"Divine judgment? Laughable!"
"A bunch of lowly ants who should've vanished a thousand years ago dare to call themselves gods in my presence? Utterly delusional…"
First Division Barracks
Due to the Captain-Commander's fury, the buildings trembled violently, the air burning past its boiling point, crackling with explosive sounds.
It was clear how enraged he was!
Beside him, Chojiro Sasakibe's lips cracked, his throat parched as if all moisture had been drained. He hurriedly pleaded, "Captain-Commander, please calm down!"
"If you lose control, the entire Soul Society won't withstand your wrath!!!"
The old Westerner was frantic!
If the Captain-Commander's blood pressure spiked and he did something reckless, with Ryūjin Jakka's power, the Seireitei would be reduced to ashes!
That would be self-destruction!
"Hmph…"
Hearing his subordinate's plea, the Captain-Commander let out a heavy grunt, his anger subsiding slightly as he reined in his volcanic spiritual pressure.
"Phew… phew… phew…"
Finally able to breathe again, Chojiro gulped fresh air, soothingly saying, "Rest assured, Captain-Commander! I believe Captain Kyōraku will deliver justice to that boastful Quincy!"
"It better be, or I'll personally step in and slaughter them all, no matter the cost!"
The Captain-Commander's eyes blazed with killing intent.
---
Meanwhile, the battle in the video continued.
Whoosh—!!!
Another dozen beams of light shot out.
Within the camera's frame, as massive explosions rose, no buildings remained in this part of True World City.
Shunsui Kyōraku, previously hidden, was fully exposed!
"Found you at last, you scurrying rat…"
Flapping his holy wings, Lille Barro's voice turned cold, laced with murderous intent, clearly out of patience.
"Ugh, nowhere to hide? That's rough…"
In the ruins, Shunsui slowly stood.
His dirt-streaked face, worn from prolonged battle, bore a helpless, bitter smile.
It seemed… he was about to give up!
---
Thirteenth Division
"Giving up? No way…"
Ukitake Jūshirō's heart raced, his emotions fully engaged.
No denying, the visual impact of indiscriminate, wide-ranging bombardment, with everything annihilated in firelight, was despair-inducing!
But…
Giving up so easily wasn't Shunsui's style!
Glancing calmly at the screen, Shunsui shook his head with mock disappointment, "Ukitake, you're talking nonsense. You still don't know me well enough…"
"What do you mean…" Ukitake paused, then his eyes widened, "You mean…"
"Exactly. I'm about to release my Bankai!" Shunsui nodded, chuckling lightly, "Though I'm not sure of the exact situation…"
"But based on what this Quincy said, I was running and hiding most of the time! And from the last round, Captain Kenpachi was on the same battlefield."
"Putting all the clues together, it's clear…"
His eyes sharpened, brimming with confidence, "I wasn't running out of despair! I was deliberately luring the Quincy to the outskirts, creating the perfect environment to unleash my Bankai…"
Sure enough!
As Shunsui's words fell in reality, in the video, he gripped his dual blades, their hilts downward, sinking into the ground like wilting pine needles.
His voice intoned the Bankai release:
"Bankai—!"
"Katen Kyōkotsu: Karamatsu Shinjū!"
---
Fourth Division Barracks
"He's unleashed Bankai!"
"This is my first time seeing Captain Kyōraku's Bankai in all my years in the division!" Kotetsu Isane's eyes gleamed with anticipation.
"Isane… not just you. The first time I saw Katen Kyōkotsu's Bankai was centuries ago…" Unohana Retsu said with a complex expression.
Due to his personality and the Bankai's unique nature, Shunsui rarely used it over the centuries.
Thus, aside from a few veteran captains, few knew the true power of Katen Kyōkotsu's Bankai!
Even Unohana's memories had faded with time!
"But…"
"What are those lifelike black pines crawling across the ground? And… why do I suddenly feel cold?"
Isane's face paled, her arms wrapping around herself as she shivered uncontrollably.
Not only that, she was horrified to find her vision darkening, everything turning bleak and shadowy!
It felt as if she were in a cold, dark world, her soul eroded by unknown fears!
"Isane, don't panic. This is just the normal effect of 'Trembling'…" Unohana tried to comfort her, though her own fingers trembled.
"What… does that mean?"
Staring at the screen, as the sky darkened, Isane's fear deepened, spreading to every part of her body, her emotions growing increasingly negative.
"Spiritual pressure!"
"This sensation is the result of the spreading black pines! Within the Bankai's spiritual pressure, you feel darkness, loneliness, desolation, even despair!"
"This is the power of Karamatsu Shinjū…"
Even knowing it well and preparing mentally, Unohana, a former killer with her own murderous aura, felt her heart disturbed, her body trembling slightly.
And this was just the prelude to Katen Kyōkotsu's Bankai!
---
Hueco Mundo, Las Noches
"What… what's happening!"
"His blades haven't changed, but why do I feel a tangible ghostly aura behind him?"
Shivering violently, Nnoitra's teeth chattered, overwhelmed by a sense of cosmic darkness.
This cold wasn't physical but stemmed from deep-seated fear.
That was what terrified him!
"Damn it! I'm a ruthless Arrancar—why am I suddenly so depressed?!" Yammy roared in frustration, his legs trembling under the dark spiritual pressure spilling from the screen.
Faced with this unprecedented phenomenon, he could only mask his fear with impotent rage!
"So this is a captain's Bankai… it doesn't disappoint!"
Suppressing the loneliness and sorrow, Starrk was awestruck, deeply aware of the gap in their strength.
From the start, they weren't on the same level!
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