"It is Lord Aiyan's kindness to leave you here."
"For the sake of past bonds, I will let you live."
"So, Captain Jūshirō, please don't act rashly. Otherwise, even if Lord Aiyan disagrees, I will cut you down without hesitation."
Tōsen Kaname did not possess the terrifying Zanpakutō ability of Ichimaru Gin, where a single strike could paralyze the next Gotei Captain along with his Reiatsu and Zanpakutō.
Instead, facing Jūshirō Ukitake who was lying at his feet, he directly severed the tendons of his hands and legs with a single stroke, confiscated his Zanpakutō, and then stamped a series of Kidō seals upon him.
So far—
The Gotei 13 had been completely destroyed.
Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni was left with only Zaraki Kenpachi, who was uncontrollable, and Shiba Isshin, whose loyalties were difficult to discern.
"If you side with Aiyan, then go over there."
"For the sake of sparing Jūshirō and Kyōraku's lives, I won't kill you."
"Hmph! Thousands of years ago, I alone was able to create the Gotei 13. Today, I can destroy you and create a new Gotei 13!"
Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni glared at Aiyan as he walked toward him, directly facing Shiba Isshin and Zaraki Kenpachi who stood beside him.
After experiencing betrayal after betrayal—especially from those he thought least likely to betray him—Yamamoto had chosen to side against Aiyan. It was even more impossible for him to trust Zaraki Kenpachi or Shiba Isshin.
"Hahahahaha!"
"I'm not with Aiyan, old man—but you're right."
"Because I'm not yours either."
Zaraki Kenpachi grinned, hefting his Zanpakutō onto his shoulder before striding toward Aiyan.
"You've already cleaned up all the weaklings."
"Now, it's our time."
"Come and fight, Aiyan!"
Zaraki Kenpachi raised his Zanpakutō high.
"I came to Gotei 13 for this very day."
"As you requested, I've regained all my power."
"So…"
Waves of Reiatsu, visible to the naked eye, erupted from his body like endless golden tides, sweeping in every direction.
BOOM!
With a thunderous explosion, Zaraki Kenpachi stomped forward, tearing through the earth and sending violent shockwaves in all directions. Like a primordial beast breaking free from its seal, he rushed at Aiyan at astonishing speed. His Zanpakutō dragged a terrifying pressure behind it, the very air splitting into visible cracks wherever the blade passed.
"Draw your sword!"
In a flash step, he appeared before Aiyan, swinging his Zanpakutō downward.
Before the blade even landed, the dense golden Reiatsu transformed into a crushing sword pressure that fell upon Aiyan.
Even now—
Zaraki Kenpachi remembered the man before him, so arrogant that during their last encounter in the 80th District he hadn't even drawn his sword.
This time—he would make him.
That single obsession drove him, pushing him constantly into danger, fueled by the desperate desire to unleash the powers he had once sealed within himself. His only purpose—
To force Aiyan to draw his blade.
BOOM!
Faced with the descending strike—so powerful that it split bottomless cracks through the thick sea of clouds above—Aiyan did not move. Under the disbelieving eyes of all around him, he calmly raised a single finger.
Reiatsu hardened like steel surged around his fingertip, coating it in black like tempered iron. Then—using that finger like a blade—he pressed it against Zaraki Kenpachi's Zanpakutō.
CLANG!
The finger met the sword.
The titanic force roared outward like a dragon rising from the sea, tearing the ground into gravel and leaving a crater several hundred meters wide in the heart of Seireitei. It was destruction akin to a meteor strike.
All of this—from a single swing of Zaraki Kenpachi's sword.
Yet…
CLANG!
Zaraki Kenpachi's hands trembled violently as an unfathomable force surged down his blade. That sensation—it dragged him back to his first encounter with Aiyan in the 80th District.
No—this was ten times worse.
"Impossible!"
Zaraki's eyes widened as he saw his Zanpakutō caught and held in midair by nothing but Aiyan's single finger.
How could this be?
He had broken all his seals, regained all of his power, stronger than ever before. And yet—
He had failed.
Not only had he been unable to make Aiyan draw his sword—he was faring worse than their last encounter.
Back then, Aiyan had needed his full hand to stop the strike.
Now—
A single finger was enough.
"Now you carry the name."
"Your name is Zaraki Kenpachi, right?"
"You are worthy of the title Kenpachi—but only for your courage."
Aiyan's finger curled upward, hooking the edge of the Zanpakutō.
"Don't mock me!"
"I didn't come here just to be defeated like this!"
Zaraki roared, his Reiatsu compressing the very air into thick, suffocating tides, surging to a higher level. He gripped his sword with both hands, straining with all his might—but the blade did not move. It felt less like reclaiming his weapon and more like pulling against the weight of entire worlds.
"Tch. Don't yell."
"My sword isn't meant for beasts like you."
"Against you, my Reiatsu alone is enough."
Still holding the Zanpakutō with one finger, Aiyan clenched his left fist. Conqueror's Reiatsu surged out, transforming into black jagged lightning, like dragons coiling around his arm. Then—he struck.
BOOM!
Before his fist even landed, the space between it and Zaraki's head exploded in red-black light. The shockwave split the already-ruined battlefield once more, tearing it further apart.
The overwhelming force engulfed Zaraki's entire body from head to toe.
KA-BOOM!
The world itself roared. The sky split open, clouds shredded apart, earth crumbled into dust. A storm of debris hung suspended in the air before being crushed into powder by the raging Reiatsu.
Zaraki's body twisted and convulsed, blood spraying from every orifice. The cannon-like blast hurled him thousands of meters away, his broken frame trailing through the air like a meteor.
Jagged bolts of black-red lightning pierced the sky, crashing down to form a pillar of destruction that towered hundreds of meters high.
When the dust settled—
Zaraki Kenpachi lay motionless in the crater.
"Zaraki Kenpachi—you'll need more training."
With a casual motion, Aiyan retracted his finger, lowered his fist, and once again ignored the fallen challenger.
The sheer understatement of it—this godlike display of power—burned itself into the eyes of every Shinigami present.
Even Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni, known as the strongest Shinigami in a thousand years, felt his heart clench in dread. His killing intent faltered as horror swelled inside him.
"Even I could not do this… to slay Zaraki Kenpachi with Reiatsu and Hakuda alone."
"Aiyan Sōsuke…"
"Without a doubt—you have already taken that step."