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The compilation ended.
The final frame froze on the eruption of the poisonous sea, with Urahara and Benihime swallowed whole.
Even without seeing what happened next, the sheer realism and crushing pressure of that last toxic wave left many viewers shaken.
"That poison explosion was terrifying…"
"Just watching through a screen made my nerves go numb and my breathing feel heavy. I can't imagine how Urahara managed to last so long in that future battle…" Hirako Shinji said at the Visored hideout, patting his chest as he exhaled.
As a spectator who had watched the entire compilation,
his heart was still pounding wildly.
Sweat beaded on his forehead, and his mind reeled from the shock.
"That poison guy might be ridiculous," someone muttered, "but there's no denying his strength is absolutely insane."
"I never expected him to handle a gauntlet like that and stay completely in control from start to finish. Seriously impressive,"Kensei Muguruma said with genuine admiration.
He'd never had much love for pure-blood Quincy.
But the strength Askin Nakk Le Vaar showed was enough to make even Kensei acknowledge him from the bottom of his heart.
"Still…"
"You don't think Yoruichi and Urahara are dead, do you?" Hiyori Sarugaki frowned deeply, finally dropping her usual tough talk. "That kind of poisonous flood—if it were us, there's no way we'd survive."
Whether it was Grimmjow, who'd jumped in first.
Or Ichigo, who'd practically been flattened later on.
Or Yoruichi in her lightning-beast form, or Kisuke Urahara after releasing Bankai…
Any one of them was stronger than Hiyori.
She knew that herself, which was why she'd instinctively toned down her usual loudmouth bravado.
"Hard to say," Shinji Hirako said, shaking his head as he analyzed the situation seriously."A power that can restructure everything… I don't think it'd go down that easily. Even in the worst case, Urahara Kisuke would probably drag the enemy down with him."
"Mutual destruction?" Hiyori scoffed. "Trading one life for four is still a terrible deal. Man… the future's looking pretty damn bleak."
Her mindset wasn't much different from Soi Fon's anymore. After watching all these rankings—what, eight hundred and sixty-three rounds worth?—her confidence had long since evaporated.
The further it went, the crazier the battles became.The abilities on display just kept getting more absurd.
Compared to these god-tier slugfests where broken monsters ran rampant, Hiyori honestly had nothing to brag about. That lack of confidence came down to one simple truth:
She was just too weak.
And no amount of posturing could change the Visoreds' awkward position right now.
Meanwhile…
At Urahara's shop.
"Man… this damn author really loves ending things on cliffhangers," Kisuke Urahara complained with a sigh. "There's just no dealing with him."
As someone directly involved—and someone who'd finally revealed his Bankai—he obviously wanted to know how it all ended.
Too bad the final shot gave no answers at all.
There was simply no way for him to tell.
"Don't worry, Shopkeeper," Tessai Tsukabishi said, patting his shoulder and forcing a smile."Benihime's Bankai is an area-type ability. It should be able to restructure things and resist the poison sea."
"Heh… I hope you're right," Urahara said, shaking his head. He quickly pushed the thought aside and changed the subject.
"By the way…If I remember right, this round had someone else tied with Poison Guy in the rankings, didn't it?"
He sounded genuinely curious.
If they were both ranked eighth, then the other pure-blood Quincy about to appear probably had an ability just as nasty—if not even more ridiculous.
"Yeah," Isshin Kurosaki frowned. "I think it was something like… 'the Soul King's Left Arm'? That's a bit much, don't you think?"
Come on.
Everyone in the Bleach world is sharp as hell.
Pulling a prank like that this late in the game? That's just cheap.
I mean, explain this to me:How does the Soul King's left arm end up becoming a Quincy?
What, does an arm just wander around on its own?
And more importantly—
The Soul King, the being said to have created the three realms and possessed ultimate power… got dismembered?
Just thinking about it sounded ridiculous.
From Isshin's perspective, there was no way he could believe the Soul King's arm was an independent entity.
After all—
Even the Shiba clan's ancient records had never mentioned anything that insane.
"Well…" Urahara rubbed his chin. "Could just be a nickname that happens to sound the same."
"That's possible," Tessai nodded."Honestly… after seeing how utterly broken 'The Deathdealing' was just now, I feel like I can accept anything happening with the pure-blood Quincy from here on out."
The implication was obvious—
The Sternritter were a bunch of unreasonable monsters.
Nothing about them could be judged by common sense anymore.
And just as the three of them were talking…
The static cleared from the screen. The black background faded away, and the next ranking began.
Same as always.
The first thing to appear was still Wahrwelt, the true world city packed with Western-style architecture.
"Oh?" Urahara raised a brow. "Same battlefield again. Looks like Wahrwelt really is the final decisive stage of this war."
The camera slowly moved.
It focused on the entrance to a long corridor.
Several figures who'd been rushing forward suddenly stopped, as if something had blocked their path. Their expressions turned grim.
And when Urahara got a clear look at one of them, his eyes lit up.
"Well, well… isn't that an old acquaintance?Soul Society's most imaginative mad genius…"
"Captain Mayuri?"
On-screen—
"Hm? And what exactly is this thing…?"
Beneath the sunflower-shaped mask, Mayuri Kurotsuchi's eyes narrowed cautiously as he stared toward the end of the corridor.
There—
A figure cloaked entirely in black stood in the way, its features hidden from view.
Like a living roadblock.
The Soul King's Left Arm.
"Hah? Scientist, are you asking me?" a rough voice snapped from the side."How the hell would I know?"
The camera cut—
And Kenpachi Zaraki's massive frame filled the screen.
A wild beast.
A mad scientist.
This bizarre pairing of two captains instantly set off heated discussion throughout the Gotei Thirteen.
Squad Twelve.
Bang—!
A fist slammed down hard on the desk.
Seeing Kenpachi Zaraki standing so close on screen—and towering over him—
Mayuri's face turned livid as he exploded in rage.
"This is impossible! Those images are fake—absolutely fake!"
"Even my future self would never travel alongside a beast like Kenpachi Zaraki!"
"That damn video author—making up baseless nonsense! If I ever find him, I'll drag him straight into my lab and dissect him!"
His mouth fired nonstop like a machine gun as he ranted and raved, pounding the desk in fury.
A man who worshiped "science and intellect," Mayuri had despised Kenpachi from the very moment he joined the Gotei Thirteen.
Traveling together?
Please.
Even at captains' meetings, Mayuri had openly mocked Kenpachi more than once, calling him "a beast wearing a Shihakushō" and declaring him utterly unfit to be a captain.
And now—
Seeing himself walking beside Kenpachi.
Even worse, looking like they were about to fight together?
With Mayuri's pride and temperament, there was no way he could accept something this absurd.
His mentality shattered on the spot.
"C-Captain… please calm down," Akon said, nervously stepping back."It might just be a misunderstanding. A few short clips don't necessarily mean what you think they do."
Watching Mayuri spiral, Akon was terrified of saying the wrong thing and ending up as the next test subject.
"Hmph…"
Mayuri laughed coldly, anger twisting into something far more unsettling.
"Then explain this to me," he sneered."Why would that brainless brute be standing shoulder to shoulder with my future self? Don't tell me we're sightseeing together."
"Well… um…"
Akon had no answer. He lowered his head, avoiding Mayuri's gaze entirely.
Just as the tension reached its breaking point—
Another officer suddenly cried out from nearby.
"Look!"
"Captain Kenpachi's already lost patience—he's making the first move!"
This voice.
It instantly drew everyone's attention, all eyes turning to the transparent screen of light.
Sure enough—
On the screen.
There was no chance for Mayuri to finish his warning.
Kenpachi Zaraki let out a savage grin, lifted his zanpakutō high, and without a shred of hesitation, brought it down toward the head of the Soul King's left hand.
"Idiot…"
Watching Kenpachi's impulsive charge, both the Mayuri inside the video and the Mayuri in the real world spat the same verdict in perfect sync.
Facing an enemy whose abilities were still completely unknown, and who had deliberately blocked their path, he just let his blood boil and swung his blade straight at it.
That kind of behavior was nothing short of suicidal.
Elsewhere.
Eleventh Division barracks.
"Whoaaa—!"
"Captain Zaraki, that's more like it! Compared to Captain Mayuri's cowardly crap, your way of fighting is way more badass!"
"Exactly!"
"Who knows what the future's even like. How did Captain Zaraki end up mixed up with Captain Mayuri anyway? We're clearly not cut from the same cloth as those lab rats!"
"That so-called Research and Development Institute just sits in front of screens all day, pounding keyboards. A bunch of freeloaders hiding behind the word 'science'!"
"If they've got guts, they should drop the keyboard, pick up a weapon, and get on the battlefield! I can't stand them!"
…
Much like Mayuri's earlier outburst, the battle-hardened brutes of the combat division clustered together, unable to stop themselves from venting after seeing the bizarre sight of the two captains sharing the same frame.
Mayuri?
What kind of trash was that?
Just a near-deranged mad scientist.
His very existence only got in the way of Captain Zaraki cutting people down.
"Captain…"
"Rushing in and cutting first is totally your style, but I've got a bad feeling about this pureblood Quincy. He doesn't look easy to deal with…"
Ikkaku Madarame frowned, noticeably less optimistic than the others.
Compared to Zaraki's massive frame, the Soul King's left hand was clearly much smaller. Their sheer presence didn't even feel balanced.
And yet…
Staring at the faintly visible eyes hidden beneath that black robe, Ikkaku couldn't help shrinking his neck, an unease creeping up from deep inside his chest.
"Ikkaku, what, did Mayuri rub off on you or something? Hesitating like that, where's your manhood…"
Ignoring the bald man's warning, Kenpachi Zaraki stood before the transparent screen, baring his teeth in a confident grin.
"Trash like that, hiding its head and playing mysterious…"
"I'll chop it into minced meat with one swing."
His excited laughter was brimming with absolute confidence.
Kenpachi didn't even blink, eagerly anticipating the violent slaughter to come.
Then—
Before his words had fully faded from the air.
On the screen, as the golden blade pressure came crashing down, his zanpakutō did exactly as he intended, striking cleanly against the Soul King's left hand's head.
But—
"Rip! Crack!"
A twisted, tearing sound rang out.
Before anyone could even react, the left arm holding Kenpachi's sword suddenly spun and warped at an absurd angle, twisting around itself more than ten times before snapping apart with a sickening break.
"What?!"
The sudden turn of events sent a wave of shock through everyone present.
Kenpachi himself stared at the screen, at the arm that now hung limp and broken, suspended in the air.
The excitement on his face froze solid.
Then, with anger and disbelief burning in his voice, he roared,
"What the hell is this?!"
"Don't tell me I've turned into some kind of background-unit measuring stick now?!"
"..."
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