Had it really come to this in the end?
Duan Mu casually tore off the charred, tattered clothes covering his upper body and looked toward Captain Commander Yamamoto amid the smoke and flames.
At this moment, Yamamoto looked utterly wretched. His entire body was charred black, and one arm had been reduced to something resembling charcoal. Even the Spiritual Power within him had been completely depleted suppressing his indiscriminate flames.
Although Duan Mu did not know when he and Shinji Hirako had worked out their plan, it had been nearly perfect. They had simply overestimated the terror of Aizen's Kyōka Suigetsu.
No, strictly speaking...
Neither Captain Commander Yamamoto nor Shinji Hirako had believed Aizen would dare to withstand a full-powered strike from Yamamoto in his current state. Thus, they had instinctively assumed that the Aizen appearing at the edge of the barrier was the real one.
In reality, Aizen had been trapped in place by Captain Commander Yamamoto's flames the entire time. From beginning to end, he had used Kyōka Suigetsu only twice: once to prevent his voice from reaching Shinji Hirako and the other person, and once to create an illusion at the edge of the barrier.
In other words, if Captain Commander Yamamoto had not immediately redirected his attack, the battle might already have ended.
"H-How is this possible..."
Looking at the gravely wounded Captain Commander Yamamoto, the members of the Gotei 13 could not help but show disbelief.
Had Captain Commander Yamamoto lost?
Even though it had happened right before their eyes, they still found it impossible to believe. They were even more inclined to think it was an illusion created by Aizen's Kyōka Suigetsu.
But whether it was the people scattered across the ground after the barrier shattered, or Shinji Hirako, who had crashed to the