Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Chapter 457 Captain's Godlike Triple Kill

"What's there to be afraid of!" Hasward shouted. "He's just a washed-up old man; His Majesty has never considered him a match!"

"Perhaps he was indeed the strongest a thousand years ago, but now he's old! Everything is different; he's not even considered a special combatant by His Majesty!"

Haschwald's voice was extremely penetrating; although it wasn't particularly loud, it reached the ears of every Quincy and echoed throughout the entire Ice Palace.

After a moment of silence, the Quincy's morale miraculously recovered.

The Shinigami revered their Captain-Commander Yamamoto, while the Quincy naturally worshipped their Emperor Yhwach.

This is not simply because Yhwach is invincible; more importantly, their emperor has been resurrected.

A thousand years ago, Yamamoto Shigekuni murdered His Majesty Yhwach, but his body showed no signs of decay.

After a 900-year wait, Yhwach's heartbeat was restored.

Ninety years later, Yhwach regained consciousness.

Nine years after regaining consciousness, Yhwach used "Sanctification" to wipe out all the Quincy hybrids in the world, restoring all his former power and glory.

This is a true resurrection, a miracle that only a god could create!

Even the strongest Shinigami in a thousand years is nothing compared to Yhwach.

"Yes, even the knights can't defeat such a monster, but we still have His Majesty to rely on."

"Yes! We still have His Majesty!"

"Huh? Where did His Majesty go?"

The Quincy's chaos quickly subsided, suppressing the Grim Reaper's momentum once again.

After all, the number of Shinigami who stormed the Ice Palace was only 20. How could they possibly compete with the vast number of Quincy?

However, the Quincy's rise was meaningless to Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, whose Zanpakuto was best suited for group battles and could ignore the power of any weaklings.

Captain-Commander Yamamoto did not know Yhwach's location, so he could only stride forward quickly, searching room by room.

To avoid missing the enemy leader, he deliberately didn't use [Instant Step], and just walked step by step.

They encountered countless Quincy along the way, but they couldn't get close at all. Arrows could only attack in a straight line, while flames could turn at will.

Those Quincy didn't even see Yamamoto Shigekuni before they were burned to death by the raging flames, leaving behind only shriveled corpses.

The Ice Palace, though magnified many times over, was still an indoor environment. The destructive power of the flames was outrageous, and their killing efficiency was beyond imagination.

Finally, a powerful member of the Quincy stepped forward to stop them.

boom!

Two Quincy blocked Captain-Commander Yamamoto's path, braving the flames.

With a single, slightly curled fringe framing his forehead and a knotted arm guard on his left arm, the Quincy arrogantly declared, "Yamamoto Shigekuni, I've come to take your head!"

"Remember my name, Jaskin Nakruvar!"

"I am a member of His Majesty Yhwach's personal guard and the Sternritter. He has bestowed upon me the holy letter 'D,' and my ability is 'Lethal Doses.'"

The other Quincy was a young girl.

She had long, flowing purple hair that reached past her waist, deep purple eyes, wore a military cap with an invisible imperial insignia, a short skirt, black stockings, and boots.

In addition, this cute girl wears a heart-shaped badge on her chest, a heart-shaped badge belt, and holds a short military knife with a forked blade.

The young Quincy introduced herself, "My name is Bambietta Bastabain, and I am also a member of the Sternritter. His Majesty bestowed upon me the holy script 'E,' my ability being critical strike."

"I'm very powerful, you know. I might accidentally kill you."

Askin Nakruvar coldly stated, "The Captain-Commander of Soul Society, if you wish to fight His Majesty, you'll have to get past us first!"

Captain-Commander Yamamoto remained completely unaffected by their presence, continuing forward at his own pace: "What a bunch of blabbering brats! If you want to fight, then come and fight!"

After saying that, the captain raised his arm and swung his sword forward: "Ryujin Jakka - Matsuba!!"

This single strike simultaneously enveloped two Quincy within its attack range, with raging flames surrounding them completely.

Because it was indoors, the power of the flames was reflected by the walls and roof, greatly increasing both the temperature and the intensity.

But Askin Nakruvar remained completely unfazed. He laughed heartily and said, "Captain-Commander of the Grim Reapers, I am also skilled in the power of fire. Please, taste my flames!"

As he spoke, he raised his hand, gathering the surrounding spiritual particles, and even directly plundering Captain-Commander Yamamoto's flames, so that the concentration of spiritual particles reached the required level, igniting the mysterious blue flames.

This blue flame is no ordinary flame; its greatest function is to burn other objects made of spiritual particles, including ice, crystal, rock, and even spells that break the Dao.

Bambieta Bastabayne laughed and said, "I'm not as confident as Nakruvar. Facing the strongest Grim Reaper, I can only use the 'Critical Strike' ability bestowed upon me by His Majesty."

"Hehe, flames are also attacking me. Anything that attacks me and my spiritual particles will inevitably become my bombs!"

The flames that licked at the Quincy's protective barrier were transformed into red bombs by the spirit particles, launching a counterattack against Captain-Commander Yamamoto.

Captain-Commander Yamamoto sighed again: "I'm old and useless. I was actually fooled by two kids' tricks. Look at all the fancy moves they made."

"In the end, they are just some useless little tricks. They are not only flashy, but also weak and powerless."

"A flame only needs sufficient temperature and pressure."

Captain-Commander Yamamoto did not change his technique; he simply injected the spiritual pressure that was supposed to be injected.

Instantly, the flames enveloping the two Quincy swelled into tornadoes of fire, and the color of the flames changed rapidly from red to orange, then gold, and finally completely turned into a white with gold edges.

The color of the flame represents the intensity of the color. The temperature of the platinum flame is at least ten times higher than that of the red flame, and the spiritual energy barrier that the two Quincy used to resist the flame damage was instantly burned through.

The two Quincy, one large and one small, didn't even have time to utter a word or let out a scream before they were burned to charred bones by the raging flames.

As for the skills they used, they were like bubbles bursting in the face of Captain-Commander Yamamoto's terrifying spiritual pressure.

In the original history, Captain-Commander Yamamoto encountered Yhwach, who was at full strength and at maximum power.

That guy's research on the Captain-Commander was thorough; he had studied almost every move in depth, and he completely restrained Yamamoto from every angle.

This is not surprising at all. Only a few months after Aizen's betrayal, he was able to create a firefighting captain like Wonderweiss, specifically targeting Captain-Commander Yamamoto.

After Yhwach was killed, the Wandenreich continued its research on Yamamoto Shigekuni for a thousand years.

When Yhwach regained consciousness, he continued his targeted research for more than nine years, and fully absorbed Aizen's experience and lessons.

It can be said that Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni was at the peak of the Shinigami realm for too long. He was trapped by the various troubles brought about by the position of Captain-Commander and was unable to break through his previous level.

No matter how capable a person is, if they are thoroughly studied, they will suffer a frustrating defeat.

However, under Xia Zuo's manipulation, the Invisible Empire made a hasty appearance without being fully prepared.

Moreover, Shazor himself stopped Yhwach, allowing Captain-Commander Yamamoto to confront the Sternritter instead of facing the most deadly enemy.

This really killed these young Quincy.

Even if they knew about Yamamoto Shigekuni, they would still find it difficult to comprehend the true significance of being called the "Strongest Shinigami in a Thousand Years" due to their own limited understanding.

It's not surprising that such a situation arose where someone willingly offered themselves up to be killed by Captain-Commander Yamamoto.

Just after Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni's remark, a burly figure fell from the sky.

This burly Quincy, wearing a golden mask and resembling a wrestler, brazenly blocked the Captain-Commander's path.

He pointed at his own nose and roared, "I am Mascodo Masculin! A member of the Sternritter of the Unseen Empire, bestowed with the holy script 'S' by His Majesty, and my power is—Hero!"

On Musculin's back lay a short-armed, short-legged, bald dwarf, inseparable from the wrestler Masco. Though his appearance was comical, he was the real "S" James!

James is also a member of the Sternritter of the Unseen Empire. His bestowed holy script is also "S", but the power it symbolizes is—support!

Musculin and James were interdependent; as long as one did not truly die, the other would never die.

If they weren't inseparable, this combination wouldn't be a troublesome pair, but rather an invincible force.

Masculin shouted loudly, "Soul Society, Soul Reaper, Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, if you want to fight His Majesty, you'll have to get past us first! My name is—"

Before he could finish speaking, the captain interrupted him directly: "I don't want to remember the names of these nobody's, because it's unnecessary, so you don't need to state your name!"

Muskullin roared in fury: "You damned old man—"

Before he could finish speaking, he was enveloped in flames and burst into flames.

It turned out that Captain-Commander Yamamoto had already drawn his Zanpakuto and, before Masculin could react, struck him directly in the neck.

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni was not only the strongest arsonist, but also one of the best swordsmen.

While his swordsmanship didn't encompass as many as Unohana Retsu's, which included eight thousand different styles, his mastery of swordsmanship was far superior.

The knife wound penetrated deep into his lungs and internal organs, and flames spewed from the wound, enveloping his body completely.

The intense sense of impending death caused Masculin to unleash his potential, instantly using his Perfect Body and pushing his Bloodlust Armor to its limit.

At the same time, James, who was perched on Masculin's back, also shouted his support.

But it was all too late!

Captain-Commander Yamamoto flipped back and unleashed another swift blade strike, creating an "X"-shaped crisscross with Masculin's previous wound, cleaving James in two as well.

No blood was flowing out, only flames were shooting out!

Two enormous blades simultaneously spewed flames from their bodies, completely igniting Masculin and James, with the flames even reaching the roof.

After making the second cut, Captain-Commander Yamamoto stopped looking at the two men.

His pace returned to what it was before the battle; he continued forward at a steady pace, checking each room one by one.

Shortly after he left, Masculin and James were completely burned to ashes, leaving only two clumps of black ash on the ground, proving that a powerful Quincy had once been there.

In a very short period of time, three members of the Sternritter died, including one of Yhwach's guards.

This tragedy made the Quincy fully understand what the so-called "strongest Shinigami in a thousand years" really meant.

The Quincy became timid and began to call out loudly to the pillar in their hearts.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty Yhwach!"

"Your Majesty! Where are you?!"

Yhwach was still in his palace, but an unprecedentedly fierce battle was taking place.

Yes, he's the one who's in trouble, Yhwach!

The basic movements of Kendo involve three aspects: mind, technique, and body. As long as these three aspects are raised to the extreme and then integrated into one, one can freely generate sword energy.

But this is not the limit of swordsmanship.

Going a step further involves continuously elevating the power of the mind, using willpower to control technique and body, and freely combining them to create sword skills more suitable for the environment.

The next step is to use the heart as a bridge to connect with a certain force in the world, so as to take oneself to the next level.

For example, connecting one's heart with the darkness of the world can imbue sword techniques with dark power, making them gloomy and obscure, and even possessing the power to devour.

Besides darkness, it can also communicate with light to gain a clear and precise analysis of the enemy, or merge with shadows to become an omnipresent and all-encompassing attack.

Within the world, the highest way of swordsmanship is to listen to the voice of the world, merge with the power of the world, and unleash the supreme sword intent that carries the will of the world!

Xia Zuo's essence is higher; his heart possesses unparalleled tolerance, capable of connecting with all aspects of nature simultaneously.

So when he swung his seemingly ordinary sword, the space trembled, and the sword energy filled the sky, majestic and inviolable like the might of heaven.

The terrifying slash seemed to originate from nothingness. Although it was within the spatial barrier of the royal palace, it could summon endless silver light out of thin air, suppressing Yhwach firmly in place.

Yhwach felt as if he were carrying a mountain on his shoulders, and he couldn't move an inch.

As the whistling sword energy approached, he couldn't help but look up and saw a magnificent and beautiful giant bird, exuding divinity from head to toe.

This bird is partly an illusion caused by the sword energy stirring the air and compressing the eyeballs!

On the other hand, it also means that Xia Zuo's ultimate pursuit of power has finally been determined.

If the opponent is strong enough or has keen enough senses, they will be able to see the phantom of the phoenix.