"Die—!!!"
The only response to Aizen's joy was a burning blade.
Although Asuka had fantasized countless times about the scene of his reunion with Aizen, and thought his mindset had changed significantly after experiencing so much, he was completely unable to suppress the fury in his heart when he actually saw the gaze that had caused his midnight nightmares. His body began to tremble from sheer agitation.
He didn't want to hear another word from Aizen, swinging his blade to strike!
The Demon Slayer Marks, brimming with gathered malice, crawled across his face, fueling him with blazing power like kindling.
This strike contained his purest killing intent!
*Boom!!!*
The ground shattered, and the air detonated.
He concentrated all of his Spiritual Pressure into a single point before erupting forward, moving so fast that Gin Ichimaru and Byakuya Kuchiki, who were currently fighting, couldn't even see his silhouette.
In the blink of an eye, his bloodshot eyes appeared right in front of Aizen.
...
Kakudatsu let out a furious hum, its blade igniting the atmosphere as it slashed viciously down at Aizen!
Facing such a strike, Aizen did not retreat.
The smile on his lips did not diminish; he simply raised his left hand calmly, not even using his Zanpakuto.
In his view, although Number Seventy-Eight was special, the upper limit of his Spiritual Pressure would still be locked by the boundaries of a Soul Reaper. Plus, having obtained some of Asuka's memories from the Taisho Era and witnessed his state when his Spiritual Pressure went berserk in the World of the Living, Aizen assumed he was merely at the Captain-class at best.
"What a passionate greeting, Asuka," Aizen said, his tone turning gentle despite having already dropped his facade. "However, with just this little bit of power, you cannot..."
*Clang—!!!*
A deafening collision echoed through the clouds.
Aizen's pupils shrank violently the moment he made contact with the blade.
It was not the effortless block he had imagined.
When Asuka's Kakudatsu struck the back of Aizen's hand, which was covered in immense Spiritual Pressure, the terrifying force actually forced Aizen's body to slide backward involuntarily for several meters!
He plowed two deep trenches into the ground, only managing to steady himself by channeling Spiritual Pressure into his legs.
'What a heavy force!'
Aizen glanced at his left hand.
His hand had actually been torn open by the black flames clinging to the blade, blood welling up from the back of his hand.
"This feeling..." Aizen muttered, stepping back a few paces to observe the black flames on his hand. "It's different from back then... You've grown stronger again, Asuka."
After devouring the malice of Francesca and All the World's Evils, the spirit-devouring flames in Kakudatsu's state had become even more berserk.
They frantically eroded Aizen's Reishi, trying to drag him into an endless abyss.
Aizen flicked his hand, using his Spiritual Pressure to disperse the malice, the curiosity in his eyes growing more intense. "As expected, only you can truly amaze me."
But Asuka had no intention of making small talk; a storm of slashes followed in rapid succession.
*Clang! Clang! Clang!!*
This time, Aizen no longer acted arrogantly, continuously parrying Asuka's strikes with Kyoka Suigetsu while throwing out a series of questions in an academic tone:
"Where have you been these past eighteen years?"
"The power within you is neither Hollowfication nor Fullbring... It seems to involve a higher-dimensional concept..."
"Could you tell me how you maintained your sense of self within spacetime, and how you returned here?"
Facing Aizen's incessant questioning, Asuka said nothing, merely hovering constantly around his opponent's chest and footsteps.
For no other reason than the inner voice that had already warned him.
"Howl, Kakudatsu!"
With a roar, the Zanpakuto unleashed countless black, hound-like blade gleams, completely sealing off the space around Aizen.
"Unwilling to converse? What a pity."
Aizen strolled through the dense flurry of blades as if taking a leisurely walk, casually shattering the lunging hounds.
"Since you refuse to speak, I have no choice but to capture you first and dissect you for research later."
"Hado #63・Raikouhou!"
Without an incantation, blinding golden lightning burst from Aizen's fingertips, blasting directly toward Asuka's chest.
Asuka did not dodge; the black marks on his body instantly flared.
"Roar—!!!"
Gripping his hilt tightly, he faced the terrifying beam of Raikouhou head-on, unleashing a Spiritual Pressure slash infused with all of his strength!
The black and red slash tore through the air, carrying a roar that sought to sever fate itself as it crashed heavily into the golden lightning dragon.
Aizen's gaze shifted once more.
There was almost no stalemate.
With overwhelming force, Asuka's strike cleanly cleaved Aizen's incantation-abandoned Hado #63 in half!
The berserk black blade gleam continued unabated, roaring as it threatened to envelop Aizen's entire body!
"Bakudo #81・Danku!"
He instinctively raised his hand, erecting a massive, transparent defensive wall in front of him.
This was a high-level barrier capable of completely defending against all Hado below number eighty-nine; even a full-power strike from a Captain-class Soul Reaper could be easily blocked...
*Boom—!!!*
The blade gleam slammed viciously into Danku, and the resulting shockwave instantly sent the surrounding rubble flying.
The ground of Sokyoku Hill began to collapse wildly under the crushing pressure of this force.
In the distance, Kaien watched all of this, not even knowing what action to take.
'Go assist Asuka? Does he even need my assistance??'
*Crack, crack, crack...*
An abrupt shattering sound rang in everyone's ears.
Aizen looked at the Danku barrier in disbelief; spiderweb-like cracks were rapidly spreading across it!
"How is this possible..." Genuine shock finally surfaced on Aizen's face, which always bore the look of absolute certainty.
He knew Asuka was special, otherwise he wouldn't have spent so much effort on him and the people around him.
But it had only been eighteen years.
Eighteen years ago, he was just a kid with Third-class Spiritual Power at best. How could he have evolved to this extent?
And even now, the Spiritual Power on his body showed no signs of breaking past the third class...
'No... It's not just a matter of him... Is it his sword?'
*Shatter!*
Danku ultimately failed to withstand this overbearing impact and shattered explosively.
The residual black blade aura slashed through Aizen's pristine white haori, leaving a long, bloody gash across his chest.
Using the force of the impact, Aizen drifted back dozens of meters. He looked down at the blood welling from his chest, his gaze becoming unpredictable.
"Surprised, Sosuke Aizen?"
Asuka stood in place, leaning on Kakudatsu. His chest heaved violently as he finally spoke his first words to Aizen since their reunion.
Although this strike had drawn blood from Aizen, he also knew that to a man of such unfathomable strength, it was nothing more than a scratch.
He slowly raised his Zanpakuto, pointing the tip straight at Aizen.
"Those disgusting things you did to me..."
"The pain and despair you inflicted upon me..."
"And thanks to you, every day and night I spent surviving as something neither human nor ghost..."
"I have kept them all in my heart, never forgetting for a single moment."
Asuka's voice was hoarse and grating, like the whispers of an evil spirit crawling out from the depths of hell.
"Give back everything... that you owe me!!"
Before his voice even faded, Asuka once again transformed into a black shadow and lunged at Aizen.
"...I advise you not to speak so boastfully," Aizen said, giving his Zanpakuto a flick as he looked at Asuka with a smile. "It will only reveal your weakness."