"Is this really a Zanpakutō's Shikai?"
The black-robed leader's vision was slowly returning. As he looked up at the changed colors of the moon and night sky, he couldn't hide the shock on his face.
He had seen a lot of Zanpakutō releases before—Shikai and even Bankai.
But none of them came close to what he was seeing now.
Not a single Shikai, and even Bankai in his memory, ever released such massive energy.
"Sorry, this is my first time using Shikai. Still getting used to it."
Aiyan smiled slightly. "Sorry for making you wait."
"As compensation, I'll let you experience the strongest Light-type Zanpakutō—something not even Byakuya Kuchiki has ever seen."
Before the sound of his voice had fully spread, Aiyan's body suddenly turned into tiny golden particles.
He became a stream of golden light and shot forward, faster than a meteor.
Boom—!
The black-robed leader was trying to keep track of him using both his eyes and his Reiatsu perception.
But it didn't help.
He couldn't react in time.
He didn't even realize what happened—only saw Aiyan's lips move slightly, as if he was saying something. But no sound came.
Then—nothing.
All he could see was golden light flooding his vision.
Before the pain even arrived, he heard the sound of ribs breaking. The black robe he wore turned to dust instantly. His feet left the ground, and his body was launched into the air like a cannonball.
Waves of wind blasted out to both sides as he flew backward over a hundred meters.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
One crash after another rang out as his body smashed through trees, crushed huge boulders, and cracked the earth beneath him.
After hitting several massive ancient trees and stones, he finally landed, his body broken like a rag doll. The ground underneath him cracked in a spiderweb pattern.
Pfft—!
The moment he regained consciousness, the leader felt intense pain rushing from his chest to every part of his body. He couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood that stained his torn uniform deep red.
"Wh-what just happened to me...?"
He lay there, blood all over his face, still shocked and confused.
After a few deep breaths, he forced himself to raise his neck and looked down at his own chest.
Among the broken ribs, he could faintly see a bloody footprint.
"Speed is power. Have you ever been kicked by the speed of light?"
A voice echoed from the direction Aiyan stood.
Yes. At that moment, the leader fully woke up.
When he finally heard that voice, everything made sense.
Aiyan had spoken before—but he hadn't heard it. Because the speed of light was so fast that it completely surpassed the speed of sound.
He was only hearing that sentence now, after being kicked.
Suddenly, his vision dimmed again.
When he looked up, the sole of Aiyan's shoe was directly in front of his face.
"Now," Aiyan said calmly, foot raised, "can you tell me your master's name?"
The man coughed blood and forced a bitter smile.
"Even if I told you, what difference would it make?"
"He's someone who stands at the very top of Soul Society… He makes the rules."
"You… you can't stop him. All you can do is wait for despair. Even if you own the strongest Light-type Zanpakutō… it won't change anything."
He coughed again, blood pouring out, and spoke with difficulty.
"You'll just curse your powerlessness as you wait for death."
Boom!
Aiyan didn't say a word in reply.
His glowing golden foot came down hard.
The earth shook. Huge cracks burst out in every direction like giant serpents.
Then—Boom! A column of dust and light exploded into the sky as golden light poured through the cracks like erupting magma.
"Wrong answer."
Aiyan withdrew his foot and didn't even glance at the twitching, headless corpse beneath him.
The man was no longer alive.
"Shiba. Shihōin. Kuchiki. And… Tsunayashiro."
Aiyan stood still, lost in thought.
In his memory, only Tsunayashiro had shown signs of seeking out Soul King fragments.
They even married a woman from Rukongai just because she carried a Soul King fragment in her body—for research purposes.
"Oh, right—Aizen."
Aiyan's expression changed slightly as he remembered Aizen.
Now that someone had targeted him, Aizen might also be under attack—especially since, unlike Urahara Kisuke, Aizen didn't choose to hide himself.
Aiyan knelt down and pressed a finger to the ground.
"Bakudō #58: Kakushitsuijaku."
Golden light surged between his fingers.
His Reiatsu perception was fully unleashed. The range was now dozens—maybe hundreds—of times wider than usual.
And soon, a familiar Reiatsu appeared within his detection range.
Whoosh!
Aiyan didn't even move his legs—he simply vanished.
All that remained was a streak of golden light darting across the night.
In just ten seconds, he covered over 50 kilometers, flashing and turning through the terrain.
He stopped on a high cliff and looked down.
By a mountain stream, swords clashed and killing intent surged.
He saw six black-robed attackers surrounding Aizen. Nearby, four corpses already lay in pools of blood.
Clearly, Aizen had received the same "treatment" Aiyan had—ten assassins, no more and no less.
Pfft—!
In that moment, a blade pierced through one enemy.
Aizen, holding his Zanpakutō, disemboweled the man while raising his other hand.
"Hadō #33: Sōkatsui!"
Blue flame burst out like branches, forcing two other enemies back before they could stab him from behind.
Even though Aizen hadn't yet unlocked full Shikai, his skill in Kidō and Zanjutsu, even after less than a day of training, let him fight like a storm.
Weapons couldn't touch his body.
Bakudō and Hadō flew out one after another.
Defeat for the enemies was just a matter of time.
Aiyan watched from above, yawning.
If Aizen had already reached the peak of Shinigami strength—perfected his Zanpakutō, Reiatsu, and all four core skills—then Aiyan would have been excited to watch.
Every move would be a "legendary scene."
But right now, Aizen could only kill without flair. No cool speeches. No drama.
Where was the fun in that?
"Shake…!"
Just as one of the black-robed attackers raised his Zanpakutō and began to speak its release phrase—
Zap!
A golden laser shot through the night and blasted straight through his chest—from back to front.
"H-huh…?"
He looked down at the hole in his chest, shocked and in pain.
His Zanpakutō's name was just about to leave his lips—but he couldn't finish the sentence.
The weapon dropped from his hand.
Boom!
Before the blade even hit the ground, the golden beam exploded.
It turned into a blinding golden fireball, expanding outward in all directions. The shockwave blasted the other black-robed attackers away.
"Ahhh—!!"
Their dying screams were quickly drowned out by the roaring explosion.
Just like that, they vanished—along with the power they once thought made them unbeatable.