"Yoriichi Tsugikuni…!"
In Aizen's eyes, the image of the red-haired man was clearly reflected.
He subconsciously clenched his teeth, and an uncontrollable surge of shock and anger welled up in his heart.
How could Yoriichi Tsugikuni be here?
At this moment, the Seireitei was surrounded by layers of Menos Grande.
Nearly a thousand Arrancar, like a surging black tide, completely suppressed the Shinigami, leaving them with almost no power to retaliate.
As a Captain, shouldn't he be on the front lines fighting those Menos Grande?
What's more, he had learned through hypnotic interrogation that Yoriichi Tsugikuni had already left the Noble District…
It was precisely for this reason that he rushed over at the first opportunity, hoping to complete his plan before Yoriichi Tsugikuni appeared.
However, at this moment… were all those intelligence reports false?
Yoriichi Tsugikuni watched Aizen, slowly drawing his Zanpakuto.
He scanned the tensed muscles on Aizen's body, knowing the emotional fluctuations within him, but he didn't take it to heart, his tone flat: "You came after all."
The two words "after all" immediately made Aizen realize that his actions had been seen through.
It was as if Yoriichi Tsugikuni had been waiting here for his arrival all along.
Aizen's gaze lowered slightly, he calmed himself with a small intake of breath, then drew Kyōka Suigetsu: "Who told you?"
"Before this, I clearly hadn't revealed any of my intentions."
In fact, there had been some revelations, such as the incident in the Human World.
However, that was a sudden accident.
And because the Arrancar chose to commit suicide immediately after their mission failed, the truth became elusive.
Perhaps it was known to be related to him.
But "perhaps" was ultimately just a hypothetical word, full of uncertainty.
Aizen didn't believe that such a minor incident would attract the attention of the Seireitei.
And indeed, even when Yoriichi Tsugikuni brought back the soul candy, the subsequent Shinigami didn't pay much attention to it.
However, when Yoriichi captured Ryūdōji Genryū, the situation completely changed.
Recalling the missing Ryūdōji Genryū, Aizen's expression changed slightly: "Was it him?"
"That Ryūdōji fellow betrayed me?"
It could only be this way, but Aizen couldn't be blamed.
Because even if he hadn't sent Ryūdōji Genryū, Yoriichi Tsugikuni would have found him in the Dangai later.
The situation was now clear.
Yoriichi saw through Aizen's thoughts, his tone still as calm as ever: "It seems you already understand why you were exposed. Kisuke was right, Aizen, you still try to control everything."
"But having experienced one failure, you have already lost that qualification."
"What do you know." Aizen's anger was instantly ignited upon hearing this.
But.
He didn't act impulsively, after all, he was always a meticulous person, always prepared with two plans for any eventuality.
Aizen calmed himself for a moment, then spoke coldly: "How could you mortals know the greatness of my plan."
"Yoriichi Tsugikuni, you possess such extraordinary talent, why are you content to merely be a Captain?"
"The so-called Captains are merely products of mutual compromise among the nobles; even the high-ranking nobles are still like caged birds."
"They cannot soar in the sky, and what I want to do is break free from the cage's restraints and stand proudly above the heavens!"
At this point, he paused slightly, as if savoring his grand ambition.
His deep voice also slowed its cadence, becoming a little softer, but the ambition in his words remained intensely fervent: "Yoriichi Tsugikuni, do you know the truth of the world?"
"I do."
"You really don't know, I…" Before he finished speaking, Aizen suspected he had misheard, "You know?"
Although there was still enough time, the threat posed by the Arrancar Menos Grande had not yet been resolved, and the Seireitei was still in a precarious state.
Yoriichi was too lazy to waste more words with him, simply saying: "No need to say more, Aizen. No matter how much you say, it won't change the fact that you harbor ambitions and wantonly disregard human lives."
"What do you take life for?"
Swish!
The blade swung with artistic freedom:
"I let you escape last time, but not this time."
Saying that, Yoriichi took a step forward, instantly vanishing from his original spot.
When he reappeared, he was already in front of Aizen, his Zanpakuto cutting directly towards Aizen's neck.
His movements were fluid and natural, each move seemingly effortless, appearing to have flaws but in reality, being flawless.
Aizen couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly.
Clang!
A crisp clanging sound echoed around them, the sound particularly jarring in the tense atmosphere, as if it were the Shinigami's death knell.
The transparent shield made of green reishi instantly shattered, specks of light scattering. Aizen clutched his neck, a hint of horror flashing in his eyes.
Even with a timely block.
Visibly, some dark red blood slowly trickled down through the gaps between his fingers.
He tried to create distance.
But Yoriichi was close behind, clearly not wanting to give him any chance to breathe.
"You…!"
Aizen's breathing became momentarily erratic.
He desperately wanted to retort, but the fatal slashes followed him like shadows, forcing him to tense his mind and swallow all his words.
His attention also became highly concentrated.
Until a moment later.
"Yoriichi Tsugikuni, do you really intend to fight me to the death?"
Clang, clang, clang—!
The rapid sword parries put immense pressure on Aizen. After some time apart, Yoriichi Tsugikuni's strength had clearly improved again.
Every collision of blades made Aizen's arm feel numb, the immense impact as if it would shatter his arm.
Although influenced by the Hōgyoku, he had already mastered a super-regeneration ability similar to a Hollow's, and the wound on his neck healed in an instant.
But if his neck were to be severed by accident, no matter how strong his super-regeneration, it would be impossible to restore his head to its original state.
Aizen roared: "Since you know the truth of the world, why do you stand with the Shinigami?"
His voice was filled with deep confusion and anger, his eyes full of questions directed at Yoriichi,
"You and I both possess extraordinary talent. The throne above the heavens is empty. If you don't want to be king, why do you stop others from becoming king?
"You are too arrogant, Tsugikuni!"
"You are the one who has fallen, Aizen." Yoriichi's voice remained as steady as ever,
"I didn't expect your ambition to be so great, to actually covet the position of the Soul King…"
"What made you harbor the ambition to replace the Soul King, the Hōgyoku?"
"If so, I can only say your plan is too unrealistic."
The Hōgyoku was strong, no doubt, but the Soul King was clearly stronger. A single limb of His could probably revert Aizen to his original form.
Furthermore, based on Aizen's words, Yoriichi understood that he probably wasn't aware of the Soul King's current state.
His words implicitly suggested one thing.
The Soul King was dead.
Dead? Clearly not.
It seemed the truth he understood differed slightly from what he had heard in Squad Zero…
This was normal.
After all, a million years had passed. Unless told directly by the person involved, any information obtained through other channels would have a certain degree of deviation.
Aizen was furious, because he felt that Yoriichi Tsugikuni was implying he was overestimating himself…
He had painstakingly researched for over a hundred years, endured for over a hundred years, and then his chance to become king was interrupted by a genius who appeared out of nowhere, and he was looked down upon by the other party… No one could accept that.
The veins on Aizen's forehead twitched slightly: "Yoriichi Tsugikuni, you are the ones who have fallen!"
"The Shinigami, relying on the legacy passed down from their ancestors, have weakened year by year, and countless Shinigami have died to this day. All of this is due to your lack of initiative!"
"It was I who first researched a method to break through the Shinigami's limits. As long as the limits can be broken, as long as the stalemate can be broken, what does it matter if some souls die?"
"The successful always advance by treading on the bones of the fallen! Time will prove I am right!"
"The so-called Soul King is merely a Shinigami who successfully broke through their limits!"
"…"
Aizen's words were quite arrogant.
Evidently, this was not merely a slight deviation in understanding; Aizen's perception of the Soul King was completely mistaken.
No wonder he was so enthusiastic about breaking the Shinigami's limits.
Any normal person, if they learned the "fact" that breaking the Shinigami's limits could make them the Soul King, would make the same choice as Aizen.
But in reality, it was vastly different.
Take Ichibei Hyosube, for instance. Firstly, he wasn't a Shinigami, and secondly, his strength far exceeded the Shinigami's limits.
The current Aizen could probably fight a hundred of him.
But he still wouldn't dare call himself the Soul King, precisely because his strength wasn't even a tenth or even a hundredth of the Soul King's.
Creating the Three Realms… could the Hōgyoku do that?
Gently exhaling, Yoriichi knew that Aizen's mind had completely gone mad, and he now saw himself as the king in the heavens.
He pointed his blade: "It seems no matter what I say, you won't surrender."
"Aizen, this is where it ends. I absolutely cannot let you leave."
This calm tone was like a thunderclap in Aizen's ears, as if it were judging his sins and denying everything about him.
Aizen gritted his teeth and said: "Ridiculous. Our reishi are equal. At most, you have a slight edge in practical combat, but I can super-regenerate. How will you keep me?"
"Bankai? You can try."
His tone was full of confidence, as if saying that if he dared to try, he could easily break it.
Aizen, after having learned his lesson once, wouldn't be unprepared.
Through research, he had successfully created something that could shatter Yoriichi Tsugikuni's Bankai.
Every Bankai has a weakness, and Yoriichi's was no exception.
He had discovered last time that the so-called impenetrable defense came at the cost of stripping away the reishi defense from both himself and his opponent.
It was only because Yoriichi's physical constitution was too powerful that this weakness was almost nonexistent.
After all, if he couldn't be hit, a zero-defense state naturally wouldn't manifest.
Furthermore, there were materials from Hell protecting Yoriichi, specifically the bone armor and black flames.
At the same time, the Bankai's reishi absorption and repair functions gave Aizen the illusion that it couldn't be penetrated.
But in reality, as long as the reishi output in an instant exceeded the Bankai's absorption and repair capacity, it could be easily shattered.
The reishi compression detonation device came into being, with an instant power five times greater than that of Five Dragons' Extinction, while not affecting the user.
...
At the same moment Aizen and Yoriichi Tsugikuni confronted each other, intense battles were unfolding elsewhere.
Near the Black Prism Gate in Northern Rukongai, Zaraki Kenpachi led his squad, bravely standing at the forefront to fully resist the surging enemies.
At this moment, Zaraki Kenpachi's appearance differed from his original depiction.
Having endured multiple injuries and continuously honed his swordsmanship, his strength was already comparable to his power during the Thousand-Year Blood War arc a century later.
Therefore, even if hundreds of Arrancar Menos Grande all possessed power approaching Captain-level, they still couldn't withstand the might of a single strike from him.
Those Menos Grande fell like ants, like wheat.
Blood splattered everywhere, and the hot blood made his heart surge, his movements wild, flamboyant, and frenzied.
He was in a state of almost extreme excitement, with only one thought in his mind—slaughter.
It was as if he had returned to the past, to his battles with Retsu Unohana.
The seal had long since been broken.
Not far away, Retsu Unohana was hurrying over with a group of personnel.
Because of the overwhelming number of enemies, even as the Captain of the medical squad, she had no choice but to join the battlefield to reduce casualties.
When she saw the expression Zaraki Kenpachi displayed, her long-sealed heart suddenly wavered significantly.
Scenes of her past battles with Kenpachi surged uncontrollably into her mind, like runaway slides.
She couldn't help but narrow her eyes slightly.
However, before she could ponder for long, Isane Kotetsu, who was by her side, suddenly roused a seemingly distracted Retsu Unohana:
"Captain, what should we do? The number of enemies is simply too great!"
Although Zaraki Kenpachi slaughtered these Arrancar Menos Grande with ease, he ultimately couldn't cover all areas.
Because of this, there were many casualties among the Shinigami here.
They weren't dead, but they had been captured by the Menos Grande.
Some Menos Grande even used the injured Shinigami as shields to avoid damage, looking as if their schemes had succeeded.
A premeditated attack? Possessing intelligence comparable to humans, no wonder they are Arrancar.
Retsu Unohana regained her composure and, with just a glance, roughly assessed the situation.
She immediately ordered:
"Proceed as normal. Squads One, Two, and Three are responsible for rescuing the injured who have not been captured by the Menos Grande."
"Remember to take them to a safe zone."
"Isane, if nothing unexpected happens, your Frozen Cloud should be able to restrict the movements of these Menos Grande."
"Rescuing the injured Shinigami from the Menos Grande's grasp is the top priority."
"I believe you can do it."
Upon hearing this, Isane Kotetsu's anxious expression gradually faded with a deep breath.
She quickly drew her Zanpakuto, and with a low cry, Frozen Cloud was released, immediately filling the area with a thin mist.
After inhaling the mist, the Menos Grande's movements became noticeably slower.
Zaraki Kenpachi found it even easier to slay enemies.
He noticed this situation and turned to look behind him.
Retsu Unohana's figure instantly appeared in his eyes, and then Zaraki Kenpachi revealed a ferocious smile.
"Unohana! It's you!"
Retsu Unohana looked at Zaraki Kenpachi, who exuded a strong killing intent yet also a hint of familiarity, and returned a faint smile.
Although she had many things she wanted to say, it was best to set them aside for now.
After this matter was resolved, she would seek him out for a battle to continue their fight from that year.
These past days, through sparring with Yoriichi Tsugikuni, her understanding of techniques had more than doubled compared to before.
And Zaraki Kenpachi's strength had also increased.
She hoped he wouldn't disappoint her.
Of course, there was also a possibility that she would be easily annihilated by him, and this was also what Retsu Unohana hoped for.
Because this was Kenpachi.
Although the current Zaraki Kenpachi was no longer in the Eleventh Division.
...
...
As time slowly passed,
In addition to Northern Rukongai, the battle near the Suzukubo Gate in South Rukongai also gradually drew to a close after the Fifth Division arrived.
Hirako Shinji's hypnosis played a huge role.
Sakanade's ability could completely invert others' senses.
His Bankai could even manipulate others' senses, invert their perception, causing enemies to fight among themselves.
As a Captain with second-class spiritual pressure, after Bankai, the hundreds of Arrancar Menos Grande simply couldn't resist the effects of the hypnosis.
Within just ten minutes, these Arrancar Menos Grande were completely wiped out.
Before other divisions could even arrive, South Rukongai had already returned to safety.
At the same time, the same was true for West Rukongai.
Buzzing.
Countless Hell Worms were sucked into Nigotsugu Saizo's Zanpakuto like an inverted tide.
After the black tide disappeared without a trace, the area ahead was visibly empty.
All the Menos Grande had been completely devoured by that terrifying devouring power, leaving not a single trace, presenting an astonishing scene of sweeping destruction!
This shocking sight happened to fall into Ichikanzaka Jidanbo's eyes.
He couldn't help but widen his eyes.
Gulp~
At the same time, he swallowed twice, his eyes filled with admiration and lingering fear, feeling more and more that this old immortal was unfathomable.
Captain-Commander Yamamoto probably didn't even possess such strength!
Speak of the devil.
Just as he was marveling to himself, Yamamoto Genryusai's figure flashed, appearing in West Rukongai in an illogical manner.
Indeed, as the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, he only needed to preside over the command and calmly issue various orders.
But the sudden appearance of that massive and familiar spiritual pressure within Seireitei instantly disrupted his plans.
He knew better than anyone the terrifying nature of Nigotsugu Saizo's Bankai.
Since he didn't know exactly what had happened, and to avoid a second disturbance,
After some deliberation, he decisively handed over the duty of presiding over the Gotei 13 to Chōjirō Sasakibe temporarily.
Only then did he rush here anxiously to check the situation.
Now seeing his old friend Nigotsugu Saizo, Yamamoto Genryusai's eyes narrowed slightly, a solemn expression appearing on his face, and he couldn't help but let out a heavy snort.
Nigotsugu Saizo exhaled, sensing someone behind him, and slowly turned around.
The aged figure that came into view made him freeze for a second, and then he recognized who the newcomer was.
"Heh heh." Nigotsugu Saizo's lips curled slightly upwards, smiling playfully. Interesting, truly interesting.
He hadn't gone to find Yamamoto Genryusai yet, but Yamamoto Genryusai had come to him instead.
He wondered how much of the Sword Demon of yesteryear's strength he still possessed.
Looking at him, it seemed he wouldn't be long for this world.
...
In the Noble District, Aizen's confident tone made Yoriichi Tsugikuni fall silent for a moment.
Although he didn't know what trump card he possessed, it was just like Kisuke Urahara.
Since Kisuke Urahara could develop a means to prevent Aizen's escape within just one year,
Then why couldn't Aizen develop a means to destroy his Bankai?
Thinking of this, Yoriichi temporarily abandoned the idea of using Bankai, lest he fall into a trap and lose his advantage.
Bang.
He instantly moved, continuing to attack Aizen:
"Equal spiritual pressure does not mean equal combat power. Whatever your plans, I will keep you here today."
"From the moment you intruded into Soul Society, you could no longer escape."
"Surrender, Aizen."
Yoriichi did not use Shikai, because Shikai was of little significance at this moment.
Aizen must have drugs to increase his spiritual pressure.
Only by injuring Aizen, such as severing his head, rendering his ultra-speed regeneration ineffective, would it be the perfect moment for a decisive blow.
He was not the kind of arrogant person.
Aizen's expression changed slightly upon hearing this:
"You…"
Although he wasn't entirely clear about the meaning behind Yoriichi Tsugikuni's words, seeing Yoriichi's attack coming again, Aizen had no time to think.
He could only gain a slight breathing room through forced blocking, attempting to escape from this place and shake off Yoriichi's relentless attacks.
Clang!
Blinding sparks shot out, and a massive force, like a torrenting waterfall, instantly transmitted along the sword into his wrist.
With a loud crash, Aizen was violently sent flying by Yoriichi Tsugikuni's strike.
As he flew backward, a black sphere suddenly appeared in his palm.
Crack.
He crushed it, and black fragments splattered everywhere, merging into the air without causing any ripples.
It was as if the wind blew across a lake, only creating a few ripples before returning to calm.
"!"
This scene entered Aizen's eyes, and he was slightly startled for a moment.
Then, he suddenly remembered something, and an angry expression immediately appeared on his face as he gnashed his teeth and said:
"Kisuke Urahara!"
"You bastard…"
It could only be him, and only him.
Aizen had long known that Kisuke Urahara, like himself, possessed extraordinary talent in certain aspects.
His becoming the Captain of the Twelfth Division confirmed his thoughts.
Now, the failure of the item combined with Yoriichi Tsugikuni's words directly proved this.
He was trapped in Soul Society…
Damn it.
Thinking of this, the repeated setbacks made Aizen unable to maintain his inner calm any longer.
Seeing that he was about to fight Yoriichi Tsugikuni to the death here,
He suddenly pulled out the Hōgyoku, took a deep breath, seemingly having made up his mind.
Then, without another word, he pressed it against his chest, his face contorting for a moment:
"Yoriichi Tsugikuni, you forced my hand!"
"Above the Shinigami pinnacle is the Transcendent, and the Transcendent's power can be limitless!"
"I am right, I will surely stand in the heavens!"
"You dregs, perish with Soul Society!"