Pale Justice!
After Frank’s Zanpakutō entered Shikai, its appearance changed from a Western-style knight’s sword into a pair of weapons that combined guns and blades.
The Gun-Blades were silver-gray, with a simple yet intimidating design.
Each one featured a large-caliber barrel and a razor-sharp blade, with every aspect optimized purely for combat.
Their overall appearance retained the same style they had possessed before Shikai—plain, unassuming, and without a single unnecessary detail.
“Two guns?”
Lorde laughed.
“That’s definitely your style, but I didn’t expect your Zanpakutō to be a dual-type.”
Throughout the entire Soul Society, there were only three known pairs of dual-type Zanpakutō.
And without exception, all three wielders were Captain-Class Shinigami.
Even among the Captains, they were considered an exceptionally powerful group.
The Captain of the Eighth Division, Kyoraku Shunsui, wielded Katen Kyōkotsu.
The Captain of the Thirteenth Division, Jūshirō Ukitake, wielded Sōgyo no Kotowari.
And then there was Kurosaki Ichigo’s reforged Zangetsu.
“Hahaha…”
Frank laughed loudly.
“Like them?
Even if you do, I’m not giving them to you!”
“That won’t be necessary.”
Lorde smiled.
“My sword is pretty good too.”
“Watch out!”
Frank suddenly raised his hand.
The instant the warning left his mouth, he pulled the trigger.
When someone was speaking, their guard was often at its weakest.
And Frank Castle had never been the kind of man who cared about fighting fair.
His combat style had never been bound by rules.
His only goal was simple—
Kill the enemy.
Frank wasn’t worried about killing Lorde.
From the clash of Spiritual Pressure earlier, it was obvious that he was at an overwhelming disadvantage.
If he wanted to win, he had no choice but to rely on a surprise attack.
BOOM!
The Gun-Blade erupted with a thunderous roar, like the howl of a beast.
A burst of hot flame exploded from the muzzle as a metal bullet was propelled through the rifling.
Whoosh!
The bullet’s muzzle velocity was incredibly high.
It tore through dozens of meters of air with almost no resistance, flying straight toward Lorde.
“Too slow~”
Lorde smiled indifferently.
He took half a step forward and swung his Zanpakutō.
Kendō: Sword Pressure!
Visible Spiritual Pressure condensed around the blade.
Lorde aimed directly at the incoming bullet and brought his sword down with tremendous force.
Clang!
The blade split the bullet in two, sending countless sparks flying through the air.
Lorde thought the attack was over.
Then he noticed the strange, mysterious smile tugging at the corners of Frank’s mouth.
His expression immediately changed.
Not good!
Click.
A mechanical sound came from inside the split bullet.
Then—
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Countless steel needles burst from inside it like a torrential rain, shooting toward Lorde from every direction.
“Shunpo: Utsusemi!”
Lorde’s ankle flicked.
His body instantly vanished from the spot, leaving only his coat behind.
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
The countless steel needles pierced through the coat, leaving it riddled with holes like a beehive.
“Hiss…”
Lorde sucked in a breath as he looked at the ruined coat.
That was ruthless.
What would have happened if those needles had actually struck his body?
“Did you dodge it?”
Frank narrowed his eyes slightly.
He carefully memorized the footwork Lorde had just used before raising the Gun-Blade in his right hand.
“This time…”
His finger rested against the trigger.
“I’ll increase the bullet’s speed.”
Bang!
The second bullet was at least three times faster than the first.
It reached Lorde almost instantly.
Lorde’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.
However, his body remained completely calm.
He raised his Zanpakutō horizontally across his chest and blocked the incoming shot.
Clang!
The bullet slammed into the blade with tremendous force.
Even with Lorde’s powerful physical constitution, the impact of a bullet traveling at three times the previous muzzle velocity forced him to take a step backward.
“Accelerate!”
Frank’s voice was cold.
He gave Lorde no chance to recover.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The right Gun-Blade fired eighteen shots in rapid succession.
Eighteen bullets roared through the air, trailing flames as they curved from different directions.
“Is this…
Curve Shooting?”
Lorde’s expression became slightly strange.
If he remembered correctly, Curve Shooting was a technique used by the Assassin Alliance.
Was this Frank’s own skill?
Or was it an ability granted by his Zanpakutō?
There was no time to think about it.
The eighteen bullets followed trajectories that completely defied common sense.
They traced enormous arcs through the air, forming a deadly net that surrounded Lorde from all directions.
“Got you!”
Frank’s eyes narrowed.
No one had ever escaped this move before.
“But…”
Lorde’s eyes sharpened.
A calm smile appeared on his face.
“You’re still too green, Frank.”
He raised his Zanpakutō.
“That childish level of skill isn’t enough to defeat me.”
The blade left its scabbard.
Shing!
In an instant, countless flashes of steel filled the air.
The consecutive slashes were simply too fast for the naked eye to follow.
It looked as though Lorde had sliced through all eighteen bullets simultaneously.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
The bullets were split apart.
“I expected as much.”
Frank didn’t panic.
Instead, he smiled confidently.
“But unfortunately, Lorde…”
His eyes narrowed.
“You forgot something.”
“My bullets aren’t just bullets.”
Click.
The eighteen bullets suddenly split open.
That familiar mechanical sound echoed through the battlefield.
Lorde’s expression changed.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
A violent explosion erupted around him.
The blast spread several meters in every direction, filling the area with fire, poison gas, steel needles, and countless other hidden attacks.
Smoke rapidly swallowed Lorde’s figure.
“Did I win?”
Frank carefully watched the smoke.
But then—
A sudden chill ran down his spine.
Someone was behind him.
He’s still alive?!
Frank reacted instantly.
He swung the Gun-Blade in his left hand backward.
Clang!
The Gun-Blade collided with Shinsō.
Frank’s eyes widened when he saw Lorde standing there completely unharmed.
“You really are fine…”
He gritted his teeth in frustration.
“Don’t you have a few too many abilities?”
Lorde couldn’t help but laugh.
At the same time, he felt a growing curiosity toward the abilities of Frank’s Zanpakutō.
Eighteen bullets.
Eighteen different effects.
“You’re not exactly simple yourself!”
Frank grinned.
“To dodge that attack…”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
Lorde smiled, narrowing his eyes.
With only one hand, he completely suppressed Frank.
The immense pressure forced Frank almost to his knees.
Frank gritted his teeth and struggled to hold his ground.
His Spiritual Power was completely inferior to Lorde’s.
His physical stamina was also much lower.
He could only endure the overwhelming pressure and struggle to remain standing.
“Is it over?”
Lorde sounded slightly disappointed.
“If this is all you’ve got, it seems your hope for revenge is still a long way off.”
Frank’s Zanpakutō ability certainly looked impressive.
But in reality, it seemed rather mediocre.
It didn’t provide any Kidō-type abilities.
It didn’t enhance his physical attributes.
All it seemed capable of doing was altering the properties of his bullets.
Compared to truly powerful Zanpakutō abilities, that seemed somewhat underwhelming.
“Is that so?”
Frank suddenly smiled.
There was something strange about his expression.
“Lorde…”
“Combat isn’t just about comparing strength.”
“The most important thing is intelligence.”
“Oh?”
Lorde raised an eyebrow.
He became curious.
“What other trick do you have?”
Frank suddenly stepped backward, creating distance between them.
Then he raised the Gun-Blade in his left hand—the one he had yet to use.
Lorde’s eyes narrowed.
“The left hand…”
He immediately understood.
Frank had been using the right Gun-Blade this entire time.
But he had never once fired the left one.
Could it be…
The Gun-Blade in his left hand has a completely different ability?
While Lorde was thinking, Frank slowly raised the left Gun-Blade.
But instead of aiming it at Lorde…
He pointed it directly at his own heart.
A smile appeared on his face.
“Lorde…”
“The Shikai of Pale Justice has two parts.”
“One gun is called Justice.”
“It allows me to freely modify the additional properties of my bullets.”
“You’ve already seen that ability.”
Frank’s finger rested against the trigger of the second Gun-Blade.
“The other gun is called Pale.”
“It grants me additional abilities.”
“For example…”
Bang!
A gunshot rang out.
A blood-red bullet blasted directly into Frank’s own chest.
“Until Death!!!”
Frank raised his head.
His eyes had turned bloodshot.
His Spiritual Power began boiling violently, exploding outward from his body.
The pressure surrounding him rapidly increased.
It was as if he were standing on the verge of a breakthrough.
“The ability of Pale…”
Frank’s voice was low and cold.
“It only has one function.”
“To maximize all of my attributes.”
His Spiritual Power surged violently.
“And for its duration…”
“No matter what kind of damage I suffer…”
Frank grinned.
“I can keep fighting.”
Until Death.
That was the ability of the Punisher.
No retreat.
No surrender.
No matter how badly his body was broken—
Frank Castle would keep fighting until the enemy was dead…
or he was.