Just as everyone was having this brief interlude, three spiritual pressures, far exceeding the ordinary Captain-class, suddenly erupted.
Fortunately, Sasakibe Chōjirō reacted quickly, hastily releasing his own Reiatsu to counter the sudden pressure.
These three terrifying surges of power were blocked, but they still made the Squad members present feel it difficult to breathe, as if three heavy mountains were pressing down on their hearts.
However, the three powerful spiritual pressures appeared suddenly and disappeared just as quickly.
Feeling this familiar Reiatsu, Aozaki Reiji helplessly pulled Rangiku, who was clinging to him, down and helped her stand on the ground.
He had actually sensed this sudden Reiatsu earlier, and at this moment, he simply looked in the direction from which the Reiatsu came, unconcerned.
He saw old man appear with astonishing speed using Shunpo, holding a white-haired, dark-skinned head in his hand, which was slowly dissipating into spiritual particles.
One had to admire old man's composure; he could remain calm while holding the head of a former comrade, though his expression was slightly somber.
A second later, Zaraki followed closely behind old man, running over with large strides.
Shunpo was not his forte, but with powerful Reiatsu to support him, even if his technique was a bit rough, his speed already surpassed most of the Captain in the Gotei 13.
Zaraki smiled brightly, seemingly having had a lot of fun just now.
Old man, with an indescribable gaze, scanned the surroundings once, finally fixing on Aozaki Reiji, and asked urgently, "Where is he?!"
Aozaki Reiji calmly replied, "I've already sent him back to Hell."
"..."
Yamamoto was silent for a few seconds, then released his spiritual sense to perceive, and finally let out a sigh of relief.
He adjusted his expression, returning to his usual composed and unperturbed demeanor, and asked in a deep voice, "Captain Aozaki, the people you fought just now, were they... Saitō Furofushi, Katori Batsu'unsai, and Saizō Sakahone, the First Generation Captains of the Gotei 13?"
Aozaki Reiji nodded and said, "That's right, it should be them. They look just like the portraits I saw in your room."
Upon hearing this, Yamamoto's expression became solemn, and he murmured to himself, "So that's it... No wonder even their Reiatsu felt exactly the same. This is going to be troublesome."
Aozaki Reiji pouted.
Old man's worries were not hard to understand.
In the nearly hundred years he had spent learning from Yamamoto, he would occasionally hear old man speak of past events.
The First Generation Captains of the Gotei 13, although slightly less powerful than Aozaki Reiji's generation, were undoubtedly the most vicious generation in history.
These individuals were all extremely wicked, and in some ways, even more terrifying than man-eating Hollows.
Of course, the First Generation Captains were not weak.
It's just that Aozaki Reiji alone raised the upper limit for the entire Gotei 13 Captain of this generation.
Aside from Aozaki Reiji's generation, they were undoubtedly the strongest group of Captain.
Their Reiatsu started at Second Class Reiatsu or higher; Third Class Reiatsu was simply not up to par and unworthy of competing with them.
However, even such a group of powerhouses, seven Captain unfortunately died in the war a thousand years ago, perishing on the battlefield.
Among the six who survived, aside from Yamamoto and Unohana, the others successively passed away within a hundred years after the war.
This also indirectly showed the power of the Quincy.
Yamamoto's eyes became complex, and he muttered to himself, "This old man personally held the Soul Burial Ritual for them; they should have rested in Hell. Could something have happened in Hell?"
Speaking of this, he paused, then turned to Sasakibe Chōjirō and said, "Chojiro, immediately go and invite the adults of the Yomotsuki Family. Make sure they send someone to the First Division!"
Sasakibe Chōjirō respectfully replied, "Yes."
Then he turned and left to carry out the mission.
......
First Division, meeting room.
Yamamoto sat at the head of the table, and the Captain stood orderly on both sides.
Aozaki Reiji and Yamamoto stood face to face in the middle, and under the gaze of the Captain, he recounted the entire story in detail.
After listening, some of the Captain who had not been in office for long widened their eyes, as if their worldview had been shaken.
"The First Generation Captains are back?"
Souls with Third Class Reiatsu or higher, due to the excessively high Reiatsu contained within their spiritual particles, cannot naturally return to the world after death and must be sent to Hell.
This point was well known to the Captain who had participated in the Soul Burial Ritual.
They had long been mentally prepared that they would one day meet the same fate.
However, they never expected that those who were sent to Hell would actually have a chance to return to the Three Worlds.
This shocking fact made Captain like Hirako Shinji difficult to accept for a while.
Millions of years have passed since ancient times, and countless powerful Souls with Third Class Reiatsu or higher have been sent to Hell, their numbers too many to count!
But now, they can return to the Three Worlds, and whether voluntarily or forced, they harbor malice towards this already precarious world.
Facing such a situation, how could they resist?
Everyone's gaze turned to Yamamoto in unison, hoping that this pillar, who had led the Gotei 13 for a thousand years, could provide an answer.
Yamamoto remained silent.
He did not respond to the Captain' unspoken expectations with false and meaningless words, but instead looked at his disciple, who appeared as if it had nothing to do with him.
"Captain Aozaki, without destroying the world, how many such powerhouses can you handle?"
Aozaki Reiji chuckled.
"Don't think I still rely on Ryujin Jakka now."
"Hmph hmph... Bare-handed! I can fight a hundred!"
"Why would those Captain not use their Zanpakuto and fight you bare-handed?"
Hirako Shinji silently complained.
The surrounding Captain clearly seemed used to it, looking as if they had seen this many times.
Aozaki Reiji also didn't get angry; instead, he put his hands on his hips and arrogantly said, "When I say bare-handed, I mean myself!"
Looking at Aozaki Reiji's arrogant appearance, several people present couldn't help but twitch at the corners of their eyes.
Hirako Shinji opened his mouth, said, "As expected of Kenpachi, who bears the title of the strongest," and then obediently shut his mouth.
Kenpachi is the title of the strongest Shinigami in the Soul Society.
There have been many strong individuals among the past Kenpachi, but is Kenpachi necessarily the strongest?
In the past, every Captain would only answer, "No."
After all, old man Yamamoto was above them.
He was the pinnacle of Shinigami, and this was undisputed in any era.
Until the appearance of Aozaki Reiji.
He surpassed Captain-Commander Yamamoto, making Kenpachi ztruly the strongest Shinigami, no longer just an undeserved title!
Seeing that no one refuted, Yamamoto couldn't help but raise the corner of his mouth.
As expected of this old man's disciple, his strength has been fully recognized by everyone.
However, although he had confidence in his young disciple's strength, Yamamoto was still skeptical about his claim of being able to fight a hundred Captain-class powerhouses bare-handed.
If he used his sword, he also had confidence in fighting a hundred.
Before Zanka no Tachi, the number of opponents was meaningless.
But bare-handed... Sorry, this old man cannot do it.
His young disciple's Hakuda level indeed surpassed his own, but to say he could fight a hundred was too exaggerated.
If he said he could fight ten, he might grudgingly believe it.