Naruto: Sasuke Uchiha Returns from Soul Society

"The heavens weep."

A thick, terrifying pillar of jet-black lightning shot into the sky from the tip of the light blue sword. Instead of striking Byakuya, it plunged into the sky above the Palace of Penitence, as if it were tearing an invisible rift in the heavens.

Immediately afterwards, centered on the top of the white pagoda, the sky was shrouded in rapidly gathering dark clouds, the clouds as thick as lead, churning with ominous purple-black lightning.

"Ok?"

Kuchiki Byakuya frowned.

This opening move is incredibly powerful, almost on par with most high-level Dao Breakers.

But on the battlefield of Bankai, isn't such a large-scale attack that requires such a lot of buildup a bit... too flashy and impractical?

However, what happened next confused him even more.

The devastating lightning strike that had been expected did not occur.

Only countless fine, black lightning bolts, like silent drizzle, enveloped the storm of cherry blossom blades below.

"..."

Kuchiki Byakuya's brows furrowed even more.

This level of attack?

It wasn't even a test.

Without him even having to consciously control it, those tiny bolts of lightning were completely crushed by the torrent of rapidly spinning blades from "Senbonzakura Kageyoshi".

What is this... doing?

Just as he was feeling confused, Sasuke's figure reappeared on the outer edge of Senbonzakura.

Want to try the same old trick again?

Byakuya's eyes instantly turned cold.

He admitted that the kid was fast, but after Bankai, his eyes could no longer keep up with Senbonzakura's speed!

"Too naive."

Byakuya sneered inwardly, and with a flick of his hand, the billions of cherry blossom blades received the command and fiercely attacked the charging figure!

However, the next moment——

Byakuya Kuchiki's pupils suddenly contracted.

He could clearly feel that after receiving the command, Senbonzakura's blade, which should have been as smooth as an extension of its own body, showed an extremely noticeable sluggishness.

Like countless invisible spiderwebs, they were wrapped around each blade, slowing their speed...

It's gotten slower!

"what?!"

Even Byakuya couldn't hide the astonishment on his face when he noticed this scene.

In the next instant, Sasuke's cold blade pierced through Byakuya's left shoulder without any resistance.

Fresh blood blooms once more.

Byakuya's body trembled violently. He looked down in disbelief at the light blue blade on his shoulder and the glaring crimson blood flowing down its length.

Sasuke didn't greedily strike. With a flick of his wrist, he drew his sword in the instant his injury worsened, and his figure drifted back again, landing more than ten meters away, widening the distance once more.

At the top of the tower, a fine, cold rain began to fall from the sky.

The rain, mixed with the smell of blood, made the desolate battlefield even more desolate.

Sasuke stood quietly in the rain, letting the rain wash over his face, looking at the man opposite him who was clutching his wound, his voice icy.

"Your knife doesn't look as fast as you said."

Kuchiki Byakuya didn't answer, but just stared intently at Sasuke, his mind racing with the details of the battle they had just fought.

why?

Why did Senbonzakura's speed suddenly slow down?!

"Your 'Heavenly Cry'..."

Byakuya's voice was hoarse as he finally came up with the only possibility: "Its function is not attack."

"Looks like you're not too stupid after all."

Sasuke sneered and pointed to the top of the tower beneath his feet.

"Look at your feet, Captain Kuchiki."

Byakuya's gaze slowly moved downwards.

Then, he saw it.

Above the white tower beneath their feet, countless charred, radiating cracks spread out in all directions like a spider web.

Deep within each of those cracks, black and white arcs of electricity crackled and hissed.

"This is......"

"A magnetic field."

Sasuke explained coldly, "A region of strong magnetic field composed of countless tiny lightning bolts."

"These magnetic fields are interconnected yet repel each other, forming a chaotic force field."

He slowly raised his head, his crimson Sharingan looking particularly eerie in the rain. "It can greatly interfere with the trajectory of any small metal object."

"If your Zanpakuto is a complete sword, this technique won't have much of an impact on you."

Sasuke paused, his tone full of confidence.

"But unfortunately..."

"Your proud 'Senbonzakura' is nothing more than a tiny fragment of a blade."

Byakuya Kuchiki slowly lowered the hand that was covering his left shoulder, looked at Sasuke, and his handsome face remained expressionless.

"Yeah."

"In that case..."

The moment the words fell, Byakuya Kuchiki's spiritual pressure began to collapse inward, and all the billions of cherry blossom blades around him stopped flying.

The whole world suddenly fell silent.

The overwhelming clamor that had preceded them vanished in an instant, replaced by a suffocating chill.

Sasuke's pupils contracted sharply. He could clearly feel a more concentrated power gathering around the arrogant figure in front of him.

“The Scenery of Annihilation: Thousand Cherry Blossoms”

All the pink radiance seemed to be under an invisible command, frantically converging and reshaping towards the center.

Finally, under Sasuke's gaze, a full thousand solid katanas, shimmering with cherry blossom light, were formed.

They circled Byakuya and Sasuke in perfect unison, their blades pointing inwards towards the sky, forming a hemispherical, black "arena" of sword blades that completely isolated the top of the white tower from the outside world.

The entire space was bathed in a poignant yet deadly pink glow.

"This is 'Jianjing'."

Byakuya's voice echoed in this absolutely silent space, "This is also the true form of Senbonzakura."

He slowly raised his hand, and a cherry-colored katana quietly fell into his palm.

"Within the 'Scene of Annihilation,' all one thousand swords are controlled by my will."

"You have nowhere to retreat."

Despite the overwhelming pressure that could drive anyone to despair, Sasuke showed no fear.

"So that's how it is. This is your true Bankai, Captain Kuchiki."

The knife in his hand had changed without him even realizing it.

It was a blade entirely black, with a tattered fan emblem branded on the hilt, exuding an aura of pure destruction...

Indra.

"Oh?"

Byakuya raised an eyebrow slightly.

Have they abandoned that incredibly fast lightning blade in exchange for this ominous-looking sword?

A foolish choice.

In the next instant, his figure left an afterimage in place, and the cherry-colored katana in his hand drew a deadly arc.

At the same time, from the forest of swords behind him, dozens of katanas moved in response to his command, transforming into giant silver pythons that blocked all of Sasuke's escape routes and lunged at him.

"Moon, please return to silence..."

Sasuke ignored the blade that was inches away and began chanting the incantation.

"Let revenge fill this emptiness within me—"

Indra!

A storm of black and red spiritual pressure surged into the sky, instantly tearing his shihaka armor to shreds.

A jet-black robe, its hem ablaze with black flames, reformed and took shape!

Immediately afterwards, he raised the "Indra" in his hand high and swung it down fiercely at the oncoming storm of sword blades.

There is no defense, no dodging, only the purest form of attack against attack!

"Naruo Burning Flame Flower!"

With a low growl, a dozen enormous pillars of black flame suddenly shot up from the ground, intertwining and bursting forth, forcefully meeting the silver-white giant python composed of dozens of katana swords.

Darkness and cherry blossom color collided violently at the heart of the Sword Prison.

The sparks that burst forth were like the first firework to bloom in this desolate world.

.........

Inside the Sword Prison, the aftershocks of the collision gradually subsided, and the ground at the top of the tower had already been torn beyond recognition by the two extreme forces.