Akainu's final, all-out attack had failed to bring Byakuya down.
Instead—
it had become a death sentence for his own Marines.
As one Marine after another was swallowed by the blazing magma fists falling from the sky, Akainu's expression twisted again and again. For the sake of justice, he had no choice but to act.
"Marine Admiral," Byakuya Kuchiki said, his voice cold as frost, "that should have been your final move."
Countless swords surrounded him, each one gleaming with lethal sharpness.
This was the second stage of Senbonzakura Kageyoshi—
Senkei.
A form specialized for close combat, where the countless independent blades all took the shape of full swords, vastly increasing their killing power.
Under normal circumstances, this mode should have favored Akainu more. After all, when it came to pure destructive force, the power of magma yielded to no one.
But now—
badly wounded as he was—
Akainu simply could not keep up with Byakuya's speed.
Trapped inside a prison of blades, he had become prey.
"…What kind of look is that?" Akainu roared in fury.
The cold disdain in Byakuya's eyes infuriated him beyond measure.
Byakuya's lofty bearing seemed to say only one thing—
Give up. I don't even consider you worth killing.
"Damn you… Death, Poison Blade… and now you too…"
Akainu's face grew darker and darker. No one understood better than he did what it meant for a Marine Admiral to admit defeat.
It would be the ultimate disgrace for the Navy.
"Inugami Guren!"
Once again, Akainu clenched his fist. His magma-coated arm reshaped into a vicious magma hound and lunged at Byakuya. In his rage, he forced yet another burst of destructive power from his body.
"I already told you…"
Byakuya's voice did not waver.
"…your struggle is meaningless."
In the very instant the words fell, he repeated the same tactic.
Using extreme Shunpo, he appeared behind Akainu.
Akainu's Observation Haki detected the movement—
but by the time he reacted, Byakuya had already swung his blade.
Clang—
One slash.
Wrapped in Armament Haki, the strike cut cleanly through Akainu's right arm.
Blood burst into the air in crimson petals.
Akainu's arm was severed.
"AAAAAHHH! My arm!"
He screamed in agony.
Now he had suffered the same humiliation Kizaru once endured.
For a Marine Admiral to lose an arm—
the wound to the mind was even deeper than the pain of flesh.
"Hadō #54: Haien."
As the incantation fell, a disc of flame manifested out of thin air and, before Akainu's horrified eyes, engulfed his severed arm.
Byakuya's attack was swift and merciless.
He allowed Akainu no chance to recover.
On Another Warship
"Butō Renjin!"
Within a thousandth of a second, slashes too fast for the eye to follow stabbed out again and again. As the attacks blew the three Vice Admirals backward, they also carved down the surrounding Marines on the deck.
Once he had released Bankai, Gin Ichimaru held absolute control of the battlefield.
Even though Onigumo, Doberman, and Dalmatian were powerful fighters—
they still could not withstand the edge of Kamishini no Yari.
"Oh my… three Vice Admirals, and you're already down?" Gin smiled as he lowered his Zanpakutō. If not for the blood coating the blade, one might have thought he had never moved at all. "How boring."
"…Now I understand why Admiral Kizaru lost an arm."
Dalmatian's face was deathly pale, his life hanging by a thread. In one of their earlier exchanges, he had been struck by Kamishini no Yari's poison and lost an arm to the cell-dissolving toxin.
"Onigumo! Doberman! I'll hold him here. Just endure it a little longer. Headquarters reinforcements will arrive soon!"
Madness flashed through Dalmatian's eyes.
"Vice Admiral… aren't you being a little too confident?"
Gin took one step after another toward him, the tip of his Zanpakutō lining up with Dalmatian's heart.
"Sacrificing yourself to protect your comrades…" Gin smiled, but murderous intent flickered through it. "What a noble little story."
Slash—
A streak of light pierced straight through Dalmatian's chest.
The poison that melted cells spread instantly through his body.
"I can't believe I couldn't drag you down with me…"
Hatred filled Dalmatian's eyes as his body dissolved little by little, until at last it vanished completely.
Another Vice Admiral had fallen.
Gin was just about to attack again when his expression shifted slightly.
"Oh? Time to leave already?" He cast a lingering glance at the two remaining Vice Admirals. "What a pity."
Then, in an instant, he returned to Ren Kuro's side.
Byakuya did the same.
On a Different Warship
"Byakuya Kuchiki. Gin Ichimaru." Ren Kuro looked out toward the distant sea, where several more warships had appeared on the horizon. "Headquarters reinforcements have arrived. We're leaving."
After slaughtering countless Marines, he knew this was the moment to withdraw.
They did not fear the Navy—
but once trapped inside an endless net of warships, the situation would become unnecessarily troublesome.
And since the Heavenly Tribute was already in their hands, there was no reason to keep fighting.
"Let's go," Ren Kuro said, gazing at the blood-soaked Akainu with a satisfied smile. "With an Admiral on the verge of death and a Vice Admiral already killed, they won't dare pursue us recklessly. This is the best time to leave."
Grievously wounded.
An arm severed.
Even if Akainu recovered physically one day—
the shame carved into his spirit would remain with him for the rest of his life.
Three Days Later
Grand Line — Polynesia Island
"At last… the agreed goods are in my hands. Luckily, nothing went wrong."
Ren Kuro stepped out through the doors of an auction house, carrying a black case in his hand.
The satisfied expression on his face made it obvious what was inside—
Devil Fruits.
After auctioning off the treasures taken from the Heavenly Tribute, Ren Kuro had successfully obtained ten Devil Fruits.
Which meant—
he had earned his third summoning opportunity.
And as for who he would summon—
he had long since made up his mind.
Captain of Squad Eleven — Kenpachi Zaraki!
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