"W-What is this…?"
"Holy—!!"
"He's… summoning the dead?!"
"The Captain-Commander… actually did something like this?!"
"This is completely different from his usual iron-clad principles!!!"
For an instant, the moment that low, ominous chant echoed word by word out of the video, every viewer felt their scalp go numb. A chill crept up their spine, goosebumps flooding across their skin.
Among the Gotei 13, whether captains or ordinary unseated Shinigami, everyone stood frozen with wide eyes and fallen jaws—completely shocked by the scene unfolding before them.
After all…
Since ancient times, the Captain-Commander was essentially a living fossil.
He was the history of the Soul Society and the Gotei 13.
Every Shinigami, from the moment they joined the organization, had the same impression of him:
A severe, stubborn elder.
One who tolerated no deviation.
One who rejected anything that did not belong to the Shinigami race.
His behavior over hundreds of years had solidified that unshakable, rigid image.
And because of that—
The moment this scene was revealed, the shock was overwhelming.
He was the strongest Shinigami of a thousand years…
And his Zanpakutō possessed the strongest offensive power.
That alone should have been close to invincible.
With a single swing, he could cleave the earth into fissures great enough to resemble falling meteors.
So why—
Why would the Captain-Commander intentionally summon an army of the dead?
Why would he call upon darkness itself to strike down Yhwach?
Surely this shouldn't be necessary!
"Only one explanation…"
"The old man's hatred for Yhwach runs too deep!"
"He wants to use every possible method—to tear apart that man's soul and body over and over again!"
Kyōraku tilted his head back with trembling disbelief, his voice shaking with emotion.
Among everyone present, no one knew the Captain-Commander's temperament better than him.
If not for hatred—hatred that had reached an extreme—the old man would never unleash consecutive Heavenly Incantations.
Even Kyōraku himself hadn't expected this.
In fact, Kyōraku thought—
Just the previous ability of Zanka no Tachi—Zanka no Tachi, South: The Cloak of Tangible Ash—was enough.
All the Captain-Commander had to do was get close to Yhwach and activate it point-blank.
At that point…
The man's body, soul, and spiritual power would inevitably be burned to nothing.
——————————
Meanwhile, in the video—
After the whispering of the dead subsided, the Captain-Commander's killing intent surged:
"Zanka no Tachi — South…"
"Ten Trillion Flames Funeral Array!"
With that final roar, the technique was fully unleashed.
The previously crimson battlefield—lit entirely by inferno—instantly dimmed, as though smothered under a sheet of black cloth.
Darkness surged.
A massive formation of the dead blossomed outward, covering the entire battlefield and filling the entire screen.
"Clatter—!!!"
"Clatter—!!!"
"Clatter—!!!"
The eerie scraping of bone against bone filled the oppressive silence, amplified through the video so clearly that every viewer's blood ran cold.
"What—"
"This is horrifying!!!"
"He really summoned the dead… look at all those skeletons!!!"
"Hey, hey… is that violent old man truly the Captain-Commander?!"
"Barragan's title of 'Skeleton Emperor' might need to be revoked!"
In Las Noches, the Arrancar army cried out in alarm.
On the screen, under suffocating darkness, countless skeletons clawed their way out of the earth—each moving in eerie unison, mechanically and unnaturally.
Every single one of them turned toward the same direction:
Yhwach.
Their numbers were endless—an ocean of death.
"Barragan…"
"Any one of those skeletons is almost as terrifying as you…"
Grimmjow muttered, staring at the Espada of aging and death.
Barragan opened his mouth, wanting to retort…
But the moment another tidal wave of skeletal bodies heaved upward on the screen, all words died in his throat.
He swallowed his anger, trembling slightly.
Seeing this terrifying display, he realized something unbearable:
His own title of "Skeleton Emperor"…
Might not survive today.
Sooner or later, it would be ripped away from him—
And handed to the Captain-Commander.
"This is too infernal… like a real hellscape…"
Nnoitra clutched the handle of his scythe—his entire arm shaking with fear.
Compared to all the corpses, brutality, and slaughter he had ever seen throughout his evolution—
This ability, Zanka no Tachi — South: Ten Trillion Flames Funeral Array—
Was true purgatory.
He had no doubt—
If he were standing even at the edge of that formation…
His so-called strongest hierro would be torn apart in less than ten seconds by the ravenous skeletons.
He would be swallowed whole by death—
Becoming just another corpse in the army.
That wasn't just Nnoitra's fear.
It was the honest, instinctive terror felt by every Espada and every Arrancar watching.
——————————
At the same time—
"Swish—!!!"
As the Captain-Commander swung his blackened Zanka no Tachi, the blade pointed directly at Yhwach's body.
Instantly—
The soul-array surged.
The skeletons howled, one after another, charging endlessly forward like waves of darkness crashing toward the left side of the screen—
Toward Yhwach's final foothold.
"This…"
"Yamamoto Genryūsai…!!!"
Standing frozen stiff, Yhwach completely lost composure.
His blood-red eyes, once filled with arrogance and indifference, were now filled with unmistakable panic.
"Look carefully—open your eyes—"
The Captain-Commander's voice echoed like the toll of a hellish funeral bell.
It overflowed with fury and murderous will:
"These skeletons—these billions of dead—are the ashes of every soul that has fallen to my blade!"
"Through flame, I awaken them!"
"They will strike down my enemy without end—until he is reduced to ash!!!"
His gaze lowered slightly—
In his eyes, the death of Yhwach was already decided.
Before the viewers could blink—
Yhwach was engulfed.
Skeletons piled around him, shadows pressed in.
His silhouette collapsed beneath a suffocating tide of death.
His spiritual pressure weakened to its limit.
"This is bad…"
"His Majesty is in danger!"
"Even if he breaks free briefly, those skeletons are endless!"
"Even with His Majesty's power—he'll eventually run out of strength!!!"
Inside the Ice Palace, despair filled the hall.
Led by Haschwalth, every Sternritter's face twisted in horror.
This was the Emperor—
The origin of all pure-blood Quincies.
Now he stood trapped, torn apart, helpless beneath an army of death.
Watching him drown in that mass—
They were terrified to the core.
This wasn't a ranking video anymore.
This was a horror movie.
And the protagonist was Yhwach.
"His Majesty…"
"He is the foundation of our Empire!"
"He cannot—cannot fall here!!!"
Valkyrie roared, forcing herself to stay conscious.
At that moment, Yhwach himself snarled furiously:
"To think the leader of the Shinigami would stoop to summoning the dead… Yamamoto Genryūsai—you are a disgrace!!!"
He swung his spiritual blade wildly.
Skeletons shattered.
For a moment, he nearly broke free.
But no matter how violently he struggled—
The dead were endless.
He sank deeper into the darkness.
And then—
Because of the Captain-Commander's next words—
Yhwach suddenly recognized some of the skeletons:
They were the subordinates who had fought for him a thousand years ago.
Now—
All dead.
Revived by Zanka no Tachi's power—
Forced to turn against him.
Watching his fallen soldiers attacking him—
Yhwach's mind shattered.
His eyes dimmed with despair.
"It's over…"
"A double-layered execution—physical and psychological!"
"This technique is too cruel!!!"
"It destroyed Yhwach's spirit in the most agonizing way!!!"
At Las Noches, Gin's pupils constricted.
He never underestimated Yhwach.
The Quincy King was immensely powerful—capable of returning twice across a millennium to invade Soul Society with overwhelming force.
Not even ten Hueco Mundo armies combined could accomplish such a feat.
Yet—
Even that overwhelming strength was meaningless before the enraged Captain-Commander and his Bankai, Ryūjin Jakka.
Yhwach was utterly crushed—
Unable to resist, unable to retreat—
Completely dominated.
This was supposed to be a duel between the leaders of two races.
Yet it looked more like a one-sided execution.
Compared to this—
Even Aizen, with the power of Kyōka Suigetsu, had briefly fought evenly with the Captain-Commander.
He even forced Yamamoto to take a blow to grab him bare-handed, shedding blood in the process.
Against that—
Yhwach's situation looked utterly pathetic.
"Gin…"
"You're right. This battle… is already over."
Aizen spoke calmly from his throne:
"The Four Directions—East, West, South, North—have already displayed overwhelming violence."
"The viewers have witnessed the entirety of Ryūjin Jakka's Bankai."
"Next will be the final strike—Zanka no Tachi, North."
"That blow will end Yhwach's life completely."
Even Aizen, though expressionless, felt ripples inside.
Just like Gin and everyone else, he was shocked.
Yhwach—
A man known only through legend, who had barely appeared…
Had his first on-screen battle end with—
Immediate death.
Public execution by the future Captain-Commander, purely to demonstrate the power of Bankai version 4.9.
Even Aizen felt shaken.
And he now feared Yamamoto and Ryūjin Jakka more than ever—
Ten times more.
——————————
Sure enough, the video played out as predicted.
"Step—!!!"
Though the outcome was already decided, and Yhwach was moments away from being buried completely—
The Captain-Commander turned his back and walked away, moving farther from the camera.
At first—
People wondered if he had a sudden change of heart.
"Impossible…"
"Knowing the old man, he wouldn't make such a stupid mistake."
Yoruichi said decisively.
"He's taking distance… because he's about to unleash something enormous."
Urahara inhaled deeply, bracing himself.
They were right.
After walking a distance, the Captain-Commander stopped.
"Yhwach…"
"You must truly hate this sight, yes?"
"Even your dead subordinates—I've brought them back to this battlefield."
"But…"
He raised his blade.
A towering column of crimson flame surged upward, absorbing all the heat of the battlefield, turning into a giant sword that pierced heaven and earth itself—
Then came crashing down.
The Captain-Commander roared with monstrous fury:
"Zanka no Tachi — North…"
"Heaven and Earth Reduced to Ashes!!!"
The screen shook.
The world erupted.
And the Quincy King—
Was annihilated.
The blow that ended all things descended.
(End of Chapter)
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