"Bankai…"
"Urahara Kisuke—did he really just use Bankai?!"
"Damn! He started with Bankai right away? That means the Quincy he's facing must be unbelievably strong!"
At that instant, when the chant echoed from the screen, every powerful being in the Soul Society looked stunned.
They all knew—
Even when Urahara fought Aizen with the Hōgyoku, he had stayed calm and unhurried from start to finish.
His Zanpakutō, Benihime, had shown no sign of needing to use Bankai at all.
But now… facing Askin Nakk Le Vaar—
Future Urahara Kisuke had released his Bankai right from the start?!
That alone made everyone wonder what could have possibly happened during that battle!
"Ehh—Benihime's Bankai?"
"Captain Aizen… I didn't expect that right after returning to Las Noches, I'd already hear about a Bankai worth my attention."
Below the throne, Gin narrowed his eyes slightly.
In their depths gleamed a sharp, curious light.
After witnessing Aizen fused with the Hōgyoku—
a being that transcended the limits of Shinigami and approached immortality—
Gin's standards had changed.
Ordinary abilities or typical Bankai no longer excited or impressed him.
But Benihime was different.
In his mind, among all of the Thirteen Court Guard Captains, perhaps only the Head Captain himself had ever witnessed Benihime's true form.
"Bankai…"
"You're right," Aizen said softly.
Seated upon the throne, his posture unchanged, but a flicker of anticipation lit his calm eyes.
Even now—
even after seeing the "future Karakura battle" thirty-six times through the rift between realms—
and already knowing the tricks Urahara had used against him—
Aizen's opinion had not changed:
This man…
was one of the few in the entire Soul Society capable of threatening him.
And so, when the video gave him the chance to learn the hidden trump card of Urahara Kisuke,
Aizen too felt excitement stir within.
"Most likely a rule-type ability," murmured Tōsen Kaname from below.
"My guess is it resembles my Suzumushi—something that distorts perception itself."
The moment his voice fell, the pressure on the screen spiked.
Urahara's green haori fluttered violently in the spiritual wind.
Under countless gazes—
the Zanpakutō Benihime in his hand… vanished.
"Huh?"
"His sword disappeared?"
The Arrancar and Hollows watching were all confused.
Normally, even after Bankai, a Zanpakutō leaves some trace—a hilt, a blade fragment, or at least a visible form like Senbonzakura's petals.
But this… was different.
The weapon had completely disappeared.
It made the mysterious aura surrounding Benihime's Bankai even stronger.
Then—
behind Urahara, in the empty air—
a surge of brilliant light erupted.
A dazzling, five-colored radiance gathered, fusing with the soaring spiritual pressure to form a colossal beam that pierced through the clouds.
"Rumble—!!!"
The storm of clouds scattered.
A divine glow poured down like holy light,
and behind Urahara, an enormous silhouette appeared.
"This is…!"
"No way—Kannon?!"
For a moment, everyone in the Soul Society was speechless.
The vision showed a colossal bodhisattva, glowing with sacred light, its massive hands gently cradling Urahara's body.
The deity wore an ancient silk kimono, wide and flowing—
its pure white fabric contrasting sharply with the poisonous mists swirling through Askin's domain.
At that instant—
Askin's expression changed.
Even in Vollständig, where he commanded an entire field of poisonous energy,
he suddenly felt it—
his toxic domain was being purified.
It was being suppressed by another law entirely.
"Urahara Kisuke…"
"In all of the data His Majesty gave us, there was nothing—nothing—about your Bankai!"
His tone lost its usual smugness, replaced with solemn caution.
Askin frowned, hesitating to step closer.
"Of course," Urahara said calmly beneath the giant Kannon.
"I've never shown my Bankai to more than a handful of people."
"So… can I ask—what does your Bankai actually do?"
That question spoke for everyone watching across worlds—
Shinigami, Quincy, Arrancar alike.
They all wanted to know:
this divine, radiant bodhisattva—
what kind of power did it bestow upon Urahara?
The answer came quickly.
"Pure-blood Quincy…" Urahara's voice echoed again.
"Even if I don't explain, you'll soon understand."
The camera shifted—
zooming in directly on Askin's body.
Then everyone saw it.
Riiip—!!!
The sound of tearing cloth—no, of flesh and thread—filled the air.
A deep seam split down Askin's left arm.
But instead of blood and muscle, only emptiness lay beneath—
stitched on both sides with thin, glowing seams of thread.
The tear spread rapidly, crawling up his arm and across his torso—
as if the very rules of his existence were being rewritten.
It was clear now—
Benihime's Bankai did not merely wound.
It reconstructed.
Anything within its domain could be altered, reshaped, "repaired" according to Urahara's will.
Even one as strong as Askin could not resist it.
In seconds, his body was overtaken, covered in surgical stitch marks—
his will fading, his flesh turning into a puppet of Urahara's design.
The terrifying sight made everyone watching tremble.
"Modification of all matter…?"
"A domain that forcibly reconstructs anything inside it?!"
"If that's true, once the Bankai activates—no one can fight him!"
In Silbern, the Ice Palace of the Quincy,
the Sternritter grew tense.
They had always believed their Schrift powers, granted by Yhwach, represented the pinnacle of law-type abilities.
To them, "rules" were a domain only Quincies could command.
But now—
seeing Urahara's Bankai firsthand—
even they felt a chill.
Askin's ruined arm was evidence enough.
If that power spread beyond the screen,
even reality itself could be reshaped.
Lille Barro muttered,
"So that's why Urahara Kisuke and Benihime ranked sixth…"
"Compared to Nozarashi, which relies on sheer force and spiritual pressure—"
"Benihime's Bankai, with its rule-altering domain, is far more lethal."
Even one as proud as Lille, who saw himself as a perfect being,
couldn't help but show respect.
Facing the serene, divine Kannon,
he no longer dared to mock.
He silently acknowledged that this ability truly deserved its place among the top ten Zanpakutō.
In the World of the Living.
Inside the Urahara Shop.
"Ahh…"
"Congratulations, boss!"
"I bet everyone in the Soul Society is losing their minds right now."
Under the gleam of his glasses, Tessai's eyes reflected the image on the screen, filled with awe.
He was one of the few who had already witnessed Benihime's true power with his own eyes.
And even he couldn't help but feel fear.
If he had been in Askin's place—
perhaps his only chance of survival
would have been to cut off his own arm before the transformation spread.
That was how precise, how absolute Benihime's Bankai was.
A power that modifies all things—
the perfect manifestation of Urahara Kisuke's genius.
(End of Chapter)
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