"No matter what happens next, do not make a move. If you can leave this area, that would be best. If not, then stay where you are and don't move."
Ishikawa's low whisper reached Hisagi Shuuhei's ears, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes.
"Remember, even if you see me die here, do not act on your own. That's an order!"
Ishikawa didn't turn his head, but his voice clearly reached Hisagi Shuuhei behind him. This wasn't a particularly difficult technique; it was merely an extended application of 'Tenken'.
His previous battle with Aizen made Ishikawa deeply realize one thing, and that was…
Do not gang up on Aizen with others!
Although Ishikawa could see through Kyōka Suigetsu's illusions, others did not possess this ability. And while their five senses were controlled by Kyōka Suigetsu, no matter how much Ishikawa shouted or reminded them… they remained completely oblivious. For example, Soi Fon and Yoruichi, who mistook each other for Aizen back then.
If Hisagi Shuuhei were to rashly launch an attack, the person he attacked would inevitably be Ishikawa himself.
Even if his threat to Ishikawa wasn't significant, in a battle where a moment's hesitation could lead to being cut down, even if he only caused a momentary interference, Aizen could seize the opportunity!
Only in a one-on-one situation could Kyōka Suigetsu's ability be limited to a certain extent.
The more people there were, the more troublesome it became!
"It seems you are prepared to decline my invitation."
Aizen's calm voice came. Although he couldn't hear the content of the message Ishikawa conveyed to Hisagi Shuuhei, when Tenken transmits a message to a specific target, those outside the target can still feel the Reiatsu vibrations.
However, it wasn't hard to guess.
Aizen merely shook his head slightly, a faint smile still on his face, but this smile gave off a chilling sensation.
Upon seeing this, Ishikawa's nerves instantly tensed, and the muscles beneath his tattered clothes could be clearly seen constantly writhing.
Their previous encounter in the Repentance Palace could not be called a battle at all, but rather a one-sided crushing.
The reason Ishikawa survived the last encounter was entirely due to the ample experience points stored before the battle, and Aizen's curiosity about the limits of his self-healing ability, choosing to gradually test the limits of his recovery ability rather than launching a fierce attack from the start.
If that were the case, Ishikawa's experience points wouldn't have lasted long at all.
And this time…
Ishikawa didn't believe Aizen would hold back like last time.
With blue-glowing eyes, Ishikawa stared intently at Aizen, not making any rash moves.
Although the current Aizen had not yet fully merged with the Hōgyoku, in terms of Reiatsu intensity, and combat techniques like Zankensoki, Aizen was still among the top tier in the entire Soul Society… No, it should be said, among the Three Realms: Soul Society, Human World, and Hueco Mundo.
"Are you planning to just stand there?"
Aizen met Ishikawa's gaze and softly said, "If you want to truly cut me, you should approach me and attack, not stand there waiting for me to attack."
"Combat distance only matters when the opponent's strength is equal. But between you and me…"
"Combat distance is meaningless!"
Ishikawa's pupils contracted, because that last sentence was as if whispered right into his ear.
And in his vision, Aizen's figure transformed into a blur and gradually dispersed.
It wasn't an illusion, but pure speed.
In just an instant, he had already appeared beside Ishikawa.
However, though Aizen came quickly, Ishikawa's reaction was not slow. A Kido Blade instantly condensed, and before his brain could react, his body, driven by instinct, swung the Kido Blade towards Aizen beside him.
"Oh?"
A slightly surprised voice came.
The next second, an incredibly powerful Reiatsu emanated from the Kido Blade in his hand. Before Ishikawa could react, the swinging Kido Blade was pushed back.
Boom!
The clash of blades instantly caused the surrounding white stone ground to collapse, countless broken stones scattering like falling petals.
Hisagi Shuuhei, standing behind Ishikawa, felt an overwhelming pressure, vast as the ocean, wash over him. His entire body, like the broken stones, was also sent flying.
Completely powerless to resist!
Hisagi Shuuhei's face was pale. Suspended in mid-air, his gaze at the two clashing figures on the ground was filled with disbelief.
He hadn't been directly attacked, yet just the residual shockwaves of their battle had already made it impossible for him to even stand still. Just how strong were these two?
"It seems you haven't wasted your time during this period."
Aizen held his Zanpakuto with one hand, pressing it down little by little.
Ishikawa, on the other hand, held his Kido Blade with his right hand, his left hand supporting the back of the blade. Yet, even so, his feet were still sinking into the soil beneath him, little by little, under Aizen's pressure.
"But it's still far from enough. Are you satisfied with your current self?"
Aizen did not press his advantage, but said calmly, "You're not satisfied, are you?"
"This stable environment isn't suitable for you. Like me, you both yearn to ascend to a higher realm. You must have also thought, 'This world should have a different appearance,' haven't you?"
"I can lend you a hand."
"Obey me, and if you do as I say, I will grant you greater power and a brand new world."
"Tsk… that's truly tempting."
Ishikawa twitched his lips, revealing a smile that wasn't quite a smile:
"If it were before, I might have seriously considered it."
"But Lord Aizen, you probably don't know…"
Ishikawa took a deep breath, and a hollow sound like a drumbeat suddenly echoed within his body. Lightning burst from his pores, resembling small snakes writhing across Ishikawa's skin.
Shunko!
Almost at the moment Shunko was activated, the Kido Blade in Ishikawa's hand, which had been slowly pressed down, came to a halt.
Aizen's brow furrowed slightly at the sight, and just then, Ishikawa's voice rang out again.
"For me, the Soul Society is a brand new world. Every day I spend here, every person I meet, every single thing I do… is an experience of a different world."
Boom!
As his words fell, an unprecedented roar erupted from within Ishikawa's body.
A pillar of light, formed by Reiatsu, shot into the sky, and on its surface, lightning, like giant pythons, coiled around it.
In the center of the light pillar, Ishikawa's already barely covering clothes completely disintegrated at that moment, revealing his incredibly muscular physique, and even his original long pants turned into shorts.
However…
It was already quite remarkable that his clothes had lasted this long.
After all, due to the suddenness of the situation, Ishikawa hadn't changed his clothes when he left the Sōkyoku Hill training ground.
His clothes had already been torn to shreds by Unohana, and the fact that they could barely cover him was entirely because Unohana's every cut landed on the existing tears in the fabric.
Sizzle sizzle sizzle…
The sound of crackling electricity emanated from the Kido Blade in Ishikawa's hand. As the nature of his Reiatsu changed, the Kido Blade also transformed, as if it had become a blade of lightning!
Aizen did not look at the changes on Ishikawa's body, but rather looked at the ground beneath his feet with a strange expression.
Then…
He tapped his toe on the ground and retreated.
Almost the instant he left his original spot, the soil beneath his feet exploded, countless pieces of earth flying into the sky.
"Deliberately creating a spectacle to conceal your movements beneath your feet?"
Aizen chuckled indifferently, "Although it's just a small trick, the method of controlling soil is indeed a good ability."
Ishikawa said nothing, merely stood in place, holding his lightning blade.
And the surrounding soil seemed to have a will of its own; whether it was the dust in the air or the earth beneath his feet, it surged like a river, protecting Ishikawa in the center.
"You must have prepared this ability for Baraggan, right?"
As he spoke, Aizen slowly walked towards Ishikawa, looking as if he were taking a leisurely stroll.
Upon seeing this, Ishikawa did not relax; instead, his expression became incredibly solemn.
Buzz buzz buzz—
The earth began to tremble violently, and countless amounts of soil, like a tsunami, swept towards Aizen's location.
This scene was extremely astonishing.
Under that sky-filling soil, Aizen seemed so tiny.
But Aizen, walking calmly beneath the soil, seemed to ignore all of it, speaking as he walked:
"If Baraggan were standing before you, this ability could indeed greatly restrict him. But when facing anyone other than Baraggan, the drawbacks of soil will be fully exposed."
Boom~
Almost the instant his words fell, the sky-filling soil suddenly froze in mid-air, and then…
It collapsed with a crash!
Countless amounts of soil fell like a torrential rain.
And just then, a Kido Blade suddenly pierced through the soil, striking directly towards Aizen's neck.
Aizen showed no surprise at this. His Zanpakuto, held in his hand, appeared ahead of the Kido Blade, directly in its path.
Clang—!
The clash of blades was deafening.
Stronger.
Through the Kido Blade, looking at the calm Aizen, Ishikawa's expression remained incredibly composed, but his heart was churning like a stormy sea.
Although not fully fused with the Hōgyoku, the Aizen before him was more than just a little stronger than before his defection!
"Hadō No. 63: Raikōhō!"
Almost the instant he made his judgment, Ishikawa's free left hand slammed downwards.
Amidst an ear-splitting roar, the lightning generated by the close-range Kido enveloped both of them.
"Bakudo #8: Seki."
With a soft chant, Aizen's left hand also swiped, waving at the incoming Raikōhō as if swatting a fly.
This swipe seemed powerless, but the moment the back of his hand touched the Raikōhō.
With a 'poof' sound, like air escaping, the vast lightning was directly dispersed like gas, transforming into countless Reishi and scattering away.
And just then, the Kido Blade in Ishikawa's hand, which had been clashing with Aizen's Zanpakuto, suddenly dissipated.
It wasn't a collapse, but rather Ishikawa actively dispelling the blade in his hand.
The next second, Ishikawa, still in mid-air, distorted his body, bypassing Kyōka Suigetsu in a bizarre posture and closing in.
His palm turned into a fist, and lightning burst forth from his fist.
He unleashed a punch directly towards Aizen's abdomen.
Aizen saw this and did not dodge, nor did he even parry; only white light flickered in his pupils.
Bang!
With a dull thud, Ishikawa's punch landed on Aizen's abdomen.
But…
He didn't budge an inch.
Ishikawa felt as if his fist had struck an iron wall, and his knuckles throbbed with pain at that instant.
This is…
Ishikawa looked towards Aizen's abdomen. Although he couldn't see it with his naked eye, he could distinctly feel a strange layer of energy covering Aizen's body.
Super Reiatsu Wall!
Ishikawa was no stranger to this energy.
Because he had once been able to use a similar technique: by continuously subjecting his Reiatsu to 'soul combination exchange,' he could cause his Reiatsu density to skyrocket, thereby elevating his Reiatsu to a higher dimension.
Ishikawa had once learned Aizen's method in order to break through the limit barrier.
However, later, in pursuit of Reiatsu intensity, he chose to temporarily stop using the limit barrier to compress and increase Reiatsu density, and instead broke through the barrier with his physical body.
The appearance of this Super Reiatsu Wall indicated that even if Aizen had not fully merged with the Hōgyoku, he had already undergone preliminary fusion.
Troublesome!
Thoughts raced through his mind, but Ishikawa's movements were not slow in the slightest.
After his punch yielded no results, he unhesitatingly used the force of that punch to spring up.
Still in mid-air, before landing, terrifying Reiatsu fluctuations surged from his hands.
"Hadō No. 88: Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō!"
Amidst the chant, a giant dragon formed of lightning roared, illuminating the entire night sky, and tore down towards Aizen.
Facing the incoming lightning dragon, Aizen slashed his Zanpakuto through the void!
The roar abruptly ceased, and the dozens of meters long pillar of lightning, like a giant dragon, abruptly stopped in mid-air, and then…
It split into two, flying past Aizen's body on either side.
But this time, Aizen did not continue to wait for the attack to arrive; instead, he disappeared from his spot.
Upon seeing this, Ishikawa once again condensed his Kido Blade.
Almost at the same time the blade appeared, a long blade appeared before Ishikawa's eyes, clashing with the freshly condensed Kido Blade.
A power indescribable in words caused blood to spurt from Ishikawa's right hand, which held the Kido Blade. His tiger's mouth instantly split open, and he himself was sent flying backward like a ball struck by a wooden stick.
Aizen's strike this time was no longer holding back as before; he had unleashed his true power!
It wasn't just a difference in Reiatsu.
There was also…
A dimensional gap!
At this moment, Aizen was like a being from a higher dimension; whether it was his defensive capabilities or his destructive power, he was completely different from when he was in Soul Society.
The information about him in Ishikawa's mind was completely useless for analysis!
But before Ishikawa could think of a suitable countermeasure, his vision darkened again. Aizen once again appeared before him, his Zanpakuto sweeping horizontally.
Caught off guard, Ishikawa, who had not yet stabilized his stance, Only managed to bring his Kido Blade horizontally across his chest.
Bang!
Ishikawa, having taken a heavy blow, was once again sent flying backward. The Kido Blade in his hand actually developed cracks under this strike.
One must know that the Kido Blade he formed was an improved version; although its destructive power was still average, its toughness had reached an extremely terrifying level.
But even so…
After taking two direct hits from Aizen, it already showed signs of shattering.
Ishikawa wanted to adjust his posture, but Aizen, like a maggot attached to bone, attacked him with one strike after another.
Unlike Unohana's dazzling Zanjutsu techniques, Aizen's every strike was incredibly simple, even describable as 'unadorned,' but… the power carried by the blade was terrifyingly immense.
Completely defenseless!
Ishikawa's Reiatsu and techniques crumbled before Aizen's trans-dimensional Reiatsu.
One must know that even Unohana had never made him feel such terrifying power.
Of course, the main reason was also…
When battling Ishikawa, Unohana's Reiatsu had always been maintained at a level equal to Ishikawa's.
If Unohana represented the pinnacle of Zanjutsu, then the Aizen before him represented the pinnacle of Reiatsu!
Vast Reiatsu, with a density comparable to 'Kogotu,' combined with simple and unadorned Zanjutsu, there was no technique to speak of.
But…
It was still overwhelmingly powerful!
If Ishikawa hadn't developed astonishing combat instincts and intuition during this period of relentless attacks from Unohana, he would absolutely not be unscathed right now.
But this stalemate could not last.
If he didn't make a change soon, then perhaps in a minute, perhaps in tens of seconds, or even in the very next second…
Aizen's blade would break through the Kido Blade's parry and land on him.
But…
How to respond!?