Swish! Swish! Swish!
No warning. No premonition. Countless silver needles gleaming with cold, icy light seemed to grow straight out of Captain-Commander Yamamoto's own flesh. From deep within his body, they suddenly burst outward.
In an instant, that powerful body which just moments ago had seemed like a god or a demon was completely pierced through from the inside out by tens of millions of silver needles.
This strike was not fatal.
But the silver needles that pierced straight through his body precisely destroyed every single one of Captain-Commander Yamamoto's reishi connection points.
Coupled with the complete exhaustion of his spiritual pressure, whether he died or not made little difference. He was essentially crippled.
This Captain-Commander who had protected Soul Society for a thousand years did not make a single sound before collapsing heavily to the ground, his entire body drenched in blood.
At the same time, a voice carrying a hint of lazy amusement sounded from ahead.
"That was really dangerous. Just a little more, and I truly would have been killed," Along with those words, countless invisible reishi threads began to intertwine, converge, and weave together in midair in front of where Captain-Commander Yamamoto had fallen.
In the end, the threads wove themselves into a human shape, and Shutara Senjumaru's dignified, magnificent figure, completely unscathed, appeared once more before everyone.
She was still wearing that spotless white haori. Beneath it was the black attire of the Palace of the Hollow King. From the inside out, she exuded calm composure.
It was as if the one who had just fought was not her at all, and as if she had not gone through any bitter battle.
At the very moment Shutara recovered, Nimaiya Oetsu finally arrived, stepping in front of Captain-Commander Yamamoto.
At the same time, Hikifune Kirio and Kirinji arrived a step later, but they too rushed straight to where Captain-Commander Yamamoto lay and began treating him.
Kirinji had once been the first captain of the Fourth Division, while Hikifune Kirio was the Twelfth Division captain responsible for scientific research. Both of them had plenty of recovery methods at their disposal.
Even so, they could only barely stop the bleeding. Making Captain-Commander Yamamoto recover was nowhere near that simple.
"Is this your new ability, Shutara? If my perception isn't wrong, there should be Hollow power and Quincy power mixed in there as well," Nimaiya Oetsu stared at Shutara solemnly.
Reishi threads were Shutara's specialty, but a specialty did not mean the ability to bring the dead back to life.
Just now, he had personally seen and sensed Shutara being completely burned to ashes.
Yet when she was reborn, not only was there the power of Arrancar-level high-speed regeneration, the precise control she displayed when manipulating reishi threads also resembled Quincy abilities.
What was more, he had even sensed two spiritual pressures that were not very obvious, yet extremely abnormal.
There was no mistake about it. The Shutara of this moment had already violated a taboo. She had fused three kinds of power into one.
———
Far away on Fish-Man Island, Senjumaru rolled her eyes irritably, no longer maintaining her usual dignified image.
"If I had those three kinds of power, I wouldn't be in this state right now..."
Right now, she really looked like a counterfeit.
———
"Just some newly acquired little abilities. This is also a new hope I saw from him. What, do you still want to stop me? If you choose to release the blood pact and sacrifice Kirinji and Kirio, you might be able to keep me here, you know."
On the Soul Society side, Shutara still maintained her nobility. Though she was clearly not tall, it was as if she were looking down on Nimaiya Oetsu.
Seeing this scene from Fish-Man Island, a trace of envy appeared deep in Senjumaru's eyes.
She truly felt that the Shutara in the image was the real Shutara, while she herself instead seemed like a clown.
If only she had power as strong as Rosse's control. At least then she could have traded a few moves with Rosse, and wouldn't have been captured so easily.
After all, when facing Rosse, she had not even managed to release her Bankai before being effortlessly suppressed.
Compared to that, Captain-Commander Yamamoto had at least fought back and forth for so long.
"Heh! But as the price, Yamamoto would most likely die in battle. You can go. Next time, you won't be so lucky," Nimaiya Oetsu snorted coldly and righteously issued an order to see her out.
In truth, even if he destroyed the blood pact and sacrificed two comrades, he still had no absolute confidence he could keep Shutara here.
In the battle just now, Shutara had definitely expended a huge amount of spiritual pressure. There was no doubt about that.
But that recovery method she had just displayed was simply too bizarre.
She had clearly been cut by Captain-Commander Yamamoto until she evaporated, yet in the end she could still recover completely. This made him think twice.
If they failed to keep the opponent and instead ended up losing Captain-Commander Yamamoto, that would truly be a disastrous loss.
"You're not choosing to keep me here? Then what was the meaning of paying such a great price? Or is it that..."
Shutara swept her gaze around. Because of the recent battle, the rest of the Gotei 13 captains had all gathered here as well.
After glancing over the surrounding captains, Shutara said with a smiling expression, "Or are you trying to use my hand to get rid of Yamamoto? If you had all joined in to besiege me just now, I wouldn't have had it so easy."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present changed expression.
Quite a few captains who had not witnessed the battle began exchanging looks with Rosse and Kyoraku Shunsui.
And from Rosse and the others, they received a clear answer, leaving an extra hint of unease in their hearts.
It was indeed true that the members of Squad Zero had not joined the battle.
Although even Kyoraku Shunsui felt that the invincible Captain-Commander Yamamoto could resolve the fight on his own, and that the others only needed to block Shutara's escape routes.
No one had expected that Captain-Commander Yamamoto would actually lose, and lose so completely.
Inevitably, the captains began to harbor a bit of doubt toward Squad Zero.
Or perhaps a few extra thoughts.
If Squad Zero had also joined the siege just now, would the situation have been different?
However, with a great enemy still before them, the other captains only thought about it. There was no way they would put it into action.
Everything would have to wait until they drove the enemy away first.
"Alright, alright. I won't play with you anymore. Next time we meet, even if you all come at me together, you still might not be my match," Shutara chuckled lightly as she waved her hand. Her finger gently traced a line through space.
A Garganta slowly appeared before her.
Watching Shutara stroll leisurely into the Garganta, no one chose to stop her.
Even the invincible Captain-Commander Yamamoto had fallen. Even the members of Squad Zero did not continue to block her. What strength did ordinary captains like them have to stop her?
"Oh, right."
After stepping into the Garganta, Shutara suddenly turned her head back, facing the assembled captains, and smiled as she said, "Do you want to obtain power like mine? If you do, then come to the Palace of the Hollow King. There, you can achieve everything you desire."
As the last words fell, the Garganta slowly closed, and Shutara's figure vanished.
Yet the words she left behind lingered in the hearts of some captains and vice-captains, leaving a deep, indelible mark.
'Joining the Palace of the Hollow King... could it really grant power comparable to that of the Captain-Commander?'
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