Chapter 341: It's Still Too Early to Give Up Now!
"Kidō Corps! Prepare!"
Tessai Tsukabishi stood on a high platform, shouting orders.
Countless members of the Kidō Corps, their faces covered with white cloth and wearing black monk robes, simultaneously formed hand seals.
As they moved, the massive black rod standing in the center emitted a dazzling glow of Reiatsu.
Standing beside the cannon, Shunsui Kyōraku couldn't help but click his tongue.
"What terrifying power."
"With this single blast, forget about a mere Valley of Screams—even the Seireitei would likely be instantly destroyed, right?"
Ukitake shook his head:
"That won't happen. The Kidō Cannon is a divine weapon bestowed by the heavens. When it was installed, the firing angle was already fixed."
"No matter how much we adjust it, we cannot fire upon the Seireitei."
Shunsui Kyōraku grinned wryly.
In manga and games, the more something is emphasized as impossible, the more likely it is to happen later on.
However, he wouldn't voice this thought aloud.
Otherwise, a certain old man standing not far away would come to teach him a lesson.
Yamamoto, leaning on his cane with both hands, raised his head to gaze at the inverted Karakura Town above.
There was no time left.
The Kishi of the Living World and the Reishi of the Soul Society were rapidly exchanging with each other.
If this continued, an unpredictable catastrophe would occur.
Although he had no idea what his foolish disciple was up to, as the Captain-Commander, he absolutely could not indulge in such recklessness.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Yamamoto declared in a deep voice:
"Fire."
Tessai Tsukabishi nodded without hesitation:
"Fire!!"
Countless members of the Kidō Corps simultaneously activated their spiritual power.
The glow of Reiatsu surged from beneath their feet, resembling a massive circuit diagram, all converging into the central black rod.
A dazzling light began to shine at the cannon's muzzle!
...
...
Inside the Valley of Screams, Ryudoji Yanlong sat cross-legged on the ground with his eyes closed.
He was adjusting his condition.
Although he didn't know why Satoru hadn't pursued him inside yet, there was no doubt it would happen sooner or later.
What he needed to do was use this time before Satoru's arrival to optimize his condition.
Simultaneously, he was creating various traps using the endless supply of lost souls within the Valley of Screams.
If Satoru dared to invade, he would make sure the man never returned!
Ryudoji Yanlong curled his lips upward as if already witnessing Satoru's demise.
Suddenly, an intense sense of crisis flooded his heart.
It felt as though an invisible hand was slowly reaching out to grasp his fragile life flame.
With just a slight squeeze, he would be utterly annihilated!
Why? How could this be?
Could it be that Satoru possessed such tremendous power that he could take his life without even entering the Valley of Screams?
Bakana! Impossible!
After struggling for a few seconds, Ryudoji Yanlong decided to temporarily abandon his adjustments and investigate what was happening.
He soared into the air, reaching the outer shell of the Valley of Screams, and cautiously peeked out to observe the enemy's movements.
What he saw nearly scared his soul away.
Through the spatial channel connected to the Valley of Screams, he could see the massive black rod glowing brightly even from this great distance.
The Spatial Kidō Cannon!!
Although he had never seen this weapon fired, Ryudoji Yanlong knew its fearsome reputation all too well.
If that thing really shot at them, he was finished!
Despair filled Ryudoji Yanlong's eyes.
Because of Satoru's interference, he had failed to retrieve the Jureichi.
Without the Jureichi, he couldn't activate the Valley of Screams to fully connect the Soul Society and the Living World.
In other words, he was about to be killed by the Kidō Cannon without having accomplished anything!
What should he do...
Should he escape?
All his clansmen had died by Satoru's hands. Even if he escaped, what could he achieve alone?
In just a few seconds, countless conflicts raged within Ryudoji Yanlong's heart.
Finally, he lowered his head with a bitter smile.
Enough.
Endless failure—this was probably the destiny of the Ryudoji family.
Let this karma end with him, this incompetent man!
He closed his eyes, ready to accept his impending fate.
But just then, a voice sounded beside him—
"Ryudoji Yanlong, open your eyes."
"It's too early to give up now."
"Even when facing certain doom, you must summon courage and persist until the very end!"
Ryudoji Yanlong opened his eyes in astonishment.
There stood the figure he considered his nightmare, shielding him.
Shocked, he instinctively reached for his sword.
But then he saw Satoru turn his head and flash him a bright, cheerful smile.
"Yanlong, protect the Valley of Screams."
"I won't let anyone harm you while I'm still standing."
"In exchange, I'm entrusting my back to you."
"You must work hard to protect the Valley of Screams!"
"?"
Ryudoji Yanlong's pupils trembled violently.
Who do you think you're talking to?
Just days ago we were mortal enemies—you almost obliterated me in the Living World! Now you suddenly appear acting like we're lifelong friends... Are you mentally ill?
Before he could speak, Satoru laughed heartily and charged toward the Soul Society.
The Kidō Cannon's muzzle flashed.
A massive pillar of light, like a colossal sword piercing heaven and earth, instantly tore through the vast expanse of space, arriving before them!
Ryudoji Yanlong's chest tightened.
Yet, at the final moment, the giant sword halted.
Under his astonished gaze, Satoru pushed forward with both swords in hand.
The twin blades, blazing with blinding Reiatsu, actually stopped the Kidō Cannon's advance by sheer force!
How was this possible?!
How could a mere Shinigami halt a cannon fired by the combined power of hundreds of Kidō Corps members?
How could such a being exist in this world?
Staring at Satoru's back, Ryudoji Yanlong stood frozen in place.
The radiance of clashing Reiatsu cast shifting colors across his face.
Suddenly, realization dawned on him.
Though he didn't know why Satoru had turned against his allies at this critical moment, it likely had something to do with power struggles or resource distribution.
If so, then at least for now, this absurdly powerful individual was on his side!
The thought sent Ryudoji Yanlong into ecstatic frenzy.
He grinned wildly, his expression bordering on madness.
With a splash, he submerged back into the Valley of Screams.
The Ryudoji family had struggled for survival in the Dangai for a thousand years.
During this long history, they had mastered a secret technique to manipulate the ownerless souls within the Valley of Screams.
Though without the Jōgyō sphere, he couldn't directly expand the valley to destroy the world, he could at least control its movement to escape the battlefield's center.
To make the valley move faster and live up to Satoru's trust, Ryudoji Yanlong roared and burned part of his own soul to accelerate the valley.
He turned his head as if looking through the valley's barrier toward Satoru.
"The rest... is up to you!"
With these words, Ryudoji Yanlong collapsed to the ground with a thud.
....
...
Unaware of and completely indifferent to Ryudoji Yanlong's internal monologue, Satoru was currently riding an adrenaline high.
The Spatial Kidō Cannon truly lived up to its reputation as one of the Soul Society's ultimate weapons - immensely powerful and seemingly unstoppable.
But it was still far from enough to kill him!!
"HYAAAA!!!"
With a mighty shout, Satoru's Reiatsu erupted in layers around him, as if he had transformed into a Super Saiyan.
Gripping his twin blades, he swung them forward violently.
The brutal sword pressure instantly shredded the Kidō Cannon.
Standing in the void of the Dangai, he laughed heartily.
Living World, Karakura Town.
Witnessing Satoru cleave through the Kidō Cannon with a single strike, the crowd first stared in stunned silence.
Then excited cheers erupted everywhere.
"He did it! He actually did it!"
"So strong! Incredibly powerful! Who is that guy?!"
"He's a superhero! Only a superhero could possess such might!"
"Nonsense! That's Ultraman!"
"Bullshit! That's clearly a human, how could he be Ultraman?!"
"That's Ultraman's human form!"
"Waaaaah! It's Tiga's human form! Tiga! Accept my light!"
"Tiga's human form? Isn't that Nagano Hiroshi?"
"Nagano Hiroshi died battling a traffic accident! This is a new human form!"
"Nani?!"
A girl with twin braids and a pink-haired girl with twin tails nearby watched with sparkling eyes.
In a tall building not far away, Ishida Ryūken adjusted his glasses.
"So strong..."
Although he had long known that Satoru was an existence they could never hope to match, witnessing this scene firsthand still evoked a feeling of beholding a deity.
Shiba Isshin chuckled darkly.
"That's Big Brother Satoru we're talking about—a man recognized by my master. How could he be anything less than extraordinary?"
Meanwhile, among the crowd, some of the younger ones wore puzzled expressions.
They took out their phones and opened NicoNico.
Entering the keywords—PS4 advertisement.
Topping the search results was a lineup of muscular men with Satoru positioned prominently at the center.
Category: Comedy/Entertainment
As they played the video, hypnotized by its bizarre background music, they glanced between the screen and the muscular figure within the black vortex.
Though the distance made it hard to see clearly, no matter how they looked, the two appeared strikingly similar.
Surely they couldn't be the same person.
Impossible... right?
...
...
While Karakura Town was filled with joy, the Seireitei was in complete chaos.
"What's happening?!"
"The Kidō Cannon missed its intended target!"
"Something interfered with the Kidō Cannon!"
In the square, members of the Kidō Corps looked up in shock at the continuously swirling vortex.
Suddenly, someone squinted and spotted a figure through the Kidō Cannon's shattered light particles.
"Wait... look at that, isn't that Captain Mikami?"
"Huh?"
Everyone turned to look.
A few seconds later, the entire square fell into complete silence.
Seeing Satoru standing deep within the vortex, laughing heartily, everyone couldn't help but feel like they'd been screwed over by Komamura.
What's going on?
Why is Captain Mikami here?
Captain Mikami, have you betrayed us?!
Tessai Tsukabishi, Kyōraku, Ukitake, and Chōjirō Sasakibe all instinctively turned to look at Yamamoto Shigekuni.
Yamamoto took a deep breath, suppressing his skyrocketing blood pressure.
Gritting his teeth, he said in a low voice:
"Boy, what are you doing?"
Though not loud, everyone present, including Satoru who was in the Dangai, heard his words clearly.
Hearing this, Satoru was momentarily stunned.
After thinking for a moment, he turned around, facing away from everyone.
Raising his hand, he grabbed at his face, and a pale white mask covering half his face materialized out of nowhere.
Turning back around, Satoru laughed heartily:
"Wrong! I am not Satoru Mikami! I am one of the Three Great Generals of Las Noches, Lilynette!"
He thought this identity concealment would throw the Seireitei into confusion.
However, everyone's reaction was rather strange.
All of them had ashen faces.
Many Kidō Corps members were so frightened they sat down on the ground, pointing trembling fingers at him.
Even Kyōraku and Ukitake looked utterly shocked, as if facing a formidable enemy.
Chōjirō Sasakibe stepped forward, positioning himself in front of Yamamoto.
Satoru tilted his head.
It's just a Hollow mask, is it really that scary?
Just then, a Kidō Corps member suddenly screamed in a voice more unpleasant than crying:
"C-Captain Mikami has rebelled!!"
"He's wearing the Captain-Commander's Haori!!"
Huh?
Satoru was momentarily stunned.
He turned his head to look at his back.
A large "one" was printed there.
Damn.
Because he often sparred with Yamamoto recently and their haori kept getting destroyed during their fights, Satoru had thoughtfully stored many First Division haori in his Shadow Space.
All division haori looked similar, and "Eleventh" only differed by one character from "First", so he hadn't paid much attention when putting it on.
He never expected to wear the wrong one at such a time.
Satoru gave an awkward laugh, quickly took off the haori, casually tossed it aside, and burned it to ashes.
At times like this, you have to quickly destroy the evidence!
However, seeing this action, the Kidō Corps members became even more terrified.
"Captain Mikami... he burned the Captain-Commander's Haori to ashes!"
"Is this a declaration of war?!"
"Captain Mikami has turned traitor! Captain Mikami has turned traitor!!"
Many Kidō Corps members screamed in terror while shouting, running away into the distance.
Yamamoto couldn't help but feel like he'd been screwed over by Komamura.
Right now, he wasn't particularly concerned about whether Satoru had actually rebelled.
Even if this foolish disciple really did rebel, he could probably lure him back with a luxurious lunch.
The urgent matter at hand was to quickly destroy the Kyōgoku!
He forced down his impatience and said:
"Boy, if you have any reason, speak quickly."
"If not, then get out of my way and let me destroy the Valley of Screams!"
Satoru snorted.
"No reason."
"And I won't let you pass!"
"Hah."
Hearing this, Yamamoto bared his teeth in a grin.
Since things had come to this, what followed would be simple.
Whoosh!
Under the impact of his Reiatsu, the cane in his hand instantly turned to dust, revealing the blade within.
Yamamoto tore off his Captain's Haori and tossed it aside.
Then, he pulled open his Shinigami Uniform, revealing his muscular upper body.
After these preparations, he grinned fiercely and drew his Zanpakutō.
Within the vortex, Satoru's eyes lit up.
He also tore open his Shinigami Uniform.
In the Living World, many who saw this scene grew excited.
This felt right, so right!
This exact move!
It was identical to the clothes-tearing move from the LSP4 video!
Indeed, this man was the LSP powerhouse!
Instantly, their cheers for Satoru grew even more fervent and enthusiastic.
The moment Yamamoto drew his Zanpakutō, he stomped his foot, tearing through space itself to appear directly before Satoru.
Satoru grinned and swung his blade to meet the attack.
"Tranquil Slash!!"
"Tranquil Slash!!"