Crimson mist drifted through the cold wind, scattering across the ruins of what had once been hailed as a sacred pure land.
The final traces of the Zero Division's Sword God, Nimaiya Ōetsu, and Hot Spring Demon, Kirinji Tenjirō, had vanished beneath the overwhelming force of Tobirama's previous attack.
A deathly silence settled over the ruins.
"Clang..."
The enormous wooden spoon used to serve high-concentration reishi cuisine slipped from the fingers of Hikifune Kirio, the Grain King, and struck the shattered white jade bricks.
Her normally cheerful face had lost all color.
Beside her, the six mechanical arms behind Shutara Senjumaru, the Great Weaver, trembled violently in the air, their joints producing an unsettling metallic creak.
Physical strength could actually reach such a level?
No Zanpakutō release.
No world-destroying Kidō.
Just one ordinary punch had completely overwhelmed two ancient members of the Zero Division.
This had already exceeded their understanding of what "power" meant.
It was a level of physical supremacy that ruthlessly trampled the fundamental Laws they had always believed themselves capable of controlling.
"Retreat! Kirio! Senjumaru!"
A roar like a great bell suddenly shattered the suffocating silence.
Ichibe Hyosube, the absolute leader of the Zero Division and the Namer of all things in the Soul Society, finally broke free from his shock.
His massive frame stepped forward, shielding his two stunned companions.
The monk who normally appeared calm and enlightened now wore an expression of unprecedented seriousness.
His deep-set eyes were fixed upon the silver-haired youth before him.
Tobirama's breathing had not changed in the slightest.
Ichibe gripped his enormous brush so tightly that his knuckles turned pale.
"I admit that you are an anomaly."
"The physical strength contained within your body has already exceeded the limits this world should be capable of supporting."
His voice was deep and resonant.
Thick, pitch-black ink slowly began flowing from the giant brush in his hand, seemingly capable of swallowing all light.
"However, as long as you continue to exist within this world—as long as you possess a form and a name—you cannot escape my judgment!"
"No matter how powerful brute force becomes, it means nothing before a concept that reaches directly toward the Origin!"
Ichibe suddenly held the enormous brush horizontally across his chest.
Ancient and terrifying Spiritual Pressure erupted from his body, carrying the weight of the world's dawn.
"Blacken! Ichimonji!"
Splash!!!
With his shout, the bristles of the massive brush transformed into a razor-sharp blade.
At the same time, all the blackness throughout the ruins—and even across the Soul Society itself—seemed to respond to his command.
The darkness of the night sky.
The shadows cast by the ruins.
Even the black clothing worn by Yoruichi and the other women behind Tobirama.
Everything seemed to answer the summons.
This was the conceptual ability of Ichimonji, Ichibe Hyosube's Zanpakutō.
Its true terror did not lie in the physical blade.
It lay in the ink.
Anything touched by its ink could have its name erased.
And in the Soul Society, losing one's name meant losing the concept and power associated with that name.
"Madman from another world!"
Ichibe swung the enormous brush-blade.
"I shall strip away the meaning of your existence!"
"Wash away all your sins and return to nothingness!"
Ssh! Ssh! Ssh!
An enormous amount of black ink flooded through the air like a storm, descending toward Tobirama.
The ink ignored ordinary physical defenses and seemed to bypass the boundaries of space itself.
It represented a pure Law of conceptual deprivation.
"Master!"
Bambietta Basterbine, Tier Harribel, and the others instinctively tensed as the black ink descended.
Even protected by Tobirama's presence, they could feel an instinctive terror deep within their Souls, as though their very names were being targeted.
Yet Tobirama didn't even raise a hand.
One hand remained casually in his pocket.
His Tenseigan, swirling with the light of dying stars, watched the approaching ink with complete indifference.
Then—
Splash.
The black ink covered his dark-gold robes, his exposed cheeks, and his silver hair.
For an instant, Tobirama was completely covered in darkness.
"Hahahahaha!"
Seeing this, Ichibe Hyosube finally laughed.
The cold sweat that had covered his face disappeared as confidence returned to his expression.
"You fell for it!"
"Ignorant beast!"
He swung the brush triumphantly.
"Your name, your strength, and everything associated with your existence in this world have been erased by my Ichimonji!"
"You are now nothing more than a nameless existence without power or meaning!"
Ichibe immediately pressed his advantage.
He bit his finger and rapidly wrote in the air using the ink.
"Since you have become a blank sheet, I shall give you a new name!"
A twisted black character for "Ant" appeared in the air before transforming into black light and shooting toward Tobirama.
"From now on, your name is Black Ant!"
"Your strength, dignity, and everything you possess will become as insignificant as an ant!"
"This is the ultimate judgment of the Zero Division!"
Behind him, Hikifune Kirio and Shutara Senjumaru finally felt a trace of hope.
"As expected of the Monk..."
"No matter how overwhelming his physical strength is, once Ichimonji rewrites his concept, it will all be over..."
However—
Their relief lasted less than half a second.
"Heh..."
A faint laugh suddenly echoed through the ruins.
Then—
"Hahaha... Hahahahahaha!"
The laughter rapidly grew louder.
The rubble surrounding the ruins began trembling beneath the force of the sound.
Ichibe's expression froze.
The man covered in ink slowly raised his head.
"Vroom————!!!"
A supreme force erupted from within Uchiha Tobirama.
The power was countless times more overwhelming than before, spreading through the surrounding space with such intensity that the entire dimension seemed to tremble.
The black ink covering his body reacted violently.
It began hissing and dissipating as though it had encountered an overwhelming force it could not withstand.
Within moments, the ink vanished completely, leaving not even a trace behind.
"How... is that possible?!"
Ichibe's eyes widened.
His victorious expression twisted into disbelief.
Ichimonji had actually failed.
No.
It had been completely overwhelmed.
The moment his conceptual power attempted to erase Tobirama's name, it had encountered an absolute barrier that Ichibe could neither understand nor analyze.
"With this little bit of ink, you dare attempt to alter My name?"
Tobirama was surrounded by shimmering jade-colored Sage light.
His eyes looked down upon Ichibe with the same pity one might show toward an insignificant insect.
"My name is inscribed with the Origin of fused multidimensional Universes and carries the creative power of a Divine Rank System."
"The weight of my existence has long surpassed the dimensional capacity of your dilapidated world."
Tobirama slowly took a step forward.
His voice rang through the monk's mind like a death knell.
"You are using an outdated processor to format a quantum supercomputing center containing the data of infinite Universes."
"The moment your so-called cheat touched My concept..."
A cold smile appeared on Tobirama's face.
"It crashed because it lacked the capacity to contain it."
His meaning was simple.
Ichibe could alter names.
But Tobirama's existence was simply too vast.
His name was too heavy.
His existence was too far beyond the limits of this world.
Ichimonji could not contain it.
"Crack... crack, crack, crack!"
As if confirming Tobirama's words, countless crimson cracks suddenly appeared across the surface of Ichibe's Ichimonji.
"No!"
"My Ichimonji!"
Ichibe's expression changed dramatically.
He realized that this was not Tobirama directly attacking his Zanpakutō.
It was the backlash created when Ichimonji attempted to rewrite an existence that the Laws of this Universe could not contain.
"Bang————————!!!!"
The conceptual Zanpakutō suddenly exploded in Ichibe's hands.
Fragments scattered across the ruined ground.
But the backlash did not end there.
The high-dimensional force created by the failed conceptual rewrite surged back through the broken weapon and struck Ichibe directly.
"Aaaagh!!!"
Ichibe staggered backward.
His arms were overwhelmed by the backlash, leaving him unable to properly control them.
His vision also became distorted as the immense conceptual pressure continued surging through his body.
The monk who had always considered himself capable of naming and controlling everything in the world had now been struck by the very Law he had relied upon.
His ultimate trump card had turned against him.
"Monk!!!"
Shutara Senjumaru and Hikifune Kirio were horrified.
They could hardly believe that their supposedly invincible leader had been reduced to such a state without Tobirama even needing to directly attack him.
Yet Tobirama showed no hesitation.
"Whoosh."
His figure disappeared.
In the next instant, he appeared directly before Ichibe.
The monk was barely able to regain his balance.
Tobirama looked down at him coldly.
"How unsightly."
"A remnant of the old era."
He slightly parted his lips.
Deep within his throat, a purple-white light began to shine.
Sage Chakra merged with the supreme cutting power of Yin-Yang Release.
Lightning and Water nature transformations fused together at the highest level.
A terrifying Sage Art capable of cutting through even time and space was formed.
"Sage Art: Storm Release Light Fang."
Ssh————!!!
A thin purple-white beam shot from Tobirama's mouth.
Its speed surpassed the perception limits of this world.
It flashed across Ichibe's neck before the monk could react.
Ichibe's scream abruptly stopped.
For a moment, absolute silence returned to the ruins.
The immense pressure disappeared.
Ichibe collapsed, completely defeated.
The strongest Shinigami, the leader of the Zero Division, had attempted to use the Laws of the world to judge an existence beyond those very Laws.
In the end, his own power had turned against him, leaving him completely unable to continue the battle.
Tobirama slowly closed his lips, and the purple-white light disappeared.
He stood with his hands behind his back.
Amid the fading dust and falling debris, his dark-gold figure appeared like the solitary ruler of the world's end.
He slowly turned his head.
His eyes, swirling with the light of dying stars, locked onto the two remaining female members of the Zero Division.
"Now."
His cold voice echoed across the ruined Soul King Palace.
"Does anyone else want to change My name?"