Aizen's misjudgment of Zero's feelings plunged him into further confusion. Zero hadn't explained much to him; since they were enemies, why would she explain things to others in detail like she does on TV?
Zero broke the seal on his wrist, and a terrifying, almost tangible Reiatsu filled the entire area. He approached Aizen again at supersonic speed and slashed horizontally with his sword.
"Well."
Aizen was cut in half at the waist, and he seemed unable to react... but Zero already sensed that the blade had not touched the enemy, just like when his vision was distorted during his battle with Kōga.
Sure enough, the next second, a sharp sword slashed at Zero from behind, spraying blood.
Zero turned around the instant the blood splattered and slashed at Aizen with another sword strike. Aizen's reaction speed was also fast enough; he dodged it with a Shunpo.
"That disgusting Illusion ability again, but the fact that he could injure me proves that this kid's strength definitely surpasses that of a large Captain-level. He's been hiding his abilities quite well within the Seireitei."
Zero's wound wasn't deep and didn't warrant much attention. Just as she was worrying, Yanis's voice came. "I'll be your eyes! Dealing with him will be easy."
'Okay, just grabbing him once is enough.'
Zero responded to him in his mind, and then Blood Drink seemed to come alive; the heart in the center of the gauntlet began to glow faintly and even beat.
"Forbidden Boundary!"
Suddenly, Tessai Tsukabishi shouted, pulled out a cube, enlarged it, and locked Zero and Aizen inside while their attention was on each other.
Having completed this series of actions, Tessai Tsukabishi asked Urahara, "Mr. Urahara, what do we do next?"
"Retreat first, go back to support the Seireitei. Although we don't know why Nangong Ling is targeting Aizen, our primary task is to find a way to rescue Hirako and the others."
Urahara wanted to intervene, but he knew Nangong Ling's abilities well; he still vividly remembered how he had easily defeated several Captain-level working together. Therefore, he suppressed his impulse and prioritized saving his comrades.
Moreover, based on the information gleaned from Nangong Ling's words, the Seireitei is also under attack, albeit a restraining one, but it is definitely dangerous.
Without further ado, Tessai Tsukabishi used Time Prohibition to envelop Hirako, and then used 'Space Kidō' to cover and shrink the piece of land they were on into a cube before taking them away.
This series of actions amazed Urahara. He truly lived up to his Great Kidō Chief; he could even unleash Kidō related to time and space...
"A powerful Kidō, quite sturdy, but that's fine too, now you can't escape."
Zero didn't care that Urahara took away the group of Hollowfication guys; what he cared about wasn't the Soul Reaper Hollowfication, but the Hollows Arrancar.
When Zero stared at him again, Aizen smiled slightly, "Nangong Ling, how about we cooperate? With my intelligence and your power, we can completely rebuild the rules of Soul Society, or even transcend them."
Aizen had long analyzed Zero's various actions. From the moment Zero killed the Central 46 after being sentenced and was eventually taken away by Hueco Mundo, he felt that Zero's rebellion was well-prepared.
Therefore, Aizen deduced that Zero was also a very ambitious person, at least like him, who disliked the pedantic Seireitei.
Upon hearing Aizen's intentions, Zero's expression turned strange. "Cooperation? I'd like to cooperate, but after cooperation, who will listen to me, me or you? Even if the alliance shares the same goal, the operation still needs someone to command!"
'Damn it, why didn't you propose cooperation when you tricked me earlier? Otherwise, I might have become the Captain-Commander Blood Blade...' On the surface, he was discussing things, but in reality, Zero was cursing Aizen in his heart.
"We should each develop our own power as needed, and only when the time is right should we join hands to remove the obstacles that hinder our progress."
Aizen's gentle smile gave people the feeling that they didn't believe he was a criminal.
"Fine, I... refuse!"
As Zero uttered the word "I," he had already Sonído behind Aizen, raised his Blood Drink, and slashed down. This time, with Yanis on his Zanpakuto directing the attack, the strike was precise, and Aizen Shunpo.
A tear appeared in Aizen's Shihakusho had been even Shunpo slower, his arm would have been severed.
He was a little surprised; he hadn't expected Nangong Ling to use such a relaxing little trick. But it didn't matter, he played along with it too...
Click!
The Kidō that Sealing the two of them shattered. Just as Aizen dodged Zero's slash, he had already retreated to the side of Tessai Tsukabishi's Kidō, placing his Zanpakuto behind him to break through.
"Don't even think about escaping! Chain Binding!"
"Two meters ahead, the knife is in your throat..."
Zero Shunpo to get there and immediately Bakudō a Binding Spell, but the figure he had bound vanished. It appeared to be Aizen's true form, who was already thrusting his sword straight at Zero's throat.
At Yanis's prompting, Zero-One raised his hand and caught the incoming Zanpakuto.
"Got you..."
"What?"
Zero smiled coldly. Aizen was surprised and tried to draw his sword, but the difference in strength was obvious. His Zanpakuto was held firmly, and then the sword slashed from Aizen's right shoulder to his right abdomen.
This time, the blood splattering was real; Zero had truly and unmistakably struck someone, and he revealed a cruel smile.
However, this Aizen... suddenly became shorter, and his hair is white!!
"Nangong, Nangong, what are you doing? The target has escaped!"
"What? I didn't..."
Grimmjow's roar startled Zero awake. He looked up and saw Gin Ichimaru, who had been fighting Grimmjow, lying in a Gin Ichimaru of blood.
Grimmjow also looked rather pathetic, bound to the ground by the Bakudō spell and unable to move, his magnificent robes now tattered and torn.
Zero turned around and saw that the Visored that had been lying on the ground had run away, and the entire piece of land had been moved, which meant that they disappeared while he was under Sealing.
"His Zanpakuto's ability... Damn it, when did the guy I'm fighting turn into this white-haired brat?"
Zero broke the Bakudō that had Grimmjow.
"Didn't you notice? From the time you went in until the Kidō shattered, it was only a minute. Those two guys took away the Hollowfication Captain-level, and that blind guy fought me. After I stabbed him in the abdomen, I just came over to chase this brat who wasn't quite dead yet."
"This brat suddenly appeared in front of you and stopped, while the bespectacled man moved aside and rushed towards me, using his Kidō to bind me. Then he hurriedly left with the blind man."
"And then there's you, fighting this brat with such ease, your movements are ridiculously slow..."
Upon hearing Grimmjow's detailed explanation, Zero felt a chill run down his spine. That guy's Illusion- type Zanpakuto was ridiculously powerful, far more than just the Kōga that affected distance judgment.
Zero felt like she was inside with Aizen for two minutes, but in reality only one minute had passed. This shows that Aizen's ability can influence not only other people's judgments about things, but also non-physical entities like time.
' Yanis, didn't you say you'd be my eyes? Why didn't you say so sooner?'
'I can only sense the distance between the attack and the opponent, but I can't judge their appearance. The only way to sense a difference in Reiatsu is when swords clash. You haven't actually clashed with the imposter just now...'
Zero was speechless after receiving the explanation, which meant that he could only dodge Aizen's attacks that disrupted his sense of distance, and could not actually touch him.
Since it was still uncertain whether the Hōgyoku was with Aizen, Zero was about to chase after Aizen when a bright yellow Negación suddenly shone from the sky, illuminating Zero and Grimmjow... This meant it was time to retreat.
"Ha, so the item still isn't on him?"
Zero's face showed excitement; the retreat took only about ten minutes, indicating that the mission was a success.
Now he understood why Aizen had left in such a hurry; he probably sensed that his treasure was being stolen and wanted to rush back to protect it...
In the Seireitei, the battle between the Espada and the Captain-level fighters came to an abrupt end, the bright yellow Negación separating everything.
As Ulquiorra gradually rose into the air, his robes became slightly disheveled, and he slowly sheathed his Zanpakuto.
Of the four who fought against Ulquiorra, two Vice-Captains were seriously injured and fell to the ground, while only Yoruichi and Ginrei Kuchiki were unharmed, though their faces were grim.
This Menos Grande stronger than Vasto Lorde. He was completely unfazed even in a four-on-one fight, showing no signs of fatigue. Yoruichi felt like she was fighting a rock...
The most unwilling one was Picaro. He was Shikai by Kyōraku form and only managed to save his life by activating his Resurrección. Just as he was about to take revenge after absorbing Reishi, the Negación appeared.
Aizen's hasty departure was indeed due to someone triggering the Kidō he had set up in the Main Laboratory, which he ultimately destroyed by brute force.
It not only contains big data recorded on various themes, but also hides the 'Hōgyoku', which is still very precious even if it is a defective product.
This was a hidden Laboratory located in the Southern District of Rukongai, which had now been destroyed into a large crater, and the most sturdy square warehouse inside had been completely moved away.
When Aizen arrived, his refined demeanor had vanished. He finally understood why Nangong Ling had suddenly come to Soul Society.
It wasn't to save those Captains, but because he had rendered Captain Hollowfication, creating a huge gap in the Seireitei's fighting strength, Nangong Ling led his subordinates to continuously create chaos and then seize his research results.
As for the theft of the Hōgyoku, Aizen still believed it was an accident.
Nangong Ling knew that Aizen Ling was monitoring him, so he would clean the surrounding area every time he used it to prevent the monitoring Spirit Worm disguised as insects or other creatures from seeing the existence of the 'Hōgyoku'.
However, this time it can't be kept secret anymore; at the very least, Nangong Ling will definitely find out about the Hōgyoku...
"It's just a defective product, what's wrong with giving it to you!"
Aizen sneered inwardly, extinguishing the slight surge of anger he felt and regaining his usual composure.