Chapter 255: Bankai

The moment his words fell, Alan's figure suddenly turned into a streak of blue electric light.

"Crackle!"

Continuous thunder roared across the battlefield, each flicker leaving a blinding electric arc in the air.

This wasn't simple high-speed movement, but instantaneous shifting achieved through manipulating electromagnetic fields.

"So fast!"

Hashirama's nerves were tensed to the limit; the perception granted by Six Paths Mode barely allowed him to catch Alan's trajectory.

"Above!" Hashirama abruptly looked up; Alan had already appeared in the high sky, his Zanpakuto wreathed in violent lightning.

"The swordsmanship of the Death God, let you experience it properly!" Alan gripped the sword with both hands, descending from the heavens.

The blade cleaved the long sky, the wrapped lightning tearing a vacuum passage through the air.

Hashirama instantly manipulated the Truth-Seeking Balls into a disc, blocking in front to form a defense.

"Clang!"

Amid the huge sound of metal striking, electricity surged wildly along the Truth-Seeking Balls, shooting out in all directions like a spider web.

"Good defense." Alan's mouth curved up, "But this is still far from enough!"

He twisted his wrist, and the electricity on the Zanpakuto suddenly surged violently.

Blazing white lightning poured down like a tide, directly bypassing the Truth-Seeking Balls and instantly piercing the giant tree beneath Hashirama's feet.

The charred tree trunk collapsed with a boom, stirring up dust that filled the sky.

Hashirama pushed off with his foot, his figure shooting like an arrow toward another high ground. But Alan's offensive did not stop.

"Thunder Chain Bind!"

The Zanpakuto swept horizontally, the blade flinging out several lightning chains thick as arms.

These lightning chains seemed to have been given life, nimbly weaving through the air as they flew toward Hashirama.

The earth trembled violently; countless thick wooden branches burst from the ground with a boom, each dozens of meters thick.

Like ancient giant pythons they roared skyward, weaving in an instant into an airtight giant wall in midair.

"Boom!"

Alan brought down the Zanpakuto in his hand, a thunderstorm like a waterfall, directly blasting a huge hole in the middle of the giant wall.

Amid flying wood chips, countless lightning snakes frantically darted; wherever they passed, the wood instantly charred black.

"Not over yet!" Hashirama's hands instantly formed new hand seals, "Sage Art: Wood Release: Thousand Hands Strangulation!"

This time, the entire earth shook.

The ground for miles around cracked inch by inch; bursting from the fissures were no longer ordinary branches, but giant arms thick as mountain ridges.

"Thunder Step!"

Alan's figure instantly turned into lightning and vanished; just as the thousand giant arms were about to crush him, a blinding ball of lightning exploded in midair.

Boom!

The instant thunderstorm and wooden arms collided, the entire sky was lit up. A terrifying energy shockwave swept outward.

Wood chips and lightning intertwined; countless trees were uprooted, turning to dust in the violent energy.

In the blink of an eye, miles around had turned into a piece of scorched earth.

The ground was covered in bottomless gullies; surviving tree trunks jumped with electric arcs, emitting crackling explosions.

In the smoke, Alan stood with hands behind his back, violent electricity roaming around him, dyeing the air a deep blue.

"Before absolute power, this level of ninjutsu is merely crumbling away." Alan stood with hands behind his back, the lightning around him roaming on his Black Death Overlord Attire.

Hashirama slowly raised his head; the strength of this man before him far exceeded his expectations.

But the more so, the calmer he became instead.

"Then why can I still stand here?" Hashirama pressed his palms together, palms facing each other.

Alan's expression instantly cooled. The contemptuous gaze from just now turned sharp, the lightning around him turning violent, erupting with ear-piercing crackles in the air.

"Arrogant! Just playing with you."

Alan shook his wrist, the Zanpakuto unsheathing three inches. Violent spiritual pressure mixed with electricity.

Just at this moment, the chakra erupting from Hashirama's body suddenly surged several times over!

Violent energy shook the ground's rubble flying; countless cracks spread outward with Hashirama as the center.

Hashirama's hands had already begun forming hand seals, so fast only afterimages could be seen.

Under the empowerment of Six Paths Sage Mode, every seal contained astonishing power.

"Wood Release: Flower Tree World God Descent!"

The earth fell silent for a moment, then a low boom came from underground.

The ground beneath Alan's feet suddenly collapsed; a giant tree thick as a mountain ridge burst from the ground with a boom!

This was merely the beginning.

In an instant, the ground for dozens of miles around cracked inch by inch; hundreds of giant trees burst from the soil in succession, each a hundred meters tall.

Their branches and trunks were full of purple flower buds, flashing an eerie light in the sunlight.

"Trifling skill!"

Alan advanced instead of retreating, his figure turning into a streak of lightning slashing toward the nearest giant tree.

But just as his Zanpakuto was about to sever the trunk, all the flower buds bloomed simultaneously!

The vast natural energy of the entire earth surged toward the flower buds like a mountain-shouting sea-roaring tide.

The air turned viscous; even breathing became difficult. This power was so overbearing that even Alan had to halt his offensive.

"This energy." His tone fluctuated for the first time, "Indeed interesting."

"But..." The corner of Alan's mouth hooked into a cold smile: "Do you think I'll give you time to absorb it?"

"River of Flowing Fire, surge toward the heavens, burn all things to nothing, turn them to ash!"

As the final word of the incantation fell, the sky was suddenly torn open with a massive crack.

A scorching air wave swept in, and even the air began to distort.

"Hadō #96, Single Blade Cremation!"

Boom!

Blinding firelight gushed from the crack, forming a pillar of fire that connected heaven and earth.

The clouds in the sky completely evaporated under that terrifying heat.

Those giant trees that had just sprung from the ground burned to nothing like paper before the fire pillar.

But Hashirama did not move a muscle. He stood in the raging flames, his hands slowly forming the final seal.

"Sage Art: Wood Release·True Several Thousand Hands!!"

His roar detonated in the sea of fire, his voice carrying an unprecedented gravity.

The ground began to tremble violently, a chakra fluctuation even more terrifying than before erupting from his body.

In the next instant, a giant Buddha towering a thousand meters rose from the flames.

Those all-devouring flames were actually shredded like paper before this giant Buddha.

Firelight reflected on the giant Buddha's golden body, as if a god reborn through fire.

The giant Buddha slowly raised its head, its whole body shining with golden light; countless arms extended from its body, hundreds upon thousands of arms forming seals simultaneously.

Six Truth-Seeking Balls rotated in the giant Buddha's hands, pushing that destructive power to its limit.

Alan looked up at the giant Buddha standing sky-high, his gaze turning serious for the first time.

"Seems I underestimated you."

In this instant the ground cracked inch by inch, spider-web cracks spreading frantically with him as the center. The air was filled with a suffocating oppressive feeling, as if the entire world were enveloped by his aura.

"Boom!"

Alan's figure turned into a streak of electric light, directly breaking the sound barrier, shooting toward Hashirama atop the giant Buddha's head.

"Shōjō Gebutsu"

Hashirama roared in anger, his thousand giant palms striking out simultaneously, fist shadows pouring down like a violent rainstorm.

Each fist carried Six Paths Power; wherever they passed the air was torn, emitting a sharp whistling sound.

Blade light and fist shadows collided, sparks scattering. Alan weaved through the fist shadows, the lightning release armor coiling around his Zanpakuto dyeing the surrounding air deep blue.

The mountain peak beneath his feet instantly collapsed under that terrifying impact, turning into flat ground.

Streaks of sword qi shot out in all directions, cutting down everything around them.

"Not done yet!" Hashirama's hands rapidly formed seals, "Seal!"

Golden chains extended from the giant Buddha's hands, entwining toward Alan like spirit snakes.

The spiritual energy in the air was disturbed by the sealing power, turning viscous; Alan's speed plummeted, his movements becoming sluggish.

Several chains had already wound around his arms, and more giant palms were already closing in from all directions.

"Want to trap me?" Alan let out a cold snort, "Lightning Flash!"

Alan's body suddenly began to change, dense electric arcs surfacing on his skin.

In the next moment, his whole body turned into pure lightning energy, instantly arriving in the high sky.

"What is this?!" Hashirama's pupils violently contracted, sensing an unprecedented oppressive feeling.

Even the perception granted by Six Paths Mode could not lock onto Alan's specific location.

"To force me to use this move, you can be proud of yourself." Alan's voice rang out amid the thunder.

His figure hovered a thousand meters in the sky, his Black Death Overlord Attire fluttering in the gale.

Hashirama looked up; the Zanpakuto in Alan's hand pointed straight at the firmament.

The lightning release armor on the blade grew ever more violent, emitting bursts of rumbling. The air was permeated with a heart-palpitating oppressive feeling.

Alan began chanting the Hadō incantation: "Lightning buried in heaven, ten thousand kalpas return to the void—"

"Hadō #99·Five Dragons Turning Extinction!"

Boom—!

The heavens were forcibly torn open at this moment; five massive cracks ran across the long sky, violent lightning release armor pouring down from within.

Five giant dragons condensed from pure lightning roared out of the cloud layer; amid flashing lightning they seemed about to dye the entire sky blue, they coiled and tumbled in the air, emitting a deafening dragon chant.

"Sever!"

Alan shouted violently, his whole person turning into a streak of lightning, diving down with the five lightning dragons. A sonic boom exploded behind him, the air wave forming a visible shockwave.

The five lightning dragons followed close behind, forming a lightning river piercing heaven and earth. So

The giant Buddha raised its arms to block, but the lightning dragons coiled around Alan, forming a giant electric light shield.

All giant palms blocking the way were torn to pieces.

"Bad!" Hashirama gathered all Truth-Seeking Balls together, forming a final line of defense before him.

The moment Alan's Zanpakuto slashed down, the whole world seemed to freeze at this instant.

Clang!

Blade edge and Truth-Seeking Balls collided, bursting with blinding sparks; the terrifying energy shockwave spread outward.

"Open for me!"

Alan roared, five lightning dragons coiling around him, driving the power of this strike to climb higher and higher.

Bang!

The Truth-Seeking Balls were instantly knocked away; Alan's figure, like a streak of lightning, directly pierced through the giant Buddha's chest.

The giant Buddha's body began to collapse, golden light spilling from the cracks.

Alan turned to look at Hashirama, the lightning on his Zanpakuto growing even more violent; with one slash, he directly split Hashirama's body open.

"It's over!" Alan said coldly, putting force into his hand to completely sever Hashirama.

At this moment, however, a smile curled at the corner of Hashirama's mouth.

"What?!" Alan's pupils shrank, and he instantly exerted force with both hands to directly slay Hashirama.

But at this moment, Hashirama's hands had already rapidly formed hand seals, a dark glint flashing at his fingertips: "Darkness Technique!"

In an instant, the heavens and earth within several li fell into boundless darkness.

Not only vision, but even spiritual pressure perception was completely shielded; this darkness seemed able to devour everything.

"Trivial tricks!" Alan snorted coldly, and spiritual pressure erupted violently within him. Deep blue lightning spread outward from him as the center, instantly tearing apart the darkness.

However, the moment his vision recovered, Alan's pupils suddenly contracted.

"This is...!"

The six Truth-Seeking Balls that had been knocked away earlier had appeared around him at some point, forming a perfect six-pointed star formation.

Eerie light flickered on the surface of the Truth-Seeking Balls.

"Seal Formation, activate!" Hashirama's voice sounded from afar.

The six Truth-Seeking Balls simultaneously blazed with dazzling light, and seal chains surged out from them.

These chains emitted golden radiance, each containing terrifying sealing power.

"Damn it!" Alan tried to use Shunpo to dodge, but it was already too late.

The chains coiled around him like spirit snakes, tightening more and more. Powerful sealing power surged wildly into his body, beginning to suppress his spiritual pressure.

Alan roared, spiritual pressure surging violently within him, trying to break free from the chains' bindings.

However, more and more chains extended from the Truth-Seeking Balls, firmly binding him.

"Summoning Technique: Gate of the Great Gods!" Hashirama formed another hand seal with both hands.

Boom—

The sky was suddenly torn open, and five gigantic Shinmon appeared from the crack. Each was several hundred meters tall, entirely crimson, emitting a heart-pounding pressure.

These were no longer ordinary Shinmon, but the strongest five Shinmon summoned through Six Paths Power.

"Seal!" Hashirama pressed his palms together.

The five Shinmon fell simultaneously, pressing down on Alan like five great mountains.

Boom boom boom boom boom!

Five thunderous crashes rang out almost simultaneously. The Shinmon slammed heavily onto the ground, kicking up dust that filled the sky.

The dust settled. Alan was pinned underneath, unable to move.

"Damn it!" Bloodshot veins burst in Alan's eyes at this moment; furious and ashamed, he released a massive amount of spiritual pressure in an instant.

At this moment, the Shinmon suddenly began to tremble.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Alan kept striking the seal with all his might, and the earth within several li trembled violently under this terrifying impact.

Cold sweat beaded on Hashirama's forehead as he rapidly formed hand seals with both hands. He could feel Alan's spiritual pressure continuing to rise.

"We must end this quickly!" Hashirama gritted his teeth, chakra surging wildly within him.

The six remaining Truth-Seeking Balls rotated rapidly before him, each rotation bursting with dazzling light.

The Truth-Seeking Balls and Wood Release energy began to fuse wildly, a terrifying energy wave sweeping the surroundings.

Natural energy in the air gathered wildly, injected into this temporarily forged weapon.

In the blink of an eye, a giant spear a hundred meters long took shape.

Golden light coiled around the spear shaft, and heart-pounding black light flickered at the spear tip. This was Hashirama's strongest strike, concentrating all his power at a single point.

"Go!" Hashirama pushed hard with both hands.

The spear turned into a streak of light, directly striking Alan's vital heart.

An air wave formed a spiral airflow around the spear, destroying all obstacles along the way and creating a huge ravine.

Alan, suppressed beneath the Shinmon, clearly sensed this power.

If this strike hit, even a death god would be directly erased.

"Damn it!" A flash of savagery crossed Alan's eyes: "I'm actually being pushed to this point by a mere native."

Alan instantly gripped the hilt of his Battle Soul Blade: "Bankai!"

"Tenno Shinrai Shinsen!"

Crack!

A tremendous thunderclap exploded between heaven and earth. Dark clouds covered the sky in an instant, electric light flashing wildly within the clouds.

Boom!

A huge thunderbolt suddenly descended from the sky, hundreds of meters in diameter.

Boom!

The five Shinmon exploded simultaneously, fragments flying everywhere. Terrifying pressure spread out, ionizing the surrounding air into plasma.

Alan's figure appeared within the lightning; his form had undergone a tremendous change.

Deep blue Thunder Armor covered his entire body, and behind him unfolded a pair of Thunder Wings condensed from pure lightning.

Even more terrifying, the clouds in the sky suddenly began to rotate, forming a huge vortex hundreds of kilometers in diameter, visible in the universe, as if the Ninja World had been given a huge hat.

Electric light flickered at the vortex's center, as if it had become a Thunder Pool.

(Chapter End)