Bankai! Heaven's Punishment Jiku'a

Back to the real battlefield.

Kenpachi Zaraki was looking down at Amber.

The man before him, covered in blood, knelt on the ground. He had clearly been pushed to his limit, but the light in his silver eyes grew brighter and brighter, becoming purer and more intense, as if gushing forth from the deepest part of his soul.

Kenpachi's brow twitched slightly.

Then came laughter, crisp and hearty. The blood-covered man knelt on the ground, head tilted back, laughing like a child.

Kenpachi had seen countless warriors' expressions in dire straits—fear, resentment, anger, madness. But he rarely saw someone who could still laugh like that after being beaten to such a state. In the depths of his being, he sensed a kindred spirit within him.

Hu raised her head and looked at him.

"Captain Zaraki, you're asking me—do you think fighting is a painful thing?"

He slowly stood up, Beowulf's gauntlets materialized on his hands. A deep blue light intertwined with white patterns, layer upon layer, spreading towards his arm like a living thing.

The Phantom Blade took shape in his left hand. The flames of the Haien Flame ignited on the blade without any incantation, and the deep purple flames licked the air, emitting a low whistling sound.

The Summoned Swords were no longer limited to five; a full twelve dark blue short swords appeared around him, hovering in mid-air and slowly rotating, like a ring of stars unique to him.

He stood in the middle of the ravaged woodland, surrounded by the light of four different types of armor, the light in his silver eyes growing brighter and brighter.

He raised his hand, looked at the flowing patterns of light on his fingers, and then smiled.

"There's no need to ask that question at all. How could someone who fights against others with their own life and beliefs suffer!"

He took a step forward, Beowulf's light patterns pulsating on his fist, and the Haien of Phantom Blade's flames left a charred mark on the ground.

"This guy inside me—" He pointed to his chest with his thumb, "Is fighting with a purer kind of desire. Wanting to be as strong as my father, wanting to fight my brother, that's all. The starting point for the pursuit of power never needs to be grand!"

He stood before Kenpachi, his silver eyes shimmering with a mixture of white and dark blue light. His voice was not loud, but every word seemed to come straight from the depths of his soul.

"My first battle in Soul Society was simply to help a girl surrounded by robbers. That's why I picked up a sword! It wasn't some grand mission, nor some destiny I had to overcome—it was simply because I didn't want to see anyone get hurt, nothing more!"

His Reiatsu began to rise, this time a more primal, purer Reiatsu, without any unnecessary embellishment.

Blue and white light intertwined and surged from his body, rising layer by layer, like something that had been dormant for too long and was finally awakening.

"I am Yexing Hu, not a replica of anyone! I am simply myself!"

Kenpachi Zaraki looked at him, grinning with a chilling smile.

He pulled it off with his hand, and the eye patch covering his right eye slid off his face and fell silently to the ground.

A golden Reiatsu erupted from his body like a volcanic eruption. The violent, flamboyant, and undisguised Reiatsu shattered the ground beneath his feet, snapped the few remaining tree branches overhead, and blew away all the surrounding rubble.

The entire Sōkyoku Hill began to tremble, and cracks in the ground extended in all directions from Kenpachi's feet, like a spider web torn apart by an invisible hand.

"Well said, kid." Kenpachi pulled his sword from the ground, its serrated blade reflecting a mixture of gold and dark blue light. He looked down at Kohaku, a grin spreading across his face. "The pursuit of power never needs any grand reasons!"

He rushed forward.

His entire body crashed through the air like a cannonball, the ground exploded behind his feet, and the shockwave blew everything behind him away.

He gripped the sword with one hand, raising it above his head. Golden Reiatsu enveloped the blade, tearing the air apart wherever it touched, producing a hoarse the Roar as if an iron plate was being ripped apart.

Amber rushed forward as well. He faced Kenpachi Zaraki head-on, his eyes burning with pure excitement.

Jiku'a and Kenpachi's Zanpakuto brushed past each other without either dodging or parrying; their blades struck each other simultaneously.

Kenpachi's blade slashed diagonally down from Kohaku's left shoulder, tearing through his coat, skin, and muscle, all the way down to his sternum. Blood gushed out like a fountain.

Meanwhile, Amber's Jiku'a also opened a large hole in Kenpachi's right side—from his right chest to his abdomen, his clothes, skin, and muscles were all torn apart by the spatial rift, and his internal organs were vaguely visible.

Kenpachi looked down at his wound, then looked up at Koko. A genuine smile appeared on his face, a smile born of having finally found a long-lost foe. He stepped forward, stepping into the pool of his own blood, and swung his sword once more.

Hu greeted him once again.

Blades clashed. Each collision unleashed a shockwave, causing the entire Sōkyoku Hill to tremble. The Reiatsu of the two continued to rise, and golden and blue-white pillars of light intertwined, soaring into the clouds.

Such a commotion began to alarm the Seireitei.

In the Fourth Division Barracks, Isane Kotetsu's hands trembled as she held the medicine tray. The sound of the Reiatsu colliding from afar made her heart skip a beat.

"Who on earth is fighting...?"

Retsu Unohana walked past her, pushed open the door, and headed outside. As she walked, she rolled up her sleeves. "Isane, quickly gather the best wound healers in the team, bring the first aid equipment, and come with me."

Something is awakening in those usually gentle eyes.

In the Fifth Division office, Aizen put down his pen, turned his head slightly, and looked towards the direction of Sōkyoku Hill. Kyōka Suigetsu lay quietly on the sword rack. After letting out a soft sigh, he continued with his work.

In the Tenth Division office, Tōshirō Hitsugaya stood by the window, his brows furrowed. Rangiku Matsumoto leaned against the doorframe, her sake bottle hovering in mid-air. "Captain, is there a fight breaking out over there?"

"Um."

"Shall we go take a look?"

Hitsugaya paused for a moment, then turned and walked out. "I'll go check it out. Notify all the squads to increase vigilance and patrols. You don't need to slack off either."

Eighth Division Barracks

Shunsui Kyōraku sat up from the recliner, pushed his straw hat up, and squinted at the two intertwined pillars of Reiatsu in the distance. A slight smile curved his lips.

"Oh dear, oh dear. Old Man Yama is probably going to be angry again."

In the Thirteenth Division barracks, Jūshirō Ukitake stood by the window, looking at the two soaring Reiatsu in the distance, and sighed softly.

"One is Captain Zaraki, and the other... is he the one who possessed that Reiatsu from earlier? I hope nothing bad happens to them."

In the Twelfth Division's Department of Research and Development, Mayuri Kurotsuchi stared at the two ever-increasing data curves on the monitoring screen, a glint of greed in his eyes.

"Peak Reiatsu, recovery rate, physical endurance limits... Record all the data from these two guys, not a single frame can be missed. Samples of this caliber are rare." He had barely finished speaking when he turned and walked towards the door. "You guys continue recording, I'm going to check things out on site."

Center of the battlefield

The Reiatsu of the two of them was still rising.

Kenpachi's every strike carries the power to cleave mountains, and Amber's every sword strike tears through space itself.

There wasn't a single intact spot on the ground anymore—everywhere were deep, cracked pits, smooth cuts from slashes, and powder shattered by Reiatsu.

Until a certain moment, Amber's Reiatsu began to undergo a qualitative change.

Countless tiny points of light emerged from the azure Reiatsu, like stars awakening in the deep blue sea. His hair stood on end under the impact of the Reiatsu, rapidly changing from half black and half white—the black strands faded one by one, and silver-white spread from the roots to the tips, until only a few barely noticeable black strands remained within a few breaths. The blue halo representing Concentration in his silver eyes turned bright red.

His lips moved. His voice wasn't loud, but every syllable seemed to be etched directly into the air from the depths of his soul.

"Bankai!"

A colossal, half-body Demon Shadow slowly rose from behind him. It was entirely azure, semi-transparent, with aurora-like halos dancing along its edges. Its arms were thick and powerful, every muscle fiber clearly visible, their surfaces covered with fine, engraved patterns of light. Two enormous wings of light unfurled from its shoulder blades— Wings of Light woven from Reishi, each feather slowly drifting down like scattered stardust.

Its head has indistinct facial features, with two narrow, sharp eye sockets that burn with a bright red light, the same as its amber-silver pupils.

"Heaven's Punishment Jiku'a!"

The Demon Shadow hovered behind Amber, its wings spread, casting half the battlefield in its shadow. It mirrored Amber's every move—when Amber raised her right hand, it raised its own massive right arm; when Amber gripped Beowulf's gauntlets, its fists clenched simultaneously.

Kenpachi Zaraki stared at the enormous Demon Shadow, his smile widening further. His Reiatsu surged as well. A golden, violent, and utterly unreasonable Reiatsu erupted from his body like a volcanic eruption, dyeing half the sky gold.

The two Reiatsu collided, forming a visible vortex above Seireitei.

Gravel was swept into the sky, tree branches were torn from the forest, and leaves in mid-air tumbled back and forth, unsure which force would carry them away.

The entire Seireitei began to tremble, and everyone who could sense the two Reiatsu felt a real pressure.

Yin stood at the edge of the battlefield, his narrowed eyes now fully open. Those eyes, usually hidden in the slits, were now completely exposed to the storm of Reiatsu, their pupils reflecting beams of light interwoven with gold and blue-white. His hand was already on the hilt of his sword, his knuckles white. "This doesn't seem good."

Fon Shaoling stood beside him, her face deathly pale. Her fingers were clenched into her sleeves, her nails digging into her flesh. She and Yin had wanted to rush forward earlier, but their Reiatsu was like two invisible walls, blocking their path completely, and the will emanating from their Reiatsu also did not want them to interfere.

Ikkaku gripped the hilt of his sword, his lips trembling, but not from fear. He stared at the enormous Demon Shadow, at the scattered feathers of light, at Kenpachi's golden Reiatsu erupting like a volcano. His voice, hoarse and trembling, forced from deep within his throat, murmured, "... This is a true clash of titans."

Center of the battlefield

Kenpachi let out a low growl, Zanpakuto high with both hands and channeling all his Reiatsu into the blade. Golden Reiatsu enveloped the sword, layering upon layer, growing brighter and heavier until the serrated Zanpakuto transformed into a pillar of light that seemed almost tangible.

"I never thought that what that old man Yamamoto taught me would actually come in handy one day!"

He adopted Kendo stance, completely unpretentious, displaying only the purest form of slash, concentrating all his power into a single point.

Amber looked at the Reiatsu that was solidified and filled the entire space.

Behind him, the Demon Shadow slowly raised its massive right arm, its wings of light folded, and all the feathers of light stopped falling, hovering in mid-air, as if time had been paused.

Faced with Kenpachi's attack, which concentrated all his Reiatsu, Amber believed that only an attack that also concentrated its power into a single point could break through it.

His Reiatsu began to recede.

Jiku'a sheathed his sword, held his Concentration, and poured all his Reiatsu into the blade.

Even through the scabbard, one could see the eerie blue light slowly overflowing from the tsuba (handguard) like liquid, flowing along the patterns on the scabbard, dripping down, and evaporating into a very faint mist in the air. The Demon Shadow also assumed the iaido stance, its massive right arm resting on its waist, its light wings fully retracted, and all the light feathers ceasing to fall.

"Iihe· Nadegiri"

Jiku'a drew his sword, Amber's horizontal slash arrived first!

The blade sliced through the air as smoothly as a caress, without making a sound. Yet, wherever the blade passed, space itself was neatly sliced open, revealing an extremely thin rift radiating a ghostly blue light. The Demon Shadow's giant blade slashed out simultaneously, perfectly synchronized with Amber's blade; the double strikes combined, their power incomparable.

The Nadegiri mark from the Kenpachi's abdomen.

Muscles, fascia, internal organs—layer upon layer, were smoothly sliced apart, the cut as clean as a mirror. The Demon Shadow's giant blade simultaneously pierced the same spot, the double strikes extending the wound from the abdomen all the way to the waist. Kenpachi's body was severed at the waist—a smooth break appeared between his upper and lower body.

But Kenpachi didn't care about any of that. Even though he was cut in half at the waist, his attack still landed perfectly.

Kenpachi's vertical slash was like a golden waterfall cascading down from the sky. Wherever the blade passed, the air was directly ionized, leaving behind the Heat, burnt-smelling vacuum trail.

A golden beam of light cleaved through Amber's left shoulder, splitting her collarbone, ribs, and chest cavity, before exiting from her left waist.

Blood gushed from the wound like a waterfall, and he was split open like a piece of firewood.

Kenpachi's upper body and Amber's left side fell to the ground almost simultaneously. Blood gushed from the cuts in their bodies, almost forming a small river.

"Hu!/Little Hu!"

"Captain Zaraki!"

Silver, Fon Shaoling, and the Ikkaku, along with Yumichika, rushed out almost simultaneously. But someone was faster than them!

Retsu Unohana was the first to rush to the scene. Her white haori fluttered in the aftershocks of the Reiatsu, but her movements were not superfluous.

She crouched between Kenpachi and Koko, her hands moving simultaneously—one hand aligning Kenpachi's upper and lower body, the other pressing Koko's left and right sides together. Her Reiatsu flowed from her fingertips like countless fine threads, temporarily fixing the two severed bodies in place.

Then she looked up at the shadow beside her. "Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi, please bring out the Flesh Supplement. I need the undiluted version you specially prepared for yourself."

An impatient click of the tongue came from the shadows. Mayuri Kurotsuchi emerged from behind a severed ancient tree, his eyes filled with reluctance. "Why should I waste my vital reserves on those two shameless idiots?"

Unohana turned her head and looked at him. Her usually gentle and dignified eyes were now expressionless. Mayuri Kurotsuchi took a half step back under her gaze, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"Tch." He pulled two syringes from his pocket, the liquid inside glowing with an eerie fluorescent green. He crouched down, plunging one syringe into Kenpachi's broken end and the other into Kotori's, pushing it all the way in. "This is the latest version I specially formulated for myself. What you Second Division and 11th Divisions owe me, you'll have to collect with interest later."

Only then did the others arrive at the two's side.

Fon Shaoling practically lunged at Hu's side. Her knees were kneeling in the pool of blood, her fingers hovering above Hu's face, too afraid to touch it.

Yin stood behind her without saying a word, his usual smile gone, replaced by a solemn expression.

Yachiru, Ikkaku, and Yumichika ran to Kenpachi's side.

When they arrived, they discovered that even though they had been split in two, the two men were still laughing and were fully conscious.

Kenpachi lay in a pool of blood, his one eye half-closed, a sinister smile still lingering on his lips.

Amber's body had just been cleaved in two, and blood was still seeping out. Even though Unohana had fixed his wound, the open wound was still shocking, but his eyes still held their spirit.

After looking down at the budding flesh at Kenpachi's broken wound, Unohana began to perform emergency suturing. Her fingers were as steady as Kenpachi rock, and each stitch was precise and clean.

Meanwhile, Isane Kotetsu and the Fourth Division's emergency medical team, who had just arrived, were still in shock from the carnage on the battlefield when Unohana ordered them to begin emergency treatment on Kotetsu.

"What are you waiting for? Get the men and start suturing. I don't need to teach you the Fourth Division's emergency procedures again. Isane, disinfect and start the suturing immediately." Unohana didn't even look up.

Isane took a deep breath, squatted down next to Hu, and began her homework.

The effects of the Flesh Supplement were already beginning to appear—granulation tissue was growing at a visible rate at the cut, with fine red tissue weaving layer upon layer, reconnecting the severed muscle, blood vessels, and fascia. The tips of the newly grown granulation tissue were still covered with moist mucus, shimmering with a pale reddish luster in the sunlight.

Mayuri Kurotsuchi was about to turn and leave when he caught a glimpse of Amber's severed wound out of the corner of his eye. He stopped. The rapid recovery induced by the Flesh Supplement was only to be expected—he had absolute confidence in the potion he had concocted.

However, Koko's wound healed much faster Kenpachi's. He squatted down and carefully compared the current state of Kenpachi's and Koko's wounds—blood was still seeping out of Kenpachi's wound; while for Koko, the bleeding stopped immediately after the stitches were completed. This could not be explained by the difference in the effectiveness of the Flesh Supplement.

Moreover, this is a window of opportunity before the Kaidō healing process begins, but Amber's Reiatsu is gradually recovering, as if something deeper and more fundamental is accelerating his recovery.

Unohana noticed it too. Kenpachi's wound was still slowly granulating, while on Koko's side, newly formed muscle fibers could already be seen rejoining.

The two exchanged a glance, but before they could speak, they were interrupted by Isane's exclamation.

Isane's "Eh?!" drew everyone's attention.

Hu, who had just been lying on the ground with his body stitched up, was now slowly sitting up, supporting himself on the ground.

He raised his left hand to his eyes and looked at it; his fingers were flexibly bending and stretching.

The loud voice in the Ikkaku almost exploded:

"Huh? What's going on with you! How come the thing that was just split in two can move now?"

Hu looked down at his left hand, then at his torso that had just been stitched up, a hint of confusion in his expression.

"... I don't know either. Maybe... the Flesh Supplement is more effective."

"What?! Hey! Mayuri Kurotsuchi!" Kenpachi, still lying on the ground waiting for Unohana to finish stitching up the last layer of fascia, had regained his usual strength in his voice. "Did you give me fake medicine?! Why can he sit up, but I still can't feel my lower body? You're always talking about science and technology, but when it really matters, you give me fake medicine!"

"Shut up, how could the medicine I made be fake?" Mayuri Kurotsuchi glanced at the 11th Division members with a disgusted expression, then left without looking back.

Isane stood beside Hu, her hands still maintaining the output of the Kaidō, while advising Hu that it had only been a short time since the stitches were done, and no one could say for sure if there were still any unhealed parts of the internal organs, so it would be better for Hu to lie down and rest.

Fon Shaoling reached out and pressed on Hu's shoulder, gently pushing him back onto the stretcher after he had just sat up. She didn't speak, and there was still a trace of tears in her eyes.

Yin watched this scene from the side, and the corners of her mouth finally returned to their usual smile.

Unohana had already finished Kenpachi back together, and now she used a hand chop to Kenpachi to sleep.

The members of the Fourth Division lifted two stretchers. Kenpachi lay on one, breathing heavily but evenly; Unohana's karate chop had made him sleep like a child. Yachiru lay beside Kenpachi's stretcher, shaking his hair and humming a song of unknown tune.

Amber lay side by side on the stretcher behind her, her head turned to the side, watching Kenpachi's retreating figure as he was carried away.

Suddenly, Yachiru jumped down from Kenpachi's stretcher, ran to Amber's stretcher, and stood on tiptoe, clinging to the edge, to look at him.

"Huhu, thank you," she said, her clear eyes showing no mischief, only a quiet, heartfelt seriousness. "Xiao Jian just said he was very happy. Let's have another match sometime, and Xiao Jian will definitely be stronger by then."

Before Amber could answer, she turned and ran back to Kenpachi's stretcher, jumped on it, straddled Kenpachi's chest, and began swinging her legs back and forth.

Amber was also sent to the Fourth Division by the team members.

At this moment Tōshirō Hitsugaya walked up to Gin's side. "Captain Ichimaru."

"Isn't that Captain Hitsugaya?"

"Captain Ichimaru, what's going on here?"

Oh~

"It's nothing, just a student who's been in the academy for less than three months mastered Bankai in two days. I bet your title of genius is about to be handed over to someone else~"

"Ha?"