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"Ultimate technique. Ikkō Senjinka!!!"
That calm, confident, yet razor-sharp voice sounded like a divine decree descending from the peak of Mount Olympus itself, officially pronouncing the fall of a false god.
At that moment,
the sheer scale of the sword array, comparable to Seireitei itself, sent the entire world of the Shinigami into another frenzy.
Hueco Mundo. Las Noches.
"That's ridiculous!!!"
"This power… it's basically the absolute limit below the very peak of the Shinigami, isn't it? Who would've thought that deadpan guy would become this terrifying in the future?"
Watching the hundreds of millions of cherry blossom blades spiraling through the air, Zommari gaped in shock, his entire field of vision dyed pink.
Before this, he had been bitter and unconvinced.
He believed that with his strength, there was no way he should have suffered such a crushing defeat against Kuchiki Byakuya.
Even if he lost, escaping with Sonído, the fastest of all, should have been easy.
How could he possibly have been one-shot?
Yet the scene unfolding before his eyes, that sword array worthy of being called a miracle, completely shattered Zommari's lingering resentment. It even made him secretly thankful that he had only encountered an earlier version of Kuchiki Byakuya.
Otherwise, just a single one of those flower blades floating in midair would have erased him without effort.
"No wonder that guy and the ice kid made the list from the start. Their final techniques really do leave you with nothing to argue about…"
Even Grimmjow, the most arrogant and overbearing of them all, who already knew his future self would evolve into a Vasto Lorde, had reined in his usual swagger and accepted it wholeheartedly.
"Now you finally get it, Grimmjow, don't you?" Barragan's hollow, empty voice echoed from atop the platform."Even with Vasto Lorde-level strength, we'd still be nothing special in that future war."
"There's no denying it. None of us really obey Aizen, but his power is unquestionable. It stands above even these two Shinigami."
"So…"
"Our only chance at rebellion lies in whether the ranking reveals the secret of Kyōka Suigetsu."
"That's the key to whether Aizen can be surrounded and killed."
Even with Ulquiorra standing right there, Barragan spoke without restraint, openly stoking the Arrancars' hatred toward Aizen.
By this point, the Skull Emperor's mindset had already gone completely numb.
Whether the Espada were strong or even ranked highly among the Shinigami world, anyone with eyes could tell after watching the ranking videos.
Since they weren't competing for position or clinging to hopes of making the list, their sole reason for watching now was to wait for Aizen's segment.
"I agree with the Skull Emperor…" Yammy said, regaining his confidence as he bared his teeth in a savage grin. "Once he gets ranked, no secret will stay hidden. Kyōka Suigetsu's weakness will be exposed for sure."
"I even think…"
"If Aizen's secrets about ruling Hueco Mundo are revealed ahead of time, the Gotei Thirteen would absolutely hunt him down as a traitor."
Those words instantly lit up the Arrancars' eyes.
Right.
If every secret were laid bare,
Aizen would never be able to remain in Soul Society under his false identity.
What awaited him next would be the collective wrath of every Shinigami executing a traitor.
And at that moment, it would be the perfect time for the Arrancar army to rise up.
"Yammy, just hearing that gets me fired up. Aizen… that Shinigami who's been wearing a mask of hypocrisy for far too long should've been kicked out of Hueco Mundo ages ago!"
Swinging his crescent-shaped scythe, Nnoitra's single eye gleamed with chilling killing intent.
Once Kyōka Suigetsu's secret was cracked, he would be the first to take Aizen's head, venting every ounce of frustration he had endured.
Back to the video.
The inner ring glowed pink, the outer ring blazed white.
With two ultimate techniques unleashed simultaneously, the True World City burst into a riot of colors.
But beneath that beauty, lurking was absolute, lethal intent.
"It's over."
Kuchiki Byakuya waved his hand with confidence.
Countless Senbonzakura blades locked onto the Valkyrie's head and shot forward at full speed.
Headshot. Critical hit.
With absolute zero freezing as support, and the overwhelming concentrated destructive force of Ikkō Senjinka focused on a single point—
"BOOM!!!"
A sound like a planet shattering rang out.
The camera shook violently as the explosion tore through the scene.
And within the blurred, trembling image, the Valkyrie's final state came into view.
"It's gone…"
"The head of that giant Quincy… it's completely gone!!!"
"It worked! Captain Kuchiki, who staked everything on honor, actually did it!"
…
Somewhere in the crowd, no one knew who started it first.
But like falling dominoes, excitement spread through the ranks of the Shinigami.
Cheers erupted across Soul Society, forming a thunderous wave of sound that rolled out from Seireitei to the eastern, western, southern, and northern districts, even reaching the most remote corners of Zaraki District without exception.
At that moment,
Byakuya Kuchiki looked like a savior descended from the heavens.
The bold "Six" stitched onto his captain's haori shone with the pride and glory of the Kuchiki clan.
"Captain Kuchiki, you did it!"
"We finally killed that monster for good!!!"
Nearby, Tōshirō was so worked up that even his breathing turned ragged, excitement spilling out of him.
Still,
After unleashing two ultimate techniques in a row,
His spiritual power was completely drained. He dropped out of Bankai, his body shrinking back into its youthful form.
"You held out this long. That alone is impressive."
Faced with the praise, Byakuya remained calm, his heart unmoved. He felt no pride over having "slain a god."
After all, as a captain of the Gotei Thirteen and the head of the Kuchiki clan, protecting Seireitei and defending the Gotei was his duty. It was also why he had chosen the path of a Soul Reaper in the first place.
There was nothing to boast about.
"So… once this monster's gone, that just leaves Yhwach and his blond attendant, right?" Tōshirō said, dispelling his Bankai and preparing to sheath his sword.
But then—
Boom!!!
A thunderous explosion echoed out.
In the area that had been trapped inside Senbonzakura's blade storm, the ice-crystal body that had shattered after its head was erased was bathed in holy light once more.
Only this time, it wasn't flesh and blood being restored.
It was—
A hollow body forged entirely from sacred light.
"What… what is happening now?!"
Tōshirō turned around with difficulty, staring as one holy cone of light after another gathered in midair.
His mind reeled, his head buzzing as anger flared in his eyes.
It revived again?
At that moment, there was only one thought left in his head, an urge to curse out loud.
"Damn it!!!"
That single word said everything.
It captured his emotions perfectly, and it proved just how absurd the Miracle Man's power really was.
"This is… seriously…"
"Heh. I'm honestly tired. Whatever."
Letting out a dry laugh, Byakuya lowered his hands.
Like Tōshirō, he chose to give up.
It wasn't that they hadn't tried. The problem was that the enemy was basically piloting a Gundam.
Cheating this hard?
How were they supposed to fight that?
The same reaction was playing out across every corner of the Soul Society.
Anyone who witnessed the giant of light rise again, rebuilt from a rain of spirit particles, blurted out the same word without thinking.
"Damn it."
From start to finish, it felt hopeless.
Ten captains gave it everything they had.
Ultimate moves and secret techniques, unleashed again and again.
And the result?
Another ridiculous resurrection.
Enough already!
Did this guy seriously not see Soul Reapers or Arrancar as people?
If not for that indestructible transparent barrier, the furious crowd would have already torn him apart.
And so, amid endless curses and abuse, this round of the tally finally came to an end.
"...'
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