Watching the scene unfold before him, Senju Haruto finally began to understand the true nature of his Zanpakutō's ability.
Back when he first touched the Asauchi, Haruto had instinctively channeled his chakra into it.
It must have been at that moment that the Asauchi awakened—becoming his one and only Zanpakutō—and absorbed all five elemental natures, giving rise to five distinct elemental manifestations of its will.
However, when Haruto roared toward the sky just moments ago, only two of those elemental avatars had appeared. The other three were nowhere to be seen.
Now, the same thunder dragon from before was diving toward him again, lightning flaring around its colossal form as though it intended to tear him apart with pure thunderous might.
CRACK!
Haruto fell silent. The earth giant was still completely entangled in his Deep Forest Emergence, unable to move.
Since the other manifestations hadn't shown themselves, that meant he could focus solely on the lightning dragon before him.
"At this level of difficulty, it's actually too easy,"
he muttered with a faint smirk, forming the Snake hand seal as his fingers locked together.
"Wood Release: Wood Human Technique!"
With a thunderous shout, the ground beneath his feet groaned once more. Massive tree roots and trunks surged upward with wild abandon, converging beneath him.
"ROOOAAARRR!"
The roar that followed rivaled even the lightning dragon's, echoing straight into the heavens. From beneath Haruto's feet, a towering wooden colossus rose into being.
Here, within his own inner world, Haruto didn't need to restrain his chakra.
In mere breaths, the wooden giant swelled to an almost absurd scale—nearly a thousand meters tall—driven by Haruto's overwhelming reserves of chakra.
The sight was enough to put even the lightning dragon on edge. High above, it twisted violently through the air, calling down a rolling sea of storm clouds.
The sky darkened instantly. Within the heart of the clouds, a vast vortex formed, crackling with destructive lightning far stronger than before.
Haruto, however, only smiled in satisfaction.
After all, here in his inner world, these weren't true enemies.
They were parts of his Zanpakutō.
Whether it was the lightning dragon or the earth giant, the stronger they were, the more exhilarated he felt—because once he subdued them, his Zanpakutō would become that much more powerful.
That thought alone made him want to grab the lightning dragon and slam it into the ground until it yielded.
"ROAR!"
The wooden giant bellowed in unison with Haruto's intent, lifting its massive arm and swiping toward the descending dragon.
Haruto stood atop its shoulder, fighting alongside it.
The lightning dragon grew even more frenzied, hurtling straight downward. Its jaws opened wide, unleashing a concentrated blast of lightning aimed directly at the giant's reaching hand.
But the Wood Human's defenses proved far beyond the dragon's expectations.
The attack struck head-on, yet the giant emerged unscathed. Its massive knees bent suddenly, channeling a terrifying surge of explosive power. With a single leap, the thousand-meter colossus lunged upward, its indomitable hand clamping around the dragon's neck.
Then—its upper body pitched forward—it slammed the dragon into the ground, dragging it across the terrain in a brutal slide.
The lightning dragon thrashed, its long body writhing desperately, but the grip was unyielding.
The Wood Human's restraint was not only immense in strength—it also carried a sealing effect. The instant it seized the dragon, the raging lightning within was suppressed.
"Mortal… you dare show such disrespect to me?!"
The dragon locked eyes with Haruto, its growl rumbling low and furious.
Even now, it still saw itself as the true master of this inner world, regarding Haruto as nothing more than an intruder.
Haruto couldn't help but laugh at that.
If he hadn't been watching the dragon pinned to the ground before him, he might almost have believed it was still loftily perched in the heavens, looking down upon him with disdain.
"You've got presence, I'll give you that," Haruto said dryly. "But in your current state… I doubt you could even stand."
The mocking tone silenced the dragon. From the moment it had been slammed into the earth, it had struggled without success—Haruto's Wood Human's grip was like the will of heaven and earth itself.
"Not talking anymore?" Haruto chuckled. "Good… maybe now you understand your place."
As he spoke, Haruto willed the Wood Human to release its grip.
The dragon instantly retreated a hundred meters, eyes locked on Haruto in wary tension.
In their brief exchange, this "mortal" had crushed it with a single move. Even if it tried to maintain its dignity, it knew the truth—Haruto was stronger.
The dragon's body twisted again, lightning flashing as it dove into the forest of colossal trees, shattering vast swaths of the inner-world's Deep Forest Emergence in an instant. The destruction freed the bound earth giant.
"So… you're going for a joint attack now?"
Haruto's gaze sharpened as he watched the dragon coil itself around the earth giant's massive body.
The combination resembled a fusion of the Wood Human and Wood Dragon Techniques.
"I see…" Haruto's eyes lit with sudden understanding. "The Zanpakutō reflects the wielder's soul—it's an extension of my own power."
"Which means these manifestations are simply another way my strength takes form."
"But why haven't the other three elemental avatars appeared? Could it be… related to Shikai and Bankai?"
Every Zanpakutō had two released states, with an immense gulf of power between them.
It seemed likely he simply hadn't triggered the right condition yet—hence why only the lightning dragon and earth giant appeared in his inner world.
Now freed, the earth giant charged toward Haruto alongside its lightning-wreathed ally.
Haruto exhaled. "Enough."
This time, he didn't even bother directing the Wood Human to meet them.
In truth, he hadn't been using Deep Forest Emergence or the Wood Human Technique because he needed them to fight these two.
He simply… wanted to see what they would look like here if he didn't restrain his chakra at all.
To defeat them, Haruto didn't need any jutsu at all.
After all, chakra and spiritual pressure weren't so different—they were simply different names for the same underlying force.
Which meant he could unleash his chakra to achieve the same overwhelming effect as spiritual pressure.
Drawing a deep breath, Haruto let his chakra explode outward.
A brilliant, deep-violet cloak of chakra formed around him—far more intense than ever before—wrapping him like the mantle of a true Tailed Beast.
An invisible wave of crushing force rolled forward, slamming directly into the earth giant.
BOOM!
The colossal figure toppled instantly.
The lightning dragon fought to resist… but met the same fate.
One man, one dragon—both knelt before Senju Haruto.