Naraku Sora noticed the commotion of the spatial distortion and instinctively looked up, locking eyes with a certain expressionless old man.
He cast his gaze downward, only to see his own foot planted firmly on the Reigai's chest, having just cleanly chopped off its shiny bald head.
Yamamoto stared straight at him, his eyes wide open as if he had died with a lingering grievance.
In an instant, Sora's scalp tingled, and his heart skipped a beat.
Bead-sized drops of sweat immediately seeped from Naraku Sora's forehead, rolling down his temples.
Truth be told, he hadn't sweat this much when fighting the fake Yamamoto just a moment ago.
He was well aware that with his current strength, he might not necessarily fear this displeased Old Man Yama.
However, perhaps because he had been beaten up too many times, whenever he made a mistake, he always felt a guilty conscience when facing this elder who genuinely cared for him.
Yamamoto's expression was grim.
Before setting off, he had specifically handed over the position of acting Head Captain to Naraku Sora.
He wanted this kid to familiarize himself with the various squad duties early on and grow up as quickly as possible to become a Head Captain who could truly stand on his own.
That way, even if he didn't inherit his position in the future, he could better manage his newly formed Gotei 13.
Considering that Naraku Sora was prone to pulling off unconventional stunts at the drop of a hat, Yamamoto had already mentally prepared himself before leaving.
No matter how poorly he performed, he wouldn't blame the kid.
Children needed appropriate encouragement to build a little confidence, after all.
It was a line of work he had absolutely no prior experience with.
However.
Upon seeing his own head rolling around on the ground, Yamamoto's mood became incredibly complicated.
He had previously been exceptionally furious at the scoundrel who had framed him and trapped him in the Dangai.
He had wanted nothing more than to drag the culprit out immediately upon returning to the Soul Society, tear him to pieces, and burn him to ashes.
But when he saw his rebellious disciple execute him with a single strike, his blood pressure instantly spiked to the maximum, and he paradoxically calmed down.
No matter what this bastard was doing, a severe beating was definitely unavoidable.
To make up for the losses during this period and to salvage his dignity as the Head Captain, Yamamoto decided to take action immediately.
Seemingly sensing the murderous intent permeating the air, Naraku Sora instantly went on high alert. He looked at the old man opposite him with an awkward smile, attempting one last struggle.
"Teacher, listen to my explanation..."
"I do not believe that is necessary."
Yamamoto took off his haori and casually tossed it, letting it hang like a flag on a distant stone pillar. He then unfastened his top, revealing a ferocious torso covered in scars.
In terms of sheer aura alone, this was several times stronger than the Reigai clone from earlier.
Naraku Sora's breath hitched. Seeing that the old man had no intention of reasoning with him, he immediately turned and ran.
The speed he erupted with in that instant was comparable to lightning.
In just a split second, Naraku Sora rushed to the edge of the ruins. Seeing survival so close at hand, he was overjoyed, feeling his body become much lighter.
However, the closer one is to victory, the easier it is to let one's guard down.
In a place no one noticed, a shadow squirmed, clinging to Naraku Sora's foot like a living creature. Then, it pulled hard.
Naraku Sora stumbled. His originally steady pace was instantly thrown into disarray, and his speed immediately plummeted.
Taking advantage of this, Yamamoto blocked his path directly in front of him, and a fiery aura suddenly expanded outward.
Wild Reiatsu surged recklessly, whipping up rolling waves of heat around them, as if an active volcano was moving forward.
Before he could flee for his life again, the muscular old man had already unleashed a powerful and forceful Reiatsu, raising a heavy fist like an iron hammer and swinging it straight at him.
Naraku Sora still tried to argue his way out of it.
But Yamamoto clearly didn't have the bad habit of delaying time.
Even if this bastard hadn't done anything wrong, did a teacher need a reason to teach his disciple a lesson?
Accompanied by the blast of a veteran's punch, the two figures directly plowed a wide trench through the devastated street, kicking up a scalding, burning wind that spread all the way to the edge of sight.
The sudden turn of events left the spectating crowd dumbfounded, each of them staring in shock.
*So Head Captain Yamamoto wasn't dead after all.*
*Didn't that mean Lord Naraku was going to be out of luck again?*
*Strange, why 'again'?*
Just as everyone was agonizing over this bizarre development, Naraku Sora's furious roar suddenly echoed from the distant battlefield.
"You old geezer, you're going too far! I'm going to rebel right now!"
"Yamamoto, I..."
Boom!!!
A heavy impact, sounding like the sky collapsing, forcibly interrupted the voice, knocking a certain someone's rebellious words right back down his throat.
Watching the miserable state of a certain someone being brutally beaten, Aizen, hiding in the shadows, retracted his Reiatsu. He gave a barely noticeable nod and crossed out two marks in his grudge book.
Then he turned and left, fading into the background, his work done.
Looking at the messy ruins before him, Inaba Kagerōza's expression was somewhat twisted.
When he revealed his trump card earlier, he thought he could use the power of the Reigai Yamamoto to turn the tide and reverse the roles of attacker and defender.
As a result, he hadn't expected the clone's power to be vastly inferior to the original, failing to take down even a Lieutenant.
Later, it even had its head chopped off by the arriving Naraku Sora.
At this point, Inaba Kagerōza thought all his schemes had come to an end, and he would face his final doom.
However, he never expected that Yamamoto, who was trapped in the Dangai, would actually break through the Kōryū's blockade and forcibly return to the Soul Society.
What was even more unexpected was that the reckless old man, for the sake of a little face, would forcibly drag Naraku Sora away for a beating without even asking a single question.
Now, the two strongest fighters had left the battlefield.
*Did that mean his chance had come?!*
Thinking of this, a light seemed to shine in Inaba Kagerōza's eyes. He instantly became excited and directly erupted with Reiatsu to summon the remaining Reigai clones.
"Prepare to counterattack!"
Right at this moment, a row of ancient doors unfurled in the sky with a loud rustle, glowing with intense red light, followed by a terrifying Reiatsu that suddenly spread out.
Accompanied by the opening of the doors, familiar figures appeared in everyone's line of sight one after another.
"It's Captain Kyōraku and the others!"
"And Captain Unohana and Captain Ukitake!"
"So everyone was trapped in the Dangai. No wonder Lord Naraku was fighting alone."
"Looking at it this way, doesn't that mean Head Captain Naraku protected the Seireitei all by himself?!"
After figuring out the key point, the Soul Reapers' moods suddenly became heavy.
*As the strongest military organization in the Soul Society, how many more times would they need Naraku Sora to protect them?*
At the same time, their admiration for Naraku Sora climbed to a new peak once again.
The Soul Reaper Captains, led by Kyōraku Shunsui, respectively faced off against their corresponding Reigai clones.
Originally, these were all prepared for Naraku Sora, but since that guy was busy dealing with the muscular old man's iron fists, they could only be left for them to resolve.
A chaotic battle was on the verge of breaking out.
Kyōraku Shunsui held his swords in both hands, facing a figure identical to himself head-on.
Because he wasn't clear on the exact strength of these clones, he brought out a hundred and twenty percent of his focus to deal with it.
*If I were to slip up in such a trivial matter and lose to a clone, wouldn't I be laughed at by my little junior brother for ten or eight years?*
To prevent this situation from happening, Kyōraku Shunsui decided to take the initiative to attack.
His opening move was his most proficient technique.
"Bushōgoma!"
The suddenly whipped-up hurricane instantly swallowed the Reigai Kyōraku, but it was quickly severed by a ring-shaped golden sword pressure, and a slightly disheveled figure stepped out from within.
"Sorry about that, other me. Whether it's abilities or Reiatsu, there is no difference between us."
"But in order to replace the original, that lord specifically enhanced us."
"Now, prepare to die."
The Reigai Kyōraku lowered his dual blades, and his entire body sank directly into the shadows.
On the other side, Zaraki Kenpachi narrowed his eyes, looking at a man who resembled an evil spirit. As the corners of his mouth split into a grin, he fiercely drew his sword.
Two similar pillars of Reiatsu shot straight into the sky, stirring up surging waves of dust.
The two jagged longswords clashed, sparking countless flashes of fire.
Amidst maniacal laughter, Zaraki Kenpachi slashed at his opponent as if driven mad.
Golden Reiatsu ignited like raging flames, instantly dyeing the sky above, and the violent aura only increased rather than decreased.
Numerous originals and Reigai erupted with powerful Reiatsu. The terrifying pressure crashed down like a tidal wave, washing over the ruins while also making the surrounding air increasingly murky and heavy.
Standing on a high vantage point in the ruins, Aizen observed carefully and suddenly noticed a battlefield that was almost entirely one-sided.
Golden waist-length hair, an eerie smile, and a ring-like sword hilt held in his hand.
The Reigai of Hirako Shinji.
Due to certain reasons, his original body hadn't appeared nearby and seemed to still be in the Dangai.
Aizen hesitated for a moment, then instantly vanished from his spot.
Just as the Reigai Hirako Shinji was preparing to release his Bankai and completely throw the Seireitei into chaos, a figure appeared behind him without any warning.
Then, a single slash was delivered.
The massive head flew into the sky, blood spurting out and instantly dyeing the haori red.
Having finished all this, Aizen sheathed his sword. After glancing at the Senkaimon in the sky out of the corner of his eye, he turned and left this battlefield.
Meanwhile, inside the Senkaimon.
Hirako Shinji stared dumbfounded at his own body collapsed on the ground, his eyes somewhat dazed.
He had merely returned a little late.
*How did my head just get chopped off directly by someone?*
*Isn't that guy Aizen hiding a bit too deeply?*
Previously, out of a certain premonition, he had always been on guard against his own Lieutenant, and he was well aware that Aizen was hiding his strength.
But he never expected that this guy's true strength would be terrifying to such an extent.
Even if it was a sneak attack, the performance of decapitating him with a single slash had definitely surpassed the vast majority of Captains.
*This bastard, hiding so deeply, what exactly is he trying to do?*
*Also, why were his movements when chopping me so practiced?*
Looking at the corpse lying on the ground, Hirako Shinji's face turned ashen.
He was now hesitating whether he should even go out.
Watching the increasingly heated battles, Inaba Kagerōza's face turned incredibly ugly.
The Reigai he had placed high hopes on were actually being completely suppressed by the originals on the frontline battlefield, only able to bitterly hold on under the torrent of Reiatsu.
Whether it was Captain-class Soul Reapers or Lieutenants.
There was almost no one who could gain the upper hand.
*Could it be that my Reigai technology is truly this unbearable?*
When the situation could no longer be reversed, Kagerōza didn't hesitate. He quietly slipped into the shadows, releasing the Bakudō, Kyokkō, to conceal his figure while simultaneously retracting his Reiatsu.
He lowered his presence to the absolute minimum.
Then, without looking back, he ran toward the direction of the Rukongai.
There, he still had a secretly built laboratory.
*As long as I can reach that place...*
At the same time, after Aizen finished off the Reigai Hirako Shinji, he immediately noticed Inaba Kagerōza leaving the battlefield with a single glance.
"Although the Reigai technology doesn't have much research value, Inaba Kagerōza himself still does..."
Seeing that he had already arrived near the Seireitei gates, Kagerōza, who had finally breathed a sigh of relief, suddenly shivered. A chill shot straight from the soles of his feet to the top of his skull.
His entire person became inexplicably panicked, as if he had been targeted by a natural predator...