Chapter 137: Vollständig vs. Bankai

Though the name sounded grand, Dimensional Severance was essentially an oversized Spatial Severance. A moment later, the purple light of Gyokotsu Saiin’s Poison Dragon Cannon collided with Haruto’s attack, two immense reiatsu forces erupting in dazzling brilliance.

The standoff lasted only an instant. Dimensional Severance cleaved the purple light in two, the halves striking nearby mountains. The mountains didn’t explode but melted silently under the venom’s touch, their surfaces dissolving into sludge—a terrifying sight, though not enough to reshape the entire terrain.

Simultaneously, Dimensional Severance sliced Yōdokuga’s Bankai form in two, the massive snake’s corpse plummeting from the sky. Gyokotsu Saiin escaped with swift Shunpo, barely dodging the attack.

Without his Zanpakutō, Gyokotsu lost his edge against Yamabuki Haruto. Realizing the dire situation, he turned to flee, but where could he go? Haruto appeared like a ghost, grabbing him by the neck.

“Old man, do you submit?” Haruto tapped Gyokotsu’s head with Gin’ei Tenshi’s hilt, his tone sharp.

“No!” Gyokotsu snapped, his stubbornness unyielding even in defeat.

Haruto tapped his head again, harder. “Do you submit?”

“I don’t!”

Oh, I love stubborn people, Haruto thought, sheathing his sword and pummeling Gyokotsu with his fists.

“Stop hitting me, stop hitting me! My old bones! Don’t you understand what it means to respect the elderly and cherish the young? Stop hitting!” Gyokotsu wailed.

“Then do you submit!”

“No.”

“Then keep hitting!”

“Stop hitting, stop hitting, stop hitting! I submit, I submit! Ouch! I’ve already given in, why are you still hitting me!” Gyokotsu, covered in bumps, groaned. Haruto had held back, but the old man’s pride was battered.

“Why are all the young people so irritable nowadays? Back when I was young, youngsters were gentlemanly. Alas! Morals have declined, the world is decaying, each generation worse than the last!” Gyokotsu sighed.

“Say that again!” Haruto raised his fist, scaring Gyokotsu into ducking.

“By the way, who exactly are you? So young, yet so strong? Are you the son of a great noble family?” Gyokotsu asked, curiosity piqued.

Haruto retorted, “Don’t you know what’s happening outside? The era of noble rule in Seireitei is long past. Now, we, the Gotei 13, are in charge.”

“Gotei 13? Never heard of it!” Gyokotsu said, his expression curious.

Haruto smirked. Of course he hasn’t. The Gotei 13’s only two months old. Gyokotsu Saiin, the first captain of the Thirteenth Division in the Gotei 13’s founding days, had been hiding in these mountains, oblivious to the outside world.

“Our Gotei 13 is impressive. We take it upon ourselves to maintain world peace…” Haruto began.

“Hmph!” Gyokotsu sneered dismissively.

“What are you laughing at? I’m telling you something serious,” Haruto snapped.

Gyokotsu said indifferently, “If the Three Realms exist, they exist; if they perish, they perish. Nobles or commoners, there isn’t a single good one among them.”

Haruto paused. Those words carried weight, hinting at Gyokotsu’s past. Nobles and Rukongai residents alike chased their own interests. Class didn’t define good or evil. A kind soul, noble or commoner, was kind. An evil one, regardless of status, was evil.

“Old man, would you like to join our Gotei 13? Our benefits are good, and we accept all kinds of talented people. I guarantee you’ll receive high benefits if you join,” Haruto said, starting his pitch.

Gyokotsu fell silent, then asked, “In that Gotei 13, are there many strong individuals like you?”

“Not many, not many! Less than ten right now,” Haruto replied. The Captain-Commander, Unohana, and the other captains totaled fewer than ten.

“The waves behind push the waves in front, and the waves in front are pushed onto the beach. I haven’t left my home for hundreds of years, and the world has changed so much!” Gyokotsu sighed, gazing at the sky, lost in memories of his youth.

“Young man, if I don’t join, what will you do? Kill me?” Gyokotsu asked.

Haruto laughed, “How could that be? I’m not a bandit, am I? I can’t just kill people…”

“Hmph! The killing intent on you is not weak. You’ve killed many before, haven’t you? You can’t hide it from an old man like me!” Gyokotsu sneered.

“Indeed, I can’t hide it from an old man like you,” Haruto admitted. “By the way, the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13 is Yamamoto Genryūsai. You two should be from the same era, right? Do you know him?”

“Yamamoto!” A glint flashed in Gyokotsu’s eyes. Yamamoto, a titan who suppressed an era, was known even to those who never met him.

“So that’s how it is. He established the Gotei 13! I’ll go see him, just for old times’ sake with an old friend,” Gyokotsu said.

Haruto asked, “Old man, are you alright after using Bankai? I heard a Zanpakutō in Bankai state, once damaged, can’t be restored. That big snake was cut in two by me, is it alright?”

As he spoke, Yōdokuga’s severed segments reconnected, recovering at a visible speed.

“My sword is a living Zanpakutō, with extremely strong vitality. No matter the damage, as long as I feed it enough reiatsu, it can recover on its own!” Gyokotsu said.

What a convenient Bankai, Haruto thought, recalling Komamura’s Kokujō Tengen Myō’ō, the only other Bankai known to self-repair, tied to its wielder’s body.

“Alright, stop hiding in the tree and come down!” Haruto called to Chiyo, not far away.

Chiyo, still pinned to the tree, looked horrified. One pervert was bad enough, but two? Am I destined to clash with perverts? “You… you two go first, I’ll catch up in a bit!” she said, forcing a stiff smile, plotting her escape.

Forget the Gotei 13! But before she could flee, Haruto grabbed her by the neck, dragging her back.

What kind of fate is this!