"Such sluggish movements and reactions! How long had it been since you fought an evenly matched opponent? A hundred years? A thousand? Ten thousand? A hundred thousand?" Allen asked with a sneer.
He could hardly believe that this ancient Death who had lived for over a million years actually dared to wield a long-handled weapon, which was already difficult to control, in close-quarters combat when his speed was far inferior to Allen's.
Did this monk not understand that no matter how powerful a Zanpakuto was, it meant nothing if it could not hit its target?
"Shut up! I have not fallen so low as to be lectured by a brat like you! True Strike—Shiro Fude Ichimonji!"
Ichibē Hyōsube was clearly infuriated from embarrassment. Ignoring the half of his arm that had been severed, he instantly completed the full release of his Zanpakuto, Ichimonji.
More precisely, the "True Strike" he mentioned was what other Death captains called Bankai.
However, as the oldest Death still in existence, his Zanpakuto had long since been born and evolved to its ultimate state.
Thus, when he named it "True Strike," the concept of Bankai had not yet existed in Soul Society.
After completing Bankai, Ichimonji's ability advanced beyond its Shikai power of "taking names," gaining the formidable power to "bestow names" and "alter properties."
A simple example.
If someone was struck by Ichimonji after its Shikai release, they would at most lose their abilities because their name had been taken.
But if they were struck by Ichimonji after its Bankai release, the monk could carve a new name onto them, making them incomparably weak.
The clearest example was during the Thousand-Year Blood War Arc, when he successfully carved "Black Ant" onto Yhwach, the Son of the Soul King, nearly killing him.
Had he not opened