Bleach: The Path to Transcendence

Shiba Isshin, severely wounded by Aizen Sōsuke's attack, was now in a precarious situation, barely able to fend off the Hollow's relentless assault.

“Crackle!”

Between the Bull Head Hollow's horns, a Cero was once again taking shape, and the terrifying wave of spiritual pressure washed over him once more. Shiba Isshin's expression turned grim as he wiped away the blood constantly flowing from his back, then smeared the blood-soaked hand across his mouth.

“Huff!”

Immediately after, Shiba Isshin abruptly opened his mouth and spat out an intensely scorching flame. The searing flames, formed from powerful spiritual pressure, carried terrifying heat as they swept towards the encroaching Bull Head Hollow, forcing it back.

Taking advantage of this opening, Shiba Isshin quickly widened the distance between himself and the Bull Head Hollow, finally gaining a brief respite.

“Boom!”

Unable to evade in time, the Bull Head Hollow was struck head-on by the devastating flames. Under the force of the powerful impact, its bladed right arm was directly shattered by the intense fire, and the severed limb scattered in all directions along with sparks.

“Roar!”

The Bull Head Hollow let out a deafening roar of rage. Enraged, it immediately used Sonido, charging towards Shiba Isshin at an extreme speed.

“Crackle!”

In the blink of an eye, the Bull Head Hollow was right in front of Shiba Isshin, a purple-black Cero instantly forming and aiming directly at Shiba Isshin's face, ready to fire.

At this critical moment, an azure-blue Heilig Pfeil, like a shooting star, pierced the sky and shot towards the Bull Head Hollow's forehead.

“Bang!”

With a crisp sound, the azure-blue Heilig Pfeil accurately struck the Bull Head Hollow's forehead.

In an instant, the Cero about to be fired was interrupted, exploding between the Bull Head Hollow's horns, the powerful blast distorting the surrounding air.

“Aizen-sama, should I eliminate this unplanned element?”

To this, Aizen simply smiled, a smile with a hint of mystery and unpredictability:

“There's no need! The most interesting part of an experiment is precisely these uncertain factors!”

In his view, although the current situation had exceeded his original control, it had also become full of unknown variables and surprises, and these variables might be the key to this experiment heading in a new direction.

“Roar!”

Seeing its Cero interrupted once again, the Bull Head Hollow let out a deafening, furious roar.

Seemingly completely enraged, it abandoned Shiba Isshin and suddenly turned around, charging madly towards Kurosaki Masaki below.

Kurosaki Masaki immediately drew her Heilig Bogen, instantly firing dozens of Heilig Pfeil, but all were perfectly dodged by White.

Seeing this, Kurosaki Masaki simply gave up on attacking, directly dispelling the Reishi bow and simply standing there.

During this time, she didn't use Hirenkyaku to evade, just standing there, waiting for the Bull Head Hollow's attack. She even taunted the Bull Head Hollow with a beckoning gesture.

“Whoosh!”

The Bull Head Hollow didn't care about anything, using Sonido to reach Kurosaki Masaki in front of her. Opening its huge mouth, it viciously bit towards her shoulder!

However, just as its teeth touched Kurosaki Masaki's shoulder, a faint blue ripple suddenly flashed. No matter how frantically the Bull Head Hollow tore at her, it could not break through this layer of defense.

“Good, got you!”

A glint flashed in Kurosaki Masaki's eyes as she looked at the Bull Head Hollow, which was frantically biting her. She actually deactivated her Blut Vene defense!

Allowing the Bull Head Hollow to gnaw at her shoulder, instantly, threads of blood seeped through her sailor uniform, dripping from her shoulder.

Kurosaki Masaki didn't care, pressing down on the Bull Head Hollow's head with her right hand, while simultaneously using Blut Arterie to amplify the power of the Heilig Pfeil.

In an instant, a miniature Heilig Pfeil instantly formed between her left fingers, shooting towards the Bull Head Hollow's head with a sharp aura.

“Bang!”

With a loud bang, the Bull Head Hollow's head was directly blown apart by the arrow, and the Bull Head Hollow, with only half a head remaining, fell powerlessly to the ground.

But just then, something strange happened.

The pulsating tumor that was originally blocking the Bull Head Hollow's heart absorbed all of the Bull Head Hollow's spiritual pressure, and then began to swell, about to explode!

“Not good, there's no time to switch Blut Arterie to Blut Vene!”

Kurosaki Masaki was shocked, a hint of panic on her face. In the moment she was stunned, Shiba Isshin, enduring the pain from his injuries, struggled to get up from the ground.

“Bakudō Number Eighty-One—Dankū!”

Shiba Isshin shouted.

In an instant, a transparent barrier slowly rose in front of Kurosaki Masaki, blocking her path.

Immediately after, the tumor inside the Bull Head Hollow exploded, the powerful impact spreading wildly in all directions.

And the Dankū barrier successfully blocked all of this terrifying self-destruction, protecting Kurosaki Masaki's safety.

However, Shiba Isshin himself was blasted away by this terrifying explosion.

On the top of another building, Ishida Ryūken had been quietly watching the battle. Seeing that Kurosaki Masaki was safe, he breathed a sigh of relief and quietly left with Katagiri Kanae.

Everyone thought the battle was over, but an accident quietly occurred. After the Bull Head Hollow self-destructed, a strand of special spiritual pressure was absorbed into Kurosaki Masaki's body. As soon as this spiritual pressure entered her body, it produced a subtle reaction with her own power.

Tōsen, who was observing all of this from the shadows, looked dejected. He frowned, his tone somewhat disappointed:

“It was supposed to be a proper Shinigami Hollowfication experiment, how did it turn into a Quincy Hollowfication experiment!”

In his opinion, this completely deviated from the original plan, and the experiment had failed.

But Aizen Sōsuke didn't think so. His eyes flashed with a strange light, and the corners of his mouth turned up:

“That Hollow was created by me using a Shinigami soul, black on the outside but pure white on the inside, so I named it White. I never thought that this Hollow created with a Shinigami soul would actually choose a Quincy, the complete opposite of itself, as its host, in order to escape its fate as a test subject? How very interesting!”