"There's no right way or wrong way to fight in a battle." — Itachi Uchiha.
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Aizen and Shinji watched with surprised and gobsmacked expressions on their respective faces as they saw Itachi fight Kenpachi with a Shikai that they weren't aware he had.
"Yer don't say. A Dual Zanpakutō wielder? That's rare, I tell ya." Shinji was truly surprised by this because he remembered that he'd never seen Itachi with two swords on his hips, except now that is.
"It truly is surprising. Sometimes it's hard not to envy geniuses like him."
Shinji's reaction to Aizen's words were only a raised brow as he nonchalantly gave a shrug. "It's nun special, ya know."
He narrowed his eyes on the black flames that flickered on Itachi's sword and those on the ground. "They're not burning anything."
"Eh?"
"Those flames. They ain't normal." He saw Itachi summoning a plume of it and yet, "They're not burning anything. Not even charring the ground."
"You're absolutely right." Aizen said while adjusting his glasses as he focused intently on the black flames. "Maybe it only burns Reiatsu–"
He tried speaking his observation but Shinji shot it down immediately. "If it only burns Reiatsu then Kenpachi never would've retreated. He wouldn't even care about it."
Silently he made his way towards where Yachiru was watching the battle from and spooked her from behind. "Heya, lil' Yachi."
"Smiley! Glasses! Were you both watching too?"
"Yeah. Quite a surprise I'll admit."
They watched as Itachi sheathed his back blade and drew the other one and activated his Shikai, at least the one they were familiar with.
"He really has two Zanpakutō and he can release them separately." Aizen said.
Shinji looked at Yachiru who was staring intently at the battle going off in the distance and asked. "Worried lil' Yachi?"
"Hmm-mmn." She shook her head strongly. "Kenny will win."
....
Itachi was getting really tired at this point but Kenpachi was like a wildly charging bull, swinging and slashing in any way.
'He has a very keen survival instinct but it's like he doesn't care about it at all.' Itachi realized that about Kenpachi as they fought.
The man could react to most of Itachi's attacks but it was like he didn't care a dime about listening to it.
Itachi's head was throbbing at this point and his vision was getting blurry from his extensive use of it in his fight with Yoruichi and then with Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi again against Kenpachi.
He blocked a slash from Kenpachi but the man just pushed forward, causing Itachi to take the chance and detach from him and slashed him across the chest.
"These illusions of yours are really annoying but I'm getting used to them." Kenpachi said, gaining Itachi's attention along with his skepticism.
Kenpachi had almost no control of his enormous Reiatsu, a chipped blade and no Shikai, and he said he was getting used to them.
'I really should have stopped when I could.' Itachi thought in retrospect as he hastily blocked another blade only to have Kenpachi sock him across the face.
His Sharingan was helping him but he was both physically and mentally tired which made his reaction very slow.
He attacked Kenpachi and shifted his perception of him by a fair bit, which should have sent Kenpachi's attack veering off to an empty space and left him open for Itachi to attack, but Kenpachi suddenly turned at the last second and blocked Itachi's sword.
"I told you, hahaha. I'm getting used to it." He grinned as his blade cut through and out of Itachi's flesh. The sensation of cutting someone's flesh was the best thing he's ever felt in his life.
"You have that look on your face; the one that keeps asking how I saw through your abilities." He laughed while pointing his sword at Itachi. "You're not the first person I've fought that can use illusions, although he wasn't as strong or impressive as you."
"That doesn't explain anything." Itachi replied. It didn't matter to him that much but he wanted to know how Kenpachi did it without manipulating his Reiatsu.
"Hmm, how should I know?" Kenpachi said. "Just because you can manipulate my senses doesn't mean I can't feel you trying to cut me. It's just that simple."
'He could feel it?' Itachi thought flabbergasted. He could manipulate the senses with illusions but he couldn't manipulate someone's 'feelings' in the same way.
'Of course he'd be a monster. His extreme views about fights have turned him into the most perfect killer.' Itachi thought as he remembered why he had been wary of Kenpachi since the beginning.
'You only pushed him back because he was careful of my flames and must've 'felt' the danger from them. And I'm sure you can tell from how stable his Reiatsu still is that he probably was holding back, or perhaps being held back.'
The man before him was an ocean of Reiatsu but he only used a fraction of it and using his Sharingan he could tell that even when Kenpachi removed his eyepatch, he still wasn't fighting with everything he had – just an extremely limited portion of it.
'… As if he was holding back to match me.' Itachi was floored by the conclusion that thinking from this angle suddenly made sense.
This was the man, along with the Captain Commander and Kisuke Urahara, that his eyes showed him he possessed a spiritual pressure that surpassed even that of the Nine Tailed Beast.
'Did you now realize it, Itachi?' He heard Tsukuyomi asking. 'Reiatsu might not be everything just as the way Chakra level doesn't correlate to a Shinobi's strength, but that's below a certain level. Rather than the amount, learn to feel the weight it carries.'
Itachi nodded and thanked Tsukuyomi mentally. Amaterasu might be strong, perhaps one of the strongest abilities even among souls, but finally obtaining it and barely being able to wield it did not equal that he was now incredibly strong.
"This was a good fight but you should train more so I can enjoy the fight more." Kenpachi suddenly said as his battle intent receded. He looked at Itachi who was sighing in relief and rolled his eyes. "Fighting someone when they are extremely tired is no fun. Try using those flames of yours next time we fight, it'll make it more interesting when I figure out how to cut them."
He was already turning around to leave when he remembered that he didn't know the name of the boy he just fought. "Oi brat, you're strong so tell me your name."
"Itachi. Uchiha." Itachi replied with visibly labored breaths as he deactivated Tsukuyomi and felt the full brunt of his exhaustion.
"Oh, now I remember." He did remember Yachiru shouting his name whenever they looked for him. "Yachiru, we're leaving."
Yachiru employed her Shunpo and appeared on his shoulder as he walked away, speaking animatedly with him while the older grumpy man responded leisurely to her excitable words.
"At least he left you before beating you half to death. At least that's what I hear he does to his Division members whenever he's bored." Shinji and Aizen appeared behind him, making him aware that they were probably spectating the fight from the beginning.
"Ye' pretty good in the way you fight." Shinji complimented him while smiling in a way that was hard to read. "'Specially against someone like Zaraki. How 'bout it? Need a hand getting to the hospital?"
"Thank you, but I'm strong enough to walk back." He appreciated the offer but declined it nonetheless while Shinji waved his hand dismissively.
"If you say so." He replied before leaving Aizen with Itachi.
"Are you sure you're alright? I might not be that skilled in it but I know a few basic Kaidō." Aizen offered but Itachi still declined his kind offer.
"I'm fine. I need more rest than healing."
"I see. Then take care." Aizen said before disappearing as well, leaving Itachi to use the time he spent in slowly trudging back to the Seireitei to converse with his Zanpakutō spirits.
"Growing stronger doesn't mean other people grow weaker. Just because your convictions will fuel her flames doesn't mean you should be as intense as her. Be mindful of how close you dance to the flames, lest you get burned."
"I understand, Tsukuyomi."
"You do, don't you? Then relax for a moment; take heart. Life is a journey that can only be traveled with time, and time reveals our growth as we continuously travel the journey of life."
Essentially, he shouldn't be in a hurry to gain the comfort of the strength of his former life so fast. Yes, having Amaterasu meant he'd finally unlocked his growth curve but even that will take time.
The walk back was peaceful and quiet with neither of them saying too much. Tsukuyomi was concerned about his mental peace, Amaterasu was passionate about making him grow stronger, while Itachi was just relieved to have them both – the only semblance of a real connection he had with past life.
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