The Loom of Fate

"Kirio Hikifune!"

Senjumaru cried out in shock, but her shout had no effect whatsoever; the bowl-sized penetrating wound in Yachiru Unohana's chest was enough to take her life.

The combined attack of Senjumaru and Yachiru Unohana was indeed resilient enough that even Aizen couldn't immediately break through the canopy's blockade.

However, this did not prevent Aizen from forcibly changing the shape of the sky with his powerful spiritual pressure. Aizen, who was in the darkness, could sense the location of Yachiru Unohana, so he aimed at Yachiru Unohana's location and concentrated his spiritual pressure at one point before unleashing it.

Just as Aizen had expected, his sudden outburst caught Yachiru Unohana off guard, and he was instantly killed.

The death of Yachiru Unohana meant that the pupa she had induced lost the support of spiritual pressure, and the thriving branches immediately turned into withered branches. In other words, the combined attack of the two had been broken by half.

With a series of swishing sounds, amidst a sky full of blood-red slashes, the black sphere shattered into scattered pieces of cloth. Without the support of its skeleton, Senjumaru's power alone was simply no match for Aizen.

"It's your turn, Northern General." Aizen's tone was very calm, as if he were talking about a completely insignificant matter.

Senjumaru's expression was terrifyingly cold. Faced with Aizen's threat, she didn't choose to run away but instead continued to mock him, "You'll regret this, Aizen!"

"All four of you couldn't do anything to me, and now that you're all alone, what nonsense are you spouting!"

A powerful spiritual pressure enveloped Aizen. With just one step, Aizen appeared in front of Senjumaru, his Zanpakuto raised high, ready to cut Senjumaru down in the next moment.

Boom!

There was no sound; it was a dual tremor from body and mind. Only spiritual pressure could cause such an effect. Before Aizen, Senjumaru's body, like Aizen's, condensed a terrifying spiritual pressure that was powerful enough to shake the Three Worlds realms!

Aizen's sword stopped above Senjumaru's head, unable to strike. A powerful spiritual pressure above Senjumaru's head blocked the sword's path.

A look of confusion appeared on Aizen's face. Why had Senjumaru, with such powerful spiritual pressure, only used it now?

Senjumaru noticed Aizen's confusion and explained, "With our power, we can shake the Three Worlds realms with just a wave of our sleeves. Therefore, we linked our lives together and sealed the true sword!"

Aizen immediately understood, because he had killed the other three members of the Zero Squad, thus directly helping Senjumaru break the seal.

"It seems you've realized that your killings have only freed our Blood Oath Seal. Now, the real battle has begun!"

Senjumaru's spiritual pressure immediately became violent, the world turned pitch black, and a torii gate with a mysterious glow appeared behind her.

At this moment, Aizen seemed to have been taken to some mysterious space by Senjumaru.

Aizen immediately retreated a distance and activated his Bankai. He dared not risk being overwhelmed by an unknown power, especially since Senjumaru possessed spiritual pressure comparable to his own.

"Bankai, Mirror Clarity!"

"Bankai!"

Senjumaru's cold voice also came at the same time. The six metal arms behind her merged together, and metal components were launched from the torii gate behind her. The components combined with each other to form a huge loom.

A bolt of bright red cloth rolled off the loom, stretching out like Aizen carpet right in front of Aizen. Along with the carpet appeared other fabrics of various colors, displayed in different ways—hanging, stretching, and laying on the floor.

The only visible colors in this dark space were the fabrics and the enormous loom. Senjumaru's Bankai pulled Aizen into a weaving workshop.

Senjumaru silently emerged from behind a hanging piece of cloth, glanced at Aizen, and said, "Shatagarahai Shikura Tsuji."

At the Central Underground Prison, the group that had just discussed Zero Squad and the others hadn't used their Bankai were now feeling the shock of the spiritual pressure generated when Senjumaru used his Bankai.

"The Zero Squad, every single one of them is a master Beyond Bankai level," Urahara Kisuke commented. Although Senjumaru was still using Bankai, he had already classified it as Beyond Bankai level.

In Urahara Kisuke and Tsuna's arrangement, the power to be used by fusing with Zanpakuto has an impact on the world. They place this power above Bankai, that is, Beyond Bankai.

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's second-stage Bankai, Zanka no Tachi, is an example of this, as is Senjumaru's Bankai enhanced by the Soul King's Power, and even Aizen, which relies on the massive spiritual pressure brought by the Hogyoku, is still in this category.

"Grandpa, even one person from the Zero Squad can be your opponent, so it's no wonder the rest of them can overwhelm you," Tsuna sighed.

"I refrained from a pointless struggle with them for the sake of peace in Soul Society..." Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto said stubbornly, making no mention of how he had been invited by the Zero Squad in the past, and how he had been suppressed by the Zero Squad for refusing.

The others exchanged bewildered glances. Faced with combat power of this caliber, only those of equal strength were qualified to speak.

Within Senjumaru's Bankai, Aizen didn't panic at Senjumaru's use of Bankai. Instead, he observed the surrounding space with great interest. This Bankai of Bankai power was rare. "Shatagarahai Shikura Tsuji? What kind of ability is that?"

You will see him soon...

As Senjumaru's voice faded, Aizen found himself surrounded by a series of bolts of cloth covered with lightning patterns.

"The bond was broken swiftly, like a thunderbolt, revealing the decline..."

Aizen chuckled dismissively, "A boring trick..."

The next moment, countless bolts of lightning struck Aizen. Aizen calmly pointed out a Bakudō #81: Dankū to block them. The golden lightning became fierce, but it did not affect Aizen in the slightest.

Senjumaru's image appeared on the surrounding fabric. The failure of the lightning seemed to disappoint her. Her bright red lips parted slightly, and the pattern on the surrounding fabric changed again.

The golden lightning began to deepen in color, gradually transforming into the same dark brown as the branches, and the menacing lightning turned into branches swaying with the fabric.

"The two bonds are broken, the soul is aided in rebirth, there is no escape..."

Suddenly, the branches on the cloth came to life and reached out to grab Aizen. Aizen began to feel a little bored; it was happening again. He had lost count of how many times he had dealt with these branches today.

"Hadō Kenjutsu: Mirror Flower Wheel!"

A golden, circular slash spread out from Aizen as his Zanpakuto, severing not only the surrounding tree branches but also the cloth wrapped around him.

However, the situation did not seem to change because of Aizen's strike. The curtain hanging in the sky fell, and Aizen found himself in a high-temperature space, where he was firmly bound to a huge furnace.

"The three bonds were broken, and he was forced to use his body as a weapon, enduring countless blows until he died!"

"Evil-doers, stare in disbelief! A myriad of threads, methodical and orderly, their fate sealed long ago— Aizen!"

As Senjumaru finished speaking, countless enormous hammers fell upon Aizen on the furnace, marking the final fate that Senjumaru's loom had woven for Aizen.

The thumping sound echoed throughout the Soul Society, each strike striking the hearts of the Bleach.

"What's going on? Why do I feel like Hyōrinmaru is a little uneasy?" Toshiro asked, puzzled. He placed the sword in front of him and could vaguely see a slight tremor on the blade.

"It's not just you, Captain Hitsugaya; everyone else should have sensed it, right?" Urahara Kisuke asked the captains, glancing around at them.

Of everyone present who possessed the power of Bleach, except for Ichigo and Tsuna, everyone else frowned, as they all sensed the emotions emanating from their Zanpakuto.

"Those giant hammers might be the power of the Ōetsu Nimaiya." Tsuna's words drew everyone's attention to him.

"All the Asauchi in Soul Society were forged by Ōetsu Nimaiya, so it's normal that they're afraid of the sound of those Zanpakuto hammers."

"Only Ichigo and Ichigo are unaffected here. Perhaps it's because we were born with the powers of Bleach and Hollows, fulfilling the conditions for the two to combine. The Zanpakuto wasn't forged by Ōetsu Nimaiya, but rather it was born from within us."

"Ōetsu Nimaiya ..." Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto murmured. A large part of his dislike for the Soul King Palace was because of the Zanpakuto.

Zanpakuto are equipment that every Bleach must handle, and the power of most Bleach resides in their Zanpakuto. The Soul King Palace controls the production of Asauchi from the source, which means that the Seireitei will always be subject to the Soul King Palace's control.

It wasn't until Sawada Tsunayoshi appeared that Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto saw a glimmer of hope and truly made up his mind to push Aizen forward.

The training method that Beyond Bankai allows the Bleach and Zanpakuto to become one, enabling the Bleach to truly control their own power, rather than reflecting reality through the Zanpakuto.

Only by training to Beyond Bankai can Zanpakuto truly be considered Bleach's weapon; otherwise, the Soul King Palace has a thousand ways to limit the Zanpakuto's power.

Just like when he was training with the Zanka no Tachi, a decree from the Soul King Palace forced Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto to change his training methods and instead silently accumulate power in his inner world.

Just as all the Bleach in Soul Society were uneasy about the sound of the hammer, Aizen walked out from the impact of the hammer as if nothing had happened.

In a sense, Kyoka Suigetsu Gekkosui has become one with Aizen, and the fake hammer woven by Senjumaru cannot harm Aizen in the slightest.

Aizen calmly parted the fabric hanging in front of him, stepped onto the red carpet that had been prepared, and walked step by step toward the huge loom.

Before the loom, Senjumaru was already seated on the throne she had woven, her red lips shining alluringly, showing no surprise at Aizen's appearance.

"Not struggling anymore?" Aizen's faint smile reappeared on his face. Once he eliminated this member of the Zero Squad, he could reach the throne he had always dreamed of.

"The fate woven by the Shatagarahai Shikura Tsuji is your destiny. Your life's end is not in my hands, so why should I resist?" Senjumaru smiled. From the moment she became a member of the Zero Squad, she had completely come to terms with death.

"Then, die!"

Aizen didn't say much, and immediately unleashed a Cero. Senjumaru didn't even bother to defend himself, letting the Cero create a large hole in his chest.

Blood trickled from the corner of Senjumaru's mouth, adding a touch of allure to her red lips. Ignoring her injuries, she slightly opened her mouth and uttered a few words.

"The Blood Oath Revolves, the Kirinjī Tenshirō!"

Deep within the Soul King Palace, on the lampshade Blood Oath Seal, the needlework pattern symbolizing Senjumaru quietly disappeared, and the bubble pattern symbolizing Hot Spring Demon appeared...