"Boom!!"
With a deafening crash, that colossal dragon head let out a roar like a raging hurricane.
In the stunned gazes of the audience, Yhwach's body was the first to be blasted away at close range by sheer brute force!
Right after that—
The video feed itself was torn apart by the raging gale!
Finally, once the impact spread into reality, even the transparent light screen was blown apart along with it!
Once again—
For who knew the how-many-th time already—
The entire Shinigami world, across every corner, suffered massive destruction and a fresh wave of panic!!!
"Star Kidō?!"
"What kind of technique is that…? I've never even heard of it beforehand!!!"
"He tossed out a casual move and the destructive power is insane! It's on par with the Bankai of the Zanpakutō Ryūjin Jakka!"
"This Monk of the Eye is completely lawless. He's too invincible!!!"
In terror, countless spectators were swept up into the sky by the immense hurricane that spread out.
The strong were still fine. At worst, they were injured.
Even if they were flung into the air, they would eventually fall back down. At worst they'd shatter a few bones and end up bedridden for a few months!
But ordinary humans were truly out of luck…
The sudden storm wrought serious havoc across the cities.
Countless houses—
Especially those low, single-story wooden Japanese homes—
The instant the storm rolled over them, they exploded into piles of timber. Roof and occupants alike were carried straight up into the clouds!
Just like that…
From a single skill from the Monk—
The Shinigami world had plunged into chaos, and this time the disaster was so severe that even normal people were terrified!!!
"Shopkeeper…"
"I wasn't wrong, was I? Star Kidō—something only recorded in rumors, an ancient secret art! Today I finally get to witness it with my own eyes!"
Inside the tiny convenience store,
Tessai's eyes were open to their limits.
In those pitch-black pupils, wild fervor and longing surged.
Even as a former head of the Kidō Corps—
Even with Kidō ability that surpassed the other Shinigami of the Gotei 13, and was in no way inferior to the Head Captain—
Even so…
Number 99 was already Tessai's limit!
Up to now,
He still hadn't been able to take a single step into contact with that mysterious "Star Kidō"!
So in this moment his mood surged violently,
His emotions surging out of control into sheer ecstasy and excitement!!!
"Tessai…"
"So, in other words, you actually have Lord Yhwach to thank for this, huh?"
Kisuke Urahara bent down, picked up the fisherman's hat that had been blown away by the gale, and teased him with an amused smile:
"If not for him pulling off reversal after reversal,"
"you wouldn't have been lucky enough to witness such a shocking scene just now—and even get enlightenment out of it!"
In fact—
Even Urahara himself,
When he caught a glimpse of the scene right before the screen shattered,
Had his own Kidō insights explode into a flurry of thoughts all at once.
It was obvious he'd comprehended something new instead of remaining stuck where he'd been!
Urahara even felt that—
If, in the future, when the decisive battle at Karakura Town arrived,
He recited the full incantation again and unleashed Hadō #91, Senjū Kōten Taihō—
Who knew?
He might be able to rewrite the future!
One blast of Kidō to smash Aizen!
Relying on the strength of one man, he'd become the MVP who saved the entire Gotei 13 and stopped Hōgyoku Aizen's evolution right there!
Of course…
That was just Urahara's self-satisfied fantasy at the moment.
Before he could think too long,
The image repaired itself, and as the transparent screen returned to normal,
In the howling wind,
Yhwach's arrogant, savage laughter once again rang out:
"Blut Vene Anhaben—!!"
He spread his hands.
Without moving from his spot,
A field appeared around Yhwach's body—
An extremely conspicuous barrier, formed from countless bizarre, blood-red patterns,
Like a "domain," a three-dimensional hemispherical shield!
Enveloped within it,
Yhwach wore a supremely confident smile, the corners of his mouth tugged up in provocation.
"Blut Vene Anhaben—the externalized form of Blut Vene! It extends the defensive barrier outside my body!"
"So… Monk… you can forget about hurting me in the slightest!!!"
Those words from Yhwach,
Together with the blood-mist-filled view of the entire Omote Sandō in the video's close-up,
And with yet another brand-new ability being unleashed—
Plus the turn of momentum flipping back to Yhwach yet again—
Predictably…
The audience's hearts had gone numb. There were no more shocked screams—just complaints:
"Seriously?!"
"Blut Vene Anhaben… what the hell is that? 360-degree full-coverage defense? I've never heard of it before either!"
"I'm begging you, can't the two of you just dump all your skills out at once?"
"Let's all start a prize quiz and bet on how many more skills the Monk and Yhwach still have that haven't been revealed yet!"
"This is driving me crazy… Even if it's hacking, there's gotta be a limit!"
"Infinite skills, zero cooldowns, health and spiritual pressure bars that never drop… who the hell is supposed to tank that?!"
Most of the powerful beings were black-faced,
On the verge of cursing out loud.
Especially the Hollows and Arrancar of Hueco Mundo.
Each of them glanced at the others, then thought back over their own personal skill sets!
Damn it…
Other than Cero, Bala, Sonído…
Those things everyone had, they really didn't have anything else!
"All these years…"
"We Hollows, back in Hueco Mundo, have basically evolved for nothing…"
Szayelaporro slumped back.
Once proud as the smartest Hollow, he had always considered himself a genius inventor.
But now it seemed…
Those so-called inventions and techniques, his supposed black-tech trump cards—
In front of the two monsters in the video,
They didn't even qualify as toys! There wasn't even room to pretend they were in the same league!!!
"Seriously…"
"Thank goodness we've got Aizen holding the line!"
"Otherwise Hueco Mundo really would have zero presence… No wonder in the future we don't win a single battle!"
Even the most rampantly arrogant Yammy
Had ground his molars to powder. His massive body sagged, his fighting spirit completely gone as he collapsed into a crack in the wall.
At the same time,
When he lifted his head and looked up at the imposing figure of Aizen seated on the throne,
Yammy's gaze had changed.
At last, it carried the same feverish worship and reverence as Zommari's!
From now on,
He absolutely wouldn't say things like "Aizen is an outsider,"
Or talk crap about him being a Shinigami whom Hueco Mundo didn't truly accept…
All that similar nonsense was done!!!
Yammy understood very clearly in his heart—
If they lost Aizen—
If they lost the rule of this man—
Then in the future, Hueco Mundo would just turn into a pigpen!
It would become a private garden for pure-blooded Quincy, used exclusively to raise Hollows and Arrancar, and they wouldn't even be able to resist!
That was the truly despairing dark future!!!
——
Fortunately,
In the development that followed,
Even though there were still reversals, they were finally approaching the climax!
"Bang—!!!"
Yhwach's oh-so-confident Blut Vene Anhaben shattered!
His throat and face
Were once again ripped open by the Monk riding straight over him, leaving his face drenched in blood!!!
However…
In that brief moment of close-quarters contact,
Yhwach even tried to use those crimson lines of his blood armor
To invade Ichibē's body—
To seize half of the Monk's body in one go!!!
But in the end—
He failed.
And that attempt only served to completely ignite the Monk's fury!!!
"Hmph!!!"
Wooden clogs slammed into the floor,
Stamping down hard.
The white haori snapped in the air. The Monk's face twisted into something hideous, his eyes rolling white.
At the same time—
Both arms clamped down around Ichimonji's shaft, and the tip of the brush flung out a circle of ink, ripples of black spreading through the air!
"Yhwach, you really are an idiot!"
"Not only did you trespass into the Soul King Palace without permission, you even tried to invade the body of someone who belongs to the Soul King—one of the Royal Guard!"
"Even if you don't understand tact… there are limits!!!"
In that instant,
As the Monk delivered his furious declaration of judgment,
The entire video frame seemed to press downward with a heavy lurch!
This obvious change
Made the audience unconsciously hold their breath as well, a surge of expectation rising:
"Is the big one coming?"
"Don't tell me… the Zanpakutō Ichimonji is about to Bankai?"
"No—that's not right!!! It hasn't even released yet from the start, has it?"
Only now did the audience suddenly realize—
The current abilities of Ichimonji were nothing more than its base state!
In other words…
Next,
Once it actually released—
The terror of the Zanpakutō Ichimonji would double!
Power that had already blown their minds would become even stronger!
And might even give rise to—
New techniques that shattered imagination,
Abilities that completely eclipsed Quincy power!!!
"This is too outrageous…"
"If it were anyone else—even a Captain-level fighter—there's no way they would've survived to this point!"
"Which means… they'd never even qualify to make Ichimonji release!!!"
Inside Squad One's barracks,
Soi Fon's heart was trembling. The upheaval in her emotions made her modest chest rise and fall sharply.
Even if it was a bit on the small side—
There was still something there. Framed by her tight black bodysuit, it made it hard not to sneak a few more looks!
"C-Captain…"
From behind her came Ōmaeda's quavering voice. "I… I can't hold on anymore. Can I sneak out? I really don't have the guts to keep watching…"
The words sounded infuriatingly whiny,
Making Soi Fon reflexively frown, ready to snap at him.
But…
Ōmaeda wasn't lying!
Right now he was drenched in cold sweat, truly scared out of his wits.
Under his bulk, his gut was visibly heaving. His breathing and heartbeat had both shot through the roof!
Even as the Vice-Captain of Squad Two, someone of some standing in the Seireitei,
The repeated shocks—
Not twice or thrice, but again and again—
Had left his legs numb and his face deathly pale.
This pathetic state
Left Soi Fon speechless. With a kick, she cursed at him:
"Hold it in for me! Even if you piss yourself, you'll piss in your own pants! If you dare think about running again—"
"I'll throw you straight into the screen myself!!!"
That fierce threat,
Frightened Ōmaeda into slapping both hands over his own mouth, as if zipping it shut.
And under that tense atmosphere,
In the slowed-down footage,
The true release command of the Zanpakutō Ichimonji—words that shook the entire world—finally rang out:
"Dye it black, Ichimonji—!!!"
In that instant,
As Hyōsube Ichibē's voice fell,
That weapon—
The huge brush—
Changed at its tip.
No longer soft bristles soaked in black ink,
It transformed into a sharp blade!
The edge stood straight at the end of the shaft, looking lethally keen!!!
And—
What stunned the viewers most,
Was that as they stared at the image,
They kept thinking their eyes were playing tricks on them!
One moment it looked like brush bristles, the next like a sword blade!
On pure visual instinct alone,
They simply couldn't tell whether Ichimonji had actually released or not!
"What's going on…"
"Why is it that not only has the light around the Monk dimmed, even the Royal District behind him—"
"Everything that exists there looks like it's being dyed pitch-black! The entire scene is darker than anything we've seen!!!"
Many spectators couldn't help gasping.
In their hearts, the same viewing experience crawled up that they'd had long ago—
Back when the Zanpakutō Katen Kyōkotsu released its Bankai,
When those black pine-needle leaves had spread across the screen—
That exact same chilling sense of dread!
Only this time, the fear—
Was ten times, a hundred times worse!!!
And then,
Something even stranger happened!
"Uh…"
"Captain… look!!"
"Your shihakushō—there are three wisps of black fluff peeling off it! They're floating toward the screen!!!"
Filling in as acting Vice-Captain, Squad Thirteen's Kiyone Kotetsu
Clapped a hand over her mouth in horror.
Pointing at Ukitake Jūshirō's back, she couldn't help crying out.
"Hm?!"
At her shout,
When the Captains all turned their heads,
Their gazes hadn't even reached Ukitake yet
Before each of their faces changed in the same way—
All of them equally horrified!!!
Because—
It wasn't just Ukitake.
Right now, throughout all of Squad One, including the Head Captain,
Anyone wearing black clothing like a shihakushō—
On each of them, along sleeves or trailing hems,
Shreds of black were peeling away, like smoke, drifting from every direction toward the transparent light screen!
The sight was so uncanny
That even the Head Captain, with his aged body,
Instinctively retreated a half step.
His brows knit into a deep knot, unable to believe it.
"Black…"
"From the instant Ichimonji released, this world was doomed to be dyed black."
"And every ounce of darkness, no matter where in the world it is—will be seized by the Monk!"
"It becomes part of his power, for him to wield!"
"Practically an endless supply!!!"
The Head Captain's eyes, usually as deep and still as an ancient well,
Now clearly rippled.
This kind of domineering technique—
Was practically strip-mining the power of the world itself!!!
On top of that, with Ichimonji's original ability—
"To cut the name, not the flesh"—
With every stroke, it stains the enemy black and strips away their power—
The combination of the two…
Made this Zanpakutō's Bankai even more terrifying!!!
After that,
Under the stunned gazes of all the Captains,
The Monk gripped his sword with both hands, his movements practiced as he began to sweep it in circles.
Black ink splattered wildly.
In the blink of an eye, the vast Omote Sandō—so wide its end couldn't be seen—
Was almost completely stained into a sea of jet black!
"Clang, clang, clang!!!"
Weapons collided with a thunderous roar.
Even though the immense spirit-brush-sword in the Monk's hands had turned entirely black,
Yhwach didn't care in the slightest.
He bared his teeth in a cold, arrogant sneer.
"So that's all? You're still just flinging ink around. You still can't cut me…"
"Is that so?"
The Monk laughed.
The smile was chillingly sinister.
"And what exactly are you planning to use to clash with my blade?"
"…"
Silence.
Yhwach opened his mouth,
Instinctively trying to speak.
But, bizarrely, not a single word came out.
It was as if his weapon—that black sword—
Had already had its name stolen away, becoming a nameless thing that could no longer be spoken of, almost as if it no longer existed at all!!!
"Heh, you've noticed it, haven't you?"
Both hands curled around the brush-sword's shaft.
The Monk's expression looked gentle, but his eyes were filled with murderous intent.
Facing the camera head-on, he revealed Ichimonji's ability after release:
"Anything touched by Ichimonji's ink,"
"doesn't just lose half of itself—it loses its very name!!!"
"A nameless thing cannot naturally be reborn or returned."
"It is, in other words—stripped of its power!!!"
(End of Chapter)
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