"From the very beginning! From the very beginning!" Shaoling Fon put one hand on her hip, beckoning to Tōshirō Hitsugaya with her fingers wrapped in golden gauntlets, a defiant gesture. "After being promoted to captain by sheer luck, you think you can look down on everyone else? Today, I'll be kind and tell you a cruel truth: your path to becoming stronger has only just begun since you mastered Bankai and became a squad captain."
"At the beginning?"
"Is that so? In the instant you were forced back by my Ice Dragon, you branded Momo?"
Tōshirō Hitsugaya's eyes flickered. He recalled the scene at the beginning when he controlled the ice dragon to attack Shaoling Fon. He gritted his teeth secretly. He hadn't seen anything clearly! The difference in strength between Shaoling Fon and him had been felt by Tōshirō Hitsugaya from the very beginning.
"Charge! Kid!"
"If I were to attack, your precious girlfriend would be dead."
Shaoling Fon spoke to Tōshirō Hitsugaya with a cold expression.
" Rangiku!"
" The Momo are yours now."
Tōshirō Hitsugaya looked down at Momo Hinamori's face, hesitated for a moment, and finally made his choice, tossing Momo Hinamori to Rangiku Matsumoto beside him.
"Huh?"
"Team leader?!"
"You're not really planning to fight Lieutenant Soi Fon here, are you?"
Please, please spare me!
"Stop making things worse!"
Rangiku Matsumoto, holding Momo Hinamori had been mercilessly tossed to her by Tōshirō Hitsugaya, raised an eyebrow slightly and spoke with a sigh.
"It's not a question of whether I want to fight or not, it's a question of... I have to accept this battle."
Tōshirō Hitsugaya drew his Zanpakuto, ready for battle, and looked intently at Shaoling Fon. To be honest, he didn't want to fight a pointless battle if he could, but since he had chosen to protect Momo Hinamori, he had to take on this battle; it was his duty as the captain.
"Although young, he has a lot of responsibility."
Looking at Shaoling Fon Tōshirō Hitsugaya, who was responsible and knew how to take on responsibilities, Aya smiled slightly. This quality in him was enough to win her favor, which meant she could be a little gentler with him later.
"Sit upright in the frosty heavens, Hyōrinmaru!"
Tōshirō Hitsugaya dared not be careless, and immediately unleashed his Zanpakuto, unleashing his strongest power to fight against Shaoling Fon. (Within the Seireitei, Captain-level Soul Reaper are not allowed to Bankai without permission.)
A massive ice dragon ripped through the sky, releasing countless plumes of freezing air from Tōshirō Hitsugaya's body, causing the temperature of the entire plaza to drop considerably due to the release of Tōshirō Hitsugaya's Zanpakuto.
"Hiss~"
"It's so cold~"
Shunsui Kyōraku, who had been silently watching the battle from the sidelines, couldn't help but shiver when he saw the enormous ice dragon. He took several steps back, afraid of being drawn into this pointless fight.
The other captains who were watching, as if by prior agreement, all followed Shunsui Kyōraku and took several steps back, none of them intending to intervene in the battle.
"Hiss~"
"A bunch of old foxes..."
Shunsui Kyōraku glanced at the squad leaders around him, who were all verbally fierce but backed down when it came to real fighting, afraid of being implicated. He pursed his lips. Apart from the young Tōshirō Hitsugaya, none of these squad leaders were truly stupid; they were all pretending to be ignorant while knowing the truth.
Just as he said before, all the evidence points to Sōgo Shihoin, so it doesn't necessarily mean that Sōgo Shihoin did it. Besides... if Sōgo Shihoin intended to do something, there was no need to wait until now to make his move. With Sōgo Shihoin's strength, he could easily suppress the entire Seireitei by himself... but Sōgo Shihoin has never done so. Although he has acted somewhat out of line, he still generally abides by the rules set by the founders of the Five Great Noble Clans... In other words, Sōgo has absolutely no ambition to rule the entire Soul Society...
Therefore, Shunsui Kyōraku never believed from the beginning that Sōgo killed the Central 46 Chambers, because there was absolutely no need for that. At the same time, Shunsui Kyōraku also didn't believe that Sōsuke Aizen Sōgo...
To be honest, before Sōsuke Aizen's death, Shunsui Kyōraku's suspicions weren't Sōgo Shihoin, but rather at Sōsuke Aizen. He suspected that everything was a scheme orchestrated by Aizen to achieve some ulterior motive. The reason Sōgo Shihoin never exposed Aizen was probably because there was no need to, or perhaps Sōgo Shihoin wanted to see what Sōsuke Aizen was really up to!
But now that Aizen is dead, Shunsui Kyōraku feels like all the clues in his mind have been severed...
"Ugh... this is so troublesome..."
"I feel like hundreds of millions of brain cells are going to die!"
Shunsui Kyōraku, Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai's most valued disciple, whom he was grooming to be the next Captain-Commander Gotei 13, let out a helpless sigh. He desperately wanted to discuss something with someone, but after looking around the entire plaza, he remembered that person had retired nearly a hundred years ago...
"Snort!"
Just as Shunsui Kyōraku was racking his brains but still couldn't figure it out, Shaoling Fon, facing the ice dragon head-on, snorted coldly and shattered the ice dragon released by Tōshirō Hitsugaya with a single punch.
"What?"
Tōshirō Hitsugaya watched in disbelief as Aya Hachisho Shaoling Fon his ice dragon into countless fragments with a single, casual strike. Frankly, he was quite confident in his own strength. While he might be far inferior to some veteran captains, he considered himself not the weakest among the Gotei 13 captains. Yet, even so, he felt a profound sense of powerlessness against Shaoling Fon. Her experience, Spiritual Pressure, and mastery of swordsmanship, fist techniques, movement, and demonic arts were all superior to his!
His only advantage, Hyōrinmaru Zanpakuto Soul Society, is unable to be used in Bankai because this is Seireitei. As a result, he is currently being constantly overwhelmed by Shaoling Fon and has entered a completely disadvantageous situation.
"What's wrong?"
"Were you scared out of your wits?"
Just as Tōshirō stood in the sky, his eyes trembling slightly, Shaoling Fon, who had been standing beneath him, vanished from her spot and appeared behind Tōshirō at some unknown time.
"So fast?!"
Upon hearing the voice beside him, Tōshirō's eyes widened in shock, and the Hyōrinmaru in his hand transformed into several ice dragons, tearing towards his back.
"Boom!"
With a deafening roar, a blast of air carrying ice shards swept across the entire plaza, making it difficult for the captains to open their eyes.
"Did it succeed?"
Tōshirō Hitsugaya wasn't sure if he had hit Shaoling Fon; the pressure she exerted was so intense that... he had completely lost his confidence in winning.
What are you thinking about, kid?
Just as Hitsugaya turned around to check behind him, he suddenly felt a weight on his head, and there was none other than the unharmed Shaoling Fon.
With one hand, Shaoling Fon grabbed Tōshirō Hitsugaya's head, placed him upside down with his feet in the air, and then instantly spun him 180 degrees, throwing the already dim-witted Tōshirō Hitsugaya headfirst into the sky.
"Waaah..."
Caught completely off guard and unprepared, Tōshirō Hitsugaya was unable to control his body and could only watch as he was thrown further and higher into the air.
Only after flying hundreds of meters into the air did Tōshirō Hitsugaya create a huge ice shield with Hyōrinmaru, blocking his ever-ascending body.
"It's not over yet!"
No matter how much Tōshirō Hitsugaya tries to act mature, he can't hide the fact that he's still a boy. Being thrown into the air in such a humiliating way still makes him feel very embarrassed, and he's a little annoyed inside.
Enraged, Tōshirō Hitsugaya created a giant ice dragon in the air, then stepped on its head and flew towards Shaoling Fon on the ground.
"Phew~"
Facing the gigantic ice dragon that was a hundred meters long, Shaoling Fon remained calm. She simply took a deep breath, and the next second... a violent gust of wind danced around her!
Shaoling Fon entered her Shunkō ' Howling Gale ' form.
"Disappear!"
With a roar, Shaoling Fon transformed into a blur, soaring into the sky and heading straight for the hundred-meter-long flying dragon.
Are you crazy?
Tōshirō Hitsugaya never expected that Shaoling Fon would confront him head-on. He thought that after seeing the hundred-meter-long ice dragon he had created, Shaoling Fon would at least choose to retreat or use Kidō ranged attacks. However, Shaoling Fon chose the least likely option in Tōshirō Hitsugaya's mind: a direct confrontation!
"You think you can shatter the ice dragon I created?"
Tōshirō Hitsugaya roared, refusing to believe that the ice dragon he had created with all his might could be shattered. After all... the ice dragon beneath his feet was the hardest and longest he had ever created! It was a finishing move that could not be easily destroyed.
How will you know if you don't try?
The Tōshirō Hitsugaya was Shaoling Fon's merciless iron fist... The raging winds that swirled around Shaoling Fon Shaoling Fon the ice dragon to shreds the moment it approached her.
In an instant, the hundred-meter-long ice dragon transformed into countless ice blocks, which rained down from the sky and crashed towards the plaza...
"Hey, hey, hey?!"
"Isn't this situation terrible?"
Shunsui Kyōraku, who had originally intended to just be a bystander, frowned helplessly as he watched the countless ice blocks falling from the sky. He was merely watching the spectacle; did he really have to get caught up in it all?
"Boom!"
Just as Shunsui Kyōraku was about to make his move, a huge pillar of flame rose up, melting the countless ice crystals falling from the sky into water vapor at a speed visible to the naked eye.
At the same time, the Heat Spiritual Pressure instantly enveloped the entire plaza, as if a great sun had descended from the sky. Terrifying divine power shrouded everyone present, scorching their hearts.
With such imposing presence, even without saying a word, everyone knew who had arrived.
"Yo~ Yama-jii ~"
Shunsui Kyōraku discreetly sheathed his Zanpakuto. He gazed at the figure shrouded in Spiritual Pressure that seemed to incinerate everything in the world, his robes fluttering without wind, his aura alone capable of overwhelming any enemy, like a flame lord, an unparalleled demon god. He gently adjusted the straw hat on his head and greeted him softly.
"Um."
The 'Flame Demon God' nodded slightly to Shunsui Kyōraku. The next second, he suppressed the Spiritual Pressure that seemed to dry up the entire Soul Society and returned to his usual bald old man image, who never showed his emotions and always had his eyes narrowed.
"I already understand the specifics."
Let's leave it at that!
" Captain Aizen's body will not be handed over to the Second Division, nor to any other division. It will be collected by the Fourth Division. Before the cause of Captain Aizen's death is determined, no one is allowed to spread rumors."
"As for... Momo Hinamori, the vice-captain of the Second Division Captain, who has been recklessly smearing the image of the Fifth Division Sōgo Shihoin Sougo Shihouin without any basis, I hereby, in the name of the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, suspend you from your duties... You will be temporarily placed under the strict supervision of the Sixth Division!"
That's all! No objections allowed!
Yamamoto narrowed his eyes, making it impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry. However, his tone was unusually serious, and he did not give anyone a chance to refute him. Perhaps it was because of Sōgo's outrageous behavior over the years that everyone had forgotten how terrifying Yamamoto was.
"Yes, sir!"
All the squad captains standing in the square, whether they were Byakuya Kuchiki and Kūkaku Shiba representing the noble faction, or Kaname Tōsen representing the 'commoners', or Sajin Komamura and Gin Ichimaru representing the Captain-Commander faction or the 'neutral' faction, all stood up straight and bowed slightly to Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto. They had no objections and dared not have any.
"Um?"
After receiving responses from the captains Yamamoto nodded in satisfaction, then turned to look at Shaoling Fon, who was being trampled underfoot by Tōshirō Hitsugaya, and Tōshirō Hitsugaya Shaoling Fon.
"Yes, sir!"
Shaoling Fon naturally had no objections; this outcome was good for her.
"Yes, sir..."
Tōshirō Hitsugaya glanced at Shaoling Fon, who still showed no intention of lifting her foot off his face, and his eyes twitched slightly. Helplessly, he responded to Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai in this shameful posture.
"Very good."
Yamamoto nodded in satisfaction, seemingly oblivious to the utterly humiliated Tōshirō Hitsugaya.
"Excuse me, everyone, could someone please help me get Captain Aizen down from there?"
Accompanying Captain-Commander Yamamoto was Captain Retsu Unohana the Fourth Division Captain. She still sported her beautiful, jet-black braids and waved to everyone with grace, poise, elegance, and poise, speaking politely.
"I'll go..."
Kaname Tōsen and Sōsuke Aizen's corpse, which was nailed to the wall.
"Um?!"
However, this casual action by Kaname Tōsen caused Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai, who had been smiling and wearing a poker face, Retsu Unohana, who had been calm and dignified, and Shunsui Kyōraku, who had been keeping his head down but constantly observing the people around him, to all open their eyes wide.
"Interesting..."
" Aizen, are you really dead?"
Shunsui Kyōraku stared at the corpse that Kaname Tōsen carrying with one hand, muttering to himself.
"Then I'll take this corpse!"
Retsu Unohana walked calmly to Kaname Tōsen Kaname Tōsen took Aizen's body from his hands. At the same time, a growing sense of unease crept into her heart. What was this feeling of unease? Retsu Unohana pondered deeply...
(End of this chapter)