Clashing with Yhwach!

"Boom!"

With a thunderous explosion, Yhwach, now a black shadow, appeared before Araki. Before Araki could "react," Yhwach's blade had already pierced through Araki's body, splitting him in two.

"It's done! That Soul Reaper must be dead!"

"No one can withstand His Majesty's attack!"

This scene made the Sternritter members standing in the distance clench their fists in excitement! Their emperor was indeed invincible.

"Hmm?!"

Only Yhwach, who had attacked, frowned. The current situation wasn't quite what he had expected.

First, he had only intended to subdue Araki; he hadn't thought of killing him at all...

Second, the feel of the blade as it touched Araki's body just now was off. It didn't feel like cutting flesh, but rather like striking a mass of air.

"What are you thinking? How could I die so easily!"

Just as the Quincy were celebrating, Araki's body, which had been split in two by Yhwach, transformed into thick mist that drifted upwards, then solidified above Yhwach's head.

"What?! That Soul Reaper was clearly cut down, how could he come back to life?!"

When the Quincy saw Araki "resurrect" as mist, their eyes widened in shock.

Before anyone could fully comprehend, Araki had drawn his Zanpakuto from his waist and, with a sharp blade in hand, slashed down at Yhwach.

"Interesting!"

Yhwach's pupils glinted with an unusual light upon seeing this, then he moved to block.

"Clang!!"

With a strange metallic clang, an endless surge of air erupted between Araki and Yhwach, rustling the surrounding "rocks," "trees," and "houses." Araki's blade had been stopped by Yhwach.

"Is that Blut Vene? It's even harder than steel!"

Araki frowned, feeling the resistance in his hand.

"Your blade cannot harm me at all."

Yhwach calmly looked at the frowning Araki, his expression brimming with confidence.

"Is that so?"

Hearing this, Araki coated his blade with a high-level Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki.

"Sizzle..."

As black lightning crackled into thin lines, Yhwach's wrist instantly bloomed with blood.

"Hm?"

Yhwach's pupils contracted upon seeing this. He instantly realized something was wrong and immediately retreated, creating distance between himself and Araki.

"Interesting! That power belongs neither to a Soul Reaper nor comes from my great 'Father.' It's a unique power system that I don't know of!"

"It seems you still have secrets I don't know about, Araki. I'm truly looking forward to you even more, Araki—looking forward to the day you serve me..."

Yhwach instantly determined that Araki's ability to wound him belonged neither to a Soul Reaper nor came from the Soul King. His curiosity about Araki instantly grew.

"Yhwach! Didn't you just confidently say my blade couldn't wound you?"

"Why are you running now? Or are you afraid when faced with power you don't understand?"

Araki watched Yhwach run off and didn't immediately pursue him. Instead, he tried to mess with Yhwach's mindset, hoping to make him reveal a weakness.

"Whoosh~"

Yhwach didn't answer Araki's words. With a wave of his hand, a spirit energy arrow condensed in his grip.

"It's His Majesty's Heilig Pfeil!"

The Quincy exclaimed in unison, looking at the scene before them.

"Boom..."

As the bowstring was drawn, accompanied by the sound of tearing air and rumbling thunder, the spirit energy arrow condensed by Yhwach shot towards Araki.

"That was close!"

Araki, seeing the spirit energy arrow shooting towards him with immense power, had already used Shunpo to dodge it. His flexible use of advanced Observation Haki allowed Araki to gain the upper hand against any opponent.

"Hmph..."

Yhwach's lips curled into a slight smile as he watched Araki continuously dodge his Heilig Pfeil.

"Why aren't you continuing to use the 'mistification' you just used to dodge my attack? Is that it? Your mistification can only dodge physical attacks, but it can't evade my arrow, which possesses powerful explosive force!"

Yhwach instantly deciphered Araki's mistification. Even without activating The Almighty, Yhwach was an extremely formidable opponent. Or rather, precisely because Yhwach hadn't activated The Almighty and wasn't overly reliant on his ability, he wouldn't expose any weaknesses due to "carelessness," making him even calmer and more lethal!

If the original Yhwach, who had activated The Almighty, had fought Kurosaki Ichigo and the others with the same calculated strategy he used when he first invaded Soul Society, then even all of them combined would have no chance of winning against him.

"Troublesome opponent."

Faced with Yhwach's continuous barrage of Heilig Pfeil, Araki seemed to have no choice but to keep running.

"Hahaha, scurrying around like a rat!"

"What an idiot! That Soul Reaper who refused His Majesty's invitation is just as foolish as Schubert, who tried to interfere with His Majesty's battle!"

The Quincy burst into laughter, watching Araki 'scurry away like a rat' and look utterly 'miserable.' They simultaneously judged Araki's actions, seeing him as ridiculous as Schubert.

In fact, the Quincy directly facing Araki had multiple opportunities to stop him when he ambushed Schubert, or at the very least, warn Schubert. But they didn't, simply because His Majesty had said, "This battle is Schubert's!"

In other words, Schubert, that ungrateful fool, had already been abandoned by His Majesty the moment he disturbed His Majesty's enjoyment.

"Araki! Give up!"

Just as Araki was 'luckily' dodging Yhwach's arrows with his 'clumsy' Shunpo, Yhwach seemed to grow impatient!

In an instant, the Reishi beneath his feet gathered, and then Yhwach's figure vanished from his spot. In just a breath, Yhwach was already above Araki's head.

An arrow, even larger than any Heilig Pfeil Yhwach had used before, gathered as Yhwach drew back his arms! It could no longer be called an arrow; it was more like a spear!

"Araki, you have nowhere left to retreat! You should know that our Quincy's Hirenkyaku, which we use to chase Hollows, is far superior in speed to your Soul Reapers' Shunpo!" Yhwach said, throwing the spear in his hand down towards Araki. "Alright! Let this battle end here! Submit to me, Araki!"

"Damn it! I can't dodge this!"

Araki's pupils constricted at the sudden spear. Just as Yhwach said, he had nowhere left to retreat.

"Heh…"

As Yhwach stood high in the sky, silently enjoying the 'terrified' expression on Araki's face, Araki, whom Yhwach believed he had 'checkmated' and 'sealed,' suddenly revealed a smile.

The next second, Yhwach's spear passed directly through Araki's body.

"My 'arrow' should have exploded the moment it encountered your 'Reishi,' yet it passed right through your body?"

Yhwach's pupils slightly contracted as he watched the scene before him.

Yhwach's spear was a special version designed to counter Araki. Upon encountering Reishi, it would activate 'Reishi Subordination,' fixing the surrounding Reishi, and then immediately explode, obliterating all the surrounding Reishi!

So, even if Araki turned into mist, the spear would still explode if it encountered Araki's misty Reishi! Therefore, if the spear didn't touch the misty Reishi, it wouldn't explode...

Yes, Araki opened a massive hole in his chest, just big enough for Yhwach's spear to pass through, much like Katakuri, when facing Luffy's Armament Haki-infused punches in Gear Fourth, would preemptively create voids in the areas that would be attacked, allowing Luffy's punches to pass through! This outrageous maneuver could only be achieved by a body capable of 'elementalization' combined with high-level Observation Haki, and Araki possessed both.

"Yhwach, did I ever say my mist form couldn't dodge your arrows?"

Araki looked at Yhwach's surprised face, pulled out his Zanpakuto, and pointed it at Yhwach's chest.

"K·ROOM·Piercing Wave!"

Araki didn't answer Yhwach's question. Instead, he seized the moment after Yhwach had just thrown his spear to launch his own attack.

"Hmph!"

This time, Yhwach blocked with his arm. While Araki's ability to penetrate his Blut Vene was 'unique,' it wasn't enough to cause him significant harm! For a single strike, Yhwach was absolutely confident he could block it.

"Hmm? This attack bypassed my defense entirely?!"

However, Yhwach was astonished to find that Araki's blade didn't touch his arm; instead, it passed right through it, and continued through his chest! In an instant, a massive blade, tens of thousands of meters long, pierced through Yhwach's chest and shot straight into the sky! The blade was so large that it could be seen clearly even from dozens of Reishi away.

"Your Majesty!"

In an instant, all the Quincy panicked.

"Tremble!"

Araki also launched his attack, pushing his Spiritual Pressure, Haki, and Devil Fruit abilities to their limits. His repeated probes were all for this one strike.

"Pfft…"

Facing Araki's 'full-power strike,' Yhwach coughed up blood, clearly injured.

In fact, Araki had prepared thoroughly for this strike. He had probed Yhwach three times, testing whether the Yhwach before him had 'opened his eyes' during their battle.

Araki still vaguely remembered seeing a close-up of Yhwach's eyes a thousand years ago in Bazz-B's memories (the Sternritter with the Schrift 'H' for 'Heat') while reading the BLEACH manga. In that close-up, Yhwach's eyes reflected 'three pupils'!

However, 'manga' is 'manga' and 'reality' is 'reality.' Araki, being in the real world, didn't dare gamble with his experience, hence the three probes!

The first time, Araki slashed Yhwach's horse, showing Yhwach the basic ability of this technique: 'making the blade longer,' but he didn't activate the piercing ability. If Yhwach had understood this technique, he wouldn't have used his hand to block just now!

The second time, Araki used Haki against Yhwach. Similarly, if Yhwach had known about Araki's Haki, he wouldn't have used Blut Vene to clash head-on with Araki.

The third time, Araki chose to flee from Yhwach's arrows. Likewise, if Yhwach could see the future, he wouldn't have continued to attack Araki with arrows.

The three probes were all for this one full-power strike!

"Hah!!"

Of course, Yhwach wouldn't just sit there and take it. His body glowed with a shimmering blue light, and Quincy crosses rose into the sky one after another with Yhwach's roar.

"Tsk~"

Araki secretly clicked his tongue, watching the scene before him, and instantly vanished from his spot.

This time, Araki didn't use Shunpo; he used ROOM. He swapped places with a Quincy in the distance!

"Huh?!"

The Quincy, who had been standing nearby, nervously watching the battle between Yhwach and Araki, was startled to find himself, at some unknown point, within Yhwach's attack range.

"Boom!"

With a roar, that Quincy was instantly obliterated by the Heilig Pfeil within Yhwach's 'domain.'

"Araki, you've successfully angered me!"

After blasting the Quincy into smithereens, Yhwach wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with a finger. His cold, sinister eyes held nothing but boundless fury as he stared at Araki.

BOOM!!

At this moment, an endless Spiritual Pressure erupted from Yhwach's body. The very heavens and earth of the Soul Society became incredibly turbulent, mirroring Yhwach's rage.

"It seems Yhwach is truly serious this time."

Araki watched the enraged Yhwach, gripping his Zanpakuto tighter.

"Bankai…"

Araki didn't hesitate, immediately unleashing his strongest technique.

"Hmph…"

Yhwach looked at Araki, who was preparing his Bankai, as if he had long anticipated this.

"Yakushi Rurikō · World, is it?"

Yhwach's eyes held a hint of disdain as he faced Araki's Bankai.

"…Yakushi Rurikō Buddha · Eastern Pure Land of Lapis Lazuli!"

The moment Araki released his Zanpakuto, a brilliant, pure lapis lazuli light filled the air in all directions, centered around him.

In that instant, Araki seemed to become the master of this world illuminated by the lapis lazuli light!

A figure possessing the 'Thirty-Two Marks,' 'Eighty Minor Characteristics,' 'flawless and pure,' and radiating endless majesty from its 'pure lapis lazuli' body—a 'Chakravartin Holy King'—slowly appeared behind Araki.

Araki reflected the Holy King's radiance, his divine power like a prison! In this moment, Araki seemed like the 'Holy King' descended upon the human world, as if acting on behalf of the Holy King, wielding this supreme power.

"What a bizarre Bankai!"

Yhwach once again realized that the intelligence he had gathered beforehand was flawed. To successfully invade the Soul Society, Yhwach had investigated the Seireitei for a long time and had some understanding of all the Captain-level Soul Reapers of the Gotei 13. Yhwach had naturally investigated Araki's Bankai, but now, Araki's Bankai seemed completely different from last time.

"Phew…"

On the other side, Araki slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air. The Spiritual Pressure within him poured out as if it were limitless.

Araki had actually used his Bankai during his last fight with Unohana, but not completely. His Bankai consumed too much Spiritual Pressure; he had only activated it halfway last time… after all, a 'Bodhisattva' was enough to subdue a 'Rakshasa'!

This time, Araki was facing Yhwach, the supreme 'YHWH'!

Therefore, it was as if the 'Lord of the Eastern World' had 'arrived' beside Araki.

This chapter is a massive four thousand characters! Please, for the sake of my hard work, give me some votes!