The Power of Vibration

Suddenly, Hyōrinmaru's gaze, as if pulled by an invisible thread, snapped toward a spot not far away.

There, lying quietly on the frozen ground where Liu Chuan had casually discarded it after examining it, was Sojiro Kusaka's Hyōrinmaru.

His right hand, covered in icy dragon claws, reached through the air toward the sword.

Buzz—!

As if answering an irresistible summons, the Zanpakuto trembled violently and let out a mournful hum. Then it broke free from the frozen earth on its own, turning into a streak of deep-blue light that shot like lightning into Hyōrinmaru's hand!

"What?!" Isshin Shiba's pupils contracted, alarm bells blaring in his mind. He vaguely understood what was happening, and a terrifying thought surfaced.

Hyōrinmaru held a Hyōrinmaru in each hand—one was the blade formed from his own body, while the other belonged to Sojiro Kusaka.

The next second, Sojiro Kusaka's Hyōrinmaru erupted with a dazzling deep-blue radiance!

A vast wave of ice-element Spiritual Pressure, visible to the naked eye like a tangible freezing current, surged wildly from Sojiro Kusaka's blade. Like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, it was greedily absorbed and devoured by Hyōrinmaru's true body!

Sojiro Kusaka's sword rapidly lost its luster.

And Hyōrinmaru, having absorbed that power of the same origin, underwent an unimaginable transformation!

"Roar—!!!"

A deafening dragon roar rang across the wilderness! The Spiritual Pressure erupting from Hyōrinmaru's body seemed to break free of its final shackle, soaring in an instant!

Its intensity, density, and the depth and majesty of the laws of ice contained within it were more than a tier stronger than before!

The frozen ground beneath his feet cracked and sank layer by layer, forming an enormous icebound crater.

The blizzard in the sky abruptly stopped, not because its power had weakened, but because all cold and snow seemed to have submitted to this newborn power.

They stagnated, compressed, and became an icy-blue aura of Spiritual Pressure surrounding his body.

The scar across his face seemed sharper and deeper. The confusion in his violet eyes had lessened somewhat, but their coldness and majesty had only grown stronger.

The sole Hyōrinmaru in his hand became even more crystalline, radiating an eternal chill.

"This is..." Feeling the terrifying Spiritual Pressure rushing toward him, Isshin Shiba's expression changed drastically, his eyes filled with incredulous shock.

"He reclaimed his power? So this is Hyōrinmaru's true original strength?!"

The intensity and texture of that Spiritual Pressure instantly reminded him of what he had once felt from Captain-Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's Ryūjin Jakka.

It carried terrifying power that seemed capable of burning the world to ash, representing the pinnacle of fire!

Though their attributes were completely opposite—one extreme flame, the other extreme cold—the oppressive sensation of being the "strongest" was astonishingly similar!

"The strongest ice-type Zanpakuto... the title is well deserved!"

Isshin Shiba gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on Engetsu. He could feel that Hyōrinmaru was now on an entirely different level from before!

If he had been able to contend with or even suppress him through his own formidable strength earlier, then now, facing this ice sovereign who seemed to have returned to his "complete form"...

On his own, he was afraid...

"Liu Chuan!" Isshin Shiba suddenly turned his head and shouted at Liu Chuan, who was still standing at the edge of the battlefield.

"How long are you planning to keep watching?! It's time to make a move, isn't it?! If I keep fighting this thing alone, I'm really going to have to use Bankai!"

His voice carried urgency, and even a hint of helplessness.

Bankai was his ultimate trump card, but as he had said, it came at an enormous cost. Unless absolutely necessary, he had no desire to use it lightly.

Moreover, against Hyōrinmaru, whose state was strange and whose power had suddenly surged, even using Bankai might not guarantee victory. The cost, however, would certainly be severe.

Liu Chuan stepped forward and stood beside him. His pure-white haori whipped violently in the gale stirred up by Hyōrinmaru's terrifying Spiritual Pressure.

Yet there was no gravity or tension on his face. Instead, a teasing curve appeared at the corner of his lips as he turned to Isshin Shiba, who stood ready beside him, and said lightly, "Oh? Captain Isshin, are you already done for? Weren't you full of confidence just now, saying you were going to melt it down?"

"..."

Isshin Shiba nearly failed to catch his breath. He abruptly turned and glared at Liu Chuan, his expression utterly spectacular.

He took a deep breath and snapped, "Liu Chuan! Cut the sarcastic crap! Do you think the title of 'strongest ice-type' is just for show?"

His tone was agitated, but the flames around Engetsu burned even more fiercely.

Hearing that, the smile on Liu Chuan's face faded somewhat, though his gaze remained calm.

He said no more. "Then let's go together, Captain Isshin."

As soon as the words fell, Liu Chuan moved first! But rather than charging directly at Hyōrinmaru, Spiritual Light flowed through his hand as he chanted in a concise, efficient voice.

"Bakudō Number Sixty-One, Six Rods Prison of Light!"

"Bakudō Number Sixty-Two, Hundred-Step Barrier!"

"Bakudō Number Sixty-Three, Locking Strips Bind!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Several Bakudō spells of different colors, with structures clearly unlike standard Kido, shot from Liu Chuan's hand almost simultaneously.

Their target was the Complete Hyōrinmaru, whose power had just finished integrating and whose aura had reached its peak!

Hundred-Step Barrier became several rods of light, sealing off Hyōrinmaru's surroundings.

Six Rods Prison of Light was no longer merely six slabs of light. It split into dozens of thinner beams with more complex Spirit Particle structures.

The enormous serpentine chain formed by Locking Strips Bind was covered in a strange pale-gold Spirit Particle coating. With a howling rush of wind, it coiled toward Hyōrinmaru's neck and waist!

All of it happened in the blink of an eye! Liu Chuan's casting speed, precision, and bold improvements and combinations of Kido made even Isshin Shiba's pupils shrink as he marveled inwardly.

This kid's understanding and control of Kido are simply beyond imagination! I've never even heard of improvements like these!

Though the Complete Hyōrinmaru's power had risen greatly, his movements seemed slightly sluggish after having just absorbed that power.

Combined with the tricky angles and unusual structure of Liu Chuan's Bakudō, several Spirit Particle chains and beams actually managed to bind his movements temporarily!

"Roar!" Hyōrinmaru let out an enraged bellow.

He struggled with all his might, his arms covered in icy dragon claws thrusting violently outward!

Crack! Crack-crack!

Cracks began appearing on the surfaces of those tough, specially modified Bakudō chains and beams under the Complete Hyōrinmaru's terrifying strength, while frost rapidly spread across them!

Clearly, those improved Bakudō spells alone could not trap him for long.

But Liu Chuan's purpose had never been to imprison him. It was to interfere and create an opening!

"Now, Captain Isshin!" Liu Chuan shouted.

"Got it!" Isshin Shiba had already been gathering power. Engetsu trailed a long tail of flame as he lunged at the opening exposed by Hyōrinmaru's struggle!

"Moon Fang Heaven-Cleave!"

The powerful fire-element slash, carrying unparalleled penetrating force, struck fiercely toward Hyōrinmaru's chest!

The anger in Hyōrinmaru's eyes intensified, and the golden light on his forehead flickered.

With that golden power, he forcibly broke free of the restraints and blocked Isshin Shiba's slash.

Then, his hands covered in icy dragon claws slammed down onto the ground as he began a low chant.

"Millennium—Ice Prison!"

Rumble—!!!

The earth shook violently with Hyōrinmaru at its center!

Countless gigantic ice pillars, each over ten meters in diameter and a hundred meters tall, tore through the frozen ground and shot into the sky!

These ice pillars were not scattered randomly. They formed a perfect spherical prison that continuously contracted inward, completely enveloping Isshin Shiba and the space before him!

The pillars radiated a chill capable of freezing eternity! Once trapped inside, one would be sealed in eternal ice in an instant, Spirit Particles would cease flowing, and all life would be completely extinguished!

"Not good!" Isshin Shiba's expression changed sharply. He could feel the absolute freezing power within that ice prison, far surpassing any previous attack!

The ice prison contracted at an astonishing speed. It was already too late for him to pull back and evade!

At that critical moment!

At some point, Liu Chuan appeared a short distance behind and to the side of Isshin Shiba.

And the Zanpakuto he had been holding all along, yet had never truly used—Heavenquake—was finally slowly raised and held horizontally before him.

His other hand gently brushed over the plain silver-white blade.

"Vibrate—"

A strange ripple quietly spread outward from Heavenquake in Liu Chuan's hand.

"—Heavenquake."

The instant the release command fell.

Heavenquake's silver-white blade suddenly erupted with powerful silver light!

The radiance was not dazzling, yet it gave one a sense of "trembling" that reached deep into the soul.

Liu Chuan's hand holding the sword was steady as a rock. He merely swung Heavenquake, cloaked in silver light, lightly toward the diagonal front at the Millennium Ice Prison that was about to close, as if doing so casually.

Crack.

At the very moment that faint sound rang out, starting from the direction of Liu Chuan's swing, the space ahead visibly twisted, folded, and then—

Cracked open.

An invisible force had forcibly "shaken" this space apart, creating spreading white fissures like a spiderweb!

The cracks spread soundlessly. Wherever they passed, light warped, sound vanished, and even Hyōrinmaru's eternal chill seemed to be disrupted and repelled by the very act of "rupture"!

The next second, those spatial cracks touched the Millennium Ice Prison.

Screech—!!!

The massive ice pillars were like glasswork struck by an invisible giant hammer the instant they touched those white cracks.

Nearly half of the Millennium Ice Prison, under Liu Chuan's seemingly casual swing, was like a sandcastle on the shore meeting the rising tide.

It collapsed, shattered, and turned into glittering ice-crystal dust filling the sky!

Isshin Shiba seized the chance to roll away awkwardly. After landing, he stared at the drifting ice-crystal dust, still shaken.

Then he abruptly turned to look at Liu Chuan, who still maintained his swinging posture as the silver light on his blade slowly faded. His mouth hung open wide enough to fit an egg, his eyes filled with unprecedented shock.

"Space was shaken apart?"

He muttered to himself, scarcely daring to believe his eyes. That had been Hyōrinmaru's Millennium Ice Prison! Yet Liu Chuan had shattered it with a single swing?

Even the Complete Hyōrinmaru in the distance, whose momentum had eased somewhat after releasing Millennium Ice Prison, showed obvious astonishment in his violet eyes for the first time.

The flickering rhythm of the golden light on his forehead also became chaotic.