You are very strong, but my painting style is better than yours!

"No effect... This is a bit tricky." Iori narrowed her eyes slightly.

As his primary weapon, the Ama no Kusanagi has slain numerous demons and enemies. Its strength and destructive power are considerable. Although it is simply a collection and release of spiritual pressure, the Dragon Jewel that comes with the weapon makes it comparable to a high-level anti-army Noble Phantasm. However, it seems to pose no threat to the opponent at all.

He could certainly increase his output, but the head of this thing probably isn't a vital point...

"Physical attacks are unlikely to be effective, let's try Kido!" Saito said, waving his hand. The Seventh Division Shinigami gathered together and began chanting a spell, which sounded like a large-scale Binding Spell barrier.

"Iori, you buy some time!"

Buy some time?

Iori turned to look at Saito: "Buying time is fine, but eliminating that thing wouldn't be a problem either, would it?"

The immortal stared back at him without surprise: "Since it came from your mouth, of course I believe you!"

"Hmm~"

Iori pondered for a moment, but just then, the enormous, pure white monster opened its massive, swirling maw, and a red light shone from its dark body—

hum! ! !

Like a Cero magnified dozens of times, the thick beam of light evaporated the rain along its path, illuminated the dark sky, and struck down like divine punishment!

"With the military governor at eight inches tall, there is absolutely no reason for him to retreat—"

【Four Beasts Block the Gate】!

call out!call out!call out!call out!

Iori spread his five fingers, and the spiritual pressure he gathered materialized into a radiant entity. He threw out square beams of light, which formed a huge shield-shaped city gate in mid-air, standing like an unyielding cliff!

"One - Dragon Tail!"

--boom! !

The crimson flash struck the city gate squarely, unleashing a powerful surge of spiritual pressure that whipped up gusts of wind, clearing away the puddles and revealing the muddy ground beneath.

This move was no less powerful than a level 90 or higher, but it was firmly blocked by the city gate.

"Two - Tiger Bite!"

A circular gate, shaped like a gear, tore through the void from the monster's left, pressing one corner of its massive body heavily beneath the base.

At the same time, the Dragon Tail Gate fell from the sky and crashed into the monster, also pressing down on one of its corners and connecting perfectly with the Tiger Bite Gate.

"hold head high……"

"Turtle armor, phoenix wings!"

A massive hexagonal gate, composed of numerous hexagonal crystalline spiritual energy shields, sealed off the monster's right side, connecting to the dragon's tail while opposite the Tiger's Bite Gate.

Finally, the Phoenix Wing Gate appeared, a giant blade materialized by the spirit particles, connected to numerous long spiritual energy latches, resembling giant wings sealing off the enemy's rear. And the moment this "Four Beasts Blocking the Gate" was officially formed, the wings closed and transformed into an oil-paper umbrella shape, sealing off the top of the monster.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

The monster roared and struggled, causing the entire earth to tremble, but the four city gates were as solid as rocks and did not budge in the slightest.

In just five seconds, Iori effortlessly sealed the mountain-sized enemy within the Kido, including the immortal Saito. The entire Seventh Division was stunned, and even the large Kido they were chanting stopped.

The Four Beasts Block the Gate is a higher-level binding technique than the Void Severing Technique. It's not surprising that a Captain-level Shinigami would use it, but this size...

One person's strength actually surpassed the combined strength of their entire squad!

But this isn't the end!

Just as the many Grim Reapers were stunned by Iori's magnificent performance, he began his incantation once more:

"This is a twisted and frenzied dragon, its claws lurking in the abyss. Submit, wail, lost child! Eight bodies, nine strands, the Heavenly Scripture, the Swift Treasure, the Great Wheel—the great sinner awaits the source of the great fire—"

"This incantation!"

Saito's muscles tensed: "Here? Now? Do we really have to use that?!"

"team leader!"

"All personnel on defensive posture! Don't get caught up in this!"

Before the team members could react, Iori had already finished chanting, his eyes cold as he raised his right hand, making a gesture of spreading five fingers:

"【Hado 99 - Five Dragons' Annihilation】!"

Roar! ! !

A colossal, azure-blue dragon of light, resembling a cloud hanging from the sky, stretched across the heavens, emitting an angry roar!

The moment it appeared, it unleashed a palpable surge of spiritual pressure, and the entire Seireitei could feel its ominous aura. Even powerful Shinigami, such as captains, felt a chill run down their spines.

This wasn't the first time Iori had used this Kido, but he was completely different back then compared to now. Theoretically, it was an attack that exhausted all his spiritual pressure, and once released, it would destroy everything in sight!

This is a demonic art that absolutely cannot be released within the Seireitei. To put it bluntly, the moment he finished chanting, he had already violated several prohibitions of the Seireitei.

The man's cold gaze seemed to merge into the dragon-shaped spiritual pressure in the sky. The next moment, his majestic pupils lit up with a bright red, and his imposing figure moved, stirring up the wind and clouds, transforming into a rainbow bridge of light connecting heaven and earth, which crashed down!

"open!"

With his right hand half-open, the four previously sealed doors suddenly deformed, the tiger-bite door opened a gap, and the dragon-shaped ghost path rushed in the next moment—

"combine!"

The grip was so tight that even the empty air seemed to explode with a sound, and after the Tiger Bite Gate closed again, a terrifying roar of a furious dragon erupted from within the [Four Beasts Blocking the Gate]!

Rampage! Devastation! Overwhelming power!

The earth cracked under the violent roar, and the city gates that had just easily suppressed the monster began to tremble, fine cracks appearing on their surface...

"break!"

Iori suddenly reversed her right hand, pointing two fingers like a sword towards the sky.

The next moment, the umbrella-shaped ceiling shattered, and a thick beam of light shot straight into the sky, tearing apart layers of gathering rain clouds and creating a huge hole to reveal the azure sky behind it...

boom!

After the beam of light disappeared, the four city gates finally shattered, and the monster inside had turned into charred black matter that was completely unrecognizable.

"Phew~" Iori's expression softened, and she lowered her right hand.

"Well!"

Saito took a deep breath and walked up to him, almost face to face, even crossing his legs to increase his intimidation.

She practically stared at him as she said, "Is this what you call 'tricky'? If you're so sure, then explain it clearly!"

“I’m not lying, it’s really stressful for me,” Iori said calmly.

This is true. It is a very challenging thing for him, but not the monster itself, but how to solve the problem using only the power of the Grim Reaper system.

After all, his "Bankai" is ultimately not powerful enough.

"I'm sorry to have worried you. I will let you know in advance next time before using [Five Dragons Turn to Annihilation]."

"...I don't want to have this terrible experience again."

Saito initially rolled her eyes at him, but quickly pouted, "No matter what, you saved me again... Damn it, I never owe anyone favors, now I won't be able to sleep!"

"When you fight side by side on the battlefield, it's not a matter of who saves whom. If I were in danger today, you would definitely rush to my aid without hesitation, wouldn't you?"

"You... you're always so perfect that I can't find fault with you, and sometimes I can't help but dislike you because of it."

Saito smiled, his gaze towards Iori filled with admiration... and a hint of inexplicable complexity.

"If only we had been born in the same era..."

"Ok?"

"It's nothing, just an old person's grumbling. Forget about it."

"An elderly person?" Iori chuckled. "Captain Saito looks like a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl. There's no way you can associate him with the word 'old'."

"Hehe, even though I know it's just a polite way of saying it, it still makes me feel good~"

Saito calmly returned the same smile: "I was talking about my health... After this, I'll probably become a sickly person like Ukitake... It's really frustrating!"

"Don't be discouraged, believe it will happen—is it really true?"

Iori's eyes flickered slightly, and she turned her head in surprise: "How can it be so tenacious?"

Saito was taken aback, then his expression changed drastically, and he turned his gaze in that direction as well.

Sure enough, the surface of that small mountain of coke material had cracked!

A throbbing, a creaking, a muffled sound... something is gradually reviving inside!

"How difficult is this guy to deal with!"

Saito gritted his teeth, and the Zanpakuto in his hand, which had regressed to its Shikai form, gathered an invisible wind around him.

She had made up her mind that if even Iori's [Five Dragons Annihilation] couldn't completely destroy the opponent, then even if it meant the end of her life, she would do everything in her power to help Iori finish this thing!

"Iori, I'll cover you. You can go ahead and fight—"

“No,” Iori suddenly shook her head halfway through her sentence, “It seems we don’t need you anymore.”

"You mean... oh, I see!"

As soon as he finished speaking, waves of spiritual energy rippled out, and suddenly, one after another, death gods wearing haori and wielding long swords appeared in the dilapidated ruins.

"Thanks for your hard work."

An elderly man with white hair and beard, and squinting eyes, walked through the ruins, his straw sandals crunching on the scorched ground, looking at the place that should have been the barracks of the Tenth Division...

"Without the two of you, the scope of this disaster would definitely have more than doubled."

The Gotei 13 are tasked with protecting the peace of Seireitei, but they were unable to stop the monsters from wreaking havoc within the compound… Thank you, Captain Saito, Captain Aizen, you have saved the honor of the 13!

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni raised his cane and tapped it on the ground, and suddenly felt a slight movement under his feet.

hum...

call out!call out!call out!

A tall, gray-white wall rose from the ground, and then, like a chain reaction, more walls rose up. They were not particularly tall on their own, but together they subtly enveloped the monster.

"The Ghost Path Clan must prepare a protective barrier; not a single fragment can be allowed to escape!"

"Yes!!!"

Before anyone knew it, over a hundred members of the Thirteenth Division and the Kido Clan had appeared on the battlefield. Many members of the Third Division, led by Iori, had also arrived, and their gazes were naturally focused on him.

"Go and rest. The Fourth Division should be ready by now."

Yamamoto half-opened his eyes and glanced at Iori. Although his tone remained calm, his words did not sound like a command, but rather like an admonition.

"Don't worry, leave the rest to us."

Turning back to look at the monster reborn from the charred remains, his eyes immediately turned cold.

"An immortal body? Interesting. It's been a long time since I've slashed something like that."

Nothing in this world is permanent; so-called immortality is merely a lack of destructive power.

Iori, you're commendable for controlling the range of the Kido's effects. Even I'm not as good as you in this regard, because—

I can never control the force well.

The disguise of the demonic path was removed, and the cane crumbled to reveal the hilt of the sword underneath. As the blade was pulled out inch by inch, everyone, including Iori, immediately felt the temperature in the air rise.

The atmosphere, which had been incredibly humid due to a heavy rain, is now gradually shifting towards drier conditions...

"All things in the universe, reduced to ashes!"

boom!

Heroic!

Thick!

The flames, so solid they seemed to have a tangible mass, annihilated everything, from the ruins of the city gate to the curse left by the Five Dragons' Annihilation, all vanishing in an instant!

Instead, there was a more complete destruction!

"[Flowing Blade Like Fire]!"

—The domineering flames were reflected in Iori's pupils, causing a long-lost stirring in his heart.