Incredulity filled Azashiro's eyes. "This is your Zanpakuto's ability? Such severe injuries, recovered in an instant!"
He clearly understood what this meant. If he couldn't instantly kill his opponent, no matter how severe the injuries he inflicted, the opponent could rapidly recover.
Around the plaza, those watching were equally deeply shocked.
"I thought his Zanpakuto was purely defensive..." Kyoraku said with astonishment. "I never expected it to be a composite ability combining defense and recovery. This recovery speed is even more outrageous than Kaido."
Unohana nodded gently. "Even with my Kaido, curing internal organ damage to that extent would require at least ten minutes of continuous treatment."
Hiroshi's mind was shaken. "Setsuna's attacks can suppress Zaraki. His defense can withstand a Menos Grande's fierce assault. And now he displays such terrifying recovery ability. Even if someone could defeat him, probably no one could kill him."
An irrepressible joy welled up in his heart: 'Perhaps... Setsuna really could win.'
Rather than having the person who killed Captain Kuruyashiki as Captain, he preferred Setsuna obtaining the title.
After brief shock, Azashiro quickly calmed down.
"You are indeed strong," His voice regained its calm. "It seems I must also use some unconventional means."
He raised his right hand, fingers spread, aiming at Setsuna.
No incantation, even the Reiatsu Fluctuation was extremely subtle.
"Hado #91, Senju Koten Taiho."
Countless crimson Reiatsu Beams gushed from Azashiro's palm. Each was as fine as a hair yet razor-sharp. They interwove in the air into an impenetrable giant net, completely enveloping Setsuna.
Where the beams passed, the air emitted piercing shrieks, light distorting.
"Instant-cast Hado #91?"
The surrounding crowd was only slightly amazed. Achieving this was indeed difficult, but for someone of Azashiro's strength, it wasn't too surprising. After all, he was the one who killed Kuruyashiki.
However, just as that crimson beam net was about to close.
"Hado #1, Sho."
A pure white Reiatsu Beam shot from Setsuna's fingertip. The beam seemed utterly ordinary, just the most basic Hado, without even an incantation.
But when it struck the beam net—
Boom!
The top-level Hado #91 was directly shattered by the most basic Hado #1.
The crimson giant net shattered like a spiderweb swept by a laser, scattering into countless light points drifting away.
The entire area fell into dead silence.
"Monstrous!" Even Yoruichi, who already knew Setsuna's Kido strength, couldn't help but exclaim. Let alone those who had never seen this before.
"Hado #1... neutralized Senju Koten Taiho?" A member stammered.
"How is this possible?"
"Since when did Hado #1 have such power?"
Yamamoto's eyes narrowed slightly. "He has already trained Hado #1 to its extreme, nearly instinctual."
A flicker of surprise passed through Azashiro's eyes, but he quickly regained composure. "You can block one Senju Koten Taiho. But what about fifty?"
This time, he began chanting the incantation.
"Limit of the thousands hands, respectful hands, unable to touch the darkness. Shooting hands unable to reflect the blue sky..."
The air around him resonated, emitting the same words as him, like a symphony.
Those ancient syllables interwove and resonated in the air. The entire plaza's space trembled along with it.
The moment the last syllable fell—
Innumerable crimson beams shot out from the void, blanketing the sky, layer upon layer. The terrifying Reiatsu Fluctuations made the 11th Division's members nearly suffocate.
"F-fiftyfold Senju Koten Taiho?" Gozo's voice had changed pitch. "How could anyone use Hado #91 fifty times simultaneously? Even the Grand Kido Chief couldn't do that!"
Yamamoto narrowed his eyes slightly. "Is this also due to his Zanpakuto's ability? Reishi Fusion with the Seireitei allows him to arbitrarily control the Seireitei's Reishi!"
Setsuna also felt quite moved. Previous generations of Kenpachi excelled in physical attacks. Only Azashiro was an atypical magical-type Kenpachi. With the Seireitei's Reishi sustaining him, he was essentially a mage with unlimited mana.
"However, my 'spellcasting' ability isn't weak either." Setsuna's fists became countless afterimages. Each punch launched a pure white Reiatsu Beam.
"Sonic Punch - Five Hundred Consecutive Sho."
Although he couldn't use Lightspeed Punches like in the Saint Seiya World now, punches at tens or hundreds of times the speed of sound were still easy.
The key issue was he couldn't leverage that many Reishi simultaneously.
The reason he specialized in Hado #1 was precisely because it was the simplest, with the lowest Reishi Control requirements. Yet even so, he could at most use Hado #1 five hundred times simultaneously.
Within the Garganta, a continuous series of explosions erupted. Each collision triggered a small-scale spirit particle annihilation. Crimson and pure white lights interwove, canceled out, shattered.
In the end, Setsuna's [Five Hundred Consecutive Sho] completely wore down the fiftyfold Senju Koten Taiho.
The torrent of pure white beams, its momentum unabated, surged directly toward Azashiro's physical body.
At the critical moment, Azashiro's body suddenly transformed into countless tiny Reishi, dissolving into the surrounding air like mist.
The terrifying energy torrent lost its target yet did not dissipate. Instead, it continued raging forward.
It easily tore through the 11th Division's barracks' protective barrier, about to spread toward other areas of the Seireitei.
Yamamoto appeared almost instantly before that torrent. With a single slash of his sword, he erased the torrent.
Such a nonchalant action made everyone watching hold their breath. Even Setsuna's pupils contracted slightly.
'This Captain-Commander's strength was indeed unfathomable.'
Azashiro's Reishi Body reformed not far away.
His face was as pale as paper, fine beads of sweat forming at his temples.
Because he controlled the Seireitei's Reishi, his mana pool was nearly unlimited.
But his Zanpakuto also had a great weakness: once he used Bankai, he couldn't enhance his physical strength. And once he released Bankai, it would take at least a year to re-fuse with the Seireitei.
Thus, since attaining Bankai, he had never released it. His physical strength was even as fragile as an ordinary soul in the Rukongai.
"You are indeed strong. Stronger than I anticipated," Azashiro's voice was somewhat hoarse yet exceptionally firm. "This next move is my limit. Be careful..."
"Hado #96, Itto Kaso."
The moment the words fell, Azashiro's left arm began to burn.
Black flames coiled around his arm. Flesh carbonized and crumbled within the flames, turning to ash.
A sacrificial Hado that offered part of oneself as tribute in exchange for world-annihilating power.
But for Azashiro, the sacrificed part could be replaced anytime with fused Reishi.
Three hundred Reishi Clones of Azashiro Soya appeared on the plaza. Each clone was chanting.
"Three Hundredfold Chant - Itto Kaso." Azashiro's physical body whispered.