As the two were speaking, Silas used the flash step to get in the middle of them. Both remained calm, ready to defend. Silas took one swipe at Sajin, which missed, tearing off a little bit of his uniform. Able to grab Silas from the front, Sajin picked him up and slammed him, crumbling the concrete floor. "Ichigo!" Yoruichi screamed.
"Bakudō #61. Rikujōkōrō…"
Several wide beams of light crashed into Sajin's midsection. Silas used that opportunity to backhand the wolf with his fist, freeing himself. Kaname was ready to attack until Silas began fleeing the scene before suddenly disappearing. "Don't let him escape!" Sajin roared.
Using his monsterous strength, he easily broke the beams of light encircling him. "Wait, Sajin," Kaname urged. Wondering what the issue was, Kaname pointed at Sajin's side. The two had thought that Silas's first attack was meant to be lethal, but in truth, he was aiming for the goggles tucked away in Sajin's waste!
The goggles shattered to the ground, no longer able to be used. "Looks like he's craftier than the reports said," Sajin bellowed. "The cat also got away."
"Wrong," Kaname corrected.
"What do you mean?"
Kaname ran forward a little. Using his hand, he gripped the air and pulled on the empty space. Like a cloth unfolding, he revealed where Silas was secretly hiding. It came as no surprise to Silas that Kaname of all captains knew the "curtain stripping" kidō spell to expose his kyokkō spell, which was meant to hide Silas's physical form and spiritual pressure by bending light. But Kaname, a blind Soul Reaper, was not so easily fooled in battle.
Sajin quickly placed his hand on the hilt of his weapon, releasing a large amount of spiritual pressure. Like a mad animal, he unsheathed his weapon, slicing forward to release an invisible force powerful enough to crush through the ground. Only Kaname moved out of the way of what was coming.
Silas merely stood there, raising his palm forward. "Bakudō #81. Dankū." A translucent wall formed in front of him, stopping the attack.
"What the?!" Sajin screamed. "That was a level eighty kidō spell and he didn't use say an incantation for it!"
Silas tilted his head up to see Kaname releasing his Zanpakutō. "Suzumushi Nishiki: Benihikō!" The barrier, which was like a flat rectangle, was not going to be able to defend against an attack coming from different angles. So he took off running as a plethora of blades rained down.
Sajin released another spiritual blast in the direction Silas was headed. A violent explosion occurred, shooting many of Kaname's blades into the sky. Kaname landed next to Sajin, prompting him to be on his guard. "We missed?" Sajin asked. His question was answered when the two turned to see Silas unharmed.
'I was forced to use sonído,' Silas thought to himself.
At the level he was fighting at, he knew he was faster than Sajin. But the strength he was releasing wouldn't match. And though he could outmuscle Kaname, his speed and agility weren't good enough. The two truly made worthy partners. The more he fought here, the more data Aizen would be collecting. That would only make things harder if they ever met.
"Sajin, stand back," Kaname pleaded, walking forward. "That kidō spell isn't something normal Soul Reapers could learn. He's far too dangerous to let go of."
Silas could feel Kaname's spiritual pressure rising. Without needing another warning, Sajin quickly leapt as far back as he could. This was bad. Very bad!
"Though I walk in darkness, my blade will yearn for justice even when my eyes cannot see... Bankai." A large ring expanded from Kaname's weapon, doubling his size. It then duplicated itself into ten other rings. With one swipe of his sword, Kaname separated the rings in different directions.
"Stop right there," Silas said, slowly fanning his sword. "Pierce the heavens, Zangetsu." With one swipe, he released a strong getsuga tenshō at one of the rings.
"It's too late!" Kaname screamed. "Suzumushi Tsuishiki: Enma Kōrog."
Once in position, the rings began to generate a black void, quickly growing in size to form a dome. Silas wasted no time dashing away. When Sajin saw it, he muttered that Silas wouldn't make it. Once inside the ring's formation, Kaname's target was trapped.
Just then, both Soul Reaper's eyes widened. Silas had successfully used the flash step to escape!
Kaname deactivated his Bankai, allowing Sajin to come near. The first question the wolf asked was how Silas escaped Enma Kōrog. "He destroyed one of the rings before Suzumushi Tsuishiki could complete its release," Kaname answered.
"What?! How could he have known about your Bankai's release?!" Sajin marveled. There were only a handful of Souls that had ever laid eyes on Kaname's Zanpakutō. Not many, even Sajin, knew it had a second command for its release. Yet for a guy like Silas to deduce a flaw in Kaname's Bankai sent shivers down their spines.
• • •
In the underground tunnel, Silas casually walked forward with his eyes closed. Only the echoes of his footsteps could be heard. When he felt the presence of someone nearby, he stopped and turned to see Yoruichi.
The cat cleaned its face off, saying, "You've defied any sense of logic I had after that fight, you know."
"I'm sure your insults are better than your compliments."
The two continued walking, discussing the recent battle. As much praise as Silas received, he didn't consider the match worthwhile. For instance, he was forced to use a move that was meant to be kept hidden. Then there was his poor offense.
Yoruichi tried to comfort him, but Silas deemed his skills to be too lacking. "Tell me, Ichigo, do you even know what that captain was going to do?"
"He said 'Bankai', and then his spiritual pressure started to escalate. I simply did what I had to. No doubt that the captain's technique wouldn't have made that opening had I not destroyed one of the rings in time."
A few moments were spent with her explaining what a Bankai was. Perhaps Silas might have given away to Aizen that he knew how to use sonído, but it didn't change this one thing: Yoruichi suggesting that he learn Bankai.