In everyone else's eyes, Kazuma beneath the thunderclouds looked as if he had gone completely insane.
They could not understand why he would do something so reckless.
He had actually put away his Zanpakutō and simply stood there, staring blankly at the sky, as if his soul had left his body.
"Sensei! What are you doing?! Do you not want to live anymore?!"
Rukia screamed herself hoarse, her voice filled with despair and fear. She could not understand why Kazuma would do this.
Was he tired of living? Did he think his life was too long?
Yet Kazuma gave no reaction at all. The corner of his mouth merely lifted slightly, revealing a foolish smile.
He seemed to have completely sunk into his own world, ignoring everything around him.
The others cried out in alarm as well.
They wanted to stop him, but none of them dared step deep into the range of the thunderclouds.
At that moment, another bolt of lightning tore across the sky, illuminating all of Hell.
Immediately afterward, thunder crashed so loudly that everyone instinctively covered their ears.
Then Kazuma suddenly raised his head and roared, "Come on! Strike me with all the lightning you want!"
His voice echoed through Hell, carrying a kind of open contempt.
As his words fell, the lightning within the clouds grew even brighter, as though responding to his challenge.
Everyone stared wide-eyed at the scene, their hearts filled with confusion.
What exactly was Kazuma trying to do?
Had he really been struck stupid?
Kazuma's shout echoed through the empty expanse of Hell as he fearlessly waited for the lightning to descend.
Rukia was frantic, but she could only watch helplessly as everything unfolded.
Suddenly, a massive bolt of lightning struck straight down and hit Kazuma with perfect accuracy.
In an instant, blinding light swallowed him completely, making it impossible to look directly at him.
When the light gradually faded, everyone was shocked to discover that although Kazuma's entire body was charred black, he had still not been killed.
Strange arcs of electricity flickered around him. His eyes were closed, as if he was comprehending some kind of power.
Then Kazuma opened his eyes.
A powerful confidence shone within his gaze.
"So tempering the body with lightning really does work! And I even grasped a trace of the true essence of lightning."
As soon as he finished speaking, the Zanpakutō in his hand burst with dazzling light, as though it was responding to the thunder in the sky.
Kazuma swung his Zanpakutō, sending sharp waves of blade light howling upward into the clouds.
Everyone stared at the scene, dumbfounded.
He had taken the force of lightning head-on without dying, and instead, he seemed to be getting stronger.
What kind of monster was he?
Kazuma was now smug as hell, silently thinking to himself, 'What's a little lightning supposed to do to me?.'
However, in response to Kazuma's provocation, the thunderclouds began churning violently, as though they had been enraged.
They grew even more savage.
Kazuma seemed to sense the thunderclouds' anger.
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly, and the Zanpakutō in his hand released an even stronger lightning glow.
He leapt up and charged toward the thunderclouds.
The instant he drew close, he swung his Zanpakutō with force. A massive blade light tore through the void, cutting straight toward the thunderclouds.
Rukia and the others watched Kazuma's godlike, demonic figure and, for a moment, lost even the ability to think.
Reality, however, was always cruel.
The slap in the face came far too quickly.
The increasingly violent thunderclouds seemed to gather all their strength before unleashing a bolt of lightning thicker than a water barrel.
It descended straight from the clouds, aimed directly at Kazuma as he charged upward.
"Fuck! You're playing it like this?!"
Kazuma stared at the thunderclouds in shock and hurriedly slammed the brakes.
His eyes widened, his face full of disbelief. But it was already too late to dodge. He could only watch as the lightning came crashing toward him.
At the critical moment, Kazuma quickly raised his Zanpakutō, trying to block the deadly strike.
But it was useless.
The barrel-thick pillar of lightning slammed into him and blasted him deep underground.
With a tremendous boom, an enormous crater appeared in the ground.
The surrounding area was left in complete ruin, scarred and shattered.
After a long while, violent coughing came from inside the pit.
Only after some time did Kazuma finally crawl out with great difficulty. His clothes were completely shredded, leaving only strips of fabric hanging from his body.
He was practically no different from a naked man.
His hair was a mess, and his face was covered in dust and blood, making him look incredibly wretched.
His originally handsome face now looked somewhat fierce, as if he had just survived a life-and-death trial.
"Damn it! What happened to 'lightning tempering the body'? What a load of shit! From now on, if anyone dares say this kind of training method is good, I'm hanging them up and beating them!"
Kazuma cursed speechlessly.
After being hit by that lightning strike, Kazuma clearly sensed that the thundercloud possessed a will of its own.
The consequence of his earlier provocation was the best proof of that.
However, what Kazuma did not expect was that the lightning had no intention of letting him go.
It continued attacking him, and Kazuma could only grit his teeth and endure it.
Then Kazuma could not resist provoking it again.
"Come on! Is that all you've got? Hit me with something stronger!"
The moment Kazuma's voice fell, the thundercloud flashed with dazzling lightning once more.
Immediately afterward, a bolt even thicker than before came crashing down toward him.
Boom!
The lightning slammed heavily into Kazuma's body, making him feel unprecedented pain in an instant.
"Ahhhhhhhhh!"
Kazuma could not help letting out a scream. His body trembled uncontrollably.
But very quickly, he realized that the thundercloud had tricked him again.
Sure enough, the newly formed lightning looked far smaller than the one just now.
Although it was still difficult for Kazuma to withstand, he managed to endure it.
The next few bolts of lightning were all at the earlier normal level and did not pull any more strange tricks.
The thundercloud continued for roughly two hours before finally settling down.
Kazuma sensed something in his heart.
The next bolt should be the final strike.
As long as he withstood it, Hell would no longer pursue the crime of him disrupting its operating rules.
Facing this final strike, Kazuma did not dare show the slightest carelessness.
His brows were tightly furrowed, and his expression was heavier than ever.
Both hands gripped his Zanpakutō firmly as the power of stars and lightning inside his body surged madly like a roaring flood.
"Govern the stars and shatter the firmament!"
Following Kazuma's roar, his Reiatsu erupted to its breaking point.
For the first time in centuries, Kazuma unleashed the true power of his Zanpakutō.
Hokushin blazed with blinding light, glowing with the dense heat of a dying star.
He funneled every ounce of his spiritual power into the steel, bracing his stance to withstand the incoming strike.
The atmosphere violently distorted under the localized gravity.
Stars pierced through the broad daylight, hanging heavy in the darkened sky as the fabric of the Seireitei twisted around him.
Massive dragons of atmospheric lightning manifested from the shifting pressure, their crackling, jagged forms coiling tight to shield him.
In the distance, Rukia watched the display with her heart in her throat.
Seeing her teacher release his true blade for the first time, she stood frozen, overwhelmed by the sheer, crushing gravity radiating from the epicenter.
Standing nearby, Chika Shihōin and the veteran Captains stared in stunned silence, unable to remember the last time Kazuma had been pushed this far in combat.
Chika shook his head, a grim shadow crossing his face.
"To think the enemy actually forced that brat's Bankai out. Looks like even he isn't confident he can take this strike unharmed. We need to fall back before the gravity crushes us."
Turning on his heel, Chika quickly led the group farther away from the imminent collision.