Chapter 195: Beyond the Existence of Hollow and Shinigami—Aizen vs Kurosaki Ichigo
The scene returned to the battle between Kurosaki Ichigo and Aizen. At this moment, Kurosaki Ichigo's composed demeanor stood in stark contrast to Aizen's manic appearance—the two representing absolute extremes.
"Come on, Aizen. I'll end this battle in an instant!"
"You said... end this battle in an instant?"
At this moment, Aizen finally regained his senses, no longer immersed solely in the euphoria of his own evolution.
He raised his head to look at Kurosaki Ichigo, then slowly rose to his feet. After confirming that the other party possessed absolutely no detectable Reiatsu, Aizen smiled with sudden comprehension. "I see. I understand now, Kurosaki Ichigo! I finally know why your Reiatsu has vanished!"
"Your Reiatsu didn't disappear—it was abandoned by you. Although I don't know what method you employed, you converted all of your own spiritual pressure into the physical power of your corporeal body."
"Your wrist strength, your leg power, your grip strength, your throwing force, even your running speed—at the cost of relinquishing your own Reiatsu entirely, you've achieved a phenomenal boost to all your physical capabilities. Because... you've completely forsaken the idea of fighting me with Reiatsu."
At this moment, Aizen extended his fingers and clenched them tightly into a fist, then smiled with contempt. "But... you should descend into despair as quickly as possible, because I will demonstrate to you that your physical strength alone—which you regard as your sole hope—is nowhere near sufficient to match me!"
As his voice fell, the hollow void embedded with the Hōgyoku on Aizen's chest emitted a burst of dazzling blue radiance. Then the three pairs of enormous wings that had been folded behind Aizen slowly unfurled. The Reiatsu emanating from his entire being underwent another sublimation.
After the three pairs of wings fully extended, Aizen's entire body transformed into a sphere of brilliant light. It then shattered like glass and dissipated into the air—an ability remarkably similar to how Fiander's body could dissolve into ice mist.
Seeing Aizen suddenly vanish before him, Kurosaki Ichigo displayed no panic whatsoever on his face. Abruptly, a sphere of light materialized behind Ichigo, and Aizen's figure emerged with blade raised high.
CLANG!
Facing Aizen's sneak attack, Kurosaki Ichigo showed no alarm. He simply turned swiftly, and the blade fused with his right arm had already swung outward, colliding with his opponent's strike.
BOOM!
The two monsters who had transcended Shinigami limitations were merely clashing blades, yet the leaked sword pressure had already shattered the surrounding rocks, reducing them to dust that fell to the ground.
With a powerful air current rising between them, Kurosaki Ichigo and Aizen took a step backward in tacit understanding, creating distance from one another.
"Impressive that you managed to evade that. But you should be utterly astonished—I merely swung my blade lightly, and the terrain has already undergone such tremendous transformation!"
"This is my power now!"
After venting what he wished to express, Aizen spoke proudly to Ichigo. "To be honest, I didn't anticipate my abilities would improve to such an extent. I'm genuinely delighted, Kurosaki Ichigo! Thanks to you, this power that has transcended both Hollow and Shinigami—I can finally test it to my heart's content!"
Aizen displayed a malicious grin, then transformed into an afterimage as he rushed toward Kurosaki Ichigo. Within the blink of an eye, the two clashed once more. The collision of blade against blade had transformed this wasteland into a crater-pitted depression. Countless rock formations cracked in that instant. Mountain peaks fractured and shattered. Enormous boulders rose one after another, drawn into the vortex created by their combat, before disintegrating into dust that scattered on the wind.
"It's far from over, Kurosaki Ichigo!"
Aizen looked at Kurosaki Ichigo with disdain, and the speed of his blade swings grew increasingly ferocious. Just after Aizen laughed and delivered another slash, Ichigo's figure vanished from his position and reappeared atop another flattened rock peak.
"Do you truly believe I cannot predict movements of this caliber?"
The moment Ichigo materialized, Aizen followed immediately, descending from above.
At the instant Aizen swung his blade toward the ground—shattering the entire mountain beneath them—Ichigo launched Shunpo once more to evade his opponent's attack. After a cloud of debris rose, Aizen's figure emerged from within the smoke and dust, scattering the surrounding haze with his presence alone.
Accompanied by a violent collision, the entire ground trembled at the moment when both combatants' blades intersected.
"It's quite remarkable. It appears we've both concluded with our right hands fused to our Zanpakuto. This evolution seems to share certain commonalities!"
"Perhaps this form represents the original appearance of all Zanpakuto!"
Having said this, Aizen looked at Kurosaki Ichigo and laughed heartily.
"What's so amusing?"
As though unable to tolerate Aizen's incessant commentary, Ichigo finally asked.
"I'm simply overjoyed. Without you, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to fully unleash my power. As I suspected... there exists a disparity in the level of evolution between you and myself!"
"If I wished, I could simply swing my blade once more, and your Zanpakuto would instantly crumble to fragments!"
Speaking thus, Aizen displayed an arrogant smile once more, addressing Ichigo with overwhelming dominance.
After stating this, Aizen swung his blade-merged right arm. His Zanpakuto radiated blue light, the blade resembling a brilliant moon as it pierced through space, slashing heavily toward Kurosaki Ichigo who stood at close range.
CRACK!
However, the scene unfolding before him proved completely different from what Aizen had anticipated. Kurosaki Ichigo—who possessed no detectable Reiatsu—calmly caught the Zanpakuto Aizen was swinging with his bare hand.
BOOM!
The instant after Ichigo grasped Aizen's Zanpakuto with his bare hand, the terrifying impact directly shattered the ground beneath Ichigo's feet. With a thunderous roar, the earth was overturned by shockwaves. Rocks flew upward. Aizen stood frozen in shock as a canyon one hundred meters deep appeared directly behind Ichigo's position.
"How... how is this possible? To catch it barehanded? Is this an illusion?"
A drop of cold sweat fell from Aizen's forehead. His expression changed dramatically. The face that had been extraordinarily arrogant moments before now twisted unexpectedly with confusion.
'If he'd managed to evade, I could understand that. No—originally, it should be impossible for him to possess the speed necessary to avoid my attack. Even so, if he could somehow evade me, I could still accept that reality.'
'But he... received my full-powered strike with his bare hands?'
Just as Aizen stood stunned in this state of profound shock, Ichigo's voice reached him again. "What are you so surprised about?"
"I blocked your blade, so you can't believe it? Are you afraid? Something has occurred before you that you cannot comprehend!"
"Hmm hmm hmm..."
Suddenly, Aizen's expression returned to normal once more. He snorted and sneered. "Something I cannot comprehend? How amusing you are, Kurosaki Ichigo!"
After speaking, Aizen broke free from Kurosaki Ichigo's grip on his blade and took a step backward.
"Don't speak to me in such a tone, as though you're already boasting about your victory. Just now, your physical capabilities surpassed mine in an instant. It's not incomprehensible that such miracles occur from time to time!"
"But I am an existence above such phenomena. In order to prevent this kind of miracle from happening again—"
"Let me crush you with Kido and reduce you to dust!"
Aizen suddenly extended his finger toward the sky. The terrifying Reiatsu within his body overflowed directly, blanketing the entire earth. The surrounding space began trembling. Black and purple spiritual pressure permeated the entire sky.
"The crest of turbidity, seeping indistinctly. Insolent, mad vessel of arrogance—surge, deny, grow numb, flicker, disrupting slumber."
"The crawling princess of iron. The self-mutilating doll of mud. Unite, repulse, fill the earth, and know your own powerlessness!"
"Hado Number Ninety: Kurohitsugi!"
"Despair, Kurosaki Ichigo! As one who has transcended both Shinigami and Hollow, after releasing the complete incantation, Kurohitsugi can produce gravitational torrent resembling spatial distortion. You, who have lost your Reiatsu, cannot possibly comprehend this, Kurosaki Ichigo!"
As Aizen's fully-incanted Black Coffin was released, beneath the trembling space, a cube constructed of black Reiatsu gradually formed, trapping Kurosaki Ichigo within its confines.
Facing the Kido released by Aizen with his full power, Ichigo simply observed everything with indifference, not even blinking. After the black coffin completely enveloped Kurosaki Ichigo, a tremendous sound of collapse echoed through the wasteland.
Aizen stood in place with a slight smile gracing the corner of his mouth, admiring his perfect masterpiece.
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