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Finally!
Feeling the Reiatsu emanating from the transfer pillar, Ishikawa's taut nerves immediately relaxed.
"Ishikawa-sama, this thing is truly amazing."
"Hmph, it's nothing but shameful theft."
"..."
Along with the voices, figures emerged one by one from the transfer pillar behind Ishikawa.
The first to step out of the transfer pillar was Ukitake, looking somewhat sickly, and following him was his old friend Kyōraku Shunsui.
As the two stepped out, Kurotsuchi Mayuri then appeared behind Ishikawa. Upon appearing, he didn't even glance at Ishikawa, but instead stared at the transfer pillar at his feet, his eyeballs constantly rolling in their sockets... as if annoyed, yet also giving off a sense of triumph.
Ishikawa wasn't surprised by his reaction, because the transfer pillar was Kurotsuchi Mayuri's research result, and Urahara Kisuke had directly 'borrowed' it, making it essentially identical to what he had created.
He was annoyed because Urahara Kisuke had stolen his knowledge, and triumphant... also because Urahara Kisuke had stolen his knowledge.
Just then, the transfer pillar flashed again, and two figures slowly appeared within it.
Upon seeing one of them, Ishikawa's eyes immediately lit up.
Commander Yamamoto, leaning on his cane, slowly appeared in the backyard of Ishikawa's Everything Store with Komamura Sajin. As soon as he appeared, Komamura Sajin raised his hand, caught a Hollow falling from above, glanced at it, and then casually tossed it aside...
In an instant, five captains of the Gotei 13 appeared in the backyard of Ishikawa's Everything Store.
This was almost all the combat power the Gotei 13 could muster.
Three captains, including Aizen, had defected, and then there were Kuchiki Byakuya and Tōshirō Hitsugaya, both seriously injured and not yet recovered, and... that obsessive woman who ran off to peek at Yoruichi.
Almost all the captains had arrived here.
And the only captain left to guard Seireitei was...
Unohana Retsu!
Unless there was an accident, it must have been Commander Yamamoto who ordered her to stay behind.
What is a sense of security?
This is a sense of security!!
Standing in front of the five captains, Ishikawa looked out at the Espada who had appeared above the Everything Store, and even had the leisure to consider...
Was it possible for his Everything Store to survive the upcoming battle?
However, Ishikawa was also very sensible. After Commander Yamamoto walked out of the transfer pillar, he immediately retreated behind Commander Yamamoto and stood with the other captains.
On the roof of the Everything Store, Harribel looked at Commander Yamamoto, her brow slightly furrowed.
Boom~!
But just then, black flames filled with a decaying aura suddenly surged from the suburban area outside the wall.
Seeing this, Harribel and the others standing above the Everything Store simultaneously retreated out of the courtyard.
Ishikawa, seeing this, was about to make a move.
But the next second, he was pulled by Kyōraku Shunsui beside him:
"Ishikawa-sama, let's retreat a bit too."
Hmm?
Ishikawa was startled at first, then immediately understood.
Because...
Before the black flames even reached the small courtyard, an incredibly scorching aura erupted from beside Ishikawa.
The moment he felt this aura, Ishikawa immediately carried Ganju and retreated to the other side of the courtyard.
And the Hollows on the ground, ignoring the pain, scrambled to climb over the wall from the side of Ishikawa and the others, but a few who were too slow... were caught in the sudden scorching aura and vaporized without a sound.
This scene made Ishikawa realize...
He might have been thinking too much. If these two started fighting, let alone his Everything Store, it was unknown if the West 38th District would even remain.
Fortunately, he had already evacuated the residents of the West 38th District before the battle began.
At this moment, both sides displayed extreme tacit understanding, as if they had planned it. The Espada retreated to the right, and Ishikawa's side retreated to the left. In a blink of an eye, only Commander Yamamoto remained in the backyard of the Everything Store.
Boom~!
Almost simultaneously with everyone's retreat, flames erupted in the backyard of the Everything Store, directly clashing with the black flames.
Ishikawa's walls, inscribed with Spiritual Crests, completely vaporized before the flames even touched them!
The next second, the black flames and the crimson flames collided.
Invisible waves spread out, and anything caught in their path either vaporized or decayed.
"I've forgotten when I last saw Head Captain Yama in this state," Ukitake said.
Ishikawa and the others stood outside the courtyard. Although they were not far, both attacking parties condensed their flames to a single point to resist each other's attacks.
Those standing on the left and right sides, aside from feeling the intense heat and the awe-inspiring Reiatsu, were not substantially affected.
"That's understandable. After all, their opponent is a monster from Head Captain Yama's era."
Kyōraku Shunsui turned to look into the distance. He saw Baraggan slowly moving through the sea of black flames, which resembled a tsunami. The crimson light in his empty eye sockets was fixed on Commander Yamamoto.
Sizzling sounds continued to emanate from where the black and red flames collided. The black flames decayed the crimson flames at a visible rate.
Commander Yamamoto slowly opened his eyes. Upon seeing Baraggan, he pointed his cane at the ground.
Buzz—
The moisture in the air instantly vanished. A visible heatwave spread out in layers from where the cane touched the ground.
"All things in the universe, turn to ash!"
Commander Yamamoto slightly raised his eyes. The cane in his hand began to tear apart from the bottom, eventually transforming into a sparkling purple hilt, and a Zanpakuto shaped like a common Asauchi.
"—Ryujin Jakka."
Boom—
A heatwave erupted, vaporizing the reinforced stone paving, walls, training ground, and the transfer pillars at the four corners of the Everything Store's backyard, all personally strengthened by Ishikawa.
Even the Everything Store behind Commander Yamamoto, after its walls' Spiritual Crests glowed for an instant, let out a crisp 'snap' and half of the building... including Ishikawa's bedroom, vanished, while the remaining half was engulfed in flames.
This scene made Ishikawa wince.
No matter what, this was his home for over a decade since he arrived in Soul Society...
And just like that, in the blink of an eye, it was gone!
Moreover, it was hard to expect this person to compensate him.
However, looking at the group of Hollows hiding behind them, already struggling to breathe, Ishikawa's Reiatsu surged, enveloping everyone within his Reiatsu.
Although Ishikawa didn't care about their lives, they had, after all, just saved his life with Ganju-nii.
Ishikawa could still provide them with this basic protection.
Just then, Commander Yamamoto swept his Zanpakuto forward.
"Shomyo!"
In an instant, a silent sheet of red flames appeared, containing an extremely terrifying aura. Like a fiery tornado, it swept towards the incoming black flames.
These flames were so dense and intense, as if they would burn the very space itself to ashes.
Even the black flames, filled with a decaying aura, were dyed crimson by the fiery tornado at this moment.
The stray sparks made Ishikawa's face sink, and the Reiatsu he used for protection surged!
Monster!
Even though he had long known Commander Yamamoto's strength was incredibly terrifying, it was only through close-range experience that Ishikawa truly realized what 'terrifying' meant.
No wonder Aizen, even after fusing with the Hōgyoku and undergoing a drastic change in mentality, still had to find a way to counter him.
Baraggan's eyes showed a grave crimson light, but no sign of panic. Almost simultaneously with the fiery tornado's approach, a surge of black flames gathered in his hand.
"Gran Caída!"
Pulling a chain, a gigantic axe, condensed from black flames and resembling a Shinigami's scythe for harvesting souls, directly struck the fiery tornado.
Under this giant axe, the fiery tornado seemed to be extinguished at this moment, becoming dim and lifeless.
Strange sizzling sounds continuously emanated, and the void itself visibly distorted at this instant, looking as if the entire area was enveloped in steam.
Hazy and terrifying.
Although the commotion was not loud, judging by the continuously appearing black lightning in space, anyone who stepped into that area at this moment would instantly turn to nothing!
Because that black lightning...
Was the symbol of space being constantly torn apart.
Commander Yamamoto frowned and let out a loud roar.
The flames on his blade immediately surged, but as soon as they appeared, they immediately contracted, only to erupt again when the blade was swung to its extreme.
A destructive wave immediately exploded, and the black and crimson lights completely obscured the sunlight.
Ishikawa immediately retreated backward with the group of Hollows, while Harribel and the others opposite them did not retreat.
Because Harribel stood in front of everyone, constantly releasing water vapor from her blade, replenishing the moisture in the atmosphere while forming a mist-like barrier, blocking all the scorching impact.
This was only Shikai!
But the Reiatsu and power displayed already far surpassed the Bankai of other captains, making him seem not like a fellow captain, but rather like someone from a different dimension than the other captains.
Originally, Ishikawa thought that after the captains arrived as reinforcements, it would turn into a situation of one-on-one combat...
As it turned out, it was still one-on-one.
The only change was that he had gone from being a participant to a spectator.
The battle between the two in the battlefield was so terrifying that even the residual effects of the battle could cause those below captain-level to have difficulty breathing, or even die directly.
If not for Ishikawa's protection, every single one of these Hollows present would have died here.
Boom~
In the battlefield, Gran Caída collapsed, and Baraggan took a step back.
When he looked up again, although his skeletal face showed no expression, a sense of gloom could be felt.
"Brat~!"
Baraggan's eyes glowed with an extremely gloomy red light, and a mysterious murderous aura emanated from him: "Don't be so arrogant!!"
Commander Yamamoto glanced at Baraggan, saying nothing, but the disdain in his eyes had already responded.
This gaze made Baraggan's aura grow even gloomier.
Boom, boom, boom, boom...
Explosions echoed from within Baraggan's body. The decay within the flames was elevated to its extreme at this moment!
Unacceptable!
Once upon a time, he had held the same view of his opponent.
But now...
The roles were reversed. Not only that, but even the throne of Hueco Mundo had been taken by someone who was once beneath him.
Shinigami, Shinigami, Shinigami...
Baraggan let out a long howl to the sky, his voice filled with anguish and fury, and an astonishing killing intent surged forth.
The black Reiatsu combined with the flames. Wherever the sound waves passed, time seemed to accelerate, and everything rapidly decayed.
"Go back and tell Aizen."
Commander Yamamoto's expression remained unchanged upon seeing this. Instead, he slowly said, "I'll be waiting for him here!"
After he finished speaking, he pointed Ryujin Jakka at the ground.
Buzz~
Silently, pillars of flame shot up from around Baraggan, connecting to each other, completely trapping the black flames within, without any leakage.
"Ennetsu Jigoku!"
"Do you think such a method can trap me?"
Baraggan's voice came from within the crimson flames. Decay and scorching heat immediately unleashed a fierce confrontation.
"Everything in this world will eventually decay, even flames are no exception!"
Baraggan's eyes glowed fiercely red. Black flames enveloped his body, as if dressing him in a black flame cloak. He no longer allowed the decaying black flames to spread as before. Instead, he condensed the black flames into an extremely small area, constantly colliding with the crimson flames!
Outside the battlefield, Ishikawa, Kurotsuchi Mayuri, and Szayelaporro from the Espada side, all three of them had a gleam in their eyes at this moment.
But unlike the other two, what Ishikawa was researching was...
Whether it was possible to simulate the power of the two using Kido.
While observing the battle, Ishikawa activated all the Kido knowledge in his mind, constantly combining and deducing.
Unlike the high-level Kido from numbers 60-89, Ishikawa had never seen anyone use the top-level Kido above number 90. He could only gradually understand the rules within their incantations and the changes in Reiatsu during their activation by combining his own Kido foundation, thereby mastering them and making them appear on his system interface!
So, up until now, the only top-level Kido Ishikawa had mastered was Kurohitsugi.
But just from observing the battle...
[Hado #96: Itto Kaso] Not activated (0/50)
Ishikawa looked at the new Hado that appeared on his system interface, a glimmer of light in his eyes.
The battle continued.
In the center of the battlefield, red and black lights waxed and waned. The red flames continuously compressed the black flames, causing Baraggan within to let out unwilling roars, but he was powerless.
Thinking of how he had almost died at the opponent's hands earlier, Ishikawa just wanted to shout:
Baraggan, I curse your ancestors, give me a straight answer, surrender or not!
This was to relieve the frustration of being chased by Baraggan earlier.
Although...
This phrase would actually be more appropriate for Commander Yamamoto.
Drip, drip, drip, drip—
But just then, a dripping sound came from an instrument on Kurotsuchi Mayuri's body beside Ishikawa.
Kurotsuchi Mayuri frowned. He didn't bother to take out the instrument, but instead looked up at the sky.
Following his gaze, a crack gradually tore open in the void, as if a large mouth sewn shut with thread was breaking its stitches and slowly opening!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
Golden lights descended from the sky, illuminating Baraggan in the flames, Harribel and the others in the distance, and one golden light shone far away.
"Hmph~!"
Commander Yamamoto, seeing this, let out a cold snort. He turned his Zanpakuto and was about to attack the crack in the sky.
But...
Buzz—
The sound of space tearing emanated, and dozens of Ceros, like cannonballs, surged from the crack, attacking Commander Yamamoto!
These Ceros didn't look large, but they all exuded an extremely terrifying fluctuation.
They even made Commander Yamamoto stop his offensive. He switched from a thrust to a swing, and all the incoming Ceros exploded one by one before they even reached him.
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang...
Explosions rang out in a continuous barrage. The figures enveloped in the golden light floated up one by one and entered the crack.
Buzz~
With another hum, the large mouth closed, and everything returned to peace.
Commander Yamamoto frowned deeply, slowly reined in his aura, glanced at Ishikawa, and then said to Kurotsuchi Mayuri: "Restore the transfer pillar."
Kurotsuchi Mayuri's eyeballs darted towards Ishikawa. He nodded and said nothing.
"Come to the Head Captain's office tomorrow morning for a meeting!"
Commander Yamamoto said to Ishikawa, then directly turned and left. The other few, seeing this, followed behind him.
Leaving Ishikawa alone with the group of Hollows, standing in the center of the ruins of West 38th District.
He looked at the Commander Yamamoto's retreating back and opened his mouth.
But...
In the end, he didn't dare to ask for compensation!
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