"Fūjin… Taichi! I truly did not expect you to remain so stubbornly unrepentant!!"
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto slowly stepped forward, glaring furiously at Fūjin Taichi.
"As Vice-Captain of the First Division, you committed repeated acts of dereliction of duty—this is the first unforgivable crime;
Privately allowing Ryoka to invade Seireitei—this is the second unforgivable crime;
Grievously injuring several vice-captains, including Chōjirō Sasakibe, without regard for comradeship—this is the third unforgivable crime;
Breaking into prison to rescue the criminals Saitō Tsukuyomi and Saitō Keikichirō, and attacking the Seventh Division captain—this is the fourth unforgivable crime;
And finally… as a criminal yourself, killing the Ninth Division captain, Kaname Tōsen—this is the fifth unforgivable crime!!"
How interesting. I somehow managed to turn myself into a villain even more heinous than Aizen… Taichi slightly turned his gaze toward the Seijōtōkyorin, thinking to himself:
Now, all hope for a comeback rests on Captain Unohana... Until she exposes Aizen's fake death, I just have to grit my teeth and fight the old man!!
"The evidence for the aforementioned crimes is conclusive. In my capacity as Captain of the First Division and Captain-Commander, I shall purge the traitor of the First Division—Fūjin Taichi!!"
Yamamoto slowly raised his Zanpakutō, his eyes fixed on Taichi with searing intensity. With a diagonal slash, a torrent of fire lunged forward like a fire dragon: Ennetsu Jigoku!
The old man really isn't holding back... Fine, I chose this path, I have to walk it to the end. Now—Hasaki!!
Taichi slashed forward with his hand, and a forty-six-meter-wide white wind wall materialized before him, completely blocking the roaring fire dragon.
"Hmph, brat!" Yamamoto snorted coldly. Seeing his flames obstructed by the wind wall, he did not even blink.
Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
The blocked stream of fire suddenly split into two, transforming into twin fire swallows that curved around the wind wall from both sides, launching a second assault!
What?! Taichi had not expected the flames to change form and bypass his defense. With fire closing in from both sides, he had no choice but to leap upward, escaping the encirclement.
"Taimatsu (Torch)!"
At the instant Taichi broke free, Yamamoto launched his second attack. As he drew his blade, a tornado-shaped wall of flame swept up the surrounding fire, spiraling skyward and engulfing Taichi entirely.
"Taichi…" Watching him swallowed whole by the fiery vortex, Jūshirō Ukitake felt his heart sink. Even the hand gripping his Zanpakutō trembled.
"Old Man Yama's strength has grown even more unfathomable…"
Shunsui Kyōraku glanced subtly at the captains present, thinking: Even if Jūshirō and I step in now, we could barely hold him off.
But the remaining captains… who is friend, and who is foe? If we misstep here, the two of us will fall into mortal danger!
"…"
Byakuya Kuchiki frowned slightly at the swirling inferno in the sky, but soon relaxed—he had already spotted a smoking figure bursting out from the flames.
"Boom!"
Taichi's Shihakushō had been burned down to little more than shorts. His upper body and calves were exposed, bronze muscles sturdy and defined—yet thin wisps of scorched smoke rose from his charred skin.
"To escape from Taimatsu... it seems you are worth a bit of my serious effort after all, Fūjin Taichi!"
Yamamoto released a bit more spiritual pressure, sending his captain's haori flying into the air behind him. Then he calmly removed the upper half of his Shihakushō.
rap... the old man is getting serious! Taichi's thoughts raced anxiously. Captain Unohana! Haven't you reached the Seijōtōkyorin yet?!
If this keeps up… before Aizen is exposed, I'll be cremated by Old Man Yama in a single flaming slash!!
"Brat, here is your first lesson: Never turn your back on the enemy on the battlefield!!"
What? Since when—?! Taichi's heart lurched in shock. He hadn't sensed Yamamoto appearing behind him at all.
"Hitotsume: Nadegiri (The First: Killing Stroke)!" Gripping Ryūjin Jakka, Yamamoto unleashed an overwhelming slash of blazing spiritual pressure at Taichi's lower back.
"HASAKI!!!" Taichi swung backward instinctively, but before his white wind wall could fully form, the searing slash struck beneath his ribs.
Splurt!!
Crimson blood sprayed through the air, scattering like blooming red begonias across Sōkyoku Hill.
"Urgh—!"
The instant he was struck, Taichi used Shunpo to retreat over a hundred meters away, intending to widen the gap between them.
But to his utter shock—
While he was still suspended midair, a burning-hot finger pressed against his back.
I-Impossible!! My body won't move... Am I going to die?
Though engulfed in blistering spiritual pressure, cold sweat poured down Taichi's forehead.
"Brat. This ends here." Yamamoto's sharp eyes fixed on him as he softly declared: "Onibi (Demon Fire)!"
BOOM!!
A concentrated blaze of overwhelming spiritual pressure pierced straight through Taichi's body, leaving a basketball-sized, gaping hole in his chest.
The enemy is defeated, I shall take his clothes.. For some reason, that strange phrase suddenly surfaced in Fūjin Taichi's mind. Immediately afterward, scenes from his past in the world of Bleach flashed before his eyes one after another—
"Ugh…" Blood slowly spilled from Taichi's mouth, dripping onto the ground and quickly staining it red.
"Fūjin Taichi… your tenacity truly surprises me. Even at such close range, after taking my Onibi, you still cling to a final breath!"
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto looked on in faint astonishment at the still-breathing Taichi. Then he raised his Zanpakutō and slashed down toward his lower back!!
"Taichi!!" Jūshirō Ukitake cried out and was the first to dash forward. Bracing his Zanpakutō with both hands, he barely managed to block Yamamoto's blade.
"Jūshirō… are you sympathizing with a criminal?" Yamamoto asked coldly, his eyes fixed on him without emotion.
"Genryūsai-sensei! Taichi, Taichi was personally recruited by you to serve as Vice-Captain! Why… why won't you give him one more chance?!"
"Jūshirō! The one I am executing is merely a vice-captain who committed capital crimes—his loss is insignificant! Another can easily replace him—"
Yamamoto spoke calmly.
"But what pains me… is that you two, as captains, would abandon justice for the sake of personal feelings—"
"Sorry, Old Man Yama, but I'm not drawing my blade for 'personal feelings'…"
Shunsui Kyōraku appeared behind Yamamoto and said helplessly, "It's because this whole affair feels just like the 'captains and vice-captains' defection' incident 110 years ago—far too suspicious!"
"Hmm… So you, too, would raise your blade against me?" Yamamoto slowly closed his eyes, clearly unmoved by Kyōraku's words. Towering, scorching flames erupted from his body once more.
"If this is the justice you speak of… then I am willing to try to change it!!"
Ukitake drew his Zanpakutō and pointed it at Yamamoto, chanting softly:
"All waves, rise now and become my shield. All lightning, rise now and become my blade. Sōgyo no Kotowari!"
"Well, well… it's really come to this, hasn't it? Can't be helped…" Kyōraku sighed, then released his own Zanpakutō:
"Flower wind rage and flower god roar, heavenly wind rage and heavenly demon sneer. Katen Kyōkotsu!"
"So… you have finally chosen to raise your blades against me, Shunsui. Jūshirō. Very well—let it be as you wish." Without so much as blinking, Yamamoto brought his Zanpakutō before him, assuming a forward-slashing stance.
At that very instant—
Streaks of blue spiritual transmission lines drifted across the azure sky, and soon the voice of Retsu Unohana echoed throughout the entirety of Seireitei:
"To all captains, vice-captains, acting officers of the Gotei Thirteen, and to the Ryoka—
In the name of Unohana Retsu, Captain of the Fourth Division, I issue this urgent notice:
It has been confirmed that former Fifth Division Captain Sōsuke Aizen faked his death. He has now been verified as a traitor to Seireitei and the true culprit behind the massacre of Central 46!!
Furthermore, accomplices Gin Ichimaru, and Kaname Tōsen—the latter exposed by Tenth Division Captain Shiba Kaien—are also implicated. All divisions are to be informed and immediately prepare for enemy engagement!!"
...
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