Goken Kenpachi stared at the blade piercing through his chest, his expression montarily stunned.
But he quickly recovered, making a calculated decision.
Channeling Spirit Energy into his feet, he lunged forward without moving his upper body. A spray of blood erupted from his back as he successfully freed himself from the blade.
Watching his maneuver, Kaelith Yurei gave an approving nod.
"Nice reflexes."
Aizen comnted, "While his talent limits his overall strength, his combat experience shouldn't be underestimated. High-ranking officers in the Eleventh Division earn their status through real battles."
Kaelith chuckled. "So when you say 'not to be underestimated,' are you implying you could have soloed this without ?"
Aizen fell silent.
How could Kaelith even bring that up? For a brief mont, Aizen found himself envying Yamada Seinosuke. The way Seinosuke would shalessly berate Kaelith seed like a perfectly appropriate way to deal with him.
Aizen sighed internally, convincing himself with a thought: "A gentleman acts with dignity."
At that mont, Aizen noticed Kaelith subtly shift a step to the side. Half a second later, his Spirit Pressure sense issued a warning—
Right where Kaelith had stood, a spatial rift began to form.
*Crack!*
A warped fracture-split through the air, branching into jagged fissures.
Aizen raised a brow in surprise. Kaelith had detected the attack slightly before he had.
Previously, Aizen had relied on his precise Spirit Pressure manipulation, saturating the surrounding space with his energy. Any disruptions caused by Goken's spatial fissures would allow him to react the mont they appeared.
To Aizen, this was already an optimal strategy.
Yet in an instant, Kaelith had proven there was an even earlier way to predict such attacks.
Seeing Kaelith's relaxed expression, Aizen couldn't help but feel a rare competitive spark.
"You've gotten stronger?"
"Well, so have I."
"Let's see who has improved more."
Aizen's gaze sharpened as he vanished with a flash step.
In the next second, he reappeared in mid-air, right beside Goken Kenpachi, slashing downward with his blade.
*Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!*
The terrifyingly powerful strikes, infused with imnse Spirit Pressure, rained down from all directions on Goken.
Since gaining his Shinigami powers, this was the first ti Aizen had unleashed his full strength in a direct confrontation. Normally, his style would involve using Kyōka Suigetsu to toy with his opponent until their inevitable defeat.
But today, with Kaelith Yurei—his friend and rival—present, Aizen wanted to see for himself just how much stronger he had beco.
Watching Aizen suddenly charge head-on, Kaelith raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"This doesn't seem like Aizen at all."
Still, he had to admit that this straightforward fighting style was much more exhilarating.
"I see what's going on. Aizen must've been influenced by my righteous aura. Deep within his soul, that tiny spark of passion has reignited."
Kaelith smirked, the corners of his lips curving upward.
Since Aizen was so fired up, he decided to let him enjoy himself this ti. Kaelith would take on the role of support for once.
With that thought, he launched himself into the air, joining the fray.
If it had been any other captain, Kaelith wouldn't have taken such liberties.
But Goken Kenpachi? He was hardly worth worrying about.
Among the captains, Goken Kenpachi ranked among the weakest in terms of sheer power. Even soone as relatively unimpressive as Shinchira Renzosuke was still stronger than him.
On top of that, Goken's abilities were perfectly countered in this situation. Kaelith Yurei had almost fully integrated the artificial soul provided by Kirio Hikifune. By dispersing it and rging it with the surrounding Reishi, Kaelith could predict where spatial fractures would form. His prediction speed and accuracy far surpassed that of standard Spirit Pressure detection.
Ard with this trump card, Kaelith effortlessly moved around the battlefield's edges, striking only when an opportune mont arose to land a decisive blow on Goken Kenpachi.
Aizen observed the battle for a while, noticing Kaelith seed to be deliberately holding back. Though he couldn't fathom Kaelith's intentions, this approach didn't align with what Aizen wanted.
"If our roles were reversed, what would Kaelith say to ?" Aizen pondered, frowning briefly before directing his gaze at Kaelith, who was calmly spectating from the periphery.
"Are you pulling your punches? What's wrong—haven't eaten yet?" Aizen remarked.
Kaelith blinked. "...?"
He glanced at Aizen's deadpan expression and couldn't help but laugh.
"Really? I hold back to let him shine, and he mocks ?"
"How can I let that slide?"
In the next instant, Kaelith seed to transform. His playful deanor vanished as he lunged at Goken Kenpachi with terrifying ferocity, his Zanpakutō slicing through the air with the intent to kill.
A tidal wave of Spirit Pressure burst forth, crashing across the battlefield like an unstoppable tsunami.
Seeing Kaelith's sudden escalation, Aizen's lips curved into a subtle smile.
"Sotis nudging him a little yields interesting results."
Then his smile faltered slightly.
"Unbelievable. Kaelith's growth in Spirit Pressure is catching up to mine again."
He even briefly entertained a hypothesis: "Could his ability synchronize his Spirit Pressure to match others'?"
But Aizen quickly dismissed the idea.
"If he could do that, why not synchronize with a high-ranking captain? He interacts with plenty of them in the First Division. Anyone he syncs with would outclass ."
The thought left Aizen feeling mildly guilty.
"To think my first reaction was to question the legitimacy of his progress. That's unbecoming of , isn't it?"
Resolving not to underestimate Kaelith, Aizen smirked faintly.
"If our Spirit Pressure is evenly matched, let's compare our swordsmanship instead!"
With that, Aizen charged into the fray, Zanpakutō gleaming in his hand.
Goken Kenpachi began to panic.
Kaelith Yurei, a re student from the Shin'ō Academy who wasn't even a full-fledged Shinigami. And this Aizen, a nobody whose na he'd never heard of before.
Yet these two nobodies were utterly dominating him!
Even with his Bankai unleashed—his Spirit Pressure dense and his attacks relentless—he couldn't defeat them.
Worse still, Goken began to sense sothing even more humiliating: neither Kaelith nor Aizen seed to be treating this as a life-or-death battle.
No, it felt like... they were competing with each other.
The realization hit Goken like a slap to the face.
"I'm the Captain of the Eleventh Division—the division dedicated to combat! And yet, I'm being used as a sparring dummy by these nobodies?!"
Furious, he roared and surged his Spirit Pressure, pushing his attacks to their limit.
In response, Kaelith and Aizen grinned and retaliated with even greater intensity, their combined power suppressing him completely.
Goken's eyes widened further when Kaelith suddenly tossed his Zanpakutō aside and rushed at him with bare fists.
And the most infuriating part? Kaelith was even more dangerous without his blade. Every punch radiated an overwhelming sense of threat, forcing Goken to stay on high alert.
As Goken braced himself against Kaelith's fists, his vision blurred for a mont.
When his sight cleared, Kaelith seed to morph into Aizen.
Startled, Goken glanced to the side, prioritizing defense against Kaelith's punch.
In that split second of distraction, a massive force slamd into the side of his Zanpakutō—an explosive impact that sent shockwaves reverberating through the battlefield.
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