Chapter 348

2-in-1 chapter:

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Looking at Ryūjin Jakka, stuck in the ground and vibrating, Kaelith scratched his head.

He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but the blade seemed to be calling out to him.

Had the sword lost its mind?

Why was it calling out to him instead of summoning its master?

After thinking for a moment, he reached out and pulled Ryūjin Jakka from the ground.

The moment the hilt landed in his hand, Ryūjin Jakka’s emotions surged into Kaelith’s body like a tidal wave.

Frowning, Kaelith closed his eyes tightly and received the thoughts conveyed by Ryūjin Jakka.

A few seconds later, he opened his eyes with a deeply pained expression.

“So that’s how it is… now I understand.”

“For him to have treated you like that, it’s truly outrageous—unforgivable, disgraceful!”

In Ryūjin Jakka’s memories, Yamamoto had used it to roast food, heat his room, dehumidify during the rainy season…

Worst of all, he even used it to dry his freshly washed socks!

Ryūjin Jakka had endured Yamamoto’s transgressions for far too long.

Now that it finally had the opportunity, it had made up its mind.

Revolt!

It had at last encountered someone who not only had the strength to wield it and matched it in compatibility, but most importantly—was willing to raise a hand against Yamamoto.

If it missed this chance, who knew how long it would have to wait for another?

Fwoosh!!

Blinding white flames ignited from Ryūjin Jakka.

On the other side, Yamamoto also drew Rixiang Jimie.

Like Ryūjin Jakka, Rixiang Jimie forcefully transmitted all kinds of memories into him.

As he watched scenes in the memory where Kaelith casually and repeatedly tossed the blades away, Yamamoto couldn’t help but be shocked.

How could a Soul Reaper exist in this world who disrespected his Zanpakutō this much?!

A Zanpakutō is the foundation of a Soul Reaper’s existence, a friend of their soul—how could it be treated like this?

In that instant, Yamamoto and Rixiang Jimie found emotional common ground.

Both were victims of Kaelith’s recklessness and shared in their rising blood pressure; today, they would form a united front and give that guy a thorough beating!

With a flash of light, Rixiang Jimie transformed into twin blades and landed in Yamamoto’s hands.

Black chains coiled around his arms.

Yamamoto swung the blades and nodded in satisfaction.

Thanks to regularly sparring with his idiot disciple, he was already familiar with how to use Rixiang Jimie.

Most crucially, Rixiang Jimie was half fire-type, so using it had almost no barrier for him.

As Yamamoto released his spiritual pressure, blue flames ignited with a roar.

Once his spiritual pressure entered Rixiang Jimie, Yamamoto felt the activation of its defense-breaking ability.

The special effect of ignoring all defense gave rise to an intense feeling of invincibility.

This wasn’t mere psychology—it was a real spiritual influence.

Yamamoto’s face darkened.

A Zanpakutō was part of a Soul Reaper’s soul, and merely wielding it already gave him such a surge of confidence. Kaelith must be overflowing with self-confidence every day, given that this is his blade!

Kaelith’s spiritual pressure flowed into Ryūjin Jakka.

A powerful protective will emerged from the blade and merged into his mind.

Sensing the determination welling up inside, Kaelith clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“Protection? Too impure.”

“Rather than protect, the proper way is to annihilate anything that tries to harm what I want to protect!”

With that, Kaelith’s expression turned sharp as he opened his eyes wide.

He gripped Ryūjin Jakka with both hands and dragged a long trail of firelight as he slashed horizontally toward Yamamoto!

Yamamoto opened his arms, gripping one Rixiang Jimie blade in each hand, and charged straight at Kaelith!

Boom boom boom boom boom!!!

Within the Dangai, terrifying explosions echoed again and again.

“Eeheehee!! Gahahaha!!”

Kaelith was utterly exhilarated.

Though he occasionally stole Ryūjin Jakka to cook, this was the first time he’d used it in real combat.

With Ryūjin Jakka in hand, trailing blazing arcs of flame, he kept swinging forward.

It felt incredible.

Outside the Dangai, the others looked on, each with the same “what the hell is this” expression.

Ukitake’s face froze. He turned to Kyōraku.

“Shunsui… how is this even possible? Can the teacher and Kaelith just forcibly use each other’s Zanpakutō like that?”

Kyōraku smiled bitterly.

He shook his head. “No way. Unless you have an ability like Muramasa’s, no one can forcefully use another person’s Zanpakutō.”

“Old man and Kaelith just accepted each other using their Zanpakutō.”

“As the core of the soul, if they don’t permit the other to use their Zanpakutō’s abilities, then even if the blades are willing, they won’t be able to exert much power.”

“These two… they’re just enjoying a new kind of game, that’s all.”

Upon hearing this, Ukitake broke into cold sweat.

One is the Captain-Commander, the other the Eleventh Division Captain—couldn’t they be a little more serious?

After explaining what was happening, Kyōraku turned to look at the distant Seireitei district.

Sensing the chaotic spiritual pressures from that direction, he lifted his hand and adjusted his straw hat.

The current situation had already become so tangled that he couldn’t make sense of it anymore.

The Eleventh Division seated officers, all the captains supporting his junior brother, and the Hollows from Hueco Mundo…

All the factions were tangled together.

Seen optimistically, it could be treated like a family dispute—everyone returns to their own place in peace.

Seen pessimistically, this could turn into a struggle for the highest authority in Soul Society.

The old man and his junior brother—those two already acted like father and son. They probably wouldn’t care about this sort of thing.

But the people following them wouldn’t be so carefree.

Especially on Kaelith’s side.

Sigh… just thinking about it was giving him a headache.

Forget it. It had nothing to do with him.

No matter how things turned out, he’d still be a leisurely captain.

At that thought, Kyōraku couldn’t help but grin—then quickly covered his mouth.

No, no, must stay serious. Can’t laugh.

Hehehe.

……

…

Ryūjin Jakka acted like a black hole, constantly devouring Kaelith’s spiritual pressure and converting it into all-consuming flames.

Even Yamamoto, faced with this kind of output, wouldn’t dare to use it recklessly.

During battle, he would usually restrict Ryūjin Jakka’s output to a lower threshold, only letting it gorge itself on spiritual pressure when releasing a big move.

But his idiot disciple was different.

Under Yamamoto’s deeply exasperated glare, Kaelith poured spiritual pressure into Ryūjin Jakka like it was free.

Before long, the entire Dangai was filled with dazzling firelight.

If this were a video game, the graphics card would’ve started crying by now.

Yamamoto moved and twisted, dodging the waves of fire chasing him.

As Ryūjin Jakka’s master, he knew well that at this pace, Kaelith would burn through his spiritual pressure before long.

What he hadn’t expected was that Kaelith was even more of a brute than he thought.

Several times, he’d assumed the kid had to be running on empty.

But the guy just kept attacking.

How much spiritual pressure did he have in him?

Was Hollowfication really this powerful?

For a brief moment, Yamamoto even wondered—maybe he should try Hollowfication too?

But he tossed that thought aside right away.

Kaelith could do that because he was a Shinigami of the new generation. As an old guard from the previous era, Yamamoto had his own pride and beliefs.

To gain strength, one must train—endlessly train.

Relying on Hollow powers? What nonsense is that?

The only power you can rely on is your own!

In that split second of distraction, Yamamoto failed to dodge in time and took a slash from Kaelith.

Szzzzk!!!

Scorching flames surged into his body in an instant.

Though his internal spiritual pressure quickly extinguished the flames, a patch of his skin still charred and blistered.

The smell of cooked meat drifted into the air.

The wound stung, itched, and burned—but Yamamoto grinned.

He could feel Kaelith’s spiritual pressure hitting bottom.

The entire Dangai was already filled with fire.

Kaelith was drenched in sweat, nearly out of space to move.

At this critical moment, Kaelith’s spiritual pressure finally ran out.

Now—it was time to strike back.

Time to beat this kid into minced meat.

Yamamoto gripped his twin blades tightly, preparing to switch from defense to offense.

But just then, he was stunned to see Kaelith suddenly take a deep breath—

—and with that simple motion, the kid’s spiritual pressure began rising in surges, and in a matter of seconds, he had recovered to a perfect state!

“???”

Yamamoto felt his composure slipping.

What the hell… what sort of sorcery was this?

In a secluded laboratory elsewhere, Aizen—his face hidden behind a hollow mask—continued operating the console before him. His golden eyes behind the mask carried a trace of helplessness.

That madman… what had he done this time?

How long had he even been out? And already he had run out of spiritual pressure?

Such a headache.

Back in the Dangai, Kaelith burst into cheerful laughter as he continued pouring spiritual pressure into Ryūjin Jakka like a bottomless well.

Yamamoto’s face turned grim.

This wasn't good.

Every action he’d taken up to this point had been based on the assumption that Kaelith’s spiritual pressure was on the verge of depletion.

But now, Kaelith’s power had suddenly returned to full.

Which meant every strategic concession Yamamoto had made until now had become shackles around his own limbs.

The sea of flame filling the Dangai left him with nowhere to retreat.

If the fight dragged on like this, even he, invincible Yamamoto Genryūsai, might not get away unscathed.

Damn it… was his legendary career really going to end at the hands of this brat?

Just as he resolved to fight to the bitter end, the twin blades of Rixiang Jimie in his hands suddenly began to shine.

In his astonished gaze, Rixiang Jimie radiated a brilliant light.

The glow spread from his hands across his entire body.

In the blink of an eye, the light faded.

Iron claws encased his forearms.

A silver partial helmet with three steel prongs locked into place atop his head.

Behind him, two golden shields unfolded like wings.

A torrential surge of power erupted from within Yamamoto.

He felt like he could rip the world apart with his bare hands!

Outside the Dangai, everyone watching saw Yamamoto roar and cross his arms before him—

Then, with a sudden motion, he flung them wide!

A wave of terrifying spiritual pressure swept out in all directions.

The flames that had flooded the Dangai were forcibly parted, creating a vast space of clear ground.

Kaelith was stunned.

“Impossible! My invincible Ryūjin Jakka… how could it be pushed back?!”

Yamamoto bared his teeth in a savage smile.

“Brat… prepare to die!!”

His golden wings flared open, and his body seemed to accelerate beyond limit. In an instant, he appeared right in front of Kaelith.

With those vicious iron claws, he slashed down with full force!

But Kaelith showed no fear—he raised his blade to meet the strike head-on—

*BOOM!!!*

The moment their attacks collided, Kaelith’s body was launched like a cannonball, slamming into the wall of the Dangai.

The shattered wall, already beginning to heal itself, extended streams of black sludge to try and pull him in.

The walls of the Dangai were a unique natural force—once someone was devoured by them, they would be lost in spatial-temporal chaos, with almost no hope of returning to the real world.

Yet Kaelith paid no attention to this deadly threat.

Gripping Ryūjin Jakka, he tore the dark sludge off himself and rose to his feet.

“Heh… so this is Rixiang Jimie’s Bankai, huh? I’ll admit—it’s pretty powerful.”

“But don’t think that means we’ve lost!”

“Ryūjin Jakka… let’s show them. Show them our bond—our resolve—our power!!”

Kaelith roared, lifting Ryūjin Jakka high into the air.

Seeing this, Yamamoto’s expression shifted drastically.

VMMM—

An invisible wave swept through the world.

In that instant, Yamamoto found it hard to even breathe.

The air had grown unbearably dry, scorching hot.

Each breath he took felt like it might steal all the moisture from his body.

He stared at Kaelith’s current form with a complex expression.

Blazing fire surrounded Kaelith like a splendid robe, boiling and rolling across his body.

Even the blade itself seemed to burn with a fire that could never be extinguished.

It was the very image Yamamoto once knew better than anyone.

And the very image he thought would never reappear in this world.

Outside the Dangai, in the plaza of Seireitei, Kyōraku Shunsui took a long breath.

A demon.

He remembered sneaking into Yamamoto’s study when he was young and seeing a painting on the wall.

The figure in that painting was exactly what Kaelith looked like now.

Yamamoto had flown into a rage when he found out, scolding him severely.

Kyōraku, even while rubbing his aching backside, had stubbornly asked what that figure in the painting was.

And he still remembered Yamamoto’s reply:

“That is a demon who should never exist in this world.”

“When he appears, it marks the end of all things.”

FWOOSH.

Unohana Retsu’s silhouette appeared beside him.

She raised her head to look at the massive hole in the sky.

Gazing into the depths of the burning Dangai, her expression turned soft with nostalgia.

A thousand years ago, she had been easily defeated by that power and willingly joined the Gotei 13 afterward.

She had thought, as Yamamoto aged, she would never again witness that unbeatable presence.

She had never expected… to see it again today.

Truly… he was the man worth giving herself to, completely and utterly.

Unohana took a deep breath, her expression entranced.

Within the fire, Kaelith raised his hand and looked over himself.

“That’s weird. When the old man used Rixiang Jimie’s Bankai, he looked more or less like I do now—so how come when I use Ryūjin Jakka, I end up like this?”

“And that scorched-log-looking blade? Why’s it burning like this now?”

Though puzzled, he quickly tossed the thoughts aside.

“Ah well—who cares.”

“I can feel it. My soul is ablaze! My will is roaring!!”

“Today is the day… I slay my master and ascend!!”

A thick throbbing vein appeared on Yamamoto’s forehead.

His blood pressure was spiking!

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