In close combat, Zero was expending a tremendous amount of Reiatsu to resist the burning sensation. He thought to himself, "Instead of this, I might as well use Kidō to fight back."
With this thought in mind, Zero closed the distance and shouted, "Hadō #88, Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō!"
Seeing this, Yama-jii remained completely calm, uttering a few words indifferently. "Bakudo #81, Dankū!"
The thunder cannons bombarded the transparent barrier, but unable to break through it, they could only extend to the left and right, their power was terrifying.
Both involve abandoning incantations, and the Dankū is extremely effective against direct attacks... Therefore, in the original timeline, the Captains often used the Dankū to block the 'Heaven-Shaking Thunder Cannon'.
Zero was muttering to himself again, this time chanting the incantation of Hadō #91, but Yama-jii didn't give him a chance. Instead, he broke through the Dankū with flames and attacked with a huge fire dragon.
The all-around attack of flames is no joke. Zero not only has to pay attention to the movements of the Yama-jii spirit, but also to what's behind him to avoid being hit by the ever-burning flames all around.
Those flames were also an extension of the Ryūjin Jakka, equivalent to the temperature of the sun's surface, which was terrifying.
The incantation of the Kidō was interrupted, and Zero was forced to use Blood Drink to block. The scattered and spreading flames swept across his chest, followed by the smell of burnt meat... It's burnt!
"Blood-Coagulating Slash!"
Zero's left hand smoothed the blade, using blood to activate the still-existing attack skill of Blood Drink. A crescent-shaped red slash came crashing down, and Yama-jii Zanpakuto and slammed it back.
The horizontal and vertical slashes collided in the sky, severing the 'Blood-Coagulating Slash' in the middle. The two separate red slashes shot towards the earth, cutting out two ravines that were only a dozen centimeters wide but bottomless.
Although the flame slash was also split, the burning effect of the flames was everywhere, causing smoke to rise from many parts of Zero's body.
Yama-jii seized the opportunity to close the distance with Shunpo, and the flames swept out in an arc. In the blink of an eye, he retreated twenty meters, leveled the Blood Drink, and charged towards Yama-jii with 'Blood-Coagulating Piercer'.
Call out!
"No blood? It's sealed by Reiatsu!"
Zero's attack didn't pierce through Yama-jii, but it did graze his shoulder. Surprisingly, he didn't see any blood flowing from Yama-jii's wound.
Even if someone is slashed, they will bleed. But Yama-jii only had a cut on his shoulder, and although you could see the blood, it didn't flow out. This shows that he was able to suppress the bleeding the moment he was hit.
"Hmph, it's been a long time since anyone has been able to hurt this old man. Kid, keep going!"
This attack caused Yama-jii to pause slightly. He wasn't angry about being injured; instead, he praised Zero. This minor injury wasn't enough to cause any emotional fluctuation in him.
Just look at his scars; Yama-jii's probably fought more battles than anyone else over the thousands of years.
The only way for Soul Reaper to suppress a wound is through their own Reiatsu. Using Blut Vene like Quincy simply increases their defense. However, Yama-jii was able to suppress his wound instantly during the battle, showing that continuing to exhaust himself would only result in zero loss.
'His Reiryoku is too abundant, and with the Ryūjin Jakka ability, if this continues, he'll probably be gradually worn down and killed, then...'
Bankai... Blood Blade: Peerless!
After a moment's thought, Zero immediately decided to go all out, relying on his Bankai -enhanced body to withstand the heat-based damage from Ryūjin Jakka...
"The smell of blood? What's going on?"
"I could smell it earlier, but it's stronger now."
"No one around here is injured!"
The stench of blood grew stronger in the Seireitei, even though no one around was injured, leaving the ordinary Soul Reaper bewildered.
Look at the sky, look at the sky!
"Blood! Blood rain! It's raining blood from the sky!"
"It's not rain, there's no moisture from the water..."
A scream rang out, and heavy rain began to fall from the red cumulonimbus clouds in the sky. The rain was red, and they didn't understand what it was, but the Captains were different...
"What is this? Reishi?"
Yoruichi received a few drops of blood rain and asked blankly,
"This is probably not Reishi; it's caused by Reiatsu so powerful it's almost tangible. How terrifying! If what happened before was within the realm of ordinary monsters, then this is on a much higher level."
As a rare intelligent person, Urahara immediately figured it out, but he wished he hadn't.
"I never imagined that Nangong Ling could be this powerful. In the past thousand years, he might be only the second person to cultivate his power to this level!"
Unohana had released the group Healing Way, also had a serious expression and said something that Urahara was concerned about.
"The second one? Then the first one is..."
Urahara didn't ask, but instead looked at the standing figure, who showed no fear in front of the demon with its red wings spread... Urahara had the answer in his heart, the first one being Captain-Commander Yamamoto.
"Bankai?"
Yama-jii hesitated. He knew that without Bankai, he would have no chance of defeating Nangong Ling, who could unleash such Reiatsu.
However, even if the battle is resolved quickly with Bankai, the extent of damage to the Seireitei will be absolutely terrifying, and the burden on Soul Society will reach an astonishing level.
"You're not Bankai? Then I won't hold back!"
Zero's terrifying electronic voice rang out. Looking at the seemingly hesitant Yama-jii, Zero's red wings fluttered, and he rushed to Yama-jii's side like a streak of light.
'Huh? So fast!' Yama-jii exclaimed inwardly as Zero's blood-red Greatsword was already slashing towards his neck. He barely managed to raise the blade and unleashed flames.
Clang! Boom!
With a single blow, Yama-jii was sent flying several kilometers away, destroying countless buildings along the way, and killing many ordinary Soul Reaper.
Zero flapped his wings and gave chase, followed by a continuous roar of Reiatsu and billowing flames, the battle spreading wider and wider...
"Captain-Commander!" Kirio Hikifune exclaimed, worried for the Captain-Commander.
"How is that possible? I can't see it at all!" Yoruichi, who is very concerned about speed, said that even she couldn't see Zero's speed.
Even Unohana's eyes were filled with shock; she clearly sensed that the Captain-Commander was completely at a disadvantage.
"The burn effect is negligible now, and my Reiatsu after Bankai far surpasses his... Hmph!"
Zero sneered and continued his pursuit after knocking Yama-jii away once again, using his 'Unrivaled Body' to reduce the damage from the flames to almost nothing.
"Kid, don't get too cocky! Humph!"
Yama-jii had never suffered such humiliation before. His Reiatsu surged once more, clashing with Zero's again.
Having withstood Zero's attacks several times, Yama-jii was also slashed in the chest. This time, blood dripped continuously, and even his Reiatsu could not stop it.
Zero's Bankai ability, 'Bloodletting Pursuit,' is called 'pursuit' because the person cut by the blade cannot stop the bleeding. Either Zero will retract his Bankai state, or the person cut will bleed to death.
Of course, there's a third possibility: rapid wound healing, such as High-Speed Regeneration. But that's an ability only Hollows possess. Even Vasto Lorde-class abilities wouldn't be able to counter the 'Bloodletting Pursuit' ability with High-Speed Regeneration or healing...
When Unohana looked up again, the battle between the two was already far away. She seemed to understand something and exclaimed, "The Captain-Commander will probably have to go all out..."
Yama-jii retreated continuously during the battle, for the thousand years since the creation of the Gotei 13, aside from various minor issues, almost nothing major had happened.
Because of peace, Yama-jii had more to consider. He did not choose to Bankai immediately, but instead attracted Zero to the edge of the Seireitei.
Huff... Huff...
Yama-jii was breathing heavily through his nostrils. He had three wounds on his body: his left shoulder, chest, and back. As the blood dripped down, it seemed to be drawn away by something, flying towards Zero.
"Is it finally time to go all out?"
Seeing that Yama-jii had stopped, Zero remained completely calm; his Bankai hadn't been without progress over the years...
"You've grown to this level in just a hundred years. If you were to endure another hundred years, you might truly surpass me. What a pity, what a pity, you've chosen the wrong path. Now, prepare yourself!"
After a sigh, Yama-jii said in a deep voice, "Bankai... Zanka Tatachi!"
Zero felt a violent and scorching Reiatsu rushing towards him, as if there were towering waves of fire. But upon closer inspection, he saw nothing at all, and even the flames released during the battle were gradually disappearing.
"The intense flames that were just released... have disappeared?"
Zero landed on an undamaged rooftop, his red pupils filled with doubt. He looked around and saw that the flames had indeed all disappeared.
In the hands of the Yama-jii Ryūjin Jakka, which was always bursting with flames, was no longer there, but had become a charred Tachi.
His wounds were also charred, and the blood stopped flowing, which is also an absolutely effective way to stop bleeding.
'It didn't disappear, it condensed within the blade!'
Zero realized with a start that the charred katana in Yama-jii's hand possessed a Tachi terrifying temperature, far exceeding anything that could be achieved with Shikai.
"How much longer are you going to wait? In that case, I'll make the first move..."
Whoosh!
The deep voice of the Yama-jii came, and he had already Shunpo. With a swing of his sword, Zero, who had already sensed the temperature within, dared not touch it and instead used Sonído to create distance.
His approach was correct. Wherever the Zanka no Tachi swept, the arc-shaped buildings within a radius of over two hundred meters evaporated into thin air, leaving only scorched ground... There was no tremor; it wasn't that they turned into Reishi. Those buildings were truly gone.
"Homologous Reconstruction... Hmm? It failed!"
Zero just obtained Yama-jii's blood in an attempt to clone him, but failed...
Yama-jii's Reiatsu at this moment is even stronger than Zero's. Zero only covers the Seireitei, while Yama-jii's has already reached more than the 20th Rukongai. This can no longer be measured by the word "vehicle".
If reaching the Eleven Cars of Reiatsu signifies entering the 'First Dimension,' then Zero and Yama-jii had already reached this level during their Shikai.
But now they have Bankai, and their Reiatsu has risen to another level, which can be called 'Second Dimension'.
Zero 'Bankai is merely a preliminary entry into the Second Dimension, while Yama-jii's Bankai reaches the pinnacle of the Second Dimension. The difference between them cannot be measured by cars... This is why the 'Homologous Reconstruction' failed.
The Reiatsu that Yama-jii possessed, reaching the peak of the Second Dimension, caused the temperature in the air to rise continuously after materializing. If this situation continued, it could destroy the Soul Society.