"Hmph!"

"A Shinigami who betrayed Soul Society, and an intruder who invaded Seireitei."

"Today, none of you will escape!!!"

Yamamoto was filled with rage at this moment, his cane shattered, revealing the Zanpakuto within.

"All things in the universe, turn to ash.... Ryūjin Jakka!"

Surging flames shot into the sky, and the terrifying heat they emitted instantly caused the temperature within a hundred miles to skyrocket.

"As expected of Soul Society's strongest fire-type Zanpakuto, the moisture in the atmosphere has been evaporated."

Toshiro felt extremely uncomfortable. As a wielder of an ice-type Zanpakuto, his power was suppressed.

"This time, you won't be able to use spatial transfer to escape."

Mayuri opened his briefcase and took out several strange nails, which he inserted in various directions, forming a triple, powerful spatial sealing barrier.

"Hehe."

"Setting aside whether your spatial seal can stop me, who told you I was going to run away?" Tenya showed a mocking expression.

"And me!"

Rukia stepped forward, standing shoulder to shoulder with Tenya.

"Rukia? You immediately stand down!" Ukitake instantly became anxious at the sight.

He thought, 'Is this level of battle something a mere Vice-Captain like you can participate in?'

"Sorry. Captain Ukitake, I cannot obey. I have decided to advance and retreat together with Tenya." Rukia shook her head, decisively refusing her former superior's order.

"Rukia, you... Sigh." Ukitake was burning with anxiety, yet powerless.

The other Captains present were also very surprised. However, no one took Rukia's power seriously. After all, she was just a Vice-Captain before, and a newly promoted one at that. Her strength wasn't outstanding even among Vice-Captains, let alone compared to Captain-level individuals like them.

"Good fighting spirit. Then you must follow my steps closely, Rukia." Tenya glanced at her and could read her determination.

"Mm. At the very least, I won't hold you back." Rukia nodded seriously, her eyes sparkling with unprecedented fighting spirit.

"Sigh. These young people nowadays, they really are..."

"Um, Captain Hitsugaya, could I trouble you to deal with Rukia?" Shunsui said meaningfully.

Among the Captains, Toshiro was the youngest, and his strength was relatively weaker. Shunsui asking him to deal with Rukia clearly implied an intention to go easy on her.

"I understand."

Toshiro's eyes darted. Although he was young, since he had become a Captain, his intelligence was certainly not low.

He quickly understood the hidden meaning between the lines of the other party, and walked towards Rukia with his sword drawn, saying, "Rukia, considering you were once a member of the Gotei 13, if you surrender now, it's not too late."

"Rukia, you're being underestimated." Tenya teased.

"Captain Hitsugaya is very strong, okay?!"

Rukia's expression was serious, but she also drew her Zanpakuto and met the challenge head-on.

Everyone watched, immediately growing interested, and did not immediately start fighting.

Whoosh!

Toshiro used Shunpo, intending to finish off Rukia with one strike.

Clang!

Surprisingly, Rukia raised her sword and steadily parried the attack.

"Huh? You can keep up with my speed? And your Reiatsu too...."

Toshiro felt the Reiatsu coming from Rukia's Zanpakuto, which was in no way inferior to his own, and was greatly astonished.

"Captain Hitsugaya, you'd best not underestimate me too much."

Rukia suddenly erupted with astonishing Reiatsu, batting him away with a single strike.

"This Reiatsu...."

"It has reached Captain-level!"

All the Shinigami present were greatly surprised.

One must know that the other party had betrayed the Gotei 13, choosing to remain in the Human World and live like a human.

Logically speaking, Rukia, having lived a relaxed life and being out of battle for so long, should have weakened in strength, so how did her Reiatsu suddenly skyrocket to Captain-level?

This was the influence of Hogyoku.

Tenya had taken the Hogyoku from Aizen and merged it with the Hogyoku taken from Rukia, forming a complete Hogyoku. The true power of the Hogyoku is to manifest a person's inner desires according to their will.

Tenya, by imposing a "wish" on the Hogyoku, caused Rukia's Reiatsu and strength to surge.

Toshiro was beaten back repeatedly, and even suffered a cut on his body.

"It seems I can't hold back anymore..."

"Bankai, Daiguren Hyōrinmaru!!"

Toshiro's expression was grim, he had no choice but to use his full power. Accompanied by a burst of cold air, the surrounding temperature dropped a few degrees.

His body was covered in icy wings and a giant dragon, though the ice content was somewhat diminished. This was because the area was suppressed by the heat of Ryūjin Jakka, causing his Bankai strength to be somewhat reduced.

"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!" Rukia pierced the tip of her Zanpakuto into her finger.

"Oh?"

"Sode no Shirayuki's Reiatsu is completely different from before?"

As her former superior, Ukitake naturally understood her Shikai ability very well. However, the power Rukia displayed at this moment greatly exceeded his expectations.

"You need to be careful, Captain Hitsugaya. I'm not yet proficient enough in controlling this power."

Rukia exhaled a breath of cold air, her body temperature dropping to -18 degrees Celsius.

Shikai VS Bankai!

The result, however, greatly surprised everyone.

Whoosh!

The two figures crossed paths.

Crack!

Ice shattered.

Toshiro's body stiffened, then he silently collapsed to the ground.

"What?!"

Captain Hitsugaya actually lost?!"

"Hyōrinmaru, hailed as the strongest ice-type Zanpakuto, actually lost to Sode no Shirayuki?!"

Everyone was greatly astonished.

Toshiro is hailed as a genius Shinigami rarely seen in the Soul Society in five hundred years. His Zanpakuto, Hyōrinmaru, has growth potential no less than the Captain-Commander's Ryūjin Jakka, and yet it actually lost now?

"Interesting."

"If Hyōrinmaru's ability is to control the moisture in the atmosphere for ice and snow attacks, then its weakness is that once affected by a stronger flame-type Reiatsu, its strength will be greatly reduced."

"And Sode no Shirayuki's ability is to infuse the power of ice and snow into her own body, thus not being affected by Ryūjin Jakka..."

Mayuri's analysis was very accurate.

In short, it was because Hyōrinmaru was suppressed by the environment of Ryūjin Jakka that it was utterly defeated by Sode no Shirayuki.

Everyone's expression when looking at Yamamoto suddenly became strange.

"Captain-Commander, look at you, at your age, you're still throwing tantrums. Now you've hurt your own side, haven't you?" Tenya mocked.

"Brat, don't be so arrogant!"

Yamamoto, angered and embarrassed, swung Ryūjin Jakka and personally attacked Tenya.

"Tch."

"If the Captain-Commander makes a move, there's no room for me to intervene. But this Rukia is good, let me give it a try."

Zaraki, seeing a hunt he liked, drew his sword and rushed towards Rukia.

Blazing Hell!

Ice Formation: Silver!

Dozens of flame pillars that shot into the sky were frozen into ice pillars.

"The Captain-Commander's Ryūjin Jakka was actually suppressed?!"

In their first round of confrontation, Yamamoto fell into a disadvantage, which left everyone dumbfounded.

"Boring probing, let's stop here. If the Captain-Commander is unwilling to show his true strength, then there's no need to continue fighting." Tenya said lightly.

"So he hasn't shown his true strength yet? This Reiatsu is too terrifying, isn't it?" Shunsui's forehead seeped with cold sweat.

"This old man hasn't used this move in almost a thousand years. Since that's the case, then as you wish."

Yamamoto, seeing that he couldn't resolve Tenya with just Shikai's power, finally used his full strength.

"Bankai, Zanka no Tachi!"

At this moment, all the flames in the world were extinguished. It looked ordinary, but Tenya's Rinnegan could clearly see. All of Ryūjin Jakka's flames were sealed on the blade of the Zanpakuto. The high temperature within it could even rival the temperature of the sun's core.

***

40 Advanced Chapters on

patreon.com/alex_1000