You've Been Buffed, Now Go Feed!

The moment the signal to begin was given, Kyōraku Shunsui and Kuchiki Byakuya had yet to move, but Yu Tianheng was the first to act.

A blue figure appeared at the center of the battlefield, charging straight at Yamamoto Shigekuni, who wore a flaming mask.

Kyōraku Shunsui paused slightly, then could not help smiling.

"Yu Tianheng is still as impulsive as ever. Too bad he picked the wrong opponent."

Yu Tianheng's thick Dragon Arm gleamed with a dazzling blue light beneath the Soul Arena's lamps. Before he even reached his opponent, blue lightning had already condensed into a claw in midair, shooting straight for Yamamoto Shigekuni's chest.

He had followed Qin Ming's advice and chosen to fight this opponent wearing a flaming mask.

As Yu Tianheng surged forward, Yamamoto Shigekuni held Ryūjin Jakka before his chest, then suddenly slashed outward.

The flames clinging to Ryūjin Jakka were unleashed along with the strike.

Facing the blazing flames, Yu Tianheng decisively used his first Soul Ring Skill.

Lightning was incredibly fast. The flames Yamamoto Shigekuni released missed their target.

The next instant, Yu Tianheng had appeared beside Yamamoto Shigekuni, his blue-violet lightning claw already at the man's chest.

"Shoot him dead, Shinso!"

Just as the lightning claw was about to strike Yamamoto Shigekuni, a sharp blade came hurtling in. Its swift speed made Yu Tianheng hesitate.

Should he abandon the attack?

"Keep attacking!" Kuchiki Byakuya's calm voice came from behind him.

A mass of pink petals swept in from behind Yu Tianheng, wrapping around Shinso with a series of clanging sounds. Shinso's extending speed visibly slowed.

"Oh, you can do that?" Ichimaru Gin looked toward Kuchiki Byakuya, far behind Yu Tianheng, and exclaimed in surprise.

With Kuchiki Byakuya's support, Yu Tianheng's confidence soared. He smiled at Yamamoto Shigekuni.

"You're finished!"

Yamamoto Shigekuni took a step back to the side, drawing Ryūjin Jakka to his waist before slashing out with force.

Iai Slash!

The Gōka no Ken and lightning claw collided in an instant, their forces knocking each other away.

Yamamoto Shigekuni was completely unharmed, save for three claw marks beside him.

Yu Tianheng, however, was in a much worse state. Aside from the charred trail of fire beside him, his lightning dragon claw was covered in blackened burns, trembling faintly from the pain.

At the center of the battlefield, Kyōraku Shunsui adjusted the straw hat on his head and looked at Aizen.

"Young man, are we fighting seriously or just messing around?"

Aizen withdrew his gaze from Yamamoto Shigekuni and Yu Tianheng, then looked at Kyōraku Shunsui.

"Let's be a little serious. If we mess around too much, they'll notice something's off."

Kyōraku Shunsui hesitated for a moment. "Being serious is good. If they're serious, how about I slack off?"

Aizen could not help smiling.

"Enough nonsense. Take this!"

Hyōrinmaru swept out in a slash, freezing a circular area along the blade's path. Kyōraku Shunsui flipped into the air, then spun like a top.

Inefficient Spinning Top!

The wind of blades descended from above, seeking to restrict Aizen's movements. Aizen controlled the Ice Blades that had formed in the frozen area and sent them soaring into the sky, shattering Kyōraku Shunsui's Inefficient Spinning Top.

Just as he was about to pursue, a powerful figure burst through the frozen area, smashing apart all the ice debris in its path. A flaming greatsword was raised overhead.

Getsuga Tenshō!

Getsuga Tenshō!

The two slashes collided, instantly splitting the battlefield apart and depriving Aizen of his chance to pursue Kyōraku Shunsui.

"Whoa, that was close!"

After landing, Kyōraku patted his chest in relief.

"If that slash had hit me, I would've been badly injured."

"Tch!" Kurosaki Ichigo stood behind Aizen with Zangetsu slung over his shoulder, clicking his tongue.

The clash between their Getsuga Tenshō attacks appeared to have ended in a draw.

Whoosh!

A piercing sound rang out beside them. Aizen and Kurosaki Ichigo turned toward it, only to see a black figure racing toward them.

It moved like black lightning, cracking the ground wherever it passed.

"So fast!"

Aizen cried out in surprise and instinctively raised an arm to block. The lightning-wreathed fist struck his arm, and its immense force sent him stumbling back seven or eight meters.

The black figure's punch failed to land decisively, so it flipped into the air and brought down a leg like a battle axe, leaving a long afterimage through the air.

Shihouin Yoruichi!

Worthy of the Flash God, she was so fast that even Aizen could not track her.

There was no time to dodge this blow. He could only take it head-on. He raised his arm as layers of icy air gathered above him, forming an eggshell-like wall of ice.

The axe-like kick instantly shattered the ice wall and crashed onto Aizen's arm, driving his entire body into the Soul Arena Stage. The solid ground immediately caved in, leaving a crater half a meter deep and three meters wide.

Maintaining her split-kick posture, Shihouin Yoruichi stood on one foot before Aizen. Seeing that his body had not moved at all and only the stage beneath his feet had been damaged, she snarled in dissatisfaction.

"Why are you so tough?"

"Your speed is impressive, but your strength is still lacking." Aizen exerted force and slowly lifted Shihouin Yoruichi's leg.

Shihouin Yoruichi frowned deeply. No matter how much strength she used, she could not suppress Aizen. She simply gave up on the idea, used Aizen's force to perform a backflip, and returned to her team to think of another way to deal with him.

Grimmjow, however, had no intention of giving them time. He leaped over Aizen's head, his agile body evading the half-hearted Kyōraku Shunsui and the half-serious Shiba Isshin as he charged at Shihouin Yoruichi.

"You're strong. Be my opponent!"

Shihouin Yoruichi had not wanted to agree. Their plan had been to deal with Aizen together first, but seeing Kyōraku Shunsui holding back so blatantly made her furious. She could only face Grimmjow.

The two quickly left the core battlefield and ran to the edge of the Soul Arena Stage to fight.

That left only Kyōraku Shunsui and Shiba Isshin facing Aizen and Kurosaki Ichigo.

"Young man, want to talk?" Kyōraku Shunsui once again embraced his philosophy of avoiding a fight whenever possible.

Aizen nodded.

"I actually want to talk too."

Then he pointed at Dugu Yan behind Kyōraku Shunsui.

"But she doesn't look like she wants to negotiate."

Dugu Yan, who possessed the Jade Scale Serpent martial soul, had seen her emerald eyes turn purple. Even the emerald scales on her martial soul's snake tail were covered in a purple glow. She opened her mouth and breathed out a dense cloud of purple mist, which rapidly spread through the air and surged toward Aizen's side.

Kyōraku Shunsui looked at Dugu Yan awkwardly.

"Yan Er, you've made things troublesome now."

Dugu Yan smiled faintly after releasing the snake venom and said gently, "Yes, it's troublesome now. In such a troublesome situation, you can't slack off anymore, can you?"

"I absolutely won't give you the chance to slack off!"

The captain of the Royal Fight Team had everything going for him—great strength, high intelligence, and a steady mindset—but he had one flaw: he loved slacking off!

If he could avoid fighting, he absolutely would, unless someone forced him to act.

Kurosaki Ichigo frowned as he watched the purple mist drift over.

"What is that?"

"It's snake venom. If it touches you, your whole body will rot. Terrifying, isn't it?" Aizen put on a frightened expression and tried to scare Kurosaki Ichigo.

"Urahara Kisuke, your turn."

One of the two people at the rear of the battlefield, the hat-wearing Urahara Kisuke, chuckled and took a pellet from the box on his back, tossing it toward the purple mist.

Bang!

The pellet exploded, releasing a large amount of smoke.

"Is that all?" Dugu Yan laughed disdainfully. "Using smoke to block my poison? Ridiculous!"

Very soon, Dugu Yan could no longer laugh.

The smoke actually absorbed all the purple mist, then slowly settled onto the ground, leaving behind what looked like a purple ink painting across the floor of the Soul Arena Stage.

"Hmph!" Dugu Yan's cheeks reddened as she stomped her foot in frustration. She even wanted someone to vent on, but there was no one around her except the aloof Ye Lingling. There was no way she could take it out on Ye Lingling.

She knew the Soul Tools of that hat-wearing youth were endlessly varied, but she had not expected him to neutralize her snake venom so easily.

"Beautiful, what other moves do you have? Bring them all out," Aizen teased when he saw how adorable Dugu Yan looked while angry.

"Just you wait!" Dugu Yan put her hands on her hips as her first and second Soul Rings lit up.

Jade Scale Red Poison, Excitement Poison. Stimulates the nerves, increasing attack power and speed by 20%!

Jade Scale Blue Poison, Paralysis Poison. Eliminates pain and increases defense by 30%!

The two poisons entered the bodies of every teammate on the field except Ye Lingling. Dugu Yan shouted loudly.

"You've been buffed! Now go feed!"

Kyōraku Shunsui and Shiba Isshin looked helplessly at Dugu Yan, thinking to themselves.

You just want us to go feed ourselves, don't you?