Staring at the sword protruding from his chest, Kenpachi Kiganjō wore a stunned expression.
But in the next instant, he made his decision.
Gathering reishi beneath his feet, he kept his upper body still and lunged forward.
With a spray of blood from his back, he successfully freed himself from the blade.
Watching this maneuver, Satoru nodded approvingly.
"Impressive reaction speed."
Aizen remarked, "Though his strength is limited by his innate talents, when it comes to combat experience, the high-ranking officers of the 11th Division have all earned their positions through real battle. He shouldn't be underestimated."
Satoru chuckled. "Shouldn't be underestimated… meaning you could solo him without me?"
Aizen fell silent.
How could this guy bring that up without shame?
For a moment, he suddenly envied Yamada Seinosuke.
With someone like Satoru, one should just abandon all decorum and scold him outright.
In the end, he could only console himself with the thought that a gentleman could be deceived by principles.
Just then, Aizen noticed Satoru sidestepping slightly.
Half a second later, his spiritual pressure senses sent a warning—
A spatial rift was about to form where Satoru had just stood.
Crack!
A distorted fissure suddenly appeared, splitting the air like a fork.
Aizen was surprised.
Satoru had detected the attack slightly earlier than he had?
Until now, Aizen had relied on his meticulous spiritual pressure control to saturate the surrounding space with his own energy.
The moment Kiganjō's spatial rift attack formed, he could sense the anomaly in the reishi before the rift even manifested.
In Aizen's view, this was already the best possible countermeasure.
In the blink of an eye, Satoru proved with his strength that there was an even more advanced way to predict attacks.
Seeing the relaxed expression on Satoru's face, Aizen, for once, felt a rare competitive urge.
Have you grown stronger?
Well, so have I!
Let's see who's grown stronger now!
With that thought, Aizen's gaze sharpened, and he vanished with a Flash Step.
The next moment, his figure appeared mid-air beside Kiganjō, slashing down with his blade!
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!!!
Blades imbued with terrifying Spiritual Pressure struck at Kiganjō from all directions.
From the moment he gained Shinigami powers until now, this was the first time he had gone all out, facing an enemy head-on.
Given his personality, under normal circumstances, he would have used the abilities of Kyōka Suigetsu to toy with an opponent of this level until their demise.
But today, facing Satoru—this friend and rival who had always occupied his thoughts—Aizen wanted to see who was truly stronger between them.
Watching Aizen suddenly charge recklessly into battle, Satoru was somewhat surprised.
This fighting style didn't seem like Aizen at all.
Still, he had to admit, this kind of battle was far more exhilarating.
Ah, I see. That guy Aizen must have been influenced by my righteous aura, rekindling that tiny spark of passion buried deep in his soul.
Satoru smirked.
Since Aizen was so eager to fight for once, he'd let him have his fun—this time, he'd play the support role.
With that in mind, he too leaped into the air and joined the fray.
If it had been any other captain, he wouldn't have dared to be so careless.
But Kiganjō? He just happened to be unafraid of him.
First, among the captains, Kenpachi Kiganjō was among the weakest in raw power.
Even Rennosuke Kamikawa, who was already considered quite weak, was stronger than Kiganjō.
Second, Kiganjō's abilities were perfectly countered by his own.
The artificial soul given to him by Kirio Hikifune had already been mostly assimilated.
By dispersing the artificial soul and merging it with the surrounding reishi, he could effortlessly predict where spatial rifts would appear.
Both the speed and precision of this prediction far surpassed Spiritual Pressure sensing.
With this trump card, Satoru effortlessly maneuvered at the edges of the battle, only striking with lethal precision when the perfect opportunity arose.
After a while, Aizen noticed that Satoru seemed to be holding back intentionally.
Though he couldn't fathom Satoru's reasoning, this wasn't what he wanted.
If their positions were reversed, what would Satoru say at a time like this?
After frowning in thought for a couple of seconds, Aizen turned to Satoru, who was hanging back at the periphery—
"Hands feeling weak? Didn't eat enough?"
Satoru: "?"
Staring at Aizen's expressionless face, he couldn't help but laugh in exasperation.
Seriously? He gives up the spotlight, and now he gets mocked?
How could he tolerate this?
Under Aizen's gaze, Satoru suddenly seemed like a different person.
Swinging his Zanpakutō as if intent on cutting Kiganjō down outright, he pressed forward with overwhelming force.
Terrifying Spiritual Pressure erupted like a tsunami, surging outward in waves!
Watching Satoru's transformation, Aizen allowed himself a faint smirk.
Indeed, occasionally changing one's approach had its benefits.
Then, he pursed his lips.
Who would've thought? That guy Satoru had once again caught up to him in the speed of his Spiritual Pressure growth.
He even began to suspect that Satoru's ability might be to match his own spiritual pressure level to others.
But he quickly dismissed that thought.
If Satoru really had such a power, why not sync with a high-ranking captain?
He frequently visited the 1st Division and had seen plenty of captains—any one of them would be stronger than himself.
At this realization, Aizen felt a pang of shame.
Seeing Satoru progressing at the same rate as him, his first instinct had been to doubt the legitimacy of that effort.
Sōsuke, you're not the type to be a sore loser.
A faint smile curled at the corners of Aizen's lips.
If their spiritual pressure growth was equal, then they'd just have to compete in swordsmanship!
Swinging his Zanpakutō, he charged into the fray.
Kiganjō was panicking.
Satoru and Sōsuke Aizen.
One was just a Shin'ō Academy student, not even an official Shinigami.
The other, though unfamiliar, was also some nobody whose name he'd never even heard.
Yet these two had completely overwhelmed him!
Even though he had already released his Bankai, with immense spiritual pressure and devastating techniques, he couldn't defeat two mere students!
And—maybe it was just his imagination—but these two weren't even fighting him seriously.
They were… competing through him!
The moment this thought struck him, Kiganjō felt a surge of humiliation.
He was the captain of the 11th Division, the one specialized in combat!
How could he be bullied by two insignificant brats?!
With a furious roar, he intensified his spiritual pressure, increasing his output.
But the two only grew more excited, countering with an even greater surge of their own.
Then, Kiganjō's eyes widened.
In the heat of battle, Satoru suddenly got carried away—casually tossing aside his Zanpakutō and charging in bare-handed!
The worst part? Without his sword, he became even more dangerous.
Every punch he threw carried an overwhelming sense of threat.
Just as Kiganjō braced himself against Satoru's fists, his vision blurred.
The figure before him seemed to shift—from Satoru to Aizen.
He quickly turned his attention elsewhere, prioritizing defense against Satoru's strikes.
But in the next instant, an explosive impact slammed into the side of his Zanpakutō—
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