Chapter 64: No More Pretending, I Am the Legendary Mobile Turret

A thousand Hollows charged, their reiatsu a suffocating wave. Sasakibe Chōjirō reached for his Zanpakutō, but Yamabuki Haruto grabbed his collar and bolted. “Fight? Are you insane?”

Even together, Chōjirō and Kazenami Haru couldn’t handle the weakest of these Hollows. “Lizard Maru, it’s now or never!” Haruto shouted. “Run like your life depends on it!”

The Giant Hollow, understanding the urgency, sprinted across the sand. But its speed faltered against flying Hollows diving from above. Haruto waved a hand. “Bakudō #39: Enkōsen!” Six light rods pinned a swooping Giant Hollow mid-air.

More descended. “You two, keep running!” Haruto barked, turning to face the onslaught. His Zanpakutō flashed with Utsusemi, leaving an afterimage as he struck, piercing a Hollow’s heart. “Hadō #63: Raikōhō!” A golden lightning bolt from his fingertip obliterated several airborne Hollows.

The Adjuchas watched, unmoving. “This Shinigami’s got skill,” one growled.

“Stronger the better—more reishi to devour,” another replied.

A line of Menos Grande opened their maws, charging Ceros. Dozens of crimson beams roared toward Haruto. “Bakudō #81: Dankū!” His barrier held, the Ceros’ combined force too weak to break through, kicking up a dust cloud.

A winged Giant Hollow lunged from behind. Before its claws reached Haruto, a massive Reiryoku Arrow—half a meter wide—crashed from above, pulverizing it. As the dust settled, Haruto stood alone, Zanpakutō in one hand, the other poised for Kidō. Five giant reishi bows hovered above, arranged in a pentagram.

“No more hiding!” Haruto declared. “I’m done pretending!” His left hand twitched, and the bows fired, their arrows like laser cannons. Hollows struck by the Reiryoku Arrows dissolved, denied reincarnation. Haruto’s reishi control, honed from Martin’s example, consumed little energy, and his reserves dwarfed the Quincy’s. These aren’t bows—they’re artillery.

The Hollow tide faltered under his bombardment. An Adjuchas squinted. “That’s no Shinigami power.”

“Don’t care,” another snarled. “These weaklings can’t touch him.”

Haruto noticed the Adjuchas holding back, using Giant Hollows to wear him down. A war of attrition? His body devoured Hueco Mundo’s dense reishi, replenishing faster than he consumed. “You think you can outlast me? You’re dead!”

“Hadō #88: Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō!” A golden-blue blast erupted, vaporizing scores of Hollows. Haruto grinned. I was wrong chasing swordsmanship. I’m a mage, a marksman. Long-range, he wielded Reiryoku Arrows and Kidō; close-range, his Zanpakutō slashed. A one-man turret, he halted the Hollow wave single-handedly.

“Enough!” a four-armed Adjuchas roared. Space vibrated, and it vanished, reappearing behind Haruto. “Sonido!” Haruto’s heart raced. Sonido’s spatial displacement outclassed Shunpo’s speed. The Adjuchas’s four arms slammed down. Haruto retreated, his reishi bows firing. The Adjuchas used Sonido again, appearing behind him.

“Your Shunpo’s too slow, Shinigami!” it taunted, clapping its hands to crush Haruto. But its palms held only cloth. Haruto’s Utsusemi left an afterimage. His blade flashed, severing the Adjuchas’s two left arms. The reishi bows fired, blasting off the other two.

“Boasting, huh?” Haruto sneered. “Look who’s under my heel.”

Flesh writhed at the Adjuchas’s wounds, regenerating its arms in seconds. Haruto cursed. Damn, Menos Grande regeneration. Before he could strike again, the Adjuchas shoved him back.

“What are you?” it demanded. “Those bows aren’t Shinigami!” Four other Adjuchas closed in, surrounding him.

Haruto assessed his odds. One Adjuchas? He’d dominate. Two? Tough, but he’d escape. Three? Risky. Five? Time to go. “Bakudō #21: Sekienton!” Crimson smoke billowed, obscuring him.

When it cleared, Haruto was gone. “He fled!” an Adjuchas roared. “Chase him!” The remaining Hollows scattered.

A hand emerged from thin air, tearing space. Haruto stepped out, grinning. “Bakudō #26: Kyokkō. Perfect for sneaky escapes. I’m a clever ghost.”