Author of Chapters 1-14: XXXG-01D
"Bankai." Byakuya Kuchiki dropped his sword down, the sword disappearing as it sank into the ground.
Uryu, having heard about Bankai, didn't wait for whatever the Bankai was to activate. Bringing up his bow, he opened one hand, letting streams of power flow from the wing on his back to form an arrow, while at the same time giant blades protruded from the ground in two rows, their backs to Byakuya Kuchiki. The arrow just finished solidly forming in Uryu's hand when Byakuya spoke.
"Chire, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi (Scatter, Vibrant Display of a Thousand Cherry Blossoms)." The swords broke apart into a dazzling display of pink light, and arrow that Uryu fired was stopped by a mass of pink petals.
'Pink? What kind of man uses pink weapons? Is he gay? Then again, that would explain the hair.' Uryu pulled himself out of his mental insults towards the man and used Hirenkyaku to sidestep the mass of pink petals that had come barreling towards him. He brought the bow up again, firing off another arrow.
"Useless." The word had no emotion in it, just a statement of fact. Or at least what Byakuya believed was fact. A mass of pink petals stopped the arrow, and the black haired noble reasserted conscious control over the group of petals that the Quincy had dodged. They shot at him from behind, but Uryu was too wary to get caught in that kind of a trap, and used the Hirenkyaku again to dodge.
For a time the battle went on like that, Uryu unable to get past Byakuya's defense, and Byakuya simply unable to hit Uryu. The Captain of Sixth Squad had tried repeatedly to get him in a position where he was surrounded, but Uryu always managed to see the trap coming and dodge before it could close.
'At this rate it's going to turn into a war of attrition. But fortunately, I have a major advantage in that.' Uryu could feel the Reiatsu that Byakuya was using to control his pink petals of doom, and he was taking a lot of it to keep himself going. Being in Soul Society gave him a major power boost to begin with, but with the amount of Reiatsu that Byakuya was giving off to control the hundred million tiny blades that made up his Bankai, Uryu was soaking up so much power that he could keep going all day if he had to.
A fact that Byakuya was noticing himself. He had never personally fought a Quincy, but had studied them, and he knew what the basis of their powers were. He couldn't afford to get into a battle of stamina, he'd lose. But at the same time, he also wasn't fast enough to beat the Quincy with his Zanpakuto sealed, and if Bankai wasn't cutting it, then it was a guarantee that Shikai couldn't do a damned thing.
Byakuya was proud of his speed. He'd trained under the Goddess of Flash herself, after all. But Soi Fon was faster than he was, and she had lost to this same Quincy. So he couldn't match the intruder in speed, he couldn't afford to play tag with him all day long, he could hold his Bankai for a long time, but the Quincy could go for days on end with all the power around him. It was time to switch tactics.
"You are strong, Quincy, so I will show you the true form of Senbonzakura. This form abandons defense to focus purely on slaying the enemy. No one who has seen this technique has lived." Byakuya formed the second stage of his Bankai, the thousand swords surrounding the two of them.
"I see." Uryu smirked. "You'll have far greater control over these swords than you ever did with the mass of blades you tried to swarm me with earlier. You control the sword fragments that make up your Bankai with your mind, right? That's got to be difficult, controlling all those little blades with your mind. With this you're only controlling a fraction as many blades as you were, granting you far more control." Uryu formed another arrow. "Not that it's going to matter. You still can't catch me with those. And without any defense, I'm going to turn you into a sieve."
"Very perceptive, Quincy. You are correct. Without any defense from my Bankai, you could easily kill me. Unfortunately for you, I'm not a rank amateur, and will not give you the chance. Bakudo 81. Danku (Splitting Void)." A wall of energy shimmered into existence in front of him, separating him from Uryu. "This spell can block Hado spells up to 89. Your arrows will not be able to penetrate it." Byakuya quickly formed three more walls around him, forming a box, then finished with one final spell to protect him from getting hit from above. "You cannot hurt me. And you will make a mistake eventually. Just one, because the first one you make will be the one that kills you."
"We'll see." Uryu's eyes were like chips of diamond behind his glasses.
Ikkaku was holding his giant monk's spade in one hand and the center axe blade in the other, moving them both around so that they covered as much of him as he could make them. Tosen was out there, still waiting, that much he knew.
Tosen had taken out one of the blades with Kido, but now that he couldn't use the spinning of his blades to protect him, Tosen would come in close. The man's twisted sense of justice would compel him to finish Ikkaku off with his own hands.
Ikkaku closed his eyes. They weren't doing him any good open, and it allowed him to concentrate on the only sense he had left. Touch.
Ikkaku held his weapons tightly, the chain loose between them. If he played it right, he could catch Tosen in the chain, and finish him while he couldn't move.
All he could do at the moment though, was wait. Wait for the attack to come.
Uryu formed another arrow, sidestepping two swords that had come flying at him. He knew he was in a bad position, completely surrounded the Byakuya's weapons. At least with Soi Fon he'd only had to worry about attacks coming from one direction.
Byakuya's Kido walls that he was using to protect himself were incredibly tough, Uryu had found out. It had annoyed him greatly when he found out the Byakuya was right, and his arrows couldn't penetrate the barriers. At least, not his normal ones. A plan began forming in Uryu's mind, even as he used Hirenkyaku again.
Hirenkyaku created a current underneath the feet. Using that, he brought himself around, releasing his arrow at Byakuya's side, not slowing down in the slightest as he fired. The resulting explosion from the arrow releasing all it's pent up energy as it collided with the barrier gave Uryu the concealment that he needed, and he rode the current to above the Sixth Squad Captain. Channeling all the power that he could, he formed the strongest arrow that he had ever created. Uryu continued to pack power into the arrow he was forming, until the arrow's aura alone was nearly burning his hand. 'This should do it. If this can't break that damned barrier, nothing can.' Uryu thought as he unleashed the arrow into the Kido at point blank range, making sure none of the power was lost due to distance. Byakuya had just sensed his presence and began to move his head to look upward at him when Uryu fired. The arrow hit the barrier, the irresistible force straining against the immovable object. The barrier shattered, the arrow exploding at the same time.
Uryu was blown away by the force of the explosion, the concussive shockwave of the blast slamming into him like a freight train, his control over the Hirenkyaku vanishing as he was sent flying.
Byakuya was slightly delayed, being forced to dissolve the other four walls before he could get out of the self-made prison, and he had just started to use Shunpo when the explosion overtook, the shockwave knocking him to the ground, where the supercharged Reiatsu washed over him a second later. Fortunately for him, a large part of the arrows power had been expended trying to get through the Danku. Compounding that with the fact that the explosion was omni-directional instead of being focused towards him, and he was left with no more than a couple of mild burns and a few scratches.
Growling in frustration, Uryu righted himself in midair, forming another arrow, which he launched at the Sixth Squad Captain as he got back to his feet, but the arrow was blocked by a mass of pink petals. Looking around, he saw that all the swords were dissolving back into pink petals, but this time, he was caught in the middle, with what looked like no way out.
"Gokei, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi (Pivotal Scene, Vibrant Display of a Thousand Cherry Blossoms)." All the blades began to swirl around , creating a dome that Uryu couldn't escape from. "This form of Senbonzakura uses all one hundred million blades to create a sphere from which there is no escape. All the blades will rush at you at once, imploding in on you, and you will be destroyed."
Uryu looked around, trying to find an opening, but there wasn't one. When he looked back towards his enemy, he wasn't there, already having disappeared, getting away from the devastation.
Uryu held up his hand, drawing all the power he could muster into an arrow. Right before the sphere imploded on him, Uryu shot the arrow, following right behind it as the aura that the arrow exuded burned it's way through the sphere, leaving him just enough of a gap that if he followed right behind the arrow, he could escape.
Byakuya watched as the sphere of petals collapsed inwards, falling down to land lightly on his feet. He'd had to put all of his effort into dodging that attack, had he remained he would have been shredded by his own technique. His eyes widened in shock as he saw the streak of blue energy penetrate the dome, followed by a sliver of white that he instantly identified as the Quincy. Byakuya frowned. He was running out of energy, his ability to maintain his Bankai was being pushed to its limit. He began to draw the petals back to him, preparing for another assault.
Tosen held out his hand. "Bakudo 4. Hainawa (Crawling Rope)." Energy ropes slid out of Tosen's hand, wrapping around Ikkaku, holding him still.
'Aw, shit, it's times like now that I really regret never learning Kido.' Ikkaku thought frantically as he tried to break the ropes.
Before he could, however, Tosen buried Suzumushi up to the hilt in his stomach. Ikkaku stiffened from the sudden pain, coughing up blood as the ropes disintegrated.
Tosen turned the blade in the wound, blood spurting out from around the gash, but before he could pull it out, Ikkaku did something that he didn't expect. Ikkaku let go of the giant axe in his left hand, and grabbed onto the chain, swinging it around so it bound the two of them together, his right arm held up high, the monks spade seeming even larger to Tosen as it was held above the bald mans head.
A crazed grin, much like Kenpachi's appeared on Ikkaku's face. Although Tosen had reacted quickly enough to make sure one hand escaped being bound by the chain, Ikkaku was certain that Tosen couldn't stop his blade with one hand. With the last of his strength, Ikkaku brought the oversized monk's spade down on the blind Captain with all the power he could muster.
Tosen positioned his free hand between him and Ikkaku's blade. "Hado 54. Haien (Abolishing Flame)."
A blast of purple Reiatsu shot out from Tosen's hand. When it hit the monk's spade, the spell engulfed the oversized blade, melting it, then disintegrating it, the heat proving far too much for the defensively weak Bankai.
Although Ikkaku couldn't see it, he felt the weight of the blade disappear, and knew that his final hope was dashed.
'This sucks. I never thought I'd go out like this.' Ikkaku thought as his Bankai dissolved, Tosen pulled his blade upwards, slicing through the rib cage, cutting both Ikkaku's heart and his lung before pulling the blade out. The Third Seat of Eleventh Squad collapsed, dead before he hit the ground.
Aizen and Ukitake stood between two of the open pits that were formerly used for the execution of Hollows. The white stone reflected the sun, leaving nearly no shadows in the execution grounds, everything outlined in stark detail by the unforgiving light.
"Shall we begin, Captain Ukitake?" Aizen asked politely.
"I'd rather we didn't."
"Unfortunately, you and I are on opposite sides here, so fight we must."
"Very well." Ukitake closed his eyes.
When he re-opened them, they were harder, determination flaring. "Naki Kotogotoku Waga Tate to Nare, Ikazuchi Kotogotoku Waga Yaiba to Nare, Sogyo no Kotowari (All Waves, Rise Now and Become My Shield, All Lightning, Strike Now and Become My Blade, Rejection of Twin Fishes)."
Aizen raised his hand. "Hado 63. Raikoho (Thunder Roar Cannon)." The electrical energy arced out from Aizen's hand, surging toward the white-haired Captain.
In a single fluid motion, Ukitake placed the sword in his left hand in front of him, Sogyo no Kotowari's unusually shaped blade absorbing the attack, transmitting it through the cord that connected the two swords, speeding it up as it passed through the five charms, before finally exiting out of the blade in Ukitake's right hand, shooting the Kido spell back at Aizen, the beam of electricity moving even faster than before.
Aizen held out his hand, batting the energy away from him with almost contemptuous ease. His eyes narrowed slightly behind his glasses. "Hado 4. Byakurai (White Lightning)."
Again, Ukitake shot the spell back at Aizen, and again Aizen effortlessly deflected the Kido away from him.
"One more time, just to make sure." Aizen murmured. "Hado 73. Soren Sokatsui (Twin Lotus Blue Fire, Crash Down." Two flame-like bursts of Kido shot out of Aizen's hand, one right after the other. Ukitake again held up his hand, the blade transferring the energy along the cord to the other blade, which fired the spell back at Aizen.
Aizen again calmly deflected the spell. "I see. Your Zanpakuto lets you absorb incoming energy, then transfers it through the cord, speeding it up each time it passes by one of the charms on your cord. The power of the attack doesn't seem to matter, however, there was a slight lag in the transfer time for the second shot of the Soren Sokatsui. That means your Zanpakuto isn't well equipped to handling multiple attacks simultaneously, or even in rapid succession." Aizen paused for a second. "You can only have one attack being redirected through your sword at a time."
Ukitake's eyes widened slightly. 'He was able to figure out how my Zanpakuto works, and its primary weakness simply by firing a couple of Kido spells at me.'
Aizen drew his own Zanpakuto. "However, except for Soren Sokatsui, there are no Kido spells that fire more than one blast in rapid succession. Which means that Kido will more than likely not be a factor in this battle. I do wonder, though."
"Wonder what, Aizen?" Ukitake asked.
"Even during your periods of better health, your illness takes quite a bit out of you. So I wonder, how will you fare in a Zanjutsu contest?"
Ukitake tightened his grip on his swords. Aizen was right, in a battle of strength and speed, which was largely what Zanjutsu required, he was at a disadvantage. However, he had one ace up his sleeve. If he was quick enough, he could use it to end the fight before Aizen realized exactly what was going on. If that didn't work, then it was likely he would be forced to go to Bankai, not something he wanted to do.
Ukitake blocked Aizen's first strike, retaliating instantly with the other sword. Aizen's brow furrowed slightly when the blades made contact, but moved to block the strike. Aizen frowned when the blade made contact, but his arm held steady.
'I can't believe it. He shouldn't have been able to block that strike without his arm even moving.' Ukitake thought.
Aizen disappeared in a blur of Shunpo, reappearing several yards away from Ukitake. He stared at Ukitake thoughtfully for a moment before smiling. "I see. I thought it was very odd that I felt no impact when our blades initially clashed. And then your second strike was far stronger than I had anticipated. Your Zanpakuto is capable of absorbing all types of energy, including the kinetic energy produced when our blades make contact with each other. It then transfers the energy to the other sword for a counterattack that is enhanced with the force taken from the initial strike."
Ukitake just stared. 'Again. He figured out my Zanpakuto's ability again simply by encountering it once. Ordinarily it takes people several times to guess what's happening, but he sees it once and he instantly knows what it does.'
"Your Zanpakuto seems to lend itself well to a defensive style of combat, counterattacking with your enemy's power added onto your own, allowing you to inflict heavy damage without too much effort, fitting for someone who's always had a frail constitution. But." Aizen smirked slightly. "In order for that to work, you need to be able to make your swords contact your enemy's attack. If you can't do that, then the entire fight turns away from you." Aizen held up his Zanpakuto. "Kudakero, Kyoka Suigetsu (Shatter, Mirror Flower Water Moon)."
Aizen's Zanpakuto flashed white for an instant, then returned to normal. Ukitake eyed it uneasily, just because it didn't look any different didn't mean it was harmless. All that happened visually when Zaraki released his sword was a brief flash of yellow light, very similar to Aizen's, but that thing could blow apart the Soukyoku. It would be foolish to underestimate Aizen's Zanpakuto, and Ukitake had no intention of doing so.
Aizen held out his free hand, a ball of red flame gathering on his palm. 'Shakkaho (Shot of Red Flame)? Why is he doing a Shakkaho after releasing his Zanpakuto? Especially when he knows I can counter something like that?'
The answer came in the form of two fingers pressed against his back. "Hado 11. Tsuzuri Raiden (Bound Lightning)."
Unlike the Byakurai, which pierced through a target, the Tsuzuri Raiden was designed to electrocute a target. And it did a fine job of that. Ukitake's body froze, his eyes bulging as electricity raced through his body, the smell of burnt flesh filled the air.
As soon as Aizen removed his fingers from Ukitake's back, the older Captain collapsed, his extremities twitching as the residual electricity ran through his body. The electricity had also caused his lungs to spasm, shaking loose some of the blood and infection in his lungs, which he coughed up, leaving an ugly red and yellow stain on the ground.
"I'm truly sorry, Captain Ukitake." Aizen said, his sword raised for the coup-de-grace.
Ukitake's hands tightened on the grip of his Zanpakuto. Taking a shuddering breath and forcing his limbs to stop twitching, he gathered his Reiatsu, blocking Aizen's attack and swiped at him with the other sword, forcing Aizen to take a step back. And that step back was all Ukitake needed.
"Bankai."
Shunsui Kyoraku was getting very frustrated. Ichimaru was a surprisingly slippery opponent. Not extremely powerful, at least not until he went Bankai, but he was an expert at using everything he possibly could to his advantage. Like the forest they were currently in.
Shinso came spearing in from the right, the glowing white blade alerting him to its presence, Kyoraku parrying the blade with the sword in his right hand, the one in his left slashing out, sending a blast of wind out to try to hit the silver-haired traitor. Shinso retracted even as Kyoraku attacked, and he knew that he had missed again.
Kyoraku bit back the urge to go Bankai and level the entire forest. For one thing, doing that would leave old man Yama even more pissed off at him than he already was, and Kyoraku was going to have to do some fast talking on the old man to keep from getting roasted the next time he saw him. Hopefully turning in Ichimaru and the rest of his little gang would give him some wiggle room with Yamamoto. The second reason he resisted the idea of going Bankai was the fact that if he went Bankai, Ichimaru would too, and he had no desire to face that damned thing. If there was a scarier Bankai out there, Kyoraku had yet to see it.
"You'll have to do better than that, Captain Kyoraku." Ichimaru's mocking voice came from out of the trees. Kyoraku quickly sent a blast of wind to where the voice seemed to have come from, but wasn't able to hit anything.
"Quit acting like a damned snake and actually get out here and fight me." Kyoraku growled.
"Hmm, let me think. No." Ichimaru voice called out. "I'm sorry Captain Kyoraku, but I'm having way too much fun." Kyoraku tightened his grip on his Zanpakuto, resisting the temptation to lash out at where the voice came from. He hadn't hit anything doing that so far, and he doubted it would work any better now.
"And so the lance of light pierced the creature of darkness, banishing it to the netherworld, and the hero stood triumphant." Ichimaru recited as Kyoraku barely dodged Shinso's attack, the extending white blade looking somewhat like a moving lance.
"I've heard that before." Kyoraku muttered to himself. "You read Jushiro's novels? Sogyo no Okotowari (Rejection of Twin Fishes)." Kyoraku listened for Ichimaru's response, trying to figure out where the prodigy was.
"Just the good parts." Ichimaru replied.
To the left. He was now to Kyoraku's left. Kyoraku spoke again, hoping to get a better fix on his position. "You seem to have gotten the parts mixed up if you think you're the hero."
Before Ichimaru could reply, both of them sensed Ukitake's Reiatsu rise sharply. "Jushiro's going Bankai?"
"Poor Captain Ukitake." Ichimaru's voice rang out. "I hope Captain Aizen doesn't kill him. I do enjoy those novels."
As Kenpachi slammed through yet another wall of flame, Yamamoto was forced to conclude that Zaraki had improved tremendously since Yamamoto had coerced him into taking proper swordsmanship lessons over a hundred years ago.
Despite not knowing Shunpo, Zaraki was amazingly fast, especially his reaction time. Several times Yamamoto had thought Zaraki couldn't possibly react fast enough to parry his blow, and every time he was proven wrong.
Zaraki had gained two more injuries since Yamamoto had released Shikai, neither of them serious. A burn across one hip, and a seared cut along the outside of his right arm.
"Come on, old fart!" Zaraki yelled as Yamamoto dodged another strike. "Quit running around! Stand and fight me!" The ring of fire surrounding the two flickered, the light casting shadows in ever-changing patterns.
Yamamoto retaliated as he jumped back, sending three separate blasts of flame at Zaraki, two racing around to attack him from the side, the other coming at him head on. The mammoth Squad Eleven Captain swung his sword, blowing apart the stream of flames coming in from his right, then cutting apart the blast coming in from the front. The fire coming in from the left he batted away with his already injured hand and a blast of Reiatsu, not caring about the burns that the maneuver left him, covering his arm nearly to the elbow.
"Quit hiding behind your Zanpakuto, you damned coward!" Zaraki yelled as he charged.
"If you used and trusted your Zanpakuto, Zaraki, you might have a chance at defeating me." Yamamoto replied coldly.
Zaraki laughed as he swung, Yamamoto ducking under the strike. "Just because I don't have Bankai doesn't mean you're going to win. Nor does it mean you can take me lightly!"
For the first time, Yamamoto was caught off guard. Zaraki had performed the same maneuver half a dozen other times in the battle, and every previous time had been followed by a backhand swing to cover the opening left in his guard and counter Yamamoto's strike. This time, however, instead of striking at Zaraki's body, Yamamoto had attempted to hit Zaraki's outstretched sword arm. After all, if Zaraki lost him arm, and by proxy his sword, the battle would be practically over.
The only warning Yamamoto had was a widening of Zaraki's grin before pain exploded through his side as Zaraki kicked him, driving his foot into Yamamoto's body just under the rib cage.
Yamamoto silently cursed as the momentum of the kick threw him towards Zaraki's returning swing. Ryujin Jakka met Kichigai Senshi squarely for the first time. Zaraki laughed, eyes wide and bright. "Don't let your guard down, you'll make it too easy for me!" Zaraki, even with one hand, was far stronger than Yamamoto, and the older Captain was sent skidding backwards for several feet.
Zaraki laughed even louder, racing forward to attack again, but Yamamoto recovered nearly instantly, his blade coming up to deflect Zaraki's strike again, sending it flying to the side.
This time, Zaraki wasn't quite quick enough to bring his sword back to block, and Ryujin Jakka sliced across his chest all the way up to his collarbone, the flames running along the surface of the blade scorching the area around the wound.
Zaraki grunted, the smile disappearing from his face. He reached out with his hand, grabbing Yamamoto's wrist, holding him in place as Zaraki brought his own Zanpakuto whistling around.
Yamamoto held out his hand. "Hado 88." The beam of blue destructive power tore out of Yamamoto's hand without him even needing to say the name of the spell.
The Eleventh Squad Captain was blasted backwards by the high-level Kido spell being let off in his face, tearing off pieces of flesh, eating away at the muscle beneath, the electricity within the spell racing through his body, forcing his muscles to spasm, weakening his grip on Yamamoto's hand, allowing him to be thrown backwards.
Yamamoto watched calmly as Zaraki was pushed backwards by the force of the spell,
"You have always mocked Kido, and any of the other Shinigami Arts besides Zanjutsu, Zaraki. And you have never attempted to learn Bankai. You may be strong, but your lack of respect for anything besides yourself has led to your death." Yamamoto swung Ryujin Jakka, sending the fire in a thin blade towards to downed Captain.
A crescent wave of yellow Reiatsu blew apart the fire, continuing on toward Yamamoto, who slashed through it with his sword.
"Shut your trap, you fossil." Zaraki was standing, his injured upper body devoid of any clothing, the spell having disintegrated them. Several electrical burns marred his torso and arms, and the skin had been peeled off in more than a few places. In a couple of places Yamamoto could even see bone.
In spite of all that, Zaraki stood tall, his injuries not seeming to affect him in the least. "I'm tired of your yapping about Kido or anything else. You've only been spouting the same shit for the last century. You know what I think of all that shit. If you're weak enough to have to rely on Kido, or Hoho, or your Bankai, then you aren't really worthy of being called a Captain." Zaraki's eyes burned yellow as his Reiatsu erupted out of him, some of it forming the shape of a skull in front of him even as the majority of it reached for the sky, a pillar of yellow energy that shook the earth around him. "I beat a Captain with nothing but my sealed Zanpakuto. None of the rest of you weaklings could hope to accomplish that, because you rely too much on fancy tricks and not enough on your own strength, you have so little confidence in yourself and your own strength that you prefer to cower and hide behind gimmicks rather than actually face your enemies." Zaraki threw back his head, laughing as his Reiatsu lashed out, the winds generated blowing centuries of accumulation of dust off of Soukyoku Hill, scouring the plateau down to the rock.
"Today is only the second time I've ever released my Zanpakuto, and it was to destroy something that all of you thought could never be destroyed. The Soukyoku, with the power of a million Zanpakuto, obliterated by a single Zanpakuto. Now do you see why I don't care about Bankai or any of that other crap? If I was like the rest of you, I'd never have any fun. And look at you! You're supposed to be the most powerful Captain in Soul Society, and you're refusing to actually lock blades with me, even resorting to hiding behind Kido because you're too scared of me and my Zanpakuto to even think about actually fighting!" Zaraki stopped laughing.
"Come on, old fart, if you've actually got the courage to do it. One attack to end it all. Both of us, our Zanpakuto sealed, nothing but our own skill deciding it. Unless you're going to keep hiding behind your Zanpakuto?" Zaraki's voice was scornful at the last part.
"I've never been beaten by an impudent brat." Yamamoto began as the flames around his sword died. "Come then, if you wish, and I will show you the difference between us, whelp."
Zaraki's grin returned full force. "That's the spirit old fart. That's what I'm talking about!" He roared, charging forward as fast as he could, Zanpakuto held beside him.
Yamamoto slid into a stance, his sword across his body, almost as if he were about to draw it from a scabbard at his waist.
Zaraki drew closer, his grin wide on his face. Yamamoto's eyes narrowed, his body tensing, grip tightening on his Zanpakuto. His own flame-like Reiatsu burst out of his body, coiling around him.
As soon as Zaraki was in range, Yamamoto moved with a swiftness and power that belied his age, his Reiatsu focused along his blade's edge as his took one step forward, meeting Zaraki's blade in mid-strike.
The two opposing forces met, their individual Reiatsu twisting around them, tearing apart the stone they stood on, scorching the rock until it melted. In the middle of the storm, one Zanpakuto shattered, allowing the other to continue onwards, nearly slicing one Captain in half as the two passed by each other.
The storm of Reiatsu died instantly, leaving the two Captains standing amidst the devastated execution grounds.
Zaraki glanced down at his Zanpakuto, less than a foot of actual blade remaining from where Ryujin Jakka has slashed through it. A slight smile appeared on his face as blood erupted from the wound just under his rib cage, the blade having sliced completely through that side of his body, the tip barely missing his spinal cord. The red liquid drenched his side as he looked over his shoulder at the Captain Commander, seeing Yamamoto return Ryujin Jakka to its cane form.
"I guess you aren't so weak after all." Zaraki laughed, even as he collapsed.