At the critical moment—
Under the vastly different gazes of the four Shinigami captains—
Amid a terrifying aura of annihilation—
The massive energy sphere formed from the spiritual shuriken finally detonated.
BOOOOOOM—!!!
A deafening blast tore through the sealed space.
Inside the barrier formed by Dankū, the energy sphere exploded violently, releasing streaks of black lightning.
The blast didn't just shred the reishi in the air—
It triggered wave after wave of ferocious shockwaves, hammering the interior of the barrier without pause!
"This is insane!!!"
"In my memory, only the old man's Ryūjin Jakka gives off this kind of pressure at the moment of release!"
Even through the transparent light walls,
Kyōraku Shunsui felt a disturbingly familiar resonance within the explosion.
Yes—
That unmistakable sensation was exactly like the one Ryūjin Jakka had once impressed upon him.
"Still…"
"At least for now, this level of destructive force doesn't seem enough to break through Dankū."
Ichimaru Gin added calmly.
From beneath his half-lidded eyes—
Although the explosion felt crushing and heart-stopping—
The barrier was, after all, created jointly by four captains.
Even with Aizen deliberately restraining his strength,
Kyōraku Shunsui and Unohana Retsu alone—both captains with centuries of depth—were more than enough to keep the barrier standing.
Not to mention that Ichimaru himself was also pouring in full power.
Just as Gin had said—
When the shockwaves crashed against the white barrier like ripples on water—
First came violent tremors.
Then countless fine cracks spread across the surface of the light wall, nearly shattering it outright.
However—
As Unohana and the others increased their reiatsu output,
Those spreading fractures were forcibly halted.
They stopped short of covering the entire barrier.
"Thank goodness…"
"It took an enormous amount of reiatsu…"
"But at least we managed to hold it."
Kyōraku scanned the barrier repeatedly with a wary gaze.
Only after confirming that the transparent light wall showed no further signs of collapse did he finally let out a long breath.
At this point—
His face was pale from excessive reiatsu consumption, his stamina visibly drained.
The others weren't in much better condition.
To withstand that blast, they had been forced to burn through a massive amount of energy.
"Now all we need to do is wait for the residual waves to fade…"
"This crisis should finally be over."
Though the process had been ugly,
The situation hadn't escalated further—this was already the best possible outcome.
However—
The moment those words left Kyōraku's mouth—
When he looked back into the barrier—
The relief on his face vanished instantly.
"What the hell?!"
"What is going on?!"
"Why is the residual energy… condensing again?!"
Kyōraku's eyes went wide in disbelief.
To his horror, the explosive aftermath—something that should have dissipated—
Was repeating the exact phenomenon from earlier, when Bai Chen had first formed the spiritual shuriken.
Which meant—
That first explosion had only been the trigger.
From this point on, the real threat was just beginning.
"..."
Aizen remained silent.
Behind the glare of his reflective lenses, his eyes flickered violently.
Clearly—
Even he was shaken by the bizarre scene unfolding before them.
"A Kidō that can split…?"
"There's actually something this shameless in the world?!"
Ichimaru Gin froze.
He had always considered himself sly—
But compared to Bai Chen, he suddenly felt outclassed.
If the four of them hadn't been cautious enough to keep the barrier up—
This wouldn't just be a matter of surprise anymore.
They'd be competing over who could run away faster.
And then—
What happened next made all four captains feel their scalps go numb.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
In less than a few breaths—
One.
Two.
Three.
Countless spiritual shuriken formed simultaneously!
As their blinding light refracted through the transparent barrier—
It was as if a death star had been lit above each captain's head.
A suffocating, unmistakable sense of annihilation descended instantly.
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