Ichigo leaves and takes up residence in Soul Society!

The Four Palaces Venerable remained unmoved, instead coldly asking, "Is this body the result of your ability to devour metal?"

"Oh, so you overheard my conversation with that Grim Reaper? Well then, I'm even less likely to let you off the hook."

"Why not reflect on yourself before considering such matters?"

"what?"

Number Two didn't quite understand what the Four Palaces Master meant.

"I mean……"

The Fourth Palace Master abruptly sheathed his sword halfway through his sentence, turned around, and delivered a powerful whip kick to Number Two's abdomen, sending him crashing to the ground.

Then, looking down at Number Two, who was surrounded by dust, he slowly spoke:

"By consuming metal, one gains a special form with greatly increased defense. Then, by consuming Zanpakuto on top of that, one gains life force that surpasses even defense. This allows one to take someone else's place and split into multiple bodies of equal strength. All of this seems perfect."

"That's why you relaxed when Ōmaeda rejected you. At such close range, there was a clear risk of being counter-killed, but you didn't enter this form."

"That's why I was able to sneak up behind you and stab you in the body."

"From one perspective, you are not wise."

"Someone like you, a half-baked amateur, dares to mock me?"

"?!"

Number Two was furious, but before he could speak, he heard the Fourth Palace Lord add fuel to the fire.

"The most crucial thing is that I can sense that you've lived for quite a long time, but you're not even a Vasto Lorde, yet you claim to be the King of Hueco Mundo. Does Barragan know how arrogant you are?"

"How dare a mere brat know about Barragan... That guy is a fake. The real king is someone else, and I am his successor!"

Number Two's unexpectedly strong reaction startled the Fourth Prince.

"The real king...?"

“That’s right, he was a noble person who once left Soul Society helpless, far more radiant than that corrupt fellow Barragan! I came to Soul Society to find his legacy and inherit his will! Vasto Lorde and the like can’t stop me! The Seireitei is no different!”

"...It doesn't sound like you're talking about my teacher, so it doesn't matter."

"What did you say?"

Number Two, seeing that Shinomiya-sama was satisfied with having successfully obtained key information, then realized that he seemed to have been tricked into revealing information.

Just as he was getting angry, Shinomiya-no-Mikoto raised his Zanpakuto, the tip pointing upwards at the moon overhead.

"—I'd like to correct one more point."

"I did not give up thinking as you said."

"I didn't leave my companions behind to help, simply because I'm not as careless as you, nor as...weak as you."

"Your proud abilities, your ever-present strength, all your reliance and pride are nothing to me. Now I'll show you the power that a so-called... ruler should have."

At this moment, the spiritual pressure on the Four Palaces Venerable was extremely restrained, as if it had been concentrated at the point of the lock. His entire body became empty, with only the very center point filled with infinite radiance like a star. After he softly chanted the release sign, an incredible change occurred.

“The eight aspects of manifestation...Chendayami”.

boom!

The concentrated spiritual pressure filled his entire body in an instant, like a supernova explosion, without a single trace of the vast torrent of spiritual particles spilling out, firmly locked within his seemingly frail body.

Thus, the high concentration and high density of spiritual energy internally combusted and pressurized, turning the Four Palace Venerables into a luminous body, even their flowing hair was as clear as glass.

An artificial sun appeared in the night sky, creating a terrifying scene of the sun and moon shining together.

Number Two felt his body trembling.

No! It's not a feeling.

Including his body.

The atmosphere and the ground, everything made of spirit particles, were overwhelmed by the addition of a celestial-like weight.

Every single spiritual particle within the Four Palaces Venerable's body was undergoing fission, fission, and fission, seemingly generating an endless chain reaction that would eventually reach an astronomical scale.

This result is also reflected in his spiritual pressure.

In just a few seconds, the spiritual pressure increased a hundredfold!

Just by standing here alive, its "spirit aura" is enough to kill any approaching soul; even a Great Void would find it difficult to withstand this weight.

Getting close will kill you, so what about attacking?

Number Two only saw an extremely dazzling light descend from the sky. By the time he realized what was happening, his body below the chest had vanished. It wasn't a question of where it flew to; it was simply wiped out.

The special form, known for its defensive capabilities, proved useless.

The land where it is located has also been cut open, forming a canyon that stretches for hundreds of meters and is bottomless. The edges are extremely clean, clearly cut out by a sharp object. Such a landscape is undoubtedly visually stunning.

The aftershocks created visible ripples that spread backward, uprooting and pulverizing entire groves of trees, leaving no single object larger than a finger in sight.

"What's this?"

Even with super-fast regeneration, it can't be saved.

The spiritual particles throughout the body underwent varying degrees of dissolution.

Number Two was acutely aware that his soul was gradually melting away...

"It's just ordinary sword pressure."

The four palace ladies descended lightly, stirring up a few specks of dust.

Although his body was still glowing, his spiritual pressure had depleted to its lowest point.

"Monster... No wonder those two brats were jealous of you."

Number Two couldn't help but laugh out loud in despair.

"But they were really too foolish to think they could surpass you with that thing."

The two students claimed to have disappeared without cause, but they certainly didn't end up in Runlinan and get caught by Kesi without reason.

Shinomiya-sama originally wanted to ask what "that thing" was.

But Number Two had already passed away.

Therefore, I can only keep this question in my heart for the time being and explore it later.

"...It hurts a bit. That guy wasn't wrong. It really does take an extraordinary mindset to master this power."

Shigu-zun clenched his fist. Recalling the Mushroom Girl's words, he couldn't help but feel a greater sense of agreement.

"Chen Tuo Ye Mi".

—That is the true name of his Zanpakuto.

Its ability is to cause a fission effect in the spiritual particles throughout the body within the next eight seconds, thereby generating a spiritual pressure amplification of tens or hundreds of times.

Therefore, it can also be called "spiritual fission".

Although it places a huge burden on the body and even poses a risk of soul suicide, the power it possesses in those short eight seconds is terrifying.

A spiritual pressure a hundred times greater than that of a vice-captain could be concentrated into a single strike, easily annihilating a formidable Adjuchas.

Regardless of whether an attack is made or not, the effect will be forcibly canceled after eight seconds, after which the user will be in a weakened state.

Although it's not that I can't walk, the feeling of emptiness inside my body is real, and I really don't have much fighting power to speak of.

Because all the existing spiritual pressure has been squandered, it's like all the blood in the body has been drained, and the body can only wait for new blood to be generated.

It will take several hours to recover.

As their strength increases, the time will increase further.

In addition, its destructive power is simply too astonishing.

Such an initial solution is really not suitable for use when there are many friendly forces.

Such extreme power appears at the mere initial release stage.

Even the Four Palace Master was puzzled. Did his true nature really seem so extreme?

But in any case, the promise was kept.

"—The rest is up to you."

The Four Palace Masters sat cross-legged, gazing into the distance. The spiritual pressure collision there was also intense, clearly indicating that a critical moment had arrived. It was just unknown whether Kess No. 3, with only one life left, would have any other ideas.

For example... a strategic retreat.

Chapter Eighteen: Sword and Bow, The Changed Zangetsu

If you ask number three Kess whether he wants to escape.

He definitely wouldn't have considered it before, but now... he's starting to panic.

Less than a kilometer away, the terrifying spiritual pressure descended upon them, causing their vision to go black and their bodies to tremble uncontrollably. In order to resist this foreign force, their physical strength was burning intensely.

Although the opponent performed even worse, having received the memories of Number Two's death, Number Three had only one thought at this moment: to escape, to escape far away, and not to be deceived by the kid's appearance that he had exhausted his strength!

It must be admitted that Number Three has already developed a certain degree of psychological trauma towards the Fourth Palace Master.

"This spiritual pressure...!"

While Number Three was still holding on, Ichigo and the others almost collapsed to the ground, their legs giving way beneath them, cold sweat pouring down their faces, and their hands and feet trembling slightly.

"Just kidding!"

They stared in disbelief at the direction from which the spiritual pressure erupted.

One cannot mistake the spiritual pressure of one's own companion, and that is why one is so shocked.

This invisible blade, capable of slowly weakening and killing a person, was quickly sheathed by its wielder.

In my perception, everything returned to silence.

The other, illusory aura quickly extinguished.

Ichigo and the others breathed a sigh of relief.

"W-that spiritual pressure just now was from Shinomiya...?"

Ba Ba Yuan stammered, a look of shock still lingering on his face.

"Ah, if I'm not mistaken, that's his Shikai, otherwise there's no other explanation. Although I don't know what kind of ability it is, anyway, it's over for him."

Ichigo quickly calmed down, his voice firm, and he gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.

Shiba Kukaku also said in a low voice, "I don't think that kid has the strength to come and help us. Rather, I hope he doesn't force himself."

but……

Shiba Kukaku frowned as he looked at the grayish-blue dog-headed Hollow, feeling a headache coming on.

Its defense is too strong.

With such defensive capabilities, they are virtually invincible from the start. Only through tacit teamwork can they fight against them; the slightest carelessness will result in them being defeated one by one.

"No defense is perfect. There must be weaknesses that we don't know about. That kid might know, but we don't have a chance to ask him now."

Just as Shiba Kukaku was considering countermeasures, Number Three suddenly condensed a Cero from his mouth.

"Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh—!"

Ichigo roared with great momentum and took the initiative to attack, trying to interrupt the opponent's Cero.

Unexpectedly, Number Three caught the blade barehanded, spun around several times, and forcefully flung Ichigo away. Then, a Cero forced Kukaku Shiba to use "Binding Spell #81: Dangaku" to protect his allies.

"Hey kid, are you alright?"

Ōmaeda nimbly caught Ichigo as he was thrown into the air, striking a proud pose as if to say, "Thank goodness I'm here."

But Ichigo didn't have time to thank her at all; instead, he cried out anxiously, "Kukaku-san! My sword...!"

"I saw it!"

Shiba Kukaku stared intently at Number Three, gritting his teeth as he said, "This guy's trying to run away!"

This statement is actually redundant.

Because Number Three had already opened his mouth in front of everyone.

Clearly, after suffering several major losses, Number Three didn't want to fight anymore and was preparing to cut his losses and retreat. So, before leaving, he made a feint and stole Ichigo's Zanpakuto.

“We will meet again, and when we do, I will kill two of you to make up for my losses.”