The Final Conclusion (Complete)

"The battle will be over soon, I want to go home!"

The voice of the Shadow was calm to the point of indifference. That indifference was not cold-hearted, nor was it disdainful. If one had to describe it, it was more like a nonchalant indifference.

"What did you say!"

In that instant, Sōsuke Aizen's anger flared up.

"What do you mean the battle will end soon? Are you underestimating me, you bastard!"

Sōsuke Aizen the Roar, admitting that there were people he couldn't defeat: Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, the strongest Bleach in a thousand years—a title that wasn't given lightly. Therefore, he created the Fire-Extinguishing Prince, Wonderweiss.

He was disdainful, arrogant, and he understood perfectly well that his current power, surpassing that of both Bleach and Hollows, was enough to completely defeat the strongest Bleach of the millennium. Yet, there was still one person he couldn't see through—no, he had never truly understood that man.

Shadow.

Sōsuke Aizen was furious. The calmer the Shadow were, the angrier he became, inexplicably irritated.

"You're angry!" Shadow's tone remained calm.

"..." Sōsuke Aizen's face darkened.

"You shouldn't have done this!" Shadow spoke again.

"Stop arguing!"

The third eye on his forehead suddenly opened wide. Sōsuke Aizen shouted and rushed in front of the Shadow, slashing down with his long sword without mercy.

However, despite such a fierce attack, Shadow's expression remained calm, and he showed no intention of dodging or defending. He simply stood there without even blinking.

Then, under the horrified gazes of Yoruichi Shihōin, Kaien Shiba, Hiyori Sarugaki, and the others, and under the bewildered gaze of Sōsuke Aizen, the long sword pierced through the abdomen of the Shadow.

There was no blood.

There was no tactile sensation of being cut into flesh.

It's something that was clearly done right before our eyes, yet it somehow feels unreal.

It wasn't a hallucination; the feeling was like striking the surface of water.

"Hateful!!!"

His expression darkened, Sōsuke Aizen pressed forward even closer, his sword slashing even faster with tremendous force.

The head, the heart, it doesn't matter where it is, it's useless.

"Damn it! Damn it!!!"

"You've lost your composure, Aizen!" the Shadow said calmly.

"Stop talking nonsense! Stop talking nonsense!" Sōsuke Aizen roared angrily; "Just some random ability, I'll find out its flaws soon enough..."

The long sword in his hand slashed down with terrifying Reiatsu.

"I will kill everyone you care about right in front of you..."

"You've disappointed me greatly!"

His tone remained indifferent, but anyone could sense an indescribable meaning within it. Shadow lowered his eyes slightly and gently raised his hand in front of the descending longsword.

Then, he raised his palm and blocked the tip of the knife.

"Boom!"

A powerful force shook the earth.

"Disappointed, you're disappointed in me...!"

Sōsuke Aizen's expression instantly turned ferocious.

"You bastard, what do you think you know about me?!"

"Genius!"

After a moment of silence, Shadow spoke softly.

"You bastard..." Sōsuke Aizen's pupils suddenly dilated.

"I was a genius from the very beginning!" Shadow declared. "Although I don't like that title, the word 'genius' is often accompanied by loneliness..."

"Those who are not the strong of an era, and those who are the weak of an era, can't understand that feeling. It's not the feeling of having no one by your side, but the loneliness in your heart that no one can compare to!" Shadow said softly. "The unrestrained fighting is not only about pursuing power, but also about finding someone with whom you can fight without holding back, someone with all your might. But there is no one, you can't find anyone, you can't find anyone at all!"

"In the end, no one in this world can compare to me, not even Kakashi or Guy. Until Anko- sama's accident, I was in despair!" Shadow gently raised the corners of his mouth; "I gave up on this idea. I regretted it. I shouldn't have blindly pursued power. I also understand that if I really can't find someone like that, I won't look anymore. I'll just keep protecting Anko- sama!"

"I've always thought this way, and I've always done this!" Shadow seemed to recall many things; "I remember the first time I went on a mission, I met that guy. To this day, I still don't know his name. He was a guy who would do anything for immortality. I killed him. I remember, at that time, he asked me if it was wrong for him to only want immortality!"

The Shadow glanced at Sōsuke Aizen, his voice calm.

"What's so great about living forever? If I could, I'd rather that one day in the future, someone would kill me..."

"That was my answer back then!" Shadow said. "Perhaps deep down, I was longing for liberation! Because of the hurt I caused Lady Anko, and because I didn't want to endure that feeling anymore. But later, I met many people: Lady Anko who always believed in me, elders I could confide in, companions I could entrust my life to, and warm-hearted juniors!"

"Even though I've been resisting coming into this world, I haven't lost anything!" Shadow said. "Lady Yoruichi, Kaien, Kukaku will always be with me, so I will never be alone!"

"What... what do you mean by all this?! What does it have to do with me?!?"

Sōsuke Aizen, his face the Roar in a ferocious grimace, "What loneliness? I am a god, I am the transcendent, I..."

"Enough!" Shadow abruptly interrupted.

"You······"

"I too have experienced unbearable loneliness, so you can't fool me!" the Shadow said. "Aizen, the biggest difference between you and me is that behind my loneliness, there was a light to support me, while you didn't. That's why I could persevere, while you could only lose yourself in loneliness..."

"Aaaaaaah!"

Suddenly, Sōsuke Aizen screamed uncontrollably, blood flowing from the third eye on his forehead. His black vertical pupil changed again in an instant. The Hōgyoku's evolution was finally completed when his mind was most shaken.

The Reiatsu surged again, making the pressure even greater. Sōsuke Aizen's appearance had completely changed. If he had only retained some human appearance before, he now looked more like a Hollow. His face had turned black, and the wings on his back had grown "skulls".

"Aizen..."

Shadow's calm expression finally changed slightly; it wasn't fear, surprise, or heaviness, but rather a hint of ease and relief.

"I am God..."

Within the mouth of a "skull," countless Reishi rapidly condensed, and almost instantly, a purple, ultra-high-density Reiatsu bullet was unleashed at an even faster speed.

Yoruichi Shihōin and Kaien Shiba immediately rushed to the side of the heavily injured group. However, in that instant, a tremendous force erupted, with a diameter of over a hundred meters. The overwhelming power could not be stopped, and a deafening roar resounded throughout the heavens and earth.

However, along with this power appeared an almost endless blackness.

It seemed that the coastline, which even the strongest winds and waves could not break, easily blocked the terrifying force that was capable of drowning them all.

Shadow, that guy...

"I am a god who reigns above the heavens..."

Seemingly surprised that the man had extinguished his attack with a mere wave of his hand, yet also seemingly unsurprised, Sōsuke Aizen acted as if he had gone mad—or rather, he had already lost control from the very beginning.

Howling, all the "skulls" simultaneously fired ultra-high-density Reishi, turning the battlefield a purple glow.

"I really like purple, because that's the color of Lady Yoruichi's hair!"

Looking up at the rapidly firing Reishi, Shadow sighed softly; "Enough, I've said enough. It's time to end this, Aizen. If..."

Without making any movement, the man simply uttered a single word.

"End!"

As the sound was uttered, it was as if time and space themselves had stopped; the Reishi, launched so close yet so far, abruptly halted...

However, the strangest thing was that Yoruichi Shihōin, who were gathered not far behind the Shadow, stared wide-eyed in surprise. Even Sōsuke Aizen, who had launched the attack, became even more agitated after a moment of stunned silence. However, no matter how hard he tried, the solidified power did not budge an inch.

"Damn it!!! Shadow..."

"Disperse!"

He uttered the word again in a low voice, Shadow looked at Sōsuke Aizen, his eyes remaining calm and expressionless.

Immediately, that enormous, terrifying power, enough to shatter the battlefield, vanished—or rather, dissipated.

"Aaaaaaah!!!"

Howling, a cry that sounded like a desperate lament, yet also like an urgent yearning, Sōsuke Aizen attacked the Shadow as if he had lost his mind.

"Shadow, do you understand?! Can you hear me?!"

"Ah!"

Shadow nodded, extending one hand. Black energy gathered, and a jet-black Zanpakutō formed in his hand.

"If this is your choice..."

Zanpakutō through the air in front of him, and a black blade of light shot out, as if a one-eyed, one-eared wolf was the Roar wildly. There was no grand scene, no full-force Reiatsu, just a blade of light, yet it seemed capable of cleaving the heavens and earth.

"Both you and I have been lonely, both have longed and despaired. Therefore, Aizen, I will use this sword to send you on your way..."

"Aaaaaaah!!!"

"Boom!"

The blade struck Sōsuke Aizen, and time seemed to stand still. The solid shell around him began to shatter, revealing his original face, though a fragment of the mask remained on his lips.

His hair was disheveled, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Sōsuke Aizen stared intently at the Shadow, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he coughed up blood and collapsed to his knees.

"I will not die..."

"..." The Shadow fell to the ground, and the knife in his hand vanished once more.

"Hmm! My power..."

Suddenly his eyes widened, Sōsuke Aizen trembled all over. He could feel the power within him gradually disappearing.

An unbelievable disappearance.

Strands of black energy emerged from the top of Sōsuke Aizen's head and then dissipated.

The Hōgyoku was trembling, seemingly trying to break free from Sōsuke Aizen's body.

"Shadow!"

"Lord Shadow!"

"Master!"

Yoruichi Shihōin, Kaien Shiba, Hiyori Sarugaki, Kenpachi Zaraki, Kensei Muguruma, Byakuya Kuchiki, and others all helped each other up and surrounded them.

"Lady Yoruichi!"

Shadow turned her head and nodded slightly to Yoruichi Shihōin.

"Shadow, Aizen, he..."

"It will be over soon!" The Shadow turned to look at Sōsuke Aizen again and said calmly, "Your power will soon be completely gone, and then you will also vanish..."

"Will I die?!" Sōsuke Aizen's voice was low.

"No!" Shadow shook his head; "You will re-enter the cycle of reincarnation..."

"Yeah!"

Another mouthful of blood spurted out. With his strength dissipated, Sōsuke Aizen had no more strength to support him. He collapsed heavily to the ground, but his eyes stubbornly remained fixed on the Shadow.

"That... that's great!"

His voice trembled slightly; "Shadow, I've always, always wondered, if I had met you before I despaired, would we have become friends..."

"Good!"

The man slightly raised the corners of his mouth and nodded solemnly.

"In the next life..."

Sōsuke Aizen spoke, he laughed, a joy he had never shown before.

"In your next life, be an ordinary person!" Shadow said. "If you can't be an ordinary person, find someone you can entrust your heart to! Even if you're lonely, you'll have a sense of belonging, and this has nothing to do with strength or weakness..."

"Good!"

A slight distortion crossed his face Sōsuke Aizen nodded solemnly. "Hey! Shadow, tell me, what should I be called in my next life?"

"Let's call it Jade!" Shadow said softly; "Raw jade, clean, pure, and flawless!"

"Ah! Shadow, thank you..."

The fallen figure gradually faded away. Sōsuke Aizen uttered his last words and then passed away completely.

"······"

After a moment of silence, Shadow raised the corners of his mouth; "Idiot, no need for thanks!"

A tiny Shade swirled around the Shadow, finally settling on his shoulder. Though nothing was holding it in place, it remained perfectly still.

Hōgyoku!

"Shadow!"

"Ah! It's nothing!"

Shadow withdrew his gaze from the Hōgyoku and walked towards Yoruichi Shihōin.

"Aizen and I are, in a way, the same kind of people. The only difference is that I met you, while he didn't, which is why our endings are different..."

"Shadow!"

"Let's go, Lady Yoruichi, let's go home!"

"Okay, let's go home together!"

"······"