Chapter 46: Chapter 46: I am a Remnant of the Old Era
Chapter 46: I am a Remnant of the Old Era
Hanzo Mochizuki’s kick was extremely vicious and experienced.
Not only was it incredibly fast, with all the force concentrated at the tip of his toe, but it also landed squarely on the exact spot where Zaraki’s abdomen had just been pierced, turning an already severe injury into something even worse.
Zaraki shot backward like a crashing meteor, smashing through more than a dozen buildings before finally coming to a halt.
Boom!
The exact moment Zaraki smashed into the ground, Yato Uchiha arrived right in front of Hanzo Mochizuki.
Susanoo, the purple warrior god, raised a massive fist and swung it mercilessly toward the Ryoka. The black flames of Amaterasu burned furiously upon its armor, distorting the very air with its heat.
Having no other choice, Hanzo abandoned his pursuit. He planted his spear by his side, bracing himself to take the punch from Susanoo head-on.
"So heavy!"
The Ryoka’s pupils shrank as the overwhelming force hammered him straight into the ground.
Knowing he couldn’t stay buried for long, he immediately used his spear to shatter the rock above him and leapt back to the surface.
However, before he even had time to find his footing, Hanzo was greeted by a ferocious, blood-streaked grin.
"Yato! Kaien! You two bastards, I told you, he is my opponent—aaaahhh!"
Zaraki’s fighting spirit was so thick it was almost tangible. In this critical moment of severe injury, the subconscious seal he had placed upon his own power quietly began to loosen.
This guy is still getting stronger!
Hanzo Mochizuki acutely sensed the change. Gripping his spear with both hands, he charged straight at Zaraki, neither dodging nor defending, thrusting the weapon directly at his head!
It was a tactic meant to trade lives, but Hanzo knew the victory would ultimately be his.
By relying on Shichishurei’s ability to split his soul and Reiatsu, he could act across multiple bodies. Although this body was his main one and couldn’t afford to be lost, as long as another portion of his soul and Reiatsu returned, it would heal the vast majority of his wounds.
During the war nine hundred years ago, he had relied on this exact trait of Shichishurei to slaughter numerous powerful Quincy.
However, what he hadn’t expected was for this strike to completely miss.
Because the opponent before him wasn’t nearly as tall as Zaraki; he was a good deal shorter.
It was this slight difference in height that caused Hanzo’s spear to aim slightly too high, harmlessly gliding right over the opponent’s head.
The Ryoka looked down in utter disbelief, only to realize that the enemy in front of him wasn’t the crazed beast, but the young man from the Shiba Clan, bearing the "Crumbling Falling Heavenly Maelstrom" tattoo on his shoulder!
"Where the hell are you looking?" A massive roar erupted from a diagonal angle. Zaraki’s Zanpakuto swung down, hacking heavily into Hanzo Mochizuki’s chest.
Blood sprayed; bones shattered.
Hanzo let out a furious roar, but his black spear Zanpakuto was desperately pinned down by Kaien Shiba’s trident, rendering him temporarily unable to swing it.
It was exactly at this moment that Susanoo’s second attack slammed into Hanzo Mochizuki’s body.
This time, Hanzo couldn’t use his spear to block. He was forced to raise his left hand, taking the purple warrior god’s fist barehanded.
—His skin made direct contact with the black flames clinging to Susanoo!
In a flash of lightning, he finally noticed the peculiar Reiatsu emanating from Yato’s eyes.
So it looks like he used an illusion... No, I have to find a way to destroy his eyes!
While his thoughts raced, Hanzo was once again hammered into the ground.
He had just tried to repeat his earlier tactic of shattering the rocks when an unbearable, agonizing pain shot through his left hand.
The flames of Amaterasu acted like maggots clinging to bone, relentlessly gnawing away at his skin and flesh.
In the blink of an eye, his left hand was scorched pitch black.
These flames... they actually can’t be put out?
Horror gripped Hanzo’s heart. Yet, before he could even formulate a plan, three tyrannical waves of Reiatsu violently crashed down upon him.
Yato Uchiha, Kaien Shiba, and a blood-soaked Zaraki appeared directly above him almost simultaneously, striking with everything they had!
"Damn it..."
Hanzo Mochizuki gritted his teeth, a ruthless glint flashing across his eyes.
The decisiveness honed through a thousand years of slaughter was laid bare in this single moment.
The situation was completely overturned the instant he unleashed that Kido.
In an instant, Yato Uchiha felt as though he had been dropped directly onto the surface of the sun. An unparalleled heat and shockwave violently tore at his body.
Even something as powerful as the warrior god Susanoo was vaporized into nothingness under this terrifying temperature!
On the brink of life and death, the massive, red, flame-like blade reflected clearly in Yato’s six-pointed star eyes.
"Hado #96: Itto Kaso!"
It was only then that Hanzo Mochizuki’s voice finally reached his ears.
This was the 96th level sacrifice-type Hado, utilizing a scorched limb as the catalyst—classified by the Seireitei as an absolute forbidden spell!
Sacrificing a limb to launch a desperate, lethal counterattack; such sheer ruthlessness belonged only to someone who had survived true blood-soaked battlefields.
Yato, Kaien, and Zaraki were blasted away by this overwhelmingly destructive force, sent flying in three different directions to crash into the ruins hundreds of meters away.
"Blargh!"
Yato Uchiha coughed up a mouthful of scorching hot blood. He felt like his entire body was on fire, his internal organs feeling as if they had been churned through an industrial blender; there wasn’t a single inch of him that didn’t scream in agony.
He gasped heavily a few times, using his blade as a crutch to forcefully prop himself up.
The medical knowledge he had acquired at the Shin’o Academy told him that his body had sustained catastrophic damage. His organs and bones were on the verge of collapsing at any moment; he was completely incapable of fighting any further.
In fact, the mere act of standing up while gripping his sword had drained the last ounce of his remaining strength.
If not for the protection of Susanoo, he would undeniably be either dead or crippled right now.
"You... did quite well."
Hanzo Mochizuki staggered unsteadily out of the crater. His current condition wasn’t looking optimistic either. The wound Zaraki had left on him was deep enough to expose his internal organs, and his entire left arm was carbonized, effectively neutralizing the vast majority of his Zanjutsu capabilities.
However, regardless of the cost, he was undoubtedly the victor of this battle.
"That strange move you used just now... what is its name?"
"...Susanoo."
"A good name." Hanzo Mochizuki let out a bitter chuckle. Gripping his left shoulder with his right hand, he forcefully tore the carbonized arm completely off.
"To actually be able to react in the face of Itto Kaso, using Susanoo to help shield your comrades—not bad at all, Yato Uchiha, was it?" He paused, then spoke calmly:
"As long as those eyes are there, I won’t be able to carry out my goal in peace. So... I apologize."
Yato closed his eyes. When he opened them again, not a single trace of emotion remained:
"Then, please, show me your guidance."
"Subordinate of Captain Furofushi Saito, Hanzo Mochizuki."
"3rd Seat of the 12th Division, Yato Uchiha."
"Then, Yato, please di—hmm?" The Ryoka was just about to make a move when he suddenly remembered something, freezing completely in place.
"You brat, what Division did you say you belong to?"
"...The 12th."
"So your Captain is..."
"Kirio Hikifune."
Hanzo Mochizuki’s expression stiffened, as if a peach pit had suddenly gotten stuck in his throat.
He looked at the boy with a complex expression for a long time. Finally, he let out a long sigh, stroked the stump of his severed arm, and turned around:
"She was once the Lieutenant ranked above me. Furthermore, many years ago, I received an immense favor from her... If I were to kill you, even if I fell into Hell after I died, I wouldn’t have the face to explain myself to her."
"Since that’s the case, just stay where you are. Don’t make a single move, Soul Reaper."
This development had completely exceeded Yato’s expectations. But since his life was no longer in immediate danger, his tense body slowly relaxed.
It’s just... Hanzo Mochizuki, it sounds like your Zanpakuto is weeping.
He stared at the Ryoka’s retreating back, remaining silent for a long time.
"Hanzo Mochizuki," Yato suddenly spoke up, his voice incredibly soft, almost like a sigh.
"Are you truly not going to seek out Captain-Commander Yamamoto?"
The Ryoka’s body trembled slightly, his posture appearing somewhat hunched.
"Brat, I am a remnant of the old era."
"In the new era’s Seireitei, there is no scabbard left that can hold me."
☆☆☆
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