Chapter 18: The Mountain-Cutting Sword
On the Vimana, Gilgamesh sat on his throne, gently stroking Yoruichi Shihouin, who was in her black cat form, in his arms.
Normally, Yoruichi Shihouin would have been purring contentedly and almost asleep from the petting.
But this time, Yoruichi Shihouin's mind was restless, and her cat eyes were filled with shock as she looked at everything on the Vimana.
She was truly curious about the Vimana's origin.
Her mouth opened several times, but she didn't know how to ask.
In her heart, Yoruichi Shihouin couldn't help but think, 'It should be a Zanpakuto's ability, right? As for the spiritual pressure, it's possible he possesses an item that can conceal spiritual pressure.'
As for the possibility of the Vimana being a Divine Instrument, Yoruichi Shihouin immediately dismissed it.
Compared to the Vimana being a Zanpakuto, the Vimana being a Divine Instrument was even harder for her to accept.
The Shihōin Clan was known as the 'Heavenly Granted Armaments Family' and possessed many Divine Instruments.
However, all the Divine Instruments owned by the Shihōin Clan paled in comparison to the Vimana.
Yoruichi Shihouin truly couldn't imagine who could forge a Divine Instrument like the Vimana.
Although Abarai Renji and Rukia had already known about the Vimana's existence and it wasn't their first time boarding it, no matter how many times they boarded, they were still shocked.
The Vimana's speed wasn't fast, which was intentionally controlled by Gilgamesh to allow Yoruichi Shihouin to experience the Vimana more.
Through the illumination of the All-Knowing and Almighty Star, Gilgamesh already knew that Yoruichi Shihouin recognized his ability as a king, but she didn't believe he could successfully establish a nation.
Gilgamesh also knew that there were many obstacles on his path to nation-building.
However, Gilgamesh was confident that he could clear all these obstacles.
This time, Gilgamesh's primary purpose for going to the Seventy-Ninth District was not to expand his territory; that was secondary.
The main purpose was to show Yoruichi Shihouin his methods and let her know that he possessed this strength.
The Vimana was just the beginning.
Several minutes passed, and even though Gilgamesh could control the speed, the Vimana still carried them over the forest and arrived at Tobi in the Seventy-Ninth District.
Tobi was roughly the same size as Hōkō, but the living environment was many times worse than Hōkō.
Theft, brawls, murder, and other evils were commonplace.
Corpses lay dead on the roadside everywhere.
It was almost impossible for children to survive in such a place.
Even adults, after living in such a place for a long time, would develop mental problems.
Tobi was already so terrible, and it was only the Seventy-Ninth District; behind Tobi, there was also the Eightieth District, which was the worst area.
Even Gilgamesh could hardly imagine how bad the Eightieth District would be.
The Vimana stopped in the sky above the center of Tobi and slowly descended.
Naturally, the Vimana had already attracted the attention of Tobi's residents.
As they looked at the radiant ship made entirely of gold and emerald, their first reaction was not fear, but naked greed.
Their bloodshot eyes stared intently, like hungry wolves, at the slowly descending Vimana.
As the Vimana's altitude decreased, Abarai Renji and Rukia finally saw the situation in Tobi clearly.
Although they had always lived in the backward, poor, and suffering Hōkō, when they saw the true face of Tobi with their own eyes, they couldn't help but tremble, and an uncontrollable panic arose in their hearts.
Especially when they noticed the people who had already gathered, and their undisguised greedy eyes, they felt a chill run from their tailbone straight to their scalp, and goosebumps erupted all over their bodies.
The alarm bells in their hearts were ringing, telling them that these were not humans, but demons in human skin, urging them to escape quickly.
To be honest, Yoruichi Shihouin was also visiting the Seventy-Ninth District of Rukongai for the first time.
In the past, she had only heard how chaotic and unbearable the Rukongai was beyond the Seventy-Eighth District, so she had never even thought of setting foot there.
She originally thought that the Seventy-Ninth District she imagined was already bad enough.
But when she saw it with her own eyes, she realized that she had been too conservative in her thinking.
This was not a place for humans to live; this was simply hell.
Such a place should not exist in the Soul Society at all; it should exist directly in hell.
Because the souls who could go to the Soul Society were not extremely evil people in their lives.
Why should they come to the Soul Society to suffer?
Perhaps before coming to the Soul Society, they had fantasized about all the good things in the Soul Society, completely unaware that they would come to such a hell.
Yoruichi Shihouin's heart grew heavy.
For some reason, the past prosperity of the Soul Society flashed through her mind one by one.
This truly was 'the rich have wine and meat to spare, while the poor freeze to death by the roadside.'
It was too ironic; who would have thought that within this prosperous Soul Society, such a dark abyss still existed?
As Yoruichi Shihouin's thoughts were in disarray, Gilgamesh slowly rose from his throne.
The Vimana did not fully descend but stopped in mid-air.
The villains who had gathered, seeing this scene, couldn't help but become restless.
In their restlessness, due to slight friction, they began to fight each other again.
The scene quickly descended into chaos.
Dismembered limbs were scattered everywhere, and blood unknowingly stained the ground.
Abarai Renji and Rukia watched this scene, their pupils trembling violently.
This scene, like hellish demons slaughtering each other, was unbearable for them.
Abarai Renji even couldn't help but run to the side and started to vomit.
Rukia was not much better.
Just as Rukia was about to succumb, Gilgamesh had already walked over, his expression unchanged as he looked at the scene, only a cold glint flashing in his wine-red eyes, and he shouted, "All of you, stop for this King!"
Although Gilgamesh's voice was childish, it contained a domineering and majestic aura that was enough to make one's heart palpitate, clearly reaching everyone's ears.
But the villains caught in the chaos were already immersed in the slaughter, completely ignoring Gilgamesh's words.
Through the illumination of the All-Knowing and Almighty Star, Gilgamesh could clearly see that the people below had become puppets dominated by desire, greed, and slaughter.
Perfect, Gilgamesh needed such people.
If he could conquer these people, they would become the sharpest weapon for expanding his territory.
Yoruichi Shihouin then opened her mouth, wanting to say something.
But before she could speak, she saw Gilgamesh speak again: "Ignorant fools, look up at the sky! This is the last mercy this King will grant you!"
Yoruichi Shihouin didn't understand what Gilgamesh meant by that.
But soon, she saw a golden ripple suddenly appear in the sky, facing the ground.
Immediately, a huge sword tip slowly emerged from the golden ripple.
This sword tip was so enormous that the exposed part alone was already larger than Abarai Renji's entire body.
This was only the sword tip; it was hard to imagine how large the complete sword would be.
Yoruichi Shihouin's pupils couldn't help but tremble violently, and she couldn't help but ask, "What kind of sword is this?!"
"The name of this sword is Igalima."
"It is also called Zan Shan Jian (Mountain Cutting Sword)!"
End of Chapter