Bleach : The God of Flames

After seeing Unohana Retsu’s sword strike, everyone did their best to buy Tsunayoshi time, determined not to let all his efforts go to waste.

Unfortunately, the other captains were simply too slow to make much of a difference.

“Hyōsube…”

Even Yoruichi, whose reactions were already fast enough, could not stop Kirinji from getting the first three syllables out.

Yoruichi kicked Kirinji squarely in the face.

The kick landed with the force of a hammer, sending him flying and causing water to splash in every direction. His words became even more garbled as a result.

But it was already enough.

Even though his voice was indistinct, he had still spoken the Monk’s name.

Kirinji’s broken, intermittent voice drifted across the battlefield like the growl of a Big Bad Wolf.

“Ich… Hyō… be…”

Damn it!

Every captain who had been moving suddenly stopped.

Their heads turned toward Tsunayoshi’s position.

Not far away, the Monk’s head rolled once across the ground.

The head that had been lying on its side suddenly righted itself, and strange, indescribable Reiatsu began to gather around it.

“Finish him, Sawada Tsunayoshi!” Soi Fon immediately shouted.

In her eyes, the Monk had already entered the process of resurrection. If they allowed it to continue, the Monk would truly come back to life.

Yet Tsunayoshi remained motionless, as though he had heard nothing.

He simply stood there and allowed the power to gather around the Monk’s head.

Tsunayoshi knew that as long as the Monk’s head remained intact, he could still control where the Monk would resurrect.

If he destroyed the head as well, who knew where the Monk might resurrect?

More importantly, Tsunayoshi needed to observe the resurrection process.

The two generals within his Inner World were already studying the Monk’s condition. He could not simply destroy the Monk’s head before they understood what was happening.

Seeing that Tsunayoshi still did not move, Soi Fon gritted her teeth and ran farther away.

Judging from Kyōraku’s actions, the Gotei 13 had already become rebels.

There was no longer any reason to hold back.

Soi Fon intended to put some distance between herself and the others before activating her Bankai.

She did not necessarily need to kill the Monk.

Perhaps she could at least shut up that loudmouthed Kirinji.

Soi Fon’s actions spurred the other captains into motion.

They resumed their advance and charged toward Kirinji.

After witnessing the Monk’s strength, the captains had reached an unspoken consensus.

They could not defeat the Monk.

But surely they could gang up on Kirinji, right?

In the next instant, the Reiatsu of multiple Bankai erupted simultaneously.

Kirinji clutched Kinpika and trembled.

He had no idea when he had managed to incur the wrath of so many people.

Did he really deserve to be surrounded by more than a dozen captains?

Trapped in the middle of the encirclement, Kirinji’s mouth remained as stubborn as ever.

“What the hell are you doing?! Have you all gone mad?! Hand over that new Captain-Commander of yours!”

Hidden within the shadows, Kyōraku quietly rolled his eyes.

He was not stupid.

The moment he revealed himself, his involvement would become another matter entirely, and the consequences would be impossible to estimate.

For now, this arrangement was perfect.

Unless an opportunity arose to drive a blade straight through Kirinji, Kyōraku had no intention of showing himself.

Just as the Gotei 13 surrounded Kirinji, the Monk finally responded to the voice calling his name.

Black ink rapidly spread from his neck.

A vast mass of ink lifted the Monk’s head, then twisted and transformed into the rest of his body.

The strange Reiatsu surrounding the Monk settled back into place.

His body, initially as black as ink, gradually returned to its normal coloration beneath his captain’s haori.

It happened in an instant.

Within Tsunayoshi’s Inner World, the Tenth’s voice suddenly rang out.

“Now, Little Tsuna! Use Sky-type Beyond Bankai!”

Orange flames erupted from the bodies of the Tenth and Byakuran.

They replaced Ryohei and Daisy, who had previously been supplying Sun Flames from the side, becoming the primary sources of flame.

The instant the Monk transformed from ink into his resurrected body, the Tenth and Byakuran had already completely analyzed the fluctuations in his Reiatsu.

As long as they shattered the Monk once more, they could inject harmonized Sky Flames around his head.

Then the Monk would never again be able to enter his resurrection state.

In a sense, this amounted to sealing him.

As long as they sealed the Monk’s remaining head afterward, everything would be over.

Outside, under the Tenth’s guidance, towering orange flames enveloped Tsunayoshi.

Two completely different forms of Reiatsu appeared simultaneously within the Soul Society—one tranquil and harmonious, the other fierce and overwhelming.

At that very moment, every living being throughout the Soul Society felt an instinctive mixture of fear and reverence.

The flames gradually condensed into two shades of orange.

They spiraled through the air, their ends connecting like the two halves of a yin-yang symbol.

Only Tatsuki, who was closest to Tsunayoshi, recognized what those two flames were.

They were both Sky Flames.

The lighter one was the Soft Flame.

The darker one was the Hard Flame.

The two flames served completely different purposes, and both possessed tremendous power.

Now, however, they had merged into one.

Hard and soft were no longer separated.

This was Tsunayoshi’s Sky-type Beyond Bankai.

The Monk’s eyes regained their clarity.

He had officially resurrected.

Yet what puzzled him was the fact that the instant he returned to life, he once again felt an earth-shaking power.

Had another member of Squad Zero become Sawada Tsunayoshi’s target?

The Monk looked upward.

The overwhelming mass of flames in the sky gradually faded, revealing Tsunayoshi’s form after entering Beyond Bankai.

Black dress pants.

A gray pinstriped shirt.

A white waistcoat.

An orange tie.

The outfit was so formal that it hardly looked suitable for battle at all.

If someone told the Monk that Tsunayoshi was the leader of some organization in the World of the Living, it would actually be more convincing.

If that were all, it would not have been enough to make Tatsuki’s eyes sparkle.

Judging purely from his clothes, Tsunayoshi had merely changed the color of his usual black suit.

What truly shocked Tatsuki was his appearance.

Tsunayoshi looked considerably taller and more imposing.

The expression on his face had also become far more mature and composed.

It was almost as though this were Sawada Tsunayoshi after reaching adulthood.

Thank goodness Tsunayoshi didn’t grow up weird!

The Monk certainly did not share Tatsuki’s carefree state of mind.

Having only just resurrected, he had barely regained his bearings before an overwhelming pressure descended upon him.

Just as he prepared to call upon the Soul King for support, Tsunayoshi had already appeared directly in front of him.

Tsunayoshi’s hands still wore the Sky Gloves from his Shikai.

But the flames burning upon those gloves were more than enough to prevent the Monk from underestimating them.

Black ink formed a shield in front of the Monk.

Ichimonji flew into his hand, its blade releasing as he prepared to defend himself.

Yet this time, Tsunayoshi seemed completely unconcerned about allowing the Monk’s black ink to stain him.

He stubbornly extended his hand toward the black shield.

A miraculous scene unfolded.

The Monk’s shield was completely unable to stop Tsunayoshi’s palm.

The instant the Sky Flame touched the black ink, the colorless power spread outward from Tsunayoshi’s palm as its center.

The black ink became completely devoid of color.

Naturally, the so-called shield developed a fatal opening.

The Monk immediately swung Ichimonji at Tsunayoshi.

The instant the blade collided with Tsunayoshi’s palm, the Monk simultaneously kicked toward him, using the impact to create distance between them.

Tsunayoshi raised his knee and met the kick head-on.

The impact allowed the Monk to retreat two steps.

The Monk stared grimly at the tip of Ichimonji.

There was actually a trace of petrification on the blade!

In other words…

If he allowed Sawada Tsunayoshi to grab Ichimonji, would Ichimonji itself turn into stone and become useless?

The Monk’s expression darkened.

Fortunately, he had reacted quickly.

He had come within a hair’s breadth of losing his Zanpakutō.

Thankfully, this was Ichimonji.

Damage of this degree was nothing to worry about.

The blade of Ichimonji transformed into the shape of a brush tip.

The Monk flicked away the trace of stone, then covered the blade in black ink.

Ichimonji was once again a flawless Zanpakutō.

But this did not make the Monk feel relieved.

He had no idea what kind of power Tsunayoshi possessed.

It was simply too domineering.

Tsunayoshi saw the confusion in the Monk’s eyes.

He walked toward him step by step and calmly said,

“Harmony of All Things… Sky…”

Harmony of All Things.

That was the power of Sky-type Beyond Bankai.

It could harmonize all forms of power.

That was why the Tenth had been confident enough to calmly observe the Monk’s resurrection.

He was certain that he could harmonize the power generated during the Monk’s resurrection into nothingness.

When Tsunayoshi touched the ink, he had likewise used the power of Harmony to neutralize it.

That was why the Monk’s defense was more fragile than paper in front of Tsunayoshi.

As for touching Ichimonji, there was even less to say.

Had the Monk been even slightly slower, Tsunayoshi could have completely destroyed Ichimonji.

“Harmony of All Things…”

The Monk repeated the phrase.

His heart felt exceedingly bitter.

Although he could not yet understand exactly what kind of power this so-called Harmony was, the words All Things alone were domineering enough.

No wonder Sawada Tsunayoshi dared to appear dressed in an outfit that looked so unsuitable for battle.

Every step he took carried an oppressive force that made people instinctively recoil.

If the Monk were in his position, he would probably be even more arrogant.

At the same time, a sour feeling welled up within the Monk.

So the power that Tsunayoshi had used to fight him at the peak of their battle…

Had not even been his strongest power.

Just what kind of terrifying monster had he been fighting?

Could it be that he had been the one restricting this world’s power?

Otherwise, how could Sawada Tsunayoshi—a person whose name had no anchor in this world—possess such terrifying strength?

But this was not the time for the Monk to question his entire existence.

Tsunayoshi’s oppressive figure was already about to reach him.

The Monk stopped thinking about it.

He unleashed Senri Tsūtenshō in rapid succession.

Without even bothering to check the results of his attacks, he turned and fled at full speed.

Ichimonji could no longer be used.

The Monk absolutely could not allow Ichimonji to be destroyed in Tsunayoshi’s hands.

It was the essential weapon he used to control the world.

Bang! Bang!

The enormous hands formed from the Monk’s Reiatsu were casually smashed apart by Tsunayoshi.

Immediately afterward, Tsunayoshi raised his hand and hurled a fireball toward the fleeing Monk.

Flame Acceleration!

It was the most ordinary form of fireball attack.

It was also the fastest.

Against the power of Harmony of All Things, the Monk had no means of blocking it.

Whether black or white, all power would be harmonized by the Sky Flame.

The only thing he could do was evade.

And evade he did.

The Monk unleashed the greatest speed he had ever achieved and activated Shunpo.

With a whoosh, Flame Acceleration passed directly beside him.

The attack petrified the corner of his haori into fragments of stone.

He had come within a hair’s breadth of being left behind by Tsunayoshi.

Tsunayoshi clenched his fist.

He had not had much opportunity to familiarize himself with the power of Beyond Bankai.

Even the process of walking and exchanging blows just now had essentially been the Tenth and Byakuran explaining the power of Sky-type Beyond Bankai to him inside his mind.

Only now did Tsunayoshi realize that Sky-type Beyond Bankai was nowhere near as simple as it appeared.

Tsunayoshi glanced toward the direction in which the Monk had fled.

It seemed it was time to use his true power.

However, Tsunayoshi was only watching the Monk’s fleeing figure.

He failed to notice that from the moment he began running, the Monk had been muttering prayers beneath his breath.

“Revered Soul King, I am your most loyal…”