Chapter 154: Furious Thunder
“Yamaya!”
“Lord Genryūsai!”
The strongest Soul Reaper, who had supported the entire Soul Society with his very being, had fallen with a thunderous crash. For all Soul Reapers, this was undeniably a catastrophic disaster.
*Clatter...*
The body, cleaved in two, lay quietly at Yhwach’s feet. Even in death, his hand never loosened its grip on the sword. Though only one arm remained, he had never once retreated—not even a step.
Even in death, that stubborn body refused to fall.
“…Pathetic, Yamamoto Genryūsai,” Yhwach murmured, a rare trace of melancholy flickering across his face as he gazed upon the thousand-year-old rival he had slain with his own hands.
“A disgraceful, broken Soul Reaper, unworthy of being the one who defeated me a millennium ago.”
“You probably have no idea why I never ranked you among my five most formidable warriors, do you?”
“Why did you refuse to heal your arm?”
Looking down at Yamamoto Genryūsai’s upper half, now crawling uselessly at his feet, and at the empty sleeve where his left arm once was, Yhwach spoke coldly.
“I understand perfectly—”
“That you refused to use humans.”
“Even during the battle against Sosuke Aizen, you were deeply concerned about involving the human, Ichigo Kurosaki, in the fight.”
“That’s why I say you’re pathetic.”
“Didn’t I tell you a thousand years ago that you would never reach the heights I have attained?”
“Do you still fail to understand those words now?”
Addressing the fallen Yamamoto Genryūsai—who would never speak again—Yhwach, normally taciturn, suddenly grew loquacious.
“When you first annihilated our Quincies with the original Gotei 13 a thousand years ago, you were a thousand, even ten thousand times stronger than you are now.”
“Once you decided to protect some ‘thing,’ you became weak—”
“—and obstructive.”
“Your Majesty—”
“I know.”
Waving off Haschwalth, who seemed about to say something, Yhwach was already sensing the immense, turbulent spiritual pressure barreling toward them—the kind that could reduce everything to rubble—rushing from the private quarters of the Captain of the First Division.
“Long time no see—”
Before him stood Captain Shūjirō Tsukishima, his spiritual pressure crackling with raw killing intent, barely concealed, as if he wanted to tear Yhwach to pieces to assuage his rage.
“Captain Tsukishima.”
“Yhwach…”
Ignoring Haschwalth, the newly appointed heir apparent, Tsukishima’s gaze was fixed solely on Yhwach.
“So you’ve come here… which means Lloyd Liad is dead, yes?”
“Hmph—”
Yhwach smiled faintly, showing no regret over the death of his loyal subordinate.
“I only sent him to persuade Sosuke Aizen to join our side as a special combatant because I wanted to face Yamamoto Genryūsai personally. Seems he failed, but it’s no matter.”
“I’ll just visit the underground maximum security prison myself shortly.”
Glancing at Tsukishima, whose spiritual pressure extended outward like thunderclaps, Yhwach realized none of his words had registered.
Those blood-red eyes never left Yhwach’s form for even a moment.
“I fully understand how you feel. Want to kill me? I’ll give you that chance.”
“But before that—”
Raising a finger beside him, a strange smile curled at the corners of Yhwach’s mouth.
“Let me first clear away the irrelevant things.”
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
Before Tsukishima could react, countless spiritual arrows shot forth from Yhwach’s finger, obliterating Yamamoto Genryūsai’s corpse and the ground beneath him completely, not even a pebble remaining.
“!”
This merciless act of total annihilation, leaving no remains, enraged all the captains present and severely dampened the morale of the Soul Reapers.
“To avoid interfering with our battle,” Yhwach said lightly, smiling as he withdrew his severed arm back into his black cloak, having utterly destroyed even Yamamoto’s body.
“Come, Captain Tsukishima.”
“Let us avenge your Lord Genryūsai.”
“Bastard!”
Provoked by Yhwach’s taunts and the desecration of Yamamoto’s remains, Tsukishima’s spiritual pressure exploded uncontrollably. Even Haschwalth behind him had to step back to shield himself from its overwhelming force.
How powerful—
Feeling Tsukishima’s surging spiritual pressure for the first time, Haschwalth gained a new understanding of Soul Reaper strength.
If Yamamoto Genryūsai’s power had been expected, the might of the First Division’s vice-captain of a thousand years was far beyond his anticipation. The sheer aura of his spiritual pressure rivaled Yamamoto’s.
“Yhwach…”
“...”
Unlike Haschwalth, Yhwach—standing at such a lofty level—felt nothing but initial surprise at Tsukishima’s outpouring of spiritual pressure.
As if he were an insignificant clown, a presence not worth his concern.
“I… once promised Lord Genryūsai and Retsu I would never again use this level of power.”
“But today, I break that promise.”
“Because right now, I simply cannot…”
“Boom!”
His spiritual pressure burst forth once more, growing even stronger than before.
“To suppress the urge to torment you to death.”
“Heh—”
Facing the lightning-dancing Soul Reaper before him, Yhwach smiled cruelly and drew from its sheath the sword he had just sheathed moments ago.
Interesting.
He had thought the previous intensity was his limit—no, beyond his limit—yet here was still room to grow. If he truly unlocked his shackles, his power would surpass Yamamoto Genryūsai’s—no—
Would it surpass mine?
Unable to endure it—
Unable to suppress it any longer—
Come then…
In the darkness, that pale face suddenly emerged, wearing a terrifying, feral grin.
“Release me!”
“Bankai!”
The Western-style sword blazed with unprecedented lightning as it was raised high. His spiritual pressure seemed to find an outlet, spreading along the sword and surging upward with the bolt of lightning streaking toward the heavens.
*Rumble*
Though the sky was still clear and cloudless, a tremendous thunderclap suddenly echoed in the ears of all in the Soul Society.
“Come, bear witness, Yhwach.”
Spreading his arms as if to display his power, Tsukishima’s spiritual pressure swelled.
Standing before Yhwach like a thunder god, Tsukishima was a terrifying presence.
“This is the true ‘Kōkō Genrei Rikkyū’!”