Big Watermelon, Harvest Time!

Tosen Kaname's reaction was remarkably swift.

Although the attack was sudden, it remained well within his ability to handle.

Without even needing his Zanpakuto, he flicked his wrist, and a Byakurai shattered the shadow-blade formed of reishi.

But at that very moment, Seikyo had already closed the distance, appearing directly before Tosen.

"Ryuki!"

A sharp, piercing strike thrust straight toward Tosen's unguarded center.

"Sing, Suzumushi!"

Faced with Seikyo's assault, Tosen immediately initiated the Shikai of his Zanpakuto.

The surge in reiatsu from the Shikai allowed Tosen to dodge the attack with ease, slipping beneath it before swinging his blade toward the hand Seikyo held his weapon with.

Yet, as Tosen's blade swept through the air, it struck not flesh, but a spiked mace.

"Gaki!" Seikyo smiled faintly, and Tosen felt his Zanpakuto being drawn into the mace.

His own reiatsu was being devoured by the weapon.

What a peculiar transformation!

Tosen, however, remained unbothered; with a surge of reiatsu, he easily repelled the weak suction and retracted his blade.

Still, having been forced onto the back foot repeatedly, Tosen's pride was beginning to sting.

"Suzumushi Nishiki: Benihikou!"

The sound of countless insects beating their wings erupted, manifesting as a powerful sonic wave directed at Seikyo.

Sound-based attacks generally possess a unique quality: they are impossible to defend against.

Whether it is affecting the auditory organs to induce hallucinations or causing internal organ damage through vibration, there is no way to block them.

Unless one creates a vacuum, sound driven by reiatsu will never lack a medium for propagation, nor will it dissipate easily.

But... sound waves can be countered by even stronger sound waves.

"Bark, Sanga!"

A crimson, three-headed hound emerged from the ground.

Each head of the Three-Headed Hound bore a mask resembling a Hollow, and as they opened their maws in unison, they unleashed a powerful sonic roar capable of tearing everything in its path to shreds.

Compared to this bark, the sound of Suzumushi was far too faint.

However, unlike Suzumushi, which dispersed in all directions, the full-force bark of Sanga was restricted to a 120-degree arc in front of it... which meant it could be dodged.

"Suzumushi Nishiki: Benihikou!"

Countless blades appeared as Tosen, now positioned to Seikyo's left, swung Suzumushi.

These blades, like locusts that had finally found food, pierced through the air toward Seikyo.

"Sekki!"

Sanga instantly melted into lava, and with a single eruption, Sekki incinerated all the blades back into reishi.

As two Shinigami whose Shikais possessed numerous variations, they had truly found their match.

Kyoraku Shunsui watched the battle, his expression quite astonished. "My, my, to think Seikyo-kun's Zanpakuto has so many variations; if it were me, I might have been defeated from the start."

However, no one took his feigned weakness seriously... let alone Captain-Commander Yamamoto and Unohana Retsu, even Aizen, who was pretending to be a good-natured man, ignored him; only Ukitake offered a polite nod of agreement.

Come to think of it, despite the intensity of the battle between the two captain-level Shinigami, they had caused no damage to the First Division barracks.

This was because the materials used to construct the floors and walls were the same as those used for the outer walls of the Seireitei—Sekki-seki, a rare ore capable of completely blocking reishi and reiatsu.

Then again, as the barracks were built to suppress the Muken Hell, it was not particularly strange that they were cast entirely from Sekki-seki.

The battle between Seikyo and Tosen continued, both sides unveiling more and more variations of their Zanpakuto... By the time Seikyo had displayed over twenty and Tosen over forty, Kyoraku Shunsui's exclamations were finally met with agreement from the others!

Even Aizen agreed. He knew there was one more thing Tosen and Hyakume-ki Seikyo had in common.

They were both suited only for combat using their Shikai, which was why they had pushed their Shikai to such an extreme.

Hyakume-ki Seikyo's Bankai was not permitted by the Central 46, so even if it were powerful, he could not use it.

And while Tosen could use Bankai, his Bankai did not directly enhance his frontal combat capabilities.

This stood in direct opposition to the goals Tosen wished to achieve.

Thus, he continued to refine his Shikai, hoping to further increase his strength... yet he had never succeeded.

Therefore, Tosen was actually more invested in the research of Hollowfication and breaking the limits of a Shinigami's own power than even Aizen.

And Aizen could understand him.

After all, Tosen was the only companion who could understand and truly identify with his goals.

On the other side, the battle between Tosen and Seikyo had reached a fever pitch.

After trading another blow, Tosen dodged a strike from Suikotsu and retreated outside the range of Seikyo's casual attacks.

"You have fully demonstrated the power of your Shikai to the Captain-Commander!" Tosen called out to Seikyo. "Now, it is time for Bankai! And you, who cannot use your Bankai at will, how will you..."

"How will you deal with my Bankai?"

The rings behind the hilt of Suzumushi spun rapidly as Tosen Kaname activated his Bankai.

"Bankai: Suzumushi Tsuishiki: Enma Korogi!"

Nine rings flew outward, forming a pitch-black domain!

Within this domain, every target lost all senses except for the sense of touch.

Sight, hearing, smell, taste... it was as if the entire world had been reduced to nothing but oneself.

It felt much like an upgraded, plus-version fusion of Aoto's Shakukuro and Black Prison.

If Aoto were able to use Bankai, Garaku Kairo would be the natural nemesis of this technique.

But if he couldn't use it... was he really just going to let Tosen Kaname slaughter him?

How could that be!

It was just an inability to perceive things, not as if the world itself had vanished!

He just needed to blast everything once!

Sheathing his Zanpakuto, Aoto's expression turned solemn.

"Born from the slaughter of auspicious omens, respecting the darkness and bidding farewell to decay..."

"Garaku Kairo!"

For the first time in countless years, Aoto recited the true Shikai incantation of his Zanpakuto.

Everything before had only been a partial Shikai; this was the true release.

In the next second, thirty meat-ball monsters, each the size of a brown bear, appeared around Aoto.

Kyoraku Shunsui felt this familiar Reiatsu from across Tosen Kaname's Bankai and was reminded of his late old friend, Kuruyashiki Kenpachi.

However, the Reiatsu he knew so well then began to change.

The thirty meat-ball monsters transformed into various, completely distinct creatures.

The Reiatsu emanating from them shifted into the various partial Shikais Aoto had used before.

Red Oni and the Three-Headed Hound were among them.

The Hungry Ghost was a giant chinchilla whose mouth took up half its body.

Blue Oni was a humanoid skeleton glowing with a cyan light.

Ryuki was a small white dragon coiled entirely around Aoto's left arm.

Shakukuro was a pitch-black blob with only two eyes... a sea cucumber?

Black Prison was a black cat perched on Aoto's right shoulder...

In any case, the thirty meat-balls had transformed into creatures bearing various Hollow-like traits, completely surrounding Aoto.

Garaku Kairo was the strongest biological-type Zanpakuto in the Soul Society to date; manifesting creatures for direct combat was its most fundamental usage.

In the darkness, Tosen Kaname sensed the sudden surge in the number of targets before him and felt a very bad premonition.

"Little ones!" Through his connection to his Zanpakuto, Aoto cheerfully issued his command to the monsters. "Attack in all directions simultaneously! Prepare..."

Upon receiving the order, every monster opened its maw, condensing massive shells of spirit particles... they looked exactly like the Cero of a Menos Grande.

"Fire!"

The monsters, acting in perfect unison, unleashed their attacks in every direction.

And so, Tosen Kaname's Bankai was blasted apart by the sheer volume of powerful attacks before he could even launch an offensive of his own!

Tosen Kaname tried to salvage the situation; if only one part had been attacked, he might have been able to recover. But with the entire Bankai under assault, he was truly powerless.

The core of his Bankai consisted of the nine rings he manifested; if the rings were destroyed, the effectiveness of his Bankai would be drastically reduced.

With several attacks heading straight for the rings, Tosen Kaname hurriedly retracted them.

As Tosen Kaname's Bankai dissipated like a popped balloon, Aoto, commanding his thirty monsters, finally appeared in the eyes of the other captains.

This appearance... at first glance, he truly looked like a King of Hollows surrounded by a legion of Menos.

To break a captain's Bankai without even using his own Bankai—his Shikai's destructive power had already reached the level of a Bankai.

Truly impressive!

Aizen took off his glasses to wipe them before putting them back on, his expression remaining very gentle.

Toshiro's gaze was fixed entirely on his master, feeling that he looked quite majestic.

So, every single Shikai could turn into a monster!

Did this mean his master was essentially an army of one?

At noon, in the First Division captain's meeting room.

Captain-Commander Yamamoto was holding a captain's meeting there.

Basically, all the captains already knew what the content of this meeting was!

There was going to be a new captain!

Sure enough, when Captain-Commander Yamamoto called for him to enter, Hyakume-ki Seikyo walked in from outside the door, draped in a pristine white captain's haori with three long swords at his waist, looking dashing and solemn.

"Hyakume-ki Seikyo, upon the recommendation of the former 13th Division captain Ukitake Jushiro, and following a joint assessment by several captains including this old man, is hereby officially approved and appointed as the new captain of the 13th Division of the Gotei 13!"

This announcement felt like the activation of some ritual, making Seikyo feel as though something had descended upon him.

It was not some abstract concept like responsibility, but perhaps a form of authority? Or maybe someone's gaze?

Regardless, Seikyo felt that it was something extraordinary.

Having arrived in Soul Society two hundred and twenty-two years ago, Seikyo had finally officially become one of the captains of the Gotei 13.

Personally, he felt it was quite fast.

After all, he had walked every step of his journey quite steadily.

Though he would certainly be surpassed by Toshiro eventually!

Hueco Mundo, Las Noches.

The King of Hueco Mundo was watching Nelliel play with the Picaro, and then suddenly revealed a happy smile that was visible even on his skeletal face.

Seeing this, Starrk asked with a smile, "Your Majesty, is there some good news?"

The King of Hueco Mundo also replied to Starrk with a smile, "I've been growing a giant watermelon for two hundred years, and it's finally about to be harvested. Of course I'm happy!"