BOOOOM—!!
In an instant, Yammy fully transformed into the legendary wrath-beast—power born from rage itself.
His body swelled dozens of times larger than before. From a distance, he looked less like a living creature and more like a colossal beast-shaped mountain.
He threw back his head and roared, fangs bared, fury spilling out of him as he stomped down—
The wasteland shattered beneath his foot.
"HAH!"
"This feeling… this pleasure that comes with exploding power…"
"It's really making me happy."
As his monstrous form stabilized, Yammy's appearance changed completely.
The white bone mask that once clung to his lower jaw had reshaped into a brutal set of interlocking, razor-edged fangs. Black bone spurs jutted from his arms, and a massive tail swung behind him like a wrecking ball—each sway stirring up waves of dust that rose like cliffs.
Most terrifying of all were the twelve massive limb-like supports beneath his grotesque lower body.
He didn't even need to build momentum.
A light tap to the ground—
And the earth of the Zaraki District split into jagged fractures like shattered glass.
"Ulquiorra…"
"You were right."
"Once the number carved into my shoulder changes…"
"Once I evolve into the strongest—the Espada Number Zero…"
"I won't be afraid of that trash Shinigami called Bai Chen ever again!!!"
Everything was different now.
As his power multiplied, Yammy's confidence ballooned with it.
Before, when he looked at the Great Fire Extinguishing Fan, fear had flashed in his eyes. He'd hidden behind Ulquiorra, barking like a coward borrowing someone else's fangs.
But now—
As the Wrath Beast itself—
Yammy felt absolute certainty.
If Bai Chen tried that same Exploding Wind Storm-Dance again, Yammy believed he could snuff it out with a single breath.
Hell—
He could blow Bai Chen out of the sky along with the flames.
"Yammy… as you wish."
"Go."
"Let your anger run wild."
Ulquiorra remained calm, one hand still tucked in his pocket. Yet as he spoke, he stepped aside—cold and detached—clearly intending to let Yammy take control of the battle.
"Ulquiorra…"
"Just watch!"
"It won't take long!"
"I'll smash Bai Chen into the dirt!!!"
Yammy took a single step forward.
He didn't even force it—
And yet the ground convulsed as though a magnitude-ten quake had detonated beneath them.
A towering wall of dust and debris exploded upward, hundreds of meters high, blotting out the horizon.
The Shinigami—already far beyond the battlefield—felt a fresh wave of despair tighten around their throats.
"This is insane…!!!"
"An Arrancar's true form can become this huge?!"
"And did he just say he's the strongest Espada?!"
"What does 'Zero' even mean?!"
Even while choking under the pressure, the Shinigami still caught the meaning buried inside Yammy's words.
In the crowd, Chōjirō Sasakibe frowned deeply, his mind racing.
"Espada…"
"A mysterious numbered ranking…"
"Is this… a system of status and power among Hollows and Arrancar?"
And then he realized something else.
He had seen it clearly.
During Yammy's transformation, the number carved into his arm had changed—from 10… to 0.
If the Espada were ranked in ascending order…
How could the lowest suddenly leap to the very top?
That kind of surge was beyond unreasonable.
"Old Shinigami…"
"Stop obsessing over pointless details," Ikkaku snapped, his face grim.
"Right now you'd better pray your reinforcements arrive fast."
"I don't think Bai Chen can hold back a monster like that."
His tone was sharp, impatient.
If he'd been confident earlier, Yammy's released form shattered that confidence in a heartbeat.
Because what stood before them now wasn't something you fought.
It was something that ended you.
A creature that could cause an earthquake just by stepping—
Even if the entire purification unit attacked together until their blades curled and shattered…
Ikkaku honestly believed they'd be doing nothing more than scratching an itch.
That beast wouldn't break. It wouldn't bleed.
It wouldn't even notice.
And yet—
On Ikkaku's shoulder, the small girl with pink hair was still smiling.
Kusajishi Yachiru swung her legs cheerfully and said in a bright, childish voice:
"You're all just busy being scared of the big monster…"
"But… it's not guaranteed, you know."
Her words carried across the stunned group.
"Because you didn't notice Bai Chen's face."
"Ever since that monster showed up…"
"He's been getting more excited."
The effect was immediate.
Everyone's eyes widened.
"…What?"
"Did she say Bai Chen is excited?!"
They turned—synchronized—staring up into the sky.
Their gaze fixed on Bai Chen's profile.
And sure enough—
He was calm.
More than calm—
The corner of his mouth was lifted in an amused smile, as if he were looking at something entertaining rather than terrifying.
"He's… smiling?!"
"At a time like this, he's actually provoking the enemy?!"
"He really isn't afraid of that Wrath Beast at all!"
It was so absurd that some of them thought they were hallucinating.
But Bai Chen's expression didn't change.
He didn't look down on Yammy outright—
But his eyes were relaxed.
Bright.
Like he'd just been handed a new toy.
"I'm starting to think…"
"We won't even need reinforcements," Yumichika murmured, eyes gleaming.
"That man… could play the savior all by himself."
Seireitei — 12th Division, Research & Development Institute
"Captain Mayuri…!"
"Are you serious?!"
"You're really not going to report this to the First Division?!"
"The purification unit has already sent emergency distress calls!"
Akōn's voice echoed sharply in the silent office, panic breaking through his restraint.
He had received the rescue signal through the communicator.
He'd rushed to Mayuri with the report—
And watched in disbelief as Mayuri rejected it instantly, without hesitation.
"Hmm?"
"Do you think that's inappropriate?"
"Or are you questioning my judgment?"
The hollow, rasping voice slipped out from behind the blue-and-white mask.
Mayuri didn't even lift his head as he stared at Akōn—
But his words hit like scalpels.
Akōn froze.
His mouth opened, but nothing came out.
He wanted to argue.
He wanted to insist.
But in the end, he couldn't force out a single syllable.
"Akōn."
"I know exactly what you're afraid of."
Mayuri gave a low, amused snort, then continued with chilling calm.
"Do you remember my previous analysis?"
"That Bai Chen has likely awakened a second Zanpakutō?"
Akōn nodded stiffly, eyes tightening.
"I'm not refusing aid out of cruelty."
"It's simply because…"
"This is a rare opportunity."
Mayuri's voice grew warmer—far too warm.
Excitement bled through every word.
"If my hypothesis is correct…"
"If Bai Chen truly awakened a fire-type Zanpakutō…"
"Then a man who possesses two overwhelmingly powerful Zanpakutō…"
"Should be fully capable of defeating those two Arrancar alone."
"Perhaps even…"
"Killing them."
In that moment, Mayuri didn't look like a captain.
He looked like a fanatic.
A worshipper of data.
He was practically trembling with anticipation for Wood Dragon—and the still-unmeasured power of Great Fire Extinguishing Fan.
That was why he dared to conceal the invasion report.
Because in Mayuri's mind—
No reinforcements were needed.
Bai Chen and his dual Zanpakutō could suppress two Espada by themselves.
Akōn finally understood.
His lips parted, stunned.
But seeing the feverish gleam in Mayuri's eyes, he swallowed his words and fell silent.
Back to the Zaraki District Battlefield
BOOOOM—!!
Yammy's colossal body towered into the clouds. Each step shook the land for hundreds of meters.
He looked down at Bai Chen the way one looks at an insect—something you crush without thinking.
His grin widened, arrogance blazing.
"Bai Chen, is it?"
"Tell me…"
"How should I kill you?"
"If I crush your bones and throw you from the sky…"
"Those fleeing Shinigami would probably piss themselves in terror."
His eyes bulged, greedy, imagining endless ways to torture him.
But Bai Chen didn't answer with insults.
He didn't trade words at all.
Instead—
His free hand moved to his waist.
And with a clean, decisive draw—
He pulled out the sheathed blade that had remained untouched until now.
Wood Dragon.
"Yammy."
"The only reason you're acting smug now…"
"The only reason you think you can stand in front of me…"
"Is because you're relying on that oversized body and brute strength, isn't it?"
His voice was calm.
No mockery.
Yet somehow it sounded more dismissive than laughter.
Bai Chen brought the blade upright before him.
His reiatsu shifted.
And in the next heartbeat, he recited the release:
"Wood that pierces the heavens. Earth that shakes the ground."
"Wind of nature. Forests that move with the clouds."
"Unleash the power of nature…"
"Wood Dragon."
A surge of green reiatsu erupted, roaring along the blade like a living current.
It spilled into the scorched earth and ignited a strange, dark emerald glow—like life forcing its way through ash.
Bai Chen's voice carried through the rolling clouds with effortless authority:
"You foolish Wrath Beast…"
"Do you really think you're the only one who can grow bigger?"
"Come."
"Experience it properly."
"Being beaten down…"
"By a Wood Golem far larger than you could ever imagine."
The air trembled.
The sky seemed to hold its breath.
Wood Dragon flared—brilliant, verdant, overwhelming.
And Bai Chen spoke a name he had never used before, his tone like a verdict:
"Descend—"
"Giant Wood Golem!"
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