CH 141: THE FASTEST
The fight between Gojo and Aizen began like lightning.
The very moment their spiritual pressure collided, Aizen immediately understood.
Gojo was strong.
It wasn’t just a question of him having a hax like Shikai, his basics were on another level entirely.
If he had to give numbers to his own stats, Aizen would have reached 100/100 on basically all stats, and even in those he wasn’t at maximum, he was still close.
Aizen could say without any doubt that he had reached the limit of what was possible as a Shinigami. He was nearly perfect.
Even so, Gojo did not appeared to be that inferior to him.
‘He still has many shortcomings, but he should have entered the threshold of the limit of Shinigamis.’
It was both shocking and exhilarating to make such a discovery.
How long has it been since Gojo entered the Seireitei?
10 years.
For Shinigami, 10 years was nothing, even hundreds of years could pass in the blink of an eye.
In those short 10 years, Gojo went from a Shinigami who couldn’t even use Shikai to one of the most powerful Shinigami in existence.
Calling him a genius was an understatement. He was purely a complete monster.
*Smirk*
Aizen felt a smirk tugging at his lips. He was in no way a battle junky like the Kenpachi or some other Shinigamis.
However, he appreciated the feeling of meeting people of talent and more than anything, from what he just witnessed with how Gojo was handling the situation, he wasn’t a passive bastard like Kisuke Urahara.
“Hum… You seem weaker than I thought.”
Unlike Aizen, when their energy clashed, Gojo frowned and commented. From the expression on his face, it was clear that he wasn’t trying to be mocking, but was genuinely surprised at the current situation.
‘So he noticed.’
Aizen's smirk grew further but he refused to comment.
Taking out his Zanpakuto, he was about to activate it.
*Whoosh*
Before he could even do so, Gojo was already in front of him.
"I thought you didn't fear my Shikai?"
Aizen avoided the uppercut and answered back with a punch on his own, stirring the wind around him.
Blocking the punch, Gojo answered calmly.
"I don't. But that doesn't mean I am dumb enough to let you use it without interruptions."
After all, Gojo only had speculation, and all the information he had received was from Yoruichi who didn't even witness Aizen use his power.
In theory, with his eyes and the spatial awareness domain he had in his Bankai, he should be immune to Kyoka Suigetsu.
But Kyoka Suigetsu affected all senses. He was sure that even if his vision was spared, his other senses could be controlled.
This might make him lose a precious amount of time.
After being sealed once when he was alive because of his carelessness and the intricate plan of his enemies, Gojo understood that one should never underestimate an enemy.
<<Starry Sky>>
Immediately, all the surroundings began to illuminate as if thousands of stars were lit up.
Of course, those lights were none other than projectiles made out of Reishi that Gojo conjured.
Even as thousands of light arrows flew at Aizen, he showed no fluster.
“Bakudō #81: Splitting Void.”
Immediately, six barriers appeared around him and formed a perfect cube, protecting him from all the attacks that rained on him.
Not waiting for Gojo to continue, he pointed two fingers at him.
“Hadō #73. Soren Sokatsui[1]”
Blue flames gathered at the tips of his fingers before rushing towards Gojo like a mad torrent ready to destroy everything. Neither the ground nor the walls were spared since their sturdiness had decreased significantly after Gojo used the Reishi in them for the previous attack.
Facing an attack that would be powerful enough to obliterate a vice-captain, Gojo did not even bother mounting a defense as the fire simply split in two once it reached a certain distance from him.
“Ohoh? A space time technique? Is it your Bankai? No, it doesn’t seem so. One you created yourself?”
This time, Aizen was visibly impressed. Space-time techniques were forbidden for a reason. Their effects were always outside any expectations.
Gojo did not even bother answering as he raised his index. Immediately, a red sphere of energy formed at the tip of his finger.
“See you!”
A grin formed on his face as he activated the technique.
<<Cursed Technique Reversal: Red>>
BOOM!!
In an explosion of light, Aizen coughed as he felt like the world itself was pushing away with a mighty shove.
Like a cannon ball, he pierced walls after walls and vanished from Gojo's sight because of the shockwave.
Of course, it was intentionally done by Gojo to put some distance between them. Each room was in fact an independent space and it was impossible to move from one room to another without his express permission.
‘Something isn’t right.’
Even though he had the upper hand and acted cocky, Gojo was feeling awful.
It felt like he was missing something important.
This fight felt too easy.
Gojo had met Kisuke personally. He understood how powerful that man was and knew that even at his current level, fighting him would be difficult.
That man had been completely helpless when facing Aizen.
It was also weird how Aizen still didn't activate his Shikai. After all, as a Captain Level Shinigami, he didn't even need to utter the activation sentence and could awaken it with just a thought.
‘Did I overestimate Kisuke?’
It wasn’t impossible. After all, he only superficially examined him. Since they didn’t fight, all his understanding of Kisuke’s level was based on speculation. Perhaps Kisuke was weaker than he thought—Hence, Aizen was also weaker than estimated.
‘As if.’
While this was a real possibility, Gojo would rather believe that something fishy was going on. It was clear that he wasn’t the only one that had prepared some special cards.
‘Well. Let’s see who has the better hand.’
Smiling confidently, he teleported and appeared where Aizen landed.
“Shall we go for round two?”
—--
While Gojo was complaining about how much weaker Aizen was than he expected, what the others were witnessing was a true eye-opener for them.
Compared to the beautiful display of power in the other fights, the one between Aizen and Gojo was at a completely different level.
Be it Gojo's Space-Time Technique or the way Aizen threw high-level Kido one after another without even uttering any spells, this showed that the two of them were at a completely different level from the average captain.
'Aizen really had us fooled.'
Shunsui smiled bitterly.
Back then, Shinji had shared his worries and suspicions about Aizen and Shunsui had personally gone to the 5th Division to keep an eye on him on the night those events happened.
Unwittingly, he became a special witness that proved Aizen's innocence.
This was further cemented by the fact that Aizen had never shown particularly high fighting prowess.
Now though, the gentle Captain Aizen that was popular with all was gone and was replaced by an extremely powerful and ruthless Shinigami.
Of course, the fighting power of Gojo also surprised him. In that case, Gojo was already known to be quite powerful since his fight with Isshin.
However, what he was witnessing was something else. Shunsui wasn't sure he could win without using his Bankai.
This day would without a doubt be a day never forgotten.
Not even the Central 46 could cover up what was happening since everyone was able to witness what was happening.
At the same time, Shunsui found that it was a pity. From now on, Gojo couldn't become a Captain.
The Central 46 should be hating his guts from the bottom of their hearts. It didn't help that Gojo had broken so many laws that were sentenced with the death sentence in normal time.
'I guess he never really intended to settle down here.'
What was important now was to understand how Aizen had managed to change a Captain into Hollow.
Also–
"I wonder if Soi Fon will be alright."
—--
*Drip* *Drip*
Soi Fon ignored the blood that was dripping from her side as she observed Gin Ichimaru carefully.
Because of the restrained space, while Soi Fon had more chances to come closer to him, Gin could also reduce the necessity of stretching his sword to the full length, thereby increasing the speed.
Of course, while she was wounded, Gin wasn't that well off either. All over his body, different butterfly tattoos could be observed.
Clearly, Soi Fon had managed to mark him many times. As long as she touched any of those marks a second time, then it would be game over.
"Oh my, your Shikai is really cheating."
Despite the situation, Gin showed no sign of fluster and in fact, seemed to be rather happy.
This made Soi Fon scowl.
She hated the fact that she wasn't able to take any advantage of the current situation.
She also hated his carefree smile.
Gin was a more troublesome enemy than she initially thought.
Because of her carelessness, she was wounded many times during the fight. Even so, the bastard seemed to have a sick pleasure in playing around with her and didn't pierce any of her vital points.
"I think I have been underestimating you quite a bit. I will not continue this mistake."
Soi Fon decided that holding back wasn't an option anymore. She knew what would happen if she failed and she refused to accept such a humiliation.
<<Mukyo Shunko>> [2]
A burst of Reiatsu flowed from her body and changed into a veritable tornado.
This was her strongest form — one in which she could reach her highest speed.
"Let's end this fight."
"Is that so? I would love to see you win. However, I cannot afford to die right now."
For the first time, Gin's sardonic smile slipped from his face.
The spiritual pressure he emanated roared crazily while his power reached a new level.
<<Bankai: Kamishini no Yari [3]>>
After a flash of light, blood spurted like a fountain.
[1]: Twin Lotus Blue Fire, Crash Down
[2]: Tireless Flash War Cry
[3]: God killing Spear.
(AN: The arc is slowly coming to an end. I hope the different fights were entertaining.)