"I'm beginning to... gradually see through your Zanpakutō."
As Aizen's calm words fell, he vanished instantly, appearing behind Shigure and slashing out.
Shigure shifted slightly, meeting the attack with a reverse slash.
But then Aizen suddenly raised his other hand, releasing spiritual pressure directly at Shigure's sword.
His spiritual pressure passed straight through the blade Shigure held, rushing downward without obstruction.
Seeing this, Aizen's eyes moved, showing a slight smile.
"So that's how it is..."
When his sword slashed down, the spiritual pressure on the blade reached maximum threshold, instantly splitting the air completely.
But just as their swords were about to contact, the blades crossed past each other again, slashing directly at each other's bodies.
Their expressions were identical—no hesitation or retreat, remaining calm.
Letting their opponent's sword slash at them, neither dodged, both determined to swing their blades down.
Seeing this, the captains and lieutenants below felt shocked.
Aizen and Shigure's fighting style was complete mutual destruction, like Kenpachi Zaraki's battles.
But Kenpachi always fought that way. Whether Shigure or Aizen, both seemed like the type to plan before acting. Why would they suddenly do this...
However, just as they wondered, something strange happened.
Just as their opponent's blade was about to touch them, both raised their hands simultaneously.
Aizen's spiritual pressure immediately spread before him, rapidly arranging into a massive transparent barrier shield.
The barrier extended, completely separating his body from Shigure's blade.
Meanwhile, Shigure used no technique—simply raising his hand to grab Aizen's sword.
CLANG!
Two massive spiritual pressures exploded simultaneously at both contact points, the shockwave tremendously powerful.
Both swords froze before their opponents.
Aizen looked down at the Zanpakutō separated by his shield, chuckling:
"Segawa, it seems I've truly seen through it."
"After your wind-type release, your Zanpakutō gained the power to manipulate wind with the blade, and even... the blade itself can become a wind blade to attack."
"This is why your sword could ignore my block and penetrate through, isn't it?"
Aizen smiled at Shigure. Seeing no response, he continued:
"This barrier shield uses the Hōgyoku—thousands of layers of spiritual pressure density. Even air can be completely blocked."
"The wind blade you're holding can neither destroy it nor penetrate through."
"It seems this time, I'm slightly ahead."
"..."
Hearing this, Shigure's eyes lifted slightly.
Aizen's Hōgyoku-developed barrier indeed had spiritual pressure density above Shigure's internal power, so his barrier collapse couldn't destroy it.
In that regard, Aizen made a good decision.
But...
Shigure's expression remained calm as he looked at Aizen:
"So my wind-type release... is so underestimated in your eyes."
As his words fell, Aizen's gaze froze.
Then something strange happened!
Before he could respond, his entire body suddenly felt intense cutting pain!
He looked down quickly—almost all joints on his body had simultaneously split open with ghastly wounds!
SPLURT!!
Bright red blood sprayed from the cuts, turning him completely blood-red!
Aizen's thoughts fell into brief stagnation!
What is this...?! His wind blade and spiritual pressure should be blocked...! Why would...?!
Shock flashed through Aizen's eyes.
But the Hōgyoku in his chest sensed crisis and immediately began super-speed recovery.
In an instant, all wounds rapidly healed, blood stopped flowing.
Aizen's eyes narrowed. Before he could react, new invisible blades appeared in the air, beginning another round of slashes!
Aizen gritted his teeth, all spiritual pressure exploding outward to cover his body for defense.
But those invisible slashes moved far faster than his reaction—hundreds of wounds split open again instantly!
SPLURT!!!
Everyone below had frozen expressions, hearts filled with shock.
What happened...? Aizen seemed to block Segawa's blade... but how could... Could this be the true power of Segawa's wind-type release...?!
No one saw how Shigure attacked, yet Aizen's body clearly showed the devastating strikes!
High above, Aizen finally realized something was wrong, abandoning close combat and using flash step to dodge aside.
His breathing obviously became irregular.
Shigure calmly turned to face Aizen, lightly raising his sword.
But the moment he raised it, the silver-white blade began rapidly becoming transparent, then completely disappeared.
Aizen's pupils slowly contracted.
Shigure's expression unchanged, he spoke quietly:
"From the beginning, your judgment was wrong, Aizen."
"Candle Dragon's wind-type release ability was never about manipulating wind or changing the blade's form."
"Its existence is wind itself."
"Which means, after I complete the release, unless you place yourself in a vacuum..."
"Every moment, your body will be pressed against my blade."
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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