"Go out and take care of your own business first!"
With a wave of his hand, the Soul King directly restored Zero's consciousness to its original position, thus interrupting his thoughts.
"Hmm? The Captain-Commander?"
Zero had only been inside the Soul King's Consciousness Space for a minute when Yama-jii Bankai, had already reached the fourth level of the Soul King's Inner Palace, his terrifying Reiatsu sweeping across the entire Soul King Palace.
The one who felt the terrifying power of the 'Zanka no Tachi' most clearly was Tier Harribel. Her water-type abilities were severely suppressed, and the power of her water-type moves such as Cascada Break and War Drops was halved.
Because she is Arrancar, she can at least maintain her Resurrección form. If it were Soul Reaper's water-based Bankai, she would be unable to use it if her Reiatsu was lower than that of the Zanka no Tachi.
Even when suppressed, Tier Harribel still maintained the upper hand thanks to her powerful Reiatsu...
Seeing the thief Nangong Ling standing motionless in front of the Soul King, Yama-jii remained silent, and his 'Zanka no Tachi' arrived in an instant.
Clang! Sizzle!
Zero's Greatsword blocked the attack from behind, and his Reiatsu armor emitted a plume of smoke from the burning. Yama-jii also withdrew his strength and retreated, the ground he had just stepped on now riddled with large holes from the heat.
"An attack? Such a ruthless approach to the enemy, truly befitting the Captain -Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13!"
Zero smiled slightly. After their recent clash, he still understood each other's strength; the 'Zanka no Tachi's' high temperature couldn't even burn his skin, let alone defeat him.
To put it more bluntly, the temperature of Yama-jii's Bankai is formed from his Reiatsu, and the way to break it is very simple: just have stronger Reiatsu.
'The temperature of the sun's core has no effect on him? This guy's Reiatsu is incredibly strong...'
Putting aside his inner thoughts, Yama-jii suggested, "Let's go outside and fight."
This was the Soul King's Inner Palace, and he dared not exert too much of his strength, for fear of affecting Soul King.
"No need. Within five rounds, you will fall to the Yama-jii and die."
"I'll leave you with the nickname you gave yourself before you die."
Zero used honorifics but was even more arrogant, and that tone completely enraged Yama-jii. He gripped the hilt of the 'Zanka no Tachi' with both hands and slashed down again in an instant.
Rumble!
Zero, who had been parrying with his sword with one hand, was forcibly sent flying. A large chunk of the fragile floor Soul King's Inner Palace was instantly smashed by his impact. He exclaimed in slight surprise, "Swordsmanship?"
The power of holding a knife with both hands is greater than that of holding a sword with one hand. Even an ordinary person's slashing power is twice as strong when holding a knife with both hands as when holding it with one hand, let alone Yama-jii has trained for many years and constantly comprehended the way of the sword.
Yama-jii lunged forward again, but four red threads pierced through him, directly breaking into his 'Zanka no Tachi: Hellfire Mantle'. In his fear, he dodged two of them, but two of them pierced his left shoulder and left foot.
"Round Two!"
In a flash, Zero appeared behind Yama-jii without anyone noticing. Yama-jii instinctively raised his knife to block!
An immense force slammed down, and he plummeted downwards like a cannonball leaving a gun barrel, flying out of the lowest point of the Soul King Palace and heading straight for the barrier.
Bang! Bang! The already unstable protective barrier was smashed through three times in succession, and the breaches seemed to have melted away.
Finally, just as he was about to reach the fourth barrier, Yama-jii steadied himself and flashed to Zero's side at a speed that ignored spatial distance, unleashing a slash— the Zanka no Tachi North— Tenchi Kaijin!
Clang!
"A swift strike, back then I couldn't even see it before I was cleaved in two, but now..."
But it was no use. Zero completely blocked it. Only the protective layer of Reiatsu on his skin was slightly torn by the Heat, melting a small piece of his abdomen, but it was instantly repaired by the Complete Regeneration of the Hōgyoku.
Sizzle!
The struggle between the two lasted only a second. As Ling increased the force, Yama-jii was sent flying backward.
"Round 3 is over, Round 4..."
Zero's eyes held a complex expression. Should he kill him or not? After all, he was the teacher who had taught him Hakuda... but if he didn't kill him, he was someone who could threaten him.
His inner hesitation didn't mean his sword was hesitant. While Yama-jii was still in a state of weightlessness, a crescent-shaped red slash flew towards him.
Dankū appeared in front of Yama-jii, and with a bang, Dankū shattered, but the slash continued forward.
Just as Yama-jii raised his sword to block the attack, Zero appeared behind him, revealing a wound on his back. The blood that oozed out was instantly evaporated by his Reiatsu.
"Snort!"
With a muffled Yama-jii, Shanye turned and swung his knife, but Zero had already anticipated his move and sliced off his right wrist with the raised sword.
The moment Zero lost his right hand, he saw no shock or pain in Yama-jii's eyes, only unwavering determination.
The next instant, more than a dozen beams of Reiatsu appeared around Zero. As Yama-jii pointed his left hand at Zero, the beams of light instantly entered Zero's body.
Boom! The continuous bursts of Reiatsu caused the world to lose its color.
"Huff! Huff! Huff!"
Yama-jii, who had been thrown back by the shockwave, was panting heavily, barely able to maintain his Bankai. He looked down at his feet, trying to find his severed wrist and the 'Zanka no Tachi', when a strange red flower appeared beneath his feet.
Bang! The brilliant light burst forth once more.
"Having undergone continuous evolution, the power of my 'Pagoda Red Lotus' is not what it used to be."
Three red lotuses floated behind Zero. If he used up all seven, his Bankai would be unusable for three days, similar to a skill cooldown period.
However, he could deal with the current Gotei 13 without even using Bankai.
"A mere 91-level Hadō, you should know that can't hurt me, yet you still risked your life to launch it, haha!"
After dealing with Yama-jii, Ling used his spiritual sense to look inside his body and discovered a Black Spot that remained hidden.
Ling pretended not to know and walked thoughtfully into the Soul King's Inner Palace: If the Soul King hadn't let go of my consciousness just now, wouldn't I have been like a piece of pork, at the mercy of Master Yama-jii? But the Soul King ultimately chose to let me go...
The Soul King's words are likely true; I may truly be unable to become the Soul King... at least not for now.
'No, I can't give up, I have to find a way... I'm not from this world, so I'll find a way to become one...'
Zero carefully considered his shortcomings, which were nothing more than not being born as a human in this world. So, should he become human again and be reincarnated?
The moment Yama-jii was defeated, the suppression Tier Harribel had been under vanished instantly, and her moves became sharp again. Isshin and Amagai, who had wavered for a moment due to the Captain-Commander's defeat, were instantly overwhelmed by the huge wave.
Grimmjow and Kenpachi Zaraki remained largely unaffected, continuing their frenzied battle. Kenpachi Zaraki, having reached his limit, lost consciousness twice more...
"The Captain-Commander also lost? This is a huge problem."
Kisuke Urahara's side was on a relatively close battlefield, and after Mayuri Kurotsuchi and Urahara sensed the situation, their expressions changed drastically.
"Isn't this perfect? We can finally do whatever we want under the guise of the Gotei 14! Bankai - Konjiki Ashisogi Jizo!"
With a wicked grin, Mayuri Kurotsuchi unleashed his Bankai. The giant baby head of the Konjiki Ashisogi Jizo opened its mouth, releasing a cloud of poisonous gas towards Baraggan...
Within the range of Unohana's Bankai, a small crimson space had formed. She was slightly distracted during her fierce battle with Ulquiorra and was grazed on the forehead by a spear.
The gushing blood was quickly stopped, and she healed herself using her Bankai abilities.
"Has your commander-in-chief been defeated and is he wavering?"
Noticing Unohana's slight pause, Ulquiorra's indifferent eyes continued to scan her.
"Wave? What do you think?"
Whoosh!
As soon as Unohana finished speaking, more than a dozen slashes formed from red blood flew towards Ulquiorra. She quickly approached Ulquiorra, intending to clash with him again using her Zanjutsu.
She understood that this was not the time to waver. Even if the Captain-Commander fell, the Court Guard Squads had no right to back down. If they did, this lovely world would be doomed.
"Old Man Yama!"
"Teacher!"
Kyōraku and Ukitake cried out in alarm as the pillar supporting the Gotei 13 collapsed.
Although it was expected... after all, the Zero Division had fallen, the two of them, as disciples of Yama-jii, still found it hard to believe when it actually happened.
"No rush, you'll be able to catch up with him soon, haha."
With a sinister grin, Picaro commanded the spirits to rapidly revolve around the two of them. The spirits' wings stirred the air as they flew at high speed, creating numerous Wind Blades that flew towards the two.
"Imperfect Spinning Top!"
"Bakudo #73 - Tōzanshō!"
Kyōraku used the Wind Blades to block some of the attack, and then they all hid in the Kidō created by Ukitake to avoid being swept away by the Wind Blades.
Wind Blades swept past, and half of the 'Tōzanshō' was shattered, but the Kidō descended from the sky, attacking the two people hiding behind the spirits.
Bakudō #75 - Gochūtekkan!
Five stone pillars descended from the sky. Picaro dodged them with a cold smile. Then, the spirits stood around him, facing the two of them, each holding Cero in their hand, and launched them together.
Boom!
Instantly, several Cero shots bounced back, annihilating the two small spirits.
"Um?"
Picaro was slightly surprised. Zero had given them information before they came, but in his madness, he didn't care who his playmate was... Baraggan shared the same thought.
Taking advantage of this opening, Kyōraku moved closer, unleashing a barrage of twin sword Zanjutsu at Picaro.
However, after Resurrección, Picaro's Reiatsu far surpassed Kyōraku's, Kyōraku's slash could barely leave a bloodstain on Picaro's Hierro.
Once Picaro realized this, he deflected Kyōraku's long sword with his right hand and stretched out his left hand, intending to ignore Kyōraku's short sword and strangle him to death.
But all that could be heard was Kyōraku's soft murmur, "Black!"
His women's outer garment, along with his Captain's Haori, fluttered away in the wind, transforming into a black Shihakusho. When the short blade touched Picaro's right chest, it pierced straight in.
The moment his skin was slashed, Picaro's eyes widened, and he Sonído and fled just as the cold, short blade was about to cut through his ribs.
Kyōraku reacted quickly and caught up. The 'Takaoni' was like a mountain pressing down, but a dozen or so intersecting Cero forced him to stop the 'Takaoni'.
"You wretched creature, you can't suffocate to death, I'm going to devour you."
Picaro was furious. Just moments ago, his opponent hadn't been able to cut through his Hierro, but in the blink of an eye, the power of their strike had increased dramatically—they had clearly tricked him...
Kyōraku felt a great sense of regret. He didn't want to mess with Picaro, but before using the ability of the Irooni, he really couldn't cut down Picaro.
The power of the Irooni's slash depends on the colors on both players and the colored area to be slashed.
Picaro's robe is mostly black with red stars; Kyōraku also wears black after discarding his trench coat, so he can naturally hurt Picaro, or even kill him.