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

"Damn it, these guys are..."

Clang!

The middle-aged man with black hair waved his hand, deflecting the arrow with his gauntlet, and looked coldly at the white figure leaping down from the height.

"Wow, I'm really lucky! If I capture you all and present you to His Majesty, he'll look at me differently, right?"

This person had a cross-shaped bow holder materialized from spirit particles on his wrist. He had a sparse beard and a lazy appearance, but his aura was not to be underestimated. As soon as he appeared, all the Quincy stopped and paid their respects. He was obviously a pureblood with a very high status.

Interestingly, the residents of Rukongai are all ordinary souls. Not to mention family lineage, even surnames are rarely seen. But this black-haired Shinigami is wearing a Shinigami uniform. In addition to the squad number, his armband has the character "里" (inside) on it, and the background is a spiral family crest—the Falling Sky Collapse Vortex Pattern.

This person actually comes from the Shiba family, one of the five great noble families!

“Even if the five great noble families have been expelled from Seireitei, they shouldn’t be living in such a shabby place… We don’t even have any specific information, so we can only resort to this clumsy method.”

"Stop talking nonsense!"

The Shiba family man coldly swung his Zanpakuto, unleashing a powerful spiritual pressure that swept across most of the city, causing all the souls to tremble.

"I never expected it to be a Quincy... This karmic debt that has lasted for thousands of years should indeed be settled!"

I know what you want, but if you think the Shiba family will be spineless, you're sorely mistaken!

The Zanpakuto was released, transforming into a rough, large sword shape amidst the light. With his eyes wide open in anger, the man swung his hands furiously, and instantly, a powerful spiritual pressure converged into a gleaming crescent moon that sliced ​​through the atmosphere.

The Quincy dared not take this powerful attack head-on and quickly used the "Flying Kick" to teleport away. However, as soon as he appeared, another crescent moon flew across the sky and cut off his right hand!

"Looking Up at the Moon, Soaring Through the Heavens!"

"As expected of Shiba!"

Despite being wounded, the Quincy showed no sign of pain. Instead, he growled in a low voice, "This aura is the same as it was a thousand years ago!"

Ignoring what the enemy said, the Shiba family man charged out like a cannonball, wielding his greatswords and drawing crescent-shaped trajectories in the air. The sharp spiritual pressure blades easily pierced through the Quincy's Bloodstained Armor, leaving a terrifying wound that almost severed him at the waist!

The thought that the Shiba family had fallen was indeed inaccurate; they still had captain-level experts. Then, fine threads woven from spiritual particles emerged from the wound, stitching it up with the severed hand. He turned and fired a barrage of light arrows, enveloping the enemy like a torrential rain.

"So strong..."

The Quincy laughed provocatively, "Shiba, your secret techniques will become an aid on His Majesty's path... Don't resist, accept your fate!"

This isn't a one-on-one duel. As long as His Majesty's mission is completed, it doesn't matter who you capture—is your family that powerful too?

"!!!"

A spiritual pressure no less powerful than that of a veteran captain surged into the sky, even reaching the distant Seireitei.

The man was enraged by the words spoken about his family!

The Shiba family is not as extensive as Tsunayoshiro's, nor does it have the reputation and connections of the Kuchiki family. In terms of wealth and heritage, it is far inferior to the Shihōin family.

Even though she had fallen to the point of being ostracized from Seireitei by all the nobles and forced to live in Rukongai, the five great noble families still acknowledged Shiba as one of their own, and the Tsunayashiro family was extremely wary of her.

Firstly, the Shiba family has passed down several extremely powerful secret techniques through generations, and they also possess the only technology that allows them to directly travel to the Spirit King Palace without needing permission from others.

Both of them are ridiculously strong!

This family seems to be cursed with premature deaths, which is why they don't have many descendants, but almost every generation produces a master of the caliber of a captain!

"Then I'll have no choice but to wipe you all out in one fell swoop—Bankai!"

"what!"

The Quincy narrowed his eyes and pulled out a badge with a star cross.

"We've been waiting for you!"

Chapter 486 The Final Moon Gazing Sky Surge.

The perfectly round metal disc called "Star Seal" emitted a bright light, and a magic circle as huge as a sea monster unfolded behind the Quincy. The Zanpakuto in the Shinigami's hand, which had been gathering extremely powerful spiritual pressure, suddenly dissipated into thin air!

bang——

Like shattered glass, countless fragments of spiritual particles disappeared into the void, leaving the man with the greatsword in its Shikai state (a nodachi style, not as exaggerated as a certain hedgehog-headed one).

Bankai failed?!

No, this is...

Hayato Shiba felt the power draining from his body with shock. Instinctively, he looked across at the other side. At that moment, the magic circle of the Star Cross emblem was fully deployed, and the Quincy controlling the metal disc was gathering a large amount of spiritual pressure, which slowly condensed into shape under the radiance—

Dissolve it!

The sea turns to clouds, the clouds to rain, the rain to mist, the tangible to the intangible; in our joyous final moments, we pour our cups to the ground—Come on!

In an instant, everything vanished into thin air. A gust of wind swept through everything, and a weapon with a thick blade, a long and thick handle, and a shape that resembled a horse-slaying sword was tightly gripped by the Quincy.

It's Shiba Hayato's swastika!

...It was taken away?

My Bankai has been stolen!

"Blue Fire Pendant!"

A huge orange-red fireball shot out in all directions, and a series of explosions obscured everyone's vision. Shiba Hayato charged towards the enemy.

Although he didn't know what had happened or why his Bankai had been stolen, as a captain-level Shinigami, Shiba Hayato didn't just stand there foolishly; instead, he decisively took action.

"It's too late. Your Bankai is now under my control. You have no chance of winning!"

The Quincy grinned menacingly. His subordinates were unable to join the battle at this level, but now he didn't need anyone else's help.

A Shinigami's fighting power is largely contained in their Zanpakuto. A captain who cannot use Bankai is no different from someone fighting bare-handed!

Seeing Shiba Hayato burst out of the smoke and head straight for him, the Quincy swung his Zanbato and shouted out his technique: "Mochizuki Tenshou!"

The immense sword pressure tore through the earth, exactly the same as Hayato Shiba's previous move, but its scale and speed were multiplied, and it was accompanied by a silver spiritual pressure that flowed like liquid!

"hateful!"

Hayato Shiba hurriedly dodged with Shunpo, not daring to let the sword pressure touch him in the slightest. Besides its exaggerated power, what was even more terrifying was the silver light that could disintegrate spiritual pressure defenses and directly damage the target's body... As the original owner, he knew best how powerful this thing was.

We can't remain passive; we must defeat the enemy and reclaim our Bankai!

Hayato Shiba's gaze was resolute as he launched a series of powerful attacks against the Quincy using Shunpo, clashing with his own Bankai time and time again.

However, he soon realized that his judgment was wrong:

He could no longer quickly defeat his opponent, and even holding on was becoming increasingly difficult... His Bankai was the type that greatly amplified his base stats (spiritual pressure, speed), and the Quincy seemed to have perfectly inherited this effect, with the distance and speed of his Hiren-kyu far exceeding his Shunpo, and his spirit arrows being even more penetrating...

In reality, due to an unstable mindset and limited strength, Hayato Shiba was driven to the brink of despair after only a dozen or so encounters!

"Aren't you giving up yet?"

The Quincy wore a mocking expression. The opponent, Hayato Shiba, was covered in blood and looked like he wouldn't last much longer.

"...It seems that this is the end for me."

Hayato Shiba stared intently at the Zanpakuto in his opponent's hand, a bitter smile playing on his lips, but his gaze grew increasingly resolute.

"Since that's the case, let's end it all!"

boom!

Hayato Shiba's right hand suddenly "burned," and the liquid-like silver spiritual pressure danced wildly like flames, as if forming a sea of ​​fire around him.

At this moment, the spiritual pressure emanating from him actually subsided, becoming so weak as to be almost imperceptible.

"What's going on? What is this power...?"

Quincy are naturally skilled at sensing, and the enemy quickly discovered the power of Shiba Hayato's new form.

"Bankai...no, you clearly...uh!"

Suddenly, the Quincy felt his Zanpakuto tremble, restless like a kettle filled with steam. Even with [Spirit Particle Cluster], he couldn't suppress it, and it quickly slipped out of his control.

Bang!

As countless spiritual particles dissipated, the Quincy took a half-step back, his weapon completely collapsing.

In the blink of an eye, Hayato Shiba's "Mochizuki" evolved from Shikai to Bankai, and it was subtly different from before, with a more refined and powerful appearance.

"The Star Seal... has failed? How is this possible! His Majesty's power... What have you accomplished? Death!"

The man looked up in shock and anger, and the Quincy surrounding Shiba Hayato were also stunned.

Hayato remained calm, his eyes revealing a clear, fearless expression.

"What did I do? I just withdrew my power... The real battle is about to begin."

Quincy, are you ready?

"Well!"

The man gritted his teeth, "Even if I regain Bankai, I'll fight you with this body riddled with holes—"

——Zheng!

In the blink of an eye, none of the Quincy present, including the one who was killed, could even see Shiba Hayato's movements!

When he came to his senses, the man's head had already been separated from his body, while Shiba Hayato, who had sheathed his sword, acted as if he had done something insignificant.

"Lord Bazat!"

"not good!"

"Retreat! Retreat!"

The Quincy collapsed without a fight, but it was too late. In the interval of three heartbeats, Hayato Shiba, who had evolved to a new level, annihilated the invading enemy!

"What's this……"

The last Quincy to fall struggled with his last strength and asked, "Are you still... a Shinigami?"

"..."

Hayato Shiba delivered another blow, his expression neither sad nor happy. His only thought now was to take the opportunity to kill as many enemies as possible and then go find his family.

As for this inconceivably powerful force... that is the fundamental reason why the Tsunayo family fears Shiba.

The Shiba clan has passed down a secret technique of "man and sword as one" or "soul essence" through generations. Although it was not created for combat, its destructive power is astonishing and can even exceed the limits of the Shinigami!

The reason the Bankai was taken back is because the effect of this secret technique is extremely powerful, capable of concentrating one's soul power into a single point. However, great power always comes at a price... This process is irreversible; once used, it means being completely consumed, resulting in either loss of ability or complete collapse and disappearance.

In other words, it's a one-time disintegration of the Heavenly Demon, and Shiba Hayato doesn't intend to do it unless absolutely necessary.

"I still have a lot of spiritual pressure left... Did the side effects of forcibly using a secret technique in such a hurry really come out so badly?"

Hayato clutched his chest, his brow furrowed, his face looking quite grim.

Originally, even those who had learned this secret technique needed a certain amount of preparation time to activate it, and someone like him naturally had to pay a price.

"But I can't fall down yet... I have to get the message to Seireitei, and to Isshin and Kaien... Ugh!"

Shiba Isshin and Shiba Kaien are the best of the next generation. Although they are of different generations, they are about the same age and both have extraordinary talents. As long as they can live to adulthood, they will definitely be able to uphold the family name!

Thinking of his younger relatives, Hayato mustered his spirits and prepared to set off for his ancestral property to find his family. Even the other families, who were also among the five great noble families, did not know that the Shiba family had always had someone taking care of their ancestral property in Rukongai, which could be considered a safe haven.

But after taking only two steps, he paused slightly, a rare look of shock appearing on his face, before slowly turning around.

"..."

In the open space behind him, a man dressed differently from all the Quincy, wearing a high-ranking uniform like a general and with a long cloak draped over his back, appeared.

--Danger.

This was Hayato Shiba's first impression.

The man wore a black and red cloak over his white military uniform. He had a handsome and elegant yet mysterious and profound appearance, with red eyes and three silver medals on each of his collars.

His eyes held a godlike confidence and indifference, making one feel that he was the only being in the world—this man walked step by step toward Shiba Hayato.

"Truly impressive... This kind of spiritual pressure, which is as painful as steel needles, is something that ordinary Shinigami cannot compare to."

Young Yhwach smiled slightly, "This posture... is it some kind of atavism, a way of bringing the soul form closer to the Spirit King? It's a pity your level is not high enough; you're just trying to imitate a tiger."

"who are you?"

A bead of sweat trickled down Shiba Hayato's forehead; he was unusually tense in the face of the enemy.

This guy's attire and appearance reminded him of someone... but that's impossible!

"You're a Quincy too... Could you be another 'Holy Child'?"

The Holy Son was once a great enemy of Soul Society, causing heavy losses to several divisions. He was an extremely terrifying foe. But now Hayato desperately wants the other party to admit that he is the second Holy Son!