Many centuries later, a divine physicist named Einstein would emerge. He once proposed: "Time, space, and matter cannot be explained in isolation."
Yamabuki had once vaguely guessed that his Bankai was likely related to time-based abilities, only he hadn't expected to be right.
Good! He had already deciphered the opponent's ability, but how should this battle be fought?
Why could Jotaro Kujo defeat Dio Brando?
It wasn't because Star Platinum had A-rank power and speed.
Jotaro Kujo won because "it's the same type of Stand as mine," and then copied the "Shikai" skill "The world," which then reversed the situation.
In other words, the only thing that can defeat time stop is time stop.
This is the simplest, yet most despair-inducing ability.
Other things like Space Removal or Time Reversal might look flashy, but in reality, they are useless. As long as the time stop ability lasts long enough, what can Made in Heaven do? Get down here and die!
When Yamabuki understood his Bankai ability, cold sweat seeped from his forehead. How could he break time stop without possessing time abilities himself?
This was simply an unsolvable problem!
No wonder the Soul King said that his Bankai could, to a certain extent, counterbalance The Almighty.
Even if Yhwach was powerful, he couldn't control time.
When facing Yhwach, even if time stop only lasted for five seconds, with his swordsmanship, he could finely mince the opponent into ground meat, wrap him into wontons, and share them for everyone to eat.
Oh, right, my Gotei 13 doesn't eat people.
This same difficult problem was also before him: how could he defeat this Bankai Sword Spirit who controlled the power of time?
"There are many ways to play with time, don't rush, I'll show you one by one!" The Bankai Sword Spirit laughed loudly and slashed with her sword. Yamabuki, in utter helplessness, could only use Silver Radiance Angel to block. However, as soon as their blades collided, Yamabuki clearly felt his right thigh and left waist being pierced simultaneously, and blood gushed out!
"This is… Did you activate time stop again just now?" Yamabuki retreated while healing his wounds.
"No, this is just one of the simplest of my abilities. I call it Asura Three Lifetimes Sword! It can launch attacks simultaneously from three points in time: past, present, and future. Even if you can block the present sword, you can't block the past and future swords. How about that! Isn't it fun?" The Bankai Sword Spirit said with narrowed eyes and a smile.
Yamabuki's face was pale as he continuously retreated.
His mood was very strange.
It was like playing a game, knowing that if he passed this level, he would get divine equipment, and the subsequent levels would be a breeze, but the boss of this level was just too strong; he couldn't beat it!
The Bankai Sword Spirit looked at Yamabuki's desperate expression and smiled even more happily, swinging her sword to stab him!
This time, Yamabuki was too lazy to defend. Anyway, no matter how he defended, he couldn't block it, so he simply activated Blut Vene Anhaben and Steel Skin. However, the Bankai Sword Spirit's spiritual pressure was on the same level as his. Steel Skin and Blut Vene Anhaben only slightly reduced the damage he took. His body was still pierced, and it was utterly useless.
This time, the crimson short sword pierced his arm.
"Do you know why there's a phrase in Bankai language called 'Flowers Bloom in an Instant'?" the Bankai Sword Spirit asked.
"I don't know! And I don't want to know!" Yamabuki vaguely remembered that this seemed to be the name of a divine ability from ancient China, using the instantaneous blooming and wilting of flowers to symbolize absolute control over time.
Wait, time? The blooming and wilting of flowers?
An ominous premonition surged in Yamabuki's heart. He looked at his pierced arm, only to see it withering at an indescribable speed.
And this withering was spreading towards his body.
Yamabuki decisively cut off his arm with one strike. At this moment, the severed arm had turned to dust and completely disappeared due to the flow of time being accelerated by tens of thousands of times.
"You're not going to kill me, are you?" Yamabuki was drenched in cold sweat. High-speed regeneration activated, and his severed arm instantly healed. But Yamabuki knew that if the opponent used this super-time acceleration ability when piercing his heart with the sword, he would surely die, with no possibility of survival.
By now, the Bankai Sword Spirit had already displayed three abilities.
They were Time Stop, Asura Three Lifetimes Sword, and Super Time Acceleration.
Forget three abilities, if he could just master one of them proficiently, he could go head-to-head with Yhwach!
But the biggest problem now was, how could he defeat the Bankai Sword Spirit in front of him?
This was a completely unsolvable problem!
Unless he could also awaken Bankai.
But without defeating the Bankai Sword Spirit, he couldn't achieve Bankai, and without Bankai, he couldn't defeat the Bankai Sword Spirit—a perfect closed loop.
"It looks like you're refusing to struggle? Just obediently stick your head out and let me chop you once. Give up! With your current strength, you can't win against me," the Bankai Sword Spirit said indifferently.
"There's no reason. You are a part of my body; there's no reason for you to be stronger than me! Vollständig!" Yamabuki directly pulled out his last trump card, activating his Vollständig state. The eight wings behind him began to rapidly devour the surrounding spiritual energy, and his spiritual pressure also rapidly increased.
The Bankai Sword Spirit sighed and said: "Did you misunderstand something? My ability is indeed very strong, and it's not an exaggeration to describe it as the strongest. However, a strong ability doesn't mean my base stats are weaker than yours! Vollständig!"
The Bankai Sword Spirit activated an identical Vollständig.
The appearance of their Vollständig forms was almost identical, only the colors of their wings and halos differed. Yamabuki's wings and color leaned more towards cyan-blue, while the Bankai Sword Spirit's wings and halo were crimson.
"Cero!" Yamabuki extended his hand and fired a silver-white Cero. The Bankai Sword Spirit also extended her hand and fired a scarlet Cero.
The two spiritual pressures collided, evenly matched!
The Bankai Sword Spirit and Yamabuki had identical base stats, but the Bankai Sword Spirit possessed a more powerful special ability.
Yamabuki intended to suppress the opponent with close-quarters combat, but he never expected that the Bankai Sword Spirit's various abilities were all on par with his own. Whether it was swordsmanship, spiritual pressure, or unarmed combat ability, she could match him evenly. Coupled with her ability to control time, this was a battle without suspense.
"Time, stop flowing, Scarlet World!"
A blood-red light erupted from the crimson short sword in the Bankai Sword Spirit's hand. In an instant, the entire world stopped flowing.
Yamabuki froze there, motionless. The Sword Spirit came to Yamabuki's front with a cheerful smile, intending to pierce Yamabuki's chest with one strike.
However, at this crucial moment…