The Captains surrounded Soifon and Aizen, while the Kidō Corps erected a barrier several hundred meters wide around the perimeter. Even if a Menos Grande were to use Negación, they would not be able to penetrate this barrier and lock onto the two of them within a short time.
It seemed that after encountering the previous betrayal, the Seireitei had already prepared measures for the reappearance of Aizen and Soifon.
The atmosphere was heavy, and battle was on the verge of breaking out.
"Since everyone is here today, I might as well announce one more thing."
Ignoring the tense atmosphere, Sōsuke Aizen took two steps forward on the roof, facing the Captains.
"One year from now, I will use all the living souls of the 'Jūreichi', Karakura Town, as sacrifices to create the Oken—the Royal Key—to ascend to the Royal Palace."
"When that time comes, I ask that you Captains..."
Before his voice could fall, the air around Aizen was heated to the point of distortion in an instant.
Schwing—
Maintaining the posture of drawing his blade, the Captain-Commander unleashed a crimson line of fire that sliced across the horizon—Nadegiri.
The roof, the tiles... the entire complex of buildings where Aizen and Soifon stood were all encompassed within the Captain-Commander's slash just now. The cut was neat and smooth, with the edges glowing with magma-like orange light and twisted scorch marks.
However, the spot where the slash landed was already empty.
In the split second before the line of fire touched them, two figures had calmly dodged to the left and right respectively.
Boom—
The houses collapsed, causing heartache to the soldiers and seated officers watching from not far away—they would have to do infrastructure construction again.
"Captain-Commander! Are you trying to cut me down as well?"
With a flicker of movement, Soifon appeared on a building not far away.
"It seems the Captain-Commander has quite a problem with both of us, Captain Soifon."
On the other side, Aizen maintained a harmless smile, as if he hadn't been the one intentionally provoking them just now.
In the courtyard, the other Captains had already assumed their battle stances.
"Very well. Since you, Soifon, do not wish to die under my blade, I can give you a chance..."
The Captain-Commander stood on the roof holding Ryūjin Jakka, forming a three-way standoff with Soifon and Aizen.
"If you assist me in capturing Aizen together, I can guarantee that you will only be imprisoned in the Maggot's Nest and not executed. How about it?"
As he spoke, the flames wrapped around the Captain-Commander's blade burned slowly, the twisting heat turning the corners of his Captain's Haori charred black.
"My apologies..." Soifon glanced at the smiling Aizen and shrugged. "This time, forgive me for not being able to obey your command, Captain-Commander."
"In that case..."
A terrifying and scorching Spiritual Pressure erupted from the Captain-Commander's body. The tiles and debris on the roof let out a groan of being overwhelmed under this heavy pressure.
"Everyone, fall back!"
"Kidō Corps, maintain the barrier! Captains and Vice-Captains of all divisions, guard the four corners of the barrier to prevent the influence of Kyōka Suigetsu from spreading."
"Soifon and Aizen... I will take them down personally!"
As the white First Division Captain's Haori drifted down from the Captain-Commander's shoulders, the Captains of the various divisions dispersed to the four corners of the barrier at the same time, protecting the Kidō Corps members maintaining the barrier.
Seeing this, the smile on Aizen's face finally receded slightly.
"What an honor, Captain-Commander," Aizen's expression gradually became grave. "To be able to personally experience the power of the strongest Shinigami in a thousand years."
He slowly raised his right hand, gripping Kyōka Suigetsu at his waist. It emitted a crisp ring as it was unsheathed.
The next instant, the Captain-Commander's figure had already vanished from his spot. The burning Ryūjin Jakka chopped straight toward Sōsuke Aizen's face.
Aizen's pupils constricted abruptly, and Kyōka Suigetsu swept upward rapidly.
Clang—
A defense made in haste was still unable to completely withstand the Captain-Commander's powerful slash.
The entire roof beneath Aizen's feet collapsed. He was sent flying backward by the impact, but while in mid-air, he raised his hand toward the direction of the Captain-Commander—
"Hadō #63: Raikōhō!"
A golden Kidō shockwave roared as it washed over the roof where the Captain-Commander stood.
"Hmph."
With a single slash of the blade in his hand, the Captain-Commander effortlessly cleared away the Raikōhō—which was powerful enough to knock down Sajin Komamura—and charged toward Aizen once again.
"Ryūjin Jakka!"
It was an unpretentious slash. Merely shouting the name of the Zanpakutō caused its power to increase geometrically.
Flames erupted in a fan shape. Relying solely on the post-burst Spiritual Pressure and the opponent's final landing point, the Captain-Commander found the flaw in Kyōka Suigetsu and annihilated all the illusions in front of him.
Boom—
The real Aizen was forced to swing his sword to block in haste, but the slash of Ryūjin Jakka was too heavy. He was sent flying once again, smashing through three walls before barely coming to a stop.
The ability of Kyōka Suigetsu had been brutally broken.
Aizen stood up from the ruins, a trace of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. He stared at the Captain-Commander, a look of regret appearing in his eyes for the first time.
If I had known earlier, I should have fused with the Hōgyoku before coming. Perhaps this single move from the Captain-Commander would have allowed me to evolve.
Before the Hōgyoku completely evolved, it was impossible for him to win against the Captain-Commander.
No, my current self still cannot fight him head-on. I should let Captain Soifon attract his attention.
Another slash struck.
Aizen used Shunpo to leave. The Captain-Commander's blade grazed past the corner of Aizen's clothes, the flames scorching the white Las Noches uniform.
Seizing the moment of the opponent's post-attack recovery, Aizen quickly raised his hand, releasing three Bakudō in succession—
"Bakudō #30: Shitotsu Sansen!"
"Bakudō #61: Rikujōkōrō!"
"Bakudō #79: Kuyō Shibari!"
The three layers of Bakudō were completed almost in the same instant, all hitting accurately. The Captain-Commander's forward momentum abruptly stagnated, bound in mid-air by the dense Kidō.
Aizen did not pause. His right hand grasped at the air upwards:
"Seeping crest of turbidity. Arrogant vessel of lunacy! Boil! Numb... Hadō #90: Kurohitsugi."
Aizen recited the incantation for Kurohitsugi at extremely high speed. A pitch-black gravity cube formed instantly, swallowing the Captain-Commander whole.
The power was so great that cracks even appeared on the barrier erected by the Kidō Corps.
"Captain-Commander!"
The Captains watching from afar exclaimed. Shunsui Kyōraku had even taken a step forward, preparing to rush into the battlefield.
Crack—
The Kurohitsugi exploded from the inside. Countless pitch-black fragments of Spiritual Pressure fell from the high sky. The upper body of the Captain-Commander's Shihakushō shattered, and traces of blood seeped from the surface of his skin.
"You... have angered me, Sōsuke Aizen."
Immediately after, the Captain-Commander stared at 'Aizen' with a burning gaze, raised his sword, and charged.
Soifon watched the immediately approaching Captain-Commander, her pupils constricting abruptly.
Sōsuke Aizen, I despise you!
The Captain-Commander's figure had not yet arrived, but the scorching flames on the blade had already made the hair on Soifon's forehead curl slightly, emitting a faint smell of burning.
No wonder Captain-Commander Yamamoto is bald; it turns out he was burned away by his own Ryūjin Jakka...
In that critical moment, such a retort popped into Soifon's head for no reason.
Soifon activated Blut Arterie, dodging the sudden attack with astonishing speed. She then drew Suzumebachi from her waist and slashed fiercely at the opponent.
The blade of Suzumebachi collided with the body of Ryūjin Jakka. The Captain-Commander changed his move at the critical moment to block Soifon's slash.
The two exchanged several blows at close range. Finally, Soifon used the recoil force to retreat, her feet carving two trails of smoke on the melting tiles.
After stopping, the Captain-Commander frowned slightly—the tactile sensation was wrong.
The Aizen from just now had clearly been avoiding direct confrontation with him the entire time, but this fellow now had exchanged several blows with him without falling to a disadvantage. It was a completely different fighting style.
Moreover, the force of the blade clashes and the position of impact were different from the Aizen of moments ago...
Is it Kyōka Suigetsu? Has the person changed? But the direction I moved in just now was consistently on the roof; it's impossible that I was led by the opponent to the streets below.
After pondering for a moment, he felt that few Captains could have blocked that slash of his just now. Therefore, the person who received the blade just now was either Aizen or Soifon.
regardless, he hadn't cut the wrong person. Continue the attack!
A trace of doubt flashed through the Captain-Commander's eyes, but the attacks in his hands did not stop. Ryūjin Jakka slashed out seven lines of fire in succession, sealing off all of 'Aizen's' retreat paths.
Seven consecutively unleashed Nadegiri. Each one contained power that could easily kill a Captain-level powerhouse, surrounding Soifon at a speed that an ordinary Captain could not react to.
There was no retreat.
Soifon took a deep breath, and the Spiritual Pressure around her body erupted with a boom.
She treated the Zanpakutō in her hand like a Quincy's Spirit Bow, condensing a crescent-shaped Arrow of Destruction to coat the blade body, then swung it to meet the Captain-Commander's slash...
Blue and red collided in the pitch-black night sky.
Soifon swung her sword seven times in a row. Seven brilliant blue crescent slashes neutralized the crimson flames.
The dazzling light lit up the night sky of the Seireitei once again, and also illuminated the Shinigami guarding the barrier below.
"Hey... isn't this too exaggerated?" Shunsui Kyōraku bumped Nanao beside him with his shoulder. "How is your relationship with Captain Soifon, Little Nanao?"
"My relationship with her is average... why do you ask?"
Nanao pushed up her glasses, but her nervous hands failed to touch the frame on the bridge of her nose several times.
"What a pity. I was hoping to rely on your relationship to have Captain Soifon let us off..."
At this point, Shunsui Kyōraku could only use teasing to dissolve the tense atmosphere.
Tōshirō and Rangiku stared blankly at the exchange of slashes in the sky. Every slash unleashed by the Captain-Commander radiated a despair-inducing power, yet they were so simply neutralized by Soifon.
I thought we were already good friends who talked about everything, Captain Soifon...
Just how many secrets do you have that I don't know about?
She thought she had already accepted the fact of Soifon's betrayal, but after seeing the opponent reveal such unexpected strength, Rangiku Matsumoto couldn't help but press her hand to her chest.
—Here, it felt a little uncomfortable.
Such an exaggerated gap...
Unohana subconsciously touched the Zanpakutō at her waist, seemingly recalling the other party's teasing today.
At this point, could she and Soifon still spar on an equal footing?
The blinding collision of slashes ended.
On the battlefield in the sky, Captain-Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto slowly lowered Ryūjin Jakka.
The Shihakushō on his body had already curled up from the heat of his own Ryūjin Jakka. In the probe just now, the Captain-Commander had already determined one thing: the 'Aizen' before him was indeed not Aizen.
It was Soifon.
"You..." The Captain-Commander spoke to the 'Aizen' in his eyes. "What was that move just now, Soifon?"
Getsuga Tenshō?
Impossible. Soifon didn't have that type of Zanpakutō; she couldn't unleash such a slash.
"Just..." Soifon thought for a moment, but still didn't tell the truth. "Just a little new trick I learned, Captain-Commander."
The Captain-Commander did not pursue the question, but simply assumed his starting stance again.
"Why not use Shikai?" His voice was full of killing intent. "With the ability of 'Death in Two Steps', combined with your speed just now, you might be able to cause me some trouble."
Soifon stood opposite him with her sword: "Captain-Commander... aren't you also not using Bankai?"
Soifon's implication seemed to be that she felt she could contend with his Bankai using only her Shikai.
"Arrogant!"
Before his voice could fall, the Captain-Commander's second blade had arrived.
The two changed moves continuously within extremely close range, blade lights flashing with cold glints in the night sky.
There was no scorching heat of flames, only the purest duel of Zanjutsu.
Although the attacks were fierce, Soifon felt that the Captain-Commander's killing intent was not as heavy as before. From the clash of blades just now, Soifon tasted the hesitation in the opponent's sword.
Judging from the fierce battle just now, the Captain-Commander had no intention of holding back. However, relying solely on Shikai abilities, he seemed unable to take down Soifon in a short time.
Not to mention there was still a treacherous Sōsuke Aizen observing from the side.
If he activated Bankai, the damage to the Seireitei and even the Soul Society would be too great. Furthermore, he did not have sufficient confidence that he wouldn't accidentally injure friendly forces under the influence of Kyōka Suigetsu.
Just as the myriad thoughts of the two combatants were racing, a blue-black crescent slash shot from outside the barrier without warning, smashing onto the barrier maintained by the Kidō Corps like a meteor.
Crack—!
A crisp shattering sound spread throughout the entire battlefield.
The barrier, painstakingly arranged and sufficient to withstand a Menos Grande's Negación, shattered like fragile glass before this slash. The Kidō Corps members maintaining the barrier all spat out a mouthful of fresh blood and stumbled to the ground.
"What?!"
All Captains turned their heads simultaneously to look in the direction the slash came from.
In the night sky, a tall figure slowly descended. Long black hair, a cold and stern face, holding an excessively massive Zanpakutō in his hand—Zangetsu.
He landed on a roof that had not yet collapsed, his gaze sweeping over the battlefield before finally settling on Soifon.
"Leave this place. I need to return to Ichigo's side."
After completely breaking free from Muramasa's influence, Zangetsu had relieved his depressed old man state and figured out the meaning of his own existence again.
Yes, the meaning of my existence is to protect Ichigo!
Zangetsu's appearance caused a look of astonishment to appear on the Captain-Commander's face for the first time—an incomprehensible shock.
The King of the Quincies, whom I killed with my own hands a thousand years ago... why would he appear here?
Ichigo?!
Is it that youth from the Shiba Clan with the very clear eyes?
In the split second that the Captain-Commander was dazed.
Soifon quickly took out the Kikaigai from her bosom and slashed at the void. A pitch-black Garganta rift tore open in the air. Then, without waiting for the Captain-Commander and the others to react, she leaped into it.
At the same time, the figures of Zangetsu and Aizen appeared at the entrance of the Garganta almost simultaneously and rushed in together.
Aizen didn't even leave behind any pretentious quotes this rare time; it was clear he was truly in a hurry to run.
"Stop—!"
"Yhwach—!"
The Captain-Commander snapped back to reality, the flames on Ryūjin Jakka erupting with a boom.
But it was too late. The Garganta closed the instant Zangetsu entered, as if it had never appeared.
The Captain-Commander stood in place. The flames gradually extinguished, and Ryūjin Jakka in his hand slowly lowered.
The battle was over.
"All divisions! Enter First-Class Battle Readiness immediately."
"Repair the barracks, treat the wounded, and take stock of the losses."
"Starting today, all Shinigami of seated officer rank and above must undergo high-intensity special training."
"One year from now... we will settle things once and for all with all the traitors in Karakura Town."
Looking at the ruins and broken walls, the handle of Ryūjin Jakka in the Captain-Commander's hand creaked as he gripped it tightly.
____
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