What is a fierce beast?!

Meanwhile...

At the battlefield where Araki and Unohana Yachiru were fighting.

As Araki activated his Bankai, an endless, multicolored Ruriko seemed to replace the sun in the sky, gently caressing the earth from above and enveloping everything. Naturally, it also enveloped Unohana Yachiru and the Sea of Blood surrounding her.

And after Unohana Yachiru activated her Bankai, the endless blood that she released transformed into a Sea of Blood that submerged the ground, naturally spreading to Araki's feet!

In an instant, it submerged Araki's feet, and as more and more blood permeated from all directions, the water level continuously rose, visibly creeping up Araki's calves.

"Given the characteristics of our Bankai, it's not suitable to release them within Seireitei!"

"As time passes, won't both your Sea of Blood and my Ruriko engulf the entire Seireitei?!" Araki said calmly, looking at Unohana Yachiru standing in the Sea of Blood.

"Since we've already activated our Bankai, what's the point of discussing this further?!" Unohana Yachiru replied with a hint of disdain in her eyes. She had reached her limit; whether Seireitei was destroyed or not no longer mattered to her.

At this moment, there was only one important thing: to 'fight'!

To fight until one of them fell!

Boom!

Just as Araki and Unohana Yachiru were talking, a Spiritual Pressure far more 'powerful' and 'violent' than theirs surged into the sky!

Unlike Unohana's 'cold' and 'chilling' Spiritual Pressure, this one brought a rush of heat to anyone it touched, giving a 'scorching,' 'burning,' and 'fiery' sensation.

"Hmm?!"

With the explosion of that Spiritual Pressure, Araki and Unohana Yachiru, who had been about to engage in a fierce battle, both lowered their Zanpakuto and looked in the direction of the person whose Spiritual Pressure was burning.

They saw a middle-aged man with a distinctive cross-shaped scar on his forehead, wearing a sleeveless white Haori, quietly drawing the Zanpakuto from his waist and muttering softly.

"All things in the universe, turn to ash! Ryujin Jakka!"

Boom!

As the man's deep release incantation slowly descended with endless 'pressure,' towering flames surged into the sky! They burned half the sky above Seireitei.

If the people present hadn't already known that this was merely the man's Zanpakuto's Shikai, they would have certainly mistaken these sky-high flames for another Captain of the Gotei 13 releasing their Bankai!

"So hot~"

"After all these years, Old Man Yama's Zanpakuto is still so 'fiery,' truly a symbol of brute force!"

Araki turned to look at the scorching flames and couldn't help but smile. Seeing his old-fashioned master still so robust put his mind at ease.

Yes, the person who had activated Shikai was none other than Araki's master, the founder of 'Genryu' Swordsmanship, the head instructor of the 'Genji School,' the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, the strongest Soul Reaper in Seireitei—Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni!

And the Zanpakuto released by Genryusai was, naturally, Ryujin Jakka—the Zanpakuto with the highest attack power in Soul Society and the strongest fire-type Zanpakuto!

Boom!!

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni paid no mind to his unworthy disciple, whom he hadn't seen in years. He gently waved the Zanpakuto in his hand, and immediately, endless flames moved as he willed them, burning in all directions. Wherever the flames spread, both the 'Sea of Blood' and the 'Crimson Light' retreated.

By the time Araki and Unohana Yachiru reacted, the scorching flames released by Ryujin Jakka had already formed a towering wall of fire, firmly trapping Unohana Yachiru's Sea of Blood and Araki's Crimson Light within a two-ri radius.

"I can't let you two continue to destroy Seireitei!" Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni said quietly to Araki and Unohana Yachiru after he had finished.

"Tsk~"

Speaking of destroying Soul Society, neither my Ruriko nor Unohana's Minazuki is as destructive as your Ryujin Jakka, Old Man Yama, are they?! Araki silently grumbled to himself after hearing his master's words.

"Logically, the most suitable place for you two 'great villains' to fight should be Mugen, which I oversee!"

"But never mind! Since you've already reached this point, then fight to your heart's content within the fire field I've created!" Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni spoke first, not giving Araki and Unohana Yachiru a chance to interject.

With that, Yamamoto found a sturdy rock, sat down on it, and propped Ryujin Jakka in his hands like a walking stick, quietly watching Araki and Unohana in front of him. He continued, "Alright, no need for more words! And no need to worry about me, you two are the protagonists of this duel!"

"Ah, you really are something," Araki said with a helpless smile to his master, then looked at Unohana and said, "At this point, it would be rude if we didn't take this seriously~"

"Fight!"

Unohana Yachiru responded with a single word, and the next second, an endless Sea of Blood converged towards the Zanpakuto in her hand.

Suck...

Facing Unohana Yachiru, who was condensing the Sea of Blood, Araki took a sharp breath. His eyes seemed to stretch into crimson electric threads at that moment, and future scenes flashed like "PPT slides" one after another in Araki's rapidly working mind.

"...Hmph!"

As Araki exhaled a turbid breath, the veins on his sword-holding arm bulged like 'roaring' azure dragons 'churning rivers and seas'!

Dark lightning, carrying endless pressure, coiled around the sword in Araki's hand. The Spiritual Particles in the Crimson Light of the sky also continuously converged and roared at this moment.

At this moment, all of Araki's power unified!

Then, he swung down with force!

Boom!!

The immense Sword Pressure and Sword Qi, or perhaps what could be called a Flying Slash, descended like a rolling mountain range or the teeth of a rotating chainsaw, cutting towards the Sea of Blood that Unohana Yachiru had gathered.

In just a single exchange, both the Sea of Blood and the sword techniques Unohana had prepared paled in comparison to that one strike, completely severed!

"What… was that?!"

Unohana Yachiru couldn't comprehend the "subtlety" of that sword technique.

To Unohana, Araki's strike had no name, nor did it seem like any remarkable move. He simply appeared to have reverted to the most basic form of cutting—just raising his sword and bringing it down with force.

Yet, this seemingly ordinary strike utterly stunned Unohana Yachiru. Her mind seemed to crash in that moment; she couldn't fathom how Araki had unleashed such a blow, "as if it were the ultimate expression of violence."

By the time Unohana Yachiru reacted, the Sea of Blood beneath her feet had already been bisected by that single strike. Even the towering wall of flames crafted by Ryujin Jakka in Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni's hands, two Spiritual Pressure away, had a massive gap cleaved through it by Araki's attack!

But Araki's boundless Sword Pressure didn't stop there. After tearing through the wall, it soared into the clouds, shattering the dark clouds in the sky before gradually dissipating into the boundless heavens.

"What are you looking at?!"

Before Unohana Yachiru could think further, a sharp blade emanating a chilling glint was already pressed against her pale neck. Araki, his mind calm, looked at Unohana's slightly surprised expression and spoke indifferently.

"…"

Unohana's pale lips moved slightly, as if to say something.

"Unohana, your opponent right now is me. Don't get distracted!"

Araki returned the words Unohana Yachiru had previously spoken to him, right back to her in that moment.

"Hmph!"

Hearing this, Unohana let out a long breath. Her mind, disturbed by Araki's strike, gradually calmed with his cool voice. Then, an endless fighting spirit surged from Unohana's chest!

"Fight!!"

This was the second time Unohana Yachiru had uttered that word to Araki. However, this time her fighting spirit was even stronger than before, and the word she spoke was far more powerful and resonant.

It must be said that even standing within the Sea of Blood, Unohana Yachiru was exquisitely beautiful. Yet, no one present was in the mood to appreciate this stunning sight. Unohana, brimming with killing intent in the Sea of Blood, resembled a man-eating Rakshasa! Unparalleled in beauty, yet utterly lethal!

Seeing this, Araki's lips curled into a smile, and the blade in his hand blurred into an afterimage.

"Swoosh!"

Only a flash of cold light passed!

Immediately, crimson roses bloomed on the shoulders of both Araki and Unohana. Blood splattered onto the ground, dissolving into the Sea of Blood. As the blood drops vanished into the Sea of Blood, their wounds, nourished by the continuous replenishment of the Sea of Blood under the glow of the Crimson Light, disappeared in an instant.

"Hahahaha…"

Wild laughter echoed relentlessly!

At this moment, neither Araki nor Unohana Yachiru paid any attention to the Crimson Light shining above, the pools of blood covering the ground, or even Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni sitting like a statue not far from them.

Their eyes saw only each other. They were reveling in this feast of slaughter! Like two maddened beasts, they relentlessly swung their blades, "dancing gracefully" amidst the Sea of Blood and Crimson Light, fighting to a frenzy in the fiery wall "within this hellish sea of fire," until death.

"Heh heh~"

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni looked at the two fighting like wild beasts before him, a grim smile on his face.

The wall of fire that Araki had cleaved open was not closed by Yamamoto; instead, he left it open! It would be a bit desolate, even pathetic, if he were the only spectator to this battle between the top swordsmen of the Soul Society.

Yamamoto knew well that a fight between fierce beasts would always attract jackals to watch. But since they had come, they should open their eyes and see just how strong his disciple, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni's own student, truly was!

And then, after understanding the strength of his direct disciple, Araki, they could fear him to their hearts' content! Because from this day forward, within this vast Seireitei, the petty individuals would not only fear Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni's Ryujin Jakka!

Two chapters, six thousand characters~ This chapter was revised many times and scrapped several times. It always felt like something was missing. Honestly, I don't know how this chapter turned out, but I tried my best! I hope everyone likes it.