The Abilities of the Lonely Hell's Denizens

It has been several months since Tōshirō's Kirin Child skill was acquired.

During these months, his progress has been faster than in the past several decades!

He has naturally mastered the Shikai of his Zanpakuto.

The Shikai of a Zanpakuto requires 'synchronization' and 'dialogue,' while Bankai requires 'materialization' and 'subjugation.'

Synchronization, as it is called, is to synchronize one's spirit with the Zanpakuto, thereby enabling dialogue with it.

Although still rudimentary, Gaoyu has indeed reached this state.

Therefore, he can unleash the power of his Zanpakuto!

The three realms bring no peace, a solitary Hellish multitude.

This is the release phrase for his Zanpakuto, and its ability is simple.

That is—

Exile!

To exile the enemy's spirit and will into a realm of nothingness, causing them to enter the 'Solitary Hell'!

It is empty except for oneself, experiencing endless solitude.

Of course, being empty except for oneself does not mean it is devoid of everything.

What is solitude?

Solitude has no absolute definition; everyone experiences solitude differently.

Therefore, the Solitary Hell has no fixed location, and the suffering is ever-changing.

Some may be trapped between rocks, some confined within boulders, some frozen in icy snow mountains, some fall into pitch-black deep seas, and some are in places of burning oil.

In such places, one experiences absolute solitude for all eternity.

This is the ability of Hell's Chosen!

Therefore, when Gaoyu inserted his Zanpakuto into Metastacia's brain, this power of solitude instantly invaded his spirit!

This had nothing to do with his physical location; it plunged his entire spirit into the Solitary Hell!

Even if Metastacia split into many clones, the spirit controlling these clones was ultimately one. Destroying that one spirit would cause all the clones to cease functioning simultaneously.

At this moment, Metastacia's will was completely trapped in the Solitary Hell woven by Hell's denizens. He would be eternally tormented by 'solitude' for the next ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand years!

After confirming that his Zanpakuto's ability had taken effect, Gaoyu gently withdrew it.

The Black Sun behind him gradually dissipated; its power had been completely consumed in dealing with this 'Third Division Captain.'

Even after injecting so much Reiatsu into it, it was ultimately only equivalent to a powerful captain-level strike...

If Metastacia had not forcibly parasitized his body, this Black Sun would never have been able to kill a Captain.

"You really did it,"

Aizen praised from the side, "You saved your 'friend'."

He became increasingly interested in Gaoyu's abilities.

Initially, at RinAn, he used a special Kidō—a ray with extremely high penetration and destructive power to kill Metastacia.

Now, before him, he used another special Kidō—that majestic Reiatsu transformed into a black sun, burning fiercely and consuming and dissolving everything in sight.

This was by no means a power that an ordinary Shinigami could wield. Even a Captain-level existence would likely find it difficult to create such a powerful Kidō.

"I... don't want to fight."

Gaoyu walked past the corpse of the Third Division Captain and said, "Every time I draw my sword, I am extinguishing a living life."

"Every life has value."

"...I didn't expect you to be such a kind person. Kind people shouldn't be friends with Hollows."

"No," Gaoyu walked to Aizen's side, sheathing his Zanpakuto at this moment.

"It's just that every life I extinguish causes me to lose an object of observation."

"Observation?"

"Yes, everyone has a different personality, different thoughts. Although they will 'do this' next, why do they do it? Aren't you curious, Captain Aizen?"

"I... have no interest in observing ants. I only observe people I find interesting," Aizen smiled.

"Yes," Gaoyu looked at Aizen and also smiled.

"So, I'm looking for people who interest me. Everyone has this potential."

"But unfortunately, everyone is too uninteresting. After observing them for a while, I realized that although they seem different, they are all the same."

"Humans are truly complex yet simple creatures. Over time, they become tiresome."

After speaking, Gaoyu's heart skipped a beat again.

Because at this moment, Aizen's favorability towards him had actually increased slightly!

His favorability towards him had now risen to thirty, about the same level as Nelliel!

So-called affinity doesn't necessarily represent 'friendship' until it reaches sixty.

When you pay extra attention to someone and believe something they said makes sense, a certain degree of affinity naturally arises.

Or, you could say that the moment you pay extra attention to someone, a form of 'liking' is already born!

And clearly, what Gaoyu had just said made Aizen find it very interesting, or rather, it sparked a deeper interest in Gaoyu, thus increasing his affinity to thirty.

However, for Aizen to consider someone his friend was still incredibly difficult.

If Aizen's Soul Ability wasn't so captivating to Gaoyu, he really wouldn't have wanted to say so much in front of Aizen.

Of course, sometimes it wasn't that he wanted to speak, but that he had to.

From the moment he was targeted by Aizen and caught his attention, he had to act this way.

He had to put on this act, otherwise, he wouldn't have survived until now!

"Captain Aizen!"

Suddenly, more Shinigami voices could be heard from not too far away, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps. They emerged from the woods and immediately saw Aizen and Gaoyu.

Seeing Toru Tanimoto and the others among the crowd, Gaoyu breathed a sigh of relief.

They weren't dead.

This wasn't because Aizen had shown mercy, but because Gaoyu had previously used the Hell Specters to banish Metastacia, causing the possessed Shinigami who were attacking them to cease functioning.

"Cap... Captain?!"

Someone in the crowd also saw the Third Division Captain lying on the ground with a Zanpakuto plunged into his brain, letting out a cry of shock. They were clearly from the Third Division!

"Did... did Captain Aizen do this?"

"I'm afraid not. The Hollow and his soul have completely merged. Even I can't separate them."

Aizen put on a regretful expression and said, "After I severely injured it, it escaped when I wasn't paying attention. When I arrived here, I found Gaoyu, and he had already finished the fight."