Of course, Kyoya had long been aware of the abilities of the twin brothers, Loyd Lloyd and Royd Lloyd, and had prepared countermeasures accordingly.
Ever since developing the ability [Observation Killing], Kyoya had consistently used it to completely conceal his own presence, erasing all attempts to perceive him.
It was likely that even if the Lloyd brothers could transform into Kyoya's form, they would only be able to mimic Kyoya before he mastered the Observation Killing.
The Shinigami who sensed Kyoya's Reiatsu, though they didn't understand his current fighting style, accepted it nonetheless.
After all, those with strength had the right to be capricious.
How one fought and what means one used in battle were matters of personal freedom.
"Something's not right..."
In the sky, Kyoya clashed with Borsalino using the techniques he had developed for the Pika Pika no Mi's abilities.
Although he was only in his Shikai State, his control over light was inferior to Borsalino's Bankai State.
Yet, relying on some tricks, Kyoya did not find himself at a disadvantage in the battle against Borsalino.
But gradually, Kyoya could also sense something amiss with Borsalino.
Hesitating for a moment, Kyoya brought his hands together, his right hand held empty as if gripping a sword.
Golden light condensed in his hands, forming a brilliant sword of light.
Ama no Murakumo!
In the Naruto World, perceptive Ninjas could discern an enemy's intentions the instant their fists collided.
In the Bleach World, Ichigo could also sense an enemy's will through the clash of Zanpakuto.
Kyoya wasn't certain if he could understand Borsalino's thoughts through the collision of their Ama no Murakumo.
But he could feel that if he didn't ascertain Borsalino's intentions in this battle, he might regret it in the future.
Therefore, even though he had previously felt he shouldn't use means beyond the Pika Pika no Mi's abilities in this fight, Kyoya followed his premonition and manifested the Ama no Murakumo.
Otherwise, merely through the clash of light-based abilities, Kyoya would be unable to comprehend Borsalino.
Kyoya swung his sword, and a slash expanded in a ring-like wave centered on him.
Within the range of this expanding slash, Borsalino's attacks were instantly severed, triggering a series of explosive reports.
On the other side, upon seeing Kyoya manifest the Ama no Murakumo, Borsalino's expression tightened, as if he also wanted to rush forward and engage Kyoya in close combat.
However, remembering he still had many techniques yet to employ, Borsalino suppressed this impulse and held his hands out at his waist as if cradling something.
Mirrors composed of golden light instantly filled the sky.
Around the area where Borsalino and Kyoya fought, nearly every one or two meters, there was a light mirror angled at a specific inclination.
With a thought from Borsalino, the golden light he had transformed into shot forth from the mirror in front of him.
Instantly, this beam of light refracted back and forth among the countless mirrors in the sky, turning the entire sky into a massive, grid-like network of light.
"Yata no Kagami: Hiraishin!"
With Borsalino's low shout, his figure materialized from the light beam closest to Kyoya, his Ama no Murakumo slashing down fiercely at Kyoya.
Kyoya turned and swung his sword, bisecting the Borsalino in front of him at the waist.
However, the bisected Borsalino did not truly suffer any damage, dispersing into countless golden particles of light.
In the next instant, Borsalino's figure emerged again from a grid line behind Kyoya, launching another attack.
No, it wasn't just from this one grid line behind Kyoya.
From the golden light between all the mirrors in the sky, Borsalino's figures appeared.
Among these figures, some slashed at Kyoya with Ama no Murakumo.
Some simply raised a hand and fired a Laser.
Others lifted a right foot shimmering with golden light and kicked down at Kyoya.
For a moment, hundreds of Borsalino figures filled the sky, all attacking Kyoya simultaneously.
These hundred Borsalino figures were different from the 'clones' he had used earlier… they were all Borsalino's true self.
The Yata no Kagami was itself Borsalino's means of moving at the speed of light.
By filling the battle space with mirrors angled in specific ways, allowing light to travel back and forth between them, Borsalino could move at light speed along these beams of light.
Calling it 'instantaneous movement' wasn't far off.
In fact, due to the speed of light, this technique of Borsalino's was even more convenient in combat than spatial teleportation.
Even Kyoya, facing this move from Borsalino, could not break through it.
"Repulsion Halo!"
At Kyoya's thought, several halos of light materialized, spinning around him, then abruptly expanded outward.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!-"
The powerful barrier blocked the first wave of attacks.
However, subsequent attacks shattered the expanding rings, and more assaults poured down on Kyoya like a torrential storm.
Facing these attacks, Kyoya tightly gripped his Ama no Murakumo. His entire body began to spin rapidly like a top.
The great golden sword, whirled at high speed, seemed to transform into a band of golden light.
As Kyoya brandished it, it formed a golden barrier firmly protecting him within.
"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!-"
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!-"
Instantly, countless attacks collided with the protective shield formed by Kyoya's spinning Ama no Murakumo.
Laser beams were sliced in half and exploded.
The power released from the detonating orbs of the Yasakani no Magatama failed to breach the blockade of the Ama no Murakumo.
The sparks generated from the countless collisions between the Ama no Murakumo and Kyoya's golden barrier were as dazzling as fireworks.
As their weapons clashed, Kyoya gradually began to perceive some of the emotions within Borsalino's heart.
It seemed like... a lifeless stillness, as if he had lost his purpose, his motivation to continue living.
But within this stillness, there also seemed to be a search for something.
Through these emotions, combined with Borsalino's obvious abnormality during this battle, Kyoya quickly understood Borsalino's state of mind.
"Borsalino, you..."
Kyoya sighed inwardly.
He could understand why Borsalino felt this way.
After all, as a Zanpakuto, he should be the existence that could most perfectly utilize his own abilities.
In the communication between Zanpakuto and Shinigami, it is always the Zanpakuto teaching the Shinigami how to use their power.
But only Kyoya's Zanpakuto was different… various abilities were replicated by Kyoya himself through memories.
Some were developed based on light-based Kido.
The main reason Kyoya's development and application of the Pika Pika no Mi's Abilities surpassed Borsalino's wasn't because Kyoya was inherently better at it.
Rather, most of Kyoya's training came from the cultivation rewards drawn from achievements in the [One Piece Achievement System].
Kyoya had only possessed the Pika Pika no Mi and successfully nurtured Borsalino, the strongest light-based Zanpakuto, for just over thirty years.
But the training results Kyoya obtained from the system meant his actual training time for the Zanpakuto amounted to over two hundred years.
In other words, Kyoya's training time in light-based abilities was almost ten times that of Borsalino.
With this length of time, coupled with Kyoya's own not-insignificant talent, it wasn't hard to understand why his development and use of light-based abilities surpassed Borsalino's.
But for Borsalino, this was fatal.
As a Zanpakuto, he hadn't even begun to teach Kyoya how to use his abilities before realizing that the abilities he developed were, if not useless to Kyoya, at best marginally beneficial.
What could be more despairing than that?
This directly made Borsalino doubt whether there was still a need for his existence.
Although Borsalino's personality inherited that of the Marine Admiral from Kyoya's memories, of someone who would rather lie down than sit, this didn't mean Borsalino was only willing to 'lie down'.
Having strength meant it was called 'lying down'.
Without strength, it was just an excuse for self-comfort.
Yet, Borsalino's 'laziness' was only superficial and 'arrogance' was his true nature.
"Sorry, Borsalino!"
"Although I can understand how you feel..."
"My future journey will not stop in this world!"
'If you cannot keep up with my pace, or cannot maintain your sense of self by my side, then I will seize your power and make you the nourishment for my ascent to a higher level!'
In the Bleach World, Bankai is the endpoint of what Shinigami can reach.
This holds true even for Ichibe, the Captain of the Zero Division.
Before Zanpakuto came into existence, his Ichimonji, in Ichibe's hands, was only a [Shin'uchi], or Bankai.
But Bankai is the limit of the Zanpakuto, not the limit of the Shinigami.
A hundred years later, Aizen, after fusing with the Hogyoku, had his Zanpakuto shattered during his battle with Ichigo using Mugetsu.
At that time, Aizen stated that because he had ascended to a higher dimension, tthe Zanpakuto's abilities had fully integrated into his very being, allowing him to perfectly wield its power without needing the sword itself.
This was indeed the case.
During the Thousand-Year Blood War, when Yhwach invaded Seireitei and went to meet Aizen in Muken, he was affected by the Kyoka Suigetsu released by Aizen, which distorted his perception of time.
At that time, Aizen did not hold his Zanpakuto and was still in a sealed state.
It could be said that throughout the Bleach Anime, only Aizen had reached this realm.
Perhaps the Soul King also permanently resided in this state, as he wielded no weapon, while his own Reiatsu was the [Almighty].
Kyoya's current Reiatsu hadn't yet broken limits like Aizen's, but if Borsalino willingly integrated completely into Kyoya's body, it wasn't impossible for Kyoya to achieve this realm earlier than Aizen.
With this in mind, Kyoya no longer held back his power. He released his grip on the Ama no Murakumo, crossed his hands, and raised them high above his head. A vast Reiatsu erupted between his hands-
He had made his resolution to potentially lose Borsalino.
"Sunlight Sovereign!"
Instantly, blazing light erupted from Kyoya's body. As this white light expanded, the light mirrors Borsalino had condensed in the sky as paths for light refraction were directly scoured away by this deluge of light, annihilated in an instant.
Without the mirrors for refraction, the paths of light were destroyed.
Naturally, Borsalino could no longer maintain his light-speed attacks against Kyoya.
Countless Borsalino figures shattered like bubbles. The attacks launched by the remaining Borsalinos were also obliterated under Kyoya's released [Sunlight Sovereign].
Borsalino's figure reappeared. Seeing the [Sunlight Sovereign] released by Kyoya, his heart was filled with mixed emotions.
This move was one Borsalino had used against Kyoya when Kyoya was training for Bankai.
He never expected Kyoya to now use it against him.
But if Kyoya thought using this move could defeat him, he was too naive!
Similarly, Borsalino crossed his hands high above his forehead-
"Sunlight Sovereign!"
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!-
For an instant, the sky of the entire Soul Society seemed to hold three suns.
One was the real sun hanging in the sky.
The other two were almost overlapping high above the Seireitei.
The two suns unleashed their power freely. Though both emitted the same golden light, those looking up could clearly feel the tremendous power erupting where the lights intersected.
It seemed that if the two combatants in the sky did not restrain their power, the radiation of these solar flares could spread across the entire Seireitei.
Under that terrifying deluge of light, the entire Seireitei would likely be reduced to ruins.
Even so, the battlefield where Kyoya and Borsalino fought already had two massive, gourd-shaped craters.
One could imagine that after a heavy rain, this place would gain a new tourist attraction: [The Gourd Lake].
And this was only the aftermath of Kyoya and Borsalino's battle.
To avoid causing greater destruction to the surroundings, they had fought entirely in the sky.
"Huff... Huff..."
As the light faded, Kyoya and Borsalino's figures reappeared in the air.
Borsalino was breathing heavily, gasping for air.
Releasing so many powerful techniques in one go had consumed a significant amount of his Reiatsu and stamina, even for Borsalino.
Across from him, Kyoya hadn't even broken a sweat.