"What's happening?!"
"The Head Captain's aura, along with that towering, overwhelming spiritual pressure, is compressing back into his body at an alarming speed! Even Ryūjin Jakka's flames are no longer fierce and domineering!"
In the Thirteenth Division, Kyoraku Shunsui stared intently at the screen, frowning as the flames in the video visibly diminished. It was too strange! To utterly destroy Yhwach's flesh, Ryūjin Jakka should be unleashing its full destructive power, not retracting it.
Unless…
Kyoraku's eyes widened in shock, his trembling lips barely forming the words: "Could it be… the Head Captain is about to release his Bankai?"
Ryūjin Jakka's Bankai! A legendary power that even Kyoraku, one of Yamamoto's closest disciples, had never witnessed. Legends spoke of a terrifying flame monster from a thousand years ago, during the genocidal blood war between Shinigami and Quincies. On a battlefield littered with corpses, this entity slaughtered indiscriminately, sparing neither friend nor foe. Ancient oil paintings in the Shin'ō Academy's art hall and the Central Great Spirit Book Corridor still depicted this monstrous figure—a representation of Yamamoto himself, unleashed in his Bankai state.
A thousand years ago, Yamamoto was not the benevolent elder he was now. To annihilate his enemies, he spared no cost, even sacrificing his subordinates or half the Soul Society. Now, after a millennium, the ferocious tiger was breaking free from its cage, and the terrifying flame monster was about to reemerge!
"Look! The flames are shrinking faster! The video's getting clearer—he's really going to release his Bankai!" Ukitake Jūshirō pointed at the transparent screen, his face pale with worry. The vanishing flames didn't signal the end of the battle but the calm before a catastrophic storm.
Once Ryūjin Jakka's Bankai was unleashed, it wouldn't just endanger Yhwach or the future Seireitei—it would threaten everyone watching the video in the present! This was Ukitake's greatest fear, yet as a mere spectator, he was powerless to stop it.
The final wisp of flame extinguished on the ground. The video showed a serene, post-storm scene, with bright light illuminating Yamamoto's figure, casting a long shadow on the scorched earth. His Zanpakutō, Ryūjin Jakka, no longer gleamed with its usual sharpness; its blade had turned charred black, like iron dregs.
"Hm?!" Yhwach frowned, his gaze fixed on the blackened blade, his expression freezing alongside the disappearing flames. "He's… going to release his Bankai?!"
A surge of unease and dread forced Yhwach to step back instinctively, widening the distance between himself and Yamamoto. This retreat betrayed a moment of weakness, a rare falter from the Quincy King.
"It seems you haven't forgotten the pain from a thousand years ago, Yhwach…" Yamamoto advanced, gripping the blackened blade. Though no flames surrounded him, his presence was more terrifying than ever. If before he was a raging volcano, now he and his blade were like an earthquake brewing deep within the earth's core, capable of triggering a tsunami to devastate the Soul Society.
The ancient, resonant chant echoed through time and space: "Bankai—Zanka no Tachi!!!"
---
The audience gasped. "Unbelievable! That charred, shrunken blade is Ryūjin Jakka's Bankai? The contrast is too stark!" Gin Ichimaru, retreating to the edge of the room, dared not approach the screen. Even he, a spectator, felt his sly grin freeze at the sight of Zanka no Tachi.
The Bankai's appearance was underwhelming compared to the grandiose Shikai, yet the audience, burned by past underestimations, kept their distance, fearing its power.
Aizen, with his keen insight, saw through it instantly. "The flames haven't vanished—they're sealed within that charred blade. All of Ryūjin Jakka's destructive power is concentrated into a single, razor-sharp point. That's what makes it truly terrifying."
Gin blinked, confused. "Sealing flames? Didn't Wonderweiss already try that?"
Yamamoto's actions answered him. "Yhwach… you should never forget this blade," he said, stepping forward with a boom. The ground cracked under his sandal, and his aged body leaped like an explosive, swinging the blackened blade at Yhwach.
"Zanka no Tachi, East—all of Ryūjin Jakka's flames are sealed in the blade's tip. It doesn't burn or explode—it erases whatever it touches from existence, just as you're about to experience!"
The blade descended. Yhwach scoffed, "Thanks for explaining your ability, Yamamoto. I just need to dodge the tip!" He activated Blut Arterie to escape, but he underestimated the blade's speed. Before he could fully retreat, the blackened tip nearly grazed his head. He raised his spirit sword to block, hoping to buy time.
But the moment Zanka no Tachi touched his blade, it melted and vanished without a sound. Yhwach's sword was reduced to a bare hilt, and his crimson cloak, brushing the blade's tip, disintegrated instantly. Terror gripped him as he twisted away, narrowly avoiding decapitation.
"Now do you understand?" Yamamoto said coldly, lowering his blade. "Even after a thousand years, time hasn't closed the gap between us. You will be erased by me once again."
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