Fighting Yamamoto

A blood moon appeared high in the sky, radiating crimson light over the land. The sight struck fear into the hearts of those who beheld it.

The three captains stared in shock as their attacks slowly dissipated. What was going on?

Wasn't a Zanpakuto supposed to lose its powers when its spirit left it?

Then what was that blood moon in the sky?

"I never thought the child from back then would have accomplished so much." An aged yet imposing voice rang out.

Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai had arrived!!!

Ten Unohana slowly handed his Blade of Slaughter and Poppy Scythe to Shasha and Ginhime. Looking at Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai with a serious expression, he said, "I had no choice. Soul Society had no place for me, so I had to resort to this. But it looks like success isn't far off now."

Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai took off his upper garments, revealing a muscular body covered in crisscrossing scars.

Ten Unohana gripped Satan's Curse and looked at Yamamoto. Fighting Yamamoto was different from fighting anyone else. It was difficult enough to begin with, and because he had separated Shasha and Ginhime from himself to break the seal, he couldn't use his Zanpakuto. Satan's Curse was all he had.

"Everyone, stand back for now," Yamamoto said. At the same time—

"Reduce all things in creation to ashes, Ryūjin Jakka!!!"

The captains backed away, but...

"Old Man Yamamoto, I forgot to tell you. See that blood moon in the sky? I named that move Blood Moon Shines on the Sun. As for what it does, you've already seen it—" Ten Unohana pointed at Yamamoto's Ryūjin Jakka.

Ryūjin Jakka, which should have been wreathed in flames, remained unchanged.

Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai frowned. "It absorbs Reiatsu, is that right?"

Ten Unohana smiled. "That's right. So what are you going to do, Old Man Yamamoto?" he said, holding Satan's Curse.

Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai raised his Zanpakuto. "Then I shall show you my swordsmanship."

Ten Unohana shook his head. "I'm not going to fight you fairly. Actually, it's not exactly an unfair fight. You just can't do anything about my Zanpakuto's ability, that's all." Ten Unohana kept rambling because Shasha and Ginhime needed time to break the seal, and he naturally intended to stall for as long as he could.

Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai didn't mind Ten Unohana's little ploy. In Yamamoto's eyes, none of it mattered, because he was confident that once he made his move, Ten Unohana would have no chance of escaping.

"Does that mean you can use spiritual power and Reiatsu?" Yamamoto asked somewhat gravely.

Ten Unohana grinned. "Yes! So what? Your swordsmanship can't keep up with me. There's a huge difference between Shunpo used with Reiatsu and Shunpo used without it."

But just as Ten Unohana was getting carried away, someone spoiled his mood...

"Shoot to kill, Shinsō!!"

Gin Ichimaru suddenly intervened. Ignoring the wound on his body, Ten Unohana looked at him.

Was it on Aizen's orders? Or was it his own idea? Ten Unohana wondered. But he had clearly forgotten about his raising Rangiku from a little girl.

With a shing, Gin Ichimaru retracted Shinsō. A white substance quickly welled up from Ten Unohana's wound, and it healed completely.

"High-Speed Regeneration?" Yamamoto said gravely.

Ten Unohana nodded. They would find out as soon as the fighting started, so it didn't really matter whether he told them or not.

Clatter!

Clatter—

Shasha and Ginhime had already begun breaking the seal.

In that case...

Is he about to make a move? Ten Unohana thought, watching Yamamoto bend slightly.

Bang! A tremendous sound erupted beneath Yamamoto's feet.

Ten Unohana, who had been on guard the whole time, quickly dodged with Shunpo, but...

"Bankai, Zanka no Tachi."

After coming to a stop, Ten Unohana looked down at his chest. A huge wound refused to heal.

Had Yamamoto released an immense amount of Reiatsu in an instant, leaving Blood Moon Shines on the Sun no time to absorb it, then used the recoil to reach Ten Unohana quickly and deliver that strike with a Bankai powerful enough to evaporate all the moisture in Soul Society?

Ten Unohana thought, his mouth dry.

"But how many more times can you use an attack like that, Old Man Yamamoto?" Ten Unohana said, glancing at the blood moon overhead.

Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai said, "Enough to kill a great criminal of Soul Society like you!" He bent slightly as he spoke.

"Hmph!" Ten Unohana snorted coldly, looking at a tiny wound on Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai. This time, you might not be able to hit me.

Bang!

"Zanka no Tachi: East—Rising Sun Blade!"

Boom!

Ten Unohana slammed into Old Man Yamamoto's Bankai, producing a tremendous roar. Yamamoto was driven far back, while Ten Unohana looked at Satan's Curse and saw a huge, unmistakable notch in it.

He slowly slid Satan's Curse into its sheath and opened the fanged mouth of his demon mask.

Hum—

A huge ball of pitch-black energy appeared in Ten Unohana's mouth.

"That's a... Cero?!"

Boom! Yamamoto dodged the attack, but...

Hum—

Several rumbling sounds rang out. Two Ceros appeared on Ten Unohana's wings, one at his dragon horns and one in his mouth. Then...

Boom! Boom! Boom!

With a roar like a flight of bombers passing overhead, Ceros shot at Yamamoto one after another.

Bang! Yamamoto dodged rapidly, and after an opening appeared—

Bang! Bang! Bang! Several loud reports rang out.

Yamamoto changed direction at tremendous speed and charged at Ten Unohana.

"Zanka no Tachi: North—Tenchi Kaijin!"

Screech—hum—

At the same time, Ten Unohana began gathering the four Ceros from his dragon horns, fanged mouth and wings. He watched Yamamoto rush toward him without making any attempt to dodge.

But Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai—

Bang—

Yamamoto suddenly abandoned his attack on Ten Unohana and flashed away.

Then, suddenly—

A beam of black-and-crimson light descended from the sky, blasting a deep hole in front of Ten Unohana. The ground melted away without a sound, right where Yamamoto had been about to attack him.

Only then did Ten Unohana belatedly say, "Blood Moon Cero."

The others finally noticed that the blood moon overhead had turned a dense, inky black and crimson at some point.

"An attack that releases the Reiatsu it has absorbed?" Yamamoto said.

Clatter, clatter, clatter. The seal Shasha and Ginhime were working on was about to come undone.

"Attack!" Yamamoto finally decided to have all the captains attack, to keep Ten Unohana from escaping and prevent him from breaking the seal.

"Shoot to kill, Shinsō!" For some reason, Gin Ichimaru was once again the first to strike.

"Sting All Enemies to Death! Suzumebachi!"

That was Soi Fon's attack.

Then—

"Hah! Hah!"

It was Kenpachi!!!

The others didn't attack. Because of the blood moon overhead and its ability to absorb Reiatsu, they sent in the captains whose physical attacks were strongest to fight.

"Wow, so many people. I almost didn't make it in time." Ten Unohana paid no attention to the numerous attacks, speaking without a care.

Without looking at the attacks about to hit him, Ten Unohana raised his head and looked at the blood moon in the sky. It was huge and red, as if it were right above his head.

"Here it comes..." Ten Unohana murmured.

Suddenly...

As the attacks were about to reach Ten Unohana, a river like blood poured down from the sky.

No, it wasn't a river like blood. It was a river of blood.

A river of blood pouring down from the blood moon in the sky.

Ten Unohana watched the river of blood descend and smiled. "Now, enjoy it! The feeling of despair in battle."

Splash!

The attacks finally struck Ten Unohana, but there was only the sound of blows hitting water.

Splash...

Ten Unohana suddenly turned into a pool of blood and merged into the Blood Sea on the ground.

"So what will you do now?" Ten Unohana reformed a short distance away and said, "You can't use Kidō, Reiatsu or spiritual power, and physical attacks can't hurt me either. So... what are you going to do?"

That really stumped them. This was practically a state of pseudo-invincibility!

Leaving aside his immunity to physical attacks, every skill involving Reishi would be absorbed by the blood moon in the sky. Only skills using a large amount of Reishi could deal damage, because the blood moon wouldn't be able to absorb it all in time. But that was no different from pouring oil on a fire or drinking poison to quench one's thirst.

The more Reishi they used, the more the blood moon absorbed. It would store even more energy, making the Blood Moon Cero it unleashed even more powerful.

As for filling the blood moon with Reishi in a single attack, that was difficult at present. What they did know was that Old Man Yamamoto's Bankai couldn't fill it in one go.

They had also noticed something else: the Blood Sea seemed to have a powerful restorative effect on Ten Unohana. The huge wound on his chest, inflicted by Yamamoto's Bankai, Zanka no Tachi: East—Rising Sun Blade, had healed rapidly the moment the Blood Sea touched him.

There was no trace of the wound now...

"Scatter, Senbonzakura..." Byakuya Kuchiki hoped to use its massive area of attack to identify Ten Unohana's weakness, but it had no effect—

Splash, splash, splash—

The repeated sounds of blows striking water attested to the invincibility of Ten Unohana's defense in his Blood Sea state.

"Limit of the thousand hands, respectful hand unable to touch the darkness, heavenly archer unable to reflect. Road of radiance, wind that fans the embers. Gather without hesitation, heed my command. Light bullets, eight bodies, nine paths, heavenly scripture, swift treasure, great wheel, gray turret. Draw the bow toward the distance and scatter brightly. Hadō #91: Senju Kōten Taihō—"

It was Sajin Komamura's Kidō. Evidently, he wasn't ready to give up and wanted to see whether a Kidō attack would work when physical attacks did not.

The Kidō slowly disappeared, and only a very small part of it hit.

But Ten Unohana's unscathed body mercilessly proved that it was no use.

And the blood moon overhead had begun to show signs of turning inky black...

Everything showed how helpless they were.

Most importantly, the Blood Sea was slowly rising. None of them knew what would happen if it rose over their heads, but one thing was certain: it wouldn't be anything good.