Accompanied by the image of Byakuya Kuchiki through Tendo Pain, the figure knelt and pressed both hands to the ground.
Nanaya suddenly felt a sharp drain of spiritual energy from his body.
Realizing what was happening, he frowned.
"So, the artificial body really doesn't cut it."
In the original Naruto, Nagato had to transmit chakra to control the Six Paths. It made sense now—Nanaya's artificial body lacked real spiritual power, so the Outer Path had to supply it instead.
"What the hell is that?!"
Kurotsuchi Mayuri stared ahead, unease creeping through him.
A sense of dread settled in his heart. Something awful was coming—he could feel it.
His golden Bankai caterpillar, now fully summoned, rushed toward the image of Tendo Pain, jaws wide open to bite.
Just before it could strike—
BOOM!!
A gigantic, withered hand—like a dead tree the size of a mountain—erupted from the ground and slapped the golden caterpillar away like a toy.
"…"
The caterpillar crashed backward through the 12th Division buildings, knocking down walls like dominoes.
Everywhere it passed, it oozed thick, purple venom. White smoke hissed up as the venom corroded the ground, leaving deep pits behind.
One of the stunned 12th Division Shinigami whispered, terrified:
"Captain… something huge is underground. That thing just swatted your Bankai away like it was nothing..."
Mayuri scowled deeply.
"Useless. Even after all my experiments, this Bankai is still worthless. Can't even compete with the others…"
That was the price of having a biological Zanpakutō—it never had top-tier offensive power.
The air trembled as the withered hand slammed back to the ground, cracking it apart.
The cracks widened rapidly. The center of the courtyard began to rise, forming a mound—something massive was coming up.
The Shinigami of the 12th Division backed away in cold sweat, clutching their Zanpakutōs tightly but frozen in fear.
"Hrrrr…!"
The ground split open—and the head of the Gedo Statue rose from below.
It threw its head back and roared, the sound blasting through the Seireitei like a shockwave.
"ROOOOAAARRR!!!"
The wind pressure alone was overwhelming.
When the full body emerged, it looked like a decaying giant formed from ancient, cursed wood. Its size blocked the sky like a looming mountain.
Humanoid, but monstrous.
Its hands and feet were bound by broken shackles. Sharp wooden spikes protruded from its back, radiating a horrifying, dark aura.
Nanaya watched silently and muttered:
"So this is the Gedo Statue… It feels like a Hollow and a Shinigami fused into one."
He shook his head.
"No wonder it takes so much spiritual power to awaken the Rinnegan. The bulk of it went here."
He remembered—before his eyes evolved, he'd absorbed almost an entire squadron's worth of spiritual energy, equivalent to devouring the entire Karakura Town's spirit output.
"Hey! Nanaya! What the hell did you summon?!" shouted Yoruichi, uneasy for the first time.
Even as a former captain, the aura of the Gedo Statue was intimidating—it felt like pure destruction.
Nanaya raised both hands in surrender.
"Don't ask me! I seriously have no clue. My eyes evolved, and suddenly I could summon this guy."
Yoruichi was speechless. She could tell he was telling the truth.
Nanaya himself didn't yet understand the abilities tied to his new eyes.
Inoue Orihime's Shun Shun Rikka could reject reality itself—a power that violated the domain of the gods.
Clearly, Nanaya's Rinnegan had crossed into that same forbidden realm.
Meanwhile, in the 8th Division—
Kyoraku Shunsui strolled to the window and sighed as he saw the Gedo Statue rising over the buildings.
"No way… it's him again?"
The void-like aura from the statue immediately made him think of Nanaya.
After a long pause, Kyoraku sighed again, threw on his haori, and stepped outside.
"Man… this kid's a real headache."
"What kind of human causes this much chaos?"
The captains of the other squads were equally exasperated—but all began heading toward the 12th Division.
"ROAR!!!"
The Gedo Statue bellowed once again.
It stepped forward, the earth quaking beneath it, and loomed over Mayuri's golden caterpillar.
The caterpillar screeched, opened its mouth, and spat venom again—spraying it directly on the Gedo Statue's leg.
But the massive creature didn't react. It didn't even flinch.
It simply clenched its enormous fist—and SLAMMED it down.
BOOM!
Then came a barrage—punch after punch, relentless and brutal.
The blows turned the ground to rubble, blasting a crater where the caterpillar had once stood.
Mayuri's Bankai was obliterated, shredded into glittering spirit particles.
Normally, losing a Bankai left a Shinigami badly wounded, like Komamura Sajin.
But strangely, Mayuri stood tall—unharmed—and stared at the Gedo Statue with narrowed eyes.
Her face darkened as she muttered:
"So this… is what Urahara Kisuke sent that traveler to deliver?"
"He knew I wield a biological Zanpakutō… and this thing was made to counter it…"
"Is this your way of telling me… I'll never surpass you?!"
"Damn it! DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME!!!"
Mayuri had clearly snapped, ranting furiously as she stared at the monster in front of her.
Watching this, Nanaya was puzzled—then suddenly grinned.
He leapt into the air and landed atop the Gedo Statue's shoulder.
Standing high above, he looked down on Mayuri and said with mocking scorn:
"Yes. This is the message Urahara Kisuke asked me to deliver."
"He wants you to remember… as long as he's alive, you'll always be second-best."
Nanaya patted the Gedo Statue like a pet.
"This is just a test subject. Yet it completely destroyed your Bankai."
"You really aren't on Urahara's level."
Mayuri's face turned red with fury. She screamed up at him:
"LIES!!! How could I be beneath that guy?! He's the one who's always behind! My research, my experiments—they're superior to his in every way!!!"
"Pah!"
The Gedo Statue raised its colossal hand—and slapped Kurotsuchi Mayuri into the ground.
Both his body and the terrain beneath him shattered under the blow.
Nanaya looked down with disdain, shaking his head.
"You're still running your mouth after getting crushed by a test subject?"
The insult hit deeper than the attack itself.
Mayuri had intended to fake his death and slip away—but that remark was too much to ignore.
From between the Gedo Statue's fingers, a strange liquid oozed out, pooling and reforming into Mayuri's body once again.
His form solidified, face twisted in rage as he growled through gritted teeth:
"Urahara Kisuke… That bastard better wait for me. One day, my research will kill him!"
CRACK!
The Gedo Statue smashed him again—a second, thunderous blow that shook the air.
This time, something different happened.
The bulging, wooden protrusions on its back burst with electric energy, releasing a storm of dazzling blue lightning.
"CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!"
Bolts flashed wildly, illuminating the battlefield. The ground was scorched black from the sudden storm of energy.
When the dust began to settle, Nanaya called the Gedo Statue to a halt.
He looked down, scanning the cracked earth thoughtfully.
"Still alive, huh…" he murmured.
He could sense it—Mayuri hadn't died. Someone with vitality like that… he was like a twisted version of Orochimaru. Who knew how many escape plans or backup bodies he had.
But Nanaya didn't plan to pursue him further. Not because he couldn't—but because the man had simply vanished.
A flash of black and gold appeared at his side—Shihouin Yoruichi materialized beside him, arms folded, clearly annoyed.
"You know, Urahara Kisuke's going to suffer for this."
"He was fine in the real world, and now thanks to you, everyone is blaming him."
Nanaya shrugged with a smirk and rubbed her hair casually.
"Well… That guy's always acting like life's easy. Might as well give him something to deal with."
Back in the human world—
Inside the Urahara Shop, Kisuke suddenly shivered.
"Tch…!" He sucked in a sharp breath, instinctively wrapping his coat tighter around himself.
Eyes narrowed, he glanced around the room suspiciously.
"What was that? Why do I feel like something terrible just happened…?"
"Is someone plotting something? Or… is it just paranoia?"
Back in Soul Society, Nanaya stretched lazily, then pointed his hand forward.
"Gedo Statue—let's go."
He turned toward the direction of the incoming captains, a gleam in his eye.
"Time to have a nice little chat with the others."
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