The moment the monk's Jijiba clashed with Araki's Zanpakutō, a resplendent glazed radiance surged forth, instantly illuminating the entire Real Name Monk's Palace.

"Hiss!"

The fake monk recoiled, face paling beneath the overwhelming brilliance. In panic, he yanked Sword God Nimaiya Ōetsu in front of him, using him as a living shield against the light.

"Hey, hey, hey! That's not what I signed up for!"

Ōetsu snapped, protesting.

"Hahaha! You know what I mean!" the monk laughed awkwardly.

"That Zanpakutō's light is too terrifying for me. I have to stay guarded!"

His compatibility with Araki's Zanpakutō was abysmally poor—worse than any spirit mismatch Ichibei had ever seen.

Elsewhere, deep within a glazed Pure Land, a massive white Hollow—its body towering like Mount Everest—suddenly burst into maniacal laughter.

"Ha... HAHAHA! I remember! I remember EVERYTHING!"

It trembled with delight.

"My name isn't Jijiba! I'm not that cursed name! My true name is—!"

But before he could finish, ancient temple bells rang out in the skies above.

"Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!"

The chimes echoed like divine thunder.

"Who dares interrupt me?!"

The Hollow's fury exploded as he roared at the heavens.

"Fool. You're deluded."

A voice rang out.

Appearing before him was a radiant Saint King, wreathed in endless light, his body enshrined in lapis lazuli armor. He was seated cross-legged atop a sacred lotus—a silent guardian of celestial truth.

"Little one, move aside."

Jijiba sneered at the tiny figure.

"Foolish creature," the Saint King replied, serene yet firm.

"Now that you have seen me, why not convert to my Buddha?"

"Buddha? Where?!"

Jijiba glanced around in confusion, seeing nothing but the blinding horizon.

The Saint King did not answer.

He merely extended one glowing finger—

—and pointed skyward.

Jijiba followed his gaze.

And in that instant, his eyes trembled.

Above the clouds, in the vast boundless sky, sat a formless Buddha, greater than the world itself.

It was not that the world embraced the Buddha, but that the Buddha held the world in his palm.

Compared to this being of formless essence, Jijiba's mountain-sized form was a grain of sand. A microscopic speck on the banks of the cosmic Ganges.

"Impossible... No way! There's no such being in this world!"

His pride shattered.

The very size he once flaunted now felt pathetic.

"ROAR!"

Consumed by rage and denial, Jijiba opened his mouth wide and unleashed a Cero—a Void Flash brimming with defiance.

A Hollow's most primitive ability… aimed at the Buddha himself.

"BOOM!"

But the formless Buddha bore no anger nor judgment. His face remained solemn.

And then—his flower-holding hand descended slowly.

"BOOM!!!"

The heavens shook.

"Ahhhhh!!!!"

Jijiba screamed, pushing back with all his might.

But his power was like a gnat before a hurricane.

A mantis trying to halt a divine chariot.

"BOOM!"

And with a deafening collapse, he was crushed beneath the Buddha's glazed hand, his arrogance shattered utterly.

In the silence that followed, a voice echoed through the glassy Pure Land—

a voice like a celestial bell, yet light as breath:

"I grant you the name—

Gonjiba!"

"I obey the command of the Holy Lord," Jijiba said, as a pig's crown materialized upon his head.

Until the very end, Jijiba was unable to utter his true name—but it no longer mattered. From this day forward, his name was Gonjiba.

Outside...

The sword imbued with the power of jijiba, which the monk had dropped onto the Yakushi Ruriko, suddenly stopped moving. The monk's pupils narrowed slightly, and he exchanged a glance with Ōetsu, who stood beside him.

"What terrifying power... Even without a master, it still unleashes such formidable force. This sword is far more powerful than I imagined..."

The monk gazed at the Zanpakutō before him, sweat beading on his forehead.

Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat.

What if Araki, now even stronger, didn't challenge Yhwach... but used Yakushi Ruriko to liberate him?

Would he convert? Or would he not...?

The monk muttered under his breath, "Not good!"

He then turned to Ōetsu, the second-in-command, and said, "Ōetsu, I'll leave this place to you! I'm retreating! If Araki comes out, tell him I've gone to serve the Soul King in the inner palace! I won't be around for a hundred years—no, a thousand!"

With those words, the fake monk vanished from the scene.

"Ah... this..."

Ōetsu's eyelids twitched as he watched the monk flee.

"No way, brother! You're good at deceiving others, but you can't even take responsibility?!"

At that very moment, a transformation was taking place within Araki's body.

Just as the fake monk had said, the power of the Soul King had begun to reshape the strength within him. With the assistance of the true omniscient and omnipotent power of the Soul King, Araki's Armament Haki, Conqueror's Haki, and Spiritual Pressure began to fuse.

Next came Observation Haki. The three forms of Haki merged into Araki's Reiatsu, endowing it with new attributes—future sight, internal destruction, and observation suppression. At the same time, his spiritual pressure's innate properties—oppression, deterrence, and the ability to entangle for both defense and attack—were greatly enhanced.

"Still not enough...!"

Even the fusion of the three advanced Haki forms wasn't enough to elevate Araki's Reiatsu from Second Rank to First Rank.

However, the rewards he had received from defeating Yhwach—along with the Second Rank experience packs he had accumulated since becoming a captain—all surged within him now, transforming into strength.

Yet... something was still missing.

At that moment, Araki's Zanpakutō—Yakushi Ruriko—activated!

The sealed power of the newly named Gonjiba began to flow forth, continuously replenishing Araki's body.

And finally, the combined forces of Reiatsu, experience, Haki, and the spiritual nourishment drawn from Gonjiba pushed him beyond the threshold.

The status on Araki's character panel now displayed—

First Rank Reiatsu!

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