"Aizen, go back first."
Aiyan stepped through the crowd and came to Aizen.
"Alright."
"Brother, be careful."
"Don't beat Shinji-sensei to death."
Aizen glanced at his older brother. The moment he saw that cold, piercing look in Aiyan's eyes—unhidden and direct—his heart, once set on godhood, above all mortals, willing to treat everything as a chessboard and everyone as pieces, trembled slightly.
Like a ripple across a still lake.
...Was this what it felt like, to be cared for?
He didn't expect it.
And yet, it made him... happy?
"…"
Hirako Shinji's expression twisted into something unreadable upon hearing those words.
To everyone else, it sounded like concern.
But to Shinji?
It was like Aizen was goading his brother into killing him.
"Mr. Shinji," Aiyan called out with a faint smile.
"Kendo? Or a proper Shinigami battle?"
Facing Aizen's words, Hirako only gave a faint, unreadable nod. Then he turned, standing across from Aiyan.
"I'm invincible. You can fight however you want."
Shinji's grin stretched across his face, filled with confidence and amusement.
Sure, Aiyan casting Bakudō #81: Dankū without incantation had shocked him earlier. But he wasn't afraid. As a captain of the Gotei 13, he had full confidence in his strength.
After all, how could someone become a captain if they didn't stand at the very peak?
Talent was one thing. But true strength required time.
"Since this is a kendo class," Aiyan replied evenly, "what you had with Aizen just now was a sword duel. Why don't we properly finish what you started?"
He slowly placed his right hand on the hilt of his Zanpakutō and drew it from the sheath in a single, fluid motion.
"Sure thing!"
Even before his words had fully landed, Hirako Shinji activated Shunpo, leaving only a blur where he once stood.
He reappeared in front of Aiyan, like a wraith, Zanpakutō raised high, slashing down with immense Reiatsu. The air around the blade trembled and cracked, as if boiling under the force.
It was a simple strike—just a vertical slash.
Elegant in its simplicity.
Crude, but deadly.
Like splitting a mountain in one blow.
Simple, but in Shinji's hands, that technique carried destructive power few could match.
Those watching from the sides felt cold sweat on their backs. Shihōin Yoruichi could only imagine retreating. Urahara Kisuke would probably sacrifice all his gadgets just to escape. Even Byakuya Kuchiki, if using Senbonzakura in Shikai, would see every petal sliced away.
This was the gap in Reiatsu.
This was the difference in swordsmanship.
When the two were combined, it created an overwhelming force.
However—
Clang!
The moment Shinji's sword came crashing down, Aiyan didn't flinch.
He calmly raised his Zanpakutō with one hand, swinging from below to meet the blow.
As the blades clashed, sparks flew violently. A shockwave of Reiatsu exploded from the impact point, shaking the entire kendo hall. The wooden floor beneath them cracked like dry earth under an earthquake.
Dust surged into the air, swept up in the spiritual pressure.
But when it cleared—
Aiyan still stood, unmoved.
Shinji's full-powered slash, strong enough to split a hill, hadn't even made him take a step back.
He blocked it with one hand. Steady. Unshaken.
"…Interesting."
"No wonder your little brother told you to be careful."
"But if this is all you've got," Shinji smirked, "then calling it 'deadly' is just childish arrogance."
Though he spoke lightly, the seriousness in his eyes betrayed his growing caution.
That strike was no weaker than the one he had used on Aizen. But Aiyan handled it like nothing. In swordsmanship and Reiatsu, he clearly surpassed Aizen.
"Is that so?"
Aiyan's eyes glinted gold. Flame-like golden Reiatsu burst out of him like a wildfire.
He shifted his grip, channeling spiritual pressure into his blade. Then, with one powerful swing, he released a crescent-shaped golden slash into the sky.
Boom!
Shinji's expression changed.
The force that erupted from Aiyan's slash felt like a surging tide.
He tried to resist, but the sheer pressure forced him backward—ten meters in retreat.
Before he could recover, Aiyan stepped forward, now gripping his Zanpakutō with both hands.
With a smooth twist of his wrists, the blade arced in the air like lightning.
He stepped in and slashed straight down.
"The Way of the Sword: Twin Breaks."
The spiritual particles around them, invisible to normal eyes, instantly vaporized from the intensity of the strike, like snow caught in a blaze.
Boom!
Shinji stomped down with his right foot, forcing his body still.
Using all his strength, he raised his Zanpakutō in a defensive cross-guard just as the golden slash crashed down.
Crash!
The explosion of Reiatsu swallowed everything in its path.
Shinji was flung backward, spinning through the air like a cannonball, leaving a trail of torn air behind him. Though he used spiritual pressure as footholds to slow himself, the force still dragged him across the air, creating a trail of dust over ten meters long before he barely managed to land.
"…That's all?" he mocked, raising his chin.
But even as he spoke—
His eyes widened.
"The Way of the Sword: Hundred-Step Flying Sword!"
At some point, Aiyan had switched to a one-handed grip.
He drew his arm back.
Then—
He let go.
Woooosh!
His Zanpakutō cut through the air, releasing a high-pitched, piercing sound that echoed like a dragon's cry across the entire Spiritual Arts Academy.
The released sword transformed in mid-air.
Glowing with golden Reiatsu, the blade turned into a massive energy dragon, its roar shaking the building, its eyes glowing with a savage light.
It dived toward Hirako Shinji with terrifying speed.
A flying sword technique—
Backed by captain-level Reiatsu.
"What kind of sword style is this?!"
Shinji roared as he raised his Zanpakutō with both hands, aiming directly at the oncoming dragon's mouth. He struck the upper fangs while bracing his feet against its lower jaw, pouring his Reiatsu into defense.
But the force…
It was too much.
His body bent backward under the pressure.
He couldn't find a stable footing. He was forced to retreat mid-air, helpless against the slanted energy torrent pushing him further and further back.
Until—
Boom!
He was sent crashing into the back wall of the kendo hall.
The entire structure shook with the impact.
Cracks spiderwebbed out from the point of collision.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Silence followed.
Even the students watching forgot to breathe.
[Small Challenge for you guys, If we hit 10 new comments on today's chapters, I'll drop 5 extra chapters later today]
[Let's aim for it before 7 PM UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) ]