Starting with Kengan beating up the Pirate King

Chapter 249 Breaking into the Spirit King's Palace!
The Palace of the Spirit King.

As the shared power of the Spirit King converged into golden beams of light, not only was the outer path of the Spirit King Palace damaged, but even the departure hall of the five Zero Division members was impacted.

As the five gradually lost their footing and began to dodge, they became increasingly disheveled. Shutara Senjumaru, like Spider-Man, traversed the area suspended by silken threads, but his movements were far from elegant, and he spoke with a hint of displeasure:

“If this continues, the curtain that I use to cover the inner palace of the Spirit King will be blown to smithereens. We cannot allow the enemy to continue attacking us. Minister of War.”

The head monk rubbed his bald head, looking rather troubled: "I originally wanted to use a barrier to force out his Bankai, the kind of technique that uses Yhwach's abilities, to prevent him from being able to withdraw from the battle at any time. Now it seems... we have no choice but to face him head-on. Get ready!"

As another golden beam of light converged from the barrier and shot towards him, Hyosube Ichibei pressed the tip of his brush against it, colliding head-on with the power gathered by the barrier for the first time!

If it were the true power of the Spirit King, Hyosube Ichibei would naturally be far from being able to contend with it. However, this was merely a barrier they had set up using a portion of the power that had escaped from the Spirit King's creation of the Three Realms. Hyosube Ichibei held a certain degree of control over it.

When the golden beam of light collided with the tip of the brush, instead of a devastating energy explosion, a strange buzzing sound swept out.

The golden energy pillar froze in mid-air like a frozen waterfall. The barrier, which had been functioning perfectly and continuously gathering the power of the Spirit King, suddenly malfunctioned like a precision instrument, its surface cracking like a spiderweb, with dim particles of light flowing through the cracks. The once continuous energy cycle was instantly broken!
This is not destruction, but interference.

Hyosube Ichibei used his own power to re-insert a blank command into the gaps in the operation of these barriers. It was like an invisible dam suddenly being built in a rushing river, not to cut off the flow of water, but to force the water to temporarily change course, revealing the passage at the bottom of the river.

The light of the barrier suddenly dimmed, and the converging golden pillars of light lost their energy support and dissipated into countless specks of light.

However, as a price, at this moment, the seventy-two barriers that had protected the Spirit King Palace for millions of years also temporarily stopped operating!
The five members of the Zero Division landed again on a large piece of debris on the main path of the Spirit King Palace, their eyes all fixed on the direction of the barrier below.

They knew that when Hyosube Ichibei was forced to stop the barrier from functioning, the enemy's objective had been achieved, and what followed...

Sure enough, in the next instant, Guan Yi's figure seemed to blend into the shadows, squeezing in from the barrier below. He was dressed in casual clothes, his expression calm and undisturbed, and he did not emit the slightest spiritual pressure fluctuations. He landed lightly on another piece of gravel.

"Is it him?"

Apart from Hyosube Ichibei, the other four members of the Zero Squad were seeing Seki for the first time.

"They have quite the nerve, daring to infiltrate the Spirit King's Palace alone, without even the human girl who can borrow the power of the barrier coming up."

"I admire men with courage, especially those who dare to venture into dangerous places to save their companions." Shutara Senjumaru was ruthless and taciturn. As he spoke, countless silver threads wrapped around Guan Yi from all directions!

Then, in an instant, the thousands upon thousands of silver threads converged, binding Guan Yi like a rice dumpling, leaving only his head able to move. The ease with which this happened caused Shutara Senjumaru to frown: "Not resisting? You wouldn't be thinking of exchanging yourself for your companions, would you? That makes me feel a little guilty."

"It won't be that easy." Nimaiya Oetsu weighed the old Zanpakuto in his hand. "Although I didn't see anything special about it, since Hyosuke's team is on high alert, if we are careless, we might fall into his hands."

"Ha, what a joke." Kirinji Tenjiro said dismissively, "Hyosuke's only headache is his ability to teleport. As long as we keep an eye on him and don't let him escape, it'll be fine."

While they were talking, Guan Yi, who was tied up like a dumpling, still didn't react. At this point, even the most oblivious person would realize that something was wrong, let alone the elites of the Zero Squad.

They carefully examined the details on Guan Yi's body. At the same time, Hyōjube Ichibei vaguely sensed a slight fluctuation coming from afar and instantly turned around with wide eyes.

"This is a clone?!"

The other four also realized that the guy in front of them was actually a clone? But how could that be? What kind of ability was this? A clone appeared in front of them, and they didn't realize it until the main body made a commotion!
"Oh no, his target is..." Without a moment's delay, Hyosube Ichibei's burly figure moved as if traversing space.

In the distant sky, amidst the clouds, Guan Yi appeared and began to slash with his sword!
Sizzle—The knife cut into empty air, yet it sounded like it was slicing through silk, producing a piercing sound.

A perfectly realistic silver screen, resembling a real scene, was sliced ​​in two from beginning to end with a single cut! The sky seemed to split open, revealing the true scene on the other side: a pagoda floating in the air appeared out of nowhere!
That is the inner palace of the Spirit King, the place where the Spirit King was sealed, the origin of the division of the three realms. In addition, the captured explorers are also imprisoned in the lower level of the Spirit King's inner palace in the tower.

Guan Yi, having sheathed his sword, did not pause for a moment. He landed inside the Spirit King's inner palace. Just as he was about to attack the lower barrier and rescue the explorers, Hyosube Ichibei finally arrived.

"I won't let you succeed so easily!"

His brush pressed down on Guan Yi: "Human who threatens the Spirit King, this time you will not escape. Confess your origins and purpose!"

The violent wind pressure whipped up the hair on Guan Yi's forehead. Just then, Hyōsuke Ichibei suddenly saw Guan Yi smile slightly.

"……Um?"

"Tch, my carefully crafted disguise was seen through in an instant, and it was broken with just a clone's trick. Humans are indeed worth being wary of."

On the other side, Shutara Senjumaru looked somewhat displeased, her six arms swaying slightly behind her. Now that she knew it was a clone, there was no point in binding it. The power that could easily tear mountains apart surged along her spiritual pressure into the threads binding Guan Yi, intending to tear Guan Yi apart.

The next moment, she was stunned.

Couldn't tear it?

The sensation from the end of that thread was far harder than steel; her indestructible thread couldn't even break through the other's skin!
How can this be?

A mere clone?!

Shutara Senjumaru frowned, his six arms moving in unison, his spiritual pressure surging threefold along the silver threads. But instead of tearing Guan Yi apart, he felt an overwhelming force pulling him in the opposite direction, causing him to fly towards Guan Yi!
Wait, something's not right!
Guan Yi, who was bound like a rice dumpling, finally made a move. He slowly raised his lowered eyelids, revealing a smile. His body, which seemed to be bound, suddenly broke free, and a violent spiritual pressure soared into the sky!
"Watch out! That's the real body!!"

Hyosube Ichibei, who had swept away 'Guan Yi' with a single stroke in the distance, roared wildly, while the other four members of the Zero Squad reacted even earlier.

"stop!"

The ancient Zanpakuto in Nimaiya Ohetsu's hand was instantly drawn, and a condensed spiritual pressure slash was directed at Guan Yi, attempting to stop his actions.

Kirinji Tenjiro was also horrified. He flashed forward to block Senjumaru, gathering spiritual pressure in his palm that was enough to shatter mountains.

But it was all too late. Pulled by that violent power, Shutara Senjumaru flew towards Guan Yi at a speed that was like crossing space. Even Shutara Senjumaru himself couldn't react much under Guan Yi's overwhelming power!

puff-

The sound of the blade piercing flesh was crisp and piercing; the black blade was almost completely embedded, with only the hilt remaining. Shutara Senjumaru froze abruptly, his six arms instantly losing all strength, and his previously surging spiritual pressure dissipated like a flood.

One stab, through the throat!
Aside from the great monk, the other members of Squad Zero weren't much different from ordinary Shinigami captains. Guan Yi gripped Shutara Senjumaru's collar with one hand; her Bankai was a bit tricky, but if she dealt with it first, she'd be safe.

(End of this chapter)