Bleach : Begins with a Contract with the Departed Souls of the Uchiha Chapter 288 288: Two Steps Back

Previously, Ren had held high status and significant power, but the two had never truly known the extent of his strength.

They could only speculate based on Ren's ti at the Spiritual Arts Academy, thinking that even at his strongest, he would at most be on the level of Kuchiki Kōga.

Facing him in person now, that terrifying pressure far exceeded their imagination.

In Shunsui's eyes, the aura Ren was currently radiating wasn't even that obvious—it was almost imperceptible.

Yet to him, it felt exactly like facing Yamamoto in a towering rage.

Suppressive and tense!

The two gripped their Zanpakutō, their spirits heightened to the limit. Their eyes remained locked on Ren's every move, refusing to miss even the slightest detail.

However, under their absolute focus, Ren's figure suddenly vanished from their field of vision.

In the next instant, they felt a searing pain bloom in their chests.

Blood sprayed violently, as if it were free for the taking, staining their white haori crimson.

"Wh—"

Shunsui's pupils shrank violently, and all the strength in his body dissipated in that single mont.

So fast!

He hadn't even been able to react!

Through sheer willpower, Shunsui managed to turn his head, only to see that Ukitake had suffered the sa fate. He had been struck instantly, his body nearly cut in half.

anwhile, Ren had appeared before them before they had even noticed.

Vaguely, a voice reached their ears—a voice that was as brilliant as it was mocking.

"Sorry, excuse . Just passing through."

Thud!

Thud!

The bodies of Shunsui and Ukitake stiffened before they both collapsed to the ground.

Watching his two disciples fall into pools of blood in the blink of an eye, Yamamoto's squinted eyes suddenly snapped wide open.

"Shunsui! Jūshirō!"

Shunsui and Ukitake were no ordinary Captains; they were his disciples whom he had taught for centuries!

As their teacher, he knew their strength better than anyone.

Even since the founding of the Gotei 13, they were considered to be at the very top tier.

They were practically second only to him, the Captain-Commander!

Ukitake was frail and sickly, so it was sowhat normal for him to be unable to use his full strength, but he had held high expectations for Shunsui.

To think he would be defeated in an instant during a battle of high ntal concentration?

He had anticipated that Ren's strength would be formidable, but for Shunsui and Ukitake to fall so easily was beyond his expectations.

Moreover, Ren's movents just now... how he reached the two and how he swung his blade to attack, even Yamamoto, as a bystander, had seen nothing!

What godlike speed!

It was as if he had teleported; even he hadn't seen it clearly!

His gaze fell upon Ren's relaxed figure. After a brief mont of shock, Yamamoto's heart surged with a roaring fury!

"You brat!"

With a roar, Yamamoto's spiritual pressure exploded, and the air seed to distort with a blistering heat.

The old man raised his arm, swinging his blade at the composed Ren before him.

But as he moved, he noticed that the weight of the Zanpakutō felt different than usual.

It felt a bit lighter.

Yamamoto's gaze remained fixed on Ren.

Ren suddenly raised his hand, his index and middle fingers extended, catching half a blade between them.

This half of the blade glinted with a tallic luster. The edge was sharp, the break clean, and it was about thirty or forty centiters long, carrying an ancient aura.

Though it was just an ordinary piece of a broken sword, it gave Yamamoto a feeling of déjà vu.

Yamamoto's swing halted as a thought occurred to him. He turned his head, his gaze sweeping toward the sword in his own hand.

Just now, when he had drawn his sword, Ryūjin Jakka had been perfectly intact. Now, the upper half was missing.

Yamamoto's eyes shrank. He quickly snapped his head back to look at Ren and the broken blade in his hand.

"Even I was—"

In that single mont, he had not only defeated Shunsui and Ukitake but had even broken his Ryūjin Jakka?!

How was that possible!

Even with extre speed, to achieve all that in a split second was beyond common sense!

There was no way he could have failed to notice entirely.

The other Captains were only now beginning to process what had happened.

Every one of them stared with wide eyes, their hearts filled with imnse dread.

"How can this be!"

"Captain Kyōraku and Captain Ukitake were defeated in an instant!"

"And the Captain-Commander... even the Captain-Commander's sword was broken?!"

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

"Could it be the ability of a Zanpakutō?"

Hearing the voices from the crowd behind him, a sharp light flashed in Yamamoto's eyes as his gaze swept over the massive Zan-Yamamoto in Ren's hand.

Pure speed couldn't achieve this. The only logical explanation was the ability after his sword's release!

"This abnormally eerie speed... is this the ability of your released Zanpakutō?"

"Why don't you guess?"

Ren chuckled, casually tossing the broken blade in front of Yamamoto.

Whiz!

The blade pierced into the wooden floor, its body vibrating with a low hum.

Yamamoto's gaze flickered over the blade on the floor, his face already dark and gloomy.

He looked back at Shunsui and Ukitake, who were lying in blood, their status unknown, and let out a loud shout.

"Retsu! Unohana Retsu!" Behind him, Retsu reacted imdiately.

In a flash, she lunged out of the crowd, heading toward Ren.

"Oh?"

The Captain of the 4th Division was acting personally?

Ren glanced over, shifting the Zan-Yamamoto slightly, causing the chains to rattle.

Before he could make a move, he felt a solid sense of killing intent approaching.

Yamamoto's gaze was locked firmly onto him.

Simultaneously, a hulking figure appeared abruptly above Ren, raising a Zanpakutō and swinging it down with all his might.

"Die!"

It was Kiganjō Kenpachi!

Ren looked up, his expression calm as he watched the incoming attack.

Just as Kiganjō swung his blade at Ren, a sharp whistling sound pierced the air.

Swoosh!

A grey-and-white figure appeared before him like a bolt of lightning, his coat of justice fluttering.

A fist was thrown out with grim determination.

"Hmm?"

Kiganjō looked at the figure that had suddenly appeared and the incoming fist. He hurriedly adjusted the trajectory of his swing to et the fist.

"Then I'll start by cutting you down!"

Facing the Zanpakutō, the person before him didn't even flinch. His fist continued to et the sharp blade head-on.

Kiganjō felt a surge of joy.

'Fool!'

'I'll cut through your fist and the rest of you along with it!'

But the mont the Zanpakutō struck the man's fist, Kiganjō felt an unprecedented force travel from the blade into his hand.

The sharp blade shattered instantly under the force of the punch, breaking into several pieces. Shards flew everywhere as Kiganjō felt a tearing pain in the web of his thumb, and his Zanpakutō was knocked away.

After crushing the Zanpakutō, the fist's speed didn't decrease at all, hurtling toward Kiganjō's head.

"Fist Bone!"

In a daze, Kiganjō seed to see the man grin, revealing a row of bright white teeth and a confident smile.

Then, a crushing pain exploded at the top of his head.

'Not good, my consciousness is fading...'

Kiganjō's eyes rolled back as his consciousness slipped away.

His massive body was slamd into the floor instantly.

BOOM!!!

Wood splinters flew and dust filled the air as a large hole was smashed into the floor.

There was no longer any sign of Kiganjō in the room.

Clack!

Garp landed on the edge of the hole and glanced inside.

It was pitch black; nothing could be seen!

He turned around, clenching his fist, a proud smile spreading across his face.

"Hahaha! This is the strongest 'Kenpachi' among you Soul Reapers?"

"Doesn't seem that strong to !"

The Soul Reaper Captains had yet to recover from their previous shock.

To imdiately see the Kenpachi of the legendary 11th Division punched into the ground left their hearts even more terrified.

They looked at Ren, then at the hulking Garp, their faces becoming extrely grim.

"The Kenpachi of the 11th Division was actually taken down with one punch?!"

"This guy isn't just huge, his strength is actually this terrifying!"

"Damn it! Where did Shihoin Ren find such powerful subordinates!"

Hearing the shock from the opposite side, Garp put his hands on his hips, his smile becoming even more arrogant.

"Hahahaha! Who else among you is strong? Step forward and test yourselves against this old man!"

Beside Garp, Ren waved away the dust in front of him, a light chuckle on his face.

"Heh, Garp, what experts are left in the Gotei 13?"

"The only ones worth being wary of are Yamamoto, Retsu, and Kuchiki."

As he spoke, Ren glanced behind him.

The two—Shunsui and Ukitake—who had been lying there monts ago were gone.

Only a pool of blood remained on the floor.

Ren turned his head back to the group of Soul Reapers, his eyebrows arching.

By Yamamoto's side, Unohana Retsu was slowly setting down the bodies of Shunsui and Ukitake.

"Cough, cough..."

Ukitake coughed twice, his pale face drenched in cold sweat.

He forced his last ounce of strength to reach out and grab Retsu's sleeve.

"Save... Shunsui first. I... I can hold on!"

Ukitake's voice was weak and fragnted.

Retsu looked at Ukitake's wound, which ran from his right shoulder down to his lower abdon. The flesh and bone in the middle were completely severed; she could even see the floor through the gap.

After a second of silence, she slowly nodded.

"I understand."

With that, she turned to Shunsui and reached out her hands.

Ren withdrew his gaze and looked at Yamamoto.

"Old man, so that was your plan after all."

Yamamoto had fixed his attention on him while Kiganjō feigned an attack.

All of it was rely to distract him so that Retsu could save the two disciples.

Seeing that his two disciples had been successfully rescued, Yamamoto felt a slight sense of relief.

"Retsu, take care of them."

Yamamoto looked back at Ren, his killing intent surging like a tide.

Feeling Yamamoto's intent, Ren waved his hand dismissively.

"Even if you saved Shunsui and Ukitake, you lost a Kenpachi in exchange. The gap in our strength still remains."

"Did you really think I didn't see through your little maneuver?"

"I rely gave you an opportunity. You have no chance of winning."

Looking at Yamamoto, Ren seed to think of sothing, a mischievous glint appearing in his eyes.

He pointed a finger at Yamamoto and spoke softly, his voice carrying a strange hint of amusent.

"Heh heh heh. Tell you what, Yamamoto. I'll give you one more chance."

"If you are willing to surrender, then take two steps back. If you do, I will accept your sentint and consider you a friend."

"On the contrary, if you want to die, then step forward and swing your blade at ."

"What did you say!"

Hearing Ren's dismissive words, Yamamoto froze for a mont.

Then he realized he was being toyed with.

"Brat, don't get too ahead of yourself!"

Yamamoto was so enraged his arms trembled and the veins on his forehead bulged.

Gripping his Zanpakutō, Yamamoto's killing intent erupted as he stepped forward.

"Even if I am alone, I am more than enough to suppress you rebels!"

The old man stared intently at Ren, suddenly noticing Ren's figure seem to flicker.

At that mont, Ren propped his hand against his forehead and laughed.

"Hahaha, so that's how it is."

"Old man Yamamoto, it seems you've already made your choice. You've taken two steps back, choosing to beco my friend."

Hearing this, Yamamoto was about to retort, but the words died in his throat.

He discovered that, at so point, he was actually standing behind Shunsui and the others.

"Wh—"

The old man looked around, checking his position, and his eyes went wide!

He had indeed stepped forward, and his position had been to the side of Shunsui.

Yet, despite clearly stepping forward, he had sohow ended up behind them.

Yamamoto snapped his head up to look at Ren, his eyes bloodshot.

"Brat, what did you do to ?!"

"I didn't do a thing. Clearly, your own heart wavered, and so you took two steps back."

Seeing Yamamoto's frantic state, Ren placed a hand on his hip and leaned back slightly, his voice full of mockery.

'As expected, this is how a ti-based ability should be played!'

"Yamamoto, why be so stubborn? Just admit it. Your heart wavered, which ans you feel fear toward ."

"Or perhaps your mind wanted to co forward to kill , but because of your fear, your body unconsciously stepped back, wanting to submit to ."

"Nonsense!"

Yamamoto was furious, his hand clicking as he gripped the sword hilt.

He took a step forward, but imdiately found his position had changed again.

He had been behind Shunsui and the others just now, but now he was even further back, in front of the other Captains.

The Soul Reaper Captains looked in horror at Yamamoto, who had retreated to stand before them.

It was incomprehensible!

"Captain-Commander, you've retreated again?!"

"Could it be..."

"Impossible! Shihoin Ren must be using so kind of ability!"

"How dare he toy with the Captain-Commander like this!"

Chōjirō Sasakibe rubbed his eyes, looking at Yamamoto in front of him. His mouth hung open, and a raspy sound squeezed out of his throat.

"Captain-Commander..."

Even Retsu, who was treating Shunsui, couldn't help but pause her movents.

She looked up in disbelief, her gaze darting between Yamamoto and Shihoin Ren.

Hearing a muffled groan from Shunsui, she finally snapped out of it, quickly suppressing her unease to resu the treatnt.

Yamamoto's face had gone completely dark.

Looking at the nonchalant Ren, Yamamoto gritted his teeth. "Damn brat!"

Yamamoto tried to step forward again, but saw that he had once again moved back a step.

He was now standing right beside the other Soul Reapers.

Ren mocked, "What's the matter, Yamamoto? If you want to co forward, then co."

"Damn you!"

Yamamoto's face was grim. He didn't dare make another move now, finding himself unable to even step forward.

Seeing this, Ren couldn't help but chuckle again, clapping his hands together.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

"Hahaha! What a pathetic sight, Yamamoto. Aren't you the strongest Soul Reaper in a thousand years?"

Every word and every clap from Ren felt like a loud slap across Yamamoto's face.

Yamamoto was instantly consud by uncontrollable rage.

Yet, no matter how angry he was, he forced himself to remain calm until he could figure out Ren's ability.

His eyes were fixed on Ren, his heart filled with monstrous fury as his spiritual pressure erupted like a roaring fla.

Suddenly, he noticed Ren's hands as he clapped, and his heart jumped.

This might be the chance to test it... A sharp light erupted in Yamamoto's eyes!

Gripping his Zanpakutō tightly, he suddenly lunged forward.

And this ti, he didn't move backward!

Yamamoto looked at Ren and suddenly let out a twisted grin.

"Brat, I've found your opening!"

"An opening?" Hearing this, Ren shook his head with a laugh, his expression full of disdain.

"Ridiculous. My ability has no flaws."

"Even if there were an opening, what could you do? Use that broken Zanpakutō of yours? What can you achieve with only half a blade?"

"I can do this!"

Yamamoto threw his right hand out, holding the half-blade to his side.

The fury accumulated in his heart erupted along with his aged voice, echoing through the room.

"All things in the universe, turn to ashes—Ryūjin Jakka!"

Flas erupted violently from the blade.

An unprecedentedly high temperature instantly exploded within the room.

Rolling heat waves crashed against them. Ren montarily lost his focus as he stared at the overwhelming sea of fire.

Seeing Yamamoto's release, Ren's previously confident face turned extrely ugly!

"You old man!"

Ren hadn't expected that Yamamoto could still perform his release even with the Zanpakutō broken in half!

He hurriedly reached out to grab the Zan-Yamamoto standing beside him.

Yamamoto's roar rang out.

"You're too late!"

The mont the words fell, Yamamoto swung the blade flowing with intense flas down toward Ren!

RUMBLE!

Seeing that Ren hadn't been able to draw the Zan-Yamamoto in ti after his swing, Yamamoto's twisted grin beca even more distorted under the glow of the flas!

No matter what ability caused his previous retreat, it was undoubtedly tied to the Zanpakutō.

And just now, Ren had clapped for his own amusent, letting go of his blade.

Planting the Zanpakutō in the ground and not holding it at all tis—that was the opportunity Yamamoto had sensed!

And he was only a few ters away from Ren. Such a short distance was enough for a surprise attack!

'Arrogance and conceit, those are your flaws!' No matter how heaven-defying an ability is, if it cannot be activated, it is useless!

Looking at the surging flas, Yamamoto was naturally not one to underestimate his foe.

After swinging once, his movents didn't stop. He raised his arm again, and flas erupted from the broken blade once more!

At that mont, a high-pitched, resonant voice rang out from within the wall of flas.

"Fire Punch!"

An even more vigorous burst of flas erupted, converging into a massive fist that collided head-on with the flas from Yamamoto's swing.

Before the fire, the ugly look on Ren's face vanished, replaced by a confident smirk.

"Fooled you, old man. How could I possibly be too late!"

On the other side of the fire, Yamamoto seed to realize sothing. The blade he was about to swing stopped mid-air.

His eyes narrowed slightly, a suspicious look appearing on his face as he stared ahead.

The old man's gaze seed to pierce through the layers of fire, seeing a youthful and energetic figure standing proudly amidst the flas.

RUMBLE!

The two sets of flas collided, instantly triggering a terrifying explosion.

The shockwave was deafening as the heat rose and firelight exploded, sweeping in every direction!

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