Chapter 339: Kenpachi Kiganjo

The five-hundred-meter-wide crimson fireball was not only terrifying in its temperature but also in its impact, like a meteor descending at high speed. The pressure it generated was like a hurricane, forcing its way into Kenpachi Kiganjo's mouth and causing him to choke.

As the massive crimson fireball descended like a meteor towards Kenpachi, he didn't even have time to release his shikai. The intense heat made his skin feel as though it was burning, his hair began to curl, and his captain's haori and shihakusho started to catch fire.

It was too fast. The overwhelming force and heat defied logic, and before he knew it, the fireball was upon him. His eyebrows, beard, and hair all began to burn.

At the moment of impact, Kenpachi let out a terrifying scream.

"Ahhhhh!!!"

The extreme heat melted the outer layer of his skin, exposing twisted, bloody muscle fibers and fat. The horrific, pained scream sent shivers down the spines of the captains outside, who could only watch as Kenpachi was completely engulfed by the massive crimson fireball.

The captains could feel that, at the critical moment, Kenpachi did manage to release his shikai. The intense spiritual pressure of a captain burst out from within the giant fireball.

Then came the sound of desperate, pained cries and maddened shouts, as several powerful captain-level sword strikes tore out from within the fireball. But it was no use.

The flames of the gigantic fireball were so dense that they became a solid sea of fire, enveloping him completely.

"Kenpachi! Get out of there!" The captain of Squad 7, Love Aikawa, urgently shouted. This fireball was far too large.

The heat and explosive force it produced were so intense that even a captain wouldn't dare take it head-on, let alone Kenpachi, who was still trapped inside.

The captains wanted to intervene, to stop the explosion.

Even Shinji Hirako, who usually looked down on Kenpachi, had no time for mockery and only wanted to prevent the fireball's explosion.

But it was all too fast; they had no time to react.

"Bankai..." Kenpachi Kiganjo activated his bankai within the giant fireball, but simultaneously, the massive fireball became unstable, on the verge of exploding.

On the ground, Jūshirō Ukitake, seeing the fireball about to explode, turned towards the Shin'o Academy, gritted his teeth, and quietly chanted, "May the waves be my shield; may the thunder be my blade! Sōgyo no Kotowari!"

Ukitake released his zanpakutō and, using shunpo, quickly ran to the academy grounds, where he stood with his dual blades, ready to face the impending explosion.

'Boom!'

A scene resembling a nuclear explosion unfolded near the ground. The gates of the Shin'o Academy were the first to be blown apart, disintegrating into tiny particles of reishi, mixing into a cloud of dust and black smoke.

The powerful shockwave, accompanied by countless red flames made of reishi, spread outwards, toppling and flinging buildings. Flames continuously rained down, igniting the structures, and a crater over two thousand meters wide appeared before the academy gates.

Ukitake, using the energy-absorbing properties of Sōgyo no Kotowari, absorbed all the remnants of the fireball directed at the academy, protecting the area.

This terrifying scene made the captains' hearts tighten. Whoever took this crimson fireball head-on would suffer greatly.

The fact that such destruction was caused by a casual attack was truly horrifying.

"Did he block it with his bankai?" The captains standing in the sky looked grimly at the explosion site, where thick black smoke and scattered reishi flames hinted at Kenpachi's uncertain fate.

In the massive crater nearly two thousand meters wide...

Thick black smoke billowed up, and within it, Kenpachi's massive, muscular figure stood tall in the crater, gripping his zanpakutō with one hand. His chest was puffed out proudly, his aura soaring to the sky.

"Kenpachi!!" The captains were shocked to see that Kenpachi was still standing proudly within the thick smoke.

To stand tall amidst such an explosion, within such a giant crimson fireball—this was the spirit of this generation's Kenpachi.

Was this the man who dared to command Captain Unohana?

It seems he's not all talk!

"This guy... really has some spirit, doesn't he?" Even Shinji Hirako, who never had a high opinion of Kenpachi and considered him foolish, couldn't help but express admiration upon seeing him standing proudly within the smoke.

"Perhaps we've overestimated the enemy's strength?" Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi, with a slight squint, gracefully ran his hand over his zanpakutō, striking an elegant but sharp pose.

Love Aikawa, the captain of Squad 7, with his afro and white-framed sunglasses, looked at Kenpachi standing in the crater, his eyes filled with disbelief.

The thick smoke rolled on, and that figure, like an indomitable giant, stood tall in the center of the crater. The surrounding red flames twisted and burned, as if they were worshipping the man standing tall.

"Did he really block that terrifying explosion with his bankai...?" Love Aikawa found it hard to believe. The explosion's power was such that even he wouldn't fare well against it.

As far as he knew, Kenpachi's position as the captain of Squad 11 wasn't universally acknowledged by the other captains.

The previous Kenpachi, Gosuke, had not earned the title through combat.

Gosuke had been the vice-captain under the 9th Kenpachi. When that Kenpachi was imprisoned in the deepest level of the underworld, Gosuke took on the title, making him the only Kenpachi who hadn't defeated his predecessor in battle, and widely considered the weakest. Many captains didn't recognize his position.

But Love Aikawa's expression changed suddenly as he stared seriously at Kenpachi Kiganjo standing tall in the crater. "He didn't block it!"

As the thick smoke in the crater slowly cleared, Kenpachi stood gripping his bankai, his chest puffed out, fierce and imposing, but his entire body was charred, his eyes were rolled back, and he was silent.

Once the captains saw his true condition, a slight breeze passed, and Kenpachi Kiganjo slowly fell backward.

Kenpachi Kiganjo had fallen!

The captains were silent.

Unohana Retsu glanced at him calmly.

"Fall, Niraiba!"

"Play, Kinshara!"

"Shatter, Tengumaru!"

"Turn to dust, Dandefū!"

°°°

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