Silence.
A deathly silence enveloped the entire battlefield.
Kurosaki Ichigo's pupils contracted slightly. He had known Saitama was strong, but witnessing Artosh get blasted into a bloody mist with a single punch still left him somewhat awestruck.
This kind of power might not have been as terrifying as Bai Xuan casually reversing time and changing the world, but the direct sight of someone being blasted into scraps was equally shocking.
Aizen was not surprised by the strength Saitama displayed. From Saitama's attack, he had also seen the gap between himself and Saitama.
Even though it was merely a simple punch, it contained power enough to destroy everything.
Artosh's bloody mist was still dispersing, but soon, those golden droplets of blood seemed to receive some kind of summons and began gathering upward against gravity.
Every drop of blood glowed as if it contained an independent life, intertwining in the air into a brilliant golden web.
"Hahahaha! What power, taken to the absolute extreme!"
"Just as expected of you, Saitama!"
Artosh's voice reverberated from the void. The blood mist rapidly condensed, first outlining a vague skeletal frame. Then, muscle fibers coiled over it like living things, skin covered it inch by inch, and Artosh descended once more.
"Whoosh!"
His Shinso condensed in his hand once more. More violent arcs of energy than before coiled around the spear, while the pressure radiating from his body had increased severalfold.
The way Artosh looked at Saitama was like he was looking at some incomparably precious treasure.
In truth, Saitama's existence was a treasure beyond measure to Artosh.
A single punch had killed him, and had also elevated his strength beyond the level of the punch Saitama had just used.
And that was still far from Saitama's limit.
He could not imagine what heights he would