Chapter 107 - Arashi no Kaze

Above Sōkyoku Hill, Muyang had serious eyes as he held his Zanpakuto with both hands. Upon closer look, one would notice that Muyang’s Zanpakuto was vibrating really fast.

Yamamoto squinted with a solemn expression on his face. Unlike all of Muyang’s previous attacks, he was aware that this one was different. He realized that he wouldn’t be unscathed if he didn’t take this seriously.

“This is…” Kyōraku held down his bamboo hat. This time, his expression was completely serious as he was aware of the danger.

Kyōraku already placed his hands on his Zanpakuto’s hilt before realizing it. However, as he turned looked at Ukitake, he noticed that Ukitake was also looking at him with his hands on his Zanpakuto’s hilt.

They both were a little surprised when they saw both of them had the same posture and expression plastered on their face but immediately smiled right after. They truly were lifelong friends.

“Interesting, it seems I’ll have to take this seriously.”

Yamamoto said with a slightly serious tone.

“Old Yamamoto, here I come!”

Muyang slowly walked toward Yamamoto for a few steps before suddenly swinging down his Zanpakuto.

“Hm?”

Yamamoto’s eyes widened as Muyang was already in front of him even though he saw Muyang walked really slowly toward him just now, and it was completely different from Shunpo. It was the kind of movement that he had never seen before.

Even though Yamamoto was a bit surprised, his body could react in time. Right when Muyang was in front of him, Yamamoto swung his Zanpakuto, trying to repel Muyang’s attack.

“What!?”

When Muyang’s and Yamamoto’s Zanpakuto collided, everyone except Muyang couldn’t contain how surprised they were, including Yamamoto, albeit only for a moment.

They weren’t surprised for no reason. After all, as Muyang swung his Zanpakuto down, there was a space distortion around it before completely vanishing, leaving only the hilt in Muyang’s hand. It was as if Muyang was holding an invisible blade, which happened right before everyone’s eyes.

Before everyone could regain their composure, the blade of Muyang’s Zanpakuto suddenly reappeared again as if emerging from the void and collided with Yamamoto’s Zanpakuto. Even though all of this felt like it took quite some time, it actually happened in a split second.

Bang!!

The clash between the two Zanpakutos caused pent-up energy that resembled a ripple where it collided. In a matter of seconds, that energy could no longer be contained and dispersed. At first, it only scraped the ground beneath Muyang and Yamamoto, but not long after, a layer of Sōkyoku Hill was leveled as well.

“What!?”

When their Zanpakuto collided, Yamamoto could feel the terrifying force from Muyang’s Zanpakuto. It was neither Reiatsu nor other types of energy, just raw power! The tremendous power was beyond Yamamoto’s imagination. It was at least several times stronger than Muyang’s previous attack. To his surprise, his arm trembled to the point that he couldn’t firmly hold his Zanpakuto anymore, so he backed off and took some distance from Muyang, but he fell to the ground right after, which was even more surprising, even for him.

“Captain-Commander!”

“Old man Yama!”

“Genryūsai-sensei!!”

Witnessing this unbelievable scene, the Captains were beyond surprised. The strongest Shinigami, Captain-Commander Yamamoto that stood above all Shinigami in the Soul Society in 1000 years, was forced on his knees in a square fight?

Even Aizen was frightened for a moment. He was a very proud and arrogant individual that believed he stood above everyone else, be it strength or intelligence. Even though he wasn’t the strongest person right now, he never doubted that he’d become the most powerful person in the future. However, he doubted himself for a second when he saw Muyang knocked down Yamamoto.

Then again, it was only for a short period of time. He was back to his confident self almost immediately. He believed that once he carried out his plan, everyone, including Muyang, Yamamoto, or even Soul King, would just become his stepping stone to become the strongest being.

Muyang himself was a bit proud of what he just did. Even though he did use the power he had just obtained or the so-called trump card, he managed to overpower Yamamoto head-on.

Muyang glanced at Aizen with a faint smile on his face. Although this was the first time he used it, he had obtained his Zanpakuto’s true form. Not only did he manage to overpower Yamamoto, but he had a feeling that he’d be able to break through Aizen’s Kyōka Suigetsu.

However…

shua~ shua~

In a blink of an eye, Kyōraku and Ukitake were already blocking Muyang’s way while holding Zanpakuto in their hands, and he was on alert. At the same time, Unohana Retsu and Kuchiki Ginrei flashed in front of Yamamoto.

“Step aside! I’m not so weak that I need to hide behind you young’uns.”

Yamamoto tried to stand back up bare-chested as his clothes were in tatters, revealing countless scars on his upper body. Unohana, who was about to check on him, was forced to step back as Yamamoto brushed off her hands.

“Good grief, don’t force yourself, Old man Yama! We can’t just leave everything to our Captain-Commander. At least let us mix in for a bit.”

“Yes, Genryūsai-sensei, don’t leave us out of the fun.”

Kyōraku and Ukitake that blocked Yamamoto from going further, caught a glimpse of Yamamoto’s slightly trembling right hand. The look in their eyes changed. Was Kimura’s attack so powerful that Old man Yama was trembling!

“Hah!! Cut the small talk and fight me!”

While they were all busy, Zaraki Kenpachi suddenly appeared behind Muyang with a crazed look on his face, swinging down his Zanpakuto toward Muyang’s head.

Muyang slightly sidestepped to dodge Zaraki Kenpachi’s attack before putting some distance between them.

“So you’re still hiding that much power, Kimura?” Zaraki Kenpachi licked his lips. “Well, as long as you can keep me entertained.”

“Sorry, but I don’t have time to fight you now, Kenpachi.” Muyang looked a bit dejected, and then he turned to Kyōraku and Ukitake, “Sorry, this is goodbye.”

“Do you think you can escape with several other Captains and me here?” Yamamoto looked at Muyang said solemnly.

“Old man Yama, I’m sorry I couldn’t live up to your expectations.” Muyang looked towards Yamamoto with an apologetic look. He didn’t know how to face this old man that had done a lot for him.

“Then stay here and explain the situation to me!” Yamamoto didn’t want to let Muyang go. He didn’t want his precious student besides Kyōraku and Ukitake to betray Soul Society, after all.

“It’s complicated.” Muyang shook his head. “Goodbye.”

“What is he planning to do?” The Captains were on high alert as Muyang made it sound like he could leave anytime he wanted.

“Hadō #73. Sōren Sōkatsui.”

“Hadō #58. Tenran.”

Muyang used 2 Hadō successively in an instant, resulting in a huge smokescreen that covered Sōkyoku Hill.

“Not good!”

Kyōraku already guessed that Muyang would obstruct everyone’s vision and fled in the middle of the confusion.

“Katen Kyōkotsu.” Kyōraku immediately used Shikai, “Bushōgoma!”

2 circling wind blades joined together and cleared the dust in the vicinity, restoring their vision again. However, only Muyang’s voice was heard.

“Arashi no Kaze.”

Suddenly, the wind from all directions converged in the middle of them all, trapping everyone inside.

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