Terrifying Cunning

Volume 1, Chapter 160: Terrifying Schemes

Aizen simply chuckled, sheathed his Zanpakuto, and said calmly, "I have to admit you're very strong. Even if the three of us joined forces, we might not be able to take the Hōgyoku from you."

"However, precisely because of this, you have two fatal weaknesses," Aizen said, his tone cutting to Ye Yang, "Because of your strength, you are overly confident in yourself, and there are some things you might overlook, and of course, I am the same way."

Ye Yang frowned slightly. Could it be that Aizen really had some trump card? Aizen continued, "Actually, it's nothing special, but if you combine it with your second major weakness, it will be fatal! Your second major weakness is your strong emotions; you value your family and friends very much. You won't be able to stop me today!"

Ye Yang was taken aback, then remembered something, and his expression changed drastically. He saw another Garganta appear in the sky, from which two humanoid Menos Grande emerged. Only a few people knew that these were the highest level of Menos Grande: Vasto Lorde!

However, their target wasn't Sōkyoku Hill; they landed directly above the Shihoin residence. Ye Yang stared at Aizen with a livid expression. "You've been stalling for time the whole time?"

"That's right, I knew it the moment I took out that fake Hōgyoku, so I secretly ordered them to come to Soul Society for support. All I had to do was stall until they arrived. I know your Shihoin residence is protected by a barrier, but Ye Yang Shihoin isn't good at barriers, so the barrier's strength definitely won't withstand the bombardment of two Vasto-class Menos Grande!"

At this moment, everyone present changed their expressions drastically, and the situation instantly reversed. This was especially true for Yoruichi and Ye Yang, whose parents were still in their families. Ye Yang was filled with deep self-blame; he had never expected Aizen to be able to send two Vasto Lorde! Moreover, Ye Yang recognized one of these Vasto Lorde —Baraggan!

There was also a female Menos Grande, one that Ye Yang had never seen before. If Ulquiorra were added to the list, then Aizen would have three Vasto-class Menos Grande under his command. This strength was truly terrifying!

Ye Yang stared intently at Aizen and asked, "What do you want?"

"It's simple. We'll make a deal. You hand over the Hōgyoku and let us go, and I'll immediately withdraw two Vasto-class Menos Grande and guarantee I won't harm your family. Isn't that fair?"

"Why should I believe you?" Ye Yang retorted.

Aizen said calmly, "Trust or not is irrelevant. If I kill your family, I might not be able to leave today. If you don't abide by the rules of the deal, your family won't live either. I only want the Hōgyoku because I value it more. The Hōgyoku is useless to you, but you definitely won't abandon your family. So, this deal is a win-win situation for both of us."

Ye Yang kept his head down and remained silent, while Aizen was in no hurry. The two remained silent for a full ten minutes, during which everyone waited for Ye Yang's answer.

Finally Ye Yang smiled and said, "Aizen, you've really gone to great lengths for the Hōgyoku. Oh well, the Hōgyoku is useless to me anyway. I accept this deal."

Everyone remained silent. They had long anticipated this outcome; given Ye Yang's character, abandoning his family was absolutely impossible. From the perspective of the entire Soul Society, Ye Yang's choice went against their interests, but from Ye Yang's perspective, no one dared to say Ye Yang was wrong! Putting themselves in his shoes, how many people could choose the greater good?

Aizen smiled and said, "Then let's begin the transaction."

Ye Yang took out the real Hōgyoku from his pocket. "This is the Hōgyoku that Kisuke made." He then threw it in front of Aizen without hesitation, as if it were just an ordinary bead.

Aizen caught the Hōgyoku in his hand, and then three more Negación descended from the sky, surrounding Aizen and the other two. As the three slowly rose, Ye Yang merely glanced at them before walking over to Yoruichi and Soi Fon.

As everyone watched Aizen ascend to heaven, Ukitake stepped forward and said, "Aizen, you actually joined forces with Menos Grande. What was your purpose in doing this?"

Aizen looked down at everyone. "In pursuit of a higher realm."

"Have you fallen, Aizen?"

"You're too arrogant, Ukitake. No one was born standing in the heavens, neither you nor I, not even the gods, but..." Aizen changed the subject, slowly removing the heavy, non-glossy glasses he used to wear.

"This unbearable void on the throne of heaven is about to end." Aizen brushed back the hair from his forehead, crushed his old, flat-glasses glasses, and slowly opened his eyes, saying, "From this day forward, I will stand in the heavens!"

At this moment, Aizen was no longer the kind-hearted man he once was. Both his appearance and demeanor had undergone a complete transformation. This was the real Sōsuke Aizen! A true king. The Soul Society was not his final destination. What he wanted was to stand above everyone else! To be the man at the pinnacle!

Aizen entered the encirclement of the Menos Grande: "Farewell, fellow Shinigami, and farewell, young Ryoka. You were quite interesting as a human." Then, Aizen disappeared as the Garganta closed, and the two Vasto-class Menos Grande standing above the Shihoin Clan also opened their Garganta and disappeared.

This time, Ye Yang was careless. He originally thought that Aizen would escape to Hueco Mundo with the help of the Negación, as the plot had suggested. However, he did not expect that Aizen would start planning as soon as he learned about the fake Hōgyoku, and even went so far as to send two Vasto-class Menos Grande. What he thought was a flawless plan was instead outmaneuvered by Aizen. Step by step, he plotted and schemed, and in the end, Ye Yang could only watch helplessly as Aizen took the Hōgyoku to Hueco Mundo. He had to admit that Ye Yang lost to Aizen in terms of strategy.

Ye Yang failed for two reasons: first, he underestimated Aizen's abilities; second, he overly trusted the storyline in Aizen's memories.

As for what happens next, that's all unknown. Before Ye Yang came to this world, he only saw Aizen escape from Soul Society and knew nothing about the subsequent plot. But that's fine, since this is a real world, and things can't always go according to plan. If Ye Yang relied on his knowledge of the plot, he might have been defeated even more completely.

Ye Yang, this tiny butterfly, might change the whole world!

After Aizen and the others left, the scene fell into a flurry of activity again. There were a lot of wounded left in Soul Society, so the Fourth Division started to get busy. After all, the Fourth Division had limited personnel and so many wounded, so it was quite hectic.

Byakuya and Renji were the most seriously injured. He had already sustained considerable injuries when he started Ichigo, and later, while trying to save Rukia, he was struck by a Shinsō. It was fortunate that he wasn't pierced through. He is currently receiving emergency treatment from the members of the Fourth Division.

At that moment, a huge, unidentified creature appeared in the sky; it was Unohana's Zanpakuto in disguise. Ye Yang quickly stepped forward and asked, "Captain Unohana, how are Tōshirō and Hinamori?"

"Lieutenant Ye Yang, don't worry. Captain Hitsugaya isn't injured. However, Vice Captain Hinamori's situation isn't so optimistic. Although her life has been saved, whether she can wake up depends on herself. She's currently in the Fourth Division's infirmary, with Captain Hitsugaya by her side. How's the situation here?"

Ye Yang recounted the situation truthfully, then added, "The one who urgently needs treatment right now is the boy Kurosaki, but his companion's power seems quite interesting; we probably don't need to help him."

Ichigo was healing Inoue, and Ye Yang felt very familiar with the ability she was using; it was definitely not just a simple treatment of injuries!

Unohana glanced at Ichigo, then said, "Then I'll go treat Captain Kuchiki first." She walked up to Byakuya and whispered, "What a mess, Captain Kuchiki."

Byakuya called Rukia over and finally told her the whole story, including his promise to Hisana and his vow to himself.

"When you were sentenced to death, I began to feel lost. Which should I keep: the vow I made to my parents to uphold the rules, or the promise I made to Hisana to protect my sister?" Byakuya turned his gaze to Ichigo, who was receiving treatment, and those two sentences echoed repeatedly in his mind.

"If even we don't follow the rules, then who will?"

"If I were in your shoes, I would definitely fight against those so-called rules!"

It was this sentence that awakened the confused Byakuya. He realized that he no longer had the sharp edge he once had, and that he was willing to challenge the rules for the sake of his family! Perhaps it was Ichigo Kurosaki's bond with his comrades that shook his obsession with the rules.

"Thank you, Ichigo Kurosaki," Byakuya murmured, reaching out his right hand with difficulty. Rukia grasped his hand with both of hers, and Byakuya finally spoke the words he had always wanted to say, "Rukia, I'm sorry..."

This night was destined to be anything but peaceful. People spent the night in a flurry of activity. Yoruichi, Ye Yang, and Soi Fon returned to the Shihoin Clan, where a grand welcoming ceremony was held. After all, it was the return of the previous head of the family, and Yoruichi had come to save Soul Society, so she could be considered a hero returning home.

Now that all Central 46 have been killed, the power of decision-making in the Seireien has fallen into Yamamoto's hands. As a result, Yoruichi has been exonerated, and Kisuke Urahara's past crimes of exile have been cleared. This means that the two of them are now innocent and can return to Soul Society at any time.

Even so, Ye Yang didn't hold out much hope, because given Kisuke Urahara's personality, he wouldn't return to Soul Society, so Yoruichi wouldn't come back either. Ye Yang was quite helpless about this. Fortunately, Yoruichi could now return to Soul Society to visit her parents at any time, unlike before when she couldn't go home.

Aizen's time has come to a temporary end. Now, Aizen's main focus is not on how to conquer Soul Society, but on how to increase his side's advantage. With the Hōgyoku in hand, he will likely create a large number of Arrancar. The final battle is probably coming soon!

P. S.: This chapter is finally finished. I originally planned to write the Arrancar arc directly, but then I remembered that the character Shusuke Amagai had already appeared in the previous chapters, so I decided to write this one instead. Also, there needs to be a transition before the Arrancar arc.

However, in the TV version, Shusuke Amagai appears after the Arrancar arc, so there may be a few inconsistencies in the text. Please forgive any errors.

Also, I have my driving test (Part 1) tomorrow, please pray to the god of exams to bless me...