Crows x Souls

"Throwing away victory for the sake of manners is a rookie mistake. Captains don't have the time to waste on that kind of thing. Don't waste your time trying to play the good guy. No matter what debts you may owe, from the instant you find yourself on the battleground, both sides are evil." — Shunsui Kyōraku. 

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[Kasumioji Compound] 

The middle of Kasumioji Compound was currently an intense heat zone, all of which were emitting from Isshin Shiba's Zanpakutō. 

While it paled in the scale of sheer destruction when compared to the Captain Commander's Ryūjin Jakka, which was both the strongest Fire-type Zanpakutō and the overall strongest Zanpakutō in the Soul Society, it still remained a sheer calamity in the hands of Isshin Shiba. 

In terms of pure destructive capabilities, among the current Captains, only the Head Captain's Ryūjin Jakka surpasses Isshin's Engetsu. 

Compared to the gentle-yet-deadly nature of Itachi's Amaterasu, which unfailingly swallowed up everything in its paths in cold silence, Isshin's Engetsu refused to remain subtle.

Burn. Burn. Burn. Until everything is left in sunders. 

Better ye beware of the maddening inferno. 

And now, both the central area of the Kasumioji and the twin Bounts bore witness to what was once a jovial man now wreathed in the embrace of sadistic flames. 

Only a few minutes had passed since the Captain pointed his blades at them and the only thing that kept them alive so far was their ability to draw in Reishi twice the speed of other Bounts and the near-immortal aspect they gained in being in a Reishi-filled place like the Soul Society. 

But even that was doing nothing to stop the man's calm steps. Each step he took only made their hearts pound harder. 

"B-ban, don't worry. We're going to be fine. We'll b-beat this C-captain and Master Kariya will praise us." One of the twins tried to comfort his brother, though barely, with both fighting to keep the fear far from their eyes. 

Perhaps there was strength in companionship. 

Seeing the same scene repeated in different ways had become bothersome, and Isshin had grown tired of trying and failing to talk some sense into them.

Right now, their water monster was over 25 metres tall and had a tinge of red hue inside its body, but even with the abundance of Reishi flowing from them into the monster, it didn't matter as every swing of Isshin's blade evaporated huge chunks of it. 

"Stop this farce now. You don't need to needlessly waste your lives." Isshin said, and even when knowing they were easily centuries old and possibly older than him, he spoke to them how he did unruly children.

"Y-you! Do you have any idea of the tortures we went through just because we were created out of convenience and discarded out of greater convenience?" One of the twins shouted hatefully. 

Isshin sighed despondently. It never seemed to end. "So you came here for revenge, right? I understand." Conflict was one-sided, but somehow people failed to understand the simplicity of it. 

There are no two winners in a war. The concept of truce and compromise is defined around the basis of 'acceptable loss', and even then there had to be a greater loss. 

So basically as long as you can take more while losing less means you've won. That was what these Bounts failed to understand. 

Now when faced with the fear of their loss, they lashed out in sentiments. 

"Did it not cross your mind that just as you came here to kill us, we too intend to kill you? Did it truly not cross your mind that you might die?"

The Isshin now was one that rarely anyone knew of, not even his family. While he was a genuinely caring and upright man, he also knew how to take the life of an enemy with a strike of his blade. 

"Those bottle caps, that's the core of your ability right? It after all mirrors the nature of a Shinigami."

Ban snarled, "What difference does it make?"

Isshin shook his head. They truly knew nothing. "Everything." He simply said. 

They might have been the sins of the Soul Society of the past but the moment they attacked the Seireitei, they signed a death warrant as well as signing away all past grievances. 

It might sound arrogant but that was the privilege granted to the strong. 

Engetsu trembled with anticipation, knowing what was about to come next. 

The twins, Hō and Ban, sensed the energy build-up around Isshin's blade and couldn't help but be exceedingly nervous. Even at the distance between them, they could still feel the incinerating heat welting against their skin. 

The irrational fear that had been festering inside their head took over and activated their extreme fight and flight response. 

"Die Shinigami!"

The first step. The second step. On the third step, Isshin used Shunpo to dodge the attack of the beast. 

When he was halfway to the towering monster, the Reiryoku gathering around his Zanpakutō exploded into a blinding fiery orange Reiatsu, bringing the warmth of the setting sun to this dreary place, and he made true with his strike. 

"Getsuga Tenshō!" 

The Kasumioji Compound shook violently and was bathed in the blinding light that swallowed everything. 

A few moments later of utter silence, with the light gone and the dust settled, what remained of the center of the Kasumioji Compound was a molten landscape. 

…. As for the twins, the destruction of the core of their water beast led to their quick death. 

Isshin clicked his tongue in annoyance as she surveyed the destruction his attack had done. The Kasumioji will no doubt be hounding him after this incident. 

He had no time to waste so he hurried in the direction of Rangiku's Reiatsu. When he arrived he was expecting to see the remnant of the fights still going on, but not only was there no fighting happening, every single one of the rebels, of those that aimed for the vaults, were all dead. 

He followed Rangiku's gaze towards one of the dark corners of the underground and could vaguely make out two figures. 

"I'm guessing a lot of these were your work." Isshin said, pointing at the ground littered with corpses. "Anyways, you guys should be heading back. I'll deal with the Kasumioji."

The eerily way they left made Rangiku shiver which caused her to grimace in pain from a gaping wound on her sides. 

"Take it easy. Looks nasty, probably hurts like it looks, but you'll be fine." He reassured her after a quick study of her injury. 

"W-who are they?" She rasped, gritting through the stabbing sensation that assaulted her with every twist. "Probably would have ended up worse if not for their timely arrival."

Isshin shook his head. "There was no timely arrival. They've been here since we set foot inside Kasumioji."

'Their mission should have been ensuring nothing happens to those objects.' Isshin thought briefly before shaking his head. "Hurry up and take the others with you."

…..

[Seireitei, Northern Gate]

Shunsui and Sawatari's fight was a needlessly stretching one in that it involved both individuals who were just too good at avoiding attacks. 

Be that as it may, it was clear that the old man atop the whale was not Shinsui's match and even Sawatari could realize that plain fact after his Doll was wounded numerous times. 

It was somewhat sad that this was all they amounted to. While their Dolls were diverse, the fact that they were nothing except big banks of energy for their Doll was honestly arid. 

The only thing Shunsui had to be wary of was the expulsion of spacial torrents from the whale's mouth. 

The Bounts had harbored dreams of revenge against the Seireitei for over a thousand years past and when finally blessed with power above their dreams, they had all been assured that a thousand years of grief and suffering will be repaid upon their return to Soul Society. 

They had been ignorant. Arrogant in their newfound strength that they conveniently forgot that their enemy too had a thousand years. 

They had no measure of the Shinigami strength, solely relying on the fact that they could heal and empower themselves in the Reishi-filled environment of the Soul Society. 

Not only had the rebellion been quelled in its steps before they could make any important use of it, but now they were stranded alone in the Gotei 13 and surrounded by Captains on each side. 

They had allowed themselves to get drunk in the intoxication of power only to be met with a harsh reality that even the strength they were so proud of was subjective. 

"Damn you! Damn you! Damn you, Shinigami!" Sawatari raged with a bitter heart. "You are the crux of our creation, and yet the bane of our existence!"

Sawatari's body was trembling in rage and exertion as he drew in more Reishi from the surroundings and pushed them all through to Baura, his Doll. 

The tank of power stimulated Baura's abilities that the swirling void in his slightly ajar mouth started leaking out. 

"BAURA! SWALLOW AL–" 

"You had one thing wrong from the start. We never said that our actions were the right ones. We only did it out of necessity and convenience."

Sawatari coughed blood and looked down to see two completely black scimitars stabbing him through his shadow. 

"Kageoni."

Sawatari tried calling out to Baura but lost the last light in his eyes when he saw a blade of lightning piercing through from under its mouth. 

"I d-don't w-w-want to d-die." Were Sawatari's last words before disintegrating into Reishi particles. 

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