Chapter 450 - 450: Let Me Think… Oh, Right—Zanjitsu Gokui!

This wasn't a fight to the death.

It was simply a test between two potential collaborators, each measuring whether the other was actually worth working with.

Though in truth, most of that uncertainty belonged to Aizen.

Cyrus already knew him well enough. He knew what Aizen wanted, what he was pursuing, and roughly where his ambitions would eventually lead.

No matter how dangerous a schemer someone might be, as long as they desired something, there was always room to make use of them.

Clang!

Aizen's Zanpakutō struck Cyrus directly across the neck.

The result was nothing more than a crisp metallic ring.

The blade had been stopped by the thin layer of skin covering Cyrus's throat.

It hadn't even managed to scratch him.

For all of Aizen's composure, genuine shock flashed through his eyes.

'Hierro?'

That was his first thought.

Could Cyrus actually be some unusual type of Hollow?

Hierro was one of the natural abilities possessed by Hollows.

Some high-level Hollows developed skin so hard that an ordinary Shinigami's Zanpakutō simply couldn't cut through it.

Of course, captain-class Shinigami were another matter.

And Aizen knew exactly how much strength he had put behind that strike.

Aside from not using Kyōka Suigetsu's ability, that slash was essentially the full physical power he could produce in his current state.

Cyrus slowly turned his head.

Through the eyeholes of the white mask, Aizen could clearly see the amusement in his gaze.

A faint sense of danger tightened in Aizen's chest, and he immediately withdrew.

"Put a little more strength into it."

Cyrus rubbed the place where the blade had struck.

"I can take it."

Aizen fell silent.

There was something exceptionally irritating about the way he said that.

"If that's the limit of what you can do, then I'm afraid you aren't qualified to cooperate with me."

Cyrus's tone remained casual.

"And if that's the case, none of you will be leaving Hueco Mundo today."

Aizen glanced down at the Zanpakutō in his hand.

Then he smiled.

He reached up, removed his glasses, and slowly swept back the hair hanging over his forehead.

The disguise was finally beginning to fall away.

"Heh… hahahaha."

Aizen's laughter faded as abruptly as it had begun, and he stared directly at Cyrus.

"Fascinating."

His eyes burned with curiosity.

"Truly astonishing."

"That skin of yours is almost unbelievable. It feels less like physical durability and more like a rule—something that simply cannot be broken."

Cyrus shook his head.

"Good eye."

"But noticing it doesn't help you much."

"True."

Aizen readily agreed.

"If I cannot prove my own value, then naturally I have no right to speak of cooperation."

He raised his Zanpakutō horizontally before him.

"So from this point onward, I'll stop holding back."

His eyes remained fixed on Cyrus.

"I hope what you see will improve your opinion of me."

Cyrus's eyes immediately brightened.

'Is he finally going to use Bankai?'

Come to think of it, Cyrus still had no idea what Aizen's Bankai actually was.

Before transmigrating, he certainly hadn't seen it revealed.

Boom!

An overwhelming pressure erupted from Aizen.

The surrounding Reishi became violently agitated, moving so rapidly that the air itself seemed to shriek.

Reiatsu.

As one of the major antagonists of the earlier stages of the story, Aizen's strength remained monstrous even when judged against those who appeared much later.

At this point, perhaps the only area in which he clearly fell short of the Captain-Commander was their Zanpakutō.

After all, Yamamoto's blade was known as the strongest fire-type Zanpakutō.

And now Aizen was releasing his Reiatsu without restraint.

"Hm."

Cyrus stood within the crushing pressure and considered the sensation.

"It really isn't the same thing as Haki."

The Reiatsu he had sensed from Hollows earlier had been too crude for him to analyze clearly.

Aizen's was different.

This was far more refined and far easier to understand.

Conqueror's Haki originated from the user's own will and presence. In a broad sense, it could be considered a manifestation of mental or spiritual force.

Reiatsu worked differently.

It arose from the spiritual power within a being interacting with the Reishi around them, producing an external pressure capable of physically affecting the world.

Whoosh!

Aizen vanished.

He appeared on Cyrus's left and swung horizontally.

Clang!

Cyrus raised the back of his left hand and took the slash directly.

This time, the sheer force behind the blow actually pushed his entire body sideways.

"That's better."

Cyrus smiled.

"I thought you might start using Kidō instead, but this strike finally has enough power behind it."

He tilted his head slightly.

"Your accuracy could use some work, though."

For a brief moment, Cyrus suddenly understood what Mihawk must once have felt while watching him fight.

The combat style of this world tended to favor overwhelming force.

More precisely, battles between Shinigami were often contests of Reiatsu.

When raw spiritual pressure played such an enormous role, overly complicated sword techniques became less important.

And because of that…

The swordsmanship of this world was somehow even rougher than his own had once been.

Even someone like Aizen, one of the major antagonists of the story, relied far more heavily on overwhelming fundamentals than sophisticated technique.

Aizen showed no reaction to the provocation.

He disappeared again.

Reiatsu erupted beneath his feet, and for an instant it seemed as though dozens of Aizens had appeared around Cyrus simultaneously.

Blades came from every direction.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Cyrus remained exactly where he was.

En moved through his hand in smooth arcs, intercepting every strike coming from all sides.

"If a certain friend of mine ever came to this world, he'd probably be disappointed."

Cyrus sounded genuinely amused as he continued blocking Aizen's attacks.

"This world?"

Aizen's assault abruptly slowed.

Then he stopped completely.

"Do you mean Hueco Mundo?"

He looked directly at Cyrus.

"Or do you mean… the world we're currently in?"

There was clear intent behind the question.

He wanted an answer.

Cyrus merely smiled.

"Well…"

"Maybe you'll find out someday."

The eyes behind his mask remained fixed on Aizen.

Whoosh!

Cyrus disappeared.

He reappeared directly in front of Aizen.

Standing a full head taller, Cyrus lowered his gaze slightly and looked down at him.

"You were curious about something earlier, weren't you?"

Aizen's expression shifted.

"You thought my power resembled someone else's."

Boom!

Flames erupted.

The surrounding space twisted violently beneath the sudden surge of heat, as though a volcano had exploded at point-blank range.

Aizen immediately retreated.

Even he had no interest in remaining inside that temperature.

"Hm…"

Cyrus's voice came from within the blaze.

"Let me think. What was it again?"

Then he remembered.

"Oh, right."

His tone became amused.

"Zanka no Tachi, West: Zanjitsu Gokui."

Aizen's eyes widened.

The raging flames suddenly seemed to come alive.

Instead of expanding, they began collapsing inward toward Cyrus.

Layer after layer condensed around his body until the inferno disappeared entirely.

In its place stood Cyrus, wrapped in what looked like a robe made from pure flame.

Merely looking at him made Aizen's eyes sting.

The space immediately surrounding Cyrus repeatedly distorted, collapsed, and restored itself beneath the impossible heat, making everything around him appear almost unreal.

Cyrus casually rolled his wrist, sword still in hand.

"Recognize it?"

For once, Aizen could not completely hide his shock.

"Where did you learn that?"

The technique itself was astonishing enough.

But the fact that Cyrus had reproduced it was far more disturbing.

Captain-Commander Yamamoto had not fought seriously in an extraordinarily long time.

Almost no one alive had personally witnessed abilities like this.

So how could Cyrus possibly know them well enough to imitate them?

'Did he meet the Captain-Commander long ago?'

A new possibility entered Aizen's mind.

Could Cyrus be some ancient monster who had existed for centuries?

If that were true, then at least part of his absurd strength would make more sense.

But the thought lasted only briefly.

No matter how Aizen examined the man before him, Cyrus simply did not fit that explanation.