"Wow…"
"Eyeball Monk, you really are the same as always—every word you say, you always carry out."
"You actually crushed the throat of the King of the Quincy… for real…"
"At this rate, I bet the entire world—other than the Shinigami—will think we Zero Squad members are the villains now!"
At this moment,
Above the Soul Society—
Deep within the clouds, sealed off by seventy-two layers of barriers, inside the mysterious realm known as the Royal Palace.
Inside the Zero Division's "Infinite Bone Hall," a lazy, teasing voice echoed.
The one speaking had a tall, airplane-styled pompadour haircut, a blade of grass resting casually between his lips.
He wasn't wearing a standard shihakushō. His posture was relaxed, almost playful—Kirinji Tenjirō.
Right now,
He raised his head toward the translucent screen in front of him and grinned.
Beside him,
The other four members of the Royal Guard—Ōetsu, Hikifune Kirio, Shutara Senjumaru, and Ichibē Hyōsube—were all present.
Yes.
Even the star of this arc—Ichibē the Monk—was standing before the screen, watching his own recent performance with clear amusement.
"Heh…"
With his eyes rolling mischievously, Ichibē let out a satisfied laugh.
"It was quite refreshing to punish someone disrespectful."
"But… I'm curious. That little ant who snuck up here all on his own—did he… actually defeat old man Yamamoto?"
"Otherwise, wouldn't he have no right to appear before the future version of me?"
Holding his deep-red prayer beads with both hands, Ichibē slightly frowned.
Clearly,
He found the idea of Yhwach trespassing into the Royal Palace completely unacceptable—an act of grave disrespect.
"Yo…"
"Eyeball Monk—if what you say is true, then what about us four? Where'd we disappear to in the future video?"
"Surely we didn't turn into the four hairs hanging off your thigh—clinging to your leg so you can carry us through the whole fight, right?"
Ōetsu Nimaiya, wearing his punk-styled hairdo and hip-hop outfit, dramatically removed his sparkling sunglasses and gave a meaningful look.
Normally,
The five Zero Division members always advance and retreat together.
No one denied Ichibē was overwhelmingly strong—far above the rest of them.
But—
Even the thickest thigh needs people to cling onto it to shine.
So…
Ōetsu was puzzled.
In the future battle displayed in the video, where were they?
They didn't appear even once, like they didn't exist.
Surely not—
They weren't… taken out before the fight even began, right?
How humiliating would that be?
Four of them together, not even able to handle Yhwach?!
"I don't know the details…"
"But that insignificant Yhwach shouldn't be able to break free from the cage I wove myself."
Senjumaru Shutara, with six mechanical arms behind her, gazed coldly at the image of Yhwach being utterly stomped.
Her eyes were sharp, filled with disdain.
Yes.
She simply did not believe—
That Yhwach had the ability to bypass her.
Even without Ichibē intervening, she was certain her Zanpakutō's Bankai—Sasabekaragara Hoshikagelatsuji—
Was more than enough to make the Three Worlds tremble and kill the Quincy King.
"Heh…"
"Don't think too much. Watching the recap always comes with good food!"
"First, everyone have a plate and relax!"
The ever-gentle Hikifune Kirio stepped in to smooth things over.
Laughing, she placed in front of everyone large platters of food she personally cooked.
And because cooking required massive amounts of reiatsu and stamina,
Her body instantly thinned, returning to her original ultra-sexy, voluptuous form.
If Rangiku Matsumoto were present,
She would definitely feel inferior—
Because Hikifune was without question the number-one bust in the Soul Society.
Meanwhile,
Under the gaze of all five Royal Guard members,
The battle between the two leaders continued broadcasting.
Just when viewers thought
With his throat crushed, Yhwach should be unable to speak and forced into silence—
Suddenly—
"I bestow upon myself—VOICE!!!"
The power of The Almighty roared again.
With just a single sentence,
Yhwach not only regained his ability to speak—
The injury on his throat instantly healed.
And then,
He immediately counterattacked aggressively—
"Great Holy Bow!"
Reishi surged outward violently.
A colossal holy bow materialized, filling the entire screen.
It stretched across the entire sky of the Omotesandō.
He drew it, locked onto Ichibē—
And fired a massive, divine reishi arrow!
In an instant, the tide reversed.
The world was shaken.
"No way…"
"How did Yhwach do that?"
"Is it that damn rules-based power again?!"
"Damn it… Why do we Arrancar barely have anyone with abilities like this?!"
Nnoitra clenched his teeth—
Shocked, frustrated, humiliated, and undeniably jealous.
Yes.
After watching so many battles,
Seeing Zanpakutō Bankai and Schrift powers—each tied to outrageous rules—
Nnoitra couldn't help thinking—
Compared to Shinigami and Quincy,
Hollows really WERE behind the times—
Just barbaric brute fighting.
Slashing.
Brawling.
In later battles, these methods looked downright embarrassing.
And once an Arrancar faced someone with higher reiatsu,
Even their strongest techniques—Cero, Bala, Hierro—
Turned into useless trash that couldn't even scratch the opponent.
"In our Arrancar army, only Baraggan's aging ability barely counts as a rule-type power…"
"But even that depends heavily on reiatsu. It's not that competitive…"
Grimacing, Gremmy muttered in annoyance.
Wastod-class… was losing its value.
No wonder the Hollow races
—and all Arrancar—
Ended up with no future screen time.
They were simply… outclassed.
However—
Ichibē's next move made everyone dizzy again.
"Heh…"
"Yhwach, your rebelliousness really is troublesome…"
Raising his enormous arm lightly,
Ichibē reached behind him and grabbed his giant brush-weapon again.
Then—
SWISH!
Ink splattered.
The massive holy arrow coming at him—
Was touched just once by the tip of his brush.
And then—
Before all eyes,
In total shock—
It was stripped of its name and power—
And disintegrated instantly.
It reverted back into scattered reishi particles—
Until it completely vanished.
The whole world fell silent.
Then—
"Holy sh—!!"
"What the hell did Ichibē just do?!"
"That thing could blow up an entire Squad barracks—yet it vanished on contact!"
"It's his Zanpakutō—that giant brush!!!"
People froze.
Eyes wide.
Mouths hanging open.
Brains shutting down.
Even if they tried to understand—
This ruled-based ability was too absurd.
A complete violation of combat logic.
Even the Sternritter—
Were trembling as they stared at "Ichimonji."
As if they were staring directly at their natural predator.
"Only His Majesty is strong enough…"
"To trade blows with this freakish Zero Squad leader…"
"If it were any of us, we'd be toyed with and killed repeatedly!!!"
Bazz-B's flames extinguished instantly.
He didn't even dare bring out his Schrift.
Just imagining himself replacing Yhwach—
Being hit by Ichibē's ink—
His ability would cease on the spot.
And worse—
His body, stained by the ink,
Would be turned into a toy—
Stepped on, crushed, and played with however Ichibē pleased.
This was the collective fear felt by all Sternritter present—
Except Haschwalth.
Ichibē's pressure was too overwhelming—
And "Ichimonji" was something they couldn't even get close to.
In the footage—
Both combatants clashed at close-range again!
CLANG!!!
Metal crashed violently.
With his voice restored, Yhwach sneered coldly:
"Hm…"
"That's all you amount to… Ichibē!"
His arrogance, plus that smirk—
Even made some viewers think
He had temporarily gained the upper hand.
"Just as expected…"
"Compared to his previous fight against the old man, Yhwach really has grown far stronger!"
Inside Urahara's shop,
Urahara Kisuke nodded.
From the start of the fight until now,
He had been analyzing carefully.
And after comparing—
He was certain:
The two Yhwachs—pre-Royal Palace and post-Royal Palace—were not equal in power.
"Store manager, you mean…"
Hirako Shinji widened his eyes:
"He absorbed something from the Head Captain, so he grew stronger?"
"No way…"
Gulping, Shinji felt a horrifying idea surface—
"He couldn't possibly have stolen the Bankai, right…?"
"The Bankai of Ryūjin Jakka… the world-burning Bankai… stolen?!"
Just saying the words nearly made him faint.
It was too absurd.
Stealing a Bankai—
AND that Bankai on top of it.
Impossible—
Even if Yhwach had demonstrated illogical rule-type abilities earlier.
There was no way he could steal a Bankai.
But if he didn't—
Then how did he gain this much power?
"I'm not sure…"
"But after invading the Soul Society—"
"He arrogantly trespassed into the Royal Palace!"
At this moment,
The video continued—Ichibē laughing between strokes of his brush:
"Heh…"
"Yhwach, didn't you notice?"
"Just now—when you were forced to block—you used your arm to stop me."
Planting his giant brush before him,
Ichibē leaned on it, smirking.
"What do you mean?"
Yhwach frowned—
His arrogance flickering with unease.
"My primary strike does not cut flesh—"
"It cuts names."
"As you saw."
"Your arm…"
"I already cut half its name away earlier."
"Now it is no longer an 'arm.'"
"It is merely a 'hand.' Half its meaning—gone."
Ichibē grinned, his eyes turning white, ink dripping with cruelty.
"Since its name is reduced—its power is also halved."
"It becomes heavier… weaker… and capable of only half the actions!"
This revelation shook the entire world.
"Holy—!!"
"A rule-type basic attack?!"
"His normal swing removes half your power?!"
"This monk's basic attack is other people's ultimate move!!!"
No one could believe it.
This was beyond comprehension—
A rule power at its absolute extreme.
This was why Ichibē—
And his Zanpakutō—
Deserved first place.
The ability was simply too terrifying—
A complete rewrite of what sword combat meant.
(End of Chapter)
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