"Brat, since you know my name, why are you still dare to stand alone before me? You are even more arrogant than your master."
Yamamoto said in a deep voice.
"Well, who knows..."
Borsalino adjusted his glasses.
'What a joke?'
'I'm just a salaried slacker… how arrogant could he possibly be?'
"Step aside!"
"Otherwise, I cannot guarantee that I won't kill you."
Because he wasn't very familiar with the abilities of Koga's Zanpakuto yet, Yamamoto wasn't certain whether killing a manifested Zanpakuto's Spirit would affect its master.
Kyoya was the most outstanding genius of this century, so even Yamamoto that with a bit more time, Kyoya could potentially grow to rival him.
Even for Yamamoto, the auxiliary power brought by his Zanpakuto was indispensable to the strength and status he held today.
Without Ryujin Jakka, Yamamoto would still be powerful, but he would lose that overwhelming deterrence against all enemies.
If Kyoya were to lose the potential for further growth because he killed his Zanpakuto's Spirit, Yamamoto would be somewhat troubled.
After all, unlike Koga, whose Zanpakuto's ability had a very strong counter against Shinigami, Kyoya had become a Captain through his Zanjutsu, with no obvious weaknesses.
If Kyoya were to hold a grudge against the Gotei 13 because of this-
While Yamamoto was confident he could suppress Kyoya in the short term, but once he retired or died, no longer holding the position of Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, would the next Captain-Commander be able to keep Kyoya in check?
If Kyoya were to rebel at that time, could the remaining Shinigami handle it?
Once, Kyoya's talent had also attracted Yamamoto's attention.
As long as Kyoya graduated from the Shin'o Academy, after a period of observation, if Kyoya's character proved satisfactory, Yamamoto had even considered taking him as his closed-door disciple.
However, Yamamoto never expected that in just three short days, Kyoya would kill the Captain of the 11th Division, Kiganjo, and become the new Captain of the 11th Division.
No matter how confident Yamamoto was, he didn't believe that Kyoya, who is already a Captain, would agree to become his disciple.
After all, the Captains of the Gotei 13 were already figures standing at the pinnacle of the Seireitei.
It is precisely because of this that Yamamoto, much like Ginrei, could only regretfully let Kyoya slip by.
Of course, if the situation became critical, Yamamoto Genryūsai would not hesitate to kill Borsalino directly to protect the Seireitei from harm, as this was the Captain-Commander's obsession.
A belief he had upheld his entire life!
"Reduce all creation to ash-"
"Ryujin Jakka!"
With the Captain-Commander's shout, torrential Reiatsu erupted from his body.
Fierce flames blazed on the Zanpakuto in Yamamoto's hand, raising the temperature significantly within a certain radius. Ryujin Jakka was the oldest and most powerful Fire-Type Zanpakuto in the Soul Society.
In Yamamoto's hands, after its Shikai, Ryujin Jakka could transform his Reiatsu into flames comparable to the surface temperature of the sun. At 6,000 degrees Celsius, even merely maintaining the Shikai state, its power surpassed the Bankai of most Captains in the Gotei 13.
"Jokaku Enjo!"
After releasing his Zanpakuto, Yamamoto swung his blade toward Borsalino's location.
Instantly, a line of fire spread along the trajectory of the slash, forming an arc dozens of meters in front of Borsalino, eventually creating a flaming prison that completely enclosed him.
This was the only technique in Yamamoto's Ryujin Jakka that restricted an enemy's movement.
Enemies trapped within the flame prison would be burned by the forming flames if they tried to break out.
The 6,000-degree heat was such that for many, even mere contact would instantly incinerate them under its immense temperature.
Even if someone stronger managed to break through Jokaku Enjo, it would still mean taking a direct hit from Yamamoto, and even Captain-level powerhouses would be crippled if not killed.
Even if the person trapped inside Jokaku Enjo didn't try to escape, the air within the prison would be burned away by the flames, causing oxygen deprivation. Moreover, at 6,000 degrees, the enemy inside the prison would be as if standing beside the sun, constantly enduring damage from the extreme heat.
After trapping Borsalino, Yamamoto intended to bypass him and continue pursuing Koga.
But-
"How terrifying."
"As expected of Captain-Commander Yamamoto."
"But-"
"If the Captain-Commander thinks trapping me is this easy, that would be far too naive."
The smile vanished from Borsalino's face, "Besides, if Kyoya saw me fail so simply, he'd probably think I'm not even qualified to challenge him..."
"So…"
After saying this, Borsalino murmured in a low voice, "Bankai-"
"Kizaru-Borsalino!"
Golden Reiatsu erupted from Borsalino's body.
Subsequently, the clothing on Borsalino's body also underwent a change.
Golden Reiatsu condensed behind Borsalino, forming a white greatcoat.
There were yellow tassels on the shoulders, and on the back of this white greatcoat were the large Kanji for [Justice].
Crossing his hands in front of his abdomen, golden light condensed between Borsalino's hands into a mirror of light.
Then, one after another, golden mirrors of light appeared in the sky.
Even behind Yamamoto, a mirror of light condensed.
A golden beam erupted from the mirror of light in Borsalino's palm, slicing through the flames of the Jokaku Enjo.
Yata no Kagami was a technique Borsalino used for travel.
Its principle was to use flashes of light to form a 'path of light', allowing Borsalino to move forward at the speed of light.
Because the speed of light was too fast and couldn't turn, Borsalino condensed mirrors of light at places where he needed to turn or stop to adjust his direction.
This golden beam refracted back and forth between more than a dozen mirrors of light, finally projecting from the mirror behind Yamamoto straight toward him.
"Yata no Kagami!"
Whoosh-
Faint golden light condensed into Borsalino's figure, instantly appearing in front of Yamamoto. The Ama no Murakumo in his hand slashed down at Yamamoto-
"Taimatsu!"
Facing Borsalino's assault, Yamamoto's expression remained unchanged. He swung the Zanpakuto in his hand toward his back-
Instantly, blazing flames formed into a fiery tornado, directly engulfing Borsalino.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh-
Dozens of light beams shot out from the fiery tornado, tracing arcs in the air before finally coalescing into Borsalino's figure about ten meters away from Yamamoto.
At this moment, Borsalino's face, hands, clothes, and greatcoat were marked with numerous charred spots.
Although Borsalino's elementalization can make him immune to physical attacks-
the damage from Reiatsu wasn't simple physical damage, and it shared similar properties with Haki.
Moreover, Yamamoto's technique wasn't a slash but a transformation of his own Reiatsu into flames, creating a devastating fiery tornado… an area-of-effect attack.
Even if Borsalino used elementalization, within this range, his true body could still be attacked by the flames.
Unless Borsalino, like Kyoya, possessed the Observation Haki at the level of [Future Sight], he could have escaped his position before being surrounded by Yamamoto's Taimatsu.
However, no matter what, elementalization was still the strongest form for Logia-types to evade attacks. Borsalino turned intangible and fled the instant he was attacked, so he didn't sustain much damage.
"Even the clothes changed?"
Looking at Borsalino who had reappeared before him, Yamamoto narrowed his eyes.
He had seen Kyoya's Bankai before.
During the last 11th Division's Kenpachi Challenge between Kyoya and Zaraki, Yamamoto had also been watching. But at that time, Kyoya did not manifest a [Justice] greatcoat.
Generally, when a Shinigami fully released their Zanpakuto's Ability, the Zanpakuto would undergo some changes, and the Shinigami themselves would correspondingly change somewhat as well.
Be it their attire or something else.
Judging from the changes in Borsalino after using Bankai, Yamamoto realized Kyoya had not fully unleashed his Zanpakuto's Ability during that time.
But then again, that made sense.
The strength Zaraki displayed at that time still had a significant gap compared to Kyoya.
Of course, it was also possible that Kyoya's mastery over his Zanpakuto's Ability had not yet reached its current level at that time.
But regardless, it had nothing to do with Yamamoto now.
What he needed to do was defeat Borsalino in the shortest time possible without killing him, then go stop the chaos caused by Koga.
Swoosh-
Instantly, Yamamoto's Reiatsu erupted beneath his feet, transforming him into a blur as he launched an attack at Borsalino.
Clang!
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Borsalino gripped the Ama no Murakumo in both hands, straining to block Yamamoto's assaults.
'Such immense power!'
As a Marine Admiral who had once fought the [Dark King] Silvers Rayleigh with swordsmanship, Borsalino's mastery of the sword naturally placed him at the [Master Swordsman] level.
Yet, in his battle against Yamamoto, he was the one being suppressed.
Indeed, the Master Swordsman level allowed Borsalino to better utilize his own strength.
But Yamamoto's Zanjutsu was no less formidable.
Moreover, Yamamoto's Reiatsu had long ago reached the 'limit of a Shinigami', firmly at the very peak of 1st-class Reiryoku.
And what about Borsalino?
Even after achieving Bankai, his Reiatsu was still lingering around 2nd-class Reiryoku.
There was simply no comparison to Yamamoto.
A Shinigami's battle is a battle of Reiatsu.
Greater Reiatsu means greater speed, greater strength, and greater potency.
If not for Borsalino's Master Swordsman's swordsmanship, he would likely have been cut down by Yamamoto with a single stroke long ago.
But even so, Borsalino was forced to retreat step by step under Yamamoto's onslaught.
'This won't do!'
'If this continues, I won't last much longer.'
While blocking Yamamoto's attacks, Borsalino calculated silently in his mind.
As the manifestation of the Pika Pika no Mi's Abilities within the Bleach World as a Zanpakuto, Borsalino's greatest strength lay in the powers of Pika Pika no Mi.
He had only engaged Yamamoto in close combat earlier to prevent him from continuing to pursue Koga.
But that didn't mean Borsalino would keep fighting Yamamoto at close range.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh-
Golden light erupted from Borsalino's body. Several massive orbs of Reishi shot out from him, coalescing into copies of Borsalino's form, all launching assaults on Yamamoto simultaneously.
'Clones?'
'He even has an ability like this?'
Yamamoto's movements paused slightly as his Reikaku spread out.
He sensed that the Reiatsu emanating from these clones was actually identical to Borsalino's own.
'So, were these clones merely illusions, or could they inflict physical damage?'
Swish-
Dodging an attack from one figure slightly, Yamamoto swung his Zanpakuto, cleanly bisecting this particular Borsalino's clone.
But contrary to Yamamoto's expectations, after being slain, the clone dissolved into two masses of golden light, which then merged back together, reforming into Borsalino's figure and continuing its attack on him.
'Normal slashes are ineffective?'
'Even after being cut down, they can reassemble?'
It had to be said, every ability Borsalino displayed in this battle caused Yamamoto to reassess Kyoya's importance in his mind.
If these abilities could achieve such effects in the hands of Kyoya's Zanpakuto's Spirit, what kind of power would they possess if used by Kyoya himself?
As the master of Ryujin Jakka, Yamamoto understood better than anyone the difference between the power a Zanpakuto could unleash on its own and the power it could unleash when wielded by a powerful master.
"Bakudo #63: Sajo Sabaku!"
Yamamoto waved his left hand. His Reiatsu condensed in the air into seven or eight golden chains. Under his control, they swiftly shot toward these Borsalino's clones, spreading out to ensnare them.
Since simple attacks were ineffective against these clones, Yamamoto decided to use Kido to seal them.
Indeed, no matter the world, sealing was one of the most powerful systems of power.
Once bound by the chains, these clones lost their ability to elementalize. They were directly restrained and fell from the sky.