Chapter 657 Raw Power Beats Gimmicks

Then, Tosen raised his left hand. A faint green light appeared in his palm, covering the dislocated area of his right arm.

This was a special healing branch of Kido, Kaido, usually specialized in by the 4th Division.

Although Tosen's mastery of Kaido was far from that of Unohana or the seated officers of the 4th Division, he could still manage some basic emergency treatment.

After the green light faded, Tosen flexed his right wrist. The dislocated joint had been roughly reset. It still ached faintly, but at least he could hold his sword again.

Beam, however, just shrugged dismissively at Tosen's actions, spreading his hands with a mocking grin beneath his shark mask: "What's the use of healing? You're too weak."

"Don't be so arrogant, Hollow!"

Tosen's voice dropped to a low growl.

Then he took a deep breath, unleashing all his Reiatsu without reserve.

"Let me show you my true power... Bankai!"

"Suzumushi Tsuishiki: Enma Korogi!"

A resounding shout exploded over the plaza in front of Las Noches. The voice was so loud that even Psykos, the Four Gay Bros, Nel, and others rushing toward the gate could hear it clearly.

Everyone quickened their pace in unison.

And with that shout, an immense Reiatsu, far greater than any previous release, erupted from within Tosen's body.

The watching Gin and Aizen both knew what Tosen was about to do. They used Shunpo to quickly retreat.

"Using Bankai so soon? Tosen-san is quite serious, isn't he..." Gin narrowed his fox-like eyes, his tone carrying a sarcastic compliment.

Honestly, he wished Tosen would just die.

That would make things easier when he eventually went after Aizen.

Though Gin didn't think much of Tosen. After all, the guy's mentality was simply too weak, and a little provocation was enough to make him lose his composure.

Especially using Aizen and his deceased friend as triggers... that worked almost every time.

Aizen's expression was similar to Gin's.

Although Tosen was his direct subordinate, in Aizen's mind, Tosen's strength wasn't irreplaceable. Both his combat ability and strategic value were far from the point of being missed.

The main reasons he had taken Tosen under his wing were that Tosen was blind and naturally immune to Kyoka Suigetsu.

Plus, he was Captain-level combat power no matter what. If he became an enemy, it would be troublesome, so recruitment was the better option.

Just then, several rings of light flew out from Tosen's Zanpakuto, rising to the highest point above the battlefield.

They began to emit an extremely dense, sticky darkness.

This darkness didn't just block out light. It swallowed the entire space in an almost tangible way.

The area in front of Las Noches, roughly the size of several football fields, was completely engulfed by darkness in the blink of an eye.

Beam instinctively raised his hand to look at his fingers.

He couldn't see anything.

It wasn't just his sight... his hearing, smell, touch, even his Reiatsu perception and Observation Haki, had all been forcibly suppressed to an extremely low level by some force.

It felt like being stuffed into a completely sealed coffin and thrown into the deep sea.

"So this is a Shinigami's Bankai?"

Beam muttered to himself.

During casual conversations, Makoto had often talked about Shinigami.

Apparently, every Shinigami's Zanpakuto ability was unique... combat types, support types, healing types, everything imaginable.

A bit like an enhanced version of Devil Fruits from the One Piece World.

"But your ability is really underhanded."

Beam grinned, his tone showing no fear, only a bit of pure curiosity.

The moment the words left his mouth, a sharp pain shot through Beam's shoulder.

The blade cut through skin and muscle. Blood gushed from the wound.

Then Tosen's voice echoed in the darkness, "Everything in this space is my Bankai."

Tosen walked silently past Beam's side. His blade still bore Beam's blood, silently dripping onto the invisible ground in the darkness.

But Beam couldn't hear that sentence anymore.

"You can't see anything now, can you?"

Tosen spoke again, his voice carrying a vengeful satisfaction.

He swung again, this time hitting Beam's abdomen.

The blade carved a long gash in the white shark skin. Blood welled up again.

"To have me suffer such humiliation in front of Aizen-sama... I'll make you pay slowly for this."

Although Tosen's eyes were always closed because of his blindness, his face clearly showed undisguised anger and satisfaction.

Then, he aimed his Zanpakuto at Beam's right chest, deliberately avoiding vital areas, clearly intending to slowly make his opponent feel fear, tormenting him to death one slash at a time.

But as the third slash was about to fall, Beam suddenly raised his hands and clapped them together in front of his chest.

Sensing the sudden movement, Tosen's expression changed.

'What was he doing?'

Then, Beam took a deep breath and shouted—

"Water Release: Super Exploding Water Shockwave!"

Beam opened his fanged maw wide, unleashing an endless torrent of water from deep within his throat.

The violent water blast poured out of his mouth, as if an entire ocean had been compressed into his lungs and released all at once.

The sudden surge of water sent Tosen staggering. His Zanpakuto veered off course, its tip merely grazing past Beam's shoulder, leaving a shallow cut.

'This guy's ability is water?!'

Tosen thought in shock.

He had seen Beam use close-quarters techniques earlier, so he had assumed this Vasto Lorde's ability was some kind of power-enhancing type. He never expected it to be elemental.

He quickly used Shunpo, laying down a temporary foothold of Reishi beneath his feet, and flew to the highest point of the Enma Korogi space, his back nearly touching the top of the black barrier.

But the water level below was rising too fast.

The speed at which Beam expelled water far exceeded Tosen's estimation. The violent flow poured continuously from that shark Hollow's mouth, quickly flooding a third of the space.

Beam, who had been at ground level, rose with the water.

Soon, he was almost level with Tosen. The two faced each other in the darkness, less than ten meters apart.

Seeing that the water gushing from the other's mouth was about to completely submerge the entire Enma Korogi space, Tosen knew he couldn't wait any longer.

He gritted his teeth, tightened his grip on his Zanpakuto, and dove down. If he could just kill that shark, the water in this space would naturally disappear.

"Stop!"

Tosen shouted as he swung his blade down, aiming for Beam's neck.

But just as the slash was about to land, Beam suddenly stopped spitting water.

The corner of his mouth curled into a triumphant grin. He bent his legs and leaped, diving straight into the water below, completely submerging himself.

Tosen's Zanpakuto only cut through a splash of water.

Tosen hovered above the water, looking around in confusion, trying to attack again. But the water had already reached his chest.

Then Beam's smug voice came from beneath the surface, "I really can't see or hear... but can you breathe underwater?"

The moment the words left his mouth, Beam opened his mouth underwater again... Super Exploding Water Shockwave!

An even more violent torrent of water surged from his mouth.

The entire space had become a massive, airtight cube of water, not a trace of air left.

Tosen was caught off guard.

Before he could take one last deep breath, he was completely submerged.

He desperately held his breath, gripping his Zanpakuto tightly, his body suspended in the water, his hair and Shihakusho hem drifting slowly in the currents.

'Damn it! Using this method!'

'This shark Hollow's combat intelligence was far higher than his appearance suggested.'

And in the water, Beam was leisurely swishing his tail, his eyes beneath the shark mask glinting coldly in the darkness.

Beam thought, 'I can't see, I can't hear, I can't smell... then I'll just attack every single spot.'

With that, Beam formed hand seals underwater, his fingers moving faster than in air.

"Water Release: Ten-Thousand-Eating Sharks."

Instantly, an endless number of water sharks were summoned from thin air.

These sharks weren't real creatures, but forms made of water. Yet they had the fangs, speed, and bloodthirsty instincts of real sharks.

Like their master, they didn't know where the enemy was, but that didn't matter.

The water was only so big. Bite every corner, and eventually, they'd bite something.

These water sharks darted wildly through the water, snapping their fangs, churning the entire space into a boiling shark stew.

Outside, Gin's perpetually narrowed fox eyes had opened completely.

His blue pupils were fully exposed, a rare sight. He lowered his voice and said, "The Reiatsu inside seems off, Lieutenant Aizen."

He could already sense that Tosen's Reiatsu was very unstable.

Meanwhile, the shark Vasto Lorde's Reiatsu was growing stronger and more composed.

Aizen was about to respond, but before he could speak, they saw a faint crack appear on the surface of the Enma Korogi's black barrier.

A few strands of clear water seeped through the crack, trickling down the barrier's surface.

Then, the crack began to spread outward at a visible rate, like a spiderweb crawling across the entire black dome.

Then, with a loud crack, the cracks were completely torn open.

The endless burst of water, along with those frantically biting sharks, burst through the fissures. White foam and dark green blood interwove, forming an eerie arc under the moonlight.

The sharks surged out of the barrier with the water, still snapping their jaws on the white sand until the water fully seeped into the ground and they dissolved into lifeless liquid.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Tosen, half-drowned, fell out of the shattered barrier.

He braced himself on the ground with both hands, spitting out water in great gulps.

His Shihakusho was torn to shreds by shark teeth. Countless wounds of all sizes covered his body.

Clearly, they had been left by those sharks during their frenzied biting.

"That was easy!"

Beam, emerging from the shattered barrier, also bore quite a few wounds. His shark skin had at least a dozen cuts from Tosen's blade, the deepest running from his collarbone to his ribs.

But he just casually rolled his shoulders. The moment he spoke, those wounds healed rapidly under High-Speed Regeneration.

Pink flesh buds sprouted from the wounds, skin re-covering. In just a few breaths, all his wounds had vanished.

Makoto, who had just arrived with Nel, Harribel, and the others, happened to see this scene.

A faint smile curved at the corner of his mouth.

'A gimmick user can't beat a pure stat monster.'