"Saruryū! Kenryū! You came to save me!"
Rurichiyo cried out with joy as she saw them appear.
Kenryū immediately untied the ropes on her back.
At that moment, a mere release of spiritual pressure from Tenbai Shūsuke shattered the massive earthen hand gripping him.
Saruryū leapt in front of Rurichiyo to shield her from the flying debris.
Though he successfully blocked the rubble, he was knocked out cold by the spiritual shockwave!
"Saruryū!"
Rurichiyo screamed in panic.
Kenryū clenched his teeth, glaring hatefully at Tenbai.
But Tenbai paid them no attention.
Instead, he pulled out several of the eye-like cores he had collected earlier and addressed Yamamoto Genryūsai.
"These eyeballs are actually the cores of the Bakkōtō. I let others use these weapons so the cores could fully absorb spiritual energy."
As he spoke, Tenbai drew another blade from his waist—it, too, was a Bakkōtō.
He fed all five eye cores into the weapon and then tapped its blade like a tuning fork.
The Bakkōtō fused with his arm. The five eyeballs aligned along the blade, and the dark hilt completely wrapped around his right forearm. From the weapon's tip, a glowing green blade extended like a lightsaber.
Yamamoto's eyes narrowed in disappointment.
"So that's it? I thought you had some extraordinary power. But you're just another fool relying on a Bakkōtō."
With a slight shift, his cane split apart, revealing his Zanpakutō—Ryūjin Jakka.
The upper half of his robes fell away, revealing his skeletal frame.
"All things in the universe turn to ash—Ryūjin Jakka!"
Waves of immense flame burst forth, encircling Yamamoto like a blazing deity.
Everything around him was reduced to cinders. Kenryū and Saruryū immediately shielded Rurichiyo once again.
But as the flames surged toward Tenbai, he didn't even flinch.
He simply raised his arm, the green Bakkōtō blade glowing.
To Yamamoto's shock, the flames fizzled out the moment they touched it!
Tenbai stabbed the weapon into the ground, and a circular green field expanded outward, extinguishing all flames and spiritual energy in its radius.
Yamamoto's face finally showed surprise.
Not only had his Zanpakutō been neutralized—he could no longer even feel his own spiritual power!
"H-How...?"
(This is Yamamoto's classic move—getting sealed to avoid wiping the floor with everyone. Otherwise, he'd just break the plot.)
The Bakkōtō on Tenbai's arm turned into black armor, wrapping tightly around it.
"This is the power of my Bakkōtō. Within its field, all Shinigami powers are sealed. Your Zanpakutō is no different from scrap metal!"
"But of course," Tenbai added, "my own Zanpakutō is the exception."
Then he drew his sword—skipping Shikai and going straight to Bankai.
"Bankai—Raika Gōenka (Thunderfire Inferno Shell)!"
Crimson flames burst from his body, engulfing him.
A massive version of his Shikai weapon manifested in his hands—towering, broad, and blazing.
Even Tenbai had to grip it with both arms to wield it.
He raised the weapon overhead and spun it like a turbine.
With one sweep, the entire Squad 1 Captain's chamber was obliterated.
Yamamoto was unharmed, but Kenryū and Saruryū were scorched while protecting Rurichiyo.
Seeing their wounds, Rurichiyo's eyes filled with horror.
Tenbai noticed her expression and sneered, "What? Planning to be the first to die?"
Yamamoto shouted, "Your grudge is with me! Leave the others out of this!"
But that only fueled Tenbai's rage.
"It's not just you. Every heir of the Kasumioji Clan must die!"
He raised his sword and prepared to strike them all.
Just then—Soifon appeared, confirming that Rurichiyo was safely out of harm's way.
"What!? Soifon-taichō! As expected of the stealth force commander—even I couldn't detect your presence!"
Tenbai was shocked.
(Note: Earlier, Tenbai said his Bakkōtō could neutralize all Shinigami powers. But now it's only Zanpakutō that are sealed. If it truly blocked all powers, Yamamoto's Hakuda and Kidō would still be devastating. And if it does block everything, then Tenbai could literally solo any Shinigami—including Aizen before merging with the Hōgyoku.)
(For plot balance, we're going with "Zanpakutō only." Otherwise, it's broken.)
"Well done, Soifon!"
Ichigo's voice echoed before he even arrived.
He stepped in alongside Rukia and Senna, appearing beside Yamamoto.
Seeing Yamamoto standing there with Ryūjin Jakka but not attacking, Ichigo was confused.
"Old man... what gives? Why aren't you swinging at him?"
Yamamoto stayed silent—ashamed that a junior had to come to his rescue.
"Kurosaki Ichigo?! How did you get here so fast?"
Tenbai was stunned.
"Soifon! Ichigo!"
Both Rurichiyo and Soifon called out.
Soifon frowned when she saw how Rurichiyo looked at Ichigo.
Tch. She's never looked at me like that.
"Alright, Captain Tenbai," Ichigo said, "Now how about telling us why you're doing all this? If you're going to kill the old man, shouldn't you at least give a reason?"
Yamamoto didn't respond outwardly, but he was shaken. The moment Tenbai mentioned Kisaragi Taigo, he suspected something.
And Tenbai didn't hold back. He told the whole story.
Kisaragi Taigo was his father. Years ago, Tenbai had seen his father die in their own family's training grounds.
According to what he'd found, the man who killed him was none other than Yamamoto.
But Taigo hadn't just been Yamamoto's subordinate—he had been his student. Why kill him?
With this mystery gnawing at his heart, Tenbai changed his identity and joined the Gotei 13, secretly investigating his father's death.
Eventually, he found clues about the Bakkōtō.
He believed that uncovering their secret would reveal the truth behind his father's death.
What he discovered shocked him—records claiming Yamamoto and the Kasumioji Clan colluded together. Fearing the truth about the Bakkōtō would spread, they killed his father to cover it up.
At first, he doubted it.
But over time, he noticed that Yamamoto would always reject any Shinigami requests to investigate the Kasumioji. Eventually, no one dared question them.
To Tenbai, this confirmed Yamamoto's guilt.
In his fury, he trained obsessively, infiltrated the Kasumioji household, and won the trust of Kumoi, obtaining a Bakkōtō.
He swore vengeance.
Even if it meant using the same weapon that corrupted his father.
...
Ichigo stayed silent for a moment.
Then he looked up and said, "Avenging your father, huh?"
Tenbai nodded. "So now you understand. Stay out of my way!"
Ichigo shook his head.
"I know how it feels. I'm reckless too. When I first came to Soul Society, I only cared about saving Rukia. I didn't care about the Soul Society at all."
"If not for people like Yoruichi, Byakuya, Kenpachi, or Soifon, I might still not care."
Tenbai looked puzzled. "So what's your point?"
"I'm saying... you shouldn't have involved Rurichiyo."
"Whatever you say about Soul Society is fine. I don't care either."
"But when you go after someone close to me—that's a different story."
"You've got your personal revenge. I've got mine. Neither of us is more righteous."
"I'm not doing this to protect Soul Society. I'm doing this for myself."
"You hurt someone important to me—and I won't stand for that."
"Bankai—Tensa Zangetsu!"
Ichigo appeared in front of Tenbai in a flash, swinging his blade—not to kill, but slashing across the chest.
Immediately, Ichigo felt a surge of weakness.
His spiritual energy went wild—disrupted.
He flash-stepped back to Yamamoto.
"What... was that?" Ichigo muttered, eyes narrowing.
Soifon called out, "Ichigo! His strange weapon seals Zanpakutō powers!"
Ichigo stared at Tenbai in disbelief.
Seriously? This guy's even more of a cheat than me!
"Ichigo Kurosaki... give up. You're no match for me!"
Tenbai sneered.
"Oh?" Ichigo smirked. "Then it looks like you don't understand me at all."
"I'm not just a Shinigami."
With that, he tossed Tensa Zangetsu aside.
Even Yamamoto raised an eyebrow in interest.
Rurichiyo gasped. "He... threw his sword! Is he okay?"
Soifon frowned. She didn't get it either.
Ichigo's Hakuda isn't that strong… so what's he planning?
But then—
From Ichigo's hand, a new Zanpakutō formed.
A massive, entirely white blade—wider, longer, and even more imposing than his previous ones.
"Wh-What... is this power!?" Tenbai shouted.
A completely different kind of spiritual pressure burst from Ichigo—one that was not of a Shinigami.
"I can't waste time. I have to end this fast," Tenbai muttered, panic flashing in his eyes.
He poured all his energy into Raika Gōenka and slammed it into the ground.
Sensing danger, Ichigo flash-stepped away just in time.
From where he had stood, a geyser of magma erupted!
"Raika Enchū (Thunderfire Pillars)!"
Tenbai shouted, launching fiery attacks at every spot Ichigo landed!
(End of Chapter)
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