The Day of the Execution (6)

When Liu Hao revealed that the Hōgyoku in his hand was a fake, Sōsuke Aizen's expression froze for a moment. It wasn't anger or shock, but a subtle change—like discovering that his opponent had placed a piece in an unseen place on a meticulously arranged chessboard.

"What exactly do you mean?" Aizen's voice remained calm, but his eyes, peering through his glasses, had become sharp as knives.

Liu Hao spread his hands, his smile relaxed to the point of mockery, "It's nothing, just two pieces of information for Aizen to choose from."

"So what's the good news? And what's the bad news?" Aizen asked, his tone carrying a condescending scrutiny, as if he were tolerating the pranks of a mischievous child.

"Alright," Liu Hao shrugged, "Then I'll start with the good news. The good news is— Aizen, you've succeeded in taking what's inside Rukia's body after all your hard work."

He paused, looking at Aizen's slightly narrowed eyes, his smile widening even more, "So, is that good news?"

Aizen was silent for two seconds, then his gentle smile returned—a smile tinged with pity, as if he were looking at a fool who thought himself clever.

"Oh, Lieutenant Liu Hao," he said softly, "Are you toying with me?"

"How could that be?" Liu Hao's expression turned innocent. "Didn't everyone see the good news? You got the Hōgyoku."

A few suppressed gasps echoed from the ruins. The Captains, who had been arriving in the distance, were now hidden in various corners of the ruins, but none of them dared to show themselves. Everyone knew that this standoff had transcended a simple battle and become a more complex and dangerous game of strategy.

Aizen his head slightly, his glasses reflecting the morning light. "And the bad news?"

"Bad news..." Liu Hao repeated with a smile, then did something that surprised everyone.

He turned to Momo Hinamori, who had been standing beside him, pale-faced but with cold eyes, and asked gently, "Vice-Captain Hinamori, do you remember I told you I had something inside you? May I remove it now?"

Momo Hinamori's gaze shifted from Aizen to Liu Hao. Those eyes, usually so full of passion, were now only filled with ice, but deep within that ice, a flicker of embers seemed to still burn. She nodded, her voice eerily calm. "Okay. Take it."

Liu Hao turned back to Aizen, his smile becoming even more meaningful. He raised his right hand, palm up, and a pale green light emanated from his fingertips. The light was gentle and pure, completely different from the strange green substance Aizen had just used.

He gently placed his hand on Momo Hinamori's abdomen—not a physical contact, but a deeper kind of touch. His palm sank into her body as easily as sinking into water. Momo Hinamori's body trembled slightly, but her expression remained unchanged; she simply stared intently at Aizen.

A few seconds later, Liu Hao slowly withdrew his hand.

In his palm floated a crystal ball—exactly the same one Aizen had just taken from Rukia's body. A deep blue, nebula-like substance slowly rotated inside the ball, emitting a faint yet undeniable light.

"The bad news is," Liu Hao's voice was crystal clear amidst the silent ruins, "After I returned to Soul Society, I was thinking about how to make someone as clever as you fall. So I infiltrated the White Tower, knocked Rukia, and took the thing out of her body beforehand."

He paused, then turned his gaze to Aizen, his eyes filled with undisguised mockery. "Then, I put it into Vice-Captain Hinamori's body."

The air seemed to freeze.

"How is it?" Liu Hao continued, each word like a sharp blade, "What you've always wanted has always been in the person who was willing to give their life for you at any time—and that person was ruthlessly abandoned by you."

He raised the crystal ball in his hand, letting the morning light illuminate it. "Isn't this ironic?"

After saying that, Liu Hao waved the Hōgyoku in his hand at Aizen, his tone as casual as if he were showing off an ordinary ornament. "Look at this Hōgyoku in my hand, isn't it the same as the one you made yourself? But it's all Kisuke 'Kisuke for making a fake one. I didn't expect him to make it look exactly like the real one. It's really hard to tell the difference."

Aizen's face truly darkened at this moment. It was no longer the gentleness of a mask, nor the previous vigilance, but a cold, almost tangible anger. He looked at the Hōgyoku in Liu Hao's hand, then looked down at the shattered fake in his own hand, his fingers tightening slightly.

Liu Hao seemed to suddenly remember something, and slapped his forehead. "Right, if you don't believe me, take a good look at what you're holding. I should have had Kisuke carve the word 'fake' on it."

Aizen lowered his head, his gaze falling on the fragments of the fake Hōgyoku. Among those crystal remnants, there was indeed an extremely tiny scratch—the character for "fake," so small as to be almost invisible, yet undeniably present.

At that moment, Aizen's elegance and composure shattered completely.

He clenched his fist, trying to crush the counterfeit in his hand. But the moment he exerted force, the fragments suddenly turned into countless tiny specks of light, as if they came to life, spreading upwards along his arm and quickly disappearing into his skin.

Aizen's body jolted violently. He tried to stop them, but the points of light were too fast, merging completely into his body almost instantly and disappearing.

He raised his head and looked at Liu Hao, a clear look of confusion—and a barely perceptible hint of wariness—appearing in his eyes for the first time.

"What is this?" Aizen's voice remained calm, but there was a hint of tension in it.

Liu Hao's smile brightened, "Hehe, Aizen, you're still talking to me with such confidence, do you think you can snatch the Hōgyoku from me at any moment?"

Aizen didn't answer, he just stared at him.

"You mean," Aizen said slowly, his voice low, "That this thing is what prevents me from taking the Hōgyoku from you?"

"I guess so," Liu Hao nodded, his tone relaxed. "After all, if I wanted to hide something, Kisuke definitely wouldn't be able to find it—unless he destroyed the world."

As he spoke, he turned to the air beside him, his tone becoming casual. "Imperial Princess, show yourself."

The moment the words fell, ripples appeared in the space around Liu Hao. A figure emerged from the void, as if rising from water.

The Imperial Princess wore a magnificent white-gold gown, her long hair cascading down to her waist like a waterfall, its color a rare pale gold. Her appearance was exquisite, but that beauty was devoid of any warmth, like a meticulously sculpted ice sculpture. Most striking were her eyes—completely golden pupils, without any whites, like two jewels set in her face.

The moment she appeared, the Reiatsu on the ruins underwent a subtle change. It wasn't an increase or decrease, but rather a qualitative shift, as if space itself was surrendering to her.

"Your Majesty." The woman addressed as Imperial Princess bowed slightly, her voice calm and even, yet carrying an undeniable air of authority.

Liu Hao casually tossed the Hōgyoku in his hand to her—the movement was so casual that it was as if he were throwing not a forbidden object capable of overturning the world, but an ordinary pebble.

"Set it on my throne," Liu Hao said, "So that Aizen can only ever see it from now on."

The Imperial Princess caught the Hōgyoku, glanced down at it, her brows furrowing slightly, and said with a hint of disdain, "This kind of trash... are you sure you want to set it on the throne?"

Liu Hao was taken aback, then waved his hand helplessly. "Uh... okay, you can put it anywhere."

The Imperial Princess nodded without uttering another word. She turned, her figure becoming transparent, slowly disappearing as if merging into the air. Before she completely vanished, she glanced at Aizen one last time—his golden pupils held no emotion, only a pure, godlike indifference as he looked down upon ants.

Then, she disappeared completely.

Along with her, the Hōgyoku.

The ruins fell into a deathly silence. Everyone could feel that the presence of the Hōgyoku had completely vanished—not hidden, not transferred, but essentially erased from this world, as if it had never existed at all.

Aizen's brows furrowed deeply. He stared at the spot where the Imperial Princess had disappeared, then looked at Liu Hao, his voice filled with suppressed shock. "Your Zanpakuto? It's nothing more than inside your soul."

"Hehe," Liu Hao chuckled, "It's my Zanpakuto, but it's not inside my soul."

He took a step forward, closing the distance to within five steps of Aizen. This distance was dangerous enough, but neither of them made a move.

"But Aizen, you should be thinking about how to escape right now," Liu Hao continued, his tone as casual as if he were chatting. "After all, while that thing wasn't fatal, it did limit your abilities, preventing you from using your full power. So don't even think about taking the Hōgyoku from me."

Aizen's body tensed slightly. "Restrict my abilities?"

"That's right," Liu Hao nodded, "That thing is the same as the experiments you did on so many Soul Reaper before—injecting the souls of Hollows into the bodies of Soul Reaper to make them Hollowfication. This thing was specially made by Kisuke for you; it's a Hollow that can seal your Zanpakuto."

These words struck like a thunderclap amidst the ruins.

Aizen's expression changed drastically. Almost instinctively, he drew his Zanpakuto, attempting to Shikai Kyōka Suigetsu. But the blade remained silent in his hand, offering no response. He tried three times in a row, each time as if sinking into the ocean— the Zanpakuto seemed to have turned into an ordinary piece of metal, losing all its spirit.

He raised his head and stared intently at Liu Hao, his usually gentle eyes now burning with a cold flame.

Liu Hao met his gaze, his smile unchanged, "Don't look at me like that. After all, while I'm immune to the hypnosis of 'Kyōka Suigetsu,' others aren't. If we were to fight, others would definitely become your accomplices because of your hypnosis."

He shrugged, his expression helpless. "So I have no choice but to seal your Zanpakuto for now. But I believe that given time, you can handle it yourself. Also—since you've always wanted to break through the limits of your soul, let you try Hollowfication to surpass your own limits. I believe you can do it."

The mockery in his words was undisguised. Aizen stared at Liu Hao for a long time before a smile reappeared on his face—a cold, dangerous, and murderous smile.

"You truly are an anomaly," Aizen said softly. "From the first moment I saw you, I sensed that you were always avoiding contact with me. It seems I should have eliminated you back then."

"You're too arrogant," Liu Hao shook his head, a sarcastic smile on his face. "You think everyone is an ant, unable to stand in your way. You want to see an ant struggle to survive in front of you, only to be easily crushed by your foot in the end. So you won't easily eliminate me—how boring would that be?"

Aizen was silent for a few seconds, then nodded, his tone surprisingly approving. "Yes, that's why you, an ant, managed to take advantage of the situation."

He paused, his gaze deepening. "But since you know I also possess the Hōgyoku, then you should know—even if you hide it, it's useless. Why did you still do it?"

Liu Hao's smile slowly faded. He looked at Aizen, his eyes turning icy. "Originally, I wanted to play with you a bit, then give it to you and send you packing. But—"

His voice suddenly lowered, each word piercing like an icicle. "You dared to conduct Hollowfication Experiments on Renji."

The air temperature seemed to drop a few degrees. In the distant ruins, Renji Abarai's body twitched slightly, but he had already lost consciousness and could not hear those words.

Liu Hao took a step forward, the killing intent in his voice almost tangible. "So I've decided that you'll have to go through the trouble of repairing your Hōgyoku yourself."

Aizen looked at him, a knowing glint in his eyes. "So, it seems I've crossed a line, which is why you're making me go through all this trouble?"

He paused, his tone probing, "Don't you want to kill me?"

"Tch," Liu Hao scoffed, his expression turning helpless. "If I could, would I be wasting my breath talking to you here?!"

The helplessness and frustration in those words were so real that Aizen was momentarily stunned. But soon, he smiled again—a composed smile of regaining control.

"I see," Aizen said softly, "You weren't confident you could kill me either. Or rather, the price of killing me was too high for you to bear."

Liu Hao did not deny it. He simply looked at Aizen with a complex expression.

Just then, the space around the ruins began to fluctuate.

One figure after another appeared at the edge of the ruins. The white Captain's Haori stood out conspicuously in the morning light, and each figure exuded a powerful Reiatsu.

Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai, leaning on his cane, stood at the highest point of the ruins.

Retsu Unohana possesses unfathomable strength beneath her gentle expression.

Jūshirō Ukitake and Shunsui Kyōraku stood side by side, their expressions serious.

Kenpachi Zaraki, carrying his Zanpakuto, grinned wildly.

Mayuri Kurotsuchi stood atop a distant building, a dangerous glint in her golden eyes.

Soi Fon appeared beside Yoruichi Shihōin, and a subtle tension still existed between the two.

All the Captains, except for Sajin Komamura had already collapsed and Tōshirō Hitsugaya was still unconscious, were present at this moment.

They formed a circle, Sōsuke Aizen, Gin Ichimaru, and Kaname Tōsen in the center.