"Oh?" The smile on Tokiomi's face faded slightly. "Truly regrettable yet admirable backbone. However, it doesn't matter anymore."
He lightly clapped his hands.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
In an instant, over a hundred figures emerged from the surroundings. They were all dressed in identical black uniforms without any division insignia.
They wore masks covering their mouths and noses, revealing only a pair of cold, emotionless eyes.
And the weapons they held in their hands were all twisted and bizarre in form, emanating ominous Reiatsu Fluctuations.
"This is... the Bakkoto?" Koga stared in shock at those evil and strange blades, then recalled the destruction of the Kasumioji Clan.
"The Tsunayashiro Clan is the true mastermind behind the Kasumioji Clan? Those forbidden studies, you supported them?"
Tokiomi smiled and nodded. "The Kasumioji Clan was merely the surface-level craftsmen and testing ground. The real core technology, of course, remains in our hands."
He glanced around at those silent, statue-like yet dangerously emanating Bakkoto assassins, finally resting his gaze back on Koga:
"I know your Zanpakuto's ability is bizarre, as it can manipulate the Zanpakuto of others. But if we use Bakkoto, can your manipulation still work?"
As his words fell, he lightly waved his hand.
"Kill."
The command was concise and icy.
Over a hundred Bakkoto assassins, as if released from restraints, erupted with dark purple Reiatsu.
They no longer maintained an encirclement formation, but like a hunting wolf pack, from all angles, with speed and ferocity far exceeding ordinary Shinigami, they pounced on Koga at the center.
Blade light wove a net of death, each strike aimed at vital points, carrying the determination of a fight to the death.
"Since you force me..." The last trace of hesitation in Koga's eyes was overwhelmed by mad resolve. " Mukojochu Muramasa!"
A chaotic and violent Reiatsu Storm swept in all directions, full of corrosiveness.
However, as Tokiomi had said, the evil blades in the hands of those Bakkoto assassins had an internal structure and Reiatsu Circuit completely different from conventional Zanpakuto.
They were more like 'living weapons' crudely fused from fragments of multiple souls, the Reiatsu of Hollows, and forcibly binding incantations.
Muramasa's corrosive power crashed against a strange wall covered in spikes yet slippery and elusive.
Although it could cause violent resistance and Reiatsu Disorder in the Bakkoto, it was difficult to instantly seize control or trigger a major backlash like it could with ordinary Zanpakuto.
'Truly countered...' Koga's heart sank, but his movements were not at all slow.
Since 'subtle seizure' was blocked, he would resort to 'violent forcible seizure'.
"First Precept… Resentment Pierce!" He roared hoarsely.
Reiatsu, like billions of invisible poisonous needles, accompanied by his powerful spiritual energy, madly stabbed towards the assassins swarming in from all directions.
"Oh?" Tokiomi let out a faint exclamation of surprise. "To be able to utilize the power of Bankai so skillfully. It seems your strength has long reached the standard of a Captain."
"That old fossil Kuchiki Ginrei truly lacks discerning judgment, only letting you be a Third Seat. Tsk tsk..."
He shifted his tone, his voice carrying a hint of regretful mockery:
"Unfortunately, my loyal subordinates here, their spirits were repeatedly washed, polluted, and even partially assimilated during their Bakkoto fusion."
"This spiritual pierce of yours, aimed at normal souls, has limited effect on them."
As if to confirm his words, those assassins only paused slightly in their movements before quickly returning to normal, still fearlessly charging forward.
Koga ceased attempting subtle techniques, completely abandoning defense, pouring all his power into offense.
He infused that corrosive, resentful, destructive intent into every strike.
His blade light was like a whirlwind of death, frantically sweeping through the group of assassins.
The sounds of blade cutting flesh, bones breaking, and dying screams were incessant.
Koga was like a fierce tiger trapped in a wolf pack. Wounds constantly accumulated on his body, blood soaking his Shihakusho.
But his eyes grew increasingly crazy and icy cold. With every swing of his blade, he inevitably took one or several lives.
Trading wound for wound, life for life.
He had completely abandoned any thought of survival, leaving only one obsession in his heart.
Kill! Kill all the minions who framed him! Kill until he exhausted his strength and died!
The battle was tragic to the extreme. The wilderness turned into a flesh and blood grinding mill.
The Bakkoto assassins fell one by one, either chopped to pieces, blown apart by the backlash of their own chaotic Bakkoto, or directly corroded and dissolved by Koga's resentment-filled Reiatsu.
When the last assassin was decapitated by Koga's blade, and the headless corpse stumbled and fell...
The only one left standing in the field was Koga, drenched in blood as if pulled from a pool of gore, and Tokiomi, who had merely watched calmly from start to finish, without a speck of dust on him.
Over a hundred elite Bakkoto assassins, completely annihilated.
Tokiomi lightly applauded, the amazement in his eyes undisguised: "Remarkable, truly remarkable. To achieve this while being severely countered and surrounded."
"Single-handedly killing over a hundred rigorously trained elites wielding improved Bakkoto. I admit, I still underestimated your strength."
He slowly walked a few steps closer. "I truly cannot bear to see a genius like you fall here, buried in this wilderness."
"This would not only be your loss, but also the loss of Soul Society. Koga-kun, I ask you one last time. Are you willing to set aside your meaningless persistence and join us?"
"Ha, cough cough." Koga spat out a mouthful of clotted blood mixed with fragments of internal organs. "Join you? Become something like these monsters?"
"Or become you, another more advanced puppet? Dream on! I, Kuchiki Koga, even if I die, will never beg for mercy from you!"
Every word seemed to use the last of his strength.
The regret on Tokiomi's face slowly faded. "In that case, I have no choice but to send you off myself."
"Dying under the blade of the Zanpakuto that my Tsunayashiro Clan has venerated for generations will not disgrace your talent."
He slowly drew the Zanpakuto from his waist.
That blade was simple and ancient in form, its surface as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the light and shadow of blood and fire around them, exuding an indescribable weirdness and mystery.
"This blade is named Enrakyoten." Tokiomi's voice became ethereal and solemn, as if performing some ancient ritual. "Its ability is reflection and overwriting."
He held the blade horizontally before him and chanted the release command in a deep voice:
"Suck In the Four Seas, Perch on the Horizon, All Phenomena are Overwritten and Cut, Enrakyoten!"
The mirror-like blade suddenly lit up with a rainbow-colored, kaleidoscopic, ever-changing light.
Tokiomi felt the blade transmit a sense of all-encompassing 'emptiness' and 'longing'.
He cast his gaze upon Koga, who was almost unable to move, his tone calm yet filled with the confidence of one who controls everything:
"Its ability is simple. It can simulate and reproduce the form and ability of any Zanpakuto I have seen."
"And coincidentally, not long ago, I had the honor of witnessing Captain-Commander Yamamoto's world-destroying power."
"Then, let us use the Captain-Commander's all-incinerating Ryujin Jakka to draw the final period on your rebellious yet brilliant life. To have the opportunity to experience the Captain-Commander's flames, you should be able to rest in peace."