The Name of Mountain Slaying (Seeking Follow-up Reads!)

Aboard the Vimana, Gilgamesh sat regally upon his throne, gently stroking Yoruichi Shihouin, who remained in her black cat form.

Under normal circumstances, Yoruichi Shihouin would have been purring in comfort, likely on the verge of falling asleep.

But this time, her mind was in a state of turbulent unrest; as she gazed at everything aboard the Vimana, her feline eyes were filled with shock.

She was burning with curiosity regarding the origin of the Vimana.

Her mouth opened several times, yet she found herself at a loss for how to ask.

Deep in her heart, Yoruichi Shihouin could not help but muse: It must be the ability of a Zanpakuto, right? As for the spiritual pressure, it is possible he possesses some tool capable of masking it...

As for the possibility that the Vimana was a divine artifact, Yoruichi Shihouin dismissed it outright.

Compared to the idea of it being a Zanpakuto, the notion that the Vimana was a divine artifact was even more impossible for her to accept.

The Shihoin Clan was known as the "Divine Armament Corps," possessing a vast collection of divine artifacts.

Yet, every divine artifact held by the Shihoin Clan paled in comparison to the Vimana.

Yoruichi Shihouin simply could not imagine who could possibly forge a divine artifact like the Vimana.

Although Renji Abarai and Rukia had long known of the Vimana's existence and this was not their first time aboard, they were still struck with awe no matter how many times they saw it.

The Vimana was not moving at full speed, a pace Gilgamesh intentionally maintained so that Yoruichi Shihouin could better experience the vessel.

Through the illumination of the Star of Omniscience, Gilgamesh already knew that Yoruichi Shihouin acknowledged his capability as a king, but she did not believe he could successfully establish a nation.

Gilgamesh was also aware that there were many obstacles on the path to building his kingdom.

However, Gilgamesh had the confidence to flatten every one of those obstacles.

This time, the reason Gilgamesh had traveled to District 79 was not primarily to expand his territory.

His main objective was to demonstrate his methods to Yoruichi Shihouin, to let her know that he possessed the strength to back his ambitions.

The Vimana was merely the beginning.

Several minutes passed, and even though Gilgamesh had kept the speed controlled, the Vimana carried them over the forests and arrived at Tobiume in District 79.

Tobiume was roughly the same size as Inuzuri, but the living conditions were countless times harsher.

Theft, brawls, murder—such atrocities were the norm here.

Corpses of those who had died violent deaths could be seen everywhere along the roadside.

It was nearly impossible for children to survive in such a place.

Even for adults, living in such an environment for long periods would eventually cause their minds to fracture.

If Tobiume was already this wretched, it was still only District 79; beyond it lay District 80, the most miserable region of all.

Even Gilgamesh found it difficult to imagine just how depraved District 80 could be.

The Vimana hovered over the center of Tobiume and began a slow descent.

Naturally, the Vimana had long since attracted the attention of the residents of Tobiume.

As they looked up at the vessel of light, crafted entirely from gold and emeralds, their first reaction was not one of caution, but of naked greed.

Those pairs of reddened eyes stared at the descending Vimana like starving wolves.

As the Vimana lowered its altitude, Renji Abarai and Rukia finally saw the true state of Tobiume.

Although they had lived their lives in the backward, impoverished, and suffering Inuzuri, seeing the reality of Tobiume with their own eyes still made their hearts tremble, sparking an uncontrollable panic within them.

In particular, as they noticed the people gathering below and observed their undisguised, greedy gazes, a chill shot from their spines to the tops of their heads, causing goosebumps to erupt across their entire bodies.

The alarm bells in their hearts rang out, telling them that these were not humans, but demons wearing human skin, urging them to flee at once.

To be honest, this was also Yoruichi Shihouin's first time visiting District 79 of the Rukongai.

In the past, she had only heard rumors of how chaotic and unbearable the districts beyond 78 were, so she had never once entertained the thought of setting foot there.

She had originally thought her imagination of District 79 was bad enough.

But after seeing it with her own eyes, she realized she had been far too conservative.

This was no place for humans to live; it was nothing short of hell.

A place like this should not exist in the Soul Society; it belonged in the depths of hell.

After all, the souls that arrived in the Soul Society were not, for the most part, people of great evil during their lifetimes.

Why should they have to come to the Soul Society to suffer?

Perhaps before arriving, they had still harbored fantasies of the beauty of the Soul Society, never imagining they would end up in such a hellish abyss.

Yoruichi Shihouin's heart grew heavy.

Unaccountably, the memories of the prosperity she had experienced in the Soul Society flashed through her mind one by one.

It truly was a case of "behind the vermilion gates, wine and meat go to waste, while along the road lie the bones of the frozen."

It was so ironic; who could have imagined that within the prosperous Soul Society, such a dark abyss could exist?

As Yoruichi Shihouin's thoughts remained in disarray, Gilgamesh slowly rose from his throne.

The Vimana did not land completely, but instead remained suspended in mid-air.

The villains who had gathered around could not help but grow restless as they watched the scene unfold.

Amidst their agitation, minor frictions sparked, and they began to turn their blades upon one another.

The scene quickly descended into total chaos.

Severed limbs and fragments were scattered at random, and before anyone realized it, blood had stained the earth crimson.

Renji Abarai and Rukia watched this spectacle, their pupils trembling violently.

This scene, reminiscent of hellish demons slaughtering one another, was more than they could bear.

Renji Abarai could not even hold back, stumbling to the side to retch.

Rukia fared no better.

Just as Rukia was about to reach her breaking point, Gilgamesh walked over. His expression remained unchanged as he surveyed the carnage, though a cold glint flashed within his wine-red eyes. He bellowed, "Cease your actions, all of you, by order of this King!"

Though Gilgamesh's voice was youthful, it carried a domineering majesty capable of striking terror into the heart, ringing clearly in the ears of everyone present.

However, the villains caught in the chaos were already so immersed in the slaughter that they completely ignored Gilgamesh's command.

Through the illumination of the Star of Omniscience, Gilgamesh could clearly perceive that these people below had already been reduced to puppets governed by desire, greed, and bloodlust.

As it happened, Gilgamesh had need of such people.

If he could conquer them, they would serve as the sharp vanguard for the expansion of his dominion.

Yoruichi Shihouin opened her mouth, intending to say something.

But before she could speak, Gilgamesh declared once more, "Ignorant fools, look up to the heavens! This is the final mercy this King shall grant you!"

Yoruichi Shihouin did not understand what Gilgamesh meant by those words.

But soon, she saw a golden ripple suddenly manifest in the sky, positioned directly above the ground.

Immediately, a massive sword tip began to emerge slowly from the golden ripple.

This sword tip was so immense that the portion already revealed was larger than Renji Abarai himself.

And that was merely the tip; it was difficult to imagine how vast the complete blade must be.

Yoruichi Shihouin's pupils could not help but tremble violently as she asked, "What... what kind of sword is this!?"

"The name of this sword is Igalima."

"It is also known as... the Mountain-Slaying Sword!"