In an instant, their figures crossed paths.
Soi Fon's entire body stiffened, and she trembled as she reached out to clutch her abdomen, involuntarily falling to her knees.
The final strike didn't appear particularly dramatic.
Given that their previous movements were already too fast for most to follow, this exchange seemed no different to the untrained eye.
Only a few among the captain's seats could truly perceive what had happened—Anko's speed had reached an unfathomable level, leaving Soi Fon with no time to react.
The small blade of Suzumebachi, once attached to Soi Fon's fingertip, reverted to its ordinary short sword form and clattered to the ground, while Soi Fon remained unable to rise due to the severe impact to her abdomen.
Anko turned toward Vice Captain Chojiro and calmly stated, "It's over."
Chojiro had hoped that Soi Fon would stand up, but after watching her remain motionless for a few seconds, he had no choice but to declare the result.
"The winner: Mitarashi Anko."
Compared to the previous battles, this one had been purely a clash of taijutsu.
Anko had completely dominated with overwhelming strength, making the fight seem far less spectacular in appearance.
However, from the audience's perspective, the two were still incredibly powerful—after all, they could barely see them move.
Soi Fon wasn't gravely injured and soon managed to recover, forcing herself to stand.
She shot Anko a glance but remained silent as she made her way back to the captains' seats.
With the seventh match concluded, the score now stood at 4:3, in favor of the ninja side.
As Soi Fon returned to her seat, Gin smirked and made a sly remark, "Captain Soi Fon, you worked so hard out there. But hey, at least you didn't get too hurt."
Seeing Gin's ever-smiling expression, Soi Fon clenched her teeth but held back her frustration.
For the eighth match, Yakushi Kabuto from the Ten Crown Guards would face Tosen Kaname, the Captain of the Ninth Division.
From the seating area, Mei couldn't help but say, "As long as we win one more match, we'll be undefeatable."
Her mood had grown noticeably more optimistic.
As long as the ninja side secured at least five victories, even if it was her turn to fight and she lost, it wouldn't affect the overall outcome too much.
Shisui smiled at her and said, "Don't put too much pressure on yourself. Just do your best—winning or losing isn't the most important thing."
How could winning and losing not be important?
Mei glanced at him, knowing he was just trying to reassure her.
She absolutely didn't want to be the reason the Ten Crown Guards lost.
Shisui continued, "If His Majesty truly cared about winning, he wouldn't have arranged this kind of match format."
Mei was momentarily stunned. "What do you mean?"
Shisui explained, "Among all the captains who have fought so far, the strongest were undoubtedly Kyoraku Shunsui at the beginning and Unohana Retsu later on. And unsurprisingly, both of them won their matches. But in my opinion, if we had sent Might Guy and Kakashi against those two, we wouldn't have lost."
He spoke with absolute confidence.
Besides His Majesty, Shisui had never encountered anyone stronger than the current Kakashi and Might Guy.
"If the matchups were arranged properly, we could have gone through all seven battles without a single loss."
Shisui's words were not without basis—he knew the strength of the Ten Crown Guards well.
Of the remaining three matches, Mei and the others had only recently joined the group and were still unfamiliar with their Sage Mark.
Since they hadn't fully mastered them, it was natural for them to be at a disadvantage in combat.
Even so, the Ten Crown Guards were still on track to claim a glorious victory in this exchange event.
Itachi, however, sighed with mild exasperation.
"Don't be so certain. I wouldn't say I have much confidence in winning against those captains."
Shisui grinned immediately. "Oh, I wasn't counting you in. The seven matches I mentioned included Lady Tsunade."
"..."
Itachi's face instantly darkened.
Seeing this, Mei couldn't help but chuckle.
After laughing for a moment, she turned to Itachi and said, "Don't worry, you can pick your opponent from the last two matches."
Shisui's gaze shifted toward the two remaining captains who had yet to appear—Aizen and Hitsugaya.
"Mei-san, who do you think is the stronger one?"
Hearing this, Mei also turned to look at them.
She had been pondering this question for a while.
As if sensing her gaze, Aizen gave her a warm and friendly smile.
Hitsugaya looked extremely young, but Mei knew better than to judge a Shinigami's strength by their appearance.
Even in the most unlikely scenario, if Hitsugaya was truly as young as he looked, his power was still likely beyond her reach.
Shisui's earlier display of strength was enough proof of that.
After hesitating for a moment, she cautiously said, "That Aizen… should be a bit weaker than Hitsugaya, right?"
Shisui immediately chuckled. "Well then, we'll let Mei-san take on Aizen."
Mei hesitated. "That doesn't seem fair… Itachi-kun should have a choice too—"
Itachi quietly shook his head and said, "It doesn't matter. I'll fight whoever."
Meanwhile, at the center of the arena, Kabuto and Tosen's battle had reached an intense stage.
After an initial exchange of probing attacks, Tosen wasted no time in releasing his Zanpakuto.
His sword was called Suzumushi, capable of attacking an enemy's senses.
However, even in its Shikai state, Tosen still couldn't do anything to Kabuto.
Kabuto's physical attributes were extraordinarily high, and just by relying on evasion, he managed to dodge all of Tosen's attacks with ease.
As Mei watched the match, she murmured, "Kabuto-kun is really strong too."
She had only met Kabuto once—when she first joined the Crown Guards, during the welcome ceremony they held for her.
Kabuto had graciously attended.
His personality was mild-mannered and friendly, but beyond that, she hadn't interacted with him much.
Itachi spoke up, "He holds the keys to the Empire's Biological Science Research Institute. There's no one who keeps more secrets than him."
Among everyone present, Itachi was the closest to Kabuto.
They had been teammates in the same Genin squad and later joined the Crown Guards at the same time.
After joining the Crown Guards, Mei had learned about many things, including the fact that the Empire had two major research institutes—the Mechanical Science Research Institute and the Biological Science Research Institute—both located at opposite ends of Konoha's borders.
These two institutes were responsible for different areas of research and were among the most critical divisions of the Empire.
Back in the arena, realizing that his efforts were in vain, Tosen decided to stop holding back.
"Bankai—"
"Suzumushi Tsuishiki: Enma Korogi!"
Suddenly, several rapidly expanding black spheres appeared, engulfing the entire battlefield in absolute darkness.
All that remained in the arena was a massive oval-shaped black dome, cutting off all visual and sensory information from the audience.
The spectators immediately broke into a flurry of discussions, confused by what had just happened.
Meanwhile, inside the void of darkness, Kabuto remained calm—until the next second, when he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder.
A blade had slashed across his flesh, causing blood to spray into the empty void.
Can't see… can't hear… but I can still feel pain…
A technique that deprives the senses?
The previously calm Kabuto suddenly revealed a glint of killing intent in his eyes.
This guy… he's using an ability similar to the one His Majesty once possessed… How dare he?!
Without hurry, Kabuto reached into his robe and took out a small vial.
Surrounded by absolute darkness, the very void itself became his disguise.
—
Outside the arena, the spectators were filled with confusion and anxiety, desperate to know what was happening inside the black sphere.
Their doubts didn't last long.
The massive dome of darkness suddenly collapsed, bursting like an exploding balloon—and what lay within shocked everyone.
Tosen was lying on the ground, covered in blood, his clothes tattered, unmoving—his condition unknown.
In stark contrast, Kabuto stood there unscathed, save for a small tear on his shoulder where his clothes had been cut.
He casually rolled his neck, as if loosening up after a light exercise.
Was the battle… already over?
Everyone stood there, stunned.
Kabuto looked at Chojiro with a gentle smile.
"Apologies if I went a little overboard. Shall we call this match over?"
Chojiro snapped back to his senses, his gaze shifting to Tosen, who lay motionless on the ground.
Before the Fourth Division members or even Tsunade could step forward, Kabuto had already walked up to Tosen's side.
He pulled out another vial, swiftly injected it into Tosen's neck, and stepped back.
Within moments, Tosen violently coughed, expelling several mouthfuls of blood.
But to everyone's shock, he then stood up as if nothing had happened—aside from his utterly battered and bloodstained appearance, there was no trace of his near-death state from just moments ago.
Kabuto gave a polite, good-natured bow.
"Thank you for the match."
"..."
—
Seated among the spectators, Mei suddenly found herself gulping nervously.
The previously mild-mannered Kabuto now seemed absolutely terrifying in her eyes.
Beside her, Itachi spoke calmly.
"Don't worry. Kabuto is very kind… to his allies."
—
The Fourth Division double-checked Tosen's condition and confirmed that there were no lasting injuries.
Now, however, the silver-haired, bespectacled young man—once overlooked—had become an enigma in the hearts of every Shinigami present.
Indeed, not a single participant in this exchange was "ordinary."
—
Tosen's defeat had left several captains visibly unsettled.
At this point, it was undeniable—the Shinigami were at a disadvantage in this exchange event.
The atmosphere grew tense, and just as the match concluded, Kabuto was given a sharp reprimand.
In front of Head Captain Yamamoto, he listened obediently as he was chastised, then responded with a perfectly reasonable explanation.
"Once Captain Tosen activated his Bankai, my senses were completely deprived. I had no way to control my strength."
Then, he formally turned to Tosen and apologized with sincerity.
But to Kaname Tosen, this so-called apology was nothing more than an insult.
—
Back at his seat, Shisui suddenly asked,
"Why did you hit him so hard?"
Kabuto simply pushed up his glasses and replied calmly,
"That guy's ability… is somewhat similar to His Majesty's."
Shisui's gaze flickered.
"If that's the case, you should've hit him even harder. You can heal him anyway, can't you?"
Kabuto responded lightly,
"If he died, that would've been troublesome."
Hearing their casual conversation, Mei couldn't help but shudder.
—
Now came the ninth match.
Mei took a deep breath and stepped forward.
As she had hoped, the Shinigami captain who stood up to face her was none other than the gentle-looking man with glasses.
—
At the same time, Makoto suddenly turned to Yamamoto and asked,
"That Captain Aizen… he's not weak, is he?"
Yamamoto's expression remained unchanged.
"What makes you say that?"
For the Emperor of Living world to specifically mention someone, it meant that person's strength was comparable to the Ten Crown Guards or the captains present.
Makoto chuckled, eyes filled with intrigue.
"He feels… different from the rest."
—
As Aizen and Mei walked toward the center of the arena, Makoto's conversation with Yamamoto did not go unnoticed.
Sitting close to the head seats, Gin subtly raised his head and cast a glance at Makoto, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly.
In Gin's understanding, no one had ever actively perceived Aizen's true nature before.
Even Hirako Shinji, the former 5th Division Captain, only thought he had control over Aizen because Aizen had deliberately allowed it.
But this Emperor of the Living World…
—
Yamamoto finally spoke,
"Your Majesty has quite the keen eye. Every captain of the Gotei 13 has their own unique qualities."
Makoto chuckled,
"Oh, I see."
—
At the center of the arena,
Aizen greeted Mei with a warm smile,
"I am Aizen Sosuke, Captain of the 5th Division. I had the pleasure of witnessing your impressive performance during the Imperial Ninja Martial Tournament."
Mei froze for a moment, then immediately groaned inwardly.
"Damn it, that means he already knows my techniques! Meanwhile, I know nothing about him! How am I supposed to win this?!"
But Aizen simply smiled and spoke with a seemingly generous tone,
"Since I have some understanding of your combat style, Miss Mei, to make things fair, allow me to briefly introduce my own ability."
As he spoke, he slowly drew his Zanpakutō from his waist.
"Kyoka Suigetsu—A flowing-water-type Zanpakuto that distorts the enemy's perception through the irregular reflections of mist and water."
Kyoka Suigetsu's ability was no secret within Seireitei—Aizen himself had demonstrated it before, and most Shinigami were aware of it.
—
Mei narrowed her eyes, then asked directly,
"What about its Bankai?"
Aizen chuckled and pushed up his glasses,
"Bankai? Well, that will depend on your own abilities, Miss Mei."
—
Back in the seating area, Kabuto suddenly muttered,
"Tsk. Another troublesome guy… I should've waited and fought later."
—
Meanwhile, Mei felt a sense of relief.
"A water-based Zanpakuto…? If it's related to water, then dealing with him might not be too difficult for me."
—
The match officially began.
Mei and Aizen immediately engaged in intense combat.
Mei was not someone skilled in close combat, so as Aizen continued to close the distance, she chose to leap back while forming hand seals.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
In an area devoid of water, a giant water dragon materialized out of thin air, roaring as it charged toward Aizen.
The humidity of the misty water enveloped the arena, and many could feel the sudden coolness in the air.
Aizen, however, reacted swiftly.
"Hado #63: Raikoho!"
Golden lightning shot out, directly smashing the giant water dragon and causing water to splash everywhere.
Mei was not too surprised by this; the attack was just a test.
She continued to form hand seals, preparing to use a more powerful water-based technique to create a favorable environment for herself.
"Water Release: Great Exploding Water Collapsing Wave!"
She took a deep breath, then exhaled, releasing a massive surge of water.
The water forcefully lifted her upward, and she created a massive waterfall that cascaded down.
The once flat arena was soon flooded with an overwhelming torrent of water, quickly spreading in all directions.
The Shinigami who were tasked with cleaning up the arena finally had a chance to act.
They used Shunpo to reach the sides of the arena, employing Kido to create a massive barrier that held back the floodwaters in the center.
The audience in the stands were safe, shielded from the water.
Aizen, however, was completely submerged in the water.
Unlike ninjas, Shinigami didn't have the ability to walk on water, especially in the Soul Society, where being submerged was completely normal.
Boom!
Suddenly, a powerful reiatsu erupted from Aizen, pushing the surrounding water away and creating a vacuum around him.
He glanced toward the Ten Crown Guards and the captain's seats before slowly releasing his grip on his Zanpakuto, letting it fall to the ground.
"Shatter…"
"Kyoka Suigetsu."
--------------
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