"Sakashima Yokoshima Happōfusagari (Inverted Evil Eight-Way Blockade)…"
Shinji nearly ground his teeth to dust as he strained with everything he had to keep his zanpakuto under control.
A hundred years ago, Sakashima Yokoshima Happōfusagari had been hailed as one of the most dangerous zanpakuto.
If such a blade were to manifest in the real world…
The consequences were unimaginable.
Only now did Shinji finally grasp just how terrifying Aizen truly was.
The man didn't even need overwhelming strength.
He could crush them relying on nothing but his mind.
Just forcing Sakanade to manifest alone…
was enough to instantly wipe out everyone in the Visored Corps.
Aizen strode forward, smiling lightly.
"Captain Shinji, weren't you just saying you were going to kill me?"
"Well, here I am—right in front of you."
Cold sweat beaded on Shinji's forehead.
On one hand, he had to guard himself against Aizen.
On the other, he had to wrestle to maintain control over Sakanade.
It was exhausting him both body and mind.
And in that split second—
Shinji lost control.
Not far from him, a figure appeared out of thin air.
Clad in a yellow robe, its face obscured, the figure stood upside down in the air, holding Sakanade in its left hand.
Just looking at it—
Made it feel like the world itself had been inverted.
Shinji's lips twisted in a bitter smile.
"This is real trouble now… Sakanade, you let yourself be swayed too?"
He'd missed the last Zanpakuto Rebellion.
He'd never imagined that this time, Aizen would go so far as to deliberately manifest his zanpakuto.
This had surely been Aizen's goal from the very beginning.
The man knew exactly what his zanpakuto could do.
From within the inner world of the heart,
a Kyōka Suigetsu with the exact same appearance as Aizen stepped out, smiling as he spoke to Sakanade:
"Sakanade, didn't I tell you? Your master doesn't need your power at all."
"Kyōka Suigetsu…"
Shinji shot the manifestation a cold glare, then turned his eyes to the yellow-clad, upside-down Sakanade and said in a low voice:
"Sakanade, don't listen to him. You're my zanpakuto. We're one and the same. How could I not need your power?"
The yellow Sakanade, its face still hidden, stared at Shinji and said faintly:
"Then why do you always rely on hollowfication?"
Shinji was struck speechless.
His bankai was too outrageous.
As a result, he had almost never used it.
Even his shikai was troublesome to handle.
That had naturally led to him relying on his hollow powers most of the time.
"Sakanade…"
He opened his mouth to explain, but Sakanade cut him off, voice still calm.
"Since you're so fond of hollow power, then I'll let you see just how terrifying my bankai really is."
Shinji felt his scalp prickle.
As Sakanade's master, he knew better than anyone how broken its bankai truly was.
Yet no matter how he tried to talk it down,
the yellow-clad Sakanade hanging inverted in the sky turned a deaf ear to him, its body erupting with violent reiatsu.
"Damn Kyōka Suigetsu… damn demon blade Muramasa… damn Aizen…"
Shinji swore furiously in his heart, his anger boiling over, wishing he could chop those three bastards into a thousand pieces.
If not for them, Sakanade might have been dissatisfied with him—
but it never would have gone so far as outright betrayal.
Kyōka Suigetsu had stirred Sakanade's emotions to the breaking point.
Up in the sky—
The yellow-robed Sakanade, standing upside down, swung its blade and spoke in a quiet voice:
"Bankai."
"Sakashima Yokoshima Happōfusagari (Inverted Evil Eight-Way Blockade)!"
In an instant, countless golden particles appeared out of nowhere,
weaving together like a cocoon of pure gold that sealed Sakanade inside.
Seeing this, Shinji's face changed dramatically.
He whipped his head toward the surrounding Shinigami and shouted:
"Run!!!"
"Don't stay inside my bankai!!!"
The Shinigami on the battlefield were still stunned and confused,
but Gin and Tōsen had already fled as far as they could.
Neither of them wanted to get caught in Sakanade's ability.
An invisible ripple spread outward.
Every Shinigami touched by that ripple—
Their expressions shifted in an instant, eyes turning cold as they looked at the comrades they had been fighting alongside just moments ago.
Hisagi, for example, gripped his executioner-shaped zanpakuto, Kazeshini (Wind Death), and roared as he charged at Kira.
Ayasegawa Yumichika refused to back down,
the rainbow vines of Ruriiro Kujaku (Azure Peacock) unfurling all around him.
The two of them crashed together in a furious duel.
Scenes like this—
Played out in every corner of the battlefield.
Ōmaeda, for instance, roared as he swung his massive flail Gogyōtō (Five-Element Mace), aiming a brutal blow at the gravely wounded Soi fong.
Rangiku, on the other hand, controlled swirling clouds of ash,
Haineko (Ash Cat) slashing toward the already injured Tōshirō like a storm of invisible blades.
Members of the Visored Corps were also caught up in it.
Kensei immediately slipped into his hollowfied state, released his zanpakuto, and unleashed his reiatsu, trading ferocious blows with Love.
Companions who could once entrust their lives to one another—
Now looked like sworn enemies.
Their blades swung again and again,
As if nothing short of the other's death would be enough.
Nor were the Shinigami the only ones caught in Sakanade's grip.
The Arrancar were trapped in it as well.
Soon, the entire battlefield dissolved into total chaos,
everyone killing each other without restraint.
"Yammy! Kill those two bitches for me!!!"
Sung-Sun, her upper body that of a white snake, covered her mouth with her white sleeves, eyes blazing with murderous intent as she stared at Apacci and Mila Rose.
Apacci refused to be outdone.
"Yammy! I'm the one who created you! Kill those two sluts for me!"
Mila Rose roared as well.
"Yammy, you listen to me! Take out those two damn hags!"
The three women were already at each other's throats, their zanpakuto carving bloody wounds into one another's bodies.
Their combined creation, Yammy, scratched his head in confusion, then threw his head back and let out a thunderous roar.
The moment they heard it—
All three women turned on him, faces twisted with rage.
"Yammy, what are you standing there for!?"
"Hurry up and kill those two bitches!"
"No, kill these two cheap women instead!"
Yammy lowered his head, looking down at the brawling trio, then, with a roar of fury, slapped all three of them away with a single massive blow.
"Roar!!!!"
…
"This feeling…"
"My consciousness is being tampered with…"
Barraggan, with his vast experience, sensed something was wrong in an instant and looked toward the yellow-clad Sakanade.
"It's that manifested zanpakuto!"
The waves of power pouring off it were silently warping his mind—
Turning comrades and enemies around in his perception.
The other Espada, who had been his allies just moments ago,
now started to look more and more like enemies.
Even as Barraggan struggled to hold on,
he suddenly felt danger and stepped back sharply, evading a sweeping blade of water.
Tier's eyes were cold.
When her first strike missed, she swung again without hesitation.
"Danbaku (Severing Waterfall)!!!"
Her blade fell.
A raging torrent exploded outward, surging violently toward Barraggan.
Anger flashed across Barraggan's face.
He had never imagined that Tier, the Third Espada, would fall under Sakanade's influence so quickly.
"You stupid woman…"
He couldn't help cursing.
But as Sakanade's ability continued to pulse across the battlefield,
his own consciousness was finally overwhelmed.
Friend and foe reversed once more in his mind.
And just like that, Barraggan and Tier were locked in a fierce clash,
decay and water colliding again and again in the sky.
"Shunsui, things just got a whole lot worse."
Jūshirō smiled bitterly as he took in the situation around them.
A moment ago, the Shinigami had been on the back foot,
but at least they'd still had the strength to fight.
Now?
Everyone was caught up in mutual slaughter.
Shunsui forced his reiatsu as high as it would go, fighting to resist Sakanade's inversion, and ground his teeth.
"What the hell did those bastards come here for…?"
He'd thought the Visored Corps' arrival would let the Shinigami turn things around.
Instead—
They'd walked in and handed the enemy a new trump card.
…
Blood-red light flashed across the heavens.
In the midst of this frenzied melee,
the blood raining from the sky almost seemed to become a crimson downpour.
It splattered down from above—
Staining the earth beneath a deep, ghastly red.
Taking in the horrifying scene, Genryūsai's eyes burned with fury as he tightened his grip on Ryūjin Jakka, his reiatsu flaring higher still.
Taking advantage of that moment, Ulquiorra, still in his Third-Stage Resurrección, leaped backward,
a savage dark green spear forming in his hand.
"Rai no Yari (Thunder Spear)!"
He called the weapon's name coldly and hurled it straight at Genryūsai.
A sharp sonic boom ripped through the air as the green light smashed past the sound barrier in an instant.
But just as it reached Genryūsai—
The old man's burning blade swept out, shattering the spear in a single stroke.
"Bankai!!!"
Genryūsai's voice rolled out like thunder.
The already searing Ryūjin Jakka erupted with a heat that defied imagination.
Feeling the temperature spike, Aizen smiled faintly, ignoring the chaos of Shinigami and Arrancar slaughtering each other around him.
"Head Captain, I'd advise you not to release your bankai."
Genryūsai frowned slightly, unsure of what scheme Aizen was plotting this time.
But the field was already in a catastrophic state.
If he couldn't turn the tide with his own power,
Then this war would end in total defeat for the Soul Society.
Karakura Town, along with all its human inhabitants,
would be annihilated by Aizen.
He would forge the Ōken—a key to the Soul King's Palace.
And if things went truly wrong—
All three worlds might face destruction.
With that in mind, Genryūsai hesitated no longer.
Standing amid the raging flames, he spoke in a deep, commanding voice:
"Zanka no Tachi (Blade of Remaining Fire)!!!"
The instant bankai was released, the fire surged like a tidal wave.
It flooded the sky like a burning sea,
igniting the heavens until it resembled a world-consuming inferno.
The sheer heat evaporated the clouds themselves.
Amid the rolling blaze, Genryūsai stood bare-chested,
like an ancient fire god with an aged yet unyielding face.
Ulquiorra's four black demon wings spread behind him.
Dark green light gathered at the tip of his right index finger as he intoned softly:
"Cero Oscuras (Royal Hollow Flash)!!"
He hadn't possessed this technique before,
but with his Third-Stage Resurrección, he had now mastered the strongest Cero of all.
The dark green beam flashed forth—
Transcending light itself,
like a green needle of pure destruction, piercing straight toward Genryūsai's heart.
The Head Captain glanced at the oncoming Cero,
And casually swept Zanka no Tachi across its path.
"When adults are speaking, children shouldn't interrupt."
"Boom!"
The Cero Oscuras exploded, annihilated in a single strike.
The raging flames didn't stop there.
They roared onward,
slicing cleanly through half of Ulquiorra's body, severing his limbs as well.
Before a single drop of blood could fall,
it was vaporized.
The half of his body that had been destroyed—
Turned to ash in an instant.
Ulquiorra retreated at high speed, glancing at the severed area.
His high-speed regeneration flared to life,
restoring the parts his body had lost.
Aizen gave Ulquiorra a brief look and smiled.
"Ulquiorra, the Head Captain is right. You don't need to involve yourself any further in what comes next."
Ulquiorra's expression remained as emotionless as ever.
"Yes."
Genryūsai narrowed his eyes, focusing on Aizen.
"You intend to face this old man alone?"
Even after living for over a thousand years,
He didn't often hear such requests.
Aizen shook his head with a soft laugh.
"You jest, Head Captain. In my current state, I'm still far from being able to challenge you head-on."
As Genryūsai pondered his meaning,
Aizen waved a hand.
Down on the streets of Karakura Town, he called out to an Arrancar who had been playing with a cluster of ants instead of fighting.
"Wonderweiss, come here."
The Arrancar had short, slightly spiked blond hair, purple eyes,
a face dotted with freckles, and two prominent front teeth.
His hollow hole sat in the center of his torso,
his mask fragment forming a crown-like shape on his head.
He wore loose clothing that exposed his hollow hole,
his zanpakuto strapped straight across his back.
Despite being a Hollow,
there was an unworldly innocence about him.
Genryūsai recognized the Arrancar and frowned slightly,
unable to guess what Aizen had planned.
While the other Arrancar had been locked in fierce combat,
This one had gone down to the ground to play with ants—
and had not joined the fighting even once.
So why call him out now…?
Thinking of Aizen's frightening intellect,
Genryūsai made his decision.
He swung Ryūjin Jakka down in a merciless arc.
"Ah!"
The raging flames cut down like a blade,
His intent clear—to kill this seemingly harmless Arrancar in one stroke.
If he died here,
any hidden threat he carried would be extinguished along with him.
Aizen raised his brows in mild surprise, then laughed softly.
"Head Captain, you really are throwing yourself into the trap."
As the tide of flame came crashing in,
The simple-minded Wonderweiss suddenly let out a bestial roar.
His reiatsu exploded, rising wildly.
His body began to grow taller and taller.
His shoulders and thighs bulked up grotesquely,
his limbs stretched long and thin,
his torso's ribs and sides hollowing out like a skeletal frame.
As Wonderweiss entered this new state—
Genryūsai stared in shock.
The slash of fire he had unleashed was…
Going out.
The towering flames were being snuffed out at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Aizen smiled gently.
"Head Captain, his name is Wonderweiss Margela."
"And his Resurrección is called Metsuka Hōto (Fire-Extinguishing Prince)."
"He is your greatest natural enemy—"
"And the Hollow that's going to kill you."
(End of Chapter)
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