The Monk's Trump Card
Seireitei, Squad 1 Barracks.
Yamamoto sat cross-legged under the veranda, watching the *shishi-odoshi* in the pond clack as the water murmured softly.
A Zanpakutō was thrust into the fire pit beside him, where a tea kettle bubbled above it, filling the courtyard with a light, fragrant tea scent.
It was a scene of profound tranquility.
Although the noisy voice of his rebellious disciple was no longer in his ears, Yamamoto's heart could not settle down at this moment.
Even though Naraku Sora hadn't explicitly stated what he was going to the Soul King Palace to demand, intuition told him that things were definitely not that simple.
Considering his rebellious disciple's ability to stir up storms in the Soul Society, Yamamoto was somewhat worried that the brat would clash with the Zero Division.
However, the Zero Division included Shutara Senjumaru, who had been promoted a few years ago, Kirio Hikifune, who had just ascended to the Soul King Palace, as well as Nimaiya Ōetsu and Kirinji Tenjirō, who both appreciated Naraku Sora.
Even if Hyōsube Ichibē disliked the kid, it shouldn't escalate to the point of a physical altercation.
At worst, they would just deport Naraku Sora back to the Soul Society using the Tenchūren.
Thinking of this, Yamamoto couldn't help but rub his temples. *'I just hope there won't be any acci—'*
However, right at that moment, a terrifying Reiatsu descended from the heavens above. Like the sky and earth overturning, it instantly spread throughout the entire Soul Society.
The expression on Yamamoto's face instantly froze. He abruptly stood up from the veranda, and in the next fraction of a second, he appeared at the highest point of the barracks.
Sasakibe Chōjirō, who was watering the flowers, also noticed the anomaly and subconsciously looked toward the direction the Reiatsu was coming from.
There was nothing.
Within his limited line of sight, he couldn't spot a single abnormality.
But this Reiatsu was incredibly familiar, as if he encountered it on a regular basis.
Suddenly, Sasakibe Chōjirō's expression also stiffened, and he subconsciously reached up to rub his face.
Spending all day with Lord Genryūsai had made his thinking a bit rigid, turning him into a muddled old man.
*'Isn't this the Reiatsu of that damn Naraku Sora kid?'*
After figuring out the crux of the matter, the elegant old gentleman prepared to continue his great task of watering the flowers, but then, his movements paused for a moment.
*'Wait, didn't Naraku Sora go to the Soul King Palace?!'*
*'Then where is this Reiatsu coming from?'*
Sasakibe Chōjirō subconsciously looked up at the sky, and then he saw a tiny point of light continuously enlarging in his vision.
At the same time, the Soul Reapers in the Seireitei stopped their work one after another, instinctively looking up at the sky.
Faintly, they seemed to feel something rapidly approaching the Seireitei.
Shino Prison, inside a certain courtyard.
Aizen stood quietly, seemingly sensing something.
The moment that familiar Reiatsu appeared, he subconsciously looked at the sky.
*'What happened?'*
*'Aren't there seventy-two layers of Kidō barriers between the Soul Society and the Soul King Palace? How can I suddenly sense this guy's Reiatsu?'*
Before long, Aizen saw a "meteor" plummeting from the direction of the Soul King Palace toward the Seireitei. Its speed was so fast that the friction with the air even generated a massive amount of flames.
Seeing this scene, Aizen's expression didn't change much, but a flash of irrepressible shock crossed his eyes.
*'That is—'*
*'Hyōsube Ichibē?!'*
Above the zenith, a deafening explosion swept through the entire Soul King Palace. The terrifying shockwave instantly sent Kirinji Tenjirō, who was closest, flying backward.
He crashed heavily into the newly raised Gatonden, shaking loose countless pieces of rubble.
But at this moment, the others could no longer pay attention to Kirinji Tenjirō; their focus was entirely drawn to the sight below the Omotesandō.
A massive void had appeared in the originally transparent barrier, extending all the way down with no end in sight.
Above the void, a figure enveloped in terrifying Reiatsu stood tall in the sky like a demon god, looking down upon everything.
Naraku Sora glanced at the shattered barrier, then at Hyōsube Ichibē, who had disappeared from sight. "Hmph, trying to escape?!"
The next second, he dove downward, erupting with a muffled hum as he instantly vanished from his spot.
Looking in the direction he disappeared, the remaining members of the Zero Division exchanged glances, all seeing complex emotions in each other's eyes.
They had thought the Manako Oshō, Hyōsube Ichibē, was already invincible in this world, but they hadn't expected there to be someone even stronger.
And it was a Soul Reaper they were all familiar with.
Staring at the shattered sea of clouds below, Kirio Hikifune remained silent for a few seconds before looking at Shutara Senjumaru, whom she was more familiar with, and asked, "Will he win?"
Senjumaru's expression was also somewhat bewildered at this moment.
It hadn't been long since she last saw Naraku Sora. Back then, he was still weak—so weak that Hyōsube Ichibē could have completely crushed him with just a little bit of effort.
Yet, upon their second meeting, the roles of attacker and defender had completely reversed.
While the two were conversing, Nimaiya Ōetsu beside them pulled out a Zanpakutō from who-knows-where and thrust it straight into the space in front of him.
With a twist of his wrist, something resembling a doorway appeared before them.
"Whether he can win or not, we'll know once we go take a look."
"I've set enough time for the [Chōkaimon]. Let's go."
As his words fell, he snatched off his sunglasses, which had cracked from the aftermath of the battle, and was the first to step into the [Chōkaimon].
Senjumaru followed closely behind without a word.
A flash of golden light streaked across the sky as Kirinji Tenjirō charged straight in.
Looking at the glowing [Chōkaimon], Kirio Hikifune's expression was exceptionally bewildered.
*'I've only been at the Soul King Palace for a day, right?'*
*'Why am I already heading back to the Soul Society?'*
Seeing that the [Chōkaimon] was about to close, Kirio Hikifune delayed no further and used Flash Step to enter it.
BOOM—!!!
An earth-shattering tremor erupted. The ground turned into a violent ocean, and everything as far as the eye could see was swept up in rippling waves of destruction.
Buildings collapsed and were obliterated, rock formations surged and churned, and the Kidō barriers instantly shattered under the impact of the shockwave.
A mushroom cloud connecting heaven and earth rose on the outskirts of the Seireitei, drawing countless horrified gazes. Scorching winds howled past, making it feel as if the end of the world had arrived.
Once the aftermath subsided, Kyōraku Shunsui, being the Soul Reaper Captain closest to the epicenter, arrived immediately and craned his neck to look toward the center of the explosion.
—
"Hiss..."
Ahead of him, countless buildings had vanished into thin air, replaced by a massive, abyssal sinkhole. Looking down from above, it looked as if a giant wok had been sunken into the Seireitei.
The terrain had been permanently altered.
The most eye-catching thing, however, was the battered and broken body in the center of the crater. His skin was cracked, revealing dark golden bones, and his flesh was mutilated, looking exceptionally gruesome.
What was even more surprising was that such horrific injuries, which would have long killed any other Soul Reaper, didn't seem to affect the burly figure much.
Reiatsu surged over him, rapidly repairing the missing parts.
"Cough!"
Hyōsube Ichibē coughed up a mouthful of blood and stood up from the deep pit. He ignored Kyōraku Shunsui approaching from a distance and simply raised his head to look up at the sky.
He had already sensed it—that rapidly approaching Reiatsu.
Just as Kyōraku Shunsui was about to open his mouth to ask something, he suddenly raised his head, looking up at the sky with a shocked expression.
Another meteor was rapidly approaching.
When he detected that familiar Reiatsu, he instantly figured out the entire sequence of events.
Without any hesitation, Kyōraku Shunsui immediately turned around, using his Reiatsu to amplify his voice. "Get away from here!"
"I repeat, get away immediately!"
Under his urgent urging, the Soul Reapers fled in panic, getting as far away from the blast radius as possible.
Kyōraku Shunsui, however, stayed nearby, looking solemnly at the figure in the pit. Just as he was about to speak, his gaze suddenly froze.
He saw the monk tightly gripping a white brush with both hands, waving it in front of him.
The next second, endless darkness spread across the sky, like thick ink blooming in water.
"Oh, evening darkness, oh, evening darkness, come hither."
"Come and meet everyone—"
Amidst the boundless darkness, Hyōsube Ichibē's figure became increasingly profound, as if shrouded by a quagmire, heavy and solemn.
In the distance, the Soul Reapers discovered in horror that their Shishakushō were turning white at a visible rate, as if their color was being drained away by something.
At the same time, Naraku Sora plunged dead center into the quagmire-like darkness, emitting a popping sound.
As soon as he entered, he realized that his surroundings had changed.
It wasn't the ruins he had seen from the outside, but a space—or rather, a world—of pure black.
Even with Naraku Sora's current level of vision, he still couldn't see where the darkness ended.
But soon, a melodious and solemn chant broke into his ears. A ring of white ripples spread through the darkness, and Hyōsube Ichibē, holding a large bowl in his hands, was conducting a bizarre ritual.
Ink fell into the bowl and was slowly drunk by the monk.
"—Build a gravestone for him, mourn for him. So that he may never be reborn again, so that he may never again become our sacrifice."
In the darkness, Hyōsube Ichibē clapped his hands together with a sharp smack, his pure white eyes staring fixedly at Naraku Sora in the distance.
The giant brush stood upright in front of him.
"Futen Taisatsuryō!!"
The moment his words fell, the pitch-blackness beneath their feet collapsed. A massive black mausoleum rose from the ground, towering within the endless darkness. Countless tombstones emerged in front of it, exuding a suffocating heaviness.
The boundless darkness seemed to turn into a tidal wave, continuously crashing against Naraku Sora's Reiatsu, attempting to shatter his defenses and absorb the blackness from his body.
"Now this is getting a bit interesting."
"Oh, you don't seem to fear my Futen Taisatsuryō."
Hyōsube Ichibē grinned. "But if you knew the true power of Futen Taisatsuryō, would you still be able to remain so calm?"
"I have borrowed all the black within the Soul Society."
"Within the domain of Futen Taisatsuryō, everything will be blackened by the power of 'Ichimonji'."
"Anything that is blackened will instantly crumble and turn into nothingness!"
Hearing this, the corners of Naraku Sora's mouth curled up. "I only know one thing, and that is your rules are useless against me!"
"Right now, the key to deciding the victor is raw stats!"
The moment his words fell, black and red lightning instantly erupted, transforming into an endless ocean that shattered the blackness beneath his feet, spreading all the way toward the tombstones!