Taking the Cruelest Beating

"This is the power of the void, no wonder..."

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto observed the spiritual pressure emanating from the entire Visored after they donned their Visored. It was no wonder that Hirako and the others were so distant; besides having a grudge against him, they were probably also trying to distinguish the relationship between Hollow's power and Soul Society.

After donning the Visored, Kensei launched the first attack, sending a large net made of wind power towards Aizen and his companions. Due to the presence of the Sakanade, the net appeared to be covering the sky, completely failing to strike Aizen and his group.

Having been immersed in illusion-type Zanpakuto for many years, Aizen would not easily believe what he saw. Bakudō #81: Dankū with Bakudo 81: Danku. From the net-like marks that appeared on Bakudō #81: Dankū, Aizen had already determined that it was the ability of Sakanade.

"Sakanade can reverse visual position; it's upside down now." Aizen shared the information with Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tōsen, mainly Gin Ichimaru, because this visual reversal Kaname Tōsen, who didn't need to see.

"Clear."

After agreeing, Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tōsen rushed out together. They both rushed to the same spot, a place without the Visored, where Hirako and the others were actually located.

Kaname Tōsen relies entirely on his spiritual pressure perception to make judgments, while Gin Ichimaru is slightly more complex. He makes inferences by visually observing the positions of the Visored and combining this with their attacks.

Without Hirako needing to speak, Kensei and Rose each led a team to meet them, while Hirako and Love appeared upside down in front of Aizen.

Aikawa Love didn't Hirako any more words than Hirako. Wielding Tengu Maru, he smashed a Scorching hammer directly at Aizen. A huge pillar of fire rose from the sky. With the enhancement of Hollowfication power, Aikawa Love's attack had reached the level of a normal captain.

As the pillar of fire gradually disappeared, Hirako's expression grew increasingly serious. He saw Aizen unharmed, using his Zanpakuto Aikawa Love's Tengu Maru; Aikawa Love's attacks were completely ineffective.

With a surge of spiritual pressure, Aikawa Love was forced back to Hirako's side. He quickly explained, "His entire body is covered in a high concentration of spiritual pressure; the Scorching hammer has no effect."

High-concentration spiritual pressure... Hirako thought it sounded somewhat like Yoruichi's Flash Cry. He hadn't expected Aizen to possess not only the eerie Kyoka Suigetsu and formidable Kido skills, but also such powerful spiritual pressure. For Aizen, Flash Cry probably wouldn't be a problem, right?

"What's wrong? This has made you lose focus?"

Aizen's voice suddenly rang out behind Hirako. Without thinking, Hirako immediately dodged forward, but he was still a fraction too slow and his arm was slashed by Aizen's sword.

How is this possible? Putting aside how Aizen found his location in the upside-down world, how Aizen appeared behind him using Flash Step? You know, even Hirako could sense when Tsuna used Sonido.

While wearing Visored, Hirako cannot Sonido Sonido technique, but this does not prevent him from detecting traces of its use.

"Isn't it strange? When did you start having the illusion that I wasn't around?"

Aizen's words fell with another explosion, this time from behind Aikawa Love, which appeared to be Hadō attack.

This Hirako, Tsuna had said back then: the limitations of his Sakanade. Sakanade's ability to invert vision had no effect on Aizen; on the contrary, Kyoka Suigetsu completely deceived the two of them.

Hirako changed his spiritual pressure manipulation strategy, and the scent emanating from Sakanade also subtly changed.

Hirako, unaware of what Aizen had done, continued to use Kyoka Suigetsu to confuse Hirako, but for some reason, he felt that his spiritual pressure manipulation was not as smooth as before.

A faint sound of shattering mirror was heard, Hirako, who had been intently observing his surroundings, immediately fired a Cero in that direction.

The Cero successfully, Aizen appeared with a somewhat strange expression. His Illusion had a flaw—a brief moment of weakness in his spiritual pressure output—which Hirako exploited.

"Heh, you don't think the ability of Sakanade is that simple, do you?" Hirako laughed smugly. Fortunately, he had listened to Tsuna's advice and trained in the ability of Sakanade. Just now, he used Sakanade to reverse Aizen's Aizen over his spiritual pressure. Although it was only for a very short moment, it was enough for Hirako to find an opening.

Seeing that Hirako upside down, Aizen understood that Hirako's abilities could not be used together yet. If he wanted to affect Kyoka Suigetsu, he could not reverse his vision.

While Aizen was deep in thought, Aikawa Love attacked him again, brandishing his Kanabo Aizen. He had realized that what he had attacked before was merely an illusion of Aizen's Kyoka Suigetsu; he would show no mercy to the real Aizen.

Just when Aikawa Love thought he was about to succeed, a slash he had never seen before forcefully deflected Tengu Maru, followed by dozens of slashes landing on Aikawa Love's chest. In a single exchange, he was cut down by Aizen.

Aizen gently Zanpakuto. He did indeed enjoy fighting with Kyoka Suigetsu and Kido, as it gave him a sense of strategic control. However, this did not mean that Aizen's Zanjutsu were inferior. The fact that he had touched the boundaries of Bleach proved that Aizen's Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hohō, Kidō were all top-notch.

Aizen's strike was a technique called Mirror Image, which uses the speed of the swing or the ability of Kyoka Suigetsu itself to unleash ten, a hundred, or even a thousand Zanjutsu in an instant. Since Hirako chose to obstruct his Kyoka Suigetsu, Aizen didn't mind letting Hirako experience the sharpness of his sword.

Hirako no longer had the mind to turn his Sakanade. Although he wasn't particularly strong, he still had some insight. He knew that if he faced Aizen's Zanjutsu head-on, it wouldn't be easy for him to counter it.

At this point, it was no longer a question of whether Hirako wanted to fight Aizen. Aizen had already closed in with Kyoka Suigetsu, Hirako could only fight and retreat, parrying Aizen's attacks while retreating towards the direction where Aikawa Love had fallen.

Hirako fought and retreated, and the others were not faring well either. Originally, with Hirako's Sakanade, Gin Ichimaru's attacks were always a beat slower because he needed to judge the opponent's position. Rose, Lisa, and Hiyori were able to gain some advantage. However, as Hirako applied the effect of the Sakanade effect to Aizen, the group visual inversion disappeared, Gin Ichimaru immediately unleashed his power.

Gin Ichimaru was now covered in tatters and bloodstains, all caused by the Sakanade effect of the three Rose. Hiyori, in particular, was chopping away with great force with that large cleaver. If he hadn't been vigilant enough, he probably would have lost an arm or a leg by now.

With his vision back under his control, Gin Ichimaru's eyes sharpened instantly. He was filled with murderous intent. For Gin Ichimaru, only Rangiku was important in this world; everyone else was irrelevant. Now that Rose and the other two had injured him so badly, he didn't mind sending them to Hell first.

"Bankai..."

The sound of Gin Ichimaru's serpentine voice made Rose, Lisa, and Hiyori pause for a moment. Upon hearing the words "Bankai," the three of them disregarded their fear and hurriedly fled in one direction.

"Shinsō!"

As Gin Ichimaru finished speaking, the Zanpakuto in his hand transformed into a white light the thickness of a tree stump, engulfing Rose and the other two. It was the light caused by the Zanpakuto contracting at an incredibly fast speed that was impossible for the naked eye to perceive. After its Bankai, the Shinsō had a speed of 500 times the speed of sound.

It's quite remarkable that Rose and his men were able to survive even a trace of their own flesh after being pierced by such a dense barrage of blades.

However, Rose and the others did survive. The moment they heard Gin Ichimaru's Bankai, not only did Rose and his two companions flee, but Hachigen, who had been providing long-range support, also cast defensive Kido Hachigen Rose and his group.

In addition, during the escape, Rose used complete Hollowfication to help Lisa and Hiyori withstand some of the damage.

In the end, Gin Ichimaru saw a giant Hollow bird riddled with holes. The Hollow's shell detached from Rose's body, and under the cover of wings that transformed from Rose's arms, Lisa and Hiyori were only seriously injured, but not in mortal danger.

In a single exchange, Gin Ichimaru inflicted his injuries a thousandfold upon Rose and his two companions. Severely wounded and Rose, the three could only helplessly fall to the ground. Unfortunately, they landed right near Aikawa Love.

Looking at Kaname Tōsen's side, because he was not affected by the visual reversal caused by the Sakanade, he did not fall at a disadvantage from the start like Gin Ichimaru. Instead, he fought Kensei, who was wearing Visored, to a standstill.

The only difficulty Kaname Tōsen felt was that he couldn't focus all his attention on Kensei, because Kuna Hak, who was behind Kensei and ready to kick him at any moment, and Hachigen, who was holding the Kido from afar, were both eyeing him covetously.

This made Kaname Tōsen's fight feel like he was being taught a lesson by Kensei. Kensei enjoyed hitting him more and more, and with Kensei and Kuna Hak's excellent teamwork, Kaname Tōsen had almost no chance to break the deadlock.

Fortunately, this opportunity didn't require Kaname Tōsen. As the world returned to normal, Gin Ichimaru's outburst attracted Hachigen's attention and caused Kuna Hak's attack support to hesitate briefly. In that instant, Kaname Tōsen fully unleash his Zanpakuto once again.

Bankai: Enma Kōrogi!

Enma Kōrogi completely enveloped the Kensei trio. Without their senses, the three were no match for Kensei Kaname Tōsen, and soon their bodies were covered in sword wounds.

The one who broke the deadlock was still Hachigen. Since he couldn't sense the opponent's presence, he decided to unleash a wide-range Kido. Rather than letting Kensei and Kuna Hak die at the hands of the enemy, breaking Kaname Tōsen's Bankai was what he needed to do.

From the outside, the spherical space of the Enma Kōrogi suddenly developed eight corners, which became increasingly prominent and gradually extended the boundaries, as if a giant cube had been stuffed inside the Enma Kōrogi's sphere. The cube gradually pushed outward, and just as it was about to break free of the Enma Kōrogi's restraints, it exploded.

Along with the explosion of the Kido Cube, Kaname Tōsen's Enma Kōrogi also shattered. Kaname Tōsen didn't feel much, only some regret that he hadn't managed to kill Kensei and the others with a single blow while inside the Enma Kōrogi.

However, it doesn't matter. This explosion doesn't distinguish between friend and foe, meaning that Kensei other two were also within the blast radius. Kaname Tōsen had already used the Bakudō #39: Enkōsen to defend himself at the moment of the explosion, and the three who had lost their senses naturally received the full impact of the explosion.

Three more battered sandbags fell from the sky. Coincidentally, everyone was in the same spot. Hirako, who had already been slashed twice by Aizen, was forced to stand in front of everyone to prevent Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tōsen pursuing them.

"What? Captain Hirako, is this your revenge?" Aizen asked smugly. In his eyes, the Visored were just playing around; what could they do besides wasting his time?

"Gin, let's move out. Leave this to me," Aizen said. The situation was now quite clear: the Visored had been almost entirely wiped out, and all the captains of the Seireitei were under his control. It was likely that Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's disregard for allies would erupt in full force. As for the Ryoka in the World of the Living, as long as Tsuna wasn't his enemy, the others were no match for him.

Even if Aizen on Sogyoku Hill, he could arrogantly tell everyone that he had surrounded them all by himself.