HRU: Chapter 134/135

Chapter 134: Bankai, White Haze Punishment

"Satoshi-kun, please stop resisting."

"This barrier is strong enough for me to kill you dozens of times."

Kaori approached Satoshi unhurriedly and directly pulled Ryūjin Jakka from his waist.

She was still surprised that Satoshi could stand within her Domain.

But it no longer mattered.

She had already taken Ryūjin Jakka.

"Gojo Satoshi, I believe you'll find it a worthy death... to die by the Zanpakutō you forged with your own hands."

Kaori gently stroked the still-warm hilt of the blade. A trace of fanaticism flickered in her eyes.

This powerful Zanpakutō would become hers from now on.

Just because Satoshi couldn't wield its Zanjutsu didn't mean she couldn't. She believed that Ryūjin Jakka would bloom with unimaginable brilliance in her hands.

Before that, she would use the blood of its forger to whet its edge.

She drew Ryūjin Jakka and slashed toward Satoshi.

Everything would end.

...

"Satoshi!!!"

Satoru and Toji's eyes blazed with fury. The barrier in front of them was about to collapse. If they could just hold out a few more seconds, it would be over.

The Gojo clan's sorcerers, brought by Kumaen, were also pouring spells into the barrier.

Everyone was giving their all. They could already see the overwhelming difference between Satoshi and Kaori.

With the Domain Expansion, Satoshi no longer stood a chance.

Yuki looked at Satoshi, still trying to stand inside the barrier, her face full of sorrow.

Garuda continued, pushed to its maximum illusionary state, but it still couldn't affect the barrier.

Saemon and Hidetsugu stared at the scene inside, stricken with fear.

The Zanpakutō, Nejibana, forged by Satoshi for the Yagyū clan, had helped establish their footing in the sorcerer world.

If someone like him died here, they didn't know how they could face the Gojo clan.

Kumaen stood silently, watching everything unfold. Though the Gojo clan had many sorcerers, when facing true power, they were often reduced to mere cannon fodder.

Even such numbers wouldn't secure the Gojo clan's future.

Shunichi held Suzumushi in one hand. Suzumushi Nishiki was ready for deployment, but it was already too late.

Satoru stared at the crisis inside the barrier. Tears were close to bursting from his eyes, and blood was already seeping from the corners. His Limitless Technique and Senbonzakura had nearly been depleted.

Toji had fallen into madness. Katen Kyōkotsu, used like a hatchet, hacked repeatedly at the barrier with speed far beyond normal perception.

The barrier trembled violently under everyone's combined assault. It could collapse at any moment—but it was too late.

Inside the barrier, Kaori had already drawn Ryūjin Jakka.

This was the end.

...

"Satoshi-kun, it's over!"

A cold glint danced on Ryūjin Jakka's edge. Satoshi was moments away from being beheaded.

Despair clouded the faces outside the barrier.

To die by the very Zanpakutō he forged, what a cruel fate.

Many Gojo sorcerers instinctively shut their eyes. None of them could bear to witness Satoshi's death.

But just as Ryūjin Jakka was about to slash through Satoshi's neck, a voice colder than ancient ice rang out across the battlefield.

"Bankai."

Satoru, Toji, Shunichi, and Saemon all jerked their heads toward the interior of the barrier.

They were all familiar with Bankai by name, but none had ever seen it.

Hearing it now, hope ignited in every heart.

"Hakka no Togame."

Satoshi spoke the three words with a frosty calm.

At the exact moment his voice fell, everyone trembled.

The temperature in the air plummeted instantly.

In a single instant, Satoshi's entire form transformed.

The light blue kimono he wore turned pure white, as though encased in frost. His once-snow-white Sode no Shirayuki had turned completely transparent, like a blade of pure ice.

This is Sode no Shirayuki's Bankai.

That thought surged through the minds of every sorcerer who had borrowed a Zanpakutō.

This was also the first time a Bankai had ever appeared in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen.

...

Inside the barrier.

Kaori's expression twisted the moment she heard the name "Hakka no Togame."

She had never imagined that in this situation, Sode no Shirayuki still held a hidden technique.

What kind of power lay hidden in a technique that could completely transform Satoshi's appearance?

She could clearly sense the danger emanating from Sode no Shirayuki.

But she refused to back down.

The chance to kill Satoshi was right in front of her. She would not let it slip away.

From this moment forward, she was a true enemy of Satoshi. If she didn't finish him off, he would surely become a thorn in her side.

Just one more step.

With the sheer sharpness of Ryūjin Jakka, his body wouldn't withstand a single blow.

Still, she couldn't shake the unease about this "White Haze Punishment."

Despite that, she was confident. With her Domain's gravity and Ryūjin Jakka's unmatched sharpness, even if Satoshi had a trump card, it was already too late.

Just as Ryūjin Jakka was about to strike his neck, Satoshi and Kaori locked eyes.

That single glance sent a chill crawling through Kaori's soul.

It was a lifeless cold, a void in which time itself seemed meaningless.

Clang—

The flowing blade met an icy edge.

At the very last second, Sode no Shirayuki blocked Ryūjin Jakka.

Though Sode no Shirayuki and Ryūjin Jakka were not on the same level, the former had now reached its Bankai state, while the latter remained in its Shikai. For the first time, Ryūjin Jakka faltered before Sode no Shirayuki.

Kaori's expression shifted. She instinctively tried to pull back her blade.

Her instincts screamed at her that she could no longer kill Satoshi.

Withdraw now.

She already had Ryūjin Jakka. There was no need to concern herself with Satoshi for the moment.

Once she mastered Ryūjin Jakka's techniques, its power would surely surpass that of Sode no Shirayuki.

But what Kaori didn't know... was that from the moment Satoshi activated his Bankai, nothing would go as she intended.

(To be continued.)

Chapter 135: I Will Remember You

The moment Ryūjin Jakka touched Sode no Shirayuki, its blade was instantly coated with a layer of frost and froze in mid-air.

Only then did Kaori realize that her entire Domain had been flooded with an overwhelming cold.

At some unknown point, a massive disc of pure white chill had formed above her Domain.

Then, a pillar of cold surged up from the ground and pierced through the sky. Simultaneously, waves of cold air swept across the surface like a roaring tide.

Cannot touch it. Absolutely cannot touch it.

Kaori felt the overwhelming threat within this cold air.

If she made contact with it, she would truly die.

"Onee-san, you'd better run."

"This barrier is the perfect place for Hakka no Togame's cold energy. If you're still obsessed with Ryūjin Jakka, then go ahead and try touching it."

"This cold will freeze everything within its range. Anything it touches will be encased in ice, and in the end, it will wither and shatter like broken glass."

Satoshi spoke calmly.

Kaori furrowed her brows. She could tell that Satoshi wasn't lying.

The danger of this cold was very real.

But to give up Ryūjin Jakka now was something she couldn't accept.

She had gone through all this trouble, setting up the barrier, making elaborate preparations, and even revealing her identity—all for this one blade.

Kaori attempted once more to reclaim Ryūjin Jakka, but the cold air from Hakka no Togame surged toward her like it had a will of its own.

"In a few more seconds, you won't have a chance."

A confident smile appeared on Satoshi's face. Under the bombardment from outside, cracks had begun to form in the barrier that had fused with Kaori's Domain.

Kaori's gaze shifted between the suspended Ryūjin Jakka and Satoshi. Her expression changed constantly.

In the end, she gritted her teeth and made her decision.

Retreating was the best option. This Bankai-level Zanpakutō had already made her feel threatened. If Toji, Saemon, and the others arrived to assist Satoshi, she wouldn't be able to retreat unscathed.

As the barrier collapsed, Kaori withdrew her Domain completely.

In that instant, a powerful wave of Cursed Energy erupted. Covered by the surging force, her figure vanished from the scene.

Kaori chose to flee.

But just as the barrier collapsed and she evacuated, she finally realized—Satoshi was already at his limit.

His barrier had also been used to contain the cold. Now that it was broken, the cold began to spill outward uncontrollably.

If she had persisted just a little longer, Satoshi's condition would have deteriorated on its own.

She realized that this cold energy would target everything except for Satoshi himself.

Now that the barrier had collapsed, Satoshi would be forced to suppress his Bankai in order to protect others.

There was still a chance for her.

But unfortunately, she had made the wrong call. All she could do now was watch as Satoshi ended his technique and was surrounded by Toji, Satoru, and the others.

Gojo Satoshi, I will remember you.

Kaori's figure darted into the distance and disappeared from everyone's sight. The cold air that had protected Satoshi moments ago now became an obstacle that hindered everyone's pursuit.

"It's over."

A trace of relief appeared on Satoshi's face. The activation of Hakka no Togame had completely drained the last of his physical strength.

If Kaori hadn't chosen to retreat just now, he truly wouldn't have been able to hold on.

Satoshi collapsed into Toji's arms, completely exhausted.

...

No one knew the identity of the attacker, but everyone understood how powerful that person was.

After all, not a single one of them had a Domain.

The only ones present with the potential to awaken a Domain were Yuki and Satoru, both destined to become Special Grade sorcerers in the future.

Though the attacker had escaped, everyone had witnessed the true power of Satoshi.

After seeing a Zanpakutō's Bankai firsthand, they realized it could truly rival a sorcerer's ultimate techniques.

Seeing Ryūjin Jakka's towering pillar of fire, capable of changing the heavens, Kumaen believed the blade to be unmatched.

But now, having witnessed Sode no Shirayuki's bankai, he realized he had still underestimated the true potential of a zanpakutō.

At least in that moment, Sode no Shirayuki's power was not inferior to Ryūjin Jakka at all.

Kumaen didn't understand the difference between Shikai and Bankai, but he could sense the overwhelming power of the technique.

The potential of Zanpakutō was immeasurable.

Right now, he was immensely grateful that Satoshi had held on until the end and survived an opponent who possessed a Domain.

Hidetsugu and Saemon both exhaled deeply.

Hidetsugu was shaken by the might of Hakka no Togame and relieved that Satoshi was alive. His survival meant the world of jujutsu could avoid descending into chaos.

Saemon, however, was focused entirely on Satoshi's Bankai.

So this is Sode no Shirayuki's Bankai? Just like Young Master Gojo Satoshi said, a Zanpakutō's Bankai is its final form.

Doesn't that mean Sode no Shirayuki in Bankai form already surpasses a Grade 1 sorcerer?

In today's world of jujutsu, where the Special Grade rank remained vacant, a Grade 1 sorcerer was already among the top-tier forces.

The fact that Sode no Shirayuki had shattered this ceiling after achieving Bankai was enough to prove that the influence of Zanpakutō in this world hadn't reached its peak.

When Nejibana in his hand achieves Bankai, when Suzumushi in Shunichi's hand does the same, when...

Their strength would ascend to an entirely new level.

A fiery passion lit up in Saemon's eyes.

He was determined to reach Bankai. He wanted to see Nejibana's true power, and he wanted to climb to the pinnacle of the jujutsu world.

...

Shunichi put away Suzumushi and silently stood beside Toji, guarding the unconscious Satoshi.

He was shaken by the power of Bankai, but even more filled with guilt for failing to protect him.

He had only one responsibility—to guard Satoshi's life.

If he had stayed by Satoshi's side, even if he couldn't defeat that mysterious woman, he could have at least bought time for him to escape.

This time, it was Satoshi who had mastered Bankai and fended off the enemy with his own strength.

Everything had been far too dangerous. One mistake, and Satoshi could have died here today.

Shunichi was overwhelmed by guilt, and in that moment, he made a vow.

From now on, he would protect Satoshi with everything he had.

This had been the first time Satoshi was attacked.

And Shunichi would ensure it was also the last.

(To be continued.)