Mist's Beyond Bankai

Tsuna's words shattered Haiwaiyin's defenses. Someone was waiting for him to return; was it worth it?

Wasn't it already prepared to risk my life to snatch Rangiku's crucial soul back from Aizen? Is it really going to be that easy?

If Aizen agrees to the deal, Gin Ichimaru's centuries of effort will instantly vanish.

Isn't it good? It seems there's nothing wrong with it. He no longer has to endure Aizen's suspicions, and he can return to the side of the person who cares about him the most.

The fact that his goal, which he had devoted all his efforts to, was so easily taken away in the blink of an eye left Gin Ichimaru feeling somewhat bewildered. At this moment, he even wondered if he had fallen Illusion Kyoka Suigetsu.

Without speaking, remaining silent, and doing nothing was Gin Ichimaru's way of resisting Illusion. Aizen never gave anyone the chance to touch the Kyoka Suigetsu, Gin Ichimaru could only accept that he was under Complete Hypnosis.

Sure enough, it's too far-fetched that Sawada Tsunayoshi, whom I've never met before, would actually make a special trip to Hueco Mundo to make a deal with Aizen. It must be Illusion!

"Sawada- kun, the fox suspects he's been Illusion ~"

Just as Tsuna was wondering why Gin Ichimaru's face showed no emotion whatsoever, Aizen gave Tsuna a rather amusing explanation.

As one of Aizen's frequent lieutenants, Aizen was very familiar with Gin Ichimaru's thoughts. It was because Gin Ichimaru entered the Shino Academy alone and kept his past relationship with Rangiku well hidden that Aizen did not realize Gin Ichimaru's true purpose.

It would have been better if he had just said he wanted the Soul King's Fingertip. After obtaining the Complete Hogyoku, Aizen wouldn't care about that little thing at all. Gin Ichimaru could have been given it as a reward for his hard work over the years.

Given Gin Ichimaru's personality, he would never reveal his ultimate goal to Aizen. This led Aizen to always be wary of Gin Ichimaru, and Aizen's trust in Gin Ichimaru could never reach the level of Kaname Tōsen.

After hearing Aizen's explanation, Tsuna gave up on trying to persuade Gin Ichimaru further, deciding to let Gin Ichimaru listen and make his own judgment.

"That's the situation. Seireitei. We'll exchange two conditions. Shall we make a deal?" Tsuna asked Aizen, turning to him.

"No matter how you look at it, this condition is still unfair to me. A true fair exchange would be a two-way deal, wouldn't it?" Aizen wasn't easily fooled. He promptly offered a condition. "The Seireitei, plus you helping me out once more, how about that?"

"I'm not that free to wait for your requests all the time."

Tsuna refused Aizen's condition that he should help him once without hesitation. Without a doubt, given Aizen's strength, the opponent he needed to help would be at least on par with Old Man Yamamoto, and those opponents were troublesome just to think about.

"Let's change the terms. I can help you with your fusion progress with the Hogyoku."

"Oh? Sawada- kun also knows about the research on the Hogyoku?" Aizen immediately became interested when the topic of the Hogyoku came up.

"I don't understand." Tsuna poured cold water on Aizen's enthusiasm, "But I do know how to fuse."

"Your fusion with the Hogyoku has now stabilized. There are only two ways to take it a step further: one is to rely on time, to slowly hone your skills; the other is to rely on powerful external forces. Life-or-death battles are always the best catalyst for improving your strength!"

"With your current strength, no one in Hueco Mundo can put pressure on you. I am not very capable, but I can barely be your opponent." Tsuna said, pointing to himself with his thumb, without showing any humility.

Is it too much to ask?

Aizen muttered to himself, he wouldn't believe everything Tsuna said, but he had to admit that he did need some external help right now, and a deeper level of Hogyoku fusion sounded very tempting.

Most importantly, the method of the transaction is more reliable than going after Sawada Tsunayoshi Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto.

"However, I'd like to know, was this additional condition something you had planned in advance, or was it something you brought up on the spur of the moment?" Aizen probed once more.

"So what? Didn't you give me the chance to make a second request?"

Aizen could sense that Tsuna's fingertip was pointing at the location of the Hogyoku on his chest. No wonder he had tried to test the fusion between Tsuna and the Hogyoku from the beginning; it seemed he had been tricked.

But it is precisely because of this that Tsuna's condition of helping him fuse with the Hogyoku seems more real and reliable. If Urahara Kisuke made this condition, Aizen would never have believed it; he would have thought that Urahara had planned it all along.

Aizen stood up and walked down the platform step by step. From the Tsuna put forward another condition, Aizen had already regarded his strength as equal to his own.

"Deal. The fox and the Soul King's Fingertip, plus Las Noches, in exchange for the Seireitei and another chance to fight you." Aizen's gaze was not calm; there was a hint of fanaticism in it. He couldn't wait to improve his strength.

"Before that, shouldn't you show some sincerity? At least we've already shown our sincerity," Tsuna said, pointing to the clump of dirt still floating in front of Aizen.

Aizen knew this was an attempt to get something in advance, so he sneered and lightly tapped his chest with his finger. A strange wave emanated from the Hogyoku, and a pale fingertip appeared on Aizen's chest.

Tsuna narrowed his eyes slightly. This was the first time he had ever seen such a complete Soul King part. As for the Soul King parts possessed by Fullbringer in the World of the Living, they were just a few flakes, far less important than this fingertip.

A Bleach. Tsuna found this power somewhat familiar; it was the scent of Quincy. It seemed that the Soul King's true form was indeed a Quincy.

Aizen flicked his finger, and the fingertip floated towards Tsuna, lifted by spiritual pressure. Tsuna took a jar from Urahara, sealed the Soul King's Fingertip inside, and then threw the jar at Gin Ichimaru, who was still expressionless.

This time, Gin Ichimaru could no longer maintain his composure. Even though he suspected it was a hallucination, he still opened his eyes and reached out to catch the jar containing something important to Rangiku.

This... is not an illusion...

Gin Ichimaru himself knew perfectly well whether it was an illusion or not. Having served under Aizen for so many years, he had his own tricks for judging whether he was in a hallucination. He just couldn't accept that he could so easily deal with what he had fought for his whole life.

"Alright, Gintoki, I know you're touched, but could you and the manager please step aside for a moment and make room for us?" Tsuna asked.

Gin Ichimaru looked up, his eyes still open, and said two words to Tsuna with utmost seriousness, "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Hand over your work later, and we'll head back to Soul Society together." Tsuna turned to Urahara Kisuke and called out, "Manager..."

"I understand. Is it alright if we hide in that corner by the door?" Urahara asked, pointing in the direction they came from.

"Pretty much, the aftershocks of the battle shouldn't affect that area." Tsuna said, looking around the palace. Anyway, Aizen had nothing here, so he probably wouldn't mind if he used this place as a battlefield.

"What do you mean Sawada Tsunayoshi? Are you going to fulfill your terms here?" Aizen squinted at Tsuna, a dangerous aura emanating from him.

Although Aizen himself didn't care much about Las Noches, he still didn't want the entire Las Noches to be destroyed, since it was a temporary place of refuge.

"As you know, there are still the Seireitei to deal with, and our time is quite tight. You don't want to be attacked by Las Noches Old Man Yamamoto's team right now, do you?"

After making a lukewarm threat, Tsuna added, "So, I think we shouldn't waste any more time. This place is empty; it's perfect as a battleground."

As soon as he finished speaking, a powerful spiritual pressure erupted from Tsuna's body. As Tsuna's sharp gaze pressed down on Aizen, Aizen smiled calmly and, without even using the Hogyoku, directly confronted Tsuna with his own spiritual pressure.

The moment Tsuna's spiritual pressure appeared, the Arrancar of Las Noches thought that their powerful enemy had clashed with someone and were preparing to set off to provide support, but then they felt Aizen's unforgettable spiritual pressure.

All the Arrancar returned to their positions, not daring to move. Lord Aizen could handle it; Lord Aizen was invincible.

"Is that all? That doesn't put any pressure on me," Aizen said casually.

"Just saying hello, so as not to scare you." The black and white swords were somehow back in Tsuna's hands. He crossed them and coldly snorted, "Beyond Bankai!"

An unprecedentedly powerful spiritual pressure suddenly appeared in Hueco Mundo, ripping off the palace roof and shooting straight into the sky, allowing the moonlight in the darkness to shine into the palace.

All the Arrancar within Las Noches seemed to want to prostrate themselves in submission. What kind of spiritual pressure was this? It was far too powerful, simply impossible to defeat!

Even the Arrancar, who were ranked among the Espada, were using their spiritual pressure to resist this terrifying pressure. As for some weak subordinates, they even Resurrección directly, otherwise they would have been crushed to dust just by being in this spiritual pressure.

The fog enveloped the entire Las Noches. This fog, containing dense spiritual pressure, made breathing it painful, causing one's lungs to ache. If this continued, it wouldn't be long before there were hardly any Arrancar left in Las Noches.

Fortunately, Tsuna himself was aware of this, and the mist quickly receded from his body, condensing into a white robe with dense horizontal lines, similar to the mist pattern on a mist-attribute ring.

Tsuna was holding a long-handled Bankai staff, and with his white robes, he looked exactly like a white-robed great mage.

"Dimensional construction, fog!"

Aizen's gaze didn't linger on the bright moonlight for even a moment; his entire attention was drawn to Tsuna in the air.

Powerful, incredibly powerful. This level of power is beyond what Bleach could comprehend as Aizen. Without Tsuna's explanation, he knew this was Zanpakuto fusion. Only power surpassing his current Hogyoku fusion and state could be called Zanpakuto fusion.

"Good, very good, Sawada Tsunayoshi!"

Aizen's suppressed voice was filled with excitement and unease. He was excited that Tsuna's power could indeed overpower him, but uneasy that Tsuna might use this to kill him directly.

No! The power of the Hogyoku is the strongest!

The next moment, Aizen denied his unease and believed in the Hogyoku. Only the Hogyoku could lead him to evolution, Sawada Tsunayoshi would become the nourishment for his evolution!

Bankai! Mirror Clarity!

Aizen also unleashed his strongest power. Unlike Tsuna, who channeled most of his spiritual pressure into the sky, Aizen released his power without restraint, declaring himself the strongest king in Hueco Mundo.

(PS: The power of Illusion means I can write whatever I want; the next two chapters will be a bit more abstract.)

I won't post images of Beyond Bankai; it's basically the image of a white-robed wizard with many lines representing mist on his body.