"What does it mean to be fully prepared? Naturally, it means bringing out every available piece of equipment. I've donned my nano-steel battle armor forged primarily from vibranium-like alloy. This is the first time I've used it in combat. I've been studying various alloys for ages—thanks to my Surgical Fruit combined with the abilities of the Swallow-Swallow Fruit, my knowledge of alloys is at the cutting edge of this world.
Besides that, the Agomotto Eye is active, and I've deployed a variety of Pym Particle–based missiles, explosives, and the like. Being of rabbit lineage, I suffer from a sort of "firepower inadequacy complex"—even if I might never use some of these things in my lifetime, I simply cannot do without them.
It's like the vast army of steel battle suits I've been building. Strictly speaking, they aren't even necessary; even Stark, at his peak, only deployed around a hundred nano-armors.
Under normal circumstances, this army of nano-steel suits wouldn't be needed—after all, I'm not planning a world war like Hydra. The reason I have so many is simply that the Red Queen and the White Queen were idle; why not mine for resources and build battle suits? Over time, you accumulate a lot.
I understand the importance of equipment well enough—didn't you see how Stark, armed with his nano-armor, was able to trade blows with Thanos? Being fully equipped makes one several times stronger than being bare-chested. At the very least, it lets you take a few more hits.
"You're really using that as a weapon?"
Nimaeya Ōetsu remarked as he watched Daniel brandish the four-legged cauldron as a weapon, scratching his head lightly. This was beyond his imagination.
"Why not? A weapon is simply something you use against an enemy—as long as it works."
Nimaeya's own Zanpakutō is incredibly sharp. I wasn't sure any other weapon could withstand an attack from it. Aizen got a bit careless earlier and was decimated by Nimaeya's strike—if he'd been more cautious, things might have turned out differently.
"You seem very confident."
"Of course—you're confident in your own weapon, aren't you?"
As a master swordsmith, Nimaeya was naturally very self-assured about his creations. Unfortunately, I was even more confident—after all, the cauldron in my hand is none other than the Shen Nong Tripod, one of the Three Sovereigns' artifacts.
Though the Shen Nong Tripod's primary function is alchemy, as an artifact its indestructibility is inherent. No matter how razor-sharp Nimaeya's Kyoufuku is, it cannot destroy the Shen Nong Tripod. In terms of inherent value, there's simply no comparison—let alone that even the Soul King himself would be vastly outclassed by one of the Three Sovereigns' relics.
"Using the Shen Nong Tripod as a blunt weapon—I'm probably the first to do so. My apologies, Senior Shen Nong."
In a heartbeat, I swung the Shen Nong Tripod toward Nimaeya. He merely chuckled and gripped his Kyoufuku tightly. This time, when our weapons collided, both of us were supremely confident in our arms. It was time to test the outcome.
Boom!
Unlike the silent, unyielding clash when Nimaeya's blade had once split Aizen's Zanpakutō and body apart, this time, as the Kyoufuku and the Shen Nong Tripod collided, a dazzling burst of light exploded from the impact. Immediately after came a tremendous roar that shook the Omotesandō of the Soul King's Palace.
Then came a cacophony of cracking sounds. I saw that cracks were rapidly spreading along the edge of Nimaeya's Kyoufuku—and finally, the entire blade shattered into countless fragments that scattered to the ground.
"How can this be?"
Nimaeya Ōetsu never expected that the Zanpakutō he had painstakingly forged—the one said to cleave through anything—would be destroyed so thoroughly in a head-on collision. For a swordsmith like him, this result was utterly unacceptable, and his expression turned momentarily dazed.
But while he was stunned, I did not hesitate even a moment. I drove the Shen Nong Tripod straight into his body. The resulting explosion of power transformed Nimaeya into a burst of light, the force tearing through several towering spiritual stone pillars along the Omotesandō of the palace. In the end, his form crashed onto the plaza of the main hall of the Soul King's Palace, leaving a massive crater in the ground.
"It's a pity…"
I felt no surprise at the result, but seeing the shattered fragments of his Kyoufuku did leave me with a tinge of regret. It was a formidable weapon, but now it was gone.
"Splitting through spiritual particles like that… it's truly astounding."
Even though Aizen had been cleaved in two by a single strike—thanks partly to his own carelessness and the unique properties of the Kyoufuku, which bypassed his spiritual particle shield—he had recovered completely.
"Thanks to him, I now know the limits of the Hōgyoku."
Aizen was now, strictly speaking, in his sixth Hōgyoku evolution—the final stage. An infinitely evolving Hōgyoku is capped at six evolutions. This evolution was the most standard one, with nothing bizarre occurring in Aizen's transformation.
"And the Hōgyoku? It hasn't disappeared?" I inquired curiously.
"It hasn't. In fact, it has merged with me."
Perhaps so that I could take him out of this world, Aizen did not conceal the abilities of his Hōgyoku.
"Isn't that rather like Kaguya's Chakra Fruit from the Shinra Tensei?"
Upon hearing Aizen's words, I immediately thought of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. Although the Hōgyoku no longer granted Aizen further evolutions, his undying nature still remained. In other words, to defeat the current Aizen, one could only seal him—very much akin to Kaguya's fate after consuming the Chakra Fruit.
Of course, as I see it, "undying" is only relative. It simply means that his power isn't sufficient—if a mightier force were to appear, he could be completely obliterated. But for now, I do not possess such overwhelming strength.
"Shudora Senjūmaru—should you come, or shall I?"
Arriving on the Omotesandō of the Soul King's Palace, I noticed a figure standing ahead. I glanced at Aizen, and he replied, "I'll handle it; I have some business to attend to."
"Be careful—the enemy is very strong."
Standing beside Shudora Senjūmaru, the heavily injured Nimaeya Ōetsu whispered a warning as he watched us approach. His gaze then shifted to one of the peripheral satellite halls of the palace.
The five satellite halls of the Zero Division were arranged in a pentagon, completely surrounding the main hall of the Soul King's Palace. This wasn't random—it was an essential part of the palace's barrier.
For members of the Zero Division, their bodies are bound to their satellite halls. As long as a hall remains intact, the Zero Division member is effectively immortal.
"Now that you know, heal your wounds first—I'll deal with them."
After hearing Nimaeya's words, Shudora Senjūmaru nodded lightly, acknowledging the plan. Even though three members of the Zero Division had already fallen, her expression remained calm as she advanced toward Aizen.
Shudora Senjūmaru was an exceptionally elegant woman—her beauty and figure far surpassed that of Captain Kirio, at least when Kirio was in her plump state. (If Kirio were leaner, they might be evenly matched.)
"Extremis Garb."
No sooner had Shudora Senjūmaru and Aizen commenced their duel than she instantly wove a new garment around Aizen's body. Her speed was such that even Aizen couldn't dodge—it was as if he had no time at all.
"The creator of the Death Dominator set—truly not to be underestimated. But that's awfully ruthless. They say the vilest of hearts belong to women."
For a Shinigami, the Zanpakutō is of utmost importance, but that doesn't mean the Death Dominator set is unimportant. In fact, strictly speaking, the Death Dominator set is vital to a Shinigami. Otherwise, Shudora Senjūmaru would never have ascended to the Zero Division through this achievement.
Arrancar have their iron skins; Extinction Masters have their Blood Armor; and as for the Shinigami, they naturally possess Death Dominator sets.
For ordinary Shinigami, the Death Dominator set might be just a piece of decent protective gear. But for Shudora Senjūmaru, it was her weapon.
Earlier, Aizen failed to dodge her attack not because she was especially fast, but because, from the outset, she had manipulated the spiritual particles surrounding Aizen to weave cloth—entangling him in the fabric of her garment. Then, countless needles appeared on the garment.
Wood Release's Insertion Technique is already brutal, but compared to Shudora Senjūmaru's Extremis Garb, it is downright benign. At that moment, Aizen had become akin to a porcupine.
Boom!
Yet in the next moment, an overwhelmingly potent surge of reiatsu erupted from Aizen, shattering the constricting Extremis Garb around him. Thanks to his powerful spiritual particle shield, the needles from Shudora Senjūmaru's garment failed to injure him.
"Impressive… to be able to weave spiritual particles like that."
As Aizen's reiatsu burst and shattered the Extremis Garb, I suddenly noticed that he and I were actually in a fabricated space—a false projection of the Soul King's Palace. Although it appeared to be right before us, there was still a considerable distance between us and the real palace.
It turned out all of this was due to a gigantic "curtain" between us and the palace.
A curtain—a prop commonly used for filming photographs or movies—had been employed by Shudora Senjūmaru. Had it not been for the trembling of its edges under Aizen's overwhelming reiatsu, I might never have noticed the ruse.
Back when I faced Yhwach, Shudora Senjūmaru had used a similar curtain to trap Yhwach's entourage within a fake Soul King's Palace for a long while.
"Open!"
I immediately launched a powerful slash at the curtain, tearing it apart. Only then did I discover that we were still near the Omotesandō.
"Hello, Nimaeya Ōetsu—I'm curious about your Phoenix Hall. Why don't you invite me over for a visit?"
After tearing the curtain apart, I didn't concern myself with the duel between Aizen and Shudora Senjūmaru. Instead, I made my way to the heavily injured Nimaeya Ōetsu. No wonder, as the body of a true vessel for the Soul King, he sustained only heavy injuries from the Shen Nong Tripod's blow without dying.
"Can I refuse?" he asked.
"I'm afraid not," I replied, not waiting for his answer, and carried him over to the Phoenix Hall. Since I'd arrived at the Soul King's Palace and encountered the Sword God of the Soul Society himself, I might as well secure that Zanpakutō which Tsunayashiro had long coveted.
"Master Nimaeya, please release him!"
As I carried Nimaeya into the Phoenix Hall, I was immediately beset by attacks from several beautiful women—the members of Nimaeya's Gorgeous Zanpakutō Personal Guard.
"Don't be hasty—all of you, fall back to the branch halls! Do not come out unless I command it!" Nimaeya roared to prevent them from provoking my wrath.
"Understood."
Though they were reluctant, Nimaeya's guards obeyed his stern command and swiftly dispersed.
The so-called branch halls were actually imitations of the Phoenix Hall. Although the Phoenix Hall was a crucial part of the Soul King's Palace barrier, its exterior was grand while its interior was simple and unmodifiable.
Thus, on another floating island on the opposite side of the branch hall, Nimaeya had built a luxurious and extravagant subsidiary hall. Generally, Nimaeya resided in the branch hall, while the main hall was primarily used for forging Zanpakutō.
"Rest assured—if you cooperate, I won't harm them, and certainly I won't kill you."
I continued, "You don't truly believe that your status in the Zero Division renders you immortal, do you? If I were to destroy this floating island, do you really think you'd survive?"
"You know quite a lot. How do you expect me to cooperate?"
"It's simple—I only desire a Zanpakutō. Now, hand over Yijisijiba."
Nimaeya had been going on about how every Zanpakutō in the Soul Society was forged by him, yet he kept one that he himself hadn't revealed. It was a curious contradiction.
Yijisijiba—this is the Zanpakutō that Tsunayashiro had coveted for so long—a weapon recorded in the annals of the Kamataiji family. Unlike other Zanpakutō, it wasn't forged but rather created when the Army's First Captain transformed an ancient Great Hollow into a Zanpakutō by renaming it.
This Great Hollow had once shared the dominion of Hueco Mundo with Bylergon—it was essentially half a king of Hueco Mundo. It had repeatedly stormed the Soul Society, and even the current Captain Yamamoto had been defeated by it, nearly being devoured.
Of course, that was before Captain Yamamoto had fully matured. Now, with Captain Yamamoto grown, a single strike akin to Ryūjin Fire might have instantly ended it.
After roaming freely throughout the Soul Society, the Great Hollow eventually expanded its ambitions toward the Soul King, seeking to devour him and become the new Soul King. As a Great Hollow, it had no understanding of the Soul King's true condition. It invaded the Soul King's Palace, encountered "that monk," and ultimately met its tragic end.
"How do you know all this? What are you to the Kamataiji family?"
Nimaeya was startled upon hearing the name Yijisijiba and cried out.
"I have no ties with the Kamataiji family—I only perused their records occasionally. Now, hand it over honestly, or I'll have to take it by force."
"You really think you're guaranteed victory? Aizen, while formidable, is no match for the Army's First Captain."
"That's not for you to worry about. Just give me the Zanpakutō, or I'll have to act. I'm very curious as to what will happen once the subsidiary hall is destroyed."
I stomped my foot, and with overwhelming power, the ground for nearly a hundred meters cracked open instantly.
"Wait—I'll give it to you. Please, do not act!"
Seeing the shattered ground, Nimaeya immediately nodded in agreement. For the subsidiary hall, being intertwined with his very life, Nimaeya could never allow it to be destroyed.
(End of Chapter)
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