Chapter 233

Aizen stood silently in place, his gaze fixed on the figure at the edge of the ruins.

The Retsu Unohana.

Her arrival was so sudden.

Moreover, the moment Unohana, her gaze swept across the hillside.

That wasn't a casual glance; it was an instinctive lock-on after sensing something unusual.

At that moment, Aizen activated Kyōka Suigetsu, completely concealing himself, Kaname Tōsen, and Gin Ichimaru's figures.

No wonder he's a character who's lived for over a thousand years.

Aizen thought to himself.

This accumulation of Reiatsu and this sensitivity to the environment are enough to intimidate any region.

Even if Aizen were to fight her, he wouldn't be able to defeat her.

However, her Kendō, accumulated combat experience and Reiatsu over a thousand years, as well as her Bankai which she has never shown in public, would likely come at a considerable cost to defeat her.

The plan is only halfway through; the subsequent schemes to expose the Quincy and frame Kisuke Urahara still await his action.

First Kenpachi here was not part of his plan.

Then, Aizen's heart sank a little further.

The Unohana is here indicates that the pawn he planted in Seireitei has been discovered.

But that stand-in was someone he had specially chosen. After being meticulously adjusted by the Kyōka Suigetsu technique, his Reiatsu, appearance, and voice were completely identical to Wang Xun's.

His words and actions were also personally trained by him. He had the team member practice repeatedly the daily interactions, the attitude towards colleagues, and even the tone and wording when speaking to Unohana.

How did Unohana discover this in such a short period of time, given that it was merely a replacement?

Aizen frowned slightly, then stopped thinking.

That's true. No matter how well the imitation is done, it would be hard to fool the captain who had close ties with Wang Xun.

Unlike his relationship with Shinji Hirako, which was strictly guarded and with very little communication, he could simply pick someone from the Fifth Division, make slight adjustments, and have them attend various occasions in his place, without ever being discovered.

Unfortunately, Unohana appeared at a truly inopportune time.

Aizen raised his hand, his fingertips lightly touching the hilt of Kyōka Suigetsu, blocking Unohana's hearing so that she couldn't hear any sound coming from that direction.

Then he looked at Wang Xun, who was in the middle of the ruins.

"Wang Xun, don't reveal our whereabouts."

After saying that, Aizen looked at Wang Xun curiously, wondering how he would behave in front of Unohana.

The current situation, while not exactly what he expected, is rather interesting.

Now, it all depends on Unohana's attitude towards Wang Xun.

She had every reason to kill Wang Xun, the vice-captain who had turned out to be a traitor.

As an accomplice in the murder of multiple captains, any one of these charges would be enough to make her draw her knife.

If there was truly murderous intent, then no matter what other thoughts Wang Xun might have, he would have no way out but to follow him down this dark path.

But if Unohana is going to protect Wang Xun...

That situation is unlikely to occur.

After all, harming a colleague is a serious crime.

Wang Xun has only been a member of the Fourth Division for two years, how could his bond with Unohana be so deep...?

Unohana's gaze fell on Wang Xun.

Her Zanpakuto was not yet drawn, but the chilling Reiatsu had already spread from her body, silently surging among the rubble of the ruins.

She looked at Wang Xun, at the bone mask that partially covered his face, at the Zanpakuto in his hand still stained with Shinji Hirako's blood, and at the captains lying on the ground behind him, being corrupted by Hollowfication.

What happened here?

Her voice was soft, but every word carried a chilling edge.

"Why is there a fake Wang Xun following me?"

Wang Xun looked at Unohana, his fingers tightening slightly as he Zanpakuto.

He never expected to see Unohana here.

The person he was waiting for was Kisuke Urahara.

Logically, Urahara should have noticed the anomaly earlier, but Unohana arrived first.

This means that Urahara was unable to directly expose the Stand at the headquarters meeting; instead, Unohana discovered the flaw and took action herself.

How should this be explained now?

Aizen just said not to reveal their whereabouts.

Wang Xun's senses also detected the activation of Kyōka Suigetsu in that instant.

Aizen, Kaname Tōsen, and Gin Ichimaru's figures became slightly transparent on the hillside, as if they were seen through a thin mist.

This is not a good situation.

Aizen is watching, Unohana asking questions.

Every word he said would be heard by Aizen, and Unohana would never let go of any clue.

If he defends himself, it would be tantamount to revealing his stance to Aizen; if he doesn't defend himself, it would be tantamount to admitting guilt.

Aizen stood on the hillside, his Kyōka Suigetsu could alter Unohana's perception at any moment, and even change all the traces he had left on this battlefield.

Wang Xun's mind raced, and soon an idea came to him.

He roared to the sky.

The Hollowfication Reiatsu within his body, which had just broken through to level six, was instantly ignited to its limit, and the dark red Reiatsu surged outward like a burst dam.

The bone mask no longer covered only half of Wang Xun's face, but instead emerged simultaneously from all seven of his orifices, layering and merging together to eventually form a complete, fully covered bone mask.

The mask materialized, but the process didn't stop.

Two bony horns curve upwards from the temples and grow backwards, their ends sharp like spears, gleaming with a cold luster.

Above the shoulder, milky-white bone emerged from beneath the skin, covering the deltoid muscle downwards, with fine, dark red lines appearing on the surface, like spiritual runes engraved on a ethereal shell.

The bony plates extend from the back of the shoulder blades, with two rows of bony spurs arranged downwards along both sides of the spine.

The front of the forearm is also covered with bony armor, forming a complete natural protective structure from the wrist bone to the elbow joint, with the fingertips hardened into bony claws.

A dark hole appeared in his chest.

Wang Xun's Reiatsu surged, and surging waves of energy rippled outwards, blowing through Unohana's long hair.

Unohana frowned slightly, watching the changes that had occurred in Wang Xun.

At this moment, Wang Xun stopped roaring, slowly turned his head, and looked at Unohana.

The Reiatsu raged and became violent, like a rampage.

Looking at Wang Xun's current appearance, Unohana frowned.

She had seen Wang Xun's Hollowfication before, though it wasn't as flamboyant as it was now, but it had never shown such manic behavior.

At this moment, Unohana seemed to understand something, sensing the slight abnormality around her, and seemed to know what Wang Xun was thinking.

Her hand rested on the hilt of her Zanpakuto, and her Reiatsu was released without reservation.

"Since you don't want to talk..."

With a gentle push of the thumb, the blade slid out of its sheath, gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

"Then let me see how many blows you can withstand from my sword in your current state."

Before she could finish speaking, Unohana's figure had already vanished from the spot.

Her sword was so fast that even the afterimage of Shunpo) couldn't leave a trace.

The next instant, Wang Xun his left arm to block in front of him, the bone armor on his forearm facing directly at Unohana's blade.

The moment the blade struck the surface of the bone armor, a blinding spark erupted, leaving a shallow, hair-thin mark.

Unohana sheathed her sword and flipped over, unleashing a second, even more powerful horizontal slash from the side.

Wang Xun dodged to the side, the blade grazing the bone spur under his ribs, the sharp scraping sound making the air buzz.

He didn't dodge completely; the blade left a visible wound on the skin of his ribs.

It seems that even with the Hierro, he still couldn't stop Unohana's blade, but the bone armor on his forearm could.

Wang Xun two steps back, and dark red Reishi gushed out from the wound, rapidly regenerating and healing the knife wound within Reishi.

High-Speed Regeneration.

For ordinary injuries, Wang Xun can already repair them by consuming only a small amount of Reiatsu during battle.

Unohana's smile deepened, giving him no time to relax.

Unohana was no longer holding back, unleashing a series of fierce slashes from different angles.

Wang Xun his sword to defend himself, relying on his High-Speed Regeneration ability to withstand some non-lethal attacks.

He was testing the limits of High-Speed Regeneration in the most direct way, and the result was positive.

As long as his Reiatsu is sufficient and his vital organs are not damaged, his current High-Speed Regeneration allows him to completely ignore ordinary injuries in battle.

The next moment, Wang Xun's counterattack began.

He pulled his right arm back, and a dark red Cero condensed in his palm.

Unohana sword, cleaving the Cero from the front with a single strike.

The Cero exploded on the blade, and a dark red Reishi shockwave spread outwards, blowing the stray hairs on her forehead backwards.

Unohana emerged from the smoke and dust of the explosion, a small patch of her clothing charred by the Reishi of the Cero, but her hand gripping the sword remained as steady as a rock.

Wang Xun fired Cero in succession, Unohana dodged them in a flash. She then appeared in front of Wang Xun Cero before it could fully expand. The aftershocks of the explosions couldn't even reach the blade of her Zanpakuto.

The next moment, she suddenly increased the speed of her sword swing by an order of magnitude, using the momentum of the sword itself to suppress the impact of the Cero.

The two fought their way from the center of the ruins to the edge of the wasteland.

After dodging the Cero attack, Unohana once again closed in and pressed her advantage.

Her strikes grew increasingly dense and rapid, and a surging fighting spirit was gradually being released from the blade.

Under the glint of the blades, that usually calm face gradually became excited during the battle.

She increased her speed even further.

The blade was aimed at Wang Xun's left shoulder, Wang Xun dodged it to the side and simultaneously slashed at Unohana's right rib with his claw.

This was the closest Wang Xun had come to her since they started fighting. The tip of his bony claws grazed the outside of Unohana's right arm, tearing through her Shinigami armor and leaving three shallow bloodstains on her skin.

Unohana pulled back, glanced down at the wound on her arm, then looked up at Wang Xun, who was also injured, a slight smile playing on her lips.

"You're not the only one who can heal yourself in battle, Wang Xun..."

A pale green Kaidō shone on Unohana's wound, and the bloodstain healed instantly.

Wang Xun tilted his head slightly; the bone armor on his arms was already covered with fine cracks.

The High-Speed Regeneration is constantly repairing, but the repair speed is increasingly unable to keep up with the rate at Unohana is destroying things.

Although he could continue fighting, his Hollowfication Reiatsu was not infinite.

A solution to break the deadlock is still needed.

The next moment, Wang Xun roared to the sky and once again engaged in battle with Unohana.

On a distant hillside, Aizen silently watched the battle.

His gaze followed Unohana's every move closely, noticing every detail and storing it in his mind as an assessment of Unohana combat strength.

The First Kenpachi was indeed a tough opponent.

Even without her Shikai, she possesses such combat power; her swordsmanship has reached a level that most captains can only dream of.

If Unohana uses Bankai...

Aizen's gaze narrowed slightly.

To be honest, he wasn't 100% confident that he could emerge unscathed from the battle with Unohana.

Making a move at this point would be counterproductive.

If the Hōgyoku is used to make the Unohana Hollowfication, it is unknown whether the half-finished Hōgyoku can be effective against an individual with such Spiritual Might.

Aizen hesitated, after all, Unohana was not their target for this trip.

Wang Xun's ability to Hollowfication puzzled him even more.

Why would such an unexpectedly high degree of Hollowfication occur? After all, the Hōgyoku didn't affect him, so this change shouldn't happen.

The changes in Wang Xun at this moment attracted Aizen's attention even more.

Kaname Tōsen stood beside Aizen, his senses locked onto the distant battlefield.

"To achieve this level of momentum with just pure slashing, that's truly..."

A fine layer of sweat appeared on his forehead, and his hand holding the Suzumushi tightened slightly.

Each of Retsu Unohana's strikes left a vivid afterimage in his senses; such speed and power—if he were in Wang Xun's position, he probably wouldn't have lasted more than a few rounds...

He wasn't sure how effective Suzumushi Final Form sensory deprivation would be against an opponent of her caliber.

Gin Ichimaru squinted, his silver hair swaying gently in the wind, staring intently at the two figures moving so fast they were almost invisible to the naked eye.

He was terrified watching it; the sheer force of their battle left a deep shadow on young Gin Ichimaru's heart.

Unohana forced Wang Xun back with a single strike, and standing amidst the ruins, her breathing became heavy.

She looked at Wang Xun, and in his no-longer-calm eyes, something was being gradually awakened.

This level of combat has not been seen for a long time.

The cut on Wang Xun's arm was healing at a visible speed, and the cracks in his bone armor were gradually repairing.

It seems that Wang Xun still has a lot of Reiatsu left. In terms of endurance, he has already surpassed Unohana under normal circumstances.

Unohana also had many wounds, large and small, on her body.

Even with the healing from the Kaidō, it was still a considerable burden on her Reiatsu and physical strength.

Ordinary methods are no longer sufficient to completely subdue Wang Xun in this form.

However, her Shikai isn't suited for combat. Could it be that her battle with Wang Xun has reached the point where she needs to unleash her Bankai...?

Aizen and the others in the distance also sensed that if Unohana didn't unleash her Zanpakuto soon, they would likely be at a disadvantage in the upcoming battle.

Just as the group was observing how things were unfolding, two streams of Reiatsu rapidly approached from the direction of Seireitei.

The owner of the Reiatsu made no attempt to conceal his presence, rushing towards the ruins at full speed using Shunpo.

Unohana's gaze shifted slightly for a moment.

Wang Xun also caught that familiar Reiatsu while catching his breath.

The game-changer has finally arrived.