He sensed the fluctuation of magical energy from the Command Spell. It was too fast, too fast for him to react.
He had thought Sakura Matou was already under Kyōka Suigetsu's Complete Hypnosis, but the truth was...
Had Sakura Matou evaded Kyōka Suigetsu's hypnosis, or had she never been under his control at all?
Reality left him no time to think further. He had to decide immediately. If he did not get away from Sakura Matou, both he and Kirei Kotomine would die facing Zanka no Tachi.
Then all his plans would go up in smoke.
At that thought, Aizen made his decision.
The entire world seemed to ignite in that instant.
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's Zanpakuto was no longer merely flame. Instead, all its flames were compressed into the blade. The tachi was pitch-black, and the air around it warped from the heat.
Merely passing over it caused the ground beneath his feet to begin melting rapidly.
Aizen narrowed his eyes.
He understood better than anyone what the Shinigami Captain-Commander's Bankai meant.
In fact, of everyone in Soul Society, Yamamoto was the one he least wanted to fight at full strength before successfully developing a tool to counter Ryūjin Jakka's flames.
That would mean playing to his weaknesses rather than his strengths.
After all, it was the strongest Zanpakuto Soul Society had seen in a thousand years.
Even he could not remain unaffected.
Especially against Yamamoto, whose Reiatsu had surged after releasing Bankai, Kyōka Suigetsu's ability suffered interference.
"Zanka no Tachi, East: Kyokujitsujin."
Yamamoto delivered his first slash.
There were no flames, no explosion, not even any light-only an utterly plain slash sweeping toward Aizen and Kirei Kotomine. As the two closest to it, they felt as though a world of purgatory were closing in before their eyes.
Aizen sighed.