"Mm. I saw it."
Yamamoto's reaction to Ryūjin Jakka's words was extremely calm, as though he were implying that Ryūjin Jakka was making a needless fuss.
"What do you mean, 'mm'?! Hurry! I'll return to the Zanpakutō, and you use Zanka no Tachi to kill him! Otherwise, Soul Society really will be destroyed!"
Ryūjin Jakka spoke at incredible speed. As Yamamoto's Zanpakutō, he was completely aligned with Yamamoto when it came to protecting Soul Society.
While Ryūjin Jakka was speaking, the power of Inaba's rampaging Zanka no Tachi had already begun spreading through Soul Society. Tsunayoshi and the others, who were at the very center of it, could clearly feel the temperature rise by two degrees.
At this rate, it would not be long before Inaba's Zanka no Tachi evaporated all of Soul Society.
Seeing that Yamamoto still looked utterly composed, Ryūjin Jakka could not hold himself back any longer. What he hated most was Yamamoto's forced, unshakable calm. Whether it was the Royal Palace or this Inaba situation, if something was unpleasant, why not just go over and cut it down?
"Fine! You won't go? I will! Bankai! Sword of Raging Flame!"
Ryūjin Jakka was practically a hot-blooded youth. Without another word, he drew his weapon and charged straight in. He could not use Zanka no Tachi on his own, so he could only hope that this rampaging Inaba had a poorer grasp of Zanka no Tachi's power than he had of his Sword of Raging Flame.
However, just as Ryūjin Jakka stepped forward, his head suffered a heavy blow.
The one who hit him was Yamamoto. Aside from not using any Hakuda techniques, it was a completely merciless punch.
"Damn it! Old Man Yama, what exactly are you trying to do?!"
Ryūjin Jakka cursed angrily. It was one thing for Yamamoto not to attack with him, but now he was even stopping him. That made him wonder whether the Yamamoto in front of him was really Yamamoto at all.
"Fool!"
Yamamoto opened with a furious reprimand.
"The opponent's Zanka no Tachi has already spread its power throughout Soul Society. If we go up there and add more fire to it, we will not even need to fight. Soul Society will be destroyed outright!"
The temperature was still rising. In the blink of an eye, it had climbed by another ten degrees, making everyone feel uncomfortable.
"Old Man Yamamoto, then I'll go!"
The warm-hearted Ichigo immediately stepped forward when he heard that Soul Society was about to be destroyed. His hand covered his forehead, and he looked ready to enter Hollowfication at any moment.
"Stay where you are, Kurosaki boy. You are not qualified for this yet."
Even if Inaba's control over Zanka no Tachi was still unpolished, it was still Zanka no Tachi. With Ichigo's current strength, there was no way he could gain an advantage against it.
"But… right, Tsunayoshi, you…"
Ichigo immediately turned toward Tsunayoshi, who had not spoken. Tsunayoshi had already closed his eyes and was communicating with the other two powers inside him.
He had only recently gained control over his Quincy powers. If he wanted to safely take down the rampaging Zanka no Tachi, the best option was still to use the power he was most familiar with.
"Tenth, can you hear me? I need your help."
"Little Tsuna? I understand. I'll return right away."
Upon suddenly hearing the voice in his heart, the Tenth, who was currently inside Squad 12 , immediately responded to Tsunayoshi. He did not even explain anything to Byakuya. After giving him a single look, his figure vanished directly from Byakuya's sight.
Everything went smoothly on the Tenth's side, but a small problem arose with Byakuran.
After escorting the materialized Zanpakutō for a short distance, Byakuran's body had unconsciously turned toward a street he often visited. By now, he had already had two small cups of wine.
Naturally, Byakuran heard Tsunayoshi's call. After hesitating briefly, he reluctantly set down the wine cup in his hand. Giving up a moment of pleasure could be exchanged for longer-lasting happiness.
Byakuran calmly sent the two staff members out of the room before responding to Tsunayoshi's call.
"I'm coming, Little Tsuna."
Inside Tsunayoshi's inner world, the Tenth looked at Byakuran in some confusion.
"Did you get into a fight? Why did you come back so slowly?"
"Ahaha, it almost became a truly satisfying battle…"
Byakuran laughed it off and immediately changed the subject.
"Let's hurry out. Little Tsuna is still waiting for us."
Using Tsunayoshi's inner world as a transfer point, Byakuran and the Tenth once again materialized from the inner world. A wave of scorching heat surged straight into their faces.
"Well, would you look at that. I was wondering why my warmed wine had gone cold. So it was Old Man Yamamoto causing trouble. Does he not want Soul Society anymore?"
Seeing the flames raging wildly, Byakuran blurted out a complaint.
The Tenth glanced at Byakuran. This time, he understood exactly what Byakuran had been doing. However, he did not say anything. It was fine for them to cause trouble inside the inner world, but outside, they were two of Tsunayoshi's representatives. They had to leave Little Tsuna some face.
Under the Tenth's look, Byakuran also realized he had said the wrong thing. He shrank his neck slightly and forced a smile, lest he say even more and make things worse.
"It was not I. It is my Modified Soul, controlled by Inaba Kagerōza," Yamamoto explained.
Because of Byakuran's brief delay, the temperature at the scene had already become almost unbearable. Large beads of sweat poured from everyone's bodies. Fortunately, their clothes were all Reishi constructs, so they did not end up in an embarrassing, disheveled state.
Even powerful Shinigami like Tsunayoshi and the others found the temperature difficult to endure, let alone ordinary souls with weaker power, or even no Reiatsu at all.
Just the heat leaking from Zanka no Tachi had already left them parched. The wells of Soul Society had already become objects of frantic competition. If this continued, Soul Society would become another living hell.
"Sawada Tsunayoshi, make your move. Use the form you used against me last time. As for the damage to Soul Society, the Kidō Corps can repair it slowly afterward."
Yamamoto made the decision very decisively. With these words, he was telling Tsunayoshi to use the power of his Transcendent Bankai without worry. Compared to every living being in Soul Society, the minor damage that high-level Reiatsu would cause to the world was not worth considering.
Tsunayoshi understood Yamamoto's meaning as well.
A Cloud-attribute Transcendent Bankai. Killing Inaba as quickly as possible would be the best way to protect Soul Society from further destruction.
"I understand. Tenth, Byakuran, we're going in!"
Just as Tsunayoshi's face filled with resolve, Byakuran began offering his opinion again.
"Wait, Little Tsuna. There's no need to rush."
"Ordinary souls are already being affected. We have no time."
Tsunayoshi frowned slightly, somewhat displeased.
He did not particularly like joking around when the fate of the world was at stake. Urahara's reports about the suffering across Soul Society were still continuously coming through his earpiece. If they delayed any longer, people in Soul Society really would start being roasted alive.
"I am not stopping you."
Byakuran revealed his trademark charming smile.
"I only wanted to tell you that the Rain-attribute power has been unlocked for you."
Tsunayoshi froze for a moment. He immediately understood what Byakuran meant.
The Rain-attribute Hollow power had fully acknowledged Tsunayoshi. In other words, he could now use a Rain-attribute Transcendent Bankai.
In truth, for Tsunayoshi, all his powers followed the principle that mastering one meant understanding them all. Since he had mastered the Cloud-attribute Transcendent Bankai, that also meant he could use the Transcendent Bankai of all the other attributes.
However, the Hollow-power portion of it was controlled by Byakuran. Tsunayoshi had spent a long time and had only obtained the Cloud attribute from Kikyo. Now, Byakuran had actually taken the initiative to unlock the power of another attribute for him—and it was the Rain attribute, controlled by the most troublesome and childish of them all, Bluebell.
This really was good news.
Just as Byakuran had said, there was indeed no need to rush anymore. With the power of a Rain-attribute Transcendent Bankai, this rampaging Zanka no Tachi was perfect as a test subject.
Seeing the astonished expression on Tsunayoshi's face, Byakuran revealed a smile that said everything had gone according to plan.
He did not have many trump cards left, so of course he had to maximize the benefits he could gain for himself.
Byakuran's expression immediately became serious. Beside him, the Tenth's eyes seemed able to see straight through his little schemes. It did not matter if the Tenth saw through him, but he could not let Tsunayoshi realize it.
With a solemn, righteous expression, Byakuran said:
"Let's go, Little Tsuna. Vongola!"
The Tenth did not say anything more. Instead, he stood beside Tsunayoshi together with Byakuran, one on his left and one on his right. The two Zanpakutō inserted at Tsunayoshi's lower back moved on their own. After leaving their sheaths, they turned into two masses of Reiatsu and floated before the two men.
Tsunayoshi immediately shouted:
"Transcendent Bankai…"
After Tsunayoshi's voice rang out, the Reiatsu floating before the Tenth and Byakuran began rapidly flashing with rainbow-colored light. In the end, the color settled on blue.
The Tenth and Byakuran transformed into two streams of Reiatsu, one black and one white, and merged into the two masses of blue Reiatsu. A point of green light flashed at Tsunayoshi's chest. After the light flared, it ignited into a blue flame. Drawn in by that flame, the two masses of Reiatsu gathered toward Tsunayoshi.
Under the catalytic effect of Fullbring, the Reiatsu of Shinigami and Hollow fused together.
The blue flame now burning was the ultimate Rain-attribute Flame. Tsunayoshi felt no discomfort or pain. Just like the Rain attribute's trait of tranquility, he calmly accepted the fusion of the three great Rain-attribute powers.
With a soft puff, an invisible ripple spread out from within the blue flame.
In the next instant, Ichigo and the others were like people who had finally received rain after a long drought. They breathed in the surrounding air in great gulps. The ripple produced by the Rain-attribute Flame was like a great splash of cool water poured over their heads, immediately relieving most of their suffering.
The ripple of Rain-attribute Flame did not merely maintain the comfort of living beings. It was truly lowering the temperature of the surrounding environment. Like Zanka no Tachi, it spread outward through Soul Society with Tsunayoshi at its center.
Although no rain could be seen, wherever the flame spread, living beings involuntarily revealed expressions of relief and enjoyment.
They had come back to life.
Inaba's expression turned ugly. Located at the core of the battlefield, he could naturally sense the surrounding temperature rapidly dropping. The thing nullifying Zanka no Tachi's power was undoubtedly that strange blue flame.
He only needed to destroy it.
Without hesitation, Inaba swung his blade toward Tsunayoshi's position. However, a flame extremely similar to his own power blocked the path of his attack.
A closer look revealed that it was Yamamoto's materialized Zanpakutō.
Seeing Inaba's gaze, Ryūjin Jakka even grinned at him and shouted loudly:
"Bankai! Sword of Raging Flame!"
Yamamoto would not allow him to attack directly. But now that Ryūjin Jakka had taken the initiative to defend Tsunayoshi and protect him, Yamamoto had nothing to say. In addition, since Tsunayoshi had caused the temperature to drop rapidly, Ryūjin Jakka switching to the Sword of Raging Flame was no longer something that needed to be forbidden.
Even if the Sword of Raging Flame could not defeat Zanka no Tachi, using it for defense was more than enough.
Ryūjin Jakka's action immediately inspired Ichigo and the others. Everyone took up strict defensive positions around Tsunayoshi, not giving Inaba the slightest chance to succeed.
Looking at Tsunayoshi, who was protected by so many people, and then at himself, standing completely alone, Inaba gritted his teeth and increased his Reiatsu output. Even fiercer flames surged from his Zanpakutō.
He would raise the temperature himself and crush these reckless fools.
That fire poker, burning red-hot and reflecting light, was named Zanka no Tachi. Yet it had none of Zanka no Tachi's restrained nature. All it showed was unbridled arrogance.
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