Chapter 91: Bankai, All Things' End

The ground of Seireitei trembled violently. After a brief pause, the earth split open, and five massive silvery-grey dragons surged into the sky. Their Reiatsu rippled through Seireitei, startling every Shinigami within its walls.

Onlookers from afar stood frozen, awestruck by the towering dragons, while the noble families of Central 46 gaped in terror, their jaws dropped.

“Is this the Chief of Staff of the Gotei 13?” a squad member whispered, gazing toward the Central 46 Chambers with reverence.

To most Shinigami, the Chief of Staff was a mere administrator, and Yamabuki Haruto had never flaunted his combat prowess before the squads.

For the majority of the Gotei 13, Haruto was just a logistics officer with some skill, far below the captains’ caliber.

After all, sending a staff officer into battle was absurd—like imagining a scholar overpowering a gladiator or outmatching a trio of legendary warriors. The notion was preposterous!

The five dragons spiraled in the air before diving down. Seireitei shook as if struck by a magnitude 10 earthquake, flattening everything within ten kilometers. Buildings crumbled into rubble, the landscape scarred beyond recognition.

The sages who had fled Central 46 paled at the devastation. They’d been plotting to undermine Haruto, bypassing Yamamoto Shigekuni, but now saw their schemes as futile. All of Central 46 combined couldn’t rival his strength.

As the Reiatsu settled, Haruto stood amid the ruins, panting heavily. Casting Hadō #99 without incantation had drained him immensely. He devoured ambient Reishi to replenish his reserves, praying the spell had finished Unohana. Please, don’t get up again.

Boom!

A figure burst from the debris—Unohana Yachiru, bloodied but far from defeated. The direct hit from Hadō #99 had wounded her, but not critically.

“Is this Shinigami Kidō? Intriguing, but far from enough to bring me down,” Unohana said, steadying her breath. Her eyes burned with heightened killing intent.

This opponent thrilled her like no other. Since her birth, no one had matched this exhilaration. She’d kill him with gratitude, honoring his strength with her full might.

Unohana slid her hand along her blade, her voice low and menacing. “Bankai: Minazuki.”

Crimson Reiatsu erupted, her power surging five to tenfold—the hallmark of Bankai. A Shinigami with Bankai was leagues beyond one without.

Haruto’s face twisted in dismay. I swear, if I ever claim victory early again, I’ll be struck by five bolts of lightning.

Unohana’s aura shifted to something eerie, almost demonic. Her Zanpakutō curved into a scythe-like arc, dripping blood. The surroundings oozed crimson, transforming the area into a hellish bloodscape.

Haruto felt trapped in an abyss.

“Flying Swords!” He waved his hand, his Zanpakutō glowing as he summoned five Reishi blades that shot forward at blinding speed. Unohana merely swung her blood-smeared blade; the swords dissolved on contact, as if meeting their natural predator.

She advanced step by step, her presence no longer wild but profoundly unsettling, radiating dread.

Unohana raised Minazuki gently, and the blood pulsed in rhythm. With a light swing, a sea of blood surged toward Haruto.

Every instinct screamed danger. He used Hirenkyaku, a Quincy technique, to evade, but a single drop grazed his finger. Instantly, the flesh melted to bone—without a hint of pain!

Horrified, Haruto severed the finger with his blade and retreated. Though it regenerated swiftly, fear gripped him.

Unohana’s Bankai was the Gotei 13’s most enigmatic. Many had seen it, yet none understood its true nature.

“Corrosion? The blood erodes on contact?” Haruto speculated. But corrosion should burn, like acid. He’d felt nothing as his flesh vanished.

Unohana struck again, giving no time to think. Haruto, mid-analysis, couldn’t fully dodge and blocked instead. Minazuki splattered blood across his body, rotting his flesh at a visible rate.

“Over-healing?” He retreated, carving out the affected flesh with his blade, the agony nearly overwhelming.

Excessive healing could collapse cells—he knew from medical studies. Kirinji Tenjirō’s Blood Pond Hell worked similarly.

“No, that’s not it. I’d sense healing; I’m a Kaido master. There’s no therapeutic feel—just decay.” Haruto knew analyzing mid-fight risked openings, but without understanding, victory was impossible.

Unohana materialized before him like a specter, her blade piercing his shoulder. His flesh festered and vanished rapidly.

Gritting his teeth, Haruto hacked off half his shoulder, blood gushing. His Quincy-enhanced regeneration stemmed the flow; standard Kaido couldn’t match such wounds.

“I think I know your ability!” Haruto gasped, his shoulder knitting back together.

Unohana paused, aware he was stalling but indulging him.

“Acceleration! Speeding flesh decay?” Haruto pressed.

“Half right. More precisely, it accelerates cause and effect. Birth is the cause; death and dust, the effect. My blade merely hastens the process,” Unohana said indifferently. “Your shoulder’s healed. Let’s continue!”

“You’re insatiable!” Haruto muttered bitterly. “No choice now—I’ll unleash my true power!”

“Vollständig, release!”

A radiant aura enveloped Haruto, his Reiatsu surging as silvery wings of Reishi formed behind him, pulsing with energy. His Zanpakutō glowed brighter, its power amplified by his Quincy heritage, ready to counter Unohana’s onslaught.