The two Senbonzakura scattered together, like two cherry blossom trees blooming simultaneously, countless cherry petals drifting in the wind, then several gusts of demonic wind blew out at once.
Senbonzakura's most basic technique is the Petal Flow. Both sides start with a clash of petals. Because Senbonzakura's blades are made of petals, and these petal blades are incredibly small, the collision volume is extremely small. This results in a large number of petals still rushing towards the opponent after the two petal flows collide.
At this moment, Byakuya waved one hand, creating a rotating wall of petal blades around himself to block Sōjun's attack. Sōjun, on the other hand, manipulated his petal blades into a funnel shape, slicing through the remaining petal stream of Byakuya knocking it away.
Because Sōjun possessed a large number of petal blades, accumulated over hundreds of years, it wasn't easy to surpass. After he annihilated Byakuya's petal stream, the remaining petals formed a new petal stream and launched a direct attack on Byakuya. At this moment, Byakuya was still regrouping his petal blades, which made him a step too late.
The most important attribute in using Senbonzakura, or similar Zanpakuto into tiny blades, is Spiritual Sensitivity. It requires distributing Spiritual Power as evenly as possible across each blade, but this is extremely difficult. In fact, we can think of controlling Senbonzakura as playing a strategy game like Warcraft, or Red Alert.
Let's take the Senbonzakura Thousand Cherry Blossoms) as an example. If each of the thousands of petals is to contain Spiritual Power, it's like micro-managing thousands of units simultaneously in a strategy game. Even an octopus with four sets of keyboards and mice wouldn't be enough!
However, the game has area selection and legion settings, right? This is the function. When Senbonzakura uses it, she selects an area with a burst of Spiritual Power, then directly groups the petal blades encompassed by the Spiritual Power into a legion. After grouping, if any units within the legion die, you can still control the remaining units.
However, Senbonzakura is not a game, and the petal blades don't die; they simply fall after collision and lose control of the Spiritual Power. This requires using Spiritual Power again to reselect. Therefore, when two Senbonzakura blades clash, we can view it as two world-class professional players playing StarCraft, focusing not on attack and defense, but on strategy and micro-management.
Byakuya's micro-management was clearly at a disadvantage in the first wave. While his protective blades did offer high defense, they wasted a lot of Spiritual Power, and the speed and range of his defense-to-attack transition were poor. Sōjun's funnel-like strangulation was different; he used several micro-managements to thwart Byakuya's attack, then immediately switched from defense to offense in place—a very skillful maneuver.
Seeing that he had fallen into a defensive position, Byakuya simply stopped trying to switch from defense to offense, continued to protect himself with his petals, and accelerated the regeneration of the petals.
On the battlefield of petal retrieval, the father and son frantically stirred their Spiritual Power at the central point where the petal blades landed, vying for control of each petal blade while simultaneously launching surprise attacks using the scattered petal blades.
As the petals of the Sōjun Blossom petals retreated, they suddenly coalesced into a massive thrusting attack. Didn't the original Kuchiki Clan Senbonzakura mention the need for a safety zone, otherwise the petal blades could easily cut oneself? Therefore, there's no need to worry about petal blades that haven't fully retracted; a rapid attack is preferable.
Of course, this usage is limited to two Senbonzakura fighting each other. Due to the inherent danger of Senbonzakura, the user cannot use Senbonzakura too Shunpo, as it is easy to injure oneself and hinders micro-management. Therefore, Senbonzakura is truly a very skillful sword.
Sōjun's surprise attack had little effect. Byakuya, having learned from his father, fused the number of his protective petal blades back to form a new funnel to strangle his father's thrust, then switched from defense to offense. However, he was Sōjun struck by a wave of attacks from above, a move reminiscent of Kuchiki Ginrei's cherry blossom wave attack against Scorpion Vasto Lorde. After deflecting Byakuya's attack, the wave followed up with another attack on Byakuya.
Byakuya was now completely at a disadvantage. His micro-management skills were still inferior to his father, Sōjun's. This was largely due to Byakuya's superior physique; Sōjun, due to his own physical limitations, focused more on manipulation. Even Kuchiki Ginrei was probably no match for Byakuya's micro-management.
Byakuya managed to block Sōjun's attack using some of the recovered petal blades. However, by this time, Sōjun had already prepared four streams of petals, while Byakuya hadn't managed to form a single one.
"With your strength! You think Kuchiki can be proud of you!?" Sōjun enraged. If he had been beaten speechless, he would have accepted it; the kid had grown up. But now it seemed that Byakuya was just spouting nonsense.
The four streams of petals launched a two-wave attack. Byakuya could only use all the petals he had collected to create a vortex defense; he had neither the opportunity nor the ability to make any further micro-management. Meanwhile, Sōjun's attacks increased from four streams of petals to six, then eight, forcing Byakuya to focus entirely on defense, leaving him no chance to launch an attack.
"Scattered, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi!"
Byakuya was forced to activate his Unbound form, which became the reason why Sōjun activated his Unbound form.
"You can't even control your Shikai properly, yet you want to turn the tide with your release?! You're truly ignorant of your own limitations!! Spread out the Senbonzakura: Cherry Blossom Path!"
Behind Byakuya was a scene of giant blades appearing and then shattering, while behind Sōjun was a road lined with cherry blossoms on both sides, the ground covered with cherry blossoms, which were still falling continuously.
Byakuya's release had a massive amount of petal blades from the start, similar to Kuchiki Ginrei's release. As a result, the massive amount of petals directly covered Sōjun. The petals on Sōjun's path all formed a wall of petals, firmly resisting the external pressure.
However, behind Sōjun, the cherry blossom trees along the street in the phantom continued to shed petals, each petal becoming a new blade for Sōjun. Sōjun's technique was one that grew stronger the longer it lasted. Although all were enhancement-type techniques, Sōjun's techniques were not of the same type as those of Kuchiki Ginrei and Byakuya.
This was the first time Byakuya had witnessed Sōjun's release technique. This unique form of release put immense pressure on him; he had to finish quickly. There was no time to drag it out. Moreover, judging from the form of Sōjun's release, if it dragged on, Sōjun, given enough time and a sufficient Spiritual Pool, might become invincible.
"Senkei: Senbonzakura Kageyoshi!"
Byakuya shouted loudly. This is typical of Bushido families; they won't attack unless called out. However, considering this is a father-son duel, both sides should hold back, otherwise, if they were to actually kill each other, neither would be in a good position.
As the words were spoken, Byakuya's petal blades began to coalesce, forming long swords.
"Oh? You can even kill the scenery? Not bad, the Senkei: Senbonzakura: Cherry Blossom Path."
The scene effects in Sōjun's scene are even more dazzling. The cherry blossom trees behind him suddenly transform into a forest of steel, with steel blades growing out of the iron trees. Countless Senbonzakura blossom petals are recycled by the iron trees to grow even more blades.
Father and son swung their arms together, unleashing a fierce clash of countless blades above their heads. Now they could engage in hand-to-hand combat. Byakuya Shunpo to rush in front of Sōjun, but his slash was blocked by a blade shot out from the air. Sou Junichi then launched a thrust, which was also parried by Byakuya's flying blade, allowing Byakuya to dodge.
After their initial exchange, the two swiftly shifted positions, only to be instantly stabbed by several blades at the spots where they landed. However, at this moment, Sōjun's physical limitations became apparent; his Shunpo (Shunpo) was inferior to Byakuya and somewhat overwhelmed by Byakuya's blades.
However, while Byakuya's Shunpo was good, his micro-management was Sōjun to Soujun's Sōjun's blades were much more accurate and had more attacks than Byakuya's Sōjun. Therefore, Byakuya wasn't actually that much better than Sōjun.
However, Byakuya is the one who needs to be anxious, because the iron tree behind Sōjun is still growing blades, meaning that the longer it drags on, the stronger Sōjun will become, and he will have more and more blades.
However, the original work's "Gokei" cannot be released. "Gokei" is the round blade cover that Byakuya used to envelop the two of them when he fought Ichigo. This move must not be used during the Kuchiki family's internal war!
Because once both Kuchiki use this move, the Gokei will become shared by both of them, and their blades will synchronize. Since they are Senbonzakura, command confusion can occur, and they might accidentally end up using each other's blades.
If you use the opponent's blade to attack, that's fine. But if you defend and place the opponent's blade next to you, then the resonance disappears, the opponent gains control, and then commands an attack, aren't you just handing the blade over to them to cut you?
Therefore, the Gokei cannot be used in the Kuchiki Civil War; it's very likely to result in real deaths, and then it will be impossible to stop. Because once a defensive sword contains the opponent's sword, the opponent won't know it. When the opponent uses an attack, their attention is focused on the swords they primarily control, and they won't notice that they suddenly have an extra sword under command. They'll only realize it when they've pierced the opponent. "Huh? How did I get an extra sword?! Damn it! How did you die?! Are you kidding me?"
Senbonzakura and several other scenic spots
The Row Scene involves arranging the blades in a formation. Once completed, the user can control the entire Row Scene using Zanjutsu, much like having a line of soldiers wielding Zanjutsu and attacking you. This technique is suitable for group battles.
The Annihilation Scene " technique involves placing the "Extinction Scene" above the opponent's head and then unleashing a Gokei," but its weakness is that it's all attack with no defense. It wasn't used in the original work because Ichigo is a speed-type character, making this technique unsuitable.
"Ultimate Scene" is an evolved version of "Gokei," trapping the opponent within Gokei, allowing for easy attacks. However, it's extremely difficult. While "Gokei" is centered on the user and easy to set up, "Ultimate Scene" requires anticipating the enemy's moves and even their pre-arranged traps, making it significantly more challenging.
None of these tactics are suitable for use in civil war. Row Scene is an idiot Annihilation Scene. You panic before you've even finished setting up Annihilation Scene Ultimate Scene even harder to set up. By the time you finish setting it up, the enemy will have already killed you eight times over.
Moreover, after fighting his father, Sōjun, for so many rounds, Byakuya discovered Sōjun's biggest problem. He originally thought he could win with his own power, but he found that he still had to use his opponent's weakness in the end. This made Byakuya feel a little uncomfortable, but he had to win!
"The Final Scene: White Emperor Sword!"
Byakuya's blade transformed into basic Reishi, and the immense power of the Release acted directly upon him. His powerful Spiritual Power was compressed to an extreme degree, causing him to emit a blinding white light. This light formed his sword blade, clothing, and wings. His formidable control allowed him to move and attack at will—this was the power of the White Emperor Sword.
However, Sōjun was different, "Modified Final Scene: White Emperor Sword!"
The powerful Spiritual Power finally merged completely with the illusory image behind him. Then, the Sōjun White Emperor Sword here no longer enveloped him, but instead formed a blade with wings—this was the ultimate strike.
Come here, my son.
Byakuya swallowed hard, because Sōjun was completely defenseless. However, this modified version of the final scene also lacked the weakness of the White Emperor Sword itself, which was that he was completely encased within it.
In other words, one increases both attack and defense by five times, while the other adds the five times defense to the attack, turning it into ten times attack, leaving the user with zero defense.
Because Sōjun's body was weak, he couldn't withstand the power of the White Emperor Sword for too long. The White Emperor Sword's pressure on the body was unimaginably strong, similar to the Divine Roar of the Shihoin Family.
In fact, the ultimate secret of the Five Great Noble Clans is something like this. The ability required for this super-aggregation of Spiritual Power is not something that an ordinary Soul Reaper can master. This is the true foundation of the Five Great Noble Clans.
Sweat beaded on Byakuya's forehead. In fact, at this point, it wasn't about strength anymore, but about resolve! It was about who was more ruthless! Did Byakuya have the resolve to kill his own father to seize power? Did Sōjun have the resolve to kill his own son to uphold tradition?
Byakuya disappeared, and when he reappeared, the blade of the White Emperor Sword was pressed against Sōjun's neck, while Sōjun's modified White Emperor Sword was pressed against Byakuya's forehead.
"Kill me, and you'll have everything."
"You!"
Is that all the resolve you have?
"Then why didn't you kill me?" Byakuya deactivated the White Emperor Sword, turned, and left. "I'll come back!"