Returning to a normal field of vision, what lay before Kōe was a massive, inverted funnel-like space. A single beam of sunlight cascaded down, casting Azashiro Sōya as the sole protagonist on a stage.
But the real reason Kōe let out a sigh was the sight behind Azashiro Sōya—a white, rectangular gate nearly four meters tall, wide enough for five or six people to pass through side by side. Kōe was all too familiar with this thing. A Senkaimon. *'Why the hell are these things everywhere?!'*
In an instant, Kōe moved. Using Shunpo, he appeared at the top of the Senkaimon. The Kōki gauntlets on his hands flashed with blinding light as he ruthlessly smashed them down toward the gate below.
"You're too impatient, Kōe!"
Azashiro Sōya, who had just been sitting in front of the Senkaimon, suddenly appeared right in front of Kōe. With a backhanded upward slash, his blade collided dead-on with Kōe's fist.
A tremendous force transmitted through his fist, making Kōe's entire body go numb. In the next second, like a ragdoll, Kōe was sent flying diagonally backward by the shockwave.
"Lock onto him, Kōki!"
A Hannya mask materialized over his face. The one who had just sent him flying was definitely Azashiro Sōya's true body. But when Kōe first entered, Azashiro had almost no spiritual energy on him. How could someone like that possibly knock him away?
Through Kōe's eyes, the Azashiro Sōya standing not far away now looked like a glowing sphere, the air around him saturated with highly concentrated Reiatsu.
This was highly abnormal. A Shinigami's inherent physical strength varied, but generally speaking, it was proportional to their physique—the larger the person, the greater their physical power.
Yet during their clash just now, Kōe hadn't just surged his internal spiritual energy to boost his strength; his Kōki gauntlets were also coated in a substantial amount of Reiatsu. Even if the ambient Reiatsu surrounding Azashiro Sōya rivaled his own, with Azashiro's personal Reiatsu being so low, it should have been utterly impossible for him to block that punch without budging an inch.
Fortunately, Azashiro Sōya didn't seem to have any intention of pursuing, giving Kōe a relatively safe moment to think. But it was only *relatively* safe.
A faint sound of parting air echoed from behind, and a chill ran down Kōe's spine. A sneak attack!
"Protect me, Kōki!"
The mask abruptly vanished. In its place, Kōe's upper body was encased in thick armor. The surface of the armor was densely covered in hooked barbs, making Kōe look like a pitch-black hedgehog.
Kōki's fourth form—Spiked Armor. Compared to its other forms, this one was born exclusively for defense. The barbs on the armor could regenerate infinitely using Kōe's Reiatsu. Although it looked terrifying, in theory, it could only injure an unarmed opponent. Against a blade, its only real use was to shave off a portion of the incoming force and Reiatsu.
The enemy behind him wasn't particularly strong. The incoming thrust only managed to snap a few barbs. Kōe took the opportunity to regenerate them, intentionally clashing them against the opponent's blade to borrow the momentum, altering his trajectory and landing safely on the ground.
But the ambusher didn't seem willing to let Kōe off the hook. Upon landing, he immediately raised his sword and closed in. However, before Kōe could teach him a lesson, a single command from Azashiro Sōya nearby brought the attacker to a halt.
"Kōzō, stand down!"
The one who had ambushed Kōe was none other than Azashiro Sōya's younger brother, Azashiro Kōzō. The grudge from that sword strike back at the Huaixiang Pavilion was still fresh in his mind, and the failure of his older brother's plan was entirely Kōe's fault.
When enemies meet, tempers naturally flare, but the only one seeing red was Azashiro Kōzō. Kōe merely felt a bit of pity. He had a chance to capture the guy just now, but with Kōzō retreating to Azashiro Sōya's side, that opportunity was gone.
"So, you two are going to gang up on me?" Kōe cracked his neck and smiled. "I don't think even Kuruyashiki Kenpachi got this kind of special treatment. You guys really are shameless, aren't you?!"
"Stop flattering yourself! I don't need my brother to deal with the likes of you!" Azashiro Kōzō shouted back.
"You talk a big game, don't you." Kōe waved at Azashiro Kōzō with a smug, punchable grin. "But stop hiding behind your big brother. If you've got the guts, come exchange a few blows."
"You!"
Azashiro Kōzō rolled up his sleeves, ready to charge forward and fight Kōe to the death, but Azashiro Sōya raised his right hand to block him, shaking his head.
"Stand down, Kōzō. This little friend isn't someone you can handle."
As if begging for a beating, Kōe chose that exact moment to whistle at Azashiro Kōzō. The implication was painfully obvious: *'Did you hear that, little bro? Even your big brother says you're useless!'*
Looking at Kōe's smug face, Azashiro Kōzō gritted his teeth in hatred. But his brother had spoken, and he knew deep down that he was absolutely no match for Kōe. Left with no choice, he leaped up onto the surrounding rock walls, waiting for his brother to deal with this detestable Shihouin Kōe.
"Is it really okay to crush your little brother's ego like that?"
"It is simply the truth. It is not arrogance."
As Azashiro Sōya spoke, he pressed his right hand down in the air. The Senkaimon behind him slowly sank into the ground. This was their only means of escaping to the World of the Living; if Kōe actually managed to destroy it, it would be a massive headache.
Seeing this, Kōe was left without options. To destroy the Senkaimon, he either had to launch a sneak attack or land a stray hit on it during the chaos of his battle with Azashiro Sōya—perhaps using Kidō, since Azashiro likely didn't know the true extent of his Kidō prowess yet.
Unfortunately, Azashiro Sōya was exactly as he claimed: confident, but not arrogant. Even without using the Kōki mask, Kōe knew the Senkaimon was now buried deep underground. More importantly, the ground itself had been infused with highly concentrated Reiatsu. Even if Kōe wore the mask, he wouldn't be able to pinpoint the Senkaimon's current location.
If he allowed Azashiro Sōya to escape into the World of the Living, dragging him back would be nearly impossible. Starting a war with a Captain-class figure in the World of the Living was something even Yamamoto would have to carefully weigh in his mind.
So right now, there was only one choice left: defeat the Azashiro Sōya standing before him. The other party clearly knew this as well. By hiding his own escape route, he had also cut off Kōe's retreat. Things were starting to veer slightly out of Kōe's expectations.
"Your Zanpakutō is quite interesting. That mask allows you to see spiritual energy, doesn't it? It truly is the perfect weapon against me." Azashiro Sōya shook his head and continued, "But its other forms seem rather unremarkable, and they cannot coexist with the mask. You should understand that facing me like this, you have absolutely no chance of winning."
"You aren't sick enough to try and convince me to end my own life, are you?" Kōe replied coldly.
"Are you referring to the incident with Kōzō?" Azashiro Sōya paused for a moment, then shook his head with a smile. "I merely want you to recognize reality, so you might listen to my upcoming proposal. After all, your abilities will be very useful for my future plans."
"I didn't expect that. But even if I said I'd help you, would you actually believe me?"
"Your intentions are far from pure, but I always have my methods. However, before we get to that, you must first pay a price for the suffering you inflicted on Kōzō!"
Before his voice even faded, Azashiro Sōya's figure appeared right in front of Kōe. With a look of absolute apathy, he thrust his Zanpakutō straight toward Kōe's chest!