"So hot!"

"It's almost like facing the sun."

"Is this Bankai—the strongest Shinigami in a thousand years?"

"You can't even get close to him!"

When Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni released his Bankai and gripped the Zanka no Tachi in his hand, even at a distance, every Shinigami felt a blazing heat unlike anything before—enough to engulf the entire Soul Society.

It wasn't just the moisture in the air evaporating bit by bit.

Byakuya Kuchiki, Shihōin Yoruichi, Tōsen Kaname, and the others were horrified to realize that even the blood in their bodies was gradually evaporating, forcing them to use Reiatsu to resist.

But as they resisted, their Reiatsu was being constantly consumed.

In other words—so long as Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni's Bankai was active, even if he stood motionless, with time alone, every Shinigami in Soul Society would lose all moisture and be steamed alive.

"Go to hell!"

Yamamoto's unwavering eyes pierced through Susanoo, towering a hundred meters high, and locked onto Aiyan, who stood between its brows.

"What are you trying to say?" Aiyan asked coldly.

"If you've been to the Human World, you should have seen the sun."

Yamamoto's voice was steady, each word like iron:

"Do not doubt it."

"I am the sun."

"The sun of Soul Society."

Before his words even finished, he had already vanished into Shunpo. Empowered by Bankai, his Reiatsu had soared to terrifying heights, and his speed was several times greater than when using Shikai.

With just one step, he appeared directly before Aiyan, his Zanka no Tachi dragging a charred sword light that distorted the very space it cut through, leaving behind a black fissure. He swung the blade in a sweeping arc—its pressure overwhelming.

"Susanoo: One-Sword Shinigami Kneels."

Aiyan's eyes flashed. Reiatsu flared to its fullest, allowing him to see through Yamamoto's movements.

Susanoo raised its twin blades, unleashing a storm of sword pressure so immense that even ordinary Shinigami would be forced to their knees. Susanoo brought its swords crashing down toward Yamamoto's blazing blade.

Boom—!

But there was no time for an actual clash.

The Zanka no Tachi—its appearance like a charred stick—instantly turned the storm of sword pressure into wisps of Reiatsu smoke and erased it without a trace.

Then—

Clang!

When the blades finally collided, there was no thunderous roar, only a piercing metallic screech that made one's scalp crawl.

Two blades—vastly different in size and proportion—met. At the moment of contact, Susanoo's Reiatsu-forged sword, hardened by Busōshoku Reiatsu and infused with Haōshoku Reiatsu, disintegrated instantly into ashes, erased completely as though it had never existed.

"Do you understand now?" Yamamoto's voice was calm, unshaken.

"The gap between you and me is not something Reiatsu can make up for."

"What you face is the Zanka no Tachi—the core of the sun itself."

He showed no surprise, as though he had foreseen this result.

"Aiyan, your power is meaningless before my Zanka no Tachi."

"Of course, if you still haven't given up, you may try Shunpo and Hakuda again."

"Zanjutsu, Kido, Hakuda and Hohō, even your swordsmanship—you may try them all. But you would do well not to harbor unrealistic hopes. The result will not change."

He even taunted Aiyan, inviting him to test Hakuda and Shunpo.

Shup—!

The next moment, Aiyan vanished along with Susanoo, reappearing behind Yamamoto.

This time, he didn't conjure a Reiatsu sword or unleash a Bijūdama. Instead, he struck with a bare fist.

"Susanoo: Daytime Tiger!"

Channeling the Eighth Gate through Susanoo, Aiyan drove forward a colossal punch—Reiatsu Daytime Tiger, larger than a mountain, tearing through the sky as it bore down on Yamamoto.

Yet—

Against the overwhelming pressure of Daytime Tiger, strong enough to twist even the heavens, Yamamoto—the strongest Shinigami of the millennium—did not even bother turning. He simply pointed Zanka no Tachi forward.

The charred blade met the colossal fist.

In an instant, Daytime Tiger's world-rending pressure dissipated into nothing, leaving behind only faint wisps of smoke.

Shup—!

With Daytime Tiger erased, Yamamoto disappeared, moving faster than lightning. Without so much as a visible step, he appeared directly before Aiyan, as if teleporting.

Zanka no Tachi descended—not with force, but with a deceptively casual tap, like striking Susanoo's forehead with a stick.

Hiss—!

Susanoo's armor, wings, body, and even the crystalline Reiatsu shielding Aiyan melted away like butter in magma, all reduced to ashes under the faint fire-smoke of Zanka no Tachi.

In the face of a sword radiating 15 million degrees, even spirit particles were annihilated—burned and erased without leaving a trace.

"I don't like you standing higher than me. I don't like you looking down on me."

"It's much better now."

With a single strike, Yamamoto reduced Susanoo to nothingness. His ancient, gravelly voice carried a hint of grim satisfaction.

"Seventh Gate—used even with Susanoo—is still inferior."

"As expected of Zanka no Tachi."

"Among all Zanpakutō hailed as the strongest, its ability to crush an enemy head-on is unmatched."

Stripped of Susanoo's protection and left exposed before Yamamoto's Bankai, Aiyan did not panic. Instead, he looked with fascination at the charred blade in his opponent's hand—the Soul Society's most fearsome weapon.

Yes.

Only Ryūjin Jakka's Bankai—transformed into Zanka no Tachi—was the true strongest attack power of Soul Society.

"It seems you admire this sword quite a lot. That's good." Yamamoto's voice was flat.

"I'll use it to erase you completely."

"Disappear from Soul Society, leaving not even a trace you ever existed."

He raised Zanka no Tachi.

In the same breath, his body and blade became a blazing black shadow, faster than lightning, closing the distance instantly.

With Bankai's amplification, Yamamoto's Shunpo now outstripped Aiyan's, overwhelming him utterly.

As the blade fell, Aiyan could only draw his Zanpakutō in haste to intercept.

Clang—!

The blades clashed. A torrent of sword pressure—15 million degrees—erupted, flooding Aiyan's blade. The steel glowed red-hot, then blackened, burned to ash.

It was as though Yamamoto sought to repay the humiliation of having Ryūjin Jakka broken—by reducing Aiyan's Zanpakutō to cinders with his own hands.

Not only that—the sunlike pressure continued to spread, devouring his hand, forearm, and creeping across his entire arm.

Clang—!

The heat of the sun's core pressed down. For the first time, Aiyan frowned, as though he could not even withstand the crushing force of Zanka no Tachi.

His mind raced—then, with a thought, Busōshoku Reiatsu and a golden barrier spell wrapped his entire body.

Hiss—!

But within a heartbeat, both defenses evaporated.

The golden light and armored Reiatsu that had just covered his arm vanished instantly, wiped away by the heat.

Within two seconds, they were completely erased.

Tsk, tsk—

Then came the sound.

The horrifying sizzle of flesh roasting. The crackle of bone burning.

Without protection, Aiyan's arms flushed red, charred instantly—not melted, but burned straight into ash, scattering and vanishing without a trace.

"Aiyan!"