When Senjumaru arrived at the Detached Palace, an apocalyptic scene greeted her eyes.
As the strongest existence in the Zero Division and a special lifeform from a million years ago, Ichibē Hyōsube stood in a sunken magma basin. Countless fissures spread from beneath his feet, covering an area of several kilometers.
On his massive, burly body, a hideous slash mark extended all the way from his left shoulder to his right abdomen.
Though it wasn't deep, it already spoke volumes.
The Monk was injured!
This caused Senjumaru, who had been prepared to fight Ichibē Hyōsube, to freeze in place for a moment. Her eyelashes fluttered, her eyes filled with confusion.
*'Are we sure someone else isn't disguising themselves as Naraku Sora's Reiatsu?'*
In the distance, a mountain of piled rubble suddenly collapsed. A bloodied and mangled figure stepped out from the billowing dust, his posture twisted, with a massive amount of his bones in a shattered state.
No matter how you looked at it, Ichibē Hyōsube was an ultimate powerhouse who had surpassed the limits of the Soul Reaper species. To take his attack head-on and survive was already an absurd display of strength.
Naraku Sora grabbed his twisted left arm and, with a teeth-grinding creak, forcefully snapped it back straight.
What was impossible to ignore was that in just this brief moment...
...the grisly wounds all over his body had already stopped bleeding. His muscle fibers squirmed rapidly like living creatures, healing at an unbelievable speed.
High-Speed Regeneration!
Nimaiya Ōetsu landed at the edge of the battlefield. He looked at Ichibē Hyōsube, then at the rapidly recovering Naraku Sora. His eyes blinked behind his sunglasses, revealing a surprised expression.
*'This kid is a real monster.'*
This level of High-Speed Regeneration was something even some self-Arrancarized Menos Grande might not be able to match. It could only be described as terrifying.
Just as Nimaiya Ōetsu was about to speak, he caught sight of the Monk's expression from the corner of his eye. Seeming to suddenly understand something, the corners of his mouth curled up, and he retreated behind the others.
In the span of a few breaths, the horrific injuries had mostly recovered. The flames of his Reiatsu blazed fiercely once more, shooting into the sky like a pillar of fire and dyeing the heavens crimson.
Like the glow of a setting sun, it bathed the entire Detached Palace.
Watching Naraku Sora walk toward him step by step once again, Ichibē Hyōsube reached out and wiped a hand over his slash wound. The bloodstain vanished, and his cracked skin healed instantly.
It was even more exaggerated than High-Speed Regeneration.
"I must admit, Yamamoto Shigekuni has taught a fine disciple."
"I underestimated you a little, but the more that is true, the less I can allow you to continue growing—unless you agree to my previous demand."
Naraku Sora grinned, revealing his stark white teeth, showing not a hint of discouragement or despair.
Even though the disparity in their strength was so vast that he couldn't see even a sliver of a chance at victory, if he didn't give it his all, how would he know the outcome?
Until he completely collapsed, he would absolutely never admit defeat.
Not only to avoid sitting on that golden toilet, but also to ensure that Aizen wouldn't walk down that predetermined path again.
Since countless things had already changed under the flapping of his butterfly wings, what did one more matter?
The very instant the buzzing sound of Sonído rang out, the Monk clasped his hands together. Several pillars of light formed from Reishi appeared and shot forward, followed closely by thick chains radiating a golden glow.
Bakudō #62・Hyapporankan!
Bakudō #63・Sajō Sabaku!
As an existence at the absolute apex, Ichibē Hyōsube's foundational combat skills had already reached the pinnacle, something other Soul Reapers could only hope to achieve but never reach.
Even high-level Kidō could be cast effortlessly without any incantation or wind-up.
The moment the two great Bakudō descended simultaneously to imprison Naraku Sora, his tyrannical Reiatsu erupted once more. A fierce slash instantly shattered both Hyapporankan and Sajō Sabaku.
Countless Reishi fragments scattered into the air.
Right then, Ichibē Hyōsube grinned, revealing a triumphant smile. He pulled his clasped hands apart, and a massive calligraphy brush appeared out of thin air between his palms.
True, no Soul Reaper had ever reached such heights at Naraku Sora's age, but as someone who had been around since the beginning, he knew this kind of arrogant mindset was absolutely unacceptable.
Young people shouldn't be too hot-blooded!
The giant brush swung down in a vertical slash toward the figure in front of him.
In an instant, the sound of tearing silk echoed through the air, and black ink drops drifted down like rain.
Strangely, what should have been a sure-kill strike dealt no damage at all. Instead, heavy ink stains smeared across Naraku Sora's lean, muscular body.
"This is as far as you go, Sora."
Ichibē Hyōsube looked at the youth, whose expression had slightly changed, and grinned.
"This blade is named Ichimonji. It has existed for who knows how many years, long before the concept of a Zanpakutō even appeared."
"Before Ōetsu, as the God of the Sword, created the Zanpakutō, he even referenced Ichimonji's abilities."
"It cuts names, not flesh."
"Anything struck by this brush will have half of its name cut away, which means it will lose half of its power."
"How is it? The feeling of your body losing its strength—is it exceptionally painful?"
Naraku Sora stood rooted to the spot, instinctively gripping the Zanpakutō in his hand tightly, only to suddenly realize that his knuckles had already turned white.
The sudden onset of weakness made him feel as though he couldn't even grip the hilt.
Yet in reality, he hadn't loosened his grip in the slightest from start to finish.
He had been stripped of half his power in the truest sense.
He couldn't beat the man even in his prime state; now, with only half his strength remaining, the outcome seemed already decided.
Challenging this final boss of the Zero Division at his current stage was still a bit too much of a stretch. Their true strengths were simply not on the same level.
There was once a saying among the higher-ups of the Soul Society: the strength of the Zero Division was greater than the entirety of the Gotei 13 combined.
But this saying was clearly wrong.
In truth, the strength of Ichibē Hyōsube alone surpassed the rest of the Zero Division and the Gotei 13 combined.
The gap in power tiers was so vast that numbers were completely meaningless before him.
"Is this as far as I go?"
Naraku Sora grinned, revealing stark white teeth. Materialized black Reiatsu clung to his body, radiating a heart-palpitating power outward.
The solidified Reiatsu continued to spread, wrapping around the blade and giving it a pitch-black appearance.
But immediately after, a magma-like fissure surfaced on it, and a dormant aura abruptly erupted.
"Although I can't fully release it."
"During the process of getting beaten up so many times, I also figured out a little trick. Through the enhancement of Hollowfication, I can allow my soul to briefly break past its current limits."
"And then barely reach that realm worthy of being recorded in the annals of history."
As his voice fell, golden-red fissures spread across the blade. Pitch-black branches grew from the sword, continuously extending and intertwining outward.
An abyss-like crimson settled in the center of the blade, emitting a distorted radiance.
The surrounding air began to distort, causing his body to take on a blurred form.
This was a sign that it was difficult to control.
Naraku Sora rushed rapidly into the sky, gripping the twisted giant blade. The muscles on his arms bulged as all his strength poured into it, his joints letting out dull sounds like grinding metal.
His cold gaze stared downward.
Seeing this scene, Ichibē Hyōsube's eyes lit up. He raised the brush in his hand, preparing to meet the attack.
An ability whose name was completely unknown.
Even though Naraku Sora presented its power completely before his eyes, the Monk still couldn't see its true name. He could only feel that terrifying power that seemed to oppose the world itself.
The broad blade was raised and, amidst a ferocious smile, slashed downward.
The next moment.
It was as if the mute button had been pressed on the world. All sound was erased as pitch-black light surged down. In an instant, the earth turned into a tyrannical ocean, abruptly kicking up layers of overlapping ripples.
Dazzling, intense light shot up from the ground, and a hideous mushroom cloud slowly bloomed amidst the sweeping gales.
Endless light and heat wantonly devoured everything in sight.
At the edge of the Detached Palace, Aizen and Ukitake Jūshirō arrived belatedly.
Because the two of them had used the transportation between the Detached Palaces, their arrival speed was a bit slower than Senjumaru and Nimaiya Ōetsu's.
But because of this, they happened to witness the exact moment destruction was born.
A familiar figure stood in the sky beneath an inverted sea of fire, unleashing a final strike. Like a meteorite falling from the heavens, it trailed a burning tail of flames.
And then, it mercilessly pierced through the earth below!
More than half of the Detached Palace was reduced to ruins. Even the massive disc-shaped structure was blasted into a state of collapse, plummeting into the azure sky below.
Because Naraku Sora's body struggled to withstand this power, both his bones and flesh let out groans of being overwhelmed. Extreme agony ravaged his nerves.
But he acted as if nothing was wrong, allowing his High-Speed Regeneration to heal him while keeping his eyes glued to the continuously spreading smoke.
Strictly speaking, this couldn't be considered a complete Bankai; at most, it was half-released.
Because Naraku Sora couldn't call out its true name either.
However, even so, it still displayed a destructive power far surpassing anything before.
Suddenly, a fierce wind kicked up, wiping away the dust. The Monk's burly figure appeared in everyone's line of sight.
Looking only slightly disheveled but having suffered no real injuries, Ichibē Hyōsube reached up to rub his bald head. He waved the giant brush in his hand and sighed with some emotion.
"Truly terrifying. If you were allowed to perfectly control this power, even I would find it troublesome."
"Fortunately, there is still time. Let me have you experience true despair."
Seeing that the two were about to erupt into battle once more, Aizen's gaze instantly turned extremely cold. He immediately prepared to draw his blade and join the fray.
However, before he could make his next move, Ukitake Jūshirō beside him reached out and grabbed him.
"Third Seat Aizen, you are no match for Ichibē Hyōsube."
"Let me handle this."
Aizen turned to look, only to see Ukitake Jūshirō draw the Zanpakutō at his waist. An inexplicable pressure abruptly surged upward, and a profound pitch-blackness spread from his body.
In an instant, the light of his Reiatsu erupted. A massive, dazzling pillar of light shot straight into the sky, attracting everyone's attention.
Within the intense light, a deathly still darkness surged out mightily like viscous blood, sketching the symbol of a giant eye in the sky above.
The heavy ink-like color spread until it covered everything.
Ukitake Jūshirō gripped his sword with both hands, his expression resolute and unwavering.
Back when facing Tsunayashiro Taketori and Gosuke, Naraku Sora hadn't backed down in the slightest, saving Squad 13—including him—at a critical juncture.
Now, as his senior martial brother, let him uphold the final defense for his junior brother.
"Mimihagi, please detach and release the power of the Divine Eye buried within my lungs!"
The low voice echoed across the battlefield, causing everyone to look over. All other powers were completely suppressed at this moment.
Upon seeing that god-like figure standing tall between heaven and earth, a smile slowly surfaced on Ichibē Hyōsube's face.
Finally, the moment he had been waiting for had arrived...
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