Chapter 168: Aizen: Was I Being Played?
Satoru closed his eyes.
His soul synchronization power merged with the Zanpakutō.
Originally, the Gigai power given by Kirio would normally take at least ten days to start mastering.
With his soul synchronization ability, he completed it in one attempt.
And compared to Gigai power, the Zanpakutō was even simpler.
First, like Gigai power, the Zanpakutō was a form of soul power.
While Gigai power was external, the Zanpakutō shared the same origin as the Shinigami.
The soul synchronization power surged forward like a tide, rushing along the chain.
In just a few seconds, Rissō Jakumetsu was completely assimilated.
Having completed his preparations, Satoru opened his eyes, revealing a satisfied expression.
Under the Blade Spirit's gaze, he grinned and shot up from the ground.
Soaring mid-air, he swung his arms, sending two blades attached to long chains flying toward the Blade Spirit.
Seeing Satoru's move, the Blade Spirit shook her head slightly.
Did he think he could fluster her by using the chains' ability to change direction mid-air?
Sorry, but as a Blade Spirit, she was most familiar with this technique!
Gripping her twin blades, she charged forward directly, raising her swords to strike at the blades Satoru had thrown.
While Rissō Jakumetsu could alter its trajectory in flight, its power was inferior to when wielded by hand.
She would first knock down these two blades to create an opening in his defense.
Then, she would go straight for Satoru himself!
Thinking this, she added more strength to her hands.
But the next moment, a flicker of astonishment suddenly flashed in her eyes.
In her disbelieving gaze, the two flying blades abruptly changed their angles mid-air.
This maneuver was far beyond a simple adjustment of direction.
The two blades soaring through the air continuously adapted along the path of her attack.
When wielding blades by hand, the range of motion depends on the user's joint flexibility and arm reach.
But the two blades before her had no such limitations.
Instinctively, the sword spirit adjusted her movements to counter the blades Satoru had thrown.
Her posture was peculiar—one arm raised high, the other low, one hand gripping normally while the other held the blade in a reverse grip.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!!
Four Rissō Jakumetsu blades clashed violently in midair.
Intense Reiatsu collisions formed sword pressures that shot wildly in all directions.
Nearby mountain peaks trembled under the barrage of sword pressures, erupting in continuous roars.
Billowing dust clouds plunged the surrounding kilometers into chaos!
While intently observing their battle, Aizen periodically adjusted his position to avoid becoming collateral damage.
At the epicenter of the battle, the sword spirit couldn't suppress her disbelief.
The two blades Satoru had thrown showed no decrease in power whatsoever.
Despite being in flight, each strike carried the force of a thousand weights.
After countless exchanges, the blades' strength remained completely undiminished!
How was this possible?
Even she, the sword spirit herself, couldn't achieve such a feat—how was Satoru managing this?
As if reading her thoughts, Satoru laughed heartily from afar:
"Didn't see this coming, did you? Rissō Jakumetsu!"
"Your blades have completely molded to Satoru's form now!"
"The potential... the capabilities that remained dormant in your hands—I've awakened them all!"
A vein bulged on Rissō Jakumetsu's forehead.
Satoru, how dare you mock me so!
Just as she prepared to retort, Satoru suddenly swept both arms through the air.
Rolling blue flames surged from his body, channeling into the chains.
The chains then advanced like crashing tidal waves, carrying the azure inferno toward her.
Seeing the rapidly approaching flames, the sword spirit realized the danger.
She tried to disengage, but the two autonomously fighting blades pinned her down.
Forcing a retreat despite risking injury would have been a viable option.
Yet, she lacked her master's combat instincts.
In that moment of hesitation, the first wave of blue flames engulfed her.
Blazing Shunkō energy surged through the chains into the blades, then erupted violently from the edges—
BOOM!!!!
A brilliant blue explosion blossomed in the sky.
The sword spirit went flying backward from the blast, trailing a long plume of smoke.
Skidding across Reishi footholds, she slid through the air for a considerable distance before stabilizing.
Fresh scorch marks now adorned her form.
How could a fire-themed blade spirit suffer burns?
Before she could process this paradox, the two blades emerged from the smoke in pursuit.
Even more absurdly, several new clusters of blue flames came chasing along the chains behind them.
Sword spirit: "!"
Her pupils contracted as she hastily resumed combat stance.
From the distance, Satoru laughed while controlling the blades:
"Kekekeke, this is fun, so much fun!"
"Way more interesting than just swinging swords mindlessly, isn't it?"
Watching the battle unfold, Aizen felt complex emotions stirring.
Despite Satoru's seemingly reckless demeanor, these maneuvers were beyond ordinary practitioners.
Even if normal people could control weapons remotely, they'd be limited to conventional wielding techniques—incapable of such innovations.
But Satoru was different. His two blades had scarcely maintained proper form throughout the entire engagement.
Had an actual person been wielding those blades, their body would have long been contorted beyond recognition.
To maintain such high-intensity attacks with two swords throughout such a fast-paced battle, and even find time to develop new techniques...
Usually, he couldn't be bothered to use his brain at all, always running to others whenever he needed to think something through. Yet in combat, his mind worked faster than anyone else's.
This guy, really...
Aizen shook his head lightly and sighed.
Just when he thought this was all Satoru had to offer, the latter surprised him again.
After tormenting the Blade Spirit with waves of flames for a while, Satoru's main body finally grew restless.
With a loud shout, he stepped on a bone-propelled device and charged into the battlefield.
In his Shunkō state, he was like a mobile fortress bristling with cannons.
Every punch he threw unleashed blue pillars of flame stretching hundreds or even thousands of meters.
The entire sky was dyed blue by his flames.
Meanwhile, the two Rissō Jakumetsu swords became like floating cannons, hovering beside him and constantly striking from unpredictable angles.
Aizen's eyes widened slightly.
Against Rissō Jakumetsu, any defensive move would put one at a disadvantage.
Satoru had to constantly remain vigilant, abandoning his habitual fighting style and adopting new approaches.
Under such circumstances, the computational load from just controlling his main body far exceeded normal levels.
Yet this guy still had the spare capacity to manipulate two Zanpakutō, and do it quite skillfully at that?
He suddenly wondered if Satoru had been pretending to be incompetent around him all this time.
With such terrifying reaction speed and mental processing ability, if he had spent some time seriously studying and analyzing things, would he really have been unable to figure things out?
Aizen narrowed his eyes slightly.
His blood pressure suddenly spiked.