Just as the Monk's palm was reaching toward Tatsuki, an inexplicable, overwhelming force descended from the heavens, instantly drawing the attention of everyone except the Monk.
Yamamoto gave the Monk a strange look.
How odd.
With an aura this powerful, why couldn't the Monk sense it?
It was only then that Yamamoto realized that the world seemed to have come to a standstill.
Only he could move.
Before he could think any further, a sphere of white light descended from the heavens and entered his body.
In that instant, Yamamoto felt as though some kind of restriction within him had been undone.
His understanding of his Zanpakutō—and of himself—had deepened considerably.
If he were to use Zanpakutō Fusion one more time, he was certain he would no longer injure his own hands.
Could this be... the Soul King's power?
Yamamoto had never even met the Soul King, yet he could clearly sense that this was the Soul King's power.
The Soul King had opened up the final barrier between him and Ryūjin Jakka.
Yamamoto now had the confidence to contend with the Monk—the version who had yet to have his body reconstructed with the Soul King's power.
A battle of that magnitude might very well destroy the Soul Society.
But if he had another chance, Yamamoto would undoubtedly use Beyond Bankai without hesitation.
Wait.
A startling thought surfaced in Yamamoto's mind.
Why had no one ever managed to develop Beyond Bankai through Zanpakutō Fusion?
Could it be that the Soul King had been restricting them all along?
Sawada Tsunayoshi was not a native of this world.
Or perhaps, because of his constitution as a Soul King candidate, he had been able to cultivate Beyond Bankai.
Aizen had been able to do so because the Hōgyoku was responding to his desires.
But what about Kisuke Urahara?
Could it be that Urahara had received the Soul King's permission long ago?
Otherwise, it was difficult to explain how Urahara had managed to successfully cultivate Beyond Bankai.
The power of Beyond Bankai was capable of shaking the stability of the world itself.
Then why was the Soul King now granting him permission to use Zanpakutō Fusion?
Yamamoto could not make sense of it.
Could the Soul King have decided to simply throw caution to the wind?
The same thing was happening to countless others.
Numerous orbs of light flew from the Soul King Palace, passed through the Seventy-Two Barriers, crossed the boundary between the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo, and descended into the bodies of Shinigami.
The Soul King planted a seed of hope within every Shinigami.
Once a Shinigami's strength reached a certain level, they would be able to push open the door beyond Bankai.
And it was not only the Shinigami who received the Soul King's power.
Ichigo and his friends in the World of the Living likewise received a portion of the Soul King's gift.
The future was filled with limitless possibilities.
Time began to flow once more.
The Reiatsu from the Monk's palm was about to crush Tatsuki when—
Crack!
The sound of splitting ice rang out.
A slender arm, even thinner than the Monk's, blocked his path.
At the same time, Tatsuki felt someone grab her shoulder.
Her entire body was pulled backward.
The force was remarkably gentle and caused her no harm.
The moment Tatsuki came back to her senses, a familiar hand gently ruffled her hair.
Then she heard that reassuring voice once more.
"Good girl. Go to the back and wait for me..."
"Sawada Tsunayoshi, you!"
The Monk flung Tsunayoshi's hand away.
He retreated a step and pointed at Tsunayoshi.
No matter how much he racked his brains, he could not imagine that Tsunayoshi would be able to break out of his seal by himself.
"Impossible! I'll..."
"Still haven't realized it?"
Tsunayoshi interrupted the Monk with a smile.
"My name."
"兵主部一兵衛, the one who controls the power of names."
The Monk suddenly froze.
His name?
When he had just called Tsunayoshi's name, there had indeed been no trace of that strange resistance.
He hurriedly summoned the Book of Ten Thousand Names, formed from golden spiritual power.
The book rapidly flipped through its pages.
Sawada Tsunayoshi's name was clearly listed within it.
"Impossible!"
"Nobody but me can alter this Book of Ten Thousand Names!"
The Monk roared.
"Sawada Tsunayoshi, what kind of trick are you playing now?!"
Tsunayoshi calmly pointed toward the sky.
"What if the one who changed it has a higher level of authority than you?"
"The Soul King?"
"No, that can't..."
The Monk desperately wanted to deny it.
But he could not.
Every ability he possessed had been granted by the Soul King.
His current strength was even the result of stealing and incorporating the Soul King's fragments.
The Soul King had actually bypassed him and directly added Sawada Tsunayoshi's name to the book?
That meant the Monk's justification for eliminating Tsunayoshi no longer held.
The moment Tsunayoshi's name appeared in that book, it meant that Tsunayoshi had been acknowledged by the world itself.
"Seems that's exactly what happened."
"Your Soul King has acknowledged my existence."
When the Monk had sealed him, Tsunayoshi's vision had been plunged into darkness.
Within that darkness, he had seen a ray of light.
Following that light, the scene of the Ōdai-in within the Soul King Palace once again appeared before him.
It was the same as before.
The Soul King simply stared blankly at Tsunayoshi.
He neither spoke nor moved.
The Soul King was in no hurry.
Tsunayoshi, however, was extremely anxious.
He had no idea what was happening outside.
Ignoring the Soul King's gaze, he turned and leapt out of the Ōdai-in.
At that very instant, the Soul King slowly closed his eyes.
Then he suddenly opened them again.
Two spheres of pure Soul King power pursued Tsunayoshi.
Tsunayoshi did not know what had happened.
Somewhere deep inside, he merely sensed that the Soul King had helped him.
The instant his vision returned, he saw the Monk attacking Tatsuki.
His body's instincts moved faster than his anger.
Tsunayoshi instantly broke free of the seal, seized the Monk's arm, and pulled Tatsuki behind him.
Only afterward did his Super Intuition catch up with what had happened.
Tsunayoshi realized that he seemed to be able to sense the Reiatsu of the Soul Society more clearly than before.
It was a strange sensation.
It was almost as though he now had a set of coordinates connecting him to this world.
And that was what had created the current situation.
The Monk stared at the Book of Ten Thousand Names as though his entire worldview had shattered.
He abruptly put the book away.
Whether or not Tsunayoshi's identity had been resolved had nothing to do with him.
Wasn't Ichigo Kurosaki a native of this world?
And wasn't the Monk still planning to turn him into a Soul King candidate?
A ruthless glint appeared in the Monk's eyes.
Black and White separated within his hands.
"You haven't forgotten, have you?"
"Once your name enters the book, you will be affected by my power!"
"Then try it."
Tsunayoshi clenched his fist before his chest.
Violent Sky Flames burst forth from his fist.
The Soul King was indeed reliable.
In addition to giving Tsunayoshi a name, he had even restored his injuries.
Only when he saw the Sky Flames surrounding Tsunayoshi did the Monk finally realize it.
That damn orange flame could nullify his abilities.
But in the next moment, the Monk laughed again.
"You think you can defeat me with nothing but Shinigami power?"
"I could crush you to death with my bare fists!"
It had to be said that Tsunayoshi's escape from the seal and the change to his name had thrown the Monk into confusion for a moment.
Once he recovered his composure, the Monk realized that Tsunayoshi was using nothing more than Shikai.
His Hollow Power had already been beaten out of him completely.
Tsunayoshi had miscalculated.
He had failed to intimidate the Monk.
Of course, Tsunayoshi knew that his Hollow Power had not recovered.
His entire performance had been nothing more than an attempt to bluff the Monk.
He had not even used Bankai.
His goal was simply to invoke the Soul King's authority and force the Monk into backing down.
"Sawada Tsunayoshi."
Yamamoto walked to Tsunayoshi's side and drew his Zanpakutō.
"I shall fight alongside you."
"Old Man, even if I assume you can use Beyond Bankai, that doesn't mean you can necessarily defeat him."
Tsunayoshi tried to dissuade him.
"Don't come here and make things more troublesome."
"Beyond Bankai?"
Yamamoto said firmly.
"I have already mastered it."
Then, to reinforce Tsunayoshi's confidence, he quietly added:
"The Soul King has given his permission."
Tsunayoshi's eyes widened.
The Soul King's power had not only been granted to him.
Even Yamamoto had received the gift?
"What a pair of fools who aren't afraid of death..."
The Monk was utterly speechless.
There were always insects crawling out to throw their lives away.
"Then you can all die together!"
Just before the Monk attacked, Yamamoto smiled meaningfully.
"Call yourself the Monk, yet you still haven't understood?"
"Why do you think this old man can stand here before you completely unharmed?"
"Because it is the Soul King's choice."
"The Soul King..."
The Monk suddenly appeared before Yamamoto and drove a heavy punch downward.
"You speak as though you've actually met the Soul King!"
"Lava: Sōkotsu!"
BOOM!
Yamamoto's fist collided with the Monk's.
A violent explosion of extreme heat and overwhelming Reiatsu instantly swept across the battlefield.
Yamamoto's fists turned crimson.
Flames coiled around both arms.
The scars covering his body illuminated with a lava-like glow.
In that instant, Yamamoto's aura was actually no weaker than the Monk's.
He forcibly withstood the Monk's surprise attack.
The temperature of the Soul Society began rising at an alarming rate.
The rate of increase was even more violent than when Zanka no Tachi had been active.
"Is this your Beyond Bankai?"
"Compared to this old man, shouldn't you be more concerned about the souls of the Soul Society?"
"Is this really wise?"
Little by little, the Monk began overpowering Yamamoto.
If this continued for much longer, the Soul Society would suffer its first soul to die from the extreme heat.
"You still don't understand."
"Why do you think I can suddenly use the power of Beyond Bankai?"
"Because the Soul King has permitted it!"
As Yamamoto's voice fell, the overall temperature of the Soul Society rapidly began to decrease.
The only region that remained at extreme temperatures was the battlefield where Yamamoto and the Monk were fighting.
"This..."
With the Monk's perception, he naturally sensed the changes occurring throughout the Soul Society.
Not only was the temperature in the other regions rapidly falling—
after Yamamoto activated Beyond Bankai, the Soul Society itself did not even tremble.
The world had become stable?
The Monk smashed Yamamoto away with a punch.
His spiritual perception rapidly reached toward the Soul King Palace.
High above the heavens, before the Soul King's curtains, countless points of starlight flew outward.
At a glance, he recognized them.
They were the purest form of the Soul King's power.
Soul King...
What are you doing?!
The Soul King was actually using the power of his own body to repair the world and maintain its stability.
That was why Yamamoto could use Beyond Bankai without restraint.
Yamamoto's words once again echoed in the Monk's mind.
It was all because the Soul King had granted permission.
The Soul King whom he had served for more than a thousand years...
Had actually betrayed him at the critical moment?
The Monk's hand trembled.
Then an even more sinister thought emerged.
So what if he had been betrayed?
If this Soul King refused to obey him, he could simply replace him with another Soul King.
After all, this Soul King had already become completely useless to him.
He no longer needed the Soul King's power.
He would create a new Soul King himself!
The Monk's body once again swelled until it was as enormous as a mountain.
With a casual motion like swatting away a fly, he sent Yamamoto flying.
He no longer had any interest in playing with these ants.
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