Faced with an attack of such overwhelming power, Toshiro Hitsugaya, Momo Hinamori, and Rangiku Matsumoto did not dare meet it head-on.
"Move!" Hitsugaya shouted as icy-blue Reiatsu erupted from his body and condensed into a massive wall of ice before them.
The instant the searing sword pressure struck the wall, however, the ice did not melt. It was reduced directly to ash.
The fundamental power of Zanka no Tachi was not simply heat or combustion. It burned away the very existence of matter itself, a force that could not be measured by temperature alone.
Anything it touched would be destroyed.
Just as the three prepared to evade, they glanced behind them and saw Harry standing exactly where he had been, showing no intention of moving, as though he had not even noticed the danger approaching.
Their faces immediately went pale, and the steps they had already taken came to an abrupt halt.
Their primary mission was to protect Harry. Even though they knew they could not withstand the searing slash, and even though they knew it might kill them, they still had to stand between Harry and the attack.
Anyone who wanted to hurt him would have to step over their corpses first.
All three turned back almost simultaneously. Even knowing that they would be burned to ash if they tried to block it, none of them was willing to leave Harry alone before that deadly wave of sword pressure.
The attack was less than ten feet away, and the edges of their uniforms had already begun to smell scorched when Harry finally moved.
There was no fluctuation of Reiatsu, nor did he leave behind the afterimage produced by Shunpo. It was as though he had crossed space itself, appearing in front of the three without warning.
Even while facing an attack capable of burning away everything it touched, his green eyes remained perfectly calm.
Harry did not even draw his Zanpakutō. He merely raised his right hand and gently pressed his palm toward the incoming sword pressure.
What happened next defied belief.
The black wave of searing power came to an abrupt stop the instant it touched Harry's palm, as though it had struck an invisible barrier.
It flickered violently but could not advance another inch.
The terrifying power contained within it seemed to be forcibly suppressed. Its energy was rapidly exhausted until the attack gradually began to fade.
Several seconds later, the sword pressure receded like a retreating tide. It crumbled into flecks of black ash before Harry's palm and silently dispersed into the air. Only the charred trench carved into the ground remained as proof that the deadly attack had not been an illusion.
Hitsugaya, Momo, and Rangiku stood frozen in place, their faces still marked by shock.
They had complete faith in Harry, but even they had never imagined that he could stop the Head Captain's sword pressure so easily.
This was the Head Captain, the man acclaimed as the strongest Soul Reaper in a thousand years. Everything they had been taught since childhood told them that Head Captain Yamamoto was invincible.
Now, that image of invincibility was beginning to crumble.
Harry slowly lowered his hand and turned toward them, his jet-black hair falling across his forehead and concealing his lightning-shaped scar.
He gently patted Momo on the head.
"Don't try to withstand attacks beyond your abilities, especially power that stands at the very pinnacle of the Three Worlds. The Head Captain is not someone you can oppose at your current level."
His voice remained as calm as ever, as though he had blocked nothing more than an ordinary gust of warm air instead of an attack from Zanka no Tachi.
Harry turned around again and looked past the three of them toward Head Captain Yamamoto and Sosuke Aizen.
His gaze first passed over the charred blade of Zanka no Tachi in Yamamoto's hand, then shifted toward Aizen. The composure that had previously filled Aizen's face was gone, replaced by unprecedented seriousness.
The situation had completely escaped Aizen's control. Under the current circumstances, taking the Hōgyoku from Harry and Yamamoto would be extraordinarily difficult.
To his astonishment, he had discovered that among Harry, Yamamoto, and himself, he was actually the weakest.
Harry's eyes rested on Aizen for only a moment before moving away and finally settling on Yamamoto.
"Head Captain," Harry said. His voice was not loud, yet it carried clearly throughout the battlefield, drowning out every insignificant sound around them. "A battle between the three of us is now inevitable. However, considering our strength, fighting in Soul Society would undoubtedly destroy it. Countless people we know would die."
Harry paused briefly before continuing.
"That is why I propose that, should we fight, we do it in Hueco Mundo. It is the best possible choice.
"It is already a barren wasteland. Our battle will not endanger innocent people, and none of us will need to restrain our strength."
Without waiting to see Yamamoto's or Aizen's reaction, Harry lightly pushed off the ground and shot into the sky like an arrow released from a bow. His white captain's haori snapped violently in the wind.
High above them, the Garganta leading into Hueco Mundo radiated a dark glow. Space twisted and shifted around its edges, making it resemble an enormous mouth waiting to swallow everything.
Harry moved with extraordinary speed and soon reached the entrance. Without the slightest hesitation, he transformed into a streak of light and plunged directly into Hueco Mundo.
Yamamoto remained where he was as the overwhelming Reiatsu surrounding him gradually receded. He stared at the Garganta with a complicated expression before turning his gaze toward Aizen.
He could not allow Aizen to remain in Soul Society alone. Without Yamamoto present to keep him in check, Aizen was more than capable of causing catastrophic destruction.
Aizen did not hesitate either. He was determined to obtain the Hōgyoku, and Hueco Mundo was his territory.
Once they arrived, he could command the Menos to continuously wear down Harry and Yamamoto. With that advantage, he might not necessarily be at a disadvantage.
Aizen's figure shot into the sky and vanished into the Garganta.
After Aizen departed, Yamamoto wasted no more time. He glanced at Momo, Hitsugaya, and Rangiku but made no attempt to attack them. After giving Shunsui Kyoraku and the others a few instructions, he also entered the Garganta.
The captains who remained on Sōkyoku Hill no longer had any intention of continuing the battle. Instead, they looked curiously at Hitsugaya and his companions, trying to understand how their Reiatsu had become so powerful.
Everyone present understood that the outcome of the battle here no longer mattered.
Whichever side prevailed in Hueco Mundo would almost certainly determine the final result of the entire conflict.
The instant Harry entered Hueco Mundo, the first thing to seize his senses was its endless desolation.
Fine white sand covered the ground beneath his feet. Wherever he looked, rolling dunes stretched toward the horizon like waves frozen upon a lifeless sea.
Not a single plant grew across their surface. There were only deep grooves carved by the relentless winds, resembling the cracked lines across a giant's palm.
The sky was eternally gray. There was no sun and there were no stars, only a thick layer of clouds shrouding the entirety of Hueco Mundo. The dim light resembled twilight in the Human World, yet it carried a cold and deathly stillness.
The light in Hueco Mundo never changed with the passage of time. It remained forever trapped at this oppressive level, leaving even the shadows pale and indistinct as they clung to the sand like faded stains of ink.
Harry surveyed his surroundings. The land nearby was silent and barren, though the occasional low-level Hollow moved across the tops of the surrounding dunes.
Their bones gleamed a sickly white beneath the ashen sky. The wind tore apart their hoarse roars and scattered them across the empty desert. Rather than breaking the silence, the sounds only made the wasteland seem even more desolate.
Farther away, Harry could see the outline of Las Noches. The enormous palace of white stone stood alone among the dunes, its towering spires piercing the clouds. Twisted reliefs of Hollows had been carved into its walls, and white dust had accumulated within the grooves after years without cleaning.
That was Hueco Mundo, a realm of eternal windblown sand, dim skies, and hidden dangers. Together, they formed the territory of the Hollows, a land where every inch radiated despair and desolation.
Harry stood atop a white dune, his captain's haori shifting gently in the howling wind. Beneath his jet-black hair, his calm eyes remained fixed on the distance.
He was not deliberately releasing any power, yet his presence formed an invisible barrier that the nearby Hollows did not dare approach. They could only hide behind distant dunes and release low, rasping growls.
Gusts of wind swept past him. White grains of sand collected around his feet before being scattered again, leaving behind only shallow traces.
Sosuke Aizen was the first to break the silence.
A ripple of pale-blue Reiatsu erupted not far from Harry. Space distorted slightly as Aizen's figure slowly emerged.
He was still wearing his Soul Reaper captain's uniform, with the lower edge of his white haori drifting in the wind.
Not a single grain of sand was disturbed when he landed, as though his feet rested upon an invisible platform. His gaze passed over Harry before turning toward Las Noches in the distance, and the curve of his smile deepened.
"You seem rather impatient, Harry, but I must admit that this is an excellent stage."
As soon as he finished speaking, a scorching presence descended from the sky.
Head Captain Shigekuni Genryusai Yamamoto appeared amid orange-red flames and landed on Harry's opposite side, facing Aizen from across the desert.
Yamamoto held Zanka no Tachi in his hand. No visible flames burned along its blade, yet it radiated enough heat to distort the surrounding air. Every grain of white sand that entered the area within ten feet of him was instantly reduced to ash.
Now that he was in Hueco Mundo, Yamamoto no longer had any reason to restrain his unfathomable Reiatsu.
His aged face remained expressionless, his brow tightly furrowed. His swordlike gaze swept across Aizen before settling on Harry, and his voice carried the solemn weight of centuries.
"Now that we are here, there is no reason to waste time. Let us begin."
The three stood at separate points of a triangle as their invisible auras collided above the dunes.
Harry stood between them. Aizen's subtle but pervasive pressure loomed on his left, while Yamamoto's scorching presence burned on his right.
Harry's own aura was gentle yet unwavering, like an immovable barrier separating the powers on either side and maintaining a delicate balance among the three.
Dark-purple lightning flashed beneath the gray sky, illuminating their faces.
The black silhouette of Las Noches appeared even more menacing in the dim light. The roars of the low-level Hollows in the surrounding desert gradually fell silent, as though even they could sense the suffocating tension.
The white dunes beneath the ashen sky suddenly exploded.
Yamamoto attacked first.
Zanka no Tachi swept horizontally, releasing a wave of scorching sword pressure that surged toward Harry like a river of molten lava. Every grain of white sand in its path was reduced to ash, while a bottomless trench was burned into the ground. Even the air around the edge of the attack distorted until it seemed almost liquid.
Harry did not retreat. A faint smile remained on his lips as his figure blurred an instant before the sword pressure reached him, allowing the attack to pass harmlessly through the space where he had stood.
The moment Harry reappeared, Aizen was already behind him.
Aizen gripped Kyōka Suigetsu tightly, its blade poised to pierce Harry's chest.
Compared with Yamamoto, Aizen's direct combat ability was considerably weaker. However, the unique power of Kyōka Suigetsu granted him an extraordinary advantage when launching surprise attacks.
At its core, a battle between Soul Reapers was a contest of Reiatsu.
Harry's Reiatsu had already surpassed both Aizen's and Yamamoto's. After absorbing the Hōgyoku, it had continued to rise until it completely exceeded theirs.
For that reason, although the ability of Aizen's Zanpakutō was exceptional, Harry was able to resist most of its influence.
Whenever Aizen activated Kyōka Suigetsu, Harry saw two overlapping worlds. One was a blurred illusion created by Aizen, while the other was reality.
Because he could still perceive the real world, Harry clearly saw Aizen moving behind him. He drew his sword immediately and parried the thrust.
The moment Harry exchanged blows with Aizen, Yamamoto appeared nearby.
Gripping Zanka no Tachi with both hands, Yamamoto swung it with tremendous force. A charred-black wave of sword pressure raced toward Harry, engulfing both him and Aizen.
Judging from Yamamoto's actions, he intended to kill Harry and Aizen together, eliminating both threats once and for all.
Aizen did not dare take the attack head-on. He immediately used Shunpo to escape.
Harry, however, remained exactly where he was.
He tightened his grip on his Zanpakutō and spoke in a deep voice.
"Bankai: Dangai Banshō Reitō!"
The blade of Harry's Zanpakutō shattered completely, transforming into an extraordinarily dense concentration of reishi.
His control over reishi reached its absolute peak.
Harry swung his transformed weapon, releasing a wave of sword pressure filled with even greater Reiatsu toward the attack Yamamoto had unleashed.
Yamamoto's sword pressure burned everything to nothingness.
Harry's sword pressure disassembled everything it touched.
When the two attacks collided, something happened that Yamamoto could scarcely believe.
His attack was being overwhelmed.
Harry's green sword pressure slowly advanced toward him, gradually suppressing the power of Zanka no Tachi.
Since awakening his Bankai, Yamamoto had never encountered anyone capable of overpowering him in a direct confrontation.
Until today.
He stared at Harry in disbelief.
"Harry Potter, what exactly is the power of your Zanpakutō? How can it withstand my attack head-on?"
At this point, Harry no longer had any reason to hide the truth.
"My Zanpakutō's ability is indeed the manipulation of reishi, but the extent of that control is far greater than what I previously told you."
He opened his right hand and loosely curled his fingers.
The white sand surrounding them suddenly disintegrated into faint-blue particles of reishi. They gathered above his palm before transforming into a cup of sweet iced tea from the Human World.
Harry had demonstrated the true nature of his ability through action.
"I can disassemble anything and transform it into reishi. I can also transform reishi into anything. That is the true power of my Zanpakutō."
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