Chapter 701 Aizen's New Trump Card

Kyoraku was quite confident in this technique.

No matter how troublesome Kyoka Suigetsu's ability was, the rules of Dangyo no Fuchi were absolute.

But then, something happened that left everyone present stunned.

Aizen, with his left hand that wasn't holding his blade, slashed the air beside him. A Garganta silently split open.

Aizen reached into the darkness, groped for a moment, and pulled out a brand new Zanpakuto.

The hilt of that Zanpakuto was a peculiar purplish-red, and the blade itself was wrapped in an unsettling, eerie Reiatsu.

Seeing this, not only his opponents Kyoraku and Ukitake, but also Gin, Tosen, and the many Arrancars fighting on various parts of the battlefield, all showed expressions of surprise.

Gin's fox-like eyes opened wide in shock.

'What exactly was this Zanpakuto?'

'When had Aizen gotten his hands on it?'

Among all the Shinigami still standing in the Gotei 13, only Byakuya of the 6th Division turned pale in an instant.

"That blade is..."

Aizen, with a gentle smile always on his lips, chanted a release command completely different from Kyoka Suigetsu's:

"Whisper, Muramasa."

The moment the words left his mouth, an extremely bizarre Reiatsu spread from the crimson blade in Aizen's left hand.

Then, something happened on the battlefield that none of the Gotei 13's Shinigami could believe—

All the Captains and Lieutenants currently engaged in fierce combat with the Arrancars, including Kyoraku and Ukitake, suddenly changed expressions.

Every single Zanpakuto fell silent at that moment.

Whether it was the massive ice wings behind Toshiro, the sea of cherry blossom blades swirling around Byakuya, the colossal Kokujo Tengen Myo'o behind Komamura, or even the Kannonbiraki Benihime Aratame behind Kisuke—

All these Zanpakuto's abilities vanished without a trace in that same instant.

Even Kisuke's eyes flew wide open. The statue behind him dissipated before he could even voice his shock. All the Reishi Threads extended from Benihime's Bankai turned into motes of light simultaneously.

And just above him, Yoruichi in her Resurrección form couldn't hold back her kick.

She had originally aimed for the statue under Benihime's Bankai, but Benihime had suddenly disappeared.

Her target naturally shifted to Kisuke himself.

"Shit—" Before Yoruichi could finish her sentence, a lightning-wreathed flying kick had already slammed solidly into the side of Kisuke's face.

Kisuke's body, like a meteor shot from a sling, flew across half the Seireitsei, punching a series of spectacular holes through walls and roofs.

"Sorry! Kisuke... I, I didn't know your Bankai would suddenly disappear!"

Yoruichi in her Resurrección form quickly shouted, her voice full of panic and guilt.

Yoruichi was completely stunned.

She never imagined that at the most critical moment, Kisuke's Bankai would vanish without warning.

She wondered what was going on.

This scene was remarkably similar to the future Thousand-Year Blood War arc, when the Captains' Bankai were forcibly stolen by the Sternritter using medallions.

The only technique that hadn't disappeared was Yamamoto's Bankai.

Zanka no Tachi remained firmly in his hand. That pitch-black blade, wreathed in heat capable of burning through the heavens, was completely unaffected by that demonic blade.

Makoto, in his Resurrección form, glanced at the crimson demonic blade in Aizen's left hand.

"I see... so this is your trump card."

Having spent so long in this world, he had almost forgotten that such a demonic blade capable of turning Zanpakuto against their masters existed.

Just then, beside Aizen, who was holding that crimson demonic blade in his left hand, Reishi slowly coalesced, forming the figure of a pale-faced, gloomy-looking man in white robes.

His hollow eyes stared directly at Aizen.

It was the Zanpakuto spirit of the blade in Aizen's left hand... Muramasa.

"You'll keep your promise, won't you?" Muramasa in his spirit form stared intently at Aizen.

Aizen replied with a gentle smile, "Of course. When this war is over, your master will be the new Captain of the 6th Division."

That's right, Muramasa's true master wasn't Aizen, but the former Third Seat of the 6th Division... Kuchiki Koga.

Koga was also the son-in-law of former 6th Division's Captain, Kuchiki Ginrei, making him, by seniority, the uncle of current 6th Division's Captain, Kuchiki Byakuya.

This man had once plotted to overthrow the Seireitei's existing order, was captured by the Soul Society, and executed.

After his execution, this Zanpakuto named Muramasa went missing.

But Aizen had found Muramasa's sealing location and taken it for himself.

Aizen's condition to Muramasa was: help him win this war that would decide the Soul Society's fate.

Afterward, he would release the sealed Koga and appoint him the new Captain of the 6th Division.

This was one of Koga's greatest aspirations in life.

Although Muramasa's ability was twisted, it was still quite loyal to its master, and agreed immediately.

Muramasa's ability was arguably the strongest among illusion-type Zanpakuto.

It could amplify any dissatisfaction a Zanpakuto held toward its master to an infinite degree, converting it into absolute control over the blade.

In the original work, Muramasa using this ability even triggered a collective rebellion of all the Gotei 13's Zanpakuto, nearly leading to the Seireitei's self-destruction.

The only exception was Ryujin Jakka... because Ryujin Jakka truly had no dissatisfaction whatsoever toward Yamamoto.

Then, before anyone could even process the shock of the Zanpakuto collectively failing, an even more despairing scene unfolded.

One after another, pillars of Reishi surged from the blades clutched in the Gotei 13 Shinigami's hands. Those Reishi, after leaving the blades, twisted, transformed, and condensed in the air, like souls leaving their bodies, taking on various independent forms.

The armored man of Senbonzakura, the blue-haired youth of Hyorinmaru, the armored giant of Kokujo Tengen Myo'o, the cool beauty of Benihime... and many more Zanpakuto's spirits who had offered their power to their masters for decades or even centuries... now appeared on the battlefield in physical form.

They left the masters they had served for tens or hundreds of years, turned, and walked behind Aizen, standing in a silent, menacing line.

The Zanpakuto had collectively defected.

This scene was even more shocking than when Aizen's group of four had turned coat earlier.

After all, no matter how popular Aizen and Saeko were, there were always some in the Gotei 13 who weren't particularly close to them.

But Zanpakuto were different.

They were truly the soul-companions one lived with day and night.

And the Dangyo no Fuchi created by Katen Kyokotsu's Bankai, which had been binding Aizen, was also automatically dispelled due to the Zanpakuto's spirit's own betrayal.

Kyoraku stood on the empty ground, the two Katen Kyokotsu blades already reverted to their ordinary Asauchi form.

This carefree man showed a helpless bitter smile for the first time in his life.

Seeing their own Zanpakuto betray them in public, the entire Gotei 13 finally fell into complete despair at this moment.

Now that they couldn't even use their Zanpakuto, how could they still win?

Psykos, standing in the distance, couldn't help but comment, "What an unexpected development."

"The outcome is decided." Harribel sheathed her white great sword, her emerald eyes, both cold and seductive, calmly sweeping over the battlefield.

In her view, after losing their Zanpakuto, the Gotei 13 had no reason to continue fighting.

And she disliked unnecessary bloodshed.

Nel also silently lowered her double-headed javelin, tilting her head as she looked at the bewildered Shinigami, a flicker of pity in her eyes.

And Yamamoto, seeing all his subordinates lose their Zanpakuto, even with his composure, couldn't help but be distracted in that instant.

And that split-second opening was precisely seized by Makoto.

In his Black Chainsaw Form, Makoto streaked past the old man's side like a black-and-white bolt of lightning. One of his four chainsaws carved a deep gash across his chest.

Blood and scorching Reiatsu gushed from the wound simultaneously, instantly vaporized into a mist of blood by Zanka no Tachi's heat.

"Old man, don't get distracted in the middle of a fight."

Yamamoto gritted his teeth, swinging his blade backhandedly to continue his attack on Makoto.

Zanka no Tachi's pitch-black blade traced a nearly invisible trail of heat through the air, turning even the space it passed through into a vacuum.

He knew this was the Gotei 13's most critical moment. Everyone had lost their Zanpakuto. Only he could still fight.

Damn it!

Did he really have to turn the tide alone?

No matter how confident Yamamoto was in his own strength, faced with this situation, he wouldn't be so arrogant as to believe he alone could achieve a miraculous comeback.

Momo, standing not far behind Aizen, watched the rows of Zanpakuto's spirits radiating powerful Reiatsu behind her Captain, her eyes nearly sparkling.

She had been very worried about how Aizen would deal with Makoto after this war was over.

Not to mention him personally, there were also so many Vasto Lorde. Aizen's chances of victory had seemed slim.

But now it was different.

Seeing so many powerful Zanpakuto's spirits all standing behind Aizen, she finally felt that Captain Aizen had the capital to contend with Makoto.

Just when all three factions thought the Soul Society would end in a crushing defeat, and the Seireitei was about to change hands,

Suddenly, a sharp whistling sound came from the sky above.

Everyone looked up involuntarily. They saw a massive cylindrical pillar, the size of a small tower, falling from the sky like a meteor.

The pillar fell with astonishing speed, aimed at Aizen with an unstoppable force.

Aizen raised an eyebrow slightly, chose not to block, and calmly sidestepped.

The pillar grazed past his clothes, then embedded itself precisely into the center of the battlefield below like a nail.

Boom!!!

With a thunderous crash, the entire pillar sank deep into the stone floor of the Seireitei plaza, leaving only half of its shaft exposed above ground.

Makoto looked up and immediately recognized it.

The exclusive mode of transport for traveling between the Soul King Palace and the Seireitei... the Tenchuren.

And seeing that Tenchuren embedded in the center of the plaza, Kyoraku, who had also thought the Gotei 13 was finished, let out a long breath of relief.

"They've finally arrived... the Royal Guard's exclusive division... the Zero Division."