Shiraha had not come here to engage Aizen in idle talk. His only purpose was to complete the sign-in task. Through his Observation Haki, he could already sense Kyōraku Shunsui and the others rapidly approaching. At their speed, they would be here in seven or eight minutes.
"Oh? You wish to test the difference between us?" Aizen's eyes widened with faint amusement, though confusion lingered beneath his smile.
"Captain Shiraha, you really do have the courage to challenge Captain Aizen," Gin remarked, fox-like grin never faltering.
Tōsen remained silent, expression unreadable.
"That's right. But I am not only asking Captain Aizen," Shiraha replied evenly. "I want Captain Ichimaru and Captain Tōsen to join as well. I wish to know whether the three of you together can overcome the ability of my Zanpakutō."
The words carried no arrogance, only calm certainty. Yet even Aizen, Gin, and Tōsen were taken aback. Shiraha intended to face them all alone.
"No problem. Since you request it, I will oblige. There is still some time," Aizen said with a smile. He remembered well Shiraha's duel against Yamamoto Genryūsai, when the young captain's invincible defense had been revealed. If Shiraha sought another test, then Aizen would use this opportunity.
"Well then, Captain Shiraha, be careful." Gin's grin held its usual sly amusement, but there was a flicker of genuine surprise that Aizen had agreed.
"Madness," Tōsen muttered coldly, drawing his Zanpakutō.
"One moment," Shiraha said. He gently lifted the unconscious Rukia and invoked a Kidō spell—Cang—to transport her a hundred thousand meters away, far beyond the reach of the coming clash. Then he returned to face the three. Rukia would never survive even the aftermath of what was about to unfold.
"Now then, Captain Aizen," Shiraha said, smiling faintly, "let us begin."
He drew his staff-blade. In the same instant, a torrent of spiritual power erupted from him—deep violet tinged with cold blue—surging outward in waves. The sheer pressure tore through the surroundings. Grass wilted, trees splintered, stones cracked apart, and the air itself quivered under the weight of his Reiatsu.
Both Gin and Tōsen were forced to flare their own Reiatsu to withstand the oppressive force. Even so, they felt themselves pressed down, struggling to remain steady. Tōsen in particular grew pale, already disadvantaged.
Aizen, however, remained unchanged, his expression calm, his smile unshaken, as though untouched by Shiraha's power.
"Impressive Reiatsu," Aizen murmured, genuine admiration in his eyes. In just ten years, Shiraha had risen from the level of an ordinary captain to a powerhouse nearly equal to the highest-ranked captains. His pressure was only slightly inferior to Kyōraku or Ukitake.
"Captain Aizen, you flatter me," Shiraha answered lightly.
Gin made his move. "Shoot him, Shinsō." His blade elongated instantly, streaking forward in a flash of pale light aimed straight at Shiraha.
Above, Tōsen struck in unison, shouting, "Suzumushi, Second Movement—Red Cricket!" Countless blades erupted before him, their sharp points glinting as they rained down like a storm upon Shiraha.
In a blink, Gin's extended blade and Tōsen's storm of weapons reached within a meter of their target—and froze. As though time itself had slowed, the attacks hung suspended in the air, unable to move closer.
"It is impolite to strike at a man while he speaks," Shiraha said softly. "And you, Captain Tōsen—come down from the sky. Forty times the gravity."
At his command, an overwhelming weight enveloped the three. Tōsen, suspended in the air, was instantly dragged downwards. His body crashed into the earth with a thunderous impact, leaving a crater four or five meters deep.
Gin too staggered, his extended blade retracting as he struggled to withstand the crushing force. "Ahh, Captain Shiraha's Zanpakutō is truly terrifying," he said through his fox-like grin, though strain bled through his voice.
Shiraha raised his staff-blade, coating it with Armament Haki. A violet arc of spiritual energy tore forth, tens of meters long, cleaving through Tōsen's storm of blades. The weapons shattered instantly into spirit particles, dissolving into the air.
At that very moment, Aizen appeared behind him, Kyōka Suigetsu flashing as it swung. Yet the blade stopped short, unable to reach Shiraha.
"Your Zanpakutō's ability is indeed strange, Captain Shiraha," Aizen said, narrowing his eyes. He had seen it before against Yamamoto, but experiencing it firsthand deepened his understanding. In its own way, Shiraha's ability was as absolute as his own illusion.
"You're strong as well, Captain Aizen," Shiraha replied. Without his Observation Haki, even he would not have sensed how Aizen had slipped so close despite the oppressive gravity.
"Bankai—Kamishini no Yari!" Gin's blade became a streak of white, its speed beyond comprehension. Everything it touched split apart as it hurtled toward Shiraha, his Reiatsu surging higher still.
From the crater, Tōsen rose, battered but resolute. His left hand pressed against the ring on his Zanpakutō's hilt as he declared: "Bankai—Enma Kōrogi!"
His Reiatsu erupted, straining against the crushing gravity, and at once the ring transformed, splitting into nine circles that scattered around Shiraha. Each emitted waves of black spiritual energy before merging into a vast oval barrier.
The black dome swallowed all within. Hearing, sight, smell, even spiritual perception—all senses vanished, leaving only the bare sense of touch.
Within the prison of darkness, Tōsen's Bankai, Suzumushi Tsuishiki—Enma Kōrogi—had been unleashed.
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