The sharp clang of clashing blades, the dull thud of tearing flesh, the roar of energy outbursts, and the occasional suppressed groans or roars from the two of them formed a scalp-numbing background noise.
But beneath this sound was the deathly silence of countless spectators who had completely lost their voices due to extreme shock, a feeling of suffocation as if their souls were being gripped by an invisible giant hand.
All the Academy Students were already pale, many collapsing limply to the ground.
Let alone seeing the details of the battle, just the terrifying mixture of two intertwined, tangible spiritual pressures—crimson and malevolent red—wafting from a distance made them tremble all over, as if they had been thrown into a freezing ice cave and then tossed into a lava purgatory.
Their hearts were squeezed by an invisible hand, every beat agonizing.
Those slightly stronger Lieutenant could barely stand by leaning against the railings, but the hands gripping their Zanpakuto hilts were bulging with veins, nails digging deep into their palms as they used their bodies' uncontrollable, violent trembling to resist the fear originating from the depths of their souls.
Sweat soaked their clothes and rolled down their temples, yet no one dared to wipe it away. They just stared wide-eyed, pupils dilated, trying to capture the two intertwining afterimages, but could only see bursts of blood blossoms and fleeting, ferocious red flashes.
In the Captains' seats, the expressions of all the Captains present were serious to the extreme.
Those who originally had a relaxed, probing, or evaluative mindset now only felt pure shock and gravity.
"Hiss... Hooo..."
*Gulp...*
The sounds of sharp intakes of breath and difficult swallowing rose one after another, sounding exceptionally clear against the silent background.
The same thought churned in everyone's heart:
"Just... just where did this monster come from?!"
"To fight Captain Unohana like this... it's like an Asura incarnate!"
As the battle entered this absolute white-hot state of trading injury for injury and life for life, the spiritual pressure within the two of them, already as vast as the sea...
...was stimulated like a bursting flood by the battle intent boiling to its peak, the energy required for frantic healing, and the pressure generated by their powers crushing against each other!
This wasn't their subjective charging or deliberate outburst!
This climb in spiritual pressure was a chain reaction brought about by the intense battle itself, a passive counterattack triggered after their power was over-squeezed, as natural as breathing, yet surging so violently it couldn't be contained!
The air in the entire Central Training Ground completely solidified!
The heavy spiritual pressure, like hundreds of millions of pounds of lead and mercury, weighed heavily on everyone's heads and chests. Those with weaker strength felt as if their internal organs were about to be squeezed and burst!
Gravel and dust on the ground began to float slowly, defying gravity, before exploding into even finer powder under the immense pressure.
The incredibly sturdy light wall of the training ground Barrier let out an overwhelmed wail, its surface rippling violently like water. The originally transparent light screen clearly reflected the scene of crimson and malevolent red mixing, twisting, and constantly rising destructive energy inside!
"Ugh... Blech..." Several more Lieutenant couldn't hold on, kneeling on the ground and vomiting violently.
Even the Captains felt the heavy pressure and had to slightly mobilize their own spiritual pressure to counter it.
"It's no good, it won't hold. All Vice-Captains and Lieutenant, organize the students' evacuation immediately!"
Time seemed to be stretched countless times, yet also seemed to have passed in an instant.
Finally, at the limit when everyone felt their hearts were about to stop beating—
"BOOM—!!!"
A thunderous roar, like Pangu creating the world, exploded without warning at the core of the training ground!
Two massive spiritual pressures of different natures, having climbed to their critical points, suddenly broke through some invisible shackles, causing a roar on the soul level as they completely released their abyssal essence!
Two energies, intertwined and constantly clashing yet refusing to yield, like ferocious beasts breaking free from their chains, suddenly surged and expanded with the two of them as the center!
The crimson blood light was like a physical substance, carrying a viscosity that seemed capable of corroding everything, forming a phantom of a giant blood pool that enveloped Unohana Retsu within it.
The ground of the training ground was like it had been hit by a meteor, a deep pit exploding outward with the two at the center! The shockwave swept in all directions like a transparent giant hammer!
And in the center of it all, at the core of the two sky-reaching pillars of energy, the intensity of the spiritual pressure suddenly rose to a desperate height!
That was a terrifying power level sufficient to make all Shinigami, and even Captain-level experts, take notice—Second Class Spiritual Pressure!
Second Class Spiritual Pressure! Even among the current Captains of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, this was an absolute top-tier level! What's more, two had appeared simultaneously!
The moment these two violent spiritual pressures reaching Second Class completely released their presence—
"Crack... BOOM—!!!"
The strongest Barrier of the Central Training Ground, set by Soul Society's Kido experts and theoretically capable of withstanding the impact of several Captain-level released Zanpakuto, let out a heart-wrenching wail like shattering glass!
Web-like cracks instantly covered the entire giant spherical light screen, spreading and expanding at high speed!
The dense crimson and malevolent red spiritual pressure, like high-pressure gas finding an outlet, sprayed frantically outward from the cracks!
The sturdy Barrier wall was forcibly torn and disintegrated by the powerful energy, and fine reishi fragments fell like golden rain—it was the complete collapse of the protective layer!
At the moment of this earth-shattering spiritual pressure outburst, at the edge of the Barrier, Kenpachi Kiganjō, who had been like a violent volcano, suddenly seemed to have been hit by a pause button.
His mountain-like burly frame still stood tall, appearing even more imposing due to the extreme tension in his muscles.
The knotted muscles on his face were twitching, but it wasn't a violent battle intent; rather, it was an... indescribable stiffness, a mixture of great loss and absurdity.
He crossed his thick arms, veins like coiled dragons under his bronze skin.
That giant Zanpakuto was stabbed into the floor tiles beside him, its hilt vibrating slightly as if it also sensed its master's emotions.
His gaze was fixed intently on the two crimson and malevolent red figures clashing wildly in the field.
Just now, when he saw Isayama Yomi forcefully withstand Unohana Retsu's blood-light-emitting Zanpakuto, letting it pierce through her shoulder blade, while counterattacking with a strike that left a bone-deep wound on Unohana Retsu's waist.
Then, almost simultaneously, a more dense and dazzling red glow erupted from both of them. Within that red glow, those terrifying wounds wriggled, closed, and regenerated at a speed visible to the naked eye... The last spark of battle fire in Kenpachi Kiganjō's heart was completely extinguished and frozen, like a bucket of ten-thousand-year-old ice water being poured on it with a "hiss."
He felt his temples throbbing.
The slaughter he wanted was the reality of a blade cutting into bone and flesh, the fishy heat of spraying blood, the ultimate pleasure of dancing on the line between life and death!
It was the head-on collision of power and will, a battle of being covered in wounds until one side fell or was crushed!
He pursued that pure combat of squeezing every bit of potential at the limit and feeling the tremor of life on the edge of destruction!
But what was on the field now?
It was two frantic engines of destruction colliding!
It was two monsters with immortal bodies tearing at each other!
So what if he hit them a hundred times? As long as he couldn't instantly and completely obliterate that core of rebirth, the wounds would heal in the blink of an eye—where was the meaning in this battle?!
"Hiss... No! We absolutely cannot let them keep fighting!"
Kyoraku Shunsui was the first to react; usually lazy, his voice was now urgent and serious.
"If this continues, once the Barrier breaks, the entire training ground and even half the academy will be torn down by them! I must go find Old Man Yama immediately to stop them!"