NOVEL NEXT The Fight Continues
"HAHAHA, RECENTLY I HAVE BEEN REALLY LUCKY WITH MY ENCOUNTERS!!!"
Yuna, who was currently laughing like a maniac, still fought Yamamoto, her ten ice-tails crazily flailing around, attacking the old man from every possible angle.
However, despite the endless assault, Yamamoto still had a steady demeanor, as he was expertly blocking and dodging through Yuna's assault. Every time his blade touched one of Yuna's tails, they would be vaporized instantly, just to regrow within a moment.
Unfortunately, unlike with her sword, Yuna couldn't recreate her tails instantly, as she wasn't that used to it yet, and the fact that she had to make them flexible while still regaining control over them made it even harder.
At the same time, Yamamoto couldn't deny that he was enjoying himself as well. Considering how high the stakes were, with Aizen trying to reach the Soul King, he should probably be more concerned about the situation, but he simply couldn't help himself.
Maybe it was his instincts that were telling him that everything would work out somehow, or maybe it was Yuna's crazy battle intent that had influenced him, but as he dodged and blocked yet another onslaught, a small smile appeared on his face.
Yamamoto destroyed another two tails while kicking away a third and tilting his head to dodge a fourth before a brief pause happened in his fight against Yuna, allowing him to ask a question he had wanted to ask for a while now.
"I really wonder what kind of outcome you are hoping for. Your little group of three has been freely switching between the different fractions, but I really wonder what your end goal is."
Hearing Yamamoto's question, Yuna paused her assault on him while chuckling in amusement. Although she didn't expect Yamamoto to attempt a sneak attack, she still got her guard up while answering him.
"Hehe, switching fractions? It seems like you have a slight misunderstanding there. I, Hinata, and Naruto have, since we were born in this world, always been in the same faction. Mhh, we don't really have a name for it, but how about the Yuna faction, hahaha~"
Yamamoto frowned as he prepared himself for a possible sneak attack, just like Yuna did. After Yuna answered his question, Yamamoto's frown deepened as he thought about the trio's deeds so far.
'I see, I've never really paid any attention to this, but there is indeed something different. When Yuna first came to Seireitei, she completely ignored Rukia, whom she supposedly wanted to rescue.'
While thinking about what had happened in the past, he also remembered Naruto claiming that Yuna was never part of any fraction after he was interrogated after Yuna left with Aizen.
'Indeed, those words seem to be true. That trio has been in conflict with Hollow and Shinigami alike while, at the same time, allying themself with both fractions as well. The one people they were never in conflict with were the three of them.
The conflict those three were embroiled in were never internal, as even after Yuna and Hinata seemingly left Naruto to join Aizen, Naruto wasn't bothered in the slightest, confidently claiming that Yuna would never betray him and that he was certain that she had some plans to mess with Aizen.
"I see; it seems like the way I looked at things has always been a little incorrect. However, despite that, my question still stands. When all of this is over, where exactly do you see yourself? What is your goal?"
"Hehe, I obviously won't tell you all of it, but how about I ease your mind a little: I don't plan for any Shinigami to die. I don't want Seireitei or the world of the living to get damaged, and in the end, I want Aizen to be defeated."
[Stop acting like you have some grand plans; all you want out of this is to have some fun.]
'Kurama! That is an outrageous accusation... I also want to expand my harem.'
[Right...]
[Gahaha, pervert!]
'I prefer the term degenerate, but yes indeed.]
Unaware of Yuna's internal conversation, Yamamoto sighed in relief. Although he still didn't know much about Yuna's goals, after the statement she just made, he could at least be sure that she was working towards Seireitei's interests, at least to some degree.
Obviously, Yuna could have lied as well, but Yamamoto was confident in seeing through a youngster like Yuna lying to him.
Obviously, what he didn't know was that Yuna could easily lie to him without him noticing anything due to the experience from her past two lives, but fortunately for him, in this case, she didn't.
Meanwhile, two women stood around twenty meters apart as flying slashes made out of water and blood collided endlessly. Both of the women's swords moved fast enough to turn them into a blur, making it impossible for normal people even to see them.
Every time a sword was swung, a flying slash was created, which swiftly was countered by a flying slash from the opposite side, turning the battle into a high-speed, long-range battle despite both people using swords.
"You have become stronger since the last time we fought, Retsu."
"That is only natural. After all, Yuna has given me a few tips and a rather interesting technique to raise my strength. That aside, haven't you become stronger as well, Hinata?"
"Hehehe, indeed. After all, I can't allow anyone to overtake me~"
"Ara? You make it sound like you are currently on the top. I seem to remember that our last fight ended in a draw~"
"Hee~ Our last fight with swords ended in a draw, but I can somewhat remember certain other fights where I won rather decisively... multiple times~"
"Oh? Are you currently acting proud because you are a bigger degenerate than me?"
"Yup~"
Hearing Hinata's nonchalant answer, Retsu's eyebrow briefly twitched in irritation as the "kind" expression she currently wore on her face grew even "kinder".
Frankly, she had a rather good relationship with Hinata. After hearing about Hinata's previous life, the two grew closer, as both of them had calm and gentle personalities as long as they weren't provoked.
However, Hinata had significantly more experience in night activities, which she teased Retsu about every chance she got, annoying her greatly.
"Very well, seems like I have to teach you some manners."
The moment Retsu stopped talking, the blood underneath her feet started churning, clearly indicating that she would increase the pace of her attacks.
Seeing that, Hinata only smiled as the water underneath her feet did the same. She loved teasing Retsu about these matters and found it incredibly amusing that teasing her about stuff like this seemed to be one of the few things that got Retsu reeled up somehow.
Meanwhile, at another part of the battlefield...
"HAHAHA!!! THIS IS SO MUCH FUN!!!"
... Kenpachi was going absolutely insane as he continuously clashed with Naruto.
"HAHAHA, I AGREE!!! IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE I GOT A CHANCE TO FIGHT LIKE THIS!!!"
Despite Kenpachi being completely insane, Naruto wasn't pushed back in the slightest, his crazed smile matching Kenpachi's as the duo clashed hundreds of times within seconds.
Rather than calling the confrontation between the duo a fight, the words "brawl" described the situation much better, as both of them simply smashed their weapons together like wild beasts, hoping to overpower the other party.
Although Kenpachi had learned some techniques after Yuna defeated him, at his very base, he was still a brawler. So, there was nothing more enjoyable than swinging around his sword with all his mind while fighting someone who could keep up with those swings.
In this case, Naruto could not only keep up with his assault but even matched him not only in strength but also in the wildness of their attacks.
A match of raw power against raw power.
Kenpachi had lost against two people in his life. Those two were Retsu and Yuna. However, both of these people were incredibly skilled with the sword, resulting in them partially overpowering him with their techniques, but Naruto was different.
"HAHAH, I LOVE THIS, NARUTO!!!"
"HAHAHA, LET'S CONTINUE THIS DANCE, KENPACHI!!!"
Needless to say, both of them had a lot of fun.
Meanwhile, back at the battle against Aizen, Kisuke looked at the explosion he had just caused and only shook his head.
"This isn't enough. If he were just another monster, this would have killed him, but there is no way it would have ended so easily."
Before anyone else could comment on Kisuke's words, the explosion stopped, revealing a transformed Aizen. Now, his whole body was covered with what appeared to be the substance that usually formed a Hollow's mask.
Suddenly, Aizen vanished and appeared between Kisuke and Isshin, shocking the duo due to the insane speed displayed.
"Impressive. You distracted me with a Hado in the nineties as a smoke screen to allow yourself to use a technique you developed yourself on me. If the Hogyoku hadn't been awakened and subdued by me, then this fight would have probably been over by now.
Unfortunately, even you don't know the true power of the Hogyoku, as such, you underestimated what kind of power it would grant. At the end of the day, you no longer are capable of harming me."
Hearing Aizen's words, both Kisuke and Isshin frowned deeply, but they still continued attacking Aizen, who easily blocked both of their attacks. However, while they were clashing with Aizen, they managed to tie a small rope around him, resulting in the duo fixing Aizen in place.
He was just about to ask what that kind of action was supposed to do when another person appeared above Aizen with their fists reeled back, ready to attack.
A storm of punches descended on Aizen, easily reaching above one hundred strikes within a few seconds, resulting in a massive crater and destroyed buildings.
Naturally, the freshly arrived person was Yoruichi, who currently wore protective gear on her hands and legs, making her punches even harder while protecting her arms and legs.
"Well, that should do..."
"Yoruichi, get away from him!"
While Yoruichi was confident that she had dealt some serious damage to Aizen, Kisuke told her to retreat, shocking her greatly. Despite the shock, she still did as Kisuke told her, but despite her swift action, the protective armor on her left leg still got destroyed.
Seeing the armor on her leg being destroyed, Yoruichi clicked her tongue in annoyance, complaining about how easily the armor Kisuke created crumbled away.
However, despite her complaints, the fight continued as Kisuke used a few Kido spells to distract Aizen, who had already anticipated him doing so.
So, after easily deflecting the spells, Aizen was already prepared to block Yoruichi's attack, but just when her fist was about to impact Aizen, a single word left her mouth.
"[Shunko]"
Shunko, a technique combining material art and Kido, was something Yoruichi had developed a long time ago, and now, she decided to unleash it upon Aizen, whose eyes widened in surprise.
Due to Yoruichi's sudden increase in speed, he managed to get a hit in on Aizen, but he quickly got up from the ground, easily catching Yoruichi's follow-up attack with his hand.
"I told you you can not defeat me."
However, the trio wasn't done yet, as Kisuke used his Zanpakuto to not only bind Aizen but even attach explosives to him. Unfortunately, Aizen shrugged all of that off, as nothing seemed to work on him.
"What a joke. Was that your secret weapon? Don't tell me..."
"[Getsuga Tenshou]"
Before Aizen could finish speaking, Isshin appeared behind him, launching another Getsuga Tenshou. However, this time, Aizen was too distracted by his own arrogance to notice the attack in time, resting in it connecting properly.
By now, Aizen had reached a point where he perceived everyone around him as vastly inferior to him, incapable of hurting him at all, so naturally, he had started to let his guard down.
"Did that get him?"
"I have no idea. Since he reached his current state, I'm no longer capable of sensing his Spiritual power."
"Hearing Kisuke's question, Isshin quickly answered him with deep doubt in his voice, and moments later, just as the smoke from the attack settled, Aizen walked out of the remaining dust.
"Well, that was a good attack."
Currently, Aizen was still covered in the white substance usually contained in a Hollow mask, but additionally, there was now a deep tear in it, revealing what appeared to be a universe that seemed to be inside Aizen's body.
"What the hell is that?"
Hearing Isshin's question, Aizen chuckled in amusement as he approached the trio, ready to end the fight.
"That doesn't really matter, does it? All you need to know is that I'll now teach you my true power."