Naruto held his arms firmly before his chest, assuming a textbook fist-bumping pose.
Yet this simple stance contained boundless power and resolve, as though telling everyone he was ready to face any challenge.
Across from him, Sōsuke Aizen answered in an equally forceful voice, "Very well!"
His voice was as calm as still water, yet concealed a surging momentum.
Sōsuke Aizen knew full well that this battle was gradually approaching its climax, and every step that followed would be crucial.
At this moment, everything was already crystal clear in Sōsuke Aizen's mind.
He understood that this fierce battle was about to enter its most critical and intense phase.
Faced with someone as powerful and unyielding as Naruto, he might truly have no choice but to reveal the trump card he had kept hidden for so long-the Hōgyoku.
Against Naruto, Illusion was already of little use.
Even Illusion's supposedly invincible Complete Hypnosis was not flawless or without vulnerabilities.
After all, using Illusion to hypnotize someone required an immense amount of Reiatsu to sustain it.
Especially when the target was someone whose strength was as unfathomable as Naruto's, the amount of Reiatsu required was simply beyond what an ordinary Soul Reaper could even imagine.
The slightest mistake could not only prevent the hypnosis from taking effect, but also very likely cause Illusion to be forcibly broken through the excessive depletion of his own Reiatsu.
The enemy could then seize upon and exploit this vulnerability to mislead him in turn, placing him in an extremely dangerous situation.
After all, powerful though Illusion's ability was, it had a fatal weakness, and as its wielder, Sōsuke Aizen naturally understood this better than anyone.
Precisely for that reason, even though he had long since planted that mysterious seed capable of inducing deep hypnosis within Naruto, he