Today's final update. I hope all you dear readers will give it plenty of attention!!!
Sōkyoku Hill.
Renji Abarai held the weakened Rukia in his arms, backing away without stopping.
Sōsuke Aizen stood a short distance away, without a scratch on him and still wearing a gentle smile.
But to Renji, that smile no longer held its former warmth.
"Abarai, put Rukia down and step aside."
Renji tightened his grip on Zabimaru and answered without hesitation, "I refuse."
Gin Ichimaru stood beside Aizen and asked with narrowed eyes, "Captain, do you need me to handle this?"
"No need, Gin."
Aizen looked at Rukia in Renji's arms and said calmly, "Since he refuses to let go, let him keep holding Rukia. He can leave just his arms behind and withdraw."
Cold sweat broke out on Renji's forehead.
A casual strike from Aizen just now had nearly cut through both him and Zabimaru. The gap between them was simply not something willpower could bridge.
"You dodged that last strike beautifully."
Aizen walked slowly forward and continued, "I've been watching your growth all along. But if you insist on standing in my way, I cannot keep sparing your life."
"Crushing an ant is simple. Deliberately controlling your strength to avoid crushing it is far more troublesome."
"I was once your superior. I truly cannot bear to kill you with my own hands."
"Renji, don't push yourself..."
Rukia's weak voice rang out.
"Shut up, Rukia!"
Renji stared fixedly at Aizen and shouted, "Even if I die, I'll never hand you over to him! This bastard isn't the Captain Aizen we knew!"
"I'm no longer the person you knew?"
Aizen stopped, a trace of regret appearing on his face.
"Kira and Hinamori were merely pawns in my plan from beginning to end. People are willing to believe what they see, so manipulating them is actually less difficult than you might imagine."
"Aizen!"
A furious roar came from the side.
Sajin Komamura landed heavily on Sōkyoku Hill, his enormous body blocking the way before them.
"Kaname Tōsen, you betrayed the Gotei 13 and abandoned the justice you believed in!"
Komamura looked at Tōsen and said in a low voice, "If you have so much as a word of explanation, I am willing to listen."
Kaname Tōsen held Suzumushi, his expression unchanged.
"I have nothing to say."
Komamura fell silent for a moment, then abruptly drew his sword.
"In that case, do not blame me for showing no mercy!"
"Bankai, Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō!"
An enormous sword-wielding warrior appeared above Sōkyoku Hill, its terrifying reiatsu pressing down until cracks spread across the ground.
The giant blade descended.
Aizen raised his left hand.
Bang!
The giant blade, powerful enough to cleave a hill apart, was stopped in midair by his single hand.
"A captain-level Bankai is rather too fragile."
"What?"
Komamura's pupils contracted.
Aizen raised his right hand, aiming his palm at him.
"Hadō #90, Black Coffin."
Black reiatsu rose in an instant, sealing Komamura inside completely. Countless pitch-black blades pierced through the barrier's interior, sending blood spraying.
When the Black Coffin disappeared, Komamura collapsed heavily to the ground, utterly unable to fight.
Renji had not even seen when Aizen moved.
The next instant, Aizen was already standing before him.
Renji swung his sword down, but Aizen struck his chest with a palm, sending him flying. Rukia also fell from his arms, and Aizen caught her collar with one hand.
"Finally."
Aizen took out a strange device and suspended Rukia in midair.
Several thin rays of light extended from the device and slowly pierced her spiritual body. Rukia knitted her brows in pain, but her body could not move at all.
Aizen reached into her chest.
There was no blood.
His hand passed through her spiritual body, as though searching for something hidden deep inside.
A moment later, he extracted a bead glowing with a dim blue light from Rukia's body.
"The Hōgyoku."
Aizen looked down at the bead in his palm, satisfaction finally appearing on his face.
Kisuke Urahara had hidden the Hōgyoku in Rukia's spiritual body, then tried to seal it away forever using a special Gigai.
Unfortunately, you still underestimated me.
Rukia fell from midair.
Aizen put away the Hōgyoku and raised his sword to slash at her neck.
Clang!
Senbonzakura blocked the strike.
Byakuya Kuchiki appeared in front of Rukia. The wound on his shoulder reopened, and blood quickly stained his Shihakushō red.
"Do not lay a hand on my sister."
Rukia stared blankly at his back.
"Brother..."
Aizen chuckled softly.
"What a touching bond between siblings."
Two figures suddenly appeared from either side.
Yoruichi seized Aizen's wrist, pressing his Zanpakuto toward the ground. At the same time, Soi Fon landed behind Aizen and pressed Suzumebachi against the back of his neck.
"Aizen, all the captains have you surrounded."
Yoruichi stared at him and said gravely, "You won't escape this time."
Soi Fon said coldly, "The Stealth Force has sealed off Sōkyoku Hill. You have nowhere to run."
Though restrained by the two women, Aizen showed not a trace of tension.
Soon, Retsu Unohana, Isane Kotetsu, Shunsui Kyōraku, and Jūshirō Ukitake arrived.
"Even I was deceived for a time by Kyōka Suigetsu's Complete Hypnosis."
Unohana looked at Aizen and said gently, "You could at least praise me for noticing something wrong with that corpse within your illusion."
"It certainly deserves praise."
Aizen said calmly, "In all of Seireitei, only Captain Unohana noticed a flaw under prolonged hypnosis."
A heavy wave of reiatsu pressed toward them from afar.
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto landed on Sōkyoku Hill, with Yoriichi Tsugikuni following close behind.
When Aizen saw the two, his smile deepened slightly.
"Captain-Commander, thank you for your stubbornness. It allowed my plan to proceed smoothly."
Yamamoto gripped Ryūjin Jakka and said gravely, "Murdering every member of Central 46 and toying with the Gotei 13-Aizen, your sins cannot be washed away."
Just then, three pale yellow pillars of light descended from the sky.
The pillars enveloped Aizen, Gin Ichimaru, and Kaname Tōsen respectively, their powerful force instantly throwing Yoruichi and Soi Fon back.
Yoruichi landed on the ground and looked up at the pillars.
The inside and outside of the barriers were now completely isolated.
"This is Negación."
Jūshirō Ukitake arrived afterward, his expression turning grim.
"The power Gillian Menos Grande use to rescue their companions. Aizen, to think you have colluded with Hollows to this extent."
"Colluded?"
Aizen removed his glasses and crushed them with one hand.
He raised his hand and swept his hair back, his formerly gentle demeanor vanishing completely.
"Ukitake, you are still far too narrow-minded."
The three pillars of light slowly rose into the air.
Aizen looked down at everyone on Sōkyoku Hill and said calmly, "No one has ever stood in heaven. Neither you nor I, nor even the Soul King, has ever truly sat upon that throne."
"But this vacancy is about to end."
"From now on, I will stand in heaven."
Yoriichi raised his head and rested his palm on Hekyō's hilt.
"Aizen."
Aizen looked at him.
"What do you take life for?"
"Life?"
Aizen said indifferently, "Merely material for reaching a higher plane. A life that cannot surpass its own limits has no meaning, no matter how long it exists."
Yoriichi drew Hekyō.
"I cannot agree."
"Rise, sun, Hekyō."
Crimson reiatsu surged into the sky, and golden-orange flames coiled around the blade.
Gripping his sword with both hands, Yoriichi aimed at the steadily ascending Negación and slashed down.
"Twelfth Form, Flame Heaven: Severing Destruction."
A massive pillar of golden-red light pierced the sky and struck the Negación with tremendous force.
The previously impenetrable yellow barrier shook violently, and a fissure actually opened for an instant.
The smile vanished from Aizen's face, replaced by a hint of surprise.
Gin Ichimaru looked down at the fissure and said in feigned alarm, "Lord Aizen, it looks like we won't be able to escape successfully."
"All things in the universe, turn to ashes, Ryūjin Jakka!"
Yamamoto seized the opportunity and swung his sword, sending towering flames straight toward the fissure.
But before the flames reached it, the Negación had already closed again.
Boom!
The flames struck the outside of the barrier, unable to advance another inch.
Aizen looked at Yoriichi again, unable to conceal the surprise in his eyes.
"Yoriichi Tsugikuni, it seems there is still something about your power that I do not know."
"But that doesn't matter."
The Negación carried the three of them gradually into the rift in the sky.
"I will wait for you in Hueco Mundo."
"I hope that the next time we meet, you can bring me even more surprises."
The rift slowly closed.
Standing on Sōkyoku Hill, everyone could only watch as the three figures disappeared completely.
Yoriichi lowered Hekyō to his side, its crimson blade still radiating searing reiatsu.
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