that blotted out the sun sent a tremor through everyone's soul.

"A Zanpakutō…? No, wait—Bankai?!"

Hinamori Momo's face turned pale with disbelief.

This overwhelming presence—it couldn't be mistaken.

It wasn't just the manifestation of spiritual pressure; this was something far beyond Shikai.

Only a fully awakened Bankai could produce such an oppressive, reality-warping phenomenon.

"But that's impossible… you need to master Shikai first… to even reach Bankai, one must materialize their Zanpakutō spirit and learn its true name. That takes years of training..."

In the entire Gotei 13, only a handful of captains and elite lieutenants had attained Bankai.

Even a prodigy would need at least a decade under ideal conditions.

Yet what they were witnessing now shattered that understanding.

A blade that should have been a mere Asauchi—a nameless template—had bypassed the normal stages of Shikai and leapt straight to full Bankai manifestation.

A massive, draconic form hovered midair, its scales dark as ink, its spiritual pressure pressing down like a mountain.

It floated in the void with terrifying majesty, as if the world itself had acknowledged its authority.

But what made the crowd shudder even more—

—was that the dragon's eyes, brimming with cunning intelligence, pierced through the barrier and locked directly onto Kuroba.

"It… it chose him?"

The words stuck in Hinamori's throat.

Suddenly—

"Burp!"

Kuroba hiccupped loudly, barely conscious.

Eyes glazed with drunken haze, he lifted one arm lazily, pawing at the air as if trying to swat away a fly.

"Whuzzat… my sword? S'my Zanpakutō gone?"

"You… you stole it, didn't you... hic... give it back!"

His slurred demand echoed absurdly in the deathly silence.

Kyoraku Shunsui's face turned grave.

"No… don't say another word!"

He took a step forward, intending to silence Kuroba before things escalated further.

But it was already too late.

ROOOOOAR!

The black dragon howled, its voice cracking the sky like a celestial thunderbolt.

Spiritual energy surged in torrents as the beast coiled midair, its massive body blotting out the heavens above Shin'ō Academy.

With a violent sweep of its tail, it scattered dozens of floating Asauchi like dust in the wind.

Then, with terrifying speed, the dragon dived—

—a thousand-meter freefall aimed directly at the barrier and the drunken Kuroba beneath it.

"MOVE!" Kyoraku roared, drawing his blade, already preparing to defend.

But his instincts screamed:

The barrier won't hold.

BOOM!!!

The dragon struck like a black comet.

The protective Kekkai—woven with layers of reinforced Kidō and sealed with captain-class spells—flared violently.

The purple curse marks etched across its surface glowed as if combusting.

Cracks spiderwebbed outward in an instant.

"No way... it's shattering?!" gasped a seated officer nearby.

CRACK!

The barrier collapsed with a sharp, crystalline shatter, debris shooting out like shrapnel.

A shockwave of spiritual pressure erupted, knocking several trainees off their feet and scattering papers and dust into a storm.

The thousand-meter-long dragon surged through the breach.

Its path twisted violently—

—and with lethal precision, it zeroed in on the one person who wasn't running.

The one still drunk and swaying on his feet.

Kuroba.

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