________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The situation changed in an instant.
Just as the audience was still savoring the mind games between the two leaders, Hyōsube Ichibē, who had been standing with his back turned, suddenly launched an attack.
Boom!
Within the space of the Royal Palace, spirit particles that had been compressed and settled for thousands of years surged together like a devouring whale, condensing at terrifying density and forming a colossal hand that stretched for miles.
The power packed inside it was so overwhelming that it manifested as solid, white pressure, crashing furiously toward Yhwach, straight at the camera's point of view.
That single slap did more than shatter the air. It made Yhwach's expression change instantly, and it terrified the viewers watching from the real world.
"With nothing but a flashy turn, he can unleash a move comparable to a level ninety-plus Kidō…"
In an underground chamber, Aizen watched the screen as it was completely filled by that vast white pressure wave, something that looked unreal yet undeniably physical. His eyelids twitched.
Even someone as perceptive as him couldn't immediately make sense of it.
What exactly was the Thousand-Mile Heaven-Piercing Palm?
Kidō? Hakuda? Or perhaps a special ability tied to a Zanpakutō?
Aizen narrowed his eyes, thought for a moment, then rejected every one of those ideas.
None of them fit.
This was clearly something entirely new.
A mysterious power never recorded in the Shin'ō Academy's teachings, nor in any of the ancient tomes stored within the Great Library Corridor.
"What an insane pressure wave!"
"If that palm spread out inside Seireitei, it could probably flatten over half the barracks, right?" Ichimaru Gin's pale-purple bangs fluttered in the wind as his heart shook with fear.
Good grief.
The scale of these fights just kept getting more ridiculous.
Right out of the gate, the monk went straight for something massive.
At this level of godlike combat, anyone who wasn't at the absolute pinnacle of Shinigami strength would be nothing more than a bug, slapped to death in an instant.
And in truth, Gin wasn't wrong at all.
On the screen, Yhwach's face twisted. Even before opening his eyes, he already possessed power that surpassed the Shinigami peak by a noticeable margin.
But…
Against the Big-Eyed Monk, who was even stronger, Yhwach's power was suppressed head-on without the slightest suspense.
He reacted immediately, yet every muscle in his body was still brutally crushed by the heavy palm wind. Beneath that red cloak, his body was like fish laid out on a cutting board.
Completely at another's mercy.
"O King of the Quincy, who has come from afar…"
"Please, graciously accept this welcome gift. You don't have the right to refuse."
With his honest-looking expression, chubby cheeks, and polite, almost courteous tone, no one would ever associate the Big-Eyed Monk with the image of a mass-murdering fiend.
And yet—
As the Thousand-Mile Heaven-Piercing Palm fully swept across the screen, something so outrageous happened that countless jaws nearly dropped to the floor.
Bang!
The collision sounded like thunder, breaking the sound barrier outright and detonating the spirit-particle air a second time.
Amid the endless roaring explosions, Yhwach's black figure was sent flying with almost no resistance at all, slapped straight out of the Royal Palace and vanishing from the frame.
What stunned people even more was what came next.
Even though the camera immediately tried to track him and capture his sorry state as he flew backward, it simply couldn't keep up with the speed of his fall.
Which meant—
The force of that palm strike had exceeded the limits of what the video itself could handle. Even the footage couldn't fully display its power.
This bizarre phenomenon, something never seen before, sent shockwaves through the entire world of the Shinigami.
"Captain-Commander…"
"Lord Hyōsube really is as hot-tempered as ever," Sasakibe Chōjirō said, terror flashing in his eyes. The pressure from that palm alone had nearly suffocated him.
"Hm… Chōjirō, you're mistaken," the Captain-Commander said, leaning on his cane as he shook his head. "The Big-Eyed Monk's nature is both righteous and wicked. When it comes to his own people, he's gentle and hospitable. On the other hand…"
His aged gaze followed the camera to Yhwach's figure, now reduced to a tiny black dot. With clear hatred, he continued,
"Any enemy who trespasses into the ancient space of the Royal Palace without permission will meet the same fate as Yhwach."
"And especially if they dare to shout the Big-Eyed Monk's name recklessly… he'll crush their throat on the spot."
Those chilling words hung in the empty air of the First Division barracks.
At this moment, Yhwach's body was still being crushed by raging winds, unable to move, thousands of miles away from the Royal Palace.
But halfway through his flight, the Thousand-Mile Heaven-Piercing Palm appeared again.
This time, directly above him.
Bang!
In the distant heavens surrounding the Royal Palace, a forbidden domain that had remained silent for thousands of years without a single footprint or sound, Yhwach was blasted away for the second time.
As the clouds were violently torn apart, it was as if an oversized hydrogen bomb had been dropped from nowhere. A massive shockwave erupted again, creating an enormous white pressure wave that spread across the sky.
This time, the camera finally caught it.
Yet compared to that overwhelming pressure wave that filled most of the firmament, Yhwach's falling figure looked no bigger than a tiny bird.
This horrifying, exaggerated scene made everyone break out in a cold sweat once more.
A sharp intake of breath echoed everywhere.
The sound of people swallowing spread like it was free.
Watching the Quincy King's aura rapidly weaken after being beaten down again, many couldn't help but feel a strange sympathy for him.
This was just too miserable.
No matter what, he was the leader of the pure-blood Quincy.
And yet he was being treated like a balloon, slapped around at will, completely unable to fight back.
What an undignified end.
At the same time, others were swept up in fervent admiration for the monk's overwhelming, unfathomable strength.
"As expected of the head of Squad Zero. The Big-Eyed Monk is absurdly strong!"
"I'm starting to believe it now. Just him alone probably makes up ninety-nine percent of Squad Zero's power!"
"As for the four who died… they were probably just accessories hanging off his thigh, right?"
…
The powerful figures of the Shinigami world suddenly realized something.
Squad Zero was legendary not because of five people, but because of Hyōsube Ichibē alone. The other four were basically just along for the ride.
At this moment, because the monk was deliberately controlling the direction of the blows, Yhwach was still falling between the two black forbidden lines.
But—
Just as he was about to hit the ground—
Flash step. Closing in.
Hyōsube Ichibē's ghostlike figure appeared out of nowhere, overtaking Yhwach's falling speed. He rolled up his sleeves, revealing thick, massive arms.
"What's he going to do? Choke Yhwach to death with his bare hands?"
The same thought flashed through everyone's mind at once.
And sure enough—
At the instant before impact, the unarmed monk savagely grabbed Yhwach by the neck. Before the astonished eyes of the entire Shinigami world, he pinned the Quincy King's throat and yanked outward with brutal force.
Rip!
The sound of flesh tearing and vocal cords being ripped apart rang out as a column of blood shot up dozens of meters into the air like a geyser.
It swallowed the retreating clouds and splattered across the screen, dyeing the footage crimson.
Blood.
So vivid it felt as if it splashed directly onto everyone's faces.
"..."
______________________________________________________________________________________________________