Chapter 92: The Weight of Weakness
"The Eight Inner Gates… Release!"
Guy's roar was a promise of pain and power. The blood in his body seemed to boil, churning with visible, green energy. A fierce, fiery aura erupted from every pore, a terrifying testament to the life force he was now burning.
Blinded by righteous fury, Guy had activated his ultimate taijutsu trump card, ignoring Kakashi's warning.
At this moment, every cell in his body screamed in protest as it was forced to unleash its absolute potential. His power skyrocketed, the pressure around him swelling like a waking beast.
"For Konoha's justice, I swear I will end you!"
His face was now a network of bulging veins, his expression fierce and monstrous. His eyes were twin blades of pure intent, locked on Aizen with surging killing intent. An astonishing energy, the prelude to a storm, brewed within him.
Yet, even with the gates open and his power amplified, Aizen remained unmoved. He watched Guy with the same calm, analytical detachment, as if observing a mildly interesting experiment.
From behind, Kakashi's expression was grim. His instincts screamed that approaching Aizen without understanding his abilities was a fatal mistake.
"Boastful words only reveal your weakness," Aizen stated, his voice flat. "In the end, they merely hasten your failure."
Then, he performed an act that ignited Guy's fury to a new peak. He slowly, deliberately, sheathed Kyōka Suigetsu. He would not even deign to use his Zanpakutō against this onslaught. The profound contempt in that simple action was a deeper insult than any taunt.
Swish!
Without a sound, Guy vanished.
In the next instant, he materialized behind Aizen, his body becoming a whirlwind of devastating motion. A high-speed rotation powered a series of kicks—a low sweep, a mid-level strike, culminating in a powerful heel kick aimed to crush Aizen's spine.
"Leaf Great Whirlwind!"
But to Guy's utter disbelief, even this flawless, powerful assault, aimed at a vital point, was met with utter indifference. Aizen didn't even brace for impact.
"You who scorn Konoha and the Will of Fire… die!" Guy roared, putting all his might into the final kick.
Just as the blow was about to land, Aizen, his back still turned, parted his lips and began to chant, his voice calm and clear.
"Carriage of thunder, bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six."
"Bakudō Number Sixty-One: Rikujōkōrō!"
Six beams of brilliant yellow light materialized from nothing. They shot forward with impossible speed, solidifying into flat, rigid bands of energy that slammed into Guy's body mid-air, pinning his arms, torso, and legs. He was frozen solid, his devastating kick halted a hair's breadth from its target.
This was the same binding spell Aizen had used in the Forest of Death, but now, performed with an incantation, its speed and strength were on an entirely different level. Might Guy's ultimate assault was neutralized in a heartbeat.
"Damn it! What kind of jutsu is this?!" Guy grunted, straining with all his might against the ethereal bonds. But the more he struggled, the tighter the bands of light constricted, their mystical power offering no purchase for physical strength. A fear of the unknown, of a power outside his understanding, began to creep into his heart.
"As I said, your bluster only highlights your inadequacy," Aizen said, his tone almost bored. He hadn't even needed to keep his sword drawn.
Crackle! ZZT!
A harsh, sizzling sound filled the air. Aizen turned his head slightly to see Kakashi, his hands clasped together, palms cupping a raging ball of lightning. The brilliant white-blue flash was blinding.
"Lightning Style: Chidori!"
The thousand birds' shrieks condensed into a single, piercing point in Kakashi's palm. He became a bolt of lightning himself, thrusting the technique toward Aizen's chest with lethal intent.
In the instant the Chidori was unleashed, Kakashi's speed was transcendent. He closed the distance in a flash, the roaring thunderball aimed squarely at Aizen's heart.
"Shunpo."
Aizen's body seemed to dissolve and reappear a few feet away, evading the thrust with an effortless, ghostly step. Kakashi's Chidori, missing its mark, instead slammed directly into one of the light bands holding Guy.
BOOM!
Lightning exploded against the Kidō barrier. Energy surged violently, and a single, hairline fracture appeared on the surface of one light band.
"Impossible!" Kakashi's eyes widened in shock. The Chidori, famed for its piercing power, for its ability to cut lightning itself, had barely scratched the surface of this strange technique.
"The power is adequate," Aizen commented, his fingers coming together as he pointed casually at Kakashi. "But your positioning is flawed."
"Hadō Number Four: Byakurai."
A violent, concentrated bolt of white lightning erupted from his fingertip. It was not the wild scatter of the Chidori, but a single, precise beam of pure energy. It pierced through the air and through Kakashi's shoulder in less time than it took to blink.
"Guh!"
Kakashi let out a choked cry, blood instantly welling in his mouth and spilling from the clean, cauterized hole in his shoulder. It was only a low-level offensive spell, but in Aizen's hands, it held the precision and force of a sniper's round.
"Do you see now? This is the fundamental difference between us," Aizen stated, his form flickering again to appear behind the wounded Kakashi. His voice was cold, devoid of any emotion. "You fight not from hatred, but from a sense of duty. In this situation, that is like an eagle with clipped wings. You cannot protect anything."
He raised two fingers again. "Hadō Number Four: Byakurai."
Twin lances of white light seared through the back of Kakashi's knees. An agony worse than any blade shot through him. With a guttural cry, his legs gave way, and he collapsed to his knees, utterly defeated.
In the face of overwhelming, absolute power, Konoha's two elite jonin lay broken. One bound by light, the other kneeling in his own blood. The chasm between them and the being before them was not one of skill, but of existence itself.