Yoruichi was starting to lose ground in her two-on-one fight.
"ROAR!!!" bellowed Jerome, The Roar.
His ability weaponized sound itself, turning it into force.
Yoruichi failed to dodge in time. The shockwave struck her head-on, and she grunted in pain as blood began streaming from both ears.
She had no time to tend to her injuries—Cang Du, The Iron was already upon her, his claws slashing forward.
Cang Du's speed-oriented fighting style resembled that of the Onmitsukidō. If this had been a one-on-one duel, Yoruichi could've handled it easily. But with Jerome's sonic interference constantly disrupting her rhythm, she couldn't keep up.
Slash!
She twisted her body to avoid a fatal blow, but his claws still raked across her back, leaving deep, bleeding gashes.
Yet on her face—was a smile.
Cang Du's instincts immediately flared with alarm.
Yoruichi gritted her teeth and tanked another wave of sonic force, sliding low to Cang Du's flank. Her fists flew in a rapid barrage.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Cang Du raised his arms to block, but the sheer impact still sent him flying backward.
Then—golden rain fell from the sky.
Jerome had no time to worry about his partner. He raised a Reishi shield to block the descending storm of thunderfire.
Cang Du wasn't so lucky.
Still off-balance from Yoruichi's assault, he failed to recover his footing—and the thunderfire crashed into him.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Flames and lightning exploded outward, engulfing Cang Du's form.
At the same time, Nanatsuki's shadow clones were also hit by the golden rain.
Driscoll (Overkill) and Pepe (Love), both in Vollständig, managed to defend themselves using their respective powers.
But the rookie Sternritter, who hadn't activated Vollständig, was incinerated on the spot.
"Newcomers really can't handle battles of this intensity."
Gremmy, The Visionary, glanced at the corpse of his fallen comrade with zero emotion.
Cang Du had taken the brunt of the thunderfire and was now heavily injured—most of his combat power gone.
Yoruichi seized the opening.
Shlick! —Her short blade slashed across Cang Du's abdomen.
"You two really don't work well together, huh?" she mocked.
If Jerome had just helped deflect some of the thunderfire, he might've saved his comrade. Instead, he selfishly protected himself.
"You know nothing! That trash dying means nothing!"
Jerome roared again, sending another devastating shockwave at Yoruichi.
—
Elsewhere, Nanatsuki's duel with Gremmy continued.
The blade in Nanatsuki's hand crackled with dazzling arcs of lightning.
Gremmy raised his hand—iron walls erupted from the ground.
But they were nothing. Nanatsuki's blade sliced through them like tofu.
With a flash of thunderlight—Gremmy was cleaved in two.
And yet—behind Nanatsuki, another Gremmy appeared.
The one he'd just cut was a figment.
Gremmy raised his hand and fired a beam of concentrated Reishi.
Nanatsuki's expression didn't change. He swung his blade in reverse, cutting the beam in half, then followed its trail—striking toward the source.
But Gremmy's body suddenly shattered like collapsing building blocks.
Another illusion—another fake.
And then—BOOM! —the shards exploded violently.
At the same time, the horde of pink-haired old men who'd been observing suddenly charged.
KRAKABOOM!
A massive explosion rocked the battlefield, forcing everyone to halt and brace against the shockwave.
Nearby buildings were reduced to rubble.
As the dust began to settle—
Gremmy's form reappeared in the sky.
"Still standing? You really are a pain."
He turned—and there was Nanatsuki. Not a scratch on him.
"You should know something," Nanatsuki smiled faintly. "I'm the fastest Shinigami alive."
With multiple speed-enhancing buffs active, Nanatsuki had surpassed the speed of sound.
Even point-blank explosions couldn't catch him.
"That's going to be a problem." Gremmy shook his head. "But it seems things are about to get even more complicated."
Nanatsuki turned—more Quincies had arrived on the battlefield.
But he wasn't concerned.
Because in the direction of the Sun Gate, several new Reiatsu signatures had also appeared.
Reinforcements—from both sides—had arrived.
"The Shinigami have taken the Sun Gate!"
The newly arrived Quincies' faces turned grim.
"You don't look worried at all," Nanatsuki said, turning back to Gremmy.
Despite the tide turning, Gremmy still wasn't showing the slightest hint of tension.
"That's because… I'm very strong," Gremmy grinned. "Why should I be worried? It's my enemies who should be afraid."
As the words left his lips, a tremor rocked the ground.
The earth split open.
Large sections of terrain—including the area beneath the Sun Gate—collapsed into the void.
"No—! The Sun Gate is falling apart!"
The technicians stationed by the gate panicked, unable to stop the spreading fissures.
The Sun Gate, a semi-circular structure half-buried underground, was torn apart as the land caved in. Its core components shattered instantly.
The sudden disaster destroyed the gate entirely.
With the entrance gone, many Shinigami were now trapped inside the Shadow Passage, or still waiting on the other side in the Soul Society.
"Calm yourselves!"
Yamamoto barked with commanding force.
He was the first one to make it through the passage—and the only one unaffected by the collapse.
Aside from him, the 6th, 8th, 9th, and 10th Division Shinigami had successfully arrived in the Wandenreich.
But the 11th and 13th Divisions—along with the 3rd, 4th, and 5th, who were tasked with support and medical aid—had failed to make it through.
"Can the Sun Gate be repaired?"
Kyōraku Shunsui turned to ask Mayuri Kurotsuchi.
"Repair? You're seriously asking me to fix something that's been reduced to powder? You'd have better luck asking me to build a new one!" Mayuri rolled his eyes at the shattered debris.
"How long to make a new one?" asked Kuchiki Sōjun.
"Even with the spirit particle tech fully deconstructed… we're still talking three days, minimum." Mayuri held up three fingers.
"So no reinforcements," muttered Shiba Isshin, frowning.
"Then it's up to us."
Muguruma Kensei cracked his knuckles, showing no fear.
"Even if some of our forces didn't make it—we must win this war."
Yamamoto's blazing gaze swept across the gathered captains as he spoke in a low, firm voice.
"Yes, sir!"
With their supreme commander present, the Shinigami's morale remained unshaken. Their lines tightened. Their resolve solidified.