"Naraku, follow my lead in a moment."
Aizen hadn't moved his lips, yet his voice rang clearly in Naraku's ears.
Naraku gave him a surprised look.
Ignoring his expression, Aizen continued, face impassive:
"That man is at least vice-captain level. Going head-on isn't smart. When Dankū breaks, use your strongest move to create an opening for us to escape."
Naraku nodded thoughtfully. "My strongest move, huh. Got it."
If Aizen said so, he must have his reasons.
For some reason though, seeing that expression on Naraku's face gave Aizen a bad feeling.
At a time like this, when their lives were on the line, he really hoped Naraku wasn't planning anything… creative.
While the two exchanged messages in secret, the Shinigami outside the barrier was running out of patience.
Their Reiatsu levels were about the same. So why hadn't this kid burned out yet?
Even most vice-captains couldn't handle Dankū. This boy had thrown out six at once and wasn't even short of breath.
What was he?
Thinking about how he himself couldn't even chantless-cast Dankū yet made the man's face twist with resentment. He wanted to tear the barrier down right now—
And hack the two brats inside into pieces.
No comparison, no misery.
Once, Ishikawa Sāsuke had thought of himself as a Kidō prodigy too. Back at the Academy, he'd graduated with full marks in Kidō.
Now he finally understood: real prodigies didn't "ace" exams because they got everything right.
They got full marks because that was as far as the test could measure.
Even among perfect scores, there were still gaps.
While he was stewing in hatred, Ishikawa Sāsuke suddenly noticed the Dankū wall starting to blur. The boy maintaining it was visibly pale.
"At your limit, are you?"
His hand tightened on his sword hilt. Reiatsu wrapped around his body like liquid fire, radiating outward in waves.
The moment Dankū shattered, he'd strike faster than lightning and kill them both on the spot—no chance to counter, no chance to escape.
But what he didn't expect was for his "target"—the one who'd been slacking off the whole time—to shift his grip. Naraku lazily adjusted his fingers and rested his hand on his sword hilt.
"A last-ditch struggle?" Ishikawa sneered.
"If that brat next to you was still at full strength, it might be hard to say who'd win. But do you really think he still has any fight left?"
"You idiot who can't even read the situation—your only ending is death."
"Blame yourself for standing in a path you should've stayed away from."
Naraku grinned. "How do you know if it won't work until you try?"
"And another thing—this 'path' I'm blocking. Don't tell me it belongs to one of the Five Great Noble Houses… Kuchiki?"
Ishikawa blinked, then nodded, admitting it openly:
"That's right. I'm here under orders from Lord Kuchiki Gin—"
Before he could finish, Naraku turned to Aizen and said loudly:
"Got it. Shihōin faction remnant."
Ishikawa Sāsuke: "?!"
Aizen: "…"
He really didn't want to participate in this level of insanity, but the Dankū barrier was already failing.
Right now, their only hope lay with Naraku. As long as he could stall the enemy for even a moment, they might have a chance to run.
Realizing he'd been played, Ishikawa went from embarrassed to furious. His already thick Reiatsu flared even higher, rising like a pillar of light from the cracked earth.
Crack.
The sound of shattering came from ahead as the barrier finally broke. A tidal wave of Reiatsu crashed toward them, making the fractured ground groan.
It began to crumble.
What surprised Aizen was that the anticipated attack didn't immediately follow. Naraku didn't seem to have timed his move with the breaking of Dankū.
"Perfect opportunity!"
Seeing neither of them move, Ishikawa's eyes lit up. He prepared to unleash his strongest strike to kill them both in one blow.
But as he lifted his Zanpakutō, a sharp chill crawled up his spine.
Naraku had raised his sword in the same stance, his face utterly calm, without a hint of emotion. The blade dipped, pointing straight at the cracked earth.
Threads of blood-red Reiatsu wrapped around his body, slowly devouring him from head to toe until not a trace of his presence leaked out.
In the silence, something like radiance began to stir.
A faint voice rang across the dead battlefield:
"Ten Trillion Kalpas—Punishment of Jaya."
Boom—
Something impossible unfolded.
Blazing karmic fire surged from Naraku's Reiatsu. Endless light flooded the dark wasteland, like a new sun rising from the horizon.
It radiated boundless heat and brilliance.
The temperature spiked, searingly hot—but deep in Ishikawa's heart, an icy terror bloomed instead, twisting his features.
"W-what is this…"
Naraku, wreathed in roaring flame, grinned.
"Drop the tiles."
The instant he finished, his figure flashed from the ground. The blood-red blade rose high, then came down in a simple, unadorned strike.
Ishikawa didn't dare take it lightly. He flipped his grip and raised his sword to block.
The next second, a crushing force slammed into his blade.
It was like colliding head-on with a mountain moving at full speed. He was hurled backward instantly, flying like a meteor across the sky.
Only when his body disappeared into the distance did the delayed explosion finally roar through the land.
That probe alone had completely reversed their roles.
Still reeling from the shock, Ishikawa barely had time to open his eyes before a flaming figure was already in front of him.
Like a demon.
The blade lifted again without a word.
Bakudō #39: Enkōsen!
On pure instinct, Ishikawa recited the spell he knew best. A circular shield of reishi sprang up in front of him—
His last ditch attempt to block the point-blank strike.
Light, brighter than anything he'd ever seen, exploded along Naraku's blade. Bakudō defenses, condensed Reiatsu—everything shattered under the weight of that plain, straightforward swing.
Utter, merciless destruction.
As the cut fell, blistering heat and towering lightning speared upward, painting the entire forest a different color.
Watching that overwhelming spectacle, Aizen's face was full of disbelief as he stared at Naraku.
He suddenly remembered his earlier words.
Was this guy's "strongest power" not just a bit excessive?
And was the gap between Zanpakutō really this insane?
Thinking of his own Kyōka Suigetsu, a helpless, almost tired feeling rippled through him.
I'm done… Go ahead, world. Burn.