2 chapters will be uploaded on daily basis i.e. 14 Chapters will be uploaded every week apart from the bonus chapters.
1 Bonus Chapter will be uploaded for every 50 Power Stones or 1000 Collections.
All interested readers can read advanced chapters on: Free Members of Patreon can read 10 Chapters ahead of Webnovel for FREE.
[email protected]/Heroicverse
×××××××××××××××
Thud! Thud! Thud!
As the Senbonzakura (Thousand Cherry Blossoms) scattered, only a few breaths passed before over a hundred men fell!
"Watch out! Don't touch those cherry blossoms!" A sharp-eyed pirate shouted warnings to the others.
Some bolder ones even raised their swords to try and strike the petals. Unfortunately, their swordsmanship was no match for a thousand-strong swarm of cherry blossoms!
You might block one or two, but could you block a hundred or a thousand? If they had that kind of skill, they wouldn't be wasting their lives in Mock Town.
Ah... The pirates' screams were constant. Kuchiki Byakuya's handsome face, in the eyes of these pirates, was no different from a demon!
"You bastard! Die!"
Roshio, who had just arrived at the scene, saw the immense losses and immediately succumbed to rage, charging ferociously toward Kuchiki Byakuya.
As a pirate with a 42-million-Berry bounty, Roshio did possess some skill. He cleverly avoided the Senbonzakura that was encircling the other pirates and leaped down from the rooftop to attack Kuchiki Byakuya.
Kuchiki Byakuya's Zanpakutō, Senbonzakura, has one major weakness: once released in Shikai, the blade dissolves, leaving him vulnerable in close-quarters combat. Roshio's aggressive, charging tactic had inadvertently succeeded in bypassing the main danger!
"A rookie without even a bounty dares to run wild in the Grand Line! Let me teach you a lesson!" Roshio, wielding a curved scimitar, leaped several meters, swinging his blade down at Kuchiki Byakuya's head. His penchant for beheading enemies was how he earned the title "Executioner."
However, a dragon is a dragon because even if it shows a flaw, it is not something a mere ant can challenge!
Kuchiki Byakuya glanced indifferently at the charging Roshio and lightly raised his left hand.
"Hadō #4: Byakurai (White Lightning)!"
Boom!
A fist-sized bolt of white lightning sliced through the air, abruptly appearing before Roshio.
Fast! Too fast! Although Roshio's eyes registered the incoming Byakurai, his body couldn't react in time. In the blink of an eye, the White Lightning pierced straight through Roshio's chest with unstoppable force!
Pfft!
Roshio's corpse collapsed. It slid several meters due to inertia, conveniently stopping at Kuchiki Byakuya's feet.
The sight of the biggest pirate boss on Jaya Island falling at the enemy's feet instantly shattered the remaining confidence of the many pirates.
"Roshio is dead! Run!"
"The enemy is a monster! We can't win!"
"The main harbor is frozen! We need to get to the smaller ones!"
In an instant, the pirates chose to flee in disarray. They still had hope! Although the man who controlled the cherry blossoms was strong, he was only one person! He couldn't possibly kill tens of thousands of pirates in Mock Town!
While Mock Town officially only had the main harbor, these pirates were survivalists and had long ago established two hidden, alternate escape ports. The plan was to use them to smoothly escape whenever they encountered an invincible foe!
"Fools!"
Looking at the scattering pirates, Kuchiki Byakuya snorted with disdain. Why would the Soul King bring only him and Rukia to Mock Town? Naturally, because he had the power to wipe out the entire town by himself!
The scattered cherry blossoms returned to Kuchiki Byakuya's sword hilt. He then inverted his hand, pointing the tip of the blade at the ground, and gently let go. The ground rippled like water, and the Zanpakutō, Senbonzakura, sank into the ripples and vanished.
"Bankai! Senbonzakura Kageyoshi (Vibrant Scenery of a Thousand Cherry Blossoms)!"
In an instant, several hundred colossal blades rose in two rows on either side of Kuchiki Byakuya. The next second, all the blades shattered, transforming into a sea of cherry blossoms that instantly obscured the sky. The number of cherry blossoms in his Bankai was roughly a hundred million times that of his Shikai!
Whoosh!
The massive volume of cherry blossoms surged into Mock Town, blanketing every street.
"Run faster! Hurry!" Large numbers of pirates ran for their lives, desperately pursued by the sea of petals. Where the cherry blossoms passed, the pirates fell, completely unable to resist!
"Quick! The alternative port is just ahead! We can escape!" Hope flashed in the pirates' eyes as the coastline grew closer.
However, before their happiness could last more than a few seconds, a figure emerged from their alternative port. Auguro held his own Zanpakutō, a cold smile curving his lips.
"Sorry! This path is closed!"
"It's bad, Boss!" At that moment, a pirate pointed toward the port and shouted. "Our ships are destroyed!"
The pirates immediately looked, only to see the wreckage of three or four ships lying haphazardly in the port, completely unusable!
Auguro's smile deepened. Why hadn't he appeared at the main Mock Town harbor? It was to prevent these fools from escaping. He had let the Kuchiki siblings draw all the attention at the front while he infiltrated the rear to destroy their escape vessels! He had also visited the other small port and dealt with the ships there.
Now, the trap was fully sprung!
Ahhh... Screams continued to echo from the rear, fraying the nerves of the pirates at the front.
"Surrender! We surrender!" The next second, the pirates decisively chose to surrender.
"Tsk! Cowards, as expected!" Auguro wasn't surprised at all. The people who stayed in Mock Town were all cowards who lacked the courage to press forward. The truly ambitious pirates headed straight for the New World! Expecting backbone from these people was pure fantasy!
"Apologies! I don't need so many prisoners!" Auguro's expression was cold as he calmly watched the sea of cherry blossoms engulf the group of pirates. He only needed to keep one or two thousand of the weaker ones to serve as laborers on the sky island; that number could be easily suppressed by the forces already there.
"Damn it! If you want to kill me, I'll take you down with me!" Seeing no hope of survival, the pirates charged Auguro, their eyes bloodshot with desperation.
Auguro simply gave a light swing of his Zanpakutō.
Whoosh!
A three-meter-long blade of energy sliced through the crowd. The three pirates leading the charge instantly had their heads severed.
After summoning Captain Kuchiki Byakuya, Auguro's own strength had increased again!
His Reiatsu and Kidō had firmly reached the Seat Officer Tier, and his other abilities (Swordsmanship, Hand-to-Hand Combat, and Shunpo) were only a step away from that tier!
Currently, Auguro could stand toe-to-toe with a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral in a direct confrontation!
The sight of three severed heads instantly restored the rationality of the remaining pirates. Someone recognized Auguro and cried out in alarm, "It's him! The 'Noble Scion' Sith Auguro, bounty 200 million Berries!"
An atmosphere of utter despair immediately spread among the pirates. A 200-million-Berry bounty! Nearly five times stronger than their toughest boss, Roshio! How are they supposed to fight that?
"I don't care! I have to live!"
Even at this point, some were unwilling to give up. Auguro was too strong to face, and the sea of cherry blossoms behind them was utterly inescapable. These pirates ultimately chose to jump into the sea!