Kaname Tosen was completely stunned by everything before his eyes.
Two powerful forces of Reiatsu, unimaginable to ordinary people, crashed together with the weight of ten thousand tons. Yet, at the center point where a world-destroying force should have erupted, strangely, not a single ripple was stirred. Amidst the collision of dragon shadows against dragon shadows, no explosion occurred; instead, they eerily dissolved into nothingness.
"This is... perfect Hankidō? A Hankidō using Hadō #99?!
And it was that man's counter-move! How is this possible!"
To perform Hankidō using the same model of Hadō was not simply a matter of releasing the same spell. Because Hadō merely implied an identical arrangement of Reiatsu, only by precisely releasing a completely identical Hadō with equal Reiatsu could one finally cause both spells to melt away silently at the same time.
Just like when Aizen previously used the Hankidō technique against the Kurohitsugi released by Suzuki Makoto, the hasty Incantation Abandonment had not been executed perfectly. It had only withstood a portion of the lethality, and the rest had to be endured through other means.
But now, facing Lord Aizen's fully incanted Hadō #99, this man actually used a Hadō #99 cast via Incantation Abandonment to achieve a perfect Hankidō.
This meant that the Hadō used by Suzuki Makoto did not lose any power due to the abandonment of the incantation. He was even able to precisely gauge Lord Aizen's Reiatsu input and then infuse his own spell with the exact same amount of Reiatsu!
Can a guy capable of doing such a thing really just be a swordsman from the Zaraki District?
Such a question also echoed in Aizen's heart.
Sosuke Aizen was not a man who stubbornly refused to admit his own shortcomings. He still maintained awe for the Captain-Commander and caution towards the power of the Seireitei, but he was also not one to belittle himself.
Yet today, facing a Wandering Soul from the Zaraki District who was unknown years younger than himself, he felt a pressure equal to that of facing Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto for the first time in a long while.
That Kyōka Suigetsu had no effect was actually within his expectations. A battle between Shinigami was essentially a battle of Reiatsu. With Suzuki Makoto's Reiatsu, being unaffected by Kyōka Suigetsu was the expected outcome.
However, to bring out a high-numbered Hadō that Aizen himself had used only once like this meant only one thing.
Suzuki Makoto's ability to control Reishi was unparalleled.
Spiritual Power, Reiatsu, and even everything in the Soul Society were composed of Reishi. Hadō was naturally no exception.
To be able to allow a person who had never previously studied Zankensoki to directly unleash a Hadō #99 was, of course, because Suzuki Makoto could memorize the Reishi arrangement sequence of this Hadō just by seeing it once!
In fact, for him, even the concept of using Incantation Abandonment was superfluous, because he could absolutely simply arrange the Reishi into a Hadō directly and release it. He didn't even need to open his mouth to smash Goryūtenmetsu right into Aizen's face.
"Truly a pleasant surprise, Suzuki-kun."
Aizen revealed a hint of a smile. Perhaps even he himself did not realize that after wearing a perfect smile on his face for so many years, only today's smile was so genuinely from the heart.
Without further greeting, Sosuke Aizen attacked Suzuki Makoto once again. There were no superfluous words, nor any intention of holding back.
He attacked Suzuki Makoto with all his might because he had already acknowledged that this man, just as he had said, was a genius like himself!
Hadō, Bakudō, Zanjutsu, Illusions, Shunpo... Both sides countered moves as they came, then naturally connected to the next attack. There was no pattern to speak of, because both of them had seen through the essence of the moves beneath those flashy exteriors. This was the simplest collision of Reiatsu against Reiatsu.
After a long while, both sides stopped simultaneously. Suzuki Makoto's face wore a satisfied smile, while Aizen frowned slightly.
"That wasn't your limit just now, was it? You stopped improving yourself after figuring out the limits of my defense. And when I revealed a stronger defense, you became stronger once again—is this looking down on me?"
"No, I just want to learn more from you."
The man was as honest as ever.
Aizen was undoubtedly an encyclopedia of the Soul Society. For these hundreds of years, he had been seeking various ways to enhance his power and break through the limits of a Shinigami. Although he now placed all his hope on the research of the Hogyoku, this knowledge would not disappear with the passage of time.
In the battle just now, Aizen had displayed all his combat knowledge vividly and thoroughly. Therefore, in Suzuki Makoto's eyes, how could this be a battle? It was simply the most perfect classroom!
Sosuke Aizen did not feel offended; instead, he revealed an expression that said 'as expected'.
This was probably what was known as mutual appreciation between heroes. If he had possessed such Reiatsu back then and encountered an enemy, his first reaction would likely have been the same—wanting to learn more from the battle with the opponent.
"My previous evaluation of you was obviously somewhat biased, Suzuki-kun. You are not a man who simply enjoys battle like Kenpachi Zaraki; what you enjoy more is obtaining knowledge."
"Then, are you willing to continue letting me obtain knowledge?"
"Of course—however, are you still unwilling to join us in challenging the current order of the Soul Society?"
"My attitude will not change because of a battle."
"Then, what if you knew the truth of this world?"
Aizen naturally did not think this alone would make Suzuki Makoto follow him. But precisely because the other party had displayed talent equal to his own, he did not believe that after learning the true face of this world, Suzuki Makoto would still hold onto that thin dream and continue to waste his own talent in the Rukongai.
"What truth?"
Suzuki Makoto's heart did not waver in the slightest; he even felt a bit like laughing.
He could already roughly guess what Sosuke Aizen was going to say to him. It should be those materials the other party had seen in the Great Spirit Book Gallery, as well as the cognition regarding the Soul King.
And all of this was the reason why this man pursued greater power by fair means or foul.
As expected, Sosuke Aizen threw out the concept of the entire Three Worlds and explained the history regarding the Soul King to him in detail. He did not even skip the part about the Five Great Noble Houses dismembering the Soul King, speaking all the way to the establishment of the Gotei 13.
Aizen spoke very carefully, and Suzuki Makoto listened very earnestly. After all, regarding this part of the content, the memories in his mind were already somewhat blurred, and it was impossible for them to be more detailed than Aizen's narration.
It wasn't bad to review it at this moment. After all, various unofficial histories were always the most interesting parts—especially when the true history was even wilder than the unofficial history.
____
New Story: ZZZ: Mr. Ethereal Does Not Want to See a Tragedy
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