Captain Aizen Was Soul Society's Hero!

Boom!

A burst of milky-white, holy Spiritual Pressure forced the Captain-Commander back.

Aizen glanced at the wound on his left hand, then gently ran his right index finger across it, cutting away the charred broken edge and simultaneously clearing away the remaining flame energy from the Zanka no Tachi.

A white, condensed Spiritual Pressure flowed out, instantly forming a new left hand.

"Tsk, although I've fully absorbed the Hōgyoku, it's still a little short," Aizen said regretfully. "It seems the pressure wasn't enough to unleash the Hōgyoku's full potential."

"To be honest, I owe my current success to Captain Unohana and you, Shazo."

Feeling several suspicious glances, Shazo rolled his eyes. "Aizen, finish what you're saying! Leaving things unfinished is like an unfinished novel—it just makes people hate you!"

Aizen chuckled lightly, "Yes, I have to thank Captain Unohana. It was you who almost killed me when I first obtained the Hōgyoku, and by letting my blood drip onto the Hōgyoku, I accidentally learned the true way to use Hōgyoku."

"And you, Shazo, you severed the seemingly insurmountable Negación, making me realize that anything is possible. Only then could I confidently solve countless problems."

Shazo sneered, "It's as if you lack confidence without me and Sister Hua."

He pointed to the spot where Aizen had fused with the Hōgyoku and asked, "Wasn't your evolutionary path already designed a hundred years ago?"

Although Shazo spoke as if asking a question, his tone was exceptionally confident, clearly indicating that he already knew.

His flirtatious trick was exposed, but Aizen still smiled and provoked, "That's true."

Clang!

Retsu Unohana's Minced Minazuki was blocked by Illusion, but Aizen was also thrown backward by the impact, almost entering the range of Isshin Kurosaki's "One Step, One Blade".

Retsu Unohana said coldly, "Don't resort to such petty provocations."

Aizen slightly opened his eyes, looked at Retsu Unohana, and said incredulously, "Unohana- senpai, you've actually reached the level of the Captain-Commander?"

Old Man Yamamoto stepped forward and gave a cold snort, "Aizen! You've used the World of the Living as a hostage, but in my eyes, letting you run rampant is far more dangerous than the death of some mortals."

He raised his Zanka no Tachi: "Even if I have to fight to the Death God in Karakura Town, and even if I have to fight to the last Shinigami present, I will still kill you here!"

"Alright." Aizen smiled broadly. "I hope you can put enough pressure on me so I can take another step forward!"

Captain-Commander Yamamoto: "You will never have another chance to improve! Zanka no Tachi - East: Rising Sun Blade!"

Just as the strongest fire-type Zanpakuto, a slender figure suddenly lunged at the Captain-Commander, letting out a strange "Ooh ooh ooh-" sound.

The weapon used by Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, Wonderweiss, was released by Aizen at some unknown time.

Almost instinctively, Captain-Commander Yamamoto swung his sword, the blade grazing Wonderweiss's shoulder socket before the Zanka no Tachi pierced through his shoulder.

But the next second, Wonderweiss, who had been pierced, disappeared; he was actually a phantom created at high speed!

Wonderweiss's speed surprised all of Death God.

Without the slightest hesitation or reservation, Captain-Commander Yamamoto unleashed a massive amount of flames, creating a terrifying Sea of Fire.

In Sea of Fire, the faster you go, the faster you die.

However, Wonderweiss completely ignored the Captain-Commander's flames, shouting meaningless cries as he moved through the Sea of Fire with incredible speed and unpredictable agility.

He kept trying to get closer and attempted to attack the Captain-Commander with [Bala].

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto even sensed that his own fire power was being devoured, being consumed by the small, emaciated Arrancar before him.

It is said that fists are most vulnerable to the young and strong. Faced with this monster that was completely targeting him, even someone as strong as Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto was caught off guard and found it difficult to break free for a while.

Just then, Shazo suddenly drew his Zanpakuto and lightly slashed out.

This strike was quite strange, leaving a straight sword mark that grazed Aizen's cheek before lying across Wonderweiss's face.

Shazo said, "A straight line is unbreakable!"

The straight line drawn by the Zanpakuto, Heaven-Measuring Ruler only exist for an extremely short half-second, but within that half-second, the straight line cannot be moved or destroyed.

It's like Nanowire, possessing unlimited cutting capabilities.

Wonderweiss instinctively sensed the danger from the straight line, but the other was too fast and too close. Even though he tried desperately to dodge, he still had an arm and half of his face severed.

Aizen paid no attention to Wonderweiss; he stared intently at Shazo and said, "I thought you, the strongest one, would wait until the very last moment, until I had defeated all the Death God, before challenging me—"

"I'm not as despicable as you think." Shazo smiled and shook his head, "Your plan will always just be your own plan. Before you become a god, any change could cause the plan to collapse, which is normal."

Aizen chuckled lightly, "You're right. Before I become a god, I shouldn't be too confident. Thank you for your reminder."

"But what prompted you to cut it?"

Shazo raised his hand, holding up two fingers. "Two reasons."

"First, the defective toy you made is too shoddy. Once Captain-Commander Yamamoto realizes what's happening, he can easily take down that Menos Grande."

"Then he'll point his knife at you, and everyone will join the fight, which is not what I want to see."

Aizen asked cryptically, "Shazo, are you worried that I'll be surrounded and attacked by them?"

"Of course, of course I'm worried." Shazo shook his head. "That's the second reason. Aizen, your strength has exceeded my expectations. I'm afraid they'll all die in droves when they come up to you."

"By then, not only will it go against your original intention, but my own ideas will also be impossible to realize."

Aizen asked in utter surprise, "What was my original intention? And what are your thoughts?"

Shazo said in a serious tone, "Captain Aizen's original intention was to feign defection, infiltrate Hueco Mundo, lure out those Vasto Lorde-class Menos Grande who posed a threat to Soul Society Seireitei, and then kill them one by one, right?"

Isshin Kurosaki and Kenpachi Zaraki were both dumbfounded. "Huh?"

Tōshirō Hitsugaya had just surrounded them, angrily exclaimed, "How is this possible? He caused such great harm to Momo Hinamori!"

Momo Hinamori covered her mouth with both hands and asked in surprise, "Is this true? Captain, Captain Aizen! Are you really just pretending to betray us?"

"This is impossible! I don't believe it!" Shinji Hirako struggled and roared, "If it's true, what are we people?"

What are the hardships we've endured compared to this?

For the first time, Aizen's smile vanished, replaced by a bewildered expression.

"Of course it's true!" Shazo said with a wicked grin, "Captain Hirako, the hardships you've endured are nothing compared to what you've suffered."

Shinji Hirako roared in fury, "What did you say?"

Shazo said, "Although you suffered a lot and even lost your positions as captain or vice-captain, you didn't die, and your strength has even increased a lot!"

"Think about it carefully. From the moment Captain Aizen betrayed them, aside from the detestable members of the Central 46 and the traitor Kaname Tōsen, weren't the only ones who died Hollows— Menos Grande Menos Grande were extremely difficult to deal with?"

Shinji Hirako and the others were all stunned. "Huh?"

Tōshirō was equally dumbfounded. "Huh?"

Reflecting on the events of the past few months, the younger Captain Tōshirō became increasingly bewildered: "This—it really seems to be true—"

Yes, since Aizen's betrayal, although the Death God have suffered greatly, with many injured or even seriously wounded, they have the Miracle not died.

Looking at Hueco Mundo, the Arrancar Menos Grande is not 100% safe; in fact, it can be described as an extremely risky adventure.

Behind each of the dozens of numbered Arrancar, it's impossible to know how many Menos Grande perished during the Arrancar process.

It's important to know that creating a Gillian- class Menos Grande requires the consumption of hundreds or even thousands of Hollows.

However, in the entire Forest of Menos, there are fewer than a thousand Adjuchas- class beings who can stand out.

As for the highest-ranking Menos Grande, they possess immense power, surpassing even the Death God Captain-level Vasto Lorde in combat strength; there are only a handful of them in the entire Hueco Mundo.

If we exclude the large number of Gillian Menos Grande, there are very few high-ranking Menos Grande left who can pose a threat to a Death God captain.

These Arrancar Menos Grande were deployed to the World of the Living and Soul Society in batches under Aizen's orders, employing the most vulnerable tactic of piecemeal deployment.

Naturally, they were besieged by Death God in the World of the Living, resulting in many deaths and injuries, leaving only Ulquiorra and Wonderweiss.

Momo Hinamori burst into tears of joy. "Waaaaah, I knew the captain wasn't a traitor! He wouldn't betray us!"

"Hiss--!"

Not to mention Tōshirō, even Retsu Unohana, Kenpachi Zaraki, and Shunsui Kyōraku gasped and showed expressions of surprise and uncertainty.

Then everyone turned their attention to the Captain-Commander.

If what Shazo said is true, that Captain-Commander Yamamoto and Captain Aizen conspired to stage this betrayal, then he is truly insidious.

Standing behind Aizen, Gin Ichimaru was even more terrified, his long, narrow fox eyes widening into the size of eggs.

If that's the case, then he's truly acted like a despicable person in vain; the level of embarrassment is simply indescribable.

Lying on the ground, Tier Harribel and her three subordinates gleamed with fury at being deceived; they had essentially believed Shazo's words.

On the contrary, the other two intact Arrancar didn't react much.

Ulquiorra maintained a poker face, and no one knew what he was thinking.

Wonderweiss was crying loudly, Self-Healing the damage to his body, and was definitely not thinking about anything.

"Hehehe, hahaha----" Aizen laughed loudly, "I never thought that what I did could be viewed from this perspective and actually appear as if I were loyal to the Seireitei. How amusing."

After laughing enough, Aizen used hair gel to comb his hair again, restoring his disheveled hair from his maniacal laughter, making him look even more handsome.

"It sounds so real, I can't help but believe it myself, hahaha."

Aizen shook his head and said, "Unfortunately, it's not."

Captain-Commander Yamamoto scoffed, "That's utter nonsense!"

The Death God all breathed a sigh of relief, then shook their heads regretfully, their hearts filled with intense conflict.

They felt relieved not having to work with the monster-like Captain Aizen, but also regretted not being able to be colleagues with the excellent Captain Aizen.

Hearing the Death God's reactions, Aizen couldn't help but chuckle, "Shazo, I really have to look at you in a new light."

"I only teased you a little, and you managed to turn around and frame me with just a few words."

He glanced at the four female Arrancar, Tier Harribel, whose eyes still burned with rage, and sneered, "Honestly, a little bit of stupidity is more troublesome than a brainless Beast."

Suddenly, Aizen disappeared.

The next moment, outside the Death God's encirclement, Aizen's Zanpakuto, Illusion, was less than a foot away from Tier Harribel when it was firmly blocked by Shazo's Heaven-Measuring Ruler.

Aizen said in surprise, "Shazo, I didn't expect you to be able to keep up. Besides, these are just four Arrancar, not Death God. Why did you save them?"

Shazo smiled and replied, "Under the existing framework, Death God cannot directly rule Hueco Mundo, so they need agents who can bring the necessary resources to Hueco Mundo."

"These four female Arrancar are perfectly suited to rule post-war Hueco Mundo, so you can't kill them."

Aizen thought for a moment, then sneered, "That's based on the premise that you can achieve victory; it's completely unnecessary for me."

Shazo replied, "If I say it's possible, then it's definitely possible!"

There's no point in saying more when you can't see eye to eye. Aizen appears humble on the surface but is actually arrogant and conceited. The two sides have already made things clear, so there's nothing more to say.

Both Aizen and Shazo were fans of violence.

They both believed that no matter how well they spoke, they would eventually have to fight to determine who was right, since the other one was no longer able to speak.

Aizen concluded, "After fusing with the Hōgyoku, I have reached a higher dimension! You will experience despair!"

Shazo didn't speak, but the Spiritual Pressure surrounding his body suddenly turned silvery-white, instantly forming a spherical Spiritual Pressure that emitted terrifying fluctuations.

An indescribable Spiritual Pressure was released from Shazo, sending chills down everyone's spines for a Setsuna before the soft body vanished into nothingness, as if nothing had ever happened.

Beyond the perception range of the Death God and the Arrancar, on a planetary scale, invisible ripples are spreading.

Only on this astronomical scale can one hear the sound of something breaking, as if some kind of barrier has been stretched open and Shattering.

The battlefield was calm at this moment, as if Shazo's outburst just now was an illusion.

Holding the Heaven-Measuring Ruler, Shazo exuded a calm and restrained aura. Instead of feeling any oppressive pressure from the powerful Spiritual Pressure, he possessed an indescribable natural harmony.

If he closes his eyes, no one can detect his presence.

A few breaths later, as Aizen recovered from his shock, he looked at the Zanpakuto Asauchi, and sighed, "I underestimated you, Shazo."

"As expected, how could Death God could break through the impossibility of thousands of years and sever the Negación be inferior to Captain-Commander Yamamoto?"