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Chapter 266 B
🕑 Added 2025-02-21 16:00:19 +0000 UTCChapter 266
2-in-1 chapter
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“Tch, that’s just how he is,” Aizen thought, watching Kaelith brim with confidence. It wasn’t unusual; Kaelith never balked at a tough fight.
.......
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A guttural roar came from the masked Guiyanjō, his voice distorted and hollow, vibrating the air.
Aizen didn’t hesitate. He raised his hand and cast a spell:
“Hadō #63: Raikōhō!”
A golden pillar of lightning spiraled forward with a deafening crackle. Faced with this Kido, the Hollowfied Guiyanjō didn’t even dodge. Instead, he thrust both massive hands out to catch it.
Sizzle… The thunderclap of Reiryoku surged, yet for half a second, it was stalemated between the colossal hands and the lightning column. Then Guiyanjō let out a violent bellow and tore the energy apart, scattering it into a cloud of sparkling gold Reishi.
But in that gleaming burst of particles, a figure shot through like a vengeful phantom.
“Aha!!”
Kaelith emerged, white Haori fluttering in his wake, delivering a punishing right hook straight at Guiyanjō.
“Rrraaaagh!”
Guiyanjō roared in return, clenching a fist the size of Kaelith’s entire head, as though a runaway truck were barreling toward him. Yet Kaelith’s unrelenting aura more than matched that threat. Had the battlefield offered a direct side-by-side comparison, one might’ve sworn Kaelith looked the more predatory, despite being physically smaller.
Their fists clashed—BOOM!!!—and the floor of Aizen’s lab tore up in layers. Aizen scowled; he had to abandon preparing a second Kido in order to suppress the shockwaves with his Reiryoku, lest his research lab be demolished.
“Oh ho, that’s something!” Kaelith grinned in midair, forced back slightly. He kicked off the air behind him, propelling himself right back into the fray.
His first strike had just been a casual blow—no special techniques. In the past, that alone would’ve put Guiyanjō down. Now, it seemed Kaelith himself had taken the slight disadvantage. So Hollowfication was pretty astonishing after all.
Exhilarated, Kaelith inhaled sharply. Spotting his posture, Aizen immediately started layering additional barriers, knowing Kaelith was about to use his “dual-impact” technique.
BOOM!!!
Their fists smashed together a second time. Guiyanjō roared in pain as his oversized hand split open in multiple places, spraying blood—yet the wounds began stitching themselves closed within seconds. Aizen studied the regeneration process with keen interest, mentally noting speed and progression.
Kaelith still wasn’t satisfied, throwing another punch…then another. Explosive waves from his dual-impact strikes wreaked havoc throughout the lab. Meanwhile, Guiyanjō—once a vicious thug—adjusted quickly to the gritty exchange. Freed by Hollow madness and reinforced by his obscene healing factor, he swung wildly back, reveling in the raw clash.
If there had been two onlookers behind each fighter, staring each other down, it would have made a perfect “legendary scene”:
“Muda muda muda muda…!”
As Kaelith unleashed a flurry of punches, he let loose a nonsensical battle cry. Aizen mentally blocked out the noise, laser-focused on observing Guiyanjō.
Suddenly, Guiyanjō misjudged a counterpunch. Kaelith’s blow crashed into his face, shattering bone-white fragments and drawing a torrent of blood. At the same time, Guiyanjō’s errant strike sent a crescent of spiritual force flying at Aizen’s barrier. Busy collecting data, Aizen reacted a fraction too late to dispel it, but an invisible slash cut through the air and negated the blast.
Aizen nodded appreciatively.
So that’s Kaelith’s “Invisible Swordsman” ability.
He had to admit—Kaelith had planned carefully, covering all avenues.
…Wait.
Something clicked in his mind. Aizen found himself frowning at the battling duo. Kaelith was obviously still using his dual-impact style, but the “Invisible Swordsman” was also in play—both at once?
Isn’t that technique only possible with Kaelith’s Zanpakutō in Shikai?
Yet here it was, seemingly working independently.
As the thought crossed Aizen’s mind, Kaelith suddenly leapt backward, distancing himself from Guiyanjō. The intangible swordsman presence vanished altogether. In the next breath, Kaelith’s battle aura intensified drastically.
“Breaking past the limit of single-impact…that’s dual. So the limit of dual…”
Kaelith’s voice rumbled with ferocity. From an outsider’s point of view, his fist moved both lightning-fast and oddly slow at once, twisting normal perception. He smashed forward with unstoppable momentum, eyes gleaming:
“Triple-Impact: Ikkotsu!!!”
Aizen watched in astonishment as Kaelith’s fist slammed Guiyanjō’s outstretched arms. A brutal wave of force poured into him, colliding with his limbs and Reiatsu. Then it seemed to vanish for an instant—only to hammer back in a second time, shattering Guiyanjō’s guard. A third wave of pressure followed an imperceptible beat later, delivering final devastation.
Bang!!
Guiyanjō’s arms, thick as tree trunks, exploded in a red mist. Aizen blinked. Kaelith hadn’t been exaggerating; that punch was indeed beyond anything he expected. If Kaelith had simply snapped them with raw power, or torn them off in a frenzy of berserker strength, Aizen wouldn’t have been too surprised. Kaelith was Kaelith, after all. But the mechanics behind that triple-hit were on a whole different level.
He had done it—fully mastered the dual-impact technique that Yamamoto, Aizen, and every other top-tier Shinigami had previously deemed impossible. Before, Kaelith might have been a gifted but somewhat reckless fighter. In that instant, he’d transcended.
Aizen could only watch with something akin to respect. That final attack was the combined product of talent, diligence, and many blood-soaked battles.
Heh.
Aizen allowed himself a small grin. This had nothing to do with him, strictly speaking, yet a quiet pride bloomed inside. Watching Kaelith’s success was oddly gratifying.
With both arms gone, Guiyanjō had effectively lost the fight. Although the stump of his shoulders was already writhing with regenerative growth—given a few more seconds, he might regrow those limbs—against a foe like Kaelith, a few seconds might as well be an eternity.
“Hahaha!”
Kaelith roared, punching Guiyanjō hard enough to flatten him. Then, as the monstrous man bellowed in agony, Kaelith rained blow after blow upon him. Within moments, Guiyanjō was left gasping on the floor, face barely recognizable—a mass of pulp and bone shards. His mask had essentially been “broken” by physical trauma.
“Alright, alright, that’s enough!”
Aizen hurried over, stopping Kaelith. Truthfully, he’d wanted to intervene sooner, but he also wanted Kaelith to get a good handle on that triple-impact technique—better not to interrupt mid-practice. Now that he’d had time, that was sufficient.
Shoving Kaelith aside, Aizen knelt to check Guiyanjō’s vitals. Still alive, thankfully. Despite the savage beating, Kaelith had aimed mostly at nonlethal areas (if smashing up his face could be called “nonlethal”). No fatal damage to the heart or brain had occurred.
As expected, though, the same corruption that befell other would-be Hollows was rapidly eating away at Guiyanjō’s body. Only his formidable physique, plus the refined Hōgyoku’s improvements, kept him from disintegrating instantly. Likely, his Reiatsu would become more and more unstable over the next month before it self-destructed. That month gave Aizen plenty of time to study him hundreds of times.
Perfect.
Feeling quite satisfied, Aizen knocked Guiyanjō out with more anesthetic and sealed him in stasis. Finished, he came to find Kaelith outside, gulping down some water.
“Sōsuke, did you see that final move?” Kaelith beamed. “Wasn’t it incredible? C’mon, give me your honest opinion!”
Seeing his swagger, Aizen couldn’t help but needle him.
“Meh… it's alright.”
“Alright?! That’s it?! You must be out of your mind!!”
Kaelith erupted in mock outrage, going on about how his “limit-breaking genius,” “unprecedented achievement,” and “unstoppable might” would shake the world.
Watching Kaelith fume, Aizen felt oddly pleased.
Annoying man… but it was surprisingly entertaining.
Kaelith glanced into the lab at the unconscious Guiyanjō, now placed in a tank, recalling how much cooler he had looked with the tribal-themed Hollow mask.
If I got Hollowfied, what would mine be like?
He remembered Ichigo Kurosaki’s intimidating black-and-gold Hollow eyes. That would be cool.
He turned to where Aizen was cleaning up nearby.
“Sōsuke, I think I can handle your Hōgyoku just fine. You need test subjects, right? What if you tried it on me?”
Aizen froze. Slowly standing straight, he dried his hands, then looked at Kaelith with half-lidded eyes.
“Kaelith Yurei ”
“Y-yes?” Kaelith answered, startled by Aizen using his full name so seriously. He straightened instinctively.
Aizen’s gaze was cold, Reiatsu brimming with menace. Kaelith felt a slight chill.
“If I find out you ever lay a finger on the Hōgyoku without my approval, and supervision” Aizen said, voice low, “I’ll personally deliver every last detail of your past transgressions to Yamamoto Shigekuni—and have him break every bone in your body before tossing you into Muken.
Do you understand?”
Leaving Kaelith standing there, shaking, Aizen walked off under a cloud of displeasure—like a mother bird scolding her chick for wandering too far from the nest.
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Summer passed, and the so-called “Kaelith Group” soon got a surprise: Ichimaru Gin, the newest recruit under Kaelith’s care, had graduated early from the Academy.
Rangiku practically gaped in disbelief.
“Graduated? Get out. He hasn’t even been there a year! How is that possible?”
Shiba Isshin exhaled, shaking his head. “Strong—he’s way too strong. A real genius.”
“Oi, Isshin, whose side are you on?” Rangiku complained.
Isshin scratched his cheek. “I’ll always stand by Lieutenant Aizen…”
“?”
Rangiku blinked. A traitor among their midst? She started wondering whether to handle the “spy” personally, but that was when Kaelith arrived with Gin in tow.
He had silvery hair, narrow eyes, and a perpetual half-smile. Having been adopted by Kaelith, Gin no longer had to struggle for food. Regular meals had boosted his growth considerably—where he once stood at grade-school height, he was now barely a head shorter than Kaelith. Of course, next to the two-meter Zaraki Kenpachi, they were all runts in comparison.
Gin bowed politely.
“To all my seniors in the 11th, I’m Ichimaru Gin, newly assigned. Pleased to meet you.”
In truth, he already knew exactly who they were. None of them particularly threatened him. Even Matsumoto Rangiku—arguably closest to Kaelith—was just a naive girl in his eyes. Among all these folks, the only figure Gin genuinely couldn’t upstage was that terrifying one: Aizen Sōsuke.
