Chapter 282: Yamamoto's Impatience
"ZEHAHAHAHA!!!"
The man laughed boldly, radiating an aura of righteous momentum as he instantly closed in on Azashiro.
"ORA!!"
With flames jetting from his shoulders, Satoru threw a punch.
Azashiro couldn't be bothered to dodge—it was pointless anyway.
He took Satoru's fist head-on, his entire body exploding into a cloud of Reishi.
The next second, another Azashiro appeared over ten meters away.
Just as he tried to manipulate the surrounding objects to attack Satoru, he realized the latter had already anticipated his reappearance point and was waiting for him.
"ORA!!"
Another punch shattered Azashiro.
Under normal circumstances, such attacks would be meaningless against him.
By recalling his dispersed Reishi and merging with nearby matter, he could "revive" ten thousand, twenty thousand times.
If Satoru had the stamina, he could keep punching—let's see who tires first.
But... not here.
Muken operated under special laws where Zanpakutō abilities were severely restricted.
To expand his observation range, he'd spent over a century dispersing most of his Reishi outward.
Suddenly trying to recall all that Reishi now? Far from easy.
A few more punches, and he might not have enough Reishi left to reform his body.
Without a reformed body, the outcome would be just as Satoru said—
His soul scattered, consciousness extinguished.
And all the Reishi spread throughout the Seireitei would merge with nature.
After being shattered for the fourth time, Azashiro knew he couldn't continue like this.
Instead of hastily reforming, he controlled his dwindling Reishi to drift farther away.
Muken was a unique space.
No light, no direction, not even clear distances.
If he could create enough distance and hide from Satoru, the latter wouldn't find him quickly.
This was Muken, equipped with various monitoring measures. Satoru couldn't stay here indefinitely—if he just hid awhile, he could outlast him!
With this thought, he felt slightly relieved.
But at that moment, Azashiro suddenly heard a violent stomp on the floor behind him.
The next second, terrifying Reiatsu descended from the sky!
BOOM!!!!!
Like seawater pouring backward, heaven and earth turning upside down, the unrestrained Reiatsu made the air tremble violently!
The paper lanterns that had fallen to the ground were instantly torn to shreds, twisting and scattering in the air.
With disbelief, Azashiro turned his gaze behind him.
There he saw Satoru standing proudly with his arms crossed over his chest.
A pillar of blue Reiatsu erupted from his body, piercing the sky before transforming into a torrential downpour that drenched the surroundings.
Feeling this immense power, the Shinigami imprisoned in Muken grew excited, their eyes turning toward the distant darkness.
A Reiatsu they had never felt before… When did Soul Society gain such a figure?
Azashiro wanted to resist, but how could he withstand such fierce, domineering, and powerful Reiatsu?!
Amid the shockwaves of the Reiatsu surge, he was forced out of his particle state, reverting to human form and crashing heavily to the ground.
His initial elegance and composure had completely vanished.
He knelt on one knee, gasping for breath, and looked at Satoru with incomprehension.
This guy… does he even know what he's doing?
This is Muken!
Shin'ō Academy Prison!
Daring to break in here was already akin to having a death wish, but now this reckless release of Reiatsu showed no regard for the consequences.
Is this man insane?
No… that's not it.
He's doing this intentionally!
He didn't come to Muken to carry out some covert misdeed—he intends to openly defy Soul Society and raise the banner of rebellion!
Shin'ō Prison is filled with the greatest criminals in Soul Society's history.
In other words, those imprisoned here are all renowned and powerful individuals.
Without a doubt, Satoru intends to release all the prisoners in Muken and throw Soul Society into utter chaos!
Yamamoto may be strong, but he is only one man.
If all the prisoners in Muken were to escape, even if Yamamoto himself were to intervene, it would be difficult to suppress them all in a short time.
By then, with this man's strength, no one in Soul Society would be able to stop him!
A great calamity has arrived!
Gritting his teeth, Azashiro stood up, ready to reprimand Satoru and question why he would disregard the order of the three realms and insist on inciting war.
But before he could speak, his vision was filled with a fist.
BOOM!!!!
Azashiro's body was shattered by a single punch.
Only this time, he didn't burst into Reishi—he was directly pulverized into a mass of shattered flesh and blood!
The immense pain nearly caused him to lose consciousness.
The next second, under the impact of Satoru's Reiatsu, he reappeared in his human form.
Satoru grabbed his head and slammed it into the ground.
It's over.
Azashiro's heart sank.
The reason he had approached Satoru was partly out of curiosity after seeing him suddenly appear in Muken.
On the other hand, he believed their interests aligned and that, logically, there should be no conflict between them.
Who would have thought that this man had come with a sinister scheme from the very beginning?
He had made a grave mistake.
If he hadn't actively revealed himself, he could have found a way to alert the outside world.
Now, no one could stop Satoru's wicked deeds.
He closed his eyes, preparing for death.
Then he heard Satoru sneer coldly:
"You bastard, keep spouting your nonsense!"
"My teacher isn't worthy of being the Captain-Commander, but you are?"
"You're worthy of shit?"
"Playing mute? Speak!"
With a sharp slap, Azashiro felt his cheek burn.
He opened his eyes in astonishment and saw Satoru straddling him, grinning widely.
Azashiro frowned.
He stared at Satoru for a moment, then couldn't help but say, "You attacked... because of this?"
"Just because of this?"
Satoru narrowed his eyes.
"Kenpachi Azashiro... forget it, I don't want to call you by that name. Someone like you doesn't deserve the title Kenpachi."
"Tell me, what's your original name?"
"My name is Sōya Azashiro," Azashiro replied. "The name Kenpachi was officially granted by Central 46. Your recognition is irrelevant."
"Is that so."
Satoru showed neither agreement nor disagreement. He simply gripped Azashiro's head and spread the blue flames burning on his own body over him.
Under his control, the flames weren't particularly lethal, but they gnawed at Azashiro's skin, causing him extreme agony.
Azashiro let out a pained grunt.
Amidst the flames, Satoru's gaze remained calm.
"Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto founded the Gotei 13, personally ended numerous great wars, and established the Seireitei as it is today."
"He single-handedly crushed the Quincy's ambition to destroy the Soul Society and defeated the Sternritter led by Yhwach."
"He established the Shin'ō Academy, giving countless commoners the chance to become Shinigami."
"He mediated among the great noble houses, maintaining the stability of the Seireitei through his own power."
"He gave up marriage, having children, the opportunity to go to the Soul King Palace, and everything about himself... all to protect the Soul Society."
"And you ask me, what qualifies him to sit in the Captain-Commander's seat?"
He grinned, revealing a wild smile.
"Simply because he is Yamamoto Shigekuni, the strongest man in the Soul Society!"
"With your limited capacity, you're a hundred thousand years too early to question my teacher!"
With that, Satoru flung Azashiro to the ground.
The blue flames on the latter's body gradually extinguished and vanished.
Any more burning, or another punch, would surely have killed Azashiro.
Satoru had no intention of killing him. He planned to hand this guy over to Aizen for the most dangerous experiments.
A Shinigami capable of decomposing himself into Reishi and merging with his surroundings... Sōsuke would probably be very pleased with that.
Thinking this, Satoru's mood improved slightly.
Lying on the ground, Azashiro looked at Satoru with a complex gaze.
Satoru stood there, his Reiatsu glowing brilliantly, like a beacon illuminating the darkness of the Muken.
Azashiro took a deep breath. "Satoru, have you forgotten where you are right now?"
"?"
Satoru was taken aback.
Azashiro reminded him, "This is the Muken."
"The Reiatsu you just unleashed is enough to trigger the alarms a thousand times over."
"Originally, I thought you were planning a rebellion, so you wouldn't care about that."
"But now it seems... did you genuinely forget?"
Satoru: "..."
The Reiatsu around him rapidly deflated like a punctured balloon.
Cold sweat poured down like rain.
Muken was one of the most crucial locations in the Soul Society—as vital as the Terminal Dogma was to NERV, Marineford to the Navy, or Kyūken to Kyūka. It absolutely could not be violated.
Even if he immediately opened the Shadow Space to escape, the residual Reiatsu lingering in the air and the traces left by the battle couldn't be erased.
If anyone discovered he had been here, he'd be forced to rebel whether he wanted to or not.
As he pondered this, his instincts began warning him.
Some great crisis was approaching.
After a moment of silence, Azashiro spoke: "Satoru, if you trust me, you could help restore some of my power. I'll help you clean up the traces."
"I can use my ability to gather and reorganize the surrounding Reishi, eliminating your Reiatsu traces."
"I can also fuse Reishi with matter to completely repair the battle damage."
Hearing this, Satoru looked at him with displeasure.
How dare this mere Azashiro act so arrogantly.
He crossed his arms: "No need!"
Azashiro sighed: "Satoru, this isn't the time for pride. Time is already... Hm?"
Mid-sentence, he suddenly showed a startled expression.
Under his astonished gaze, a peculiar power fluctuation suddenly emanated from Satoru.
This power... Azashiro knew it all too well.
This was the unique fluctuation produced when fusing one's Reiatsu with surrounding objects!
Sure enough, the ground around Satoru began rapidly shifting.
The soil that had been churned up by Reiatsu impacts, along with the craters created by battle aftermath, all began repairing themselves.
Soon, everything was restored to its original state.
As for the Reiatsu dispersed in the air, Satoru used his technique of fusing Reiatsu with air to gather it all back, holding it in his hand.
After completing this, he looked triumphantly at Azashiro.
"So? I can handle it without your help."
"Impossible... How could this be?!"
Azashiro's eyes widened, feeling as frustrated as if he'd been screwed by Komamura.
Fusing Reiatsu with all things—this was his Bankai ability, unique in the Soul Society with no duplicates!
How had Satoru accomplished this?
Could it be... he had the ability to copy others' powers, and had somehow replicated his Bankai ability?
Before he could figure it out, Satoru had already rushed to him in quick strides and kicked him into the Shadow Space.
After doing this, he sank into the Shadow Space himself and disappeared without a trace.
Muken returned to its dark and profound state.
Not long after, a figure entered the prison.
Yamamoto squinted as he looked around.
Though there was no light, he seemed capable of seeing everything clearly.
Just moments ago, he had received an urgent distress call from his subordinate, reporting detection of extremely high-level Reiatsu at the Central Great Underground Prison, with spiritual pressure levels fluctuating between first and second class.
The location was the lowest level—Muken!
Hearing this news, Yamamoto couldn't remain seated.
Muken imprisoned super monsters from various eras.
Even if they had lost some power through prolonged torment, their remaining capabilities were still not to be underestimated.
Without any hesitation, Yamamoto immediately set out for the Central Great Underground Prison.
Normally, even as the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, visiting the lowest level of the great prison required applying to Central 46 and going through layers of approval.
Just like Shunsui Kyōraku during the Thousand-Year Blood War—merely going to negotiate with Aizen required multiple preparations, even readiness to perish together with him.
But now, Yamamoto lacked such leisure.
Muken had already encountered trouble. By the time he obtained approval, it would be far too late.
Ignoring the guards' attempts to stop him, Yamamoto broke through every obstacle and arrived at Muken.
His eyes seemed to burn with flames, capable of piercing through any darkness.
Yet, to his surprise, the prison showed no abnormalities.
No signs of destruction, no Reiatsu that didn't belong there, not even the prisoner count...
Wait, the prisoner count?
Yamamoto's pupils contracted sharply.
As Captain-Commander, he knew both the number of prisoners in Muken and every individual's identity.
He also possessed means to survey the entire area within this special space.
Instantly, he reached a conclusion.
The former Captain of the Third Division, Takahashi Masao.
The former Captain of the Eleventh Division, Sōya Azashiro.
Both had disappeared!
Yamamoto's heart sank violently.
As an elder who had witnessed the history of the Gotei 13, he was thoroughly familiar with both men.
Especially Sōya Azashiro.
If Azashiro successfully escaped, his abilities and power would inevitably trigger a catastrophic disaster!
The old man took a deep breath and whirled around to face the guards who had chased after him.
"Send someone immediately to summon Satoru and Shunsui!"
Hearing Yamamoto's command, the guards froze in confusion.
They had come to stop Yamamoto and make him leave, never expecting to receive orders from him instead.
As they hesitated to speak, Yamamoto roared: "Now!"
"Yes, sir!!"