Boom!
A bolt of lightning suddenly crashed down from high above, enveloping Kakashi completely. The ground beneath his feet turned charred black, electricity surged across his body, and the black blade in his hand changed shape. Its once pitch-black body now shimmered with blue lightning.
"Takemikazuchi!"
The area several meters around Kakashi was filled with electricity, like countless tiny snakes twisting their bodies.
Such a tremendous commotion made many of those present turn grave. Lightning-type blades were rare; the only known one seemed to belong to First Division Vice-Captain Chōjirō Sasakibe.
The wind did not abate, and cherry blossoms scattered through the air.
Byakuya Kuchiki waved one hand, sending a skyful of cherry blossom blades surging wildly toward Kakashi.
Boom!
The lightning was far more imposing, accompanied by deafening thunder as the sky itself darkened. A streak of lightning suddenly crushed down from the heavens. Lightning fell in only one-thousandth of a second, faster than the speed of sound. Kakashi's attack had come without the slightest warning, and Byakuya was swallowed by the descending lightning before he could even raise his head.
This attack shook everyone present to their core. Rukia, overcome by worry, could not help rising to her feet.
When the lightning faded, Byakuya was still standing where he had been. Yet he no longer possessed his earlier aristocratic elegance. He looked disheveled, his clothes torn and scorched black, while the silver-white wind-flower gauze that symbolized his noble status had been reduced to only half its length.
Kakashi was somewhat surprised that Byakuya had taken his attack head-on and remained unharmed.
The cherry blossoms in the sky gathered again before Byakuya, taking the shape of a Zanpakuto.
Then Byakuya Kuchiki's voice slowly rang out.
"Bankai—"
"Senbonzakura Kageyoshi!"
Countless enormous blades rose upside down at Byakuya's side in Kakashi's