Ascend, the Seventy-Two-Tiered Tower

There are 72 barriers between Seireitei and the Soul King Palace, which can only be overcome with the Royal Key.

Having just broken through one barrier, Aizen deeply felt the importance of the King Key; strictly speaking, it wasn't necessary to use the King Key to reach the Soul King Palace.

As for Aizen himself, he could easily break through a barrier with his immense spiritual pressure, but that would consume far too much spiritual pressure.

The key to the king is wrapped around Aizen's body. When it gets close to the barrier, it forms a strange resonance with the barrier, so even ordinary Bleach can pass through the barrier without much effort.

Therefore, the King Key is the key to the Soul King Palace. Without the King Key, even if you break through the 72 barriers, you will be no different from a half-useless person after arriving at the Soul King Palace, let alone fight against the Zero Squad, which is composed entirely of captains.

Aizen had easily pierced through the barrier on the previous level with just one finger, creating a hole large enough for him to pass through. With this experience, Aizen could increase his breakthrough speed.

Aizen heard Stark's exclamation, but Aizen didn't take the Espada's escape seriously. What surprised him was that Stark had taken the initiative to request the withdrawal.

Aizen originally thought that Halibel would save the other Arrancar by sacrificing himself, but it seems he underestimated the Stark' fear of loneliness.

After calming himself down, Aizen looked up. The remaining 71 barriers were the main course; as for Hueco Mundo, that was the prize for the final victor.

The captains of the Gotei 13 shared the same thought as Aizen, watching helplessly as the Garganta closed and everyone except Sajin Komamura disappeared.

At the entrance of Zhenyang Underground the Jail, a series of swishing sounds rang out, indicating that the Jail's security was stronger than ever before, and all the captains had arrived.

Tsuna glanced at the other captains; aside from looking a bit disheveled, they didn't have any obvious fatal wounds. "Just leave them like this; you don't need treatment."

"Is the Captain-Commander alright?" Unohana Retsu asked. Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto had suffered a penetrating wound from Aizen, and his injuries were much more severe than theirs.

"It's alright, I've done some emergency treatment. The old man won't die, you don't need to treat him anymore," Tsuna said.

Tsuna had already wrapped Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto up in bandages, using the most basic treatment. Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's current severely injured state was practically a natural fit, so that if the people from the Soul King Palace came to question him, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto would have something to say.

"I understand." Unohana Retsu was happy to have some free time and, like the other captains, sat on the ground and looked at the screen, which was showing the scene of Aizen attacking the Soul King Palace.

"You're making pretty fast progress, Aizen..." Hirako Shinji said sarcastically. In the short time they had traveled, Aizen had already passed through five barriers.

Having witnessed Aizen's true strength, Hirako no longer harbored any desire for revenge. His hatred had become a thing of the past after he stabbed Aizen in the Sōkyoku, but he was still annoyed and couldn't stop Hirako from criticizing Aizen.

"I thought you had some kind of method to broadcast to the Soul King Palace, but it really is this simple and crude," Kyōraku said, taking a sip of tea.

Behind Aizen, several Surveillance Spirit Bug dangled at a distance, following him through the hole Aizen had opened.

"Isn't simplicity and directness the best approach?" Urahara Kisuke said with a smile. These Surveillance Spirit Bug had been modified by him and were no ordinary items.

"Tch!" Whenever Urahara speaks, it inevitably annoys Kurotsuchi Mayuri.

"What do you plan to do next? Will you use Aizen's passage or the Tenchūren?" Ukitake asked.

The Tenchūren is the vehicle used by the Zero Squad to travel between the Seireitei and the Soul King Palace. It is usually kept at the Soul King Palace. The Zero Squad uses it to land in the Seireitei, and then it is launched back to the Soul King Palace by Kūkaku Shiba's Kakkaku Cannon.

The use of the Tenchūren is documented. Although it was located in the Soul King Palace, it did not prevent Urahara Kisuke from using the relevant records to create a replica of the Tenchūren in the Urahara style.

"If we use the Tenchūren, won't it be considered as forcibly entering the Soul King Palace?" Byakuya Kuchiki asked. Under normal circumstances, without the Soul King Palace's permission, these Bleach would not be able to enter the Soul King Palace.

"Aizen has already destroyed the Soul King Palace, so why do we care if he forced his way in? We're going to rescue people; they'll be thanking us for it!" Muguruma Kensei said dismissively.

"Let's wait and see."

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto was half-lying down, stopped the captains from arguing. As soon as Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto said this, all the captains knew that Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto might have a backup plan, and they immediately fell silent, watching Aizen storm the Soul King Palace.

Having gained experience in breaking through barriers several times, Aizen's proficiency has increased significantly. He is no longer satisfied with simply opening the holes step by step; as the future Soul King, his entrance should be more impressive.

Aizen flicked his fingers, and five purple spiritual pressures transformed into five long dragons that swirled in his palms. He used a portion of the King's Key's power to envelop the five dragons, raising them horizontally towards the sky. The long dragons rapidly expanded into five giant dragons.

Goryūtenmetsu, Wang Jian Version.

With a deafening boom, Aizen truly shattered the barrier this time. The power unleashed by the five giant dragons blasted a hole the size of a football field through the barrier, many times larger than the hole he had passed through alone before.

And so, Aizen revealed a satisfied smile. He used the Goryūtenmetsu as his mount and used Hadō #99 to announce his arrival at the Aizen Soul King Palace!

"That's really... exaggerated!" Kyōraku remarked, looking at Aizen's soaring figure. "How come I never noticed before that Aizen loved to show off like this?"

According to Kyōraku's recollection, Aizen should have secretly flown to the Soul King Palace, then found an opportunity to kill one or two members of the Zero Squad, and only then would he have made a public display of his divine power.

Why are they already announcing it to the world before it's even started?

"This is Aizen's true nature; what you've seen before was all an act!" Hirako Shinji was the most qualified to speak on this. "A guy who suppresses his true nature will only become arrogant once he unleashes it."

"They're truly arrogant, and the commotion they've caused is considerable. It would be difficult for the Zero Squad to miss them," Soi Fon sneered.

With the Goryūtenmetsu the way, Aizen's charge was terrifyingly fast, breaking through barrier after barrier in a rapid manner, creating quite a commotion.

People like Soi Fon could hear the Seireitei even from the basement of the First Division Barracks. If she hadn't evacuated Stealth Force beforehand, the people standing on the rooftops of Seireitei right now would all be from her Squad 2.

"Zero Squad, huh?" Kenpachi Zaraki grinned maliciously as he stroked his Zanpakuto. No words were needed; he was already itching to take up his sword and start a fight.

"By the way, just how strong is the Zero Squad? I heard it's all made up of captains?" Muguruma Kensei asked curiously. He was a restless fellow, but his strength couldn't quite support his restless heart.

"Kensei, you haven't forgotten about Yachiru Unohana? You were a captain back then too," Hirako retorted.

"That's true. I remember Captain Hikifune's strength wasn't much better than mine, right?" Kensei stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I think she was recruited because of some kind of soul technology?"

"Each member of the Zero Squad has made significant contributions to Soul Society. However, if we only consider their strength when they were still in Soul Society, they are not particularly powerful."

The living history of Seireitei spoke up: Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto personally promoted all three members of the Zero Squad, and he was very familiar with their strength in Seireitei.

"But after arriving at the Soul King Palace, they will use the Soul King's Power to restructure their bodies, and those bodies will become the King's Keys."

"In other words, the King Key that Aizen went to such lengths to obtain was already possessed by the members of the Zero Squad the moment they entered the Soul King Palace."

"Having been transformed by the Soul King's Power, their spiritual bodies are undoubtedly much stronger, and their strength has far surpassed that of the captains."

"I even suspect that the true strength of the Zero Squad is enough to shake the world!"

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's words silenced everyone; they had already categorized the world-shaking power as Beyond Bankai.

The other captains no longer expect to achieve the same effect by forcibly using a second-stage Bankai like Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto. Their current goal is to resonate with their Zanpakuto and comprehend power Beyond Bankai.

Returning our focus to Aizen's assault on the Soul King Palace, with five dragons as his mounts, he has already broken through more than half of the barriers and will soon reach the place he has been dreaming of.

"What's that noise? It's so loud!"

In the Soul King Palace, at the Zero Division's Residence, a middle-aged man with a pointed head and a pompadour hairstyle, who was chewing on a toothpick, walked out of the hall with a displeased expression.

"What's all this noise? It makes me so uncomfortable, I can't even take a bath in peace!"

This man was none other than Kirinjī Tenshirō, the first officer of the Zero Squad, known as the Eastern Divine General. The thunderous sounds from the lower realm were giving him a headache, which was why he had left his Kirinden to investigate the situation.

Before Kirinj could make any other move, a ninja dressed entirely in black, his head and face covered, appeared beside him. This was the Soul King's Blade, one of the two key pawns of the Soul King Palace.

"Oh? What's the matter?" Kirinj asked. After hearing the explanation from the Soul King's Blade, he replied, "Someone's attacking from below? Let's Omotesandō? We'll have to check this out!"

Life in the Soul King Palace is dull and monotonous. The last time we had any fun was probably when the Zero Squad gained a new member.

Becoming a member of the Zero Squad, their bodies are reshaped by the Soul King's Power, making them, in a sense, puppets of another form. They exist to protect the Soul King, and because of the Soul King, they are immortal.

Does he regret becoming a member of Zero Squad? Perhaps, but in Kirinj's heart, there's not even the possibility of having such a thought.

As a puppet of the Guardian Soul King, how could he possibly have the will to rebel? All he could do was try to find some amusement in these endless years.

Kirinj picked at his ear, picked up the oar he used to stir the hot spring, and transformed into a golden light that shot straight toward the Omotesandō.

(PS: The next few chapters will focus on Aizen, so don't get hung up on the power levels. After all, this book isn't called "The Legend of Aizen." If you want to see Aizen crushing everything, please write a book and tag me. Thanks.)