The ranking concluded, the final frame frozen on the toxic sea's eruption, with Urahara and his Kannon Benihime swallowed whole.
Though the result wasn't shown, the vivid, oppressive sense of the poison left many shaken.
"What a terrifying poison burst!"
"Just watching through the screen, I feel my nerves numbing and breathing getting hard. I can't imagine how Urahara held out so long in that future battle…"
At the Visored's hideout, Shinji Hirako patted his chest, still rattled.
As a spectator, his heart pounded, sweat beading on his forehead from the intense shock.
"That poison guy's a bit comical, but his strength is off the charts!"
Hiyori Sarugaki admitted, "He handled a gauntlet of fights with ease. That's impressive!"
Though she disliked Pure Quincies, Askin's performance earned her reluctant respect.
"By the way… Yoruichi and Urahara didn't die, did they? No way we could survive that level of poison!" Hiyori frowned, dropping her usual bravado.
Compared to Grimmjow, Ichigo (who got flattened), Yoruichi's Thunder Beast, and Urahara's Bankai, Hiyori knew she paled in comparison, humbling her usual arrogance.
"No telling…"
Shinji shook his head, analyzing seriously. "A power that reconstructs everything shouldn't go down easily. At worst, Urahara could take him down with him, right?"
"Take him down? One life for four? That's a bad trade! The future's looking grim…" Hiyori pouted, her confidence as shattered as Soi Fon's after multiple rankings.
The later the rounds, the fiercer the battles and the more exaggerated the abilities. Compared to these godlike clashes, Hiyori had little to boast about.
In short, she was too weak!
---
Urahara Shop
"Ugh, this damn author loves cliffhangers. What a pain!" Urahara grumbled, as the involved party desperate to know the outcome of his Bankai reveal.
Sadly, the final frame gave no answers.
"Shopkeeper, don't worry. Since Benihime's Bankai is a field ability, it should counter the poison sea!" Tessai forced a smile, trying to console him.
"Heh, let's hope you're right…" Urahara shook his head, brushing off his thoughts before changing the topic. "By the way, wasn't there another person ranked eighth alongside the poison guy?"
Since they were tied for eighth, the other Pure Quincy likely had equally troublesome—or even more perverse—abilities.
"Right… I think it was 'Soul King's Left Hand'? Sounds like nonsense!" Isshin furrowed his brow, skeptical.
Come on! Everyone in the Bleach world was sharp—did the video author think this prank was clever? How could the Soul King's Left Hand become a Quincy? Could an arm act on its own?
And the idea of the Soul King, creator of the three realms, being dismembered? Absurd!
From Isshin's perspective, there was no way the Soul King's arm could operate independently. Even the Shiba clan's ancient records held no such bizarre tales.
"Maybe it's just a nickname?" Urahara rubbed his chin.
"Possibly…" Tessai nodded. "After seeing the poison guy's insane Deathdealing ability, I'm ready to accept anything about Pure Quincies."
The unspoken implication was clear: the Sternritter were a bunch of unreasonable monsters. Nothing about them could be judged by common sense.
As the trio conversed, the screen's static cleared, and a new round of rankings began.
As expected, the backdrop was still the Western-style buildings of True World City.
"Huh, still this battlefield? Looks like True World City is the final decisive ground for this war!" Urahara noted confidently.
The camera panned to the entrance of a long corridor, where several figures in mid-sprint halted, their expressions tense as if ambushed.
When one figure's face became clear, Urahara raised an eyebrow in delight. "Well, well, isn't that our old friend, the Soul Society's most imaginative genius… Captain Mayuri?"
---
In the Video
"What the hell is that…?"
Beneath his sunflower mask, Mayuri Kurotsuchi's eyes narrowed cautiously, staring at the corridor's end.
There, cloaked in black, its face obscured, the Soul King's Left Hand stood like a roadblock.
"Huh? Scientist, you're asking me? How the hell would I know!" Kenpachi Zaraki's impatient voice rang out.
The camera shifted, revealing Kenpachi's towering figure!
A beast and a mad scientist—an odd duo that sparked heated discussion in the Gotei 13.
---
Twelfth Division
Bang!
A fist slammed onto the table. Seeing himself standing close to the towering Kenpachi, Mayuri's face darkened, and he roared, "Impossible! These scenes are fake!"
"Even the future me wouldn't team up with a beast like Kenpachi Zaraki!"
"The damn video author, making up nonsense! I'll drag him out and throw him into my lab!"
His mouth fired off like a machine gun, face red with rage as he pounded the table.
A staunch believer in science and intellect, Mayuri had despised Kenpachi since his recruitment, openly calling him a "beast in a Shihakushō" unfit to be a captain.
Now, seeing himself alongside Kenpachi, seemingly about to fight together? With Mayuri's pride, this was unacceptable!
His composure shattered instantly.
"Captain, calm down… It might just be a misunderstanding. A brief scene doesn't mean what you think," Nemu's third seat stammered, stepping back to avoid Mayuri's wrath.
"Hmph…"
Mayuri laughed coldly, turning with a sneer. "Then explain why that brainless brute is standing side by side with the future me! We're not sightseeing, are we?!"
"Uh…" Nemu's third seat fell silent, avoiding Mayuri's gaze.
Just then, another officer shouted, "Look! Captain Zaraki's already making a move!"
All eyes turned to the screen.
Sure enough, without waiting for Mayuri's restraint, Kenpachi grinned savagely, raising his Zanpakutō and slashing fearlessly at the Soul King's Left Hand's head!
"That idiot…"
Both the video's Mayuri and the real-world Mayuri spat in unison.
Facing an unknown enemy who deliberately blocked their path, charging in recklessly with a Zanpakutō was practically suicidal!
---
Eleventh Division Barracks
"Whoa—!"
"Captain Zaraki, that's the spirit! Compared to that coward Mayuri, your fighting style's way cooler!"
"No kidding… What's the deal with the future? How did Captain Zaraki end up with Mayuri? We're nothing like those research nerds!"
"The so-called Technology Development Bureau just sits behind screens, tapping keyboards—a bunch of useless 'scientists'!"
"If they're so great, drop the keyboards and pick up a weapon to fight!"
Like Mayuri's outburst, the Eleventh Division's roughnecks gathered, relentlessly mocking the odd pairing.
Mayuri? Some crazy scientist who'd only get in Captain Zaraki's way!
"Captain… While chopping first is your style, I've got a bad feeling about this Pure Quincy…" Madarame Ikkaku frowned, less optimistic than the others.
Despite Kenpachi's size dwarfing the Soul King's Left Hand, the mysterious eyes beneath the cloak sent a chill down Ikkaku's spine.
"Ikkaku, are you getting soft from Mayuri's influence? That's not manly!"
Ignoring the warning, Kenpachi stood before the screen, grinning confidently. "A sneaky clown like that? One slash, and I'll turn it into mincemeat!"
His excited laughter brimmed with certainty.
But as his voice echoed, the video showed his golden sword pressure descending, striking the Soul King's Left Hand's head precisely as he'd boasted.
However—
Rip! Crunch!
A twisted, tearing sound rang out. Before anyone could react, Kenpachi's sword arm twisted grotesquely, spinning dozens of times before snapping clean off!
"What?!"
The sudden turn caused an uproar.
As the affected party, Kenpachi watched his severed arm dangle in the air, his excited grin freezing.
With a mix of anger and confusion, he roared, "What the hell?! Am I just a damn measuring unit for background characters now?!"
--------------------------------------------
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