Torrent!
A torrent of gravity surged out from Ishikawa's body, and with him as the center, a gravity torrent that even distorted space-time completely blocked out the terrifying suction force coming from all around him.
At the same time, Ishikawa suddenly raised his left hand and pressed it towards Aizen in the distance through the void. With this aerial press, the surrounding void distorted even more violently, and black, raindrop-like gravity ripples appeared in the sky above Karakura Town.
This scene looked extremely terrifying.
However, Aizen, at the center of the torrent, remained as unmoving as a mountain. No matter how intense the torrent that distorted space-time became, it could not affect him in the slightest.
On the other side, Ishikawa's raised left hand did not fall, and he quickly chanted aloud:
"The abyss of a thousand hands, the venerable hand that cannot reach the deep darkness, the heavenly archer that cannot be reflected, the path where glory spills, the wind that ignites the embers, gather without confusion, heed my command…"
As he chanted, black orbs appeared around Ishikawa's body. Each time an orb condensed, the torrent of gravity within Ishikawa's body, along with his Reiatsu, surged into it, making the energy within the formed orb even more terrifying.
"Light Bullet, Eight Bodies, Nine Strips, Heavenly Sutra, Swift Treasure, Great Wheel, the grey turret, drawing its bow towards the distance, dissipating brightly!"
Kido fusion?
Aizen's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise. Kido fusion was not difficult, especially the fusion of Kido of the same attribute, which was extremely common.
But for someone like Ishikawa, to fuse two top-tier Hado of completely different and unrelated attributes, even those of the nineties, was extremely rare.
The reason Ishikawa could achieve this was entirely because he first used Shunko to integrate Kurohitsugi into his body, and then used his Reiatsu, which had integrated the characteristics of Kurohitsugi, to cast Kido, causing all the Kido he released to be imbued with the characteristics of Kurohitsugi.
"Hado No. 91: Senju Kōten Taihō!"
Buzz!!
As the void trembled, several black orbs formed streaks of light, like meteors, enveloping Aizen.
From the orbs transforming into meteors to enveloping Aizen, all of this was completed in the blink of an eye, as if the nearly hundred-meter distance did not exist at all.
"Not bad."
Aizen nodded in admiration, but still made no move.
However…
Just as the light streaks formed by Senju Kōten Taihō reached Aizen's vicinity, they suddenly froze without warning, as if the world had stopped turning at that moment.
Crack!
The sound of shattering glass echoed, and the void where the Senju Kōten Taihō light streaks were located shattered like a mirror. Countless fragments scattered, along with the Kido light streaks caught within, turning into dust.
This scene looked extremely bizarre, as if the entire area where he was located had transformed into a kaleidoscope mirror, containing all attacks directed at him, and disappearing as the mirror shattered.
This made Ishikawa, even in his current state, frown involuntarily.
If that's the case.
Ishikawa's body vibrated, and while the surging gravity torrent within him blocked the surrounding suction, flames, lightning, and black light once again emerged from within his body.
Hado No. 73: Sōren Sōkatsui;
Hadō No. 88: Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō;
Hado No. 91: Senju Kōten Taihō!
Three Kido of different attributes were simultaneously integrated into Ishikawa's body in the form of Shunko, causing his body to swell suddenly, like an inflated balloon.
However, in the next second, his body returned to normal.
Boom boom boom boom—
Deafening roars emanated from Ishikawa's body, and terrifying energy ripples surged out from his pores.
Ishikawa's black hair wildly danced. The simultaneous integration of four Kido, even with his physique having reached the first stage, caused a subtle, overwhelming sense of expansion.
But…
It's not the limit yet!
With this thought, the four energy fluctuations on Ishikawa's body, along with his Reiatsu, all surged into his Zanpakuto.
The influx of various lights did not make the Zanpakuto multicolored; instead, after a slight tremor, Kokumei perfectly contained the four different energies.
And at this instant, Ishikawa slashed down towards Aizen.
With this single slash, the entire area plunged into darkness, and the world became incredibly silent, even terrifyingly so.
Crack!
A crisp sound broke the silence. The five-petaled cosmos that enveloped Ishikawa's body completely shattered. This single slash tore open the sky.
After breaking free from its restraints, this slash did not disappear, nor did its power diminish. It continued to cut down towards Aizen!
Above the ruins of Karakura Town, a slash that devoured all light and distorted space-time approached Aizen amidst a fierce roar.
Facing this incoming attack, Aizen, who had remained motionless since entering the 'State of Fearlessness,' moved for the first time.
Because even he dared not underestimate this slash.
It contained not only four Kido but also Ishikawa's own terrifying physical strength and Reiatsu, all perfectly integrated. The power it could unleash was not merely additive, but almost multiplicative!
To be honest, Ishikawa being able to fight him to this extent had already exceeded Aizen's expectations, let alone his attack actually making him feel threatened.
As someone who had watched Ishikawa grow all this time, Aizen couldn't help but marvel at Ishikawa's progress.
His very existence seemed to contradict Aizen, causing Aizen's judgments about him to be repeatedly wrong.
"Ishikawa, do you know what a god is?"
As he spoke, the fearless and dauntless aura around Aizen instantly surged to its peak:
"What is called a god, is the heavens!"
Aizen raised his hand and pressed it towards the approaching slash: "All things shall fall before God, falling into confusion and chaos, and then…"
A sound like colliding glass emanated, and the air around Aizen suddenly transformed into a purple, diamond-shaped kaleidoscope, as if his entire being had merged into the mirror fragments.
And in his raised palm, a crystal flower made of mirror fragments appeared.
The style of that flower was identical to the overlapping kaleidoscope around Aizen's body.
"…Shatter to pieces!"
As his right hand closed, the entire world at that moment seemed to be held in Aizen's hand, and with his squeeze, it burst apart.
Crack!
A crisp sound echoed, and the world suddenly brightened.
That slash had vanished in mid-air, and the weather changes caused by the slash also dissipated.
Everything seemed so quiet; from beginning to end, only a single crisp sound was heard.
There was no violent impact, no monstrous ripples; in just an instant, the slash that had altered the weather disappeared silently.
Aizen withdrew his gaze and looked down at the ground.
He saw that Ishikawa, who had originally been in mid-air with him, had already taken advantage of the momentary gap to land on the ground.
Aizen smiled indifferently at this, a majestic look appearing in his eyes:
"To make me feel threatened, you can be proud. In response, I will let you experience what a god is, and then I will step over your corpse to ascend to the Soul King Palace. Perhaps one day in the future, when I look down from the Soul King Palace, I might still remember the traces of your existence."
"To be remembered by God is also a form of immortality, isn't it?"
Aizen knew that Ishikawa landing on the ground must be to do something, but he was completely indifferent to it and descended directly to the ground.
Watching Aizen descend from the sky, a light glimmered in Ishikawa's eyes. The Reiatsu Crest within his body roared into operation, reaching its peak in just an instant.
At the same time, an invisible ripple emerged from Ishikawa's body.
Wherever the ripple passed, the earth trembled violently, and cracks rapidly appeared on the ground, spreading to cover almost the entire Karakura Town. At the same time, Ishikawa's right hand formed a claw, and he fiercely lifted it upwards.
"Earth Surge!"
As Ishikawa murmured, the entire surface layer of the Karakura Town ruins suddenly lifted into the air at that moment.
This Kido was precisely the Earth Surge that Ishikawa had once created to resist Baraggan's aging ability. Under his own powerful Reiatsu, Ishikawa almost turned the entire surface soil of the Karakura Town ruins into his own dominion, and countless surface soils quickly gathered towards Ishikawa.
Amidst the flying yellow sand, the entire area became somewhat withered and yellow.
And within the withered yellow…
The gathered soil, as if conscious, continuously gathered towards Ishikawa's body.
Finally, it formed a hundred-meter giant made entirely of soil!
"Oh?"
Aizen looked at the scene before him, unable to help but feel a little surprised.
If it was just gathering soil, it wouldn't be worth mentioning, but he could clearly feel that the soil was like Ishikawa's body tissue; it wasn't just gathering, but truly becoming a part of his body.
Absolute Subordination!
The attack power of Earth Surge was not strong, but its ability to subjugate soil allowed Ishikawa to completely transform the soil into a part of his own body, allowing this soil-formed body to perfectly magnify Ishikawa's own strength.
"Kokumei!"
Ishikawa's soft cry came from within the soil giant. As the sound fell, Reishi continuously gathered in the soil giant's cupped hand, forming a giant blade.
The grey blade, and the hilt completely fused with the soil giant's right hand, made it look as if Ishikawa had suddenly expanded countless times, rather than merely donning a layer of soil.
Feeling the power emanating from his current body, the giant formed by Ishikawa looked down at Aizen.
The last Kido, he had originally planned to integrate Itto Kaso, but in the end, Ishikawa still abandoned this idea. Although due to his own reasons, Captain-Commander Yamamoto did not use Itto Kaso on Aizen, he clearly remembered in his memory that Itto Kaso would not pose a great threat to Aizen.
Most importantly…
Itto Kaso was a forbidden sacrificial Kido, meaning that no matter how strong Ishikawa's physique was, when Itto Kaso was integrated, a portion of his spiritual body would be used as a sacrifice to activate this Kido.
And this kind of sacrifice was not just a one-time thing, but a continuous sacrifice over time.
It was precisely for this reason that he completely lost his Shinigami abilities after integrating Itto Kaso in his previous battle with Aizen, because his spiritual body had been almost entirely sacrificed.
So in the end, Ishikawa still gave up on the idea of integrating Itto Kaso.
However, integrating other Kido either placed too much burden on the body or had severely insufficient power.
Ultimately, Ishikawa chose Earth Surge, created by the system based on the Quincy's 'Absolute Subordination'!
In the current situation, this could be said to be the Kido that could maximize Ishikawa's abilities, but this Kido was not without its drawbacks.
It consumed an enormous amount of Reiatsu. To subjugate so much soil, even with Ishikawa's current Reiatsu, he could only maintain it for a few minutes, and this was even under the condition of the Reiatsu Crest operating in overload.
The Human World was ultimately not Hueco Mundo or Soul Society; Reishi was incredibly weak here. No matter how fast the Reiatsu Crest replenished spiritual power, it was completely useless!
Victory or defeat, life or death, would be decided within these few minutes!
Aizen stood in the void, looking at the soil giant before him, his expression becoming incredibly serious.
Threat~!
Even under his fearless and dauntless will, he still felt a threat from the soil giant before him.
This forced him to concentrate and respond.
However, this threat did not make Aizen feel apprehensive, nor even panicked.
Instead…
Deep down, he even felt a faint anticipation.
Having evolved all this way, his mindset had shifted from calm to irritable, impulsive, and finally gradually returned to its initial tranquility.
But now, everything Ishikawa displayed made him feel an inner restlessness.
The restlessness of hoping for an all-out battle!
Originally, he had thought that this kind of restlessness would only appear when he ascended to the Soul King Palace.
"Ishikawa!!"
This made Aizen unable to help but call out his opponent's name, his tone devoid of contempt or the majesty of someone who called himself a god, but rather a seriousness and anticipation akin to facing an equal opponent.
Aizen was not a god…
At least not yet!
Ishikawa was absolutely certain of this, because although Aizen was powerful now.
But he wasn't strong enough to knock down the Soul King Palace by himself. Right now, he was only fused with the Hōgyoku, not having the Hōgyoku destroyed and its power completely transformed into his own strength!!
I can win!!
These three words echoed wildly in Ishikawa's mind.
The third time…
This was his third confrontation with Aizen, and he had already suffered two crushing defeats.
This time…
I will never lose!!
Buzz~
Amidst a terrifying roar, the massive Kokumei stirred the air, whipping up a storm. As purple light bloomed within it, it simply and directly slashed down on Aizen's head.
Strength, Reiatsu, and the energies of five Kido, at this moment, all spread through Ishikawa's body to the surface of the soil giant.
One move, and it was with all his might!
Facing this slash, Aizen let out a soft cry, and the cross-shaped crystal on his chest glowed brightly, turning the entire area into a heavily folded kaleidoscope, encompassing everything.
In the void above, the deep five-petaled flower reappeared, and from within it, pairs of large hands reached out, pressing down on the blade Ishikawa was striking with.
Similarly, he held nothing back. After entering the 'State of Fearlessness,' Aizen was truly going all out for the first time.
The crystal in his hand shattered, and ripples that seemed capable of destroying everything spread out between the two.
The entire world fell silent the instant the two energies made contact.
Then…
An unprecedented roar echoed through the sky, like a clap of thunder, spreading out and reaching beyond Karakura Town, causing those in other cities who heard the loud noise to turn their heads towards Karakura Town.
The entire Karakura Town was engulfed in a storm, looking as if it were the end of the world.
However, in a certain corner of Karakura Town, amidst the ruins, a building still stood in place, with a sign bearing large characters…
Urahara Shop!
Around the shop, an energy barrier blocked all impacts.
Yoruichi stood within the barrier, her Reiatsu surging, her clothes already soaked with sweat.
"Hey, hey, hey, Kisuke, those two guys are absolutely crazy!"
Yoruichi yelled at the top of her lungs to the person behind her: "Have you finished yet? If they keep fighting, it might not just be Karakura Town that gets affected."
Creak—
Just as she finished speaking, the shop door was pulled open, and a figure emerged from within.