Chapter 61: Sosuke Aizen Who Can't Take a Joke

Shin looked at the figure standing atop the building and suddenly chuckled, "You wouldn't happen to be that Ryoichi Sanada, would you?"

Ryoichi Sanada was the 12th Division officer identified as the culprit during the previous field deployment exercise in the World of the Living, who had managed to evade capture ever since.

The opponent did not answer, likely considering that his voice might be recognized.

Seeing that the other party remained silent, Shin began to ponder whether the purpose of this visit was merely to test his strength or to kill him outright.

And whether Aizen was watching from the shadows...

Just as Shin was deep in thought, the figure on the rooftop suddenly lunged forward. The speed was so blinding that it caused Shin's pupils to constrict sharply.

Clang!

A crisp chime echoed as sparks flew and sword guards collided.

Shin stared intently at the enemy inches away from him, yet bizarrely, the face beneath the hood remained completely shrouded in pitch blackness.

Ash-gray clouds churned across the horizon, and ocean waves crashed frantically against the shore.

Schwing!

The abrasive screech of grinding blades pierced the air as the enemy withdrew and thrust forward again. Simultaneously, the chilling gleam of the opponent's blade was reflected in Shin's eyes.

Fast!

Shin twisted his wrist, holding his Asauchi vertically to press down against the back of the enemy's blade, while simultaneously striking the spine of the opponent's weapon fiercely with his right elbow. This forced the thrust to deviate by a couple of inches, grazing dangerously past Shin's cheek.

Sparks scattered as their tsuba locked together once more.

Shin grinned, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

The vibration frequencies of their blades were nearly identical. The enemy leaped airborne and delivered a fierce kick straight toward Shin's chest.

Instead of blocking, Shin took the hit head-on, using the momentum to backward somersault ten paces away.

He took a slight breath and gently shook the Asauchi in his hand.

The enemy possessed greater speed and heavier striking power. From these two points alone, it could be concluded that their strength already surpassed that of a lieutenant.

Aside from the Hollow-world entities whose allegiance at this moment remained uncertain, Aizen's captain-level combat forces were limited to the two he had initially suspected.

Gin Ichimaru.

Or perhaps Kaname Tosen.

However, with that cloak concealing the figure and the opponent refusing to reveal a Zanpakuto, Shin found it difficult to make a definitive judgment.

Yet, not revealing a Zanpakuto could also be considered somewhat good news; once the opponent resorted to a Zanpakuto, it would mean this trip was undoubtedly intended to kill him.

The communication device had shown no reaction thus far.

Even though the enemy was not using a Zanpakuto, the ability of their Zanpakuto was nonetheless exerting its effect at every moment.

Shin's posture suddenly relaxed. He twirled the Asauchi gracefully in his hand before smoothly sheathing it.

The enemy paused briefly at this action, only to hear a sharp "schwing" ring out the next moment.

"Yasha Senku!"

As the Asauchi cleared its scabbard, a curved blade-pressure nearly two meters long surged forward, visible to the naked eye like a razor-sharp gale. The enemy raised his blade to block, but instinctively sensed lethal danger as the blade-pressure neared his face, and hastily vanished from the spot via flash step.

Boom!

The residual momentum of the blade-pressure remained unabated, shattering numerous buildings in his wake.

Just as the cloaked man stabilized his footing, seemingly sensing something, he whirled around just in time to face another incoming blade-pressure heading straight for his face.

There was no time to dodge this one. In desperation, he thrust out his left arm.

Way of Binding, Eighty-One: Danku!

An invisible barrier materialized out of thin air along the path of the blade-pressure. To his utter disbelief, however, this level-81 binding spell failed to halt the attack even for a fraction of a second; the blade-pressure directly smashed right through the invisible barrier!

Puff!

Blood splattered into midair. The cloaked man narrowly avoided a fatal wound by dodging desperately, but a terrifying gash was still carved across his left shoulder, exposing gleaming white bone, while his black cloak was shredded into large pieces.

Shin narrowed his eyes slightly. He keenly perceived that the Danku spell cast just moments ago had been incomplete. If the opponent were truly a captain-level Soul Reaper, casting a level-81 binding spell even under those circumstances should have posed no problem.

Thoughts raced through his mind, and he quickly deduced the reason.

If the opponent were indeed a current captain, they would be wearing the restricted spiritual pressure seals unique to each division. Once entering the World of the Living, their own spiritual pressure would be subjected to extreme limitation.

As high as eighty percent.

Gin Ichimaru was still only the lieutenant of the 5th Division at present, but the captain of the 9th Division was already Kaname Tosen.

A captain with only twenty percent of their spiritual pressure, without even using their Zanpakuto's ability, and yet their strength was still this formidable...

The opponent did not know his true strength, which was why he had been injured by him.

Clearly severely injured by this blow, the cloaked man clutched his wounded right arm, hovering half-suspended in the air.

However, the injury did not extinguish his desire to attack. Seeing him suddenly raise his left arm—though Shin heard no words, he knew the incantation was being chanted—Shin swept out another blade-pressure without hesitation.

The cloaked man reappeared via flash step on the other side of the air, simultaneously firing a yellowish beam of spiritual pressure from his hand.

Hado Sho?

Well-prepared, Shin easily evaded it with a simple flash step. But the moment his feet touched down in midair, six rays of light seemed to materialize out of thin air surrounding him.

Double incantation, Kokujo Zuraku?!

A level-32 destructive spell like Hado Sho was clearly not worth a captain chanting an incantation for; that chant had been for the six-rod prison!

A jolt went through Shin, but it was too late to dodge. He was precisely locked in place by the six bars of light, unable to move from the spot.

With one hand resting stationary in front of him, the cloaked man continued chanting his incantation.

Shin attempted to break free from the restraints of the Kokujo Zuraku, only to find it impossible to shatter within a short timeframe. Meanwhile, the enemy had already finished chanting, raising his arm high as thick bolts of lightning intertwined and surged rapidly toward Shin's location.

This time it was Way of Destruction, Sixty-Three: Raikoho!

Three consecutive Kido spells—shouldn't he expect nothing less from a captain?

Trapped in place, Shin watched as the lightning rushed before his eyes in an instant, swallowing him whole.

Boom!

Seeing his attack land successfully, the cloaked man lowered his guard and reached up to support his injured arm once more.

A person trapped by the Kokujo Zuraku stood no chance of dodging or setting up any defensive posture.

"Way of Destruction, Four: Byakurai!"

The sudden sound startled the cloaked man. A beam of white light burst violently from the fiery explosion, shooting straight toward his position. In shock, he frantically executed a flash step to dodge.

"Way of Binding, Thirty: Kugutsu Nisatsu!"

Before he could even stabilize his stance, three massive, beak-shaped beams of light hurtled swiftly toward him.

Gritting his teeth, the cloaked man raised his injured right arm and deployed Kido to defend against them.

Way of Binding, Thirty-Nine: Enkaisen!

The three giant beak-shaped light beams were blocked by the circular barrier. Before the cloaked man could even catch his breath, a voice suddenly sounded from behind him.

"Way of Binding, One: Sai!"

A tremendous force nearly twisted his limbs out of shape. The agonizing strain on his already wounded arm finally forced a cry of pain out of him.

Level-1 Kido?!

It was merely a level-1 Kido?!

His face beneath the hood twisted in agony as his limbs were restrained, causing his body to plummet uncontrollably downward from the sky.

Shin lifted a finger slightly, aiming at the rapidly descending figure.

"Way of Destruction, Four: Byakurai!"

The white beam of light pierced directly through his chest.

Thud.

The cloaked man crashed onto the ground, kicking up clouds of dust. When Shin landed as well, he found that the man was now on the verge of death.

Shin spoke leisurely, "Someone of your caliber shouldn't be a nameless nobody in the Soul Society, right?"

The face beneath the hood remained pitch black. Having already guessed his identity, Shin didn't bother using his sword to tear away the disguise.

The man moved his head slightly, seemingly looking up at Shin as well.

He could not understand why Shin had been able to take a Raikoho head-on and emerge completely unharmed.

And earlier as well—the Kido he used at the very beginning to attack the Senkaimon had also been caught head-on by Shin.

Was it the ability of a Zanpakuto?

Yet he had never once detected when the Zanpakuto was released!

Shin grinned, pointing his blade directly at the man's head: "However, I'm not interested in your identity. Take your questions and go to hell."

Just as Shin was about to bring his blade down, a beam of light suddenly descended from the high heavens, walling Shin off completely and enveloping the cloaked man within its radiance.

Menos Grande's reversion light?

Shin tilted his head.

Tch, sore loser!