BOOM!
As the smoke and dust dispersed, Kurosaki Masaki hovered quietly in midair. The pair of black-and-white interwoven wings behind her gently beat, scattering specks of spirit particle light.
She slowly lowered the spirit particle longbow in her hand, which was still radiating intense heat. The expression on her face remained that same detached coldness, as if she had already seen through everything in the world.
Not far below her, Rosse's tall figure stood like an insurmountable mountain, firmly blocking in front of Aizen and taking head-on the killing blow she had just unleashed.
"Cough! Cough!"
Behind him, Aizen had already lost all combat capability.
He propped himself up with Kyoka Suigetsu in one hand, his body swaying unsteadily. Every breath came with a wheezing sound from his lungs, like an old bellows being pulled.
Defeated. A total, crushing defeat.
Yet even though his spiritual pressure was nearly exhausted and his body was on the verge of collapse, the brown eyes behind Aizen's lenses shone with an unprecedented brilliance.
His mental state was not sluggish at all. Instead, it was excited to an almost abnormal degree.
Because he had already obtained the answer he had dreamed of.
Kurosaki Masaki, who in his eyes had originally been nothing more than a lucky experimental material, had actually transformed under the blessing of that power to a height even he could not reach.
If Kurosaki Masaki had originally only been a piece of scrap stone with a bit of potential, and after being enlightened by the Soul King's power could turn into such a dazzling gem...
'Then…'
Aizen lowered his head and looked at his trembling palm, the corner of his mouth lifting into a bloodstained smile.
If he himself, who was already peerless raw jade, were to obtain that power as well, just what kind of unimaginable realm could he reach in the future? [T/N: Eww!]
Just imagining it a little already filled him with immense anticipation.
"Can I leave now? Captain Rosse, one of the 'Five Special War Potentials' jointly designated by the Hollow King and the Quincy King!"
From midair, Kurosaki Masaki's cool voice drifted down.
At the moment she spoke the name "Rosse," her tall body trembled almost imperceptibly. It was a conditioned reflex carved into her bones.
But she quickly concealed it. After suppressing all her emotions, she continued to provoke on the surface, pressing her advantage, "If you also want to test my quality, I don't mind accompanying you to the end. After all, the performance of the other so-called 'Special War Potential,' Captain Aizen, just now was really a bit disappointing."
The moment these words came out, it was like a stone thrown into a thousand-layered wave.
Five Special War Potentials?
The Quincy King?
These completely unheard-of new terms exploded like thunder in the ears of the captains.
Even though they did not understand the full picture, just from the names alone, "Special War Potential" clearly referred to those few individuals deemed the most threatening and the very top tier of Soul Society by those two mysterious kings.
It was not too surprising that Rosse was on the list. As the acting Captain-Commander, and having just displayed overwhelming strength against Ichigo in Hollow form, he naturally warranted attention from Hueco Mundo's royal palace.
As for Aizen… everyone looked at that man who, though defeated, still maintained his final composure.
If the selection range for "Special War Potential" was limited to Soul Society, Aizen making the list was not completely unacceptable.
After all, even Kyoraku Shunsui had been taken down by a single arrow.
And Aizen, facing such an unreasonable monster, although he lost quickly, at least dared to draw his blade and even launched a dazzling counteroffensive.
In terms of raw strength, in most captains' estimates, Aizen should be in the first tier beneath Rosse and the Captain-Commander Yamamoto at his peak.
As for the remaining three slots, figures from Squad Zero flashed through their minds.
Or perhaps that Captain-Commander Yamamoto who had just been revived?
No… maybe Captain-Commander Yamamoto had already been struck off the list.
After all, he had been beaten into severe injury and unconsciousness by Hueco Mundo's royal palace. By all logic, he should no longer be considered a threat.
"You may go," Just as everyone's thoughts were running wild, Rosse spoke calmly. He merely swept a glance over Kurosaki Masaki, with no intention of making another move.
"But keep that brat named Kurosaki Ichigo under control. Don't let him appear in my sight again."
Hearing Rosse allow her to leave, the other captains, including the proud and aloof Byakuya Kuchiki, all secretly let out a sigh of relief.
They could understand Rosse's choice.
This was a compromise filled with helplessness.
Whether Rosse himself could stop Kurosaki Masaki or not, judging by the exaggerated power she had just displayed, enough to destroy the Seireitei, if the two sides really went all out, Rosse might be fine, but the other captains present would likely be wiped out completely.
As the ones being protected, they neither had the right nor the standing to demand that Rosse fight to the bitter end.
"Hmph! I just happened to be passing by on business."
Kurosaki Masaki retracted the wings behind her back, returning to her usual cool and distant demeanor.
She glanced at Kyoraku Shunsui lying far away, his fate unknown, a trace of disdain flashing through her eyes.
"If Ichigo shows up again next time, you can kill him yourselves. I can't be bothered."
At this point, her tone shifted, taking on a hint of mockery.
"But you Shinigami really are hypocritical enough. It was clearly that Kyoraku guy himself who proposed the plan, wanting to use Ichigo to achieve his unspeakable goal. When he brought up this proposal at the Hueco Mundo palace meeting, I was the first one to cast an opposing vote."
Every single word of this was something Rosse had instructed her to say in advance through their mental link.
The purpose was simple.
Smear Kyoraku Shunsui as hard as possible and cement his identity as a Hueco Mundo palace mole.
"Heh! There's no need to sow discord here."
Though severely injured, Aizen still stubbornly raised his head, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and spoke in a voice that was weak yet exceptionally firm.
"Captain Kyoraku could absolutely not be a traitor. If he truly were from Hueco Mundo's royal palace, then as his colleague, you should not be openly exposing his plan here. That doesn't make sense."
On the surface, this rebuttal seemed to be defending Kyoraku Shunsui. In reality, it was Aizen cooperating, further steering the captains' thinking off course.
A solo performance alone would not be very convincing.
"Oh? And who told you that Hueco Mundo's royal palace is a solid monolith inside? People from Shutara's faction and that No. 4 guy would be better off dying early. Those people are far less pleasant to deal with than No. 1 and No. 2," Kurosaki Masaki snorted coldly.
The first half was what Rosse wanted her to convey. The second half carried quite a bit of her genuine feelings.
Leaving aside that pitiful Senju Shutara, the Fourth Espada, Unohana Retsu, really did disgust her.
A woman who would stop at nothing just for pleasure. Even exchanging a few words with her made Masaki feel sick.
How could someone take that kind of experience, something Masaki regarded as a nightmare, and treat it as pleasure?
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