In the aftermath,
under the excited, expectant gazes of Aizen, Gin, and the entire Arrancar army,
the ranking video continued to play—
"Yhwach, you're wrong…"
Facing the camera,
Ichigo's eyes were steady, his aura climbing as he spoke. "Despair? So what? I know that feeling better than anyone! Because in the battles I've fought before…"
"I've already felt it countless times—"
"AND I'VE CROSSED OVER IT!!!"
By the end,
Ichigo's emotions erupted, and he practically roared as he vented his fighting spirit in a shout.
At the same time…
a tangible shockwave surged upward.
In the tight close-up, it rapidly swallowed him whole, covering his entire body.
Only a moment later,
when the image settled back into stillness,
the never-before-revealed appearance of Zangetsu after Bankai
was finally shown to the audience—
one black, one white!
It was no longer the form of two separate blades!
The long blade that represented Shinigami and Hollow power,
and the short blade that symbolized Quincy power,
had fused together into one.
Just from Ichigo holding it up,
the pressure pouring out from within this brand-new Zanpakuto
made the entire battlefield quake violently!
It was exactly like—
the high-frequency tremor that had rippled out not long ago after the Soul King was devoured!
And that meant…
first, Hollowfication!
then, the dual blades merging into one, followed by Bankai!
At this moment, Ichigo's power
was practically that of another Soul King!
The difference was—
Soul King Yhwach was darker.
His black tide was about to seize the entire world for itself!
And Ichigo, as the protagonist,
with Zangetsu's Bankai…
felt more like a righteous divine weapon!
A power capable of purifying the darkness.
At this instant, the two sides
finally stood on the same level.
Maybe even…
who knew?
Perhaps Zangetsu's Bankai
stood above Soul King Yhwach!
At the very least,
judging only from the power displayed in this moment—
no one in the audience dared deny it lightly!!!
————
"So strong…"
"Zangetsu after Bankai… it has to be the strongest Zanpakuto in the history of the Soul Society, right?"
In the real world,
inside the shop,
Isshin's eyes were wide, filled with shock and admiration.
If the Zanpakuto "Ryūjin Jakka,"
with its so-called "strongest attack power," was nothing but an empty title—
then
Zangetsu in Bankai,
without question,
was a divine weapon.
It carried the ultimate stats of the current era!
It could even kill the Soul King!
Power at the absolute extreme!!!
"Heh…"
Urahara flicked his folding fan, a trace of anticipation flashing through his eyes. "As expected, Ichigo never disappoints… and thank goodness I didn't end up getting slapped in the face."
"And now that it's Bankai… even the space inside the True World Castle looks like it can barely endure its existence…"
Yes.
Urahara wasn't wrong.
As the camera moved,
gradually panning along Ichigo's body and sweeping left and right,
it was obvious—
the surrounding space had become visibly blurred.
That was because…
the amplitude and frequency of the vibration
were simply too outrageous!
So outrageous that it produced this bizarre phenomenon!!!
Which only proved—
full power!
In this state, calling Ichigo a "Soul King"…
wasn't even an exaggeration!!!
————
However,
contrary to the surge of excitement from Urahara and the others—
at this moment,
in Silbern, inside the Ice Crystal Palace,
the pure-blood Quincy of the Wandenreich watched Zangetsu's Bankai,
and the light vanished from every pair of eyes.
The terrifying pressure overflowing from the screen
crushed them so hard their bodies trembled—everyone was shaking!
They didn't even dare look directly at that divine weapon!
And some of them…
couldn't help it again—
they started worrying about Soul King Yhwach.
"Damn it…"
"Didn't His Majesty already see every possible future?"
"Then why didn't he stop Ichigo in time when he went Bankai?!"
Gerard gritted his teeth, anxiety etched across his face beneath his guard's mask.
The Almighty—
it had already allowed him to peer into any ending that might happen in the future!
So then…
by Yhwach's own logic,
he should've been able to stand above it all, from a god's-eye view, and prevent this scene from ever happening.
If he did that, then wouldn't this threat…
not even exist?
It made no sense.
For someone as short-tempered as Gerard,
his words even carried a hint of resentment.
Clearly…
after Zangetsu's Bankai,
the oppressive pressure was making him feel miserable!
It dragged up that old feeling again—
the insecurity of being weak,
the lack of safety deep in his bones!
And if even the elite guard felt like this…
then it went without saying,
the other weaker pure-blood Quincy were far worse off.
Nearby,
Candice, Liltotto, Bazz-B, Bambietta, and the rest…
names that had appeared on screen before,
none of them nobodies—
every single one of them went pale the instant they looked at Zangetsu in Bankai,
as if the deepest fear in their hearts had been awakened!
Even though,
after watching this long ranking segment,
they already believed they understood Zangetsu
and understood Ichigo—
still…
Zangetsu after Bankai
was, for everyone,
a completely new Zanpakuto!
And that fear—
fear of an unknown power—
was the true reason the pure-blood Quincy were terrified!!!
————
But…
contrary to expectations,
just as the entire world's audience
instinctively assumed the classic comeback would now be led by Ichigo—
no one could've predicted it…
An unexpected twist
suddenly played out again,
and the outcome of the battle flipped one more time!!!
Under the camera,
just as Ichigo rolled his arm—
about to swing his blade and launch an attack—
suddenly…
with a loud crack!!!
Without any warning whatsoever,
Tensa Zangetsu… actually—
the entire upper half of its tip snapped clean off!!!
And it
plunged into the ground.
The point where it landed…
was right in front of Soul King Yhwach, not far away!!!
The moment this happened—
because it was so absurd, so sudden—
the ranking video exposed it and instantly caused another huge uproar!
The audience of the Bleach world
erupted into chaos—everyone was stunned!!!
"?!"
"What the hell is this?!"
"Tensa Zangetsu just went Bankai!"
"From start to finish it hasn't even been swung once—and it breaks?!"
"No way… this is the strongest Zanpakuto!"
"And it's in Bankai too! How can it be this fragile?!!!"
The audience's first reaction
was pure instinctive disbelief.
But then—
when they remembered Soul King Yhwach's ability…
that unbeatable Almighty—
the doubts vanished immediately.
The atmosphere turned suffocating again.
An indescribable pressure
settled over everyone's hearts!
"Disgusting…"
"I apologize for ever saying, 'Ichigo is a cheater'!"
"It's obvious Yhwach is the real scumbag!!!"
Inside Las Noches,
Yammy was the first who couldn't take it.
He jumped up, cursing at the top of his lungs, spraying the screen with abuse.
It was revolting…
breaking a Zanpakuto in the future…
A method like that was unheard of.
Even now—
even after seeing it with his own eyes,
even after the earlier scenes had already exposed it and foreshadowed it for so long—
Yammy still thought it was insane!
So absurd it completely shattered common sense!
It was impossible to accept!!!
————
"Yeah…"
Grimmjow frowned, equally uneasy. "Ichigo's Zangetsu has broken more than once before."
"But this time it breaks again! And it's not like it can be fixed in the short term—there's no one who can help anymore!!!"
In Grimmjow's view,
even Squad Zero had already been wiped out.
Sure, the monk had previously revived temporarily through the method of calling names,
but that didn't mean
Oetsu had revived along with him.
Even if he wasn't truly dead,
it would still take time.
Besides…
the last time Oetsu reforged Zangetsu,
the entire process happened inside his Phoenix Palace!
But now,
the Royal Palace was gone.
It had been replaced by the True World Castle Yhwach created!
Which meant…
right now,
even if Yhwach deliberately held back,
even if he allowed Oetsu to revive and rush to the battlefield himself—
without a proper place, for the time being, Oetsu would still be powerless.
There was no way to restore Zangetsu immediately!
That was the most fatal part!!!
"Is there really no hope at all?"
Harribel's beautiful eyes flickered. She was afraid—yet she still clung to a thread of hope.
If this time,
after the third-generation Zangetsu broke,
Ichigo was knocked flat—
then…
this battle would truly be reaching its ending.
And Soul King Yhwach
would inevitably succeed,
and climb to the very top of the world as he wished!
That outcome—
to Harribel—
was nothing less than a catastrophe.
Including her,
for any viewer at all,
it was the most tragic ending they never wanted to see.
Not even close.
"Aizen… what do you think?"
Beneath the throne, Gin's expression also grew unnatural.
No one could've predicted it.
The brand-new Tensa Zangetsu hadn't even shown its might yet!
And it was already—
for no reason at all—
forcefully snapped in half!
It was shocking!!!
But this time,
Aizen fell silent.
That imposing figure seated on the throne said nothing.
His dark, keen eyes watched the screen—
calmly, steadily.
And his gaze
locked onto the broken edge of Zangetsu.
Clearly,
even he found it hard to accept.
The one opponent and the one Zanpakuto he alone truly acknowledged—
and the result…
was this.
So easily destroyed by Soul King Yhwach,
without the slightest room to fight back.
It was unbelievable.
At the same time,
in this heavy, oppressive atmosphere,
the video also carried Soul King Yhwach's voice—
rarely heard in such a tone,
cold… yet faintly approving:
"'J'… Ichigo…"
"Don't wear such a frightened expression."
"This is my hostility toward your power."
"That terrifying Bankai… is exactly why I made this judgment."
"Through the power of The Almighty…"
"I broke it in the future!!!"
The moment he finished speaking to the camera—
his next action
multiplied the horror in an instant!
He lifted his hand!
That enormous palm reached out into the air!
Once again, Soul King Yhwach was clearly standing in place—
and yet…
in his hand,
a broken horn appeared out of nothing.
Then the camera spun sharply, aiming at the top of Ichigo's head—
and the audience realized in shock:
at some unknown time,
the Hollow horn from his Hollowfication had also snapped off.
Which meant…
it wasn't only the Zanpakuto's Bankai.
Even the power of his Hollow form
had been destroyed along with it!
After that,
before anyone could even process what had happened—
the video fast-forwarded.
Ichigo's power was repeatedly, drastically weakened.
As expected,
he was beaten down.
His whole presence sagged; his body was covered in wounds and blood, and even his eyelids began to droop.
There wasn't the slightest trace of fighting spirit left.
He looked half-dead, unable to struggle anymore.
"It's over, Ichigo…"
Soul King Yhwach stepped up to him.
With the black tide surging around him, he lifted a cold hand—
and pressed Ichigo's body down into the ground,
his words dripping with killing intent:
"Next…"
"I will take back everything."
"The pure-blood Quincy power I once bestowed on you…"
"I will reclaim it all!!!"
Those words felt like a prophecy—
the next scene would be cut short,
and as expected,
it would be taken back.
Because once that pure-blood Quincy power was stripped away,
Zangetsu would no longer be whole.
And that would mean…
Ichigo would lose his combat strength completely—
and be crippled on the spot!!!
————
"It's over…"
"Ichigo… in the future, you won't even be able to hold your sword…"
"No matter how hard you try, you still can't break The Almighty's power!!!"
In the real world,
in the Karakura Town district, inside the high school campus,
Orihime, Tatsuki, and Chad covered their mouths in shock.
They felt nothing but despair at what they were seeing.
Because if—
earlier, before Hollowfication and Bankai had even been used—
even if Ichigo fell behind,
everyone still had hope.
They still believed Ichigo would win.
But now,
his trump cards had been used.
His power had been revealed.
And even his Zanpakuto in Bankai
had been snapped as easily as that.
Faced with something like this—
even Ichigo himself looked like he was sinking into darkness.
The fighting spirit and hope in his eyes
vanished in an instant.
"At this point…"
"What method is left that can deal with The Almighty?"
"Soul King Yhwach… does he really have no weakness at all?!"
Under his orange bangs,
Ichigo sighed, his expression turning bleak.
He was a hot-blooded kid.
And now, synced to the future, he had already become a Soul-King-class powerhouse.
He didn't want—
absolutely didn't want—
to watch his future self
be reduced to silence,
his power stripped away,
turned into a crippled wreck.
No matter what,
he couldn't accept that!!!
(End of Chapter)
[200 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/Zukooo]
[Thanks for your support!]