Sāgara Ryū: Ikka

"What the hell did you do?!"

No response.

Seiya, now immersed in a certain state, seemed to have transcended into an inexplicable realm.

Yelling at him was as pointless as reciting poetry to cattle—no answer would come.

Kensei Muguruma gritted his teeth.

"You bastard!"

His voice brimmed with irritation.

Because what had just happened was beyond comprehension.

Why had his attack been deflected?

Why had his overwhelming force been so easily neutralized?

Seiya hadn't even performed any particularly visible counteraction, yet somehow, Kensei had been completely suppressed.

It made no sense.

He refused to believe it.

No—he couldn't believe it.

A surge of defiant rage filled Kensei as he roared, unleashing a second, even more ferocious attack with his left fist.

If the last strike had been avoided, then let's see him dodge this one!

No longer a mere test, this was an all-out, devastating assault.

Spirit energy raged around Kensei, a silver-white dragon coiling around him, roaring to the heavens as it lashed outward.

The very air twisted and buckled, bending under the sheer intensity of his reiatsu.

Instinctively, or perhaps driven by primal fear, Kensei knew—

If he didn't end this now, something terrible was about to happen.

Hissing. Roaring. Swirling.

The air howled and coiled as his spiritual energy surged into his left fist, wrapping around his gauntlet.

Here it comes.

This will be the final moment.

The explosive force will obliterate everything.

The wind blades will tear apart the remnants, leaving not even a single trace of existence behind.

Scattered by the wind, reduced to dust—

That was your fate, coward.

"DIE!"

A roaring battle cry echoed.

The raging storm, the sweeping gusts—they engulfed them both.

Beneath Kensei's feet, the ground shattered. The very earth beneath them caved in.

In the distance, Tōsen tilted his head skyward.

Even though he was blind, he could feel it—

A massive whirlwind of spiritual pressure had burst into the sky, piercing through the thick clouds...

Revealing the moon.

That cold, silver glow bathed Seireitei once more.

A single swallow of dry air did nothing to suppress the turmoil in Tōsen's chest.

This was an experience unlike any before.

It was the first time he had ever been so close to a battle between captains.

Words swirled in his mind, but none could express what he felt.

After a moment of hesitation, he finally murmured:

"Incredible..."

The ferocity of their battle.

The sheer willpower behind every strike.

The unyielding resolve of two warriors refusing to back down.

All of it combined into something overwhelmingly beautiful, something that made him shudder in awe.

"This... is beyond anything I've ever seen..."

"Is it?"

Unlike Tōsen, Aizen's voice remained calm.

As if nothing in the world could shake him.

No matter how intense the battle, his tone remained steady—as if it were all nothing more than a fleeting moment.

"That is simply your perception, Kaname."

But to another observer...

Aizen lifted his gaze to the sky, a subtle smile forming.

"Such a grand scene without moonlight—it always felt lacking..."

"Heh, now it seems... even a storm as wild and untamed as this one knows when to be a gentleman."

Tōsen furrowed his brow, confused by Aizen's poetic musings, but before he could respond—

"You're worried about Seiya, aren't you?"

Aizen chuckled softly, the light reflecting off his glasses.

"As a friend, your concern is admirable, Kaname."

"But you must understand something—"

"Seiya is not the one at a disadvantage."

He is not merely a participant in this game.

He is the master of the board.

And beyond that—

Aizen gently pushed his glasses up, his tone growing softer.

"There's no need to worry about Seiya."

"Because from this very moment forward..."

"The battle is already decided."

"This is our victory, Kaname."

As Aizen's words fell into place—

The raging storm that had engulfed the battlefield suddenly shifted.

A momentary pause, then—

It erupted outward, like a storm breaking free of its shackles!

Tōsen instinctively raised an arm to shield himself, reinforcing his body with reiatsu...

Even then, he struggled to hold his ground.

Such overwhelming force.

Such devastating energy.

This was the aftermath of a captains' battle.

Something a mere lieutenant could never dream of interfering with.

What happened?

What was the outcome?

Two colossal spiritual pressures still filled the air.

Kensei Muguruma stood—his face twisted into rage.

His teeth clenched, his breath ragged, and his eyes filled with disbelief.

His throat trembled with frustrated growls, like a wounded beast backed into a corner.

"Let... go... of me...!!!"

His voice was powerful, but his panic was evident.

Because Kensei Muguruma—

Was pinned to the ground.

Face pressed into the dirt.

His powerful gale-like reiatsu still swirled wildly, yet it could not reach Seiya.

Seiya had effortlessly subdued him.

With one arm twisted behind his back.

With a knee pressing into his spine.

His voice was calm as he said:

"It's over."

—

"What... the hell happened?!"

Tōsen wasn't the only one asking.

Kensei Muguruma wanted to know too!

His full-powered final attack—

Had been completely negated.

No.

More than that.

It had been—reversed.

Like a novice combatant being toyed with by a seasoned veteran.

He had been outmaneuvered.

"Did he... mess with my body somehow?"

It was the only explanation.

Had this bastard tampered with his movements?

Had he been affected by some kind of ability?!

At that moment—

As if reading his thoughts—

Seiya's voice echoed.

"You're strong."

There was no mockery in his tone.

No false humility.

It was a genuine statement.

A realization—

Born from 1,599,800 years of suffering.

The "simulated" Bankai.

Sāgara Ryū: Ikka.

Seiya had forged a crude imitation of his true power.

A temporary solution.

A distortion of what should have been a complete ability.

And yet—

Even a mere fragment of its potential—

Was enough to stand atop the battlefield.

—

The ability.

A simulation of battle.

A single confrontation, extended over millions of years within his mind.

Time—the greatest teacher.

For the first ten years, Seiya was mercilessly slaughtered by Kensei.

For the next hundred, he finally began to fight back.

For the next thousand, he mastered every technique.

And yet, even after a million years of trial and error—

He continued to evolve.

Until, at last—

Seiya Arima had surpassed him completely.

"Your strength is real."

"But it wasn't enough."

Because—

"You left me too much time."

And in those years of suffering, I have already defeated you a million times over.

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Powerstones?

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