Spatial Domain

By the time he finished saying "Bankai," his Zanpakuto had vanished, replaced by water filling the sky! It was like a river in the heavens, except the water here was yellow.

"Hahahaha..." Shihoin Nishimura laughed arrogantly. "You didn't expect this, did you? This is Bankai, the level above Shikai! In other words, my strength is Captain-level! You're destined to die here today!"

Things had just gotten troublesome. Ye Yang had never expected him to possess Bankai. Although Ye Yang had it too, he didn't want to reveal it so soon.

"Despair! My Bankai turns my Zanpakuto entirely into Yomi Water. All this water is my weapon. Let's see how you defend against an assault as fluid as water itself. My Yomi Water is everywhere! Even a drop will corrode you, and a direct hit will corrode you completely! Let's see what you can use to fight me!"

With that, he sent the Yomi Water at Ye Yang and Yoruichi. Their exceptional speed kept them from being hit, but they couldn't keep this up forever.

Suddenly, Yoruichi stood still, as though she had made a decision. The surrounding Reishi gathered toward her as if drawn by something. It became so concentrated that the Reishi collided violently, producing lightning. To an onlooker, it looked as though lightning was gathering around Yoruichi, an imposing sight!

Surrounded by lightning, Yoruichi shouted, "Shunkō!" In an instant, she vanished. When Shihoin Nishimura saw her disappear, he thought, This is bad. But it was too late. Yoruichi had already appeared behind him and pressed her palm, charged with lightning-like Reishi, against his back. The blow carried all her strength, sending him flying out of the room and smashing through several walls. Such was its power!

Shihoin Nishimura's entire back was charred black, but he still wasn't dead. He stood up and said, "Yomi Water—heal!"

The Yomi Water floating in the air swept over his wound like silk. His charred back immediately began healing at an astonishing rate. In less than ten seconds, the wound was completely gone.

"That was dangerous! Anyone else would have died from that attack, but my Yomi Water can not only corrode enemies, it's also a miraculous healing medicine for its master. You didn't expect that, did you?" Shihoin Nishimura said with a smile.

"Oh? Healing? What an interesting Zanpakuto. But if we blow your head apart or pierce your heart, can you still heal?" Ye Yang said confidently.

"Heh, as expected of a genius. But now that I know that, do you think I'll let you hit me?" With that, he surrounded himself with some of the Yomi Water. To attack him, they would first have to get through its corrosive power.

Yoruichi was helpless against this. Her Zanpakuto was a direct-attack type and could only attack directly; even its Bankai couldn't turn it into a Kidō-type Zanpakuto. But this didn't hinder Ye Yang. He stepped forward and said, "Sis, take a rest. I'll deal with this guy."

Shihoin Nishimura burst out laughing. "Hahaha... The two of you together couldn't beat me just now, and now you want to take me on alone? There are easier ways to get yourself killed!"

Ye Yang looked at him with pity. "Enjoy your final moments, because you're about to learn what despair is!"

Shihoin Nishimura laughed wildly again. "Ha! You? Despair? What an unfamiliar word!"

Ye Yang slowly exhaled and said, "Bankai! Spatial Domain!"

Shihoin Nishimura sneered. "Ha! What do you think Bankai is? It's the highest level of a Zanpakuto's release! It takes at least several decades to attain it, and even after that, it takes more than ten years to master! I spent a hundred years training to complete my Bankai. How could you possibly have attained it in ten? Stop boasting!"

Ye Yang looked at Shihoin Nishimura expressionlessly. "That's why you're a mediocrity, and I'm a genius! Look at the space around you, idiot!"

At Ye Yang's prompting, he finally noticed that the space around him was no longer the place where he had just been. This was a white space, and he was floating in midair. There was no one else here, only him and Ye Yang.

Shihoin Nishimura's mind went blank. This was beyond his comprehension. He blurted out, "What's going on? Where is this?"

Ye Yang watched him quietly and smiled. "Welcome to my space. This is my Bankai—Spatial Domain! Here, I control everything in this space!"

"Hmph! You're bluffing. Even if you've attained Bankai, you can only have a rudimentary grasp of it. How could that compare to my hundred years of experience? Yomi Water, attack!"

The Yomi Water behind him surged toward Ye Yang like an unstoppable river! Shihoin Nishimura laughed madly. "Hahaha... Let's see how you stop this raging assault! Hahaha..."

Ye Yang didn't move. He merely raised his right hand toward the oncoming Yomi Water and said, "Spatial Rift!" The moment he spoke, a Spatial Rift over ten meters long appeared in front of him and swallowed all the Yomi Water.

His long black hair blowing in the wind, Ye Yang looked at him with the vigor of a sovereign. "I told you, I rule this space. Here, I decide all the rules of space!" Ye Yang glanced at the Yomi Water behind Shihoin Nishimura. "Spatial Rift, swallow it all!"

A circular black hole appeared amid the Yomi Water. The water swirled rapidly into the Spatial Rift, banished into the spatial turbulence. In mere seconds, it was gone.

Shihoin Nishimura watched wide-eyed as his Yomi Water was swallowed, unable to do a thing. He merely muttered, "How is this possible... How can there be such a powerful Zanpakuto!" He had fallen to his knees. Without his Yomi Water, he had no means of resisting Ye Yang. He had lost.

Ye Yang slowly walked over and looked at Shihoin Nishimura, who was kneeling on the ground. The once-arrogant overlord raised his head and looked back at him. The two stared at each other.

At last, Shihoin Nishimura couldn't help speaking. "I lost in the end! Whether in scheming or strength, I lost. I lost because I underestimated you. I never imagined your strength would reach this level in just a few decades."

A sword appeared out of nowhere in Ye Yang's hand, and he held it against his throat. "Do you have any last words?"

"I hope my family won't be implicated after I die. My wife, my son, and even my grandson know nothing of my plan. Could you spare them?" Shihoin Nishimura was no longer that overlord. Now he was merely an old man in the twilight of his life.

"I'll get to the bottom of this. I won't spare a single person who took part, but I won't slaughter the innocent either!" Ye Yang's words were firm, leaving no room for negotiation.

Shihoin Nishimura lowered his head as if accepting his fate. "I see. Thank you! May I ask one more question? When did you master Bankai?"

"Half a year ago!"

At that answer, Nishimura actually showed a faint smile. Ye Yang brought his sword down and severed his head. Then he released his Bankai and returned to the Shihoin mansion in an instant.

As soon as Ye Yang appeared, Yoruichi ran over and asked, "How did it go?"

Ye Yang simply tossed Shihoin Nishimura's corpse onto the ground. "I dealt with him, of course. Don't you know how strong I am?"

"Of course I believe in you. The ringleader's dealt with, but what about these old fellows?" Yoruichi asked, pointing at the elders.

The elders were now utterly desperate. Shihoin Nishimura's Bankai had rekindled their hopes, but seeing that he had died at Ye Yang's hands, they knew they were finished.

Several elders even fell to their knees and said, "Please spare us, family head! We only came because Elder Shihoin Nishimura misled us. Please let us go!"

Once someone had taken the lead, more elders knelt and begged for mercy. Only Shihoin Ishikawa did not beg. Instead, he said arrogantly, "Hmph! Although you killed Nishimura, I have to admit you're geniuses, both in strength and cunning. But even the wisest can make a mistake. When you came in, I knew the plan had failed. I've already sent assassins to kill your parents. Now, with one word from me, they'll die without a burial place!"

Ye Yang sneered. "You think I wouldn't have thought of that?"

Just then, a dark figure suddenly descended from the sky and landed in front of Ye Yang. It was Kisuke Urahara.

"Those two assassins were really troublesome, Ye Yang. You'll have to make it up to me," Kisuke Urahara said with a smile.

Shihoin Ishikawa's face turned deathly pale. Those two assassins were...

Kisuke Urahara tossed out two black objects as if performing a magic trick. A closer look revealed that they were two severed heads. Shihoin Ishikawa sank to the ground. They were the two assassins he had sent!

Ye Yang appeared before him in an instant. A sword grew larger in his eyes, and with a soft sound, he slowly fell. At the sight, the other elders had no thought of resisting and all knelt to beg for mercy.

Ye Yang looked at them without a trace of pity in his eyes and slowly uttered a single word: "Kill!"

Yoruichi said apprehensively, "Killing them is easy, but they make up more than half the council of elders. If we kill them all like this..."

Ye Yang's parents came over as well. Seigen agreed with Yoruichi. "Yes, they were only accomplices. A little punishment will do. If we kill them all, I'm afraid it will leave the family weakened internally."

Killing intent still surged in Ye Yang's eyes. "Keeping them alive would only leave pests in the family. They're no good to the family at all. As for the family being weakened, even if that happens, I'll make sure those petty villains don't dare make a move. And it's not just these elders. There are also some other nobles Nishimura contacted. I've already had the Punishment Force find out which nobles they are. It's time to reshuffle the nobles." ...

(I've caught a cold and have been lying in ** with an IV drip. This chapter is the only one I had saved up, and I might not be able to write for the next few days, so there might not be an update on Saturday. I hope everyone understands. Also, thank you to the friends who support me. I'll keep working hard.)