Chapter 324: Old Man, Don't Cry
Under the night sky, Yamamoto gripped his Zanpakutō and swung it toward the heavens.
Flames surged upward, transforming into a fiery spear that pierced through heaven and earth, instantly engulfing over a dozen Hell sinners.
After devouring the sinners, the fiery spear didn't vanish. Instead, it twisted and morphed into a massive fire dragon coiling across the sky.
The fire dragon opened its maw, brandished its claws, and tore apart every sinner around it, consuming them into ashes within the flames!
Then a second, a third...
Seven fire dragons were unleashed by Yamamoto, resembling spectacular fireworks illuminating the night sky.
Whoosh!
Satoru's figure flashed as he appeared beside Yamamoto.
"Too slow, old man. Why wait until now to make a move? Showing off?"
"?"
Yamamoto glared at him angrily.
"Fool! I was guarding against the most dangerous enemy! How could I act recklessly?!"
"Huh?"
Satoru was taken aback.
"The most dangerous enemy... stronger than you, Sensei?"
"How utterly foolish! I've hinted this much and you still haven't figured it out!"
"I'm talking about Kōga Kuchiki!"
Satoru: "..."
Yamamoto said gravely: "Though I didn't personally send him to hell, after all these years in Hueco Mundo with no news whatsoever, there's a high probability he's already dead."
"But if he suddenly appears on the battlefield and uses Muramasa's ability to turn my own sword against me, the Seireitei would be doomed!"
"We cannot afford any complacency regarding Kōga Kuchiki... If you fools hadn't been so slow, would I, as the Captain-Commander, have needed to take action personally?"
Watching Yamamoto fume with anger, Satoru fell into deep thought.
Kōga Kuchiki...
That guy has been soaking in Sōsuke's laboratory for decades—he must be completely bloated by now.
Maybe someday I should bring some ginseng and goji berries to toss into his container.
After decades of steeping, that nutrient fluid might become quite tonic.
Noticing Satoru spacing out, Yamamoto said displeased:
"Boy, what's wrong with you now?"
"With your abilities, how did you end up in such a state? Were you surrounded by the First Generation Captains?"
Hearing this, Satoru shook his head.
"No, I just exhausted myself helping them break their chains."
"Oh, that's not so bad then."
"..."
Wait?
Yamamoto fell silent for a few seconds before whipping his head around to stare wide-eyed at Satoru.
"Boy, what did you just say?!"
"I was too exhausted..."
"You broke those guys' chains?!"
"You heard perfectly clearly, yet you still have to ask again."
"You damned brat!!"
Yamamoto sent a pillar of fire slamming Satoru into the ground.
Closing his eyes, he sensed the battlefield situation.
Most battles had already reached their conclusions.
The current Captains and First Generation Captains each had their victories and defeats.
Overall, the First Generation Captains held slightly more advantage.
After all, they didn't need to worry about injuries, or even death.
When strength was comparable, the advantage of fearing no death was simply too great.
If not for the intelligence advantage Yamamoto had given the current Captains, the situation would likely have been even more one-sided.
Despite holding the advantage, the First Generation Captains were consolidating their formation.
Most surviving First Generation Captains had gathered together.
Among them, three stood apart.
Katori Batsu'unsai, Shihōin Chika, and Saitō Furōfushi.
Saitō Furōfushi's Reiatsu appeared to be at the Fourth Division's field hospital.
Katori Batsu'unsai and Shihōin Chika were rushing toward their location.
Seconds later, the two arrived via Flash Step.
"Yo, Commander! I've come to join you!"
The moment he landed, Shihōin Chika flashed Yamamoto an ingratiating smile.
Yamamoto stared at his chest, face full of disbelief.
Seeing this, Satoru imitated him and stared at Katori Batsu'unsai's chest.
Yamamoto walked up to Shihōin Chika and reached out to touch his chest.
Confirming there was truly no chain there, he couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.
This foolish disciple of his had quietly pulled off something massive again.
At least, in all the Soul Society history he knew, no one had ever managed to break the chains of hell.
He turned to look at Satoru.
Only to see the latter examining Katori Batsu'unsai's chest.
Katori Batsu'unsai's face flushed crimson, caught between the urge to intervene and the desire to flee.
That damn brout...
Suppressing the impulse to slap Satoru straight into the ground, Yamamoto asked:
"Boy, can Risō Jakumetsu's ability to break through restrictions work on the chains of hell?"
"Yes, but it requires Bankai. Shikai alone isn't enough to break them."
Satoru nodded.
Hearing Satoru's answer, Yamamoto couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.
Then he frowned and said, "Then why aren't you rushing back to continue cutting them?"
"Cut what... cough... with what? After those captains had their consciousness taken over by hell, they all fought like madmen. The moment they see me, they attack relentlessly. Even if I manage to subdue them, they immediately self-destruct before I can even reach their chains."
After leaving Kenpachi Zaraki, Satoru had tried to rescue others as well.
However, Hell seemed to have already figured out his method of saving people. If they couldn't win, they would rather commit suicide than let Satoru save anyone.
After all that effort, not only had he failed to save anyone, but he had nearly exhausted himself.
Hearing this, Yamamoto nodded.
"Understood. This old man will go with you!"
"Chōjirō! Order all divisions to hold off the Hell sinners! This old man and this kid will go save people!"
Chōjirō Sasakibe nodded and prepared to relay Yamamoto's orders.
But at that moment, everyone present seemed to sense something and looked up at the sky.
There, a figure wearing a white Captain's Haori was charging toward the Seireitei.
Thump.
Satoru's heart sank.
The moment he saw that man, an inexplicable fear rose within him.
Back when he had fought Captains above his level, when he was attacked by the bomber sent by Mayuri Kurotsuchi... none of those countless life-or-death crises had felt as intense as this current sense of danger, prickling his skin like needles!
He instinctively looked at Yamamoto and saw that even Yamamoto's expression was somewhat distorted.
"Kid, go!!"
As he roared these words, Yamamoto leaped into the air, charging toward the man.
"Wait, who is that? How could he make the Captain-Commander so afraid?"
Looking at the figure diving straight down, Shihōin Chika was stunned.
"Kenpachi Kuruyashiki."
A figure appeared using Flash Step.
It was Retsu Unohana.
After dealing with Shijima Chigiri, she had immediately followed Satoru's Reiatsu and rushed over.
Looking at the figure in the sky, Unohana slightly frowned.
"There's no time."
"Satoru, we need to leave this place."
"What do you mean? Yachiru, please explain clearly."
Shihōin Chika hurriedly asked.
Retsu Unohana glanced at him, her hand instinctively moving toward her sword hilt.
Then, noticing that Shihōin Chika wasn't controlled by Hell and didn't even have a chain on his chest, she showed the same surprised expression as Yamamoto.
Although she really wanted to confirm what had happened, there was no time for that now.
"Kenpachi Kuruyashiki's Bankai is unreasonably powerful. Once he successfully releases it, more than half of the Seireitei will be reduced to ashes!"
"Under Hell's control, he can ignore life and death, forcibly activating his Bankai despite the Captain-Commander's attacks. If we don't leave now, it will be too late."
As she spoke, she reached to take Satoru and leave.
But when she grabbed, Satoru wasn't there.
"!!"
Retsu Unohana instinctively looked up at the sky.
There, she saw Satoru's figure had already followed Yamamoto Shigekuni upward.
Noticing Satoru following him, Yamamoto felt a headache coming on.
"Bastard! Didn't I tell you to get away?!"
Satoru replied expressionlessly: "I'm being controlled by Hell. I have no choice in the matter right now."
"I'll cut down your 'no choice in the matter'!"
Yamamoto's blood pressure rose.
But along with his anger, he couldn't help feeling some pride.
This was truly the disciple he trusted—facing the survival crisis of the Seireitei without a moment's hesitation.
Gripping Ryūjin Jakka, he swung fiercely at the approaching Kenpachi Kuruyashiki—
"Sōmyō!!"
BOOM!!!
Blazing white flames instantly engulfed half the sky.
The brilliant light was clearly visible even from twenty or thirty kilometers away!
From within the flames, Kenpachi Kuruyashiki charged out violently.
His body was covered everywhere with burns from the flames.
His skin and flesh were torn and curled, fat sizzling audibly.
If he were closer, he might have been able to catch the scent.
Yet, Kenpachi Kuruyashiki showed no reaction to the wounds covering his body.
His eyes blazed with a golden light.
At this moment, his consciousness had been completely overtaken by Hell.
Facing the Seireitei, he raised his Zanpakutō—
Seeing his movement, Yamamoto's expression shifted drastically.
"Bankai!"
"Zanka no Tachi!!"
In that instant, Satoru, who was following behind Yamamoto, felt as though he had been thrown into a furnace of boiling molten iron.
The terrifying heat that washed over him nearly caused him to lose consciousness.
In his vision, Yamamoto seemed to transform into a sun.
Even without using any technique, he could incinerate everything around him.
Satoru raised his arm to shield his face.
This was… the oldest and most powerful Zanpakutō in the Soul Society.
The moment he realized this, a sense of pride suddenly surged within him.
Under his gaze, Yamamoto roared and swung his blade.
The edge of the sword, as if scorched by its own temperature, was covered in black ash.
But Satoru was certain—nothing could stand in the way of that charred blade!
Whoosh!!
Yamamoto's blade swept across the sky.
Kenpachi Kuruyashiki, who had been diving forward, was cleanly split in two.
Before his severed body could even hit the ground, it burst into flames mid-air and turned to ash.
Having defeated Kenpachi Kuruyashiki, Yamamoto let out a sigh of relief.
But the next moment, his face turned deathly pale.
Following Yamamoto's gaze, Satoru turned to look behind him.
On the ground of the Seireitei, a massive mouth, like some kind of phantom, was slowly taking shape.
"Sensei?"
Feeling the intense threat emanating from the giant mouth, Satoru looked at Yamamoto.
"The Hall of Hungry Pleasure… Kenpachi Kuruyashiki's Bankai has been activated!"
Yamamoto's expression was grim.
Kenpachi Kuruyashiki's Bankai summoned a colossal mouth with a radius of over ten kilometers, capable of devouring everything it touched.
Back then, he had tested this ability in the Dangai, and the results had horrified the Central 46.
Since then, the Central 46 had strictly forbidden Kenpachi Kuruyashiki from using his Bankai in the Seireitei under any circumstances.
While alive, Kenpachi Kuruyashiki had always adhered to this order.
Even when he lost to Sōya Azashiro and died in the duel arena, he had not used this ability.
Yet now, in death and under Hell's control, he had no power to restrain it.
On the ground, hearing Retsu Unohana's explanation, Shihōin Chika and Katori Batsu'unsai wore expressions of disbelief.
A radius of over ten kilometers… meaning this giant mouth could cover an area of twenty to thirty kilometers.
Half of the Seireitei would be destroyed!
Captain-level Shinigami might still have a chance to escape the range.
But those below captain-level… were likely doomed.
Shihōin Chika gritted his teeth tightly.
How could such a thing exist?
How could there be such an unreasonable Bankai?!
"Senior Yachiru, cut it down!"
Katori Batsu'unsai shouted, "Captain-Commander Yamamoto, Mr. Satoru, and the two of us—if we all use our Bankai, we can definitely cut it down!"
"If we destroy it, it shouldn't be able to cause any damage!"
Hearing this, Retsu Unohana shook her head.
It was useless.
As the first Kenpachi, she had made a point to learn about Kenpachi Kuruyashiki's abilities.
The giant mouth summoned by the Hall of Hungry Pleasure was not a physical "mouth" in the conventional sense.
This was a demon born from concept, impossible to stop from the moment it manifested its form.
Until it devoured all space within its designated range, destroying it would be as meaningless as trying to cut flowing water with a blade.
She released her Reiatsu perception, beginning to confirm the positions of those around her.
Yoruichi Shihōin, Suì-Fēng, Sōjun Kuchiki, and members of the Mikami Group...
Most of them required no assistance from her.
For those remaining who couldn't escape through their own abilities, she would do everything in her power to bring them out.
As for the ordinary squad members... she could only apologize.
She was just a captain, not the Soul King. It was impossible to save so many people from the Hungry Music Corridor's jaws.
High in the air, Yamamoto gripped his Zanpakutō, countless plans flashing through his mind.
Yet, no matter what method he considered, at best it would only reduce the losses.
After losing half of Seireitei and the vast majority of squad members present here, the Soul Society would likely need centuries to recover its current strength.
In that instant, he seemed to age centuries, his entire being wilting.
Just then, Satoru came to his side.
"Old man, don't be so quick to despair."
"You still have me here."
Hearing this, Yamamoto looked at him with some confusion.
At this point, even he was powerless—what could Satoru possibly do?
Under Yamamoto's gaze, Satoru slowly drew his Zanpakutō.
"A few years ago, to help Gin and the others master Bankai, I obtained five Tenshintai from Kisuke."
"But in the end, only four were used."
"So the question is... where did I use the extra one?"
Regarding Kenpachi Zaraki's Bankai name, I looked it up and found quite an interesting theory.
The Shikai and Bankai of all previous Kenpachi might share the same pronunciation but use different characters.
Following this pattern, Kenpachi Zaraki's Shikai "Nozarashi" is pronounced as nozarashi.
Based on this pronunciation, it could evolve into the characters "野渫".
The reason for using these characters is that they can also be read as "yachiru".
Which is "Yachiru".