"Just a mere Shinigami... I can kill him by myself..."
Before the gorilla-like brute could finish his sentence, he was kicked in the chin by Sōsuke Aizen and sent flying.
"Hadō #58: Tenran," Aizen raised his hand, and a giant whirlwind dispersed the barrage of reishi bullets fired by the armored Quincy.
Aizen did not stay to entangle with them, but used Shunpo to follow the one he had kicked.
The gorilla-like brute landed near the shrine.
Swoosh—
Aizen also arrived.
"Lord Pernida... your joining is an honor for the Sternritter."
The suspected leader, the blond Quincy, was talking with the short Quincy.
Seeing Aizen's arrival, they stopped their conversation and looked over, sizing him up.
Aizen glanced back and saw that the other two opponents had also caught up.
He had deliberately lured the enemy here.
There were too many of them; he needed to create a suitable opportunity to release his Zanpakutō.
These Quincy were scattered. If he didn't hypnotize them all at once, he would easily expose Kyōka Suigetsu's ability.
"Haven't you dealt with these two Shinigami yet? They don't seem to be captains,"
Haschwalth sized up Aizen, noticing he wasn't wearing a captain's haori.
"This guy may not be a captain, but he's very strong... it would be great if you could help!"
Askin said slowly. He was more than happy to slack off. When Aizen had headed over, he hadn't stopped him at all.
"Shatter, Kyōka Suigetsu."
Seeing that the Quincy had gathered together, Aizen decisively released his Zanpakutō.
The light emanating from the blade entered the Quincy's eyes.
"I admit, I underestimated you. But..." the gorilla-like brute got up from the ground, undid the buttons on his collar, and threw off his cloak.
Just then, Pernida suddenly floated forward.
"I'll... take care of him..."
Pernida's tone was strange. It was almost impossible to understand what he was saying without listening carefully.
He had already accepted Haschwalth's invitation to join the Wandenreich and intended to show off his strength in front of the others.
The other Quincy were also curious about the person Haschwalth was treating so seriously. They all quieted down, waiting for Pernida to perform.
From under Pernida's robes, some barely visible tendrils extended.
They rapidly spread towards Aizen.
"What is that?"
Aizen's spiritual sense was very sharp, and he noticed Pernida's small movements, but it didn't seem like an ability a Quincy should have.
The next moment, the tendrils wrapped around his body.
A series of crisp cracks came from within Aizen's body.
His bones were forcibly twisted and broken!
His entire body was twisted up like a rope.
"As expected of the one Haschwalth invited with such ceremony..."
Askin's praise was cut short.
Because he suddenly saw that the one twisted into a rope was their Quincy comrade!
Pernida had not harmed Aizen. Instead, the gorilla-like Quincy had been severely injured.
"Aaaargh!!!"
The gorilla-like brute let out a pig-like scream.
A dense layer of Blut Vene appeared on his body, but in front of Pernida's twisting power, it was as fragile as thin paper.
"What's going on?"
Askin rubbed his eyes. He had clearly seen the Shinigami being attacked just now. "Was my vision interfered with?"
"'Kyōka Suigetsu' is a water-type Zanpakutō. It can use mist and water currents to create mirror reflections, confusing the enemy's vision and making them kill each other," Aizen said with a faint smile on his face. He raised his index finger and said softly, "Hadō #90: Kurohitsugi."
A black object rose from the ground and quickly enveloped the gorilla-like brute.
A black coffin rose up in the forest.
The brute's screams disappeared along with it.
"He dodged..."
Pernida was about to continue, but was stopped by Haschwalth.
"Lord Pernida, they cannot withstand your great power. Let us handle this Shinigami. Please wait on the side."
Haschwalth stopped him. Pernida's ability was too powerful. With their vision interfered with, it was easy to accidentally kill an ally.
"No... I can... perceive without sight... I can... sense through nerves..."
Pernida did not stop. More tendrils poured out from under his robes.
The other Quincy quickly moved away, not wanting to get caught in it.
Aizen's face darkened slightly. He had interfered with Pernida's five senses, yet the tendrils were still coming towards him!
"Are these tendrils nerves? Does he have an external nervous system?"
It was the first time Aizen had seen such an ability.
The perception of these nerve tendrils was beyond the scope of the five senses. Kyōka Suigetsu could not hypnotize them.
Aizen quickly retreated. The nerve tendrils on the ground were increasing, so he leaped into the air.
"Hadō #63: Raikōhō."
Aizen raised his left hand, and a beam of lightning shot out from his palm.
The lightning, however, was not aimed at Pernida, but at Askin, who had also flown up to avoid the tendrils.
Aizen had interfered with Askin's senses. He was completely unaware of the incoming Kidō.
"Boom—"
Askin was hit by the Kidō and knocked to the ground.
Before he landed, he pushed forward with his hand. Only his palm touched the nerve tendrils on the ground, and his arm began to twist. He quickly used Hirenkyaku to get away from the ground.
"Sigh, if I had known it would be this much trouble, I wouldn't have come."
Askin popped his dislocated wrist back into place and looked at Pernida with a somewhat unfriendly gaze. "I'm afraid we'll be taken out by you before we even get to the enemy."
"I held back my power... but I haven't been active for a long time... a bit rusty..."
In fact, Pernida could freely control the forced twisting effect of his nerve tendrils.
But he had been sleeping in the human world for a long time and had just been awakened by Haschwalth. He was even a bit rusty with his own abilities. He hadn't been able to restrain the twisting effect in time, and Askin was injured.
"Lord Pernida, your power is astonishing. Please leave this Shinigami to us."
Haschwalth flew in front of Aizen.
...
On the other side.
Isshin Shiba was already at a disadvantage.
Robert's speed was extremely fast, and Isshin had not been able to land a single hit on him.
Boom—
A reishi beam struck the blade of Engetsu, and the shock almost made Isshin lose his grip.
Boom, boom, boom—
Robert fired his reishi beams with almost no interval. Several beams came at once.
"Hah!"
Isshin dodged a beam, bit his finger, and smeared the blood on his mouth, spitting fire to ignite his blade.
After releasing Engetsu, his blood had the ability to burn at a high temperature.
A fiery slash cut through the sky, shattering all the incoming reishi beams.
However, Robert fired his reishi beams with considerable ease.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom—
More reishi beams shot towards Isshin.
"Such a high attack frequency... it's hard to even get close..."
"And even if I do, he can quickly create distance!"
Faced with so many reishi beams, Isshin had no choice but to dodge.
"This old man is so fast... I need to find an opportunity..."
Isshin leaned against a large tree, panting slightly. He touched his abdomen, and his palm came away with a patch of blood.
He was injured. It could be said that he had been pushed to the brink by Robert.
This Quincy, who had once attacked the Soul Society with Yhwach and even had a record of fighting a first-generation captain, was too strong.
Isshin was no match for him!
"As a new-generation Shinigami, your abilities are quite excellent."
Robert appeared in front of the tree. Only a tree trunk several people thick separated them.
"I remember... quite a few captains died back then. If you had mastered Bankai, you would probably be qualified to be a captain."
Robert slowly raised the gun in his right hand.
"BOOM—"
Isshin rolled to the side, and a reishi beam grazed his back.
A burning pain shot through his back, but he had no time to feel it. He flashed several times, dodging several more beams.
Swoosh—
Isshin appeared behind Robert, the Zanpakutō in his hand glowing. The spiritual pressure in his body continuously poured into the blade.
"Getsuga... damn it!"
Isshin's pupils shrank violently. Robert's gun was already aimed at him.
Between life and death, Isshin cast aside all distractions. The flames on his blade roared, and he unleashed a slash faster than ever before.
Engetsu and the reishi beam collided, and a terrifying energy exploded outwards.
"BOOM—!"
A mushroom cloud rose in the forest.
Isshin was pushed away by the blast wave. He used its force to land in the distance, though his landing was a bit clumsy.
Thud, thud, thud—
After knocking down several giant trees, he finally stopped.
"Your blade got a little faster. To be able to grow in such a battle, you have a bright future."
Isshin looked up and saw Robert standing on a branch above him. The explosion had not harmed him at all.
"But... this is as far as you go."
Robert's gun was aimed at him.
The next moment, Robert raised an eyebrow slightly. He felt a suffocating wave of heat rush towards him.
A brilliant red light suddenly erupted from Isshin's body.
Robert quickly retreated, but a cut still appeared on his chest.
He looked down. The wound was carbonized, and no blood was flowing out.
Robert looked up at Isshin.
Many cracks had appeared on his skin.
Within the cracks, it was as if lava was flowing, faintly glowing red and gold.
The wounds he had sustained before no longer bled red blood, but a golden-red, lava-like substance.
The golden-red blood dripped onto the ground, and the grass and trees were instantly carbonized.
"Bankai, Tenzan Engetsu."
Puffs of white smoke came from Isshin's mouth.
"A Bankai of considerable power. It can even cut through my Blut Vene with ease," for the first time, some fluctuation appeared on Robert's expression. "But, in the face of a Quincy's great power, it is still insignificant."
A green pillar of light rose from Robert's body.
"Clang, clang, clang—"
A holy, long, and ethereal bell sound came from the pillar of light.
Isshin didn't know what it was, but he did not choose to sit and wait. He raised his sword and slashed fiercely at the green pillar.
His blade was caught in it. It was a pillar of extremely high-concentration reishi. His slash had no effect; the pillar remained unshaken.
"What is this?!"
Isshin was a bit anxious.
His Bankai was a burst-type, with huge consumption and great damage to himself. If he couldn't defeat his opponent in a short time, he would be at their mercy when his Bankai dissipated.
A moment later, the reishi pillar broke apart and disintegrated, revealing Robert inside.
A pair of green reishi wings had appeared on his back, and a reishi disc hovered above his head.
"You are a lucky Shinigami to be able to see this form."
Robert said calmly.
Isshin didn't say much and unleashed the slash he had been preparing.
"Getsuga Tenshō!"
A crimson Getsuga was attached to his blade, not leaving it. The terrifying temperature emanating from the blade distorted the air.
The blade was like a roaring fire dragon, slashing towards Robert at high speed.
"Plenty of power, but not enough speed."
In an instant, Robert had already appeared behind Isshin.
After entering his 'Vollständig' form, Robert's speed was much faster than before.
His ability was called 'The N - The Nimble', and he was the fastest Quincy in the Sternritter.
"BOOM—"
A gunshot rang out, and golden-red, lava-like blood spurted from Isshin's back.
"Has anyone ever told you... you're very annoying, old man!"
Isshin's previous slash was just a feint. He had been paying attention to this Quincy's movement habits and had successfully predicted his position.
Ignoring the injury on his back, Isshin fiercely delivered a spinning slash.
A crimson Getsuga left his blade and lunged at Robert.
"BOOM—!!!"
The blazing flames instantly engulfed Robert.
A moment later, Isshin used his Zanpakutō to support himself and struggled to his feet. The high temperature on his body had gradually dissipated.
He could no longer maintain his Bankai, and his spiritual pressure was almost completely depleted.
He hadn't used his Bankai earlier precisely because he was afraid that if he didn't defeat his opponent, he would be the one to collapse.
Isshin took out a 'Nōreitan' and swallowed it, seizing the time to replenish his spiritual pressure.
"He could dodge most of the damage even from that... this old man is too fast."
Isshin sighed as he watched the slowly approaching Robert.
Robert had not completely avoided the damage and had many burns on his body.
But he still retained a considerable amount of combat power, while Isshin was exhausted.
Isshin was not a speed-type. The reason he hadn't used his Bankai for so long was because he had anticipated this situation.
However, his mood had lightened up.
Because an open Senkaimon had appeared in the sky.
"Reinforcements are finally here..." Isshin breathed a sigh of relief.
His opponent was very strong, but on the other side, Aizen was also dealing with more Quincy. He could only rely on himself to hold out until reinforcements arrived.
Katori Sora, Kisuke Urahara, and Mayuri Kurotsuchi stepped out of the Senkaimon.
"The battle here is also very intense!"
------------------
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