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In the hand-drawn sky, the sun, like an old man, had a strange smile on his face, his crescent eyes darting left and right.
Beside the sun, the long-haired moon, like a sister, kept opening and closing her mouth, as if singing a silent song.
Stars, like meteors, streaked through the clouds, colliding with each other, yet no sound was emitted.
These hand-drawn elements, while seemingly full of childlike fun and embodying a child's unrestrained imagination, together evoked an inexplicable chill.
And the moment the arena formed, whether it was the sun, moon, stars, clouds… everything turned its gaze towards the arena, a smile appearing on their faces. Their mouths stretched upwards, all the way to their ears, the curve so wide it looked as if their mouths were torn open; an eerie glint shone in their innocent eyes, sending shivers down one's spine. That inexplicable sense of being watched made Aaroniero feel a deep chill from the depths of his Spirit Body.
"No need to be nervous."
On the other side of the arena, Ishikawa said softly, "This is just a very ordinary arena. Here, neither you nor I will receive any assistance." Ishikawa slowly raised his head, glanced at the grotesque sky above, and continued:
"The sole purpose of this space is to completely block external detection. As long as you are within this area, any means of detection, communication technology, or even Reiatsu fluctuations and aura will be completely shielded. In other words, your death will not be discovered by anyone!"
"Who exactly are you?"
Aaroniero looked at Ishikawa with cold eyes, utterly bewildered.
It had been two years; he had stayed in Las Noches for two whole years.
After two years, he finally left Las Noches, only to encounter this lunatic again.
Even after searching all his memories, Aaroniero couldn't figure out where he had provoked this madman… Hmm?
Aaroniero's gaze shifted to Shiba Ganju, who stood outside the massive arena on a spectator-like platform. When he saw the 'Falling Heaven Collapsing Vortex Pattern' on Ganju's backpack, his eyes narrowed.
Immediately… "Ganju? Is that you? Ganju!"
Aaroniero's eyes lit up, and a sunny smile appeared on his face: "I can't believe you've grown so big already, it really makes one emotional. I remember when you were little, you always pestered me to teach you how to fight, and there was that one time you and Kukaku, both of you, came with me…"
Listening to that nostalgic voice, looking at that nostalgic face, and that incredibly familiar smile, along with the past events he continuously recounted.
Even though Ishikawa had repeatedly emphasized beforehand that the other party was not his elder brother, Ganju still couldn't help but show a glimmer of hope, muttering in disbelief:
"Kai… Kaien Nii-san?"
Is it really you?
Ganju didn't dare to voice the rest of his thoughts, for fear that the answer would bring him despair… "It's truly good to see you. Back when Rukia left, at the moment my Spirit Body collapsed, I was still wondering, what would happen to you and Kukaku after I was gone?"
Aaroniero's tone revealed a hint of sorrow, as if he truly were Shiba Kaien… or rather, these were precisely Shiba Kaien's concerns before his death.
He ignored Ishikawa, who stood with his sword, and instead approached the edge of the arena, scrutinizing Shiba Ganju on the platform with gentle eyes, and laughed: "Hahaha, but looking at you now, Kukaku hasn't disappointed me." After saying that, he paused slightly, then slowly raised his hand and made a gesture as if to ruffle his head from a distance.
"You've grown up, Ganju."
The gentle voice, the words full of affection, and the identical demeanor completely shattered Ganju's defenses.
"Are you really Nii-san?"
"Of course it's me. After my Spirit Body collapsed, it came to Hueco Mundo; only after arriving in Hueco Mundo did I learn that the Hollow was an experiment of Las Noches's leader. He had set up a program within that Hollow's body that, once destroyed, would return to Hueco Mundo to reassemble."
"After the Hollow that fused with my Spirit Body reassembled, I became as I am now. This was all part of their calculations, but it seems my mind is controlling the Spirit Body."
After saying that, Aaroniero laughed triumphantly: "Simply put, my iron-like willpower exceeded their imagination."
Ganju's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he said excitedly, "Then…"
"Have you said enough?"
Just then, Ishikawa, who had remained silent, looked up at Aaroniero.
"If the only words you can relay are these meaningless phrases, then there's no need to continue this conversation."
Aaroniero's eyes flashed with a hint of apprehension, but then he laughed heartily: "I finally understand why you hold such hostility towards me. I think you must have misunderstood something. I truly am Shiba Kaien. Last time, it was only because you suddenly tried to kill me that I reacted so violently."
Aaroniero then gave a wry smile: "After all, without knowing who you were, I couldn't just let you cut me down. If you had told me then that you knew Kukaku and Ganju, how could I have possibly become your enemy?"
"You might not know this, but the reason I chose to stay here is precisely to seize an opportunity to eliminate the monster behind Las Noches. If he isn't dealt with soon, it will inevitably endanger the Soul Society."
Shiiing—
Ishikawa didn't speak. Instead, he casually drew his long blade and tossed the cloth bag aside.
With a 'whoosh,' almost the instant the long cloth bag touched the arena, it ignited from within, instantly turning to ashes.
"Life-and-Death Arena."
Ishikawa swung the long blade in his hand, drawing a circle of sparks on the arena.
"Every game has its rules, and the rules of the Life-and-Death Arena are as the name suggests: once we step onto this arena, one of us must die."
"And during the struggle, as long as one's Reiatsu intensity does not exceed mine by too much, no one can break into the arena, nor can the two of us leave; moreover, because I haven't fully mastered it, once this space is generated, even I, its owner, cannot dispel it before the game ends."
The smile on Aaroniero's face froze.
Ishikawa continued: "There is only one way to leave this arena, and that is to follow the rules of the game."
"And one more thing…"
Da~
Ishikawa took a step forward: "I think you must have noticed that this arena is constantly devouring your and my Reiatsu. It can be said that it is maintained and repaired by our combined Reiatsu; when both of our spiritual pressures are exhausted, if a victor has not yet been decided, the devoured Reiatsu will erupt in the form of flames, killing everyone on the arena, including me, its owner."
"Game rules…"
Om—
Aaroniero's pupils contracted, and he almost instinctively drew his Zanpakuto.
"Explanation complete!"
Accompanying the soft words, Ishikawa appeared out of nowhere in front of Aaroniero, and his long blade slashed down.
Qiang—!
The crisp clang of metal on metal rang out. Aaroniero felt a massive force come from the blade in his hand, and he was uncontrollably pushed backward.
He's stronger!!
Compared to the battle two years ago, the opponent's strength had become even greater.
So strong that… just one strike shattered the tiger's mouth of his right hand holding the blade.
"Eat him up, Gluttonous Hollow!"
The experience of almost dying at the opponent's hands last time made Aaroniero dare not show the slightest contempt, and he immediately entered his Release Form.
Boom—
Terrifying Reiatsu materialized, erupting like a vortex.
Seeing this, Ishikawa distorted his body and swung his blade to deflect the impact, while electric arcs flashed around him.
"Roar."
The Raikōhō was deafening.
—Shunko!
Almost the instant he entered the Shunko state, Ishikawa appeared above the vortex, his long blade slashing straight down.
A sharp and eerie aura permeated, enveloping the entire arena.
Thunder rumbled, and the hand-drawn clouds in the sky, at this moment, fittingly turned into storm clouds, with electric arcs flashing within them, and stars excitedly zipping and colliding.
The vortex dissipated.
The fluctuations from above made Aaroniero's Spirit Body, even after its Release Form, instinctively tremble, prompting him to unleash his full Reiatsu without hesitation.
But unlike last time, he didn't concentrate his Reiatsu on the trident. Instead, under the threat of life and death, he condensed all the tentacles of his lower body into a mass, like a long whip, to meet the downward slash of Ishikawa's blade.
Outside the arena, Ganju watched the battle on the arena, not saying a word.
He had thought about stopping it, but after hearing Ishikawa explain the game rules, he chose silence.
Or rather… he chose to trust Ishikawa, because Ishikawa had said that the opponent merely possessed his elder brother's memories and body; he was not his elder brother!
And Aaroniero in his Release Form only strengthened his conviction!
The next second~
The long whip made of tentacles collided with the long blade, and a visible impact, like a finger touching the surface of water, spread out in layers in all directions.
But when the impact reached the edge of the arena, it seemed to hit an invisible barrier, dissipating completely, not affecting anything beyond the arena in the slightest.
On the arena itself, it was inevitably carved down several meters, but for an arena composed of a high platform, these mere few meters caused no impact other than making the arena surface pitted.
Just then, two figures in the center of the arena simultaneously retreated rapidly.
Ishikawa's feet sank into the arena's surface, carving two nearly ten-meter-long trenches before he stabilized himself.
On the other side, Aaroniero's massive, bloated body, like a cannonball, crashed against the invisible barrier of the arena with a dull roar.
Pfft—
The immense impact caused Aaroniero to spit out blood. His body was in a terrible state, a huge gash appearing on his octopus-like lower half, blood quickly staining the arena beneath him.
"Why...?" Aaroniero's gaze towards Ishikawa was filled with disbelief and fear.
Only two short years, why had he become so strong?
Although he had lost that battle two years ago, from beginning to end, the opponent's Reiatsu intensity... even the strike that nearly killed him in the end, carried Reiatsu far inferior to his own.
So he had always been confident that if he encountered Ishikawa again, as long as he didn't underestimate him and went all out from the start, he would be the one to win.
But why?
Why had his Reiatsu intensity increased so much in just two years?
"I'll die... if I continue to fight him, I'll die!"
The fear that had been suppressed completely erupted at this moment. Aaroniero seemed to remember something, and as if grasping at a lifeline, he looked at Ganju outside the arena with a pleading expression.
"Ganju, save me! I'm your elder brother!"
A voice filled with fear and pleading echoed in this space.
In the hand-drawn sky, the sun, moon, and stars... showed sarcastic smiles, as if a child was expressing his contempt.
However, Aaroniero couldn't pay attention to these now. He looked at Ganju with hope, shouting hoarsely: "I really am your elder brother! Make him stop first, I can prove my identity!"
From the black-haired youth's previous performance, there must be some connection between him and the Shiba.
As long as he convinced Ganju, he would definitely be able to persuade this black-haired youth to let him out. As for the game rules Ishikawa had mentioned earlier, he didn't believe them at all.
Because with all of Shiba Kaien's memories, he knew very well that a Zanpakuto would never rebel against its master, and it was even less possible, as Ishikawa claimed, for it to kill its master.
His previous words were probably just to prevent Shiba Ganju from interfering.
However... to Aaroniero's disappointment, his words did not make Ganju step forward to stop it. Instead, Ganju's gaze towards him grew colder, filled with killing intent.
"You are not my elder brother!"
Ganju said coldly: "My elder brother would never beg me, his younger brother, to save him like this, nor would he show the expression you have now..."
"Don't wear my elder brother's face and do such disgusting things!!!"
"Ganju is a bit slow."
Aaroniero's pupils constricted, and his neck turned stiffly like a puppet.
Only then did he realize that Ishikawa had appeared beside him at some point.
"But he's not stupid."
Slowly raising the blade in his hand, Ishikawa stared at Aaroniero with an incredibly cold gaze.
"The reason he, for a moment, thought you were his elder brother was simply because he wished in his heart that you were truly Shiba Kaien."
Boom!
Dazzling lightning and Reiatsu intertwined, all pouring into the long sword raised above his head.
Buzz buzz buzz—
The void trembled, and the hand-drawn sky rippled, as if about to be torn apart.
This strike, before it even fell, its outcome was already decided!
However... "Don't kill Aaroniero!"
Just as Ishikawa's long sword was about to strike down, an anxious voice suddenly came from deep within his soul. It was Tier Harribel's voice...
One minute ago, in the area where the three-digit Espada were located in Las Noches.
In the vast space, three people, two men and one woman, sat scattered. One of them was Tier Harribel.
"Now that Tier Harribel has come here, Aaroniero is the only one left among our original Espada, isn't he?" One of them said with a wry smile.
This was a strong male Arrancar with an orange afro, a star-shaped mark on his forehead, a goggle-like Hollow mask, and a beard on his chin.
"If you don't count the former King."
Another middle-aged man with a forehead-shaped mask, a goatee, and an earring on his right ear gave a strange laugh, then shook his head and said: "But I suppose Tier Harribel should be the last eliminated Espada to come here. After all, although that Aaroniero is a waste, he is very useful to Aizen, and his ability also allows him to continue to grow stronger."
"The ability of infinite evolution? That's truly an outrageous ability!" The orange afro sighed.
Tier Harribel did not interrupt the conversation, or rather, her mind was completely preoccupied with how Ishikawa's plan was progressing and if there were any unexpected events.
"Besides infinite evolution, the abilities he devoured are also very important in Aizen's eyes."
The middle-aged man shook his head: "If I remember correctly, he also possesses an ability called 'Synchronized Cognition,' which allows him to transmit all information about the enemy he fought and the entire battle process to... all Arrancar, including the Espada, in real-time after Aaroniero's death."
"Although for the Espada, this ability is completely useless..."
"Dordonii, what did you just say!?"
Tier Harribel, who had been distracted, her face changed drastically.
"Huh? I said Aaroniero's Synchronized Cognition..."
Tier Harribel didn't wait for him to finish, she suddenly stood up and turned to walk outside.
"Oh no—"
She had completely forgotten about this.
When Ishikawa had planned to kill Aaroniero, she hadn't remembered this at all, because no one had ever thought an Espada would die at the hands of an outsider.
Although Aizen had once given Aaroniero the task of sharing all enemy information with all Arrancar, due to death being the activation condition, neither Aaroniero himself nor the other Espada had remembered this ability.
If Dordonii hadn't mentioned it, Tier Harribel would have completely forgotten about it... "Don't kill Aaroniero!"
The words in his mind made Ishikawa's hand pause slightly.
But the next second... the strike came down again.
The rules he had told Aaroniero earlier were not false.
The only thing Aaroniero didn't know was... he possessed a Development Spiritual Mark. If he continued to consume Reiatsu, the time his Reiatsu could sustain would be much longer than the Reiatsu intensity he displayed.
Therefore... the arena decides life and death; this is an iron rule.
At least until Ishikawa completely mastered his Zanpakuto, he had no way to actively dispel the existence of this space. He could only complete the game, or someone with stronger Reiatsu than Ishikawa could forcibly break this space.
Buzz~
Silently, the single strike caused no ripple.
Ishikawa's long sword hung in the air, only a few centimeters from the ground, while Aaroniero seemed to be stunned, staying motionless.
Crack crack crack—
Just then, a strange cracking sound emanated.
Aaroniero's head distorted, Shiba Kaien's face disappeared, replaced by a cylindrical liquid-filled container, and the cracking sound came from the container itself.
A crack appeared in the center of the container.
No... more precisely, a crack appeared in the center of both the container and the body.
Split in two!
Thud thud—
Two consecutive dull thuds, the body split in two fell to the ground, and the two masks in the container simultaneously let out wails, gradually shriveling as the wails faded.
"Synchronized Cognition, Aaroniero possesses an ability called 'Synchronized Cognition,' which allows him to share all information about the enemy with all Arrancar at the moment of death..."
The voice in his mind grew fainter and fainter, finally shouting anxiously:
"I'll try to stall, run!"
Synchronized Cognition?
Ishikawa's face instantly darkened, and for the first time, a sense of panic arose in his heart.
Bang—
The space he was in instantly collapsed, and Ishikawa and Ganju returned to the Hueco Mundo space.
Without asking, almost simultaneously with releasing his Shikai, Ishikawa pointed a finger at the void.
Buzz buzz buzz—
The space tore open, and before it fully opened, Ishikawa pulled Ganju and rushed into it.
However... Ugh--!
The space shook, and the torn Black Portal suddenly closed like a large mouth, with sewing-like marks appearing on the top and bottom.
Space lockdown!
No matter how Ishikawa tried to tear it, the space he was in remained undisturbed.
"How..."
Ganju looked at Ishikawa with some confusion.
But before he could finish speaking, he was yanked up and sent flying, at a speed that prevented Ganju from even opening his eyes.
After an unknown amount of time, the hand gripping his back suddenly exerted force, slamming him towards the ground.
Ganju was instantly buried by white sand. Ishikawa looked down at the white sand that had returned to its original state, then turned and sped off in another direction...
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence 9: Reader for advance chapters | Every 100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter | Report issues @discord.com/GVBdncd9Wr