"Since you deliberately came this time, then say it. What exactly are your demands?", Nimaiya Oetsu stood at the very front of the crowd, his icy gaze fixed straight on Shutara, who stood there calm and unhurried.
If the one who had come were some other Hollow, then they would naturally let Commander Yamamoto provide support.
But since the one who came was actually Shutara, this was something that had to be handled by him, another member of Squad Zero.
At this moment, Commander Yamamoto and the others also had no intention of making a move, treating this entirely as a matter for Squad Zero.
Of course, if things truly reached a critical point, Commander Yamamoto would not mind drawing his blade and cutting down all threats.
"According to the Hollow King, it has always been Soul Society probing the Hollow King's Palace. They have never once probed Soul Society," Shutara said with a light laugh.
"We can't agree with that. You've planted plenty of spies on our side," Kyoraku Shunsui stepped forward with a frown, refuting her words.
They were not picking a fight for no reason.
It was precisely because they discovered something wrong with Sui Feng that they chose to take action.
"That's not something I can concern myself with. I'm just passing on a message. Still, I'll say one thing as a reminder," Shutara's calm gaze swept over Commander Yamamoto, "WHEN THE CAPABLE CANNOT OBTAIN THEIR RIGHTFUL POSITIONS, AND THE INCOMPETENT OCCUPY HIGH POSTS, ONE DAY THE CAPABLE WILL CHOOSE THE PLACE THEY TRULY BELONG."
After saying this, the six skeletal arms behind Shutara moved, and a massive Garganta opened behind her.
"That statement, this old man cannot agree with," Commander Yamamoto slowly drew his Zanpakuto, finally preparing to step in and stop them as Shutara and the others were about to leave.
Shutara said nothing more, merely looking calmly at Commander Yamamoto and at Nimaiya Oetsu and the others, who were brimming with killing intent.
The two sides faced off for a long while, yet neither chose to strike first.
This was Soul Society. Those on Soul Society's side all had their concerns, while Shutara and Sui Feng did not care at all. At worst, they could cause a huge scene and retreat afterward.
Sui Feng did not know who Shutara truly was, but just from her spiritual pressure, she could tell that this was someone even Commander Yamamoto was wary of.
Seen from that angle, being assimilated by Hollows and becoming a subordinate of that bastard woman did not seem like such a bad thing.
"Old man, let it go," Kyoraku Shunsui sighed and finally tried to stop Commander Yamamoto from going all out.
This was the core of Seireitei, and the wise men of Central 46 had not evacuated at all.
If full power were unleashed now, whether they could keep the enemy here was another matter, but Soul Society's existing order would definitely have to be reshuffled.
By then, before the enemy even attacked, Soul Society would already be in chaos.
After a pause that lasted barely a second, Commander Yamamoto ultimately chose not to listen to Kyoraku Shunsui.
There were no words, only the simplest act of drawing his Zanpakuto.
That single action alone represented his resolve at this very moment.
"All things of this world, turn to ashes! Ryujin Jakka!"
As the shikai incantation was spoken, the slumbering volcano awakened.
Raging flames that seemed capable of burning even the sky to ashes instantly engulfed the blade.
It was no longer a sword, but a fragment of the sun, capable of incinerating all things.
The air let out a pained scream under the terrifying heat, and the stone walls of the entire council chamber began to glow red and melt.
To watch an enemy leave unscathed? Soul Society had no such weak rules.
Sacrifice was something he had never feared.
As long as he could protect Seireitei's thousand year foundation, even burning away these old bones of his would be worth it!
"Gotei 13, follow this old man and kill the enemy!"
The aged yet domineering voice became an unquestionable military order.
Before the words even finished, his figure had already vanished from where he stood.
A blazing path made of pure flame abruptly stretched out behind him, like a scar branded into space itself.
Almost at the same instant, his aged body crossed the distance between life and death and appeared before Shutara, that blade carrying the fury of the entire Soul Society slashing down from above.
At the same time, the figures of "Rosse" and "Tosen Kaname" also transformed into two swift streaks of light from the left and right, coordinating with the Commander to launch a deadly combined strike.
Of course, that was only how it looked from everyone else's perspective.
From Rosse's and Aizen's point of view, there was no one there at all, only fake bodies each of them was controlled through Kyoka Suigetsu.
Even so, the two were extremely professional in controlling their doubles, at least enough that no one else could see any flaws.
Facing this world destroying encirclement from Soul Society's highest combat power, Shutara under Rosse's control showed not the slightest hint of panic.
She simply stood at the center of the storm of flames and blade light, an eerie yet gorgeous smile blooming at the corner of her lips.
"Bankai!"
Her voice was gentle yet clear, as if carrying some ancient rhythm.
"Shatatsu Karagara Shigarami no Tsuji!"
As the true name of her Bankai was fully chanted, the world changed.
Crash! Crash! Crash!
Centered on Shutara's body, countless gigantic reishi threads gleaming with golden light erupted from the shadows beneath her feet like raging tidal waves.
They blotted out the sky, instantly "stitching" the entire council chamber, and even the sky above it, into a massive golden woven net.
All captain level combat power within the chamber, aside from Sui Feng, was completely enveloped by this terrifying Bankai, including Nimaiya Oetsu and the other three who were standing by.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
As Shutara's Bankai unfolded, enormous torrents of chaotic reishi surged throughout Seireitei.
Any spiritual pressure at vice captain level or below, once swept by this reishi turbulence, met only one end: death.
Buildings struck by it were reduced to ashes in an instant.
This was the destructive power of a Squad Zero Bankai on Commander Yamamoto's level. Even the residual reishi waves generated by Bankai alone were enough to destroy more than half of Soul Society.
As long as the Bankai lasted long enough, they would not even need to act personally to drag the entire world into hell.
"Be careful! This is Shutara's Bankai. Within her Bankai, we will have our fates woven into their final outcomes by the Loom of Fate. As Shutara recites the Bankai incantation, we will die according to those predetermined endings."
Nimaiya Oetsu spoke urgently. That mouth of his that loved to rap was now talking at lightning speed, explaining the mechanism of the Bankai in just a second.
"Don't tell me what it is. Tell me how to deal with it," Rosse shouted in a deep voice.
He was also quite curious whether Nimaiya Oetsu, as the one who forged all Zanpakuto, knew of any flaw in Shutara's Bankai.
"There's no way to deal with it. In here, it's purely a contest of spiritual pressure. Once your spiritual pressure is exhausted, there's only death. And as the side whose fate has been chosen, our spiritual pressure will drain faster than Shutara's," Nimaiya Oetsu said gravely. If he had a solution, he would have said it long ago.
At their level, releasing Bankai meant world destroying power, and the only path left was to endure it head on.
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