The Day of Execution (7)

Sōsuke Aizen stood in the center of the ruins, surveying the Captains who were closing in from all directions. His white haori fluttered slightly in the morning breeze, and a gentle smile remained on his face, as if the encirclement before him was nothing more than a carefully arranged meeting.

"It seems this operation has failed," Aizen said softly, his tone devoid of any frustration, but rather carrying a hint of amusement.

"Yes," Liu Hao replied with a smile, his hand already on the hilt of his sword at his waist, "So when do you plan to leave?"

He slowly drew the Imperial Sword. The moment the sword was drawn, no sound was made, but the surrounding air seemed to freeze—it wasn't killing intent, but some kind of more fundamental and deeper sense of oppression. The sword wasn't made of metal, but rather like solidified light, flowing with indescribable colors in the morning light.

Seeing Liu Hao's actions, Aizen his head slightly. "Oh, you're planning to keep me here?"

"That's not true," Liu Hao shook his head, his smile still relaxed. "I already said I couldn't keep you here. But you seem to have slashed Renji and Ichigo once right in front of me—as a friend and uncle, it wouldn't be right for me to just stand by and watch."

"Oh," Aizen's smile deepened, "So you want revenge?"

"Yeah, of course we have to get revenge." Liu Hao nodded matter-of-factly, his tone as if discussing dinner. "To get you to talk, I've been holding back ever since you started attacking people here. Seeing you beat them up so badly has been really hard on me."

Aizen looked at his expression, remained silent for two seconds, and then smiled, "But you don't seem to be in any particular discomfort."

"Really? Did I make it that obvious?" Liu Hao feigned surprise, then turned to look at Momo Hinamori beside him.

Momo Hinamori met his gaze and nodded vigorously several times without expression.

Liu Hao then looked at Byakuya Kuchiki on the other side. Although the usually serious Squad Six Captain didn't nod, his slightly averted gaze said it all.

Then came Rukia Kuchiki —she held the weakened Rukia, her eyes conveying, "You're just gloating."

Kaien Shiba shrugged, Uryū Ishida adjusted his glasses, Yasutora Sado stood silently, but everyone's eyes conveyed the same meaning: You're just toying with Aizen, and you're enjoying it.

Liu Hao sighed helplessly, "Perhaps I've gotten a little too excited after playing a trick on you, a clever person who's been hiding in the Soul Society for hundreds of years."

As he spoke, he lightly waved the Imperial Sword in front of him.

The movement was as casual as brushing dust off a sleeve.

But just as the sword sliced through, Aizen's body jerked backward. It wasn't Shunpo, nor was it high-speed movement; it was some kind of almost instinctive dodge—his body reacted even before he realized the danger.

Even so, six neat cuts appeared on his white haori. Fine beads of blood seeped from the skin beneath the cuts. The wounds were not deep, but they were terrifyingly precise—each cut just pierced the epidermis without damaging the muscle, yet enough to stain the haori with blood.

"You dodged all of that," Liu Hao said with a hint of regret. "They retaliated with two strikes for every one they stabbed. It wasn't a serious injury, but let's just let it go."

He paused, his smile suddenly vanishing, his eyes turning icy cold. "Next time you scheme against those around me, I'll make you wish you were dead."

The words were spoken softly, but the chill they carried sent a shiver down the spines of everyone present. It wasn't a threat, but a statement—like stating an imminent, unchangeable fact.

Aizen looked down at his wounds, then looked up at Liu Hao, a smile returning to his face. But that smile was completely different—no longer gentle and composed, but a cold, dangerous one.

"What a terrifying ability," Aizen said softly, a hint of admiration in his voice. "I look forward to seeing you again."

Hearing this, Soi Fon, who had been suppressing her anger, finally couldn't hold back any longer. She took a step forward, her voice icy and chilling. "Aizen, do you still think you can leave?!"

Before she could finish speaking, she was already preparing to make her move. But in that instant, the sky changed.

A massive black rift tore open above Sōkyoku Hill. Inside the rift was not blue sky and white clouds, but some kind of chaotic, distorted space. Three pale beams of light shot out from the rift, precisely enveloping Aizen, Gin Ichimaru, and Kaname Tōsen.

Within the pillar of light, the three bodies began to slowly rise.

Jūshirō Ukitake looked up at the scene, his brows furrowed. "Aizen, you've fallen. You've actually joined forces with Menos Grande."

Aizen, now halfway up in the air, stood in the hand of a giant Gillian —the lowest-ranking Menos Grande, but now used as his tool to leave. He looked down, his gaze sweeping over each Captain, finally settling on Liu Hao.

"Ukitake," Aizen's voice came from the sky, calm and composed, "You are too arrogant. From the very beginning, there was no one in the heavens—you, me, not even a god."

He paused, a hint of barely concealed excitement in his voice. "However, this unbearable period of emptiness in the heavens is over. From now on, I will rule the heavens."

These words were extremely arrogant, but when spoken by Aizen, they carried an undeniable certainty.

Liu Hao listened, then suddenly laughed. He raised his hand and waved to Aizen in the air, as if bidding farewell to an old friend. "Aizen, stop talking big. Look—you didn't even take this."

As he spoke, he opened his palm. In his palm, the deep blue Hōgyoku floated quietly, its nebula-like interior slowly rotating, emitting an alluring yet dangerous light.

It was the Hōgyoku that had just been given to the Imperial Princess, the one that was thought to have disappeared.

Aizen in mid-air, saw the Hōgyoku, his smile faltering slightly, but he quickly regained his composure. "Yes, I schemed so much, only to be outmaneuvered by you in the end."

His gaze fell on Liu Hao, filled with inquiry and interest. "Liu Hao, you're a really interesting person. I'm curious—why aren't you afraid I'll discover that the Hōgyoku has appeared on Hinamori?"

Liu Hao tilted his head, as if seriously considering the question. Then, he laughed, a laugh tinged with undisguised mockery, "How could someone as arrogant as you pay attention to someone destined to be abandoned by you?"

He paused, his voice becoming even sharper. "After all, you've already finished crafting the tools. You can just grab them when you need them and throw them away when you don't. Who would care if the tools changed—am I right, Aizen?"

These words were like a knife, piercing the deepest wound in Momo Hinamori's heart. Her body trembled slightly, but she still stood straight, her gaze fixed on Aizen in the air, the last glimmer of hope in her eyes finally extinguished.

Aizen looked at Liu Hao for a long time, then slowly nodded. "You really do understand me."

He raised his head, gazing at the vast sky, his voice echoing in the dawn. "Fine, Soul Reaper gods, Ryoka youth, farewell."

The moment the words left his mouth, the enormous rift in the sky began to contract and close. Gillian, carrying Aizen and the other two, slowly retreated into the rift. When the rift completely closed, the sky returned to its original state, as if everything that had just happened was merely an illusion.

Aizen left.

He left Soul Society with his ambition, his schemes, and his unfinished Hōgyoku.

A brief silence fell over the Sōkyoku Hills. The morning breeze swept through the ruins, stirring up dust. The sunlight fully illuminated the hills, but a shadow hung over everyone's heart.

Then, everyone's eyes turned to Liu Hao.

Those gazes were complex and heavy—containing doubt, anger, incomprehension, and inquiry.

Feeling the gazes directed at him, Liu Hao helplessly spread his hands. "Don't look at me like that."

"Liu Hao!" Sajin Komamura's voice rang out first, filled with suppressed anger, "Since you knew Aizen's purpose, why didn't you tell us beforehand?!"

The Captain of the Seventh Division had received some emergency treatment and was barely able to stand, but the wounds on his body were still shocking. He looked at Liu Hao, his eyes filled with barely contained rage.

Liu Hao met his gaze calmly. "Do you know what happened to the former Captains, Vice-Captains, and Kisuke Urahara?"

Sajin Komamura was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"That Kisuke guy," Liu Hao said slowly, a hint of sarcasm in his voice, "Exposed Aizen's affairs, and then what? If Yoruichi hadn't intervened, he would have been executed. As Captains and Vice-Captains used as test subjects, they were ordered to be disposed of like Hollows."

He glanced around at each Captain: "If Aizen doesn't step forward himself, a simple hypnosis will send you all fighting to the death. I don't want to die without knowing why."

These words silenced everyone. They recalled the disaster a century ago—several Captains and Vice-Captains suddenly Hollowfication, Kisuke Urahara was accused of the murder, and ultimately fled to the World of the Living with Yoruichi Shihōin. If it had been Liu Hao who revealed the truth back then, his fate probably wouldn't have been much better than Urahara's.

"And what about us?" another voice rang out; it was Uryū Ishida. The Quincy boy pushed up his glasses, his tone laced with displeasure. "From the very beginning, you've been using us."

Liu Hao turned to him, his expression turning serious. "Uryū, don't say that. This is to train you. You are born with extraordinary power, and there are some things you will inevitably be involved in. Rather than letting you face them unprepared, it's better to train you in advance."

"Liu Shu, what about me?" Ichigo Kurosaki's voice came from the ruins. He was still lying on the ground, but his consciousness had returned somewhat, and he was now struggling to lift his head. "Why did Rukia give me her power? Was it really your arrangement?"

Liu Hao walked over to him, squatted down, and said with a helpless expression, "How come you haven't fainted yet? Honestly."

He sighed, his voice turning serious. "Why do you think Rukia would hand over her power to you? Do you really think it was our arrangement? It was Aizen who guided her—it has nothing to do with us."

"Why?!" Ichigo Kurosaki asked, puzzled.

Liu Hao looked at his young nephew, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes. "Hey, didn't you already have the answer when you were fighting Big White?"

"Big White? Who's that?" Ichigo Kurosaki, looking completely bewildered.

Not far away, a vein bulged on Byakuya Kuchiki's forehead. "Liu Hao, don't give people nicknames so casually."

"Ah, haha, sorry," Liu Hao immediately put on an apologetic smile, but the mockery in his eyes was undisguised. "I was talking about Captain Kuchiki."

He looked at Ichigo Kurosaki again. "You know now, right?"

Ichigo Kurosaki looked at Byakuya Kuchiki, then at Liu Hao, as if he understood something. "Um... Liu Shu, are you saying that the guy inside me is Aizen's target?"

Liu Hao shook his head, his expression even more helpless. "No. His purpose is just to see what kind of person you, who possesses multiple powers, will become after awakening."

He stood up and patted Ichigo Kurosaki on the shoulder. "Alright, you just stay here and heal. Leave the rest to us adults."

Just then, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's voice rang out, authoritative and steady. "Alright, everyone may leave. We will convene Captains’ Meeting after the Fourth Division has finished treating the wounded."

The Captain-Commander, leaning on his wooden cane, scanned everyone present before finally fixing his gaze on Liu Hao: "Liu Hao, explain the specifics of the situation and the arrangements you made in the World of the Living."

"Yes, Captain-Commander Yamamoto." Liu Hao nodded respectfully.

Under Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's arrangement, the Captains began to evacuate one after another. Some carried the wounded, some inspected the ruins, and some stood still, looking at the battlefield that had witnessed everything with complicated expressions.

Liu Hao approached Renji Abarai and Sajin Komamura. Both were unconscious and seriously injured. He knelt down and placed his hands on their chests. A pale green light emanated from his palms and gently seeped into their wounds. It Kaidō n't a healing energy, but rather a more fundamental and profound healing power—the wounds didn't heal immediately, but the bleeding stopped, and their vital signs stabilized.

"Liu Hao," Retsu Unohana's voice came from behind, "Let me do it."

The Fourth Division Captain had arrived at the scene with Isane Kotetsu and the other members. She walked to Liu Hao's side and gently but firmly took over the treatment.

Liu Hao stepped aside, watching Unohana's focused treatment, a slight smile playing on his lips. Then, he walked towards where Ichigo Kurosaki and the others were.

Orihime Inoue was healing Ichigo Kurosaki, the light of the Sōten Kisshun enveloping his body. Yasutora Sado and Uryū Ishida stood by, vigilantly observing their surroundings. Ganju Shiba crouched beside Kaien Shiba, his face filled with worry.

"Liu Shu," Ichigo Kurosaki said with difficulty as he saw Liu Hao approaching, "Inoue can treat me here. You should go help them."

Liu Hao shook his head and sat down beside him. "They don't need it anymore. My ability is only suitable for saving lives in wartime; in peacetime, it's better to use the Kaidō."

He paused, looking at Ichigo Kurosaki's pale face, his tone softening. "Ichigo, there are some things I need to explain to you."

Ichigo Kurosaki nodded and waited.

Liu Hao took a deep breath and slowly said, "You should have heard that Rukia Renji, and I grew up Little Ichi, so why did you watch Aizen do this?"

This is the question that confuses Ichigo Kurosaki the most. If Liu Hao truly cared about Rukia and Renji Abarai, why didn't he stop them beforehand? Why didn't he tell them the truth?

Liu Hao remained silent for a long time. The morning breeze blew, lifting his hair. In the distant ruins, the members of the Fourth Division were busy at work, the Captains were leaving one after another, and everything was returning to order—but something had changed forever.

"Ichigo," Liu Hao finally spoke, his voice low, "Sometimes, we have to compromise for the sake of the bigger picture."

He looked at Ichigo Kurosaki's confused eyes and continued, "For example, your attack on Soul Society this time was generally quite successful. After all, the most affected people were only injured, and no one died. If I had directly exposed Aizen's true intentions, given his strength, very few of the Gotei 13 would have survived."

He paused, his tone growing heavier. "Or, as I said, in the end we'll just be branded as traitors and forced to continue our escape to the World of the Living, while he remains in the Seireitei as Captain. After all, the only people currently unaffected by his Zanpakuto are me and a few of you."

Liu Hao raised his head and looked at the sky where Aizen had disappeared. "Even if I'm arrogant enough to defeat him, what if all Gotei 13 attack at once? I can't possibly kill them all, can I?"

These words silenced Ichigo Kurosaki. He understood what Liu Hao meant—it wasn't cowardice, nor betrayal, but the most difficult choice made in the face of cruel reality.

Sacrifice the minority to save the majority.

Gamble with trust in exchange for the truth.

"So," Liu Hao looked at Ichigo Kurosaki again, a hint of weariness flashing in his eyes, "I can only wait, I can only endure, I can only watch helplessly as you get hurt, watch Aizen carry out his plan step by step, until he reveals himself, until everyone sees his true colors."

He stood up and dusted himself off. "It's cruel, but that's reality. Ichigo, remember this—with great power comes great responsibility; but sometimes, the greater the responsibility, the harder the choices you have to make."

After saying that, Liu Hao turned and left. His figure looked somewhat tired in the morning light, but still upright.

Ichigo Kurosaki watched his retreating figure for a long time before softly asking Uryū Ishida beside him, "Ishida, tell me... just how much did Liu Shu carry?"

Uryū Ishida adjusted his glasses, paused for a moment, and then slowly replied, "I don't know. But I do know one thing—"

He gazed in the direction Liu Hao had gone. "He chose to bear all of this alone. And we don't even have the right to blame him."

The morning light grew brighter.

On the ruins of Sōkyoku Hill, medical treatment continues. The wounded are carried away one by one, the rubble is cleared, and order is gradually restored.

But everyone knows that some things have changed forever.

Aizen's betrayal, the truth behind Kyōka Suigetsu, the existence of the Hōgyoku, and a more dangerous enemy lurking behind the scenes.

And all of this is just the beginning.

On the distant horizon, a new storm is brewing.

The Soul Society will have to prepare for what is to come.

But before that, there's a Captains’ Meeting to be held.