Chapter 19: Gilgamesh's Zanpakutō?
"Igalima."
"Zan Shan Jian (Mountain Cutting Sword)."
Yoruichi Shihouin murmured, her mind racing.
The famous Zanpakuto of the Soul Society flashed through her mind one by one.
But Yoruichi Shihouin couldn't find a Zanpakuto named 'Igalima' or 'Zan Shan Jian (Mountain Cutting Sword)'.
Could Zan Shan Jian (Mountain Cutting Sword) be a divine artifact similar to sōkyoku?
sōkyoku is an execution tool used in the Soul Society for criminals, composed of a spear and a cross.
The spear, in its released form, becomes a giant bird named 'Hōgyoku King', said to possess the destructive power of a million Zanpakuto.
At the same time, the golden light scattered, finally attracting the attention of the villains.
Some villains instinctively raised their heads and looked at the sky.
At this sight, their pupils dilated violently, and they couldn't help but murmur, "Wh-what is that?"
Looking at the enormous, boneless, double-edged greatsword that obscured the sky, even those who were perpetually immersed in slaughter, enjoying the thrill of blood and death, couldn't help but feel fear.
After a brief silence, someone, it was unclear who, shouted.
"Run! Run!"
This sound was like an exploding bomb, causing the villains present to frantically flee.
Even those villains with severed limbs forgot their pain at this moment, their faces filled with terror as they struggled to escape.
Finally, Zan Shan Jian (Mountain Cutting Sword) landed.
Boom!
With a thunderous roar, the ground cracked, rocks flew into the sky, and dust billowed, obscuring vision. Only the villains' shrill screams could be heard.
This massive commotion attracted the attention of the people in the central area of Tobi, who all looked over with shock, awe, and fear.
They didn't know what had happened, but they could see the Vimana floating in the sky, and the incredibly massive Zan Shan Jian (Mountain Cutting Sword).
Zan Shan Jian (Mountain Cutting Sword) was truly enormous; its hilt stood just in front of the Vimana.
Abarai Renji and Rukia looked at the hilt, which was almost level with their own height, their pupils trembling violently.
They found it hard to imagine what kind of person could wield such a massive sword.
Although Gilgamesh had summoned Zan Shan Jian (Mountain Cutting Sword), his stature was similar to Abarai Renji's, so they didn't believe Gilgamesh could wield Zan Shan Jian (Mountain Cutting Sword).
It was at this moment that Gilgamesh slowly walked towards the hilt of Zan Shan Jian (Mountain Cutting Sword).
Under the astonished gazes of Yoruichi Shihouin, Abarai Renji, and Rukia, he grasped the hilt of Zan Shan Jian (Mountain Cutting Sword) with his right hand, holding it in a reverse grip.
However, the hilt of Zan Shan Jian (Mountain Cutting Sword) was simply too large, making it look as if Gilgamesh's right hand was merely resting on it.
From Gilgamesh's demeanor, it seemed he intended to lift Zan Shan Jian (Mountain Cutting Sword).
But how could this be possible? Even if Gilgamesh embraced the hilt with both hands, he couldn't hold it, so how could he possibly lift Zan Shan Jian (Mountain Cutting Sword)?
A golden ripple appeared again.
This time, it appeared in front of Gilgamesh's left hand.
Gilgamesh reached his left hand into the ripple and pulled out a golden Holy Grail.
This Holy Grail was called the Uruk Great Cup, the original form of the Holy Grail in the Type-Moon World.
However, unlike the Holy Grail, which is known as a 'universal wish-granting machine,' the Uruk Great Cup is a pure crystallization of magical power, containing an unimaginably vast amount of it.
Igalima, in sumerian mythology, is the second son of the chief deity of the city-state of Lagash.
It is said that this Zan Shan Jian (Mountain Cutting Sword) is a divine weapon transformed from Igalima, and also one of the two weapons of Zababa, the guardian deity and war goddess of the city-state of Kish.
Therefore, to unleash the true power of Igalima, immense magical power is required as a support.
This is also why Gilgamesh brought out the Uruk Great Cup.
As Gilgamesh's thoughts stirred, the immense magical power contained within the Uruk Great Cup surged into his body like a tide, and then flowed from Gilgamesh into Zan Shan Jian (Mountain Cutting Sword).
Because there is no magical power in the Shinigami World, even Yoruichi Shihouin couldn't detect it.
She was simply puzzled, wondering why Gilgamesh would produce a golden Holy Grail.
But soon, her confusion was resolved.
Under everyone's shocked and disbelieving gazes, Zan Shan Jian (Mountain Cutting Sword) began to gradually shrink, finally becoming a three-meter-long, double-edged, boneless greatsword held in Gilgamesh's hand.
Zan Shan Jian (Mountain Cutting Sword)... was actually lifted by Gilgamesh.
However, what did Gilgamesh intend to do after lifting Zan Shan Jian (Mountain Cutting Sword)?
New questions arose in everyone's minds.
As if he had seen through their thoughts and doubts, Gilgamesh offered no verbal explanation. Instead, he held Zan Shan Jian (Mountain Cutting Sword) horizontally, assuming a drawing-slash stance, and chanted the Noble Phantasm release incantation.
"The great, enormous, boneless greatsword that cuts and opens even a thousand mountains!"
"It does not merely cut with its blade, nor does it merely open with its mass!"
"The horizon contained within this sword is the principle by which heaven and earth are absolutely separated!"
Terrifying power surged from Zan Shan Jian (Mountain Cutting Sword), causing space itself to tremble.
The air currents surged wildly, forcing Abarai Renji and Rukia to retreat uncontrollably.
Yoruichi Shihouin's pupils had shrunk to pinpricks at this moment; a strong sense of danger surged within her.
The villains in the central district of Tobi were all on high alert at this moment.
They would die.
If they took this blow, they would die.
This was the warning constantly echoing in their minds.
Instinctively, they wanted to run, to escape the danger.
But under an invisible, terrifying pressure, they were unable to move.
It was at this moment that Gilgamesh fiercely brought down Zan Shan Jian (Mountain Cutting Sword) on the forest separating the 78th District and the Seventy-Ninth District, shouting, "The verdant horizon that opens a thousand mountains... Igalima!"
The next moment, a verdant horizon, spanning the sky, swept towards the forest along the trajectory of Zan Shan Jian (Mountain Cutting Sword)'s slash.
Heaven and earth seemed to fall silent at this moment; everyone seemed entranced, their eyes fixed on that verdant horizon.
On the Vimana.
Due to their vantage point, Yoruichi Shihouin, Abarai Renji, and Rukia saw clearly.
As the verdant horizon passed through the forest separating the 78th District and the Seventy-Ninth District, everything within it—trees, flowers, beasts, villains, as well as cliffs and boulders—was sliced from its roots.
From a distance, the forest looked like chives, cut clean from the root with a single stroke, the process incredibly smooth, without the slightest hesitation.
Just as Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasm release incantation had stated, after Zan Shan Jian (Mountain Cutting Sword)'s strike, the horizon, which had originally been covered by forests and mountains, appeared before everyone's eyes.
Abarai Renji and Rukia were already dumbfounded, their minds blank, utterly shocked.
Although Yoruichi Shihouin didn't react like Abarai Renji and Rukia, her heart was also greatly shaken.
In Yoruichi Shihouin's opinion, that strike just now was entirely comparable to the Bankai of those high-ranking captains.
However, she couldn't sense any spiritual pressure from Gilgamesh that could rival a captain's Bankai.
Although she didn't know what was going on, Yoruichi Shihouin had already concluded that Zan Shan Jian (Mountain Cutting Sword) was Gilgamesh's Zanpakuto.
Aside from Zanpakuto, those man-made divine artifacts simply couldn't possess such power.
At the same time, after Gilgamesh displayed such power, Yoruichi Shihouin's notion that 'Gilgamesh could not successfully establish a nation' began to waver.
'Perhaps he truly can establish a nation in Rukongai.'
(Due to the protagonist's name issue, it has now been directly changed to Gilgamesh.)
End of Chapter