The Battle of Sōkyoku Hill (XI)

Let's rewind a little.

On the platform in the middle of Sōkyoku Hill, the Fourth Division's emergency station was temporarily set up between the broken stone pillars. The wounded lay on stretchers, covered with thin blankets printed with the Fourth Division's insignia, and the Reishi lamps cast a cold white light overhead.

Retsu Unohana stood in the center of the platform, her white Captain's Haori fluttering slightly in the night breeze. Her hands were folded in front of her, and her gaze calmly swept over the injuries of each wounded soldier.

Orihime Inoue knelt before Yumichika, her hands clasped in front of her chest, the golden light of the Sōten Kisshun enveloping Yumichika's head. Yumichika's hairstyle, which had been blown into an afro by the Ganju, was visibly recovering; the charred strands were becoming smooth again, the curls were slowly straightening, and finally, they fell back to his shoulders, gleaming with a healthy sheen.

Yumichika reached out and carefully examined the texture of the hair ends, then a smile curved his lips, "Finally back to normal."

Orihime sighed softly, "I didn't know you could do something like that. That means I can just get my hair permed again an endless time. How convenient!"

"It's not just about convenience." Unohana's voice came from behind her. Orihime turned around, and Unohana was looking down at the golden light shield of the Sōten Kisshun. "When you repair his hair, you're not just restoring the burnt strands—you're erasing the 'burnt' from the history of what happened."

From the perspective of incantations, the Sōten Kisshun is about rejecting damage that has already occurred and reversing the state to before the injury. This is not as simple as repair; there is no corresponding principle for this in any of the Soul Society's magical arts.

To possess such an ability, you must be a kind-hearted girl.

Orihime lowered her head somewhat embarrassed. "I just... don't want to see anyone get hurt."

"This is the fundamental source of your power." Unohana crouched down, gently placing her hand over Orihime's clasped hands, feeling the pulsating Reiatsu within the golden light barrier. "Don't try to change it. Just remember—your power comes from your heart that doesn't want to see anyone hurt. Protect that heart, and it will protect those you want to protect."

Orihime looked into Unohana's gentle eyes and nodded solemnly.

A series of hurried footsteps came from the steps. Ichigo, carrying Rukia and Renji, ran down the steps, his back bent and panting. Several members of the Fourth Division immediately stepped forward to take the two of them.

Rukia was laid flat on a stretcher. Unohana opened her eyelids, ran her fingertips over her forehead and chest, and checked the edges of the now-closed wound, confirming that her vital signs were stable.

Renji was placed on the other side, the pool of blood beneath him still slowly seeping in. The wounds inflicted by Senbonzakura had reopened, and the blood seeping from under the bandages stained the stretcher's fabric. He was carried away for treatment by the other members of the Fourth Division.

Orihime ran up to Ichigo, and the shield of her Sōten Kisshun enveloped the deep, bone-revealing wound on his right shoulder.

Ichigo sat on the ground, letting the soft golden light cover his shoulders. His breathing was heavy, his chest heaving violently, his hands resting on his knees, and Tensa Zangetsu was stuck beside him, the black blade still gleaming coldly in the moonlight.

"Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime called softly, looking at his downcast eyes.

Ichigo looked up, forcing a smile, "I'm fine, Inoue, I'm just a little resentful..."

He looked up at the top of Sōkyoku Hill, where several powerful Reiatsu were colliding fiercely in the night sky. Various Captain-level Reiatsu intertwined, stirring the entire night sky like a boiling ocean. His knuckles were slightly white as he gripped Tensa Zangetsu.

Unohana stood up from beside Rukia's stretcher, walked to Ichigo's side, and sat down opposite him. Her movements were very gentle, and the hem of her Captain's Haori lightly brushed against the stone slab.

"Kurosaki-kun," her voice was gentle and calm, as if she were asking an ordinary patient, "Do you feel that the battle up there is far removed from you?"

Ichigo raised his head, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. "Before the captains of the Gotei 13 arrived, I watched Amber and Aizen's battle the whole time, and I couldn't help at all..."

If I were still up there now, I certainly wouldn't be able to help in any way.

"It's normal that I can't help." Unohana looked at him, her expression calm, almost serious.

"Kurosaki-kun, you've only been in Soul Society for a few days, and you've only been Soul Reaper for a few months."

To go from an ordinary human to possessing Captain-level Reiatsu and mastering Bankai in such a short time is an achievement that countless Soul Reaper cannot reach in their entire lives.

The gap you're feeling right now isn't a failure; you've only just begun and there's still room for growth. Don't wallow in self-pity.

Ichigo this, Ichigo clenched and unclenched his fists. "I understand, but Ishida is still fighting up there, and I can only sit here, not even knowing what's going on. I'm still a little worried."

Unohana looked at him, then she reached out and gently placed her fingers on the stone slab of the platform. "Kurosaki-kun, since you're so worried, let me teach you a trick. Have you ever heard of the Spirit Veins?"

"Yes, I know. When I regained the power of the Soul Reaper before, I relied on the Spirit Veins."

"That's simple then." Unohana withdrew her hand from the stone slab, the lingering traces of Reishi energy still clinging to her fingertips. "Now, sense those Spirit Veins, feel the direction of the Reishi flow."

Ichigo deep breath, closed his eyes, and quietly felt the flow of Reishi. His consciousness extended upwards along the Reishi, and his vision gradually became clearer.

Several Spirit Veins, some red and some white, descended from the top of Sōkyoku Hill, like inverted aurora borealis hanging in the night sky.

"Each person's Spirit Veins will be imbued with a unique aura." Unohana's voice rang in his ears, steady and clear. "During battle, that Spirit Veins becomes especially strong. At first, you can try touching those Spirit Veins to feel the differences within them."

Ichigo reached out and grasped the drooping Spirit Veins one by one.

The red spiritual veins are scorching and heavy, each one carrying the spiritual pressure characteristics of a different Shinigami; the white spiritual veins are cold and sharp, mostly belonging to Hollows.

He examined each strand one by one, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. In the end, he could only barely make out a few strands among the Spirit Veins in his hand.

"That's quite impressive for a first attempt."

Unohana saw the resentment in his eyes, "The Spirit Veins you can identify are all from people you've had contact with and whose auras you're familiar with."

Identifying Spirit Veins requires extensive experience in perception. That you've achieved this level after only a few days of combat is already quite remarkable.

Ichigo held the identified Spirit Veins in his hands, closed his eyes, and sensed the fluctuations in energy within them.

The most arrogant one belonged to Kenpachi, its aura as undisguised as a volcanic eruption; the cold and sharp one belonged to Byakuya Kuchiki, each pulse seemingly accompanied by the falling of Senbonzakura; he continued to sense, and when he grasped the red Spirit Veins tinged with a hint of dark blue, his brows furrowed sharply—this aura belonged to Amber, and it was erupting violently.

Meanwhile, Byakuya and Kenpachi's Spirit Veins were also strengthening in tandem. What concerned him even more was Ishida's Spirit Veins —every time Kenpachi and Byakuya's Spirit Veins strengthened, Ishida's Spirit Veins weakened by a little.

"Captain Unohana," Ichigo's voice suddenly became tense, "This is strange, why did Ishida and Amber's outbursts happen almost simultaneously?"

"But every time Byakuya and Kenpachi's Spirit Veins strengthen, Ishida's weakens. How is this possible?"

Unohana unfolded her Spirit Veins perception network, and after a few breaths, her brows furrowed more and more tightly.

She did not perceive the phenomenon Ichigo described. Within her perception range, everyone's Spirit Veins was normal, and the confrontations between the squad leaders and the Gillian group, as well as their confrontations with Aizen, were all very clear.

But she still sensed a very faint sense of unease—the scene she perceived was too perfect, too much in line with pre-war expectations.

"The situation might have changed." Unohana stood up, her Captain's Haori unfolding behind her. "Isane, manage things here. Kurosaki-kun, come with me."

Ichigo, supporting himself with Tensa Zangetsu, stood up. Under Unohana's guidance, Orihime's healing was much more efficient than before, and Ichigo's major injuries were almost completely healed.

The two rushed up the stairs, and as they neared the top, Ichigo suddenly looked up— the Garganta in the night sky was slowly closing, and below Garganta, several beams of light were shooting down from Garganta depths.

"What's that?" Ichigo pointed to the pillar of light that enveloped Aizen.

Unohana raised her head, and for the first time, cracks appeared in her usually calm eyes. "That's the Negación! A skill that Menos Grande use to support their comrades."

"The world inside and outside that beam of light was almost completely isolated; even the Captain-Commander's attacks couldn't reach it." Her voice was low. "Aizen is about to retreat."

Ichigo hearing this, Ichigo quickened his pace, and when they finally reached the top, the sight on the execution platform froze him in place.

Uryū Ishida knelt in the center of the shattered stone slab, the Sanrei Gloves already removed from his right hand. He had long since entered the Quincy: Letzt Stil, but this super-class power, which he had gained by sacrificing everything as a Quincy, was used to fight against his allies, leaving him battered and bruised without fulfilling its intended purpose.

The countless Reishi threads of the Ransōtengai were barely maintaining the Uryū's ability to move.

On the other side of the execution platform, Kyōraku, Yoruichi, Soi Fon, and Komamura were besieging the same target—they were trying to kill Koko!

"What the hell are you all doing?!" Ichigo screamed, his voice ripping through his throat, while Aizen snapped his fingers at the same time.

All senses were forcibly reset in that instant—like a consciousness submerged in ice water being suddenly pulled to the surface, Kyōraku saw that his Katen Kyōkotsu was not locking Aizen, but Koko's arms.

Yoruichi saw that her fist, imbued with Reiatsu, was not aimed at Aizen's chest, but at Amber's mask.

Komamura saw that beneath the giant blade that had struck down from the Tenken, the one kneeling was not Aizen, but Kotori, whose entire body was covered in a dark blue exoskeleton armor.

Fon Shaoling saw that the Suzumebachi had pierced Amber's skin, and the Bee-Crest Flower had been activated—turning from black to blood red.

"... No, no-no!!" Her body moved faster than her voice; before anyone could react, she lunged at Hu.

Her knees scraped blood off the stone slabs, and she pressed her hands against Hu's body, trying to stop the blood from seeping out of the Bee-Crest Flower patterned wound, but the blood kept gushing out from between her fingers, no matter how hard she tried.

"Kyōka Suigetsu." Kyōraku stood rooted to the spot, his twin swords Katen Kyōkotsu, hanging at his sides, his voice hoarse and almost unlike his own. "So all of this was..."

Kenpachi Zaraki stood on the edge of the execution platform, carrying his serrated Zanpakuto.

His Shihakusho's robe had several holes pierced by Reishi arrows, and there were burn marks from spiritual energy on the skin of his left arm.

He listened to Aizen's words, his one eye sweeping over Uryū: "No wonder I couldn't feel anything when I was cutting those Menos Grande."

Jūshirō Ukitake stood beside Kenpachi, the lingering light of the Cero absorbed by Sōgyo no Kotowari still slowly flowing along the blade. He looked at Uryū's mangled body, covered in blood and barely held together by his Ransōtengai, his knuckles gripping the sword turning slightly white. "I never imagined we'd all been played like puppets by Aizen."

Below the Garganta, three golden Negación hung down from the cracks. Kaname Tōsen stood in the outermost Negación, the wound on his right arm already sealed with a hemostatic technique; Gin Ichimaru stood beside Aizen, his hands tucked into his sleeves, his Shinsō already sheathed; Sōsuke Aizen stood in the very center, the thickest Negación making his figure appear like a god.

"Kyōka Suigetsu's ability is Complete Hypnosis," Aizen, surveying the crowd. "It can control the Five Senses of the hypnotized subject—causing them to misunderstand the form, shape, mass, touch, and even smell of things. This kind of thing can be easily accomplished."

Gin watched everything unfold below. Soi Fon knelt beside Amber, her hands covered in blood, her usually cold and sharp golden eyes now completely unfocused. "Captain Aizen is truly wicked," Gin muttered, tucking his hands into his sleeves. "He only released the hypnosis after everything was done, forcing them to face the most brutal reality."

Aizen tucked the last stray hair behind his ear. "It's precisely because everything is over that we need to lift the hypnosis. There's no longer any need to expend Reiatsu to hypnotize them."

Kyōraku looked up. "Even so, the Still Water used by the Old Man Yama should have sealed off this interference ability—at least until..."

He stopped mid-sentence, and Aizen smiled only after seeing Kyōraku's suddenly enlightened expression.

"It seems the Captain Kyōraku has realized it. From sunset to now, with the moon high in the sky, when exactly did you begin to have the illusion that the Kyōka Suigetsu is still sealed by Still Water?"

Captain-Commander Yamamoto stood at the edge of the execution platform, leaning on his cane. His back was ramrod straight, and his bronze face was expressionless, but the fingers gripping his cane were tightening slightly. "Have you distorted our perception of time?"

Aizen turned around and looked at Captain-Commander Yamamoto through the light barrier of the Negación.

"That's right, Mr. Cilian's Still Water can indeed interfere with the operation of Kyōka Suigetsu, but its effect only lasts for one hour. The moment the effect ends, I distort your sense of time. The fact that there are no objects to refer to the time under the moonlight has really helped me a lot."

Captain-Commander Yamamoto fell silent, the veins bulging on the back of his hand as he gripped his cane. "... Sōsuke Aizen."

Aizen bowed slightly, his glasses, now only a single lens remaining, reflecting a cold light in the moonlight.

"Aizen! You think you can hide inside the Negación and I can't hit you?!" Just then, an extremely violent Reiatsu exploded from Soi Fon's arms. Amber withstood Fon Shaoling's two-hit kill attack and got up.

"So, after absorbing the Twin Phantoms, you've gained spiritual pressure far exceeding that of an ordinary Shinigami? But, Yoru-kun, is it really a good idea for you to unleash your power in such a weakened state?"

As Aizen revealed a meaningful smile, a white substance began to seep out from the gaps in his amber armor!

"This is... Hollowfication!?" Yoruichi's voice came from behind Soi Fon.

"Correct answer. This is a special Hollow Poison I concocted for Ye Xing. It will be activated once Ye Xing suffers a certain level of damage."

Its erosion speed is faster and more violent than previous Hollowfication methods— Hollow Poison designed solely to transform Ye Xing into the most powerful Hollow.

"Hollow Poison? When exactly was it prepared, and how was it injected into Hu's body?" Yin's smile froze for the first time.

He suddenly remembered Aizen's words, "Add an extra layer of insurance," when he went to investigate the traces the night Koko had mastered her Bankai. He also thought of the time earlier when Kaname Tōsen use his Bankai to Bankai the day, and Aizen insisted that Tōsen use the Suzumushi to stab Koko!

"So, the idea is to end this battle before the battle even begins... Well, then I guess I'll have to take the gamble!"

Yin reached into his sleeve and found his Denreishinki, quickly pressing a few keys on the keyboard.

In the distance, the Tenth Division barracks

Rangiku was tending to the unconscious Tōshirō. The Denreishinki vibrated at her waist; she picked it up, saw the message from the silver-haired man, and quickly rushed towards Sōkyoku Hill.

Sōkyoku Hill

Aizen casually tossed the shattered shards of his glasses into the void, and in his eyes, now free of lenses, was reflected the Hollowfication light of Amber below.

"Ye Xing, ever since I learned that you had mastered Bankai, I knew that something like Negación couldn't stop you. As long as you stand on the side of Soul Society, you will become a high wall blocking my way."

He raised his hand and swept his loose hair back, and his entire demeanor changed abruptly—transforming from the gentle image of the Fifth Division Captain to a sharper, more authentic self.

"That's why I made you my farewell gift to Soul Society and the Gotei 13. You are my greatest asset in safely leaving Soul Society!"

From the gaps in Amber's shattered exoskeleton armor, white substance poured out like a burst dam. The white substance covered his limbs, his torso, and his faceplate, swallowing the dark blue exoskeleton armor inch by inch, leaving only the struggling red light in his silver eyes showing.

His the Roar grew lower and deeper, eventually becoming an almost beastly growl.

Aizen watched as Ko's body was gradually covered by the white substance, his voice devoid of any pity.

The Negación began to rise.

A beam of light carried Aizen and Gin slowly into the Garganta, Aizen's voice descended from the ever-rising sky, like a god proclaiming the final judgment.

"In this world, no one stands in the heavens. You are, I am, even the gods are." He looked down at everyone on the Sōkyoku Hill, his gaze finally settling on Amber—the sharp claw that grew from the broken exoskeleton, and the eyes beneath the narrow visors of her helmet, devoid of all reason, glowing only red.

"And now, the unbearable vacancy of the Throne of Heaven is about to end. From this day forward, I will stand in the heavens."

Farewell, my Lords of Soul Reaper!

The Garganta closed, and the menacing crack in the night sky vanished as if it had never existed.

Only on the Sōkyoku Hill remained, the figure completely covered in white matter the Roar in the moonlight.

An overwhelming Reiatsu erupted from his body, shattering the stone slabs beneath his feet. Shards of stone flew everywhere, forcing everyone to retreat. This Reiatsu was completely different from the dark blue of Amber's Bankai; it carried no rationality, only the purest killing intent and brutality.

Fon Shaoling knelt before him, looking up at his silhouette covered by a white substance.

Her hand holding the Suzumebachi was still trembling. Her body, which had suffered a fatal blow, was filled with a more primal power, and tears welled up in her golden eyes, tears she had never shed in front of others.

"Hu..." Her voice was very soft as she reached out her hand, her fingertips hovering in front of his sharp claws.

Captain-Commander Yamamoto stood beside her, his cane transforming into a flowing, fiery light. His deep, authoritative voice commanded, "All captains, prepare for battle."

He looked at the young man who was losing control, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.