As Inaba increased his Reiatsu output, the temperature in Soul Society began climbing once again.
This time, it felt even worse than before. If the earlier heat could only be considered a dry sauna, then after the moisture from the Rain-attribute Flame had spread throughout Soul Society, this new rise in temperature had turned the whole realm into a true steamer.
Everyone could feel themselves being wrapped in a scorching humidity. Their bodies grew sticky all over, and worse still, even breathing became difficult.
At this rate, they might not even be roasted dry by the high temperature before being suffocated alive. Some souls in poorer physical condition were already clutching their throats and collapsing unconscious on the ground.
As though sensing Inaba's renewed provocation, the blue flame surrounding Tsunayoshi released another ripple. This time, it was no longer invisible, but a blue wave visible to the naked eye.
In the blink of an eye, the blue radiance had spread across all of Soul Society. Everyone could clearly feel their breathing become much easier. Their body temperatures were rapidly dropping. Aside from the air being somewhat humid, there was no longer anything uncomfortable about it.
Inaba narrowed his eyes. He was just about to release the power of his flames once again and contend with Tsunayoshi, but before he could act, continuous blue ripples spread outward like waves on water.
Had Sawada Tsunayoshi predicted Inaba's prediction?
No. This was simply the necessary process of the Rain-attribute Transcendent Bankai.
Before the living beings of Soul Society could properly enjoy the relief of breathing freely, they felt their breathing become stifled again, as though a wet towel had been placed over their faces.
Yet that sensation was still intensifying rapidly. Soon, people felt their bodies wrapped in dense moisture. It was as though they had sunk to the bottom of the sea. Breathing, body temperature, movement—at that moment, all of them seemed to have half-stagnated.
In that instant, Soul Society was submerged by the spreading Rain-attribute Flame. Vast amounts of rainwater gathered into an ocean, completely covering Soul Society.
Fortunately, this superposition of life and death only lasted for an instant. In the next moment, all the moisture within Soul Society spiraled in a single direction and condensed together.
Tsunayoshi was the center of this enormous vortex that encompassed the entirety of Soul Society.
The Rain-attribute Flame had been released by him, and now it was all gathered back and reclaimed by him, transforming into the battle attire most suited to him.
He wore deep-blue flying-fish battle boots. His inner garment was primarily sky-blue, adorned with pale-gold accents that shimmered like rippling waves. Over it, he wore a long white coat with a standing collar. A pattern of a whale leaping through azure waves spiraled from the hem of the coat up to his shoulder.
Three fish-dragon daggers were stored at Tsunayoshi's left waist. On his back, two longswords were crossed over each other, their hilts respectively shaped like Jirō and Kojirō.
From the single-sword style of Shikai to the dual-sword style of Bankai, then after incorporating Fullbring's irregular four-sword style and the Hollow power of the fish-dragons, the Rain-attribute Transcendent Bankai's power had officially reached a five-sword style.
"Final Tranquility, Rain…"
As Tsunayoshi's words fell, the last trace of Rain-attribute Flame returned to his body.
The Rain-attribute Transcendent Bankai was officially complete.
Ichigo and the others looked at one another. They felt a little embarrassed to ask, because they could not sense even the slightest trace of Reiatsu fluctuation from Tsunayoshi. Just like the Rain attribute's tranquility, he was silent and still, without a single ripple. Nothing could be perceived from him at all.
Based on experience, an enemy whose Reiatsu could not be sensed usually had only one kind of strength: weak.
But this was Tsunayoshi.
This was a new form he had gone to great lengths to achieve. No matter what, Ichigo and the others could not bring themselves to call it weak.
Ichigo and the others were too embarrassed to say it, but Inaba had no intention of holding back.
He burst into loud laughter.
"And this dares to call itself some Transcendent Bankai? Don't make me laugh!"
Inaba's voice suddenly rose. Holding Zanka no Tachi, he swung his blade straight at Tsunayoshi. Although it was called Zanka no Tachi, his method of attack was actually closer to the Sword of Raging Flame. He attacked Tsunayoshi with flames released from his Zanpakutō.
With a whoosh, Tsunayoshi was instantly swallowed by the flames.
Inaba did not even spare a glance in Tsunayoshi's direction. Instead, he turned toward Yamamoto and the others.
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto was still the one who posed the greatest threat to him. He had to eliminate him. He could not allow Ryūjin Jakka to return to Yamamoto's hand.
Having made up his mind, Inaba immediately prepared to use Shunpo toward Yamamoto. But just as he bent forward, a sharp sword-light swept across the top of his head.
Even the hand Inaba held his blade with seemed to freeze in shock.
If he had not bent down just now, would that attack not have struck him directly in the face?
Who was it?
Besides Yamamoto, who else on this battlefield possessed the power to threaten him?
"Tch. It missed? What a pity."
The voice came from within the flames just now.
It was Sawada Tsunayoshi's voice.
The moment Inaba turned his head, he saw the flames gradually settle down.
At Tsunayoshi's position, a small fish was swimming rapidly around him. The flames carried along by its movement formed a blue protective barrier around Tsunayoshi.
Another streak of blue circled behind Inaba in a wide arc before returning to Tsunayoshi's side.
It was identical to the small fish: a fish-dragon biting down on a short blade with its mouth open. Overall, it looked more like a dagger.
Two of the daggers at Tsunayoshi's waist were now missing. One had been used for defense, while the other had attacked Inaba. These fish-dragon daggers possessed their own consciousness. Tsunayoshi did not need to control them by hand; they could act according to his intentions on their own.
In other words, when facing Inaba's attack, Tsunayoshi had not moved at all. He had simply allowed the fish-dragon daggers at his waist to unsheathe themselves and counterattack.
Inaba's expression turned extremely ugly.
He possessed the overwhelmingly powerful Zanka no Tachi, yet he had failed to instantly kill this weakling in a single exchange. Without question, that was a slap to his face.
Inaba immediately changed direction and rushed toward Tsunayoshi with Shunpo. He would crush this little insect who had made him lose face first.
Suddenly, Inaba felt a burst of intense pain in his chest.
Immediately afterward, his pupils contracted, and his expression looked as though he had seen a ghost.
He did not even have time to worry about the blood spraying from his body. Inaba repeatedly used Shunpo to retreat, only stopping when he had reached a relatively safe distance. Even then, he still could not believe what he had just encountered.
At the instant Inaba prepared to attack Tsunayoshi, Tsunayoshi had suddenly appeared right in front of him.
There had been no Reiatsu fluctuation at all.
Inaba had not reacted in time.
In that brief instant, Tsunayoshi had slammed into Inaba's chest, flipped the final fish-dragon dagger between his fingers, and opened Inaba's abdomen.
Only when the pain reached his soul did Inaba finally realize that he had been injured. Then came that series of frantic retreating steps.
He did not know why Sawada Tsunayoshi had suddenly appeared. There had not been the slightest movement. The sensation was like running into a ghost.
Everything in Soul Society produced fluctuations of Reiatsu or Reishi when it moved. Tsunayoshi, however, produced none at all. That was why Inaba had been completely unable to detect his movements.
This was the effect of the Rain attribute's tranquility.
In this form, condensed from an ultra-high concentration of Rain-attribute Flame, Tsunayoshi himself could maintain a state of absolute tranquility. That was why others could not sense even the faintest Reiatsu fluctuation from him.
"You keep saying you'll destroy Soul Society. So what exactly are you afraid of?"
Inaba raised his head and met Tsunayoshi's teasing expression.
The hand with which he held Zanka no Tachi trembled slightly. Although he did not want to admit it, in that instant, he truly had been afraid.
It was fear of the unknown.
Forcing down the discomfort in his heart, Inaba stubbornly said:
"I don't know what you're talking about. Since you dared to step forward, I'll deal with you first!"
Flames slowly condensed onto the Zanpakutō. Zanka no Tachi emitted a dazzling light. Since this body would not last much longer anyway, Inaba completely ignored his injuries and charged toward Tsunayoshi, slashing down with his blade.
With a clear clang, it was still that same fish-dragon dagger.
Tsunayoshi held it between two fingers and effortlessly caught Inaba's attack.
Confusion once again appeared in Inaba's heart.
Why was the situation always different from what he imagined?
Where was the explosion?
Where was the impact?
Was all the flame power condensed within his Zanka no Tachi fake?
Unwilling to accept it, Inaba began wildly swinging his Zanpakutō at Tsunayoshi. Faced with this disordered pattern of attacks, Tsunayoshi did not even need to think before receiving every slash.
East: Rising Sun Blade?
Where was East: Rising Sun Blade?
Where was East: Rising Sun Blade?!
At this moment, Inaba's heart was filled with anger and doubt. The reason he dared to come up and fight Tsunayoshi at close range was because he wanted to use the terrifying power contained within Rising Sun Blade to blast Tsunayoshi to pieces.
However, the power he had imagined was not released from Zanka no Tachi.
Combined with his utterly unstructured Zanjutsu, his attacks affected Tsunayoshi even less than the flames wrapped around that red-hot fire poker in his hand.
Logically speaking, Yamamoto's duplicate should have also been someone who had taken Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hohō, and Kidō to their limits. Yet those exquisite swordsmanship skills had fallen into the hands of Inaba, a man with little real combat experience, and were now pearls buried in dust.
He was not even as competent as he was when using Shunpo. Although he was only using an advanced movement technique crudely and charging in straight lines, that was still better than being unable to use any Zanjutsu at all like he was now.
Whether it was because the Modified Soul was incompatible with the body, or because the excessive Reiatsu had damaged Inaba's Modified Soul, this Inaba looked as though he had completely lost his mind.
If Inaba could calm down even slightly and take a look at his Zanka no Tachi, he would discover that an abnormal Reiatsu was acting on the surface of the blade.
It was the Reiatsu of the Rain-attribute Flame.
The Rain-attribute Flame, possessing an extremely powerful tranquilizing effect, had formed a protective sheath over the surface of Zanka no Tachi, forcibly suppressing the blade's erupting energy.
On this foundation, the battle between Tsunayoshi and Inaba became much easier.
Inaba did not know how to use Yamamoto's Zanjutsu ability. If it came down purely to their own swordsmanship, Inaba, a researcher, was no match for Tsunayoshi at all.
With just one small dagger, Tsunayoshi could easily keep Inaba under control.
Not only that, two more fish-dragon daggers were still floating near his shoulders. At any moment, those two daggers could launch a fatal attack against Inaba.
After his impotent rage, Inaba's mind gradually cooled.
At last, he noticed the sharp gleam flickering on those two additional fish-dragon daggers.
But because he had taken just that extra glance, a cold flash cut through the air.
One of the fish-dragon daggers pierced through Inaba's chest.
A look of shock flashed across Inaba's face.
Sawada Tsunayoshi's move was truly ruthless. The location of the chest was precisely where the Chain of Fate and Soul Sleep were located in ordinary souls.
In other words, if this had been any normal Shinigami, Tsunayoshi's attack would have taken his life directly.
Fortunately, Inaba's body was not a traditional soul. In essence, it was only a Reigai. A mere fatal wound was not enough to make him lose combat ability. It only caused some pain.
Inaba did not care about any of that.
After all, nothing could be worse than his body collapsing. But before his body became unable to endure any longer, he would make this man who looked down on him pay the price!
How could Inaba not see it?
From beginning to end, Tsunayoshi had never taken him seriously. He had only been using those little daggers to toy with him.
A blazing fury ignited in Inaba's eyes. That fury transformed into flames and spread across his whole body. A sun-like heat covered his body and blade, and the Zanpakutō that had been restrained by the Rain-attribute Flame once again ignited.
Inaba's body was clothed in garments condensed from flame.
West: Zanjitsu Gokui.
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