Clang! Clash!
Clang! Clash!
Blinding sparks flashed continuously within the pitch-black Enma barrier. Two figures split apart and clashed again in midair, each gripping a Zanpakutō and slashing fiercely at the other.
"What's wrong, Captain Tōsen?" Fūjin Taichi taunted while swinging his blade. "Your prized Bankai doesn't seem to be working! Aren't you even a little curious why?"
"..."
Kaname Tōsen remained silent, as though unaffected by the trash talk.
Yet as the battle dragged on, his heart grew increasingly shaken.
What's going on? Why isn't he affected by Enma Kōrogi at all? Has he… truly reached captain-level strength?!
"Oh? You zoned out!"
Taichi suddenly closed in and slashed down without hesitation.
"Slash—!"
Although Tōsen reacted in time, the blade still carved a wound across his left ribs. A spray of crimson blood scattered into the darkness.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Suppressing a groan, Tōsen retreated twice in rapid succession, pulling back to a corner of the barrier and widening the distance between them.
Dammit... how? How can he see through my every move? He's even countering me with perfect precision—
Tōsen's mind raced. Even if he truly possesses Captain-level power... he should still be stripped of his sight, hearing, smell, and spiritual sense by Enma Kōrogi!!
But why? Why! Why does this guy look like he hasn't been affected at all—is this the ability of his so-called 'Bankai'?
"Hey, Captain Tōsen!" Taichi's eyes swept across the darkness as he used the flow of air—wind—to determine Tōsen's position. "Being chased around by a mere vice-captain… can you really swallow that humiliation?"
Yes—even without sight, hearing, smell, spiritual perception, or even normal tactile awareness, Taichi could still rely on the wind, which resonated with his heart, to react accordingly.
For his Wind God Blade, whether it was air currents or fluctuations in spiritual power—as long as there was wind, he could "see" every movement of his enemy.
Damn it! Is his Zanpakutō ability something like a bat's echolocation?!
Realizing his power seemed ineffective, Tōsen held his breath and suppressed his spiritual pressure, focusing solely on capturing Taichi's movements with his ears.
"Got you, Tōsen!"
Appearing suddenly behind him, Taichi sneered and slashed downward.
"What?! When—?!"
Startled, Tōsen shifted aside by two body lengths and used Shunpo to retreat dozens of meters once more.
What he did not realize was this—the larger his movements, the easier it became for Taichi to "see" him and predict his actions in advance.
"Bakudō #61: Rikujōkōrō (Six Rods of Prison Light)!!"
Without even looking, Taichi raised his hand and cast Kidō at a spot roughly two body lengths ahead of Tōsen's position. Six beams of yellow light shot forth instantly, piercing through and binding him.
"Impossible!!" Tōsen tried to use Shunpo to escape, only to find his body completely immobilized by the Six Rods of Light Prison.
Tap, tap... tap!
Taichi stepped up before him, reached out with his left hand, and grasped the hilt of Tōsen's Zanpakutō.
"Ah, much clearer when you can see with your eyes, isn't it, Captain Tōsen?" he chuckled.
"Impossible! How do you know the details of my Bankai?!"
Though Enma Kōrogi could strip away sight, hearing, smell, and spiritual perception, anyone who touched the hilt of Suzumushi would regain their senses.
"Because Captain Aizen told me," Taichi replied mockingly, watching shock flood Tōsen's face. "Surprised? The truth can be cruel."
"Tch…" Tōsen quickly composed himself and snorted coldly.
"Fūjin Taichi, it seems I underestimated you before. But if you think this is enough to ruin Lord Aizen's plan, you're dreami—ahhh!!"
Before he could finish the word "dreaming," a scream tore from his throat.
A blade had pierced straight through his chest, and a torrent of blood gushed forth.
Crash!
The massive black barrier shattered like a broken mirror. Fragment after fragment of darkness fell like a torrential black rain, gradually fading into nothing.
"Taichi!!!" Jūshirō Ukitake, who had already arrived at Sōkyoku Hill, cried out in horror as he witnessed Taichi's blade skewering Tōsen.
"Y-you… you killed Captain Tōsen?!"
"…," Fūjin Taichi pressed his left hand against Kaname Tōsen's head while slowly pulling his Zanpakutō free with his right. Then he looked at Jūshirō Ukitake and Shunsui Kyōraku and said, "It's time to tell you the truth."
"What?"
"Aizen faked his death and hid inside the Seireitei's Seijōtōkyorin. After killing the forty-six sages, he took their place—
If my deduction is correct, from the very day Saitō Tsukuyomi was brought back to Soul Society, he had already begun secretly manipulating Central 46!!"
"Utter nonsense!!"
"What?!" Taichi's heart jolted. A scorching spiritual pressure suddenly erupted from behind him—like standing beneath a blazing midsummer sun while being repeatedly seared by molten lava!
"Genryūsai-sensei!" Ukitake's face filled with worry and alarm as Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto personally arrived at Sōkyoku Hill.
"So even Old Man Yama has come to join the fun… This just got troublesome," Kyōraku thought to himself.
Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh
Several figures appeared at once, faintly encircling Taichi. To his left and right stood:
Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya of the Fifth Division,
Captain Byakuya Kuchiki of the Sixth Division,
Captain Sajin Komamura of the Seventh Division,
and Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi of the Twelfth Division.
Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh
More figures arrived—vice-captains from the various divisions, having rushed over upon hearing the transmission.
Aside from the injured Ōmaeda Marechiyo and Abarai Renji, the lost Kusajishi Yachiru, the absent Kasumiōji Hōko, and Matsumoto Rangiku who was tending to the wounded, nearly all remaining vice-captains were present.
"Captain Tōsen!!"
Shūhei Hisagi was the first to notice his captain lying in a pool of blood. Immediately drawing his Zanpakutō, he pointed it at Taichi and roared, "Fūjin Taichi, how dare you attack Captain Tōsen—!"
"Calm down, Hisagi!" Komamura extended an arm to stop him. His beast-like eyes fixed on Taichi as he said, "It's clear this level of battle… is no longer something you can take part in. Stand down!!"
"But Captain Tōsen—"
"Hisagi!" Komamura drew his own Zanpakutō and strode toward Taichi, his deep voice rumbling. "Tōsen's vengeance… I will settle it myself!!"
"Stand down!!"
The usually taciturn Yamamoto suddenly let out a low roar. The gnarled wooden cane in his hand cracked apart inch by inch, and surging flames erupted from his body!
"!!!"
The captains present were stunned as they witnessed Yamamoto remove the seal from his Zanpakutō.
The Captain-Commander... is finally making his move!!
"Old Man Yama…" Taichi gripped his Zanpakutō, his blue-violet eyes fixed intently on Yamamoto's every movement. Slowly, he spoke:
"Why... can't you open your eyes and see clearly?
Among the Shinigami gathered here—who is loyal, and who is treacherous? Can't you make even one fair and impartial judgment?!!"
"That's enough!!"
The flames around Yamamoto suddenly surged several meters higher. The surrounding air grew scorching and heavy under the weight of his spiritual pressure—like standing naked inside the Eight Trigrams Furnace itself.
"All things in the universe turn to ash—Ryūjin Jakka!"
Enraged by Taichi's unrepentant behavior after slaying Tōsen, Yamamoto released his Zanpakutō, Ryūjin Jakka—
The strongest and oldest fire-type Zanpakutō. Upon its Shikai release, the flames along its blade burn with heat comparable to the surface of the sun, capable of reducing any sin in the world to ashes.