"Your reiatsu is impressive, but it's still just brute force," Aizen commented with a light laugh, swinging his blade gently from left to right.
He had already prepared himself for a proper fight. If he couldn't even defeat an Arrancar that Rosse had casually created, then what right did he have to pursue that man?
Shing!
Though Aizen's blade clearly swung from left to right, and Harribel blocked it, there was still a wound carved into her body, a cut running from left to right, as if Aizen had slashed from right to left.
"An illusion, huh…", Harribel glanced down at the wound on her abdomen, her brows slightly furrowing.
Rosse had told her about Aizen's ability before, and she had even witnessed it herself half a year ago. Yet she hadn't expected it to be this troublesome in actual combat, her five senses had been quietly and completely manipulated without her noticing.
"Do you still want to fight?"
Aizen stood calmly in place, lightly flicking the blood off his zanpakuto.
"You should know, my ability is called Kyoka Suigetsu. As long as you've seen its Shikai, your five senses fall under my control."
"I don't recall ever seeing your Shikai."
Harribel murmured, lifting her head and swinging her blade toward Aizen, unleashing a wide, indiscriminate attack straight ahead.
She didn't have to worry about her back, Rosse was behind her. She might not be able to see through Aizen's tricks, but Rosse certainly could.
And with her combat experience, she immediately analyzed that Aizen couldn't risk circling behind her; doing so would expose his back to Rosse.
And indeed, as she unleashed the wide-area attack, Aizen didn't use Kyoka Suigetsu's illusion. He simply raised his sword and blocked her strike.
"If you had to let people see it every time to activate it, Kyoka Suigetsu's ability would be far too useless. And what, did you think illusion is the only thing I can do?", Aizen spoke with a calm smile, taking slow, steady steps forward through Harribel's scorching current.
Each light swing of his blade cleared a path through the blazing current, not slowing his advance in the slightest.
"Your strength is great, but still not at Lord Rosse's level. That's why I can defeat you!"
Harribel held her bone sword straight before her and called out softly, "With my blood, I fight for Lord Rosse!"
Buzz!
In an instant, Harribel's snow-white skin shimmered with a crimson glow. Her reiatsu surged sharply, rising higher and higher.
From an S+ level, it shot up in an instant to SS-, a qualitative leap.
Feeling Harribel's reiatsu suddenly exceed his own, Aizen's eyes flashed with astonishment.
'So this… this is the ideal form of Arrancar evolution.'
This was the power he had dreamed of, the perfection he sought.
If he could gain this power, the limits of his strength would far surpass Harribel's.
Harribel's reiatsu was now so strong it even exceeded the range Kyoka Suigetsu could normally influence.
By Aizen's estimation, Captain-Commander Yamamoto's reiatsu after releasing his Bankai was at this level, though slightly stronger still.
He could also tell that Harribel wasn't this strong in her usual state; she had paid some price to reach her current power.
"Left!"
Aizen suddenly raised his sword, blocking to his left.
BOOM!
Harribel appeared on his left almost simultaneously, her bone sword slashing down.
At this level, no special abilities were needed, the strongest attacks were the simplest strikes. Other techniques were unnecessary embellishments.
Aizen caught the blow, but his body was sent flying a hundred meters through the air.
Before he could regain balance, Harribel appeared again.
"Bakudo #81. Danku!"
Abandoning the chant, Aizen cast Danku instantly. A transparent barrier of light appeared between them.
But it didn't even last half a second before Harribel tore through it effortlessly.
That brief moment, however, was all Aizen needed.
He raised his sword with both hands, meeting her strike head-on.
BOOM!
Aizen and Harribel both flew backward, retreating over a kilometer before halting midair.
The instant they stopped, Aizen used Shunpo while Harribel used Sonido, and they clashed again.
In just three minutes, they had exchanged nearly a thousand blows.
Every one of Harribel's strikes carried more raw power than Aizen's, but she still couldn't land a single hit. Aizen deflected every attack with subtle skill and clever counters.
"Your state is fading."
After another fierce exchange, Aizen returned to the original battlefield, looking toward Harribel, still full of fighting spirit, standing protectively before Rosse.
He could clearly sense her reiatsu declining.
That temporary transformation of hers could only last around five minutes.
If she couldn't finish the battle within that time, she'd either have to pay an even greater price, or retreat altogether.
Five minutes wasn't much of a problem for Aizen.
Though there was a difference in their reiatsu tiers, that borrowed power didn't truly belong to Harribel. Aizen was confident he could handle it easily.
"Lord Rosse!"
Harribel didn't answer. She merely looked silently toward Rosse.
If she stopped now, she'd recover fully in about three days.
But if she continued to burn herself like this, her recovery time could multiply severalfold.
"Enough, Harribel. You've done very well," Rosse spoke softly, stepping up beside her and patting her shoulder.
Being able to clash evenly with Aizen at full strength for three whole minutes was proof enough of Harribel's current power.
Even though Aizen hadn't yet fused with the complete Hogyoku and was far from his true peak, he was no weakling, he'd still rank among the top five in the Soul Society, excluding the Royal Guard.
For a "Devil Fruit" version of Arrancar evolution to achieve this effect was already more than satisfactory.
"Yes!"
Harribel's aura instantly subsided, releasing her Resurrección form. Her reiatsu dropped even lower than when she first appeared.
She didn't care. She merely stood silently at Rosse's side, her cold gaze fixed on Aizen and Barragan.
"Lord Rosse," Aizen said, lowering his posture respectfully, "do I now have the honor of proposing a trade with you?"
Facing Rosse, Aizen's demeanor was humble, an expression of respect toward a forerunner.
"Let's hear what the trade is," Rosse replied, neither agreeing nor refusing.
As long as Aizen understood his place, Rosse was willing to talk.
As for whether Aizen would someday rise again... Let's just say, the limits that could be reached through fragments of the Soul King would never surpass the Soul King himself.
Rosse's next step was to reach that very level.
Since Aizen's ceiling was already fixed, there was nothing to worry about.
If Aizen wanted to move forward, he would have to walk by Rosse's side, along the path Rosse laid out.
Whether he chose to or not would be Aizen's decision.
Whichever he chose, Rosse would respect it.
Compared to the complacent and stagnant strong, it was the ambitious ones like Aizen who truly suited Rosse's taste. [T/N: But, I don't think Aizen is suited to be Rosse's subordinate.]
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