"Cough... What's the matter? Was he always this strong?!"
Chōjirō Sasakibe had expended a vast amount of spiritual energy just to barely shield himself from the explosion. Yet, before he could even catch his breath, Akira's figure burst forth from the smoke.
"What?!"
Sasakibe's eyes widened in shock. He immediately summoned his Raijin no Kabe—a powerful wall of lightning meant to neutralize incoming attacks. But against Akira, it was as fragile as paper.
With his fist clenched, Akira surged forward, thunder and fire intertwining around his arm.
"Reienryū Tekkō!" (Thunder Flame Dragon's Iron Strike!)
The attack smashed through Kōkō Gonryō Rikyū's defenses without resistance, slamming directly into Sasakibe's face like a meteor striking the earth.
For an instant, Sasakibe thought he saw the image of a massive dragon lunging toward him—a mirage created by sheer killing intent. Then, the pain hit him. His vision went white as his brain struggled to process the impact.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—!"
His body was sent flying, bouncing violently across the ground for hundreds of meters before coming to a stop, battered and bloodied.
The surrounding Shinigami were left in stunned silence.
"No way… He's the lieutenant who mastered Bankai… and he was overpowered in two strikes?!"
"That's impossible! Bankai is supposed to be the pinnacle of Shinigami power!"
"How can it look so meaningless in front of him?!"
Everything they believed about power, about Bankai, was crumbling before their eyes. The ultimate symbol of strength—a power revered and feared—had been reduced to nothing by Akira in mere moments.
Two strikes. That was all it took to nearly kill Chōjirō Sasakibe.
"This… is Akira's strength!"
Among the crowd, Abarai Renji clenched his fists, his emotions tangled in envy and frustration.
To be honest, Renji had never been the type to resent someone purely out of personal bias. Even if he was drinking, it wasn't like him to hold a grudge against another common-born Shinigami like Akira.
But deep down, he couldn't shake his irritation.
Akira had always been close to Rukia—closer than Renji had ever been after they left Inuzuri. Once, Renji had been her closest friend. But time had pulled them apart, and it was only because of Kurosaki Ichigo that their bond had been restored.
Now, Akira's existence had altered everything.
Renji watched, feeling as if Akira had taken the place he once held.
Not only that—he had surpassed him in every way imaginable.
Even Kuchiki Byakuya, the very man Renji had vowed to catch up to, had fallen to Akira.
And before Renji could even process that loss, Akira had risen to become the captain of the Sixth Division—his direct superior.
Before Renji could adjust to that, Akira had defected, and even when the entirety of the Gotei 13 pursued him, they couldn't capture him.
Now, he stood here, effortlessly crushing a Bankai-wielding Shinigami as if it were nothing.
"For him… even Bankai is nothing more than a toy to be broken at will?!"
Renji bit his lip, hesitation written across his face. He watched as Rukia fled, torn between chasing after her or staying put.
"Hey…" one of the Shinigami asked. "Should we stop Rukia Kuchiki?"
At that moment, the realization dawned on the group of Shinigami.
"Yes! That's our duty!"
Just as many of them prepared to move, Renji suddenly shuddered, snapping out of his internal conflict. As if resolving himself, he leaped in front of everyone, drawing his Zanpakutō.
"Lieutenant Abarai, what are you doing?!"
The gathered Shinigami were stunned as Renji spoke with determination.
"I've made up my mind—I'm going to save Rukia too!"
"So no one will pass me—howl, Zabimaru!"
Meanwhile, Akira took notice of the commotion, glancing over with mild surprise before turning his attention back to Yamamoto Shigekuni.
"Even seeing your lieutenant being beaten like this, you're still not going to act? You're as cold-blooded as ever."
The old man remained composed, his voice unwavering.
"It is not yet time to interfere."
"After all, that Bankai can wound even me. Do not underestimate Chōjirō's pride."
"Draaahhhh!"
Chōjirō Sasakibe let out a fierce battle cry, answering Yamamoto's faith in him. Struggling to rise despite his wounds, his bloodstained eyes locked onto Akira.
"My Bankai is not so easily subdued! Witness it—my pride, my dignity!"
With those words, Sasakibe drove his Zanpakutō into the ground. Thunder crackled violently above as the sky and earth connected, forming an enormous space that soon solidified into a grand palace.
"Kōkō Gonryō Rikyū! (Forbidden Leihuang Shrine!)"
In an instant, the palace pulsed with an undeniable will of lightning, imposing a restriction upon the battlefield.
"What?!"
Akira attempted to counter, but it was too late—his connection to his Goro Goro no Mi powers was severed. Within moments, he was forcibly ejected from his Thunder Flame Dragon Mode.
"Ahh… heh…"
Sasakibe coughed up blood but managed a weak chuckle.
"How's that for a Bankai?" he rasped.
"In exchange for temporarily losing all power from my Zanpakutō, I can seal away all lightning-based abilities within this domain!"
Akira's expression remained unreadable as he assessed the situation.
"Hmph. So fighting a Shinigami really is a battle of intelligence. If you don't know their Zanpakutō's abilities, you're bound to suffer."
"But that also means… you're defenseless while maintaining the Kōkō Gonryō Rikyū, right?" His eyes gleamed dangerously. "Then I just have to kill you before it's too late."
Akira moved in a blur, instantly closing the distance to Sasakibe, his sacred sword raised for the final strike.
"Ching!"
A searing-hot blade descended from above, intercepting the attack.
Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni had finally made his move!
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