Fate in Bleach: Unlimited Blade Works!-Chapter 315: Demon’s Extract

"Esdeath."

Despite seeing the fervent battle lust in Esdeath's eyes, Ailin shook his head.

"Esdeath, your duty is to protect Haruko."

"Lord Ailin, before I came here, I entrusted Lady Haruko's safety to Alice," Esdeath said, refusing to give up.

"Please rest assured, Lord Ailin. I won't allow the aftershocks of our battle to reach Lady Haruko."

Ailin looked down at his residence, now enveloped in a golden aura emanating from countless golden osmanthus flowers.

It seemed Esdeath wasn't lying.

Before she came, Esdeath had spoken to Alice. That was why Alice had activated her Bankai, using her Golden Osmanthus Sword to protect their home.

"Esdeath!"

Ailin frowned. "Do you even realize that Head-Captain Yamamoto's current strength is barely a tenth of his true power? To fight him in your current state would be suicide!"

He couldn't deny that, among the Zanpakutō he had created, Esdeath was one of the strongest.

However, in the Soul Society, a Zanpakutō's power was ultimately limited by its "weapon" nature.

Without sufficient spiritual pressure, even the most powerful abilities were merely castles in the air.

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's strength didn't stem from his possession of Ryūjin Jakka, the strongest fire-type Zanpakutō. It was Yamamoto's immense spiritual pressure that had amplified Ryūjin Jakka's power to an unprecedented level.

During the Zanpakutō Rebellion, when Ichigo Kurosaki shattered the barrier protecting Yamamoto's heart, Ryūjin Jakka, influenced by Muramasa's power, had rebelled against Yamamoto.

Yamamoto, using nothing but his fists, had forced Ryūjin Jakka back into submission.

Esdeath's power was comparable to Ryūjin Jakka's.

If even Ryūjin Jakka couldn't withstand Yamamoto's iron fists, how could Esdeath possibly succeed?

Moreover, Yamamoto, wielding Ryūjin Jakka, wasn't a pushover either. Even in its Shikai state, Ailin didn't believe Esdeath could defeat Yamamoto.

"Lord Ailin, I'm aware of that."

"But—"

Esdeath looked up at Ailin with a serious expression. "Suicide isn't a reason for me to abandon this battle. Only by fighting against such a powerful opponent can I truly prove my worth."

"Very well. Go. I'll be watching, Esdeath."

"Thank you for your permission, Lord Ailin."

Having received Ailin's approval, a hint of joy flashed in Esdeath's eyes. She bowed to Ailin, then turned to face Yamamoto.

Yamamoto and Ailin weren't far apart.

After shattering Esdeath's ice mountain, Yamamoto stopped attacking when he saw her conversing with Ailin. Based on Ailin's earlier words, Yamamoto had temporarily concluded that Ailin wasn't planning to overthrow the Seireitei.

As Ailin had said, in this situation, it was better to wait and observe.

Once the dust settled and the true enemies revealed themselves, it would be their time to act.

However, Yamamoto also understood that he and Ailin were the Seireitei's two pillars of stability. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

If they both remained inactive, those lurking in the shadows would be hesitant to make their move.

This was why, despite knowing that inaction would be more beneficial to the Seireitei, Yamamoto had chosen to fight.

Only when he was occupied would those who sought to disrupt the Seireitei's order dare to act.

His fight against his two disciples had served two purposes. First, it was a punishment for Shunsui Kyoraku and Jūshirō Ukitake, who had violated his orders. Second, it was to create the illusion that he was occupied.

However, it seemed that simply being occupied wasn't enough.

Because, besides him, there was another individual in the Seireitei who commanded respect, even fear.

Fortunately, Ailin had stepped forward to stop him, giving Yamamoto a reason to engage him.

Now, Yamamoto turned his gaze to Esdeath. He could sense her formidable strength just from her spiritual pressure.

However, what truly intrigued him was Esdeath's aura.

It wasn't the aura of a Shinigami, a Hollow, a Quincy, or a Fullbringer.

This aura triggered a memory within Yamamoto.

Over a thousand years ago, Yamamoto had encountered someone with a similar aura.

It was a member of the Zero Division, the creator of Zanpakutō, known as the "God of Swords"—Ōetsu Nimaiya!

Besides Nimaiya, there were others with similar auras. They were the Zanpakutō spirits materialized by Nimaiya.

Yamamoto had no doubts about Ailin's abilities.

Ailin's power was similar to Nimaiya's, but it seemed to surpass Nimaiya's in some aspects.

Yamamoto felt that Nimaiya's ability was merely a weaker version of Ailin's.

If Nimaiya could materialize the Zanpakutō he created, it was only natural that Ailin could do the same.

With Yamamoto's strength, he naturally overheard Ailin and Esdeath's conversation.

"Hmph!"

While Yamamoto agreed with Ailin's assessment of his strength, he scoffed at Esdeath's request to fight him.

"You little brat who doesn't know how high the sky is and how deep the earth is."

"It's precisely because I'm foolish that I want to fight you, old man!" Esdeath said, then placed her hand on her chest. Her spiritual pressure exploded outwards.

"Bankai - Demon's Extract!"

BOOM!

The temperature within the Seireitei plummeted. Ice crystals even began to form in the air.

The sky above was now divided in two.

One side was a crimson sky, scorched by the flames of Yamamoto's Ryūjin Jakka.

The other side was a white sky, frozen by Esdeath's chilling cold.

Where the two extremes met, a chaotic mixture of steam and frost swirled.

Before their battle even began, Yamamoto and Esdeath's spiritual pressures had already subjected the Shinigami of the Seireitei to a taste of both extreme heat and frigid cold.

"This spiritual pressure, this temperature..."

Within the Fourth Division, Toshiro Hitsugaya, wrapped in white bandages, looked up at the chilling cold emanating from the sky with a grave expression.

As the wielder of Hyōrinmaru, the strongest ice-type Zanpakutō, Hitsugaya was arguably the one who had the greatest control over ice in the Soul Society.

However, after seeing this unfamiliar aura unleash its Bankai, Hitsugaya began to doubt himself.

Hyōrinmaru was the strongest ice-type Zanpakutō.

But even he, after activating Bankai, couldn't manipulate the outside world's temperature to such a degree.

There was only one explanation.

He was too weak.

Thinking of what had happened in Ailin's Innate Domain a few days ago, Hitsugaya clenched his fists.

"Teacher was right. No matter how strong a Zanpakutō's power, it's ultimately the Shinigami who wields it who decides how much of that power is unleashed.

If I continue to rely on Hyōrinmaru, my achievements will never surpass Hyōrinmaru's. To reach Head-Captain Yamamoto's level, I need to become stronger. Stronger than Hyōrinmaru!"

...

"This spiritual pressure is similar to Sode no Shirayuki's..."

Rukia Kuchiki looked up at the sky. She was covered in blood. She sensed Ailin and Yamamoto's auras there.

However, what intrigued her most was this unfamiliar aura emanating an overwhelming cold.

This power was similar to Sode no Shirayuki's. But there was a fundamental difference.

Rukia shook her head, dismissing her thoughts. Right now, her task was to seek "justice" for the attack she had suffered over two decades ago.

Initially, Rukia had believed that simply killing the nobles who were involved would be enough. However, after truly raising her blade, she discovered the extent of their crimes.

Each one shocked her to her core.

She had never imagined that within the seemingly peaceful Seireitei, there was so much darkness, so much evil...

Even though Rukia had stopped killing, cries of agony and the clash of blades still echoed through the shadows.

It seemed that many others were seeking revenge against the nobles during this chaos. Rukia had merely fired the first shot. Those who followed simply joined the fray.

However, because of Rukia's presence, those seeking revenge didn't completely eradicate the nobles.

While the women and children, clearly lacking combat abilities, were terrified, huddled together and sobbing, no one truly attacked them.

Whenever someone's bloodlust overwhelmed them, a golden lightning bolt would descend from the sky, bringing them back to their senses.

Indeed, even though Ailin was currently fighting Yamamoto, he was still monitoring Rukia's progress.

However, even Ailin hadn't anticipated that Rukia's actions would inspire so many others to seek revenge.

It seemed the people of the Seireitei had suffered under the nobles' tyranny for far too long.

Now, with Rukia leading the charge, they could finally vent their grievances.

...

BOOM!

The fog dissipated, and Yamamoto slowly opened his eyes.

"Child, I don't have time to play with you. If I'm too harsh, blame your own weakness!"

With those words, flames erupted from Ryūjin Jakka. Yamamoto swung his Zanpakutō, the endless flames were burning through the ice and attacking Esdeath.

"Mahapadma!"

Facing Yamamoto's attack, Esdeath didn't dare underestimate him. She immediately unleashed her overwhelming cold.

Endless cold clashed against boundless flames, creating a thick fog that enveloped the Seireitei.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Red and white lights intertwined as Esdeath and Yamamoto turned into two rays of light, quickly crossing in the air.

Ailin's eyes followed their movements. It seemed that, with her Bankai and the support of her Mahapadma technique, Esdeath was evenly matched against Yamamoto in his Shikai state.

However, Esdeath was ultimately a Zanpakutō. Without Ailin's spiritual pressure, once the cold of her Mahapadma dissipated, she wouldn't have the strength to fight Yamamoto.

Both Yamamoto and Esdeath knew this.

Therefore, after a brief exchange, Esdeath abandoned close combat.

After all, based on their previous clash, Yamamoto's swordsmanship was superior to hers!

"Haaaa!"

Esdeath transformed into a white light, concentrating all her cold into a massive ice sphere, nearly a hundred meters in diameter. It hurtled towards Yamamoto like a meteor.

The ice meteor descended with tremendous force.

However, unlike typical meteors, which ignited upon entering the atmosphere, Esdeath's ice meteor froze the air around it, creating a trail of white frost.

The rapidly descending ice meteor generated a powerful wind pressure, forcing the Shinigami on the ground to their knees, unable to stand.

"Hmph!"

Yamamoto's anger flared.

He had already been restraining his spiritual pressure during his fight against Esdeath, fearing that the aftershocks might injure those below. But he hadn't expected Esdeath to unleash such a destructive attack.

If he didn't intercept the ice meteor, at least a tenth of the Seireitei would be destroyed.

Its destructive power was comparable to the incident at the Shinigami Research and Development Institute a thousand years ago.

Once was enough.

How could Yamamoto allow the Seireitei to suffer such damage twice while he was still the Captain-Commander?

In that instant, Yamamoto unleashed his full power.

Blazing flames erupted not only from Ryūjin Jakka, but also from Yamamoto's body.