" Sōgo Shihoin..." Sōsuke Aizen frowned as he looked at Sōgo Shihoin. "How did you get here? I should have managed to stall you."
"It's such a simple thing~" Sōgo Shihoin smiled slightly, "Are you the only person in the world who wears colored contact lenses?!"
"You mean..." Sōsuke Aizen realized, "The one in Hueco Mundo right now is...?"
"Just like you~ It's fake~" Sōgo Shihoin shrugged. "That's Gigai with Kisuke Urahara's special characteristics. As long as I inject my Spiritual Pressure into it, it's just like the real me. Maybe... even the Gigai itself thinks it's the real me?! After all, the purpose of that Gigai is to deceive your Gigai. To deceive your Gigai, the first thing to do is to deceive myself."
"Aren't you afraid that the one in Hueco Mundo is actually my true form?" Sōsuke Aizen doubtfully. "If the one in Hueco Mundo is my true form, wouldn't your entire deployment in Hueco Mundo be wiped out?!"
"No way... That Gigai sealed away the power of my attack. Wouldn't it be perfect to use it against you?!" Sōgo Shihoin calmly looked at Aizen. "Besides, given your personality, you would never do anything without being sure of success. As long as I'm there, you have no confidence. So I bet you won't make a move as long as I'm there."
"Clap clap clap..." Sōsuke Aizen couldn't help but clap after hearing Sōgo Shihoin's words. "As expected of Sōgo Shihoin, he actually thought the same thing as me."
"Or should we say we're friends?" Sōgo Shihoin smiled slightly. "We're birds of a feather, our ways of thinking are pretty similar, the only difference is, I'm a little more capable than you."
"Hahahaha..." Sōsuke Aizen chuckled loudly, "Stronger than me? Indeed... Before I fused with the Hōgyoku, your strength was above mine, but now, I have completely surpassed the realm of Soul Reaper. Even Sōgo, you are not necessarily above me!"
"You're really confident in yourself," Sōgo Shihoin smiled. "Do you really think that by fusing with such a piece of junk, your power is above mine?!"
"Of course..." Sōsuke Aizen nodded. " Sōgo, you might have some misunderstanding about the Hōgyoku on my chest. It's not some inferior item; it's a key powerful enough to break down the barrier between Soul Reaper and higher levels of life!"
"With this Hōgyoku, even though I wasn't born with the talent to reach higher levels, I can still climb upwards." Sōsuke Aizen clenched his fist as he spoke. "Look, I've already reached the same level as you. Now I have the means to stand in the heavens!"
" Sōgo, open your eyes wide and watch closely," Sōsuke Aizen smiled. "Watch how I ascend to the pinnacle, replace the Soul King, and become the sole god under this sky."
"A pointless thought." Sōgo Shihoin shrugged. "When I had no power, I always longed to gain enough, craving the power and strength I couldn't have. But when I finally gained enough power, and my desire for it vanished, I realized that all power and strength in this world are illusory. Entertainment is paramount! Just be happy."
"Empty pleasure." Sōsuke Aizen's expression was cold. "Boring, uninteresting."
"Sigh..." Sōgo Shihoin sighed, "Is power really that captivating to you?"
"It's not about being obsessed or not..." Sōsuke Aizen sighed, "Standing high in the sky is my goal. A person must have a goal in life, something to do, otherwise life is nothing but endless emptiness."
"I see, I understand now. Since that's the case..." Sōgo Shihoin understood the fundamental difference between Sōsuke Aizen's and his own thoughts. Sōsuke Aizen wanted to go up because he had never stood in the sky. Perhaps, when Sōsuke Aizen realized that whether he was in the sky or on the ground, it was all just idle time, he would understand that it didn't matter where you were; it was merely a matter of whether your house was big or small. But, though this is a humble abode, my virtue is fragrant within.
"Then let's have some fun~" Sōgo Shihoin smiled. " Sōsuke, I'll give you a choice. You can skip me and use Karakura Town to create the Ōken and go to the Soul King Palace, or you can fight me, defeat me, and then go to the Soul King Palace. Of course... if you choose to defeat me and then go to the Soul King Palace... then there's no room for compromise between us. So, if you fail to defeat me and are defeated by me, then you'll have to obediently come to my Second Division and try to please me in different ways every day until I get tired of it."
"..." Sōsuke Aizen frowned. "Alright."
"So what's your choice, Sōsuke!" Sōgo Shihoin seemed to have taken the lead without anyone noticing. "Will you let me step aside and watch you go, or will you stay here and engage in the world's strongest battle with me, the strongest being in the three realms, and ultimately stand proudly in the sky as the victor?!"
"Hahahaha..." Sōsuke Aizen chuckled loudly, " Sōgo, you should understand what I'll choose. Since you've already figured out my thoughts, why bother asking anymore?!"
"Come on, Sōgo!" Sōsuke Aizen shouted, "Right here, let's engage in a battle of higher dimensions! Right here, let's engage in a battle that transcends everything in this world! I will defeat you, and as the new strongest being in the Three Realms, I will walk step by step from the main gate to the Soul King Palace, and finally, as the ruler of the Three Realms, stand in the heavens, looking down upon all living beings!"
"This is the Sōsuke you chose." Sōgo Shihoin smiled slightly and stood up from the throne beneath him...
The moment Sōgo Shihoin sat up from his seat, Sōsuke Aizen realized that the seat Sōgo was sitting on was just an ordinary bench. The reason Sōsuke Aizen initially thought Sōgo Shihoin was sitting on a Sōgo was simply because the person sitting on the bench was Sōgo Shihoin.
As long as a person is a king, then no matter where he sits, that position is the throne!
If a person is not a king, then even if the seat they sit on is magnificent, it is nothing more than a magnificent chair.
" Sōsuke, did you sense anything?" Sōgo Shihoin asked Sōsuke Aizen, his hands behind his back.
"What did you sense?!" Sōsuke Aizen frowned slightly, certain he hadn't sensed anything. " Sōgo, did you do something?!"
"What a pity, Sōsuke." Sōgo Shihoin, seeing Sōsuke's puzzled look. "I thought you had already reached the level I was in."
From Sōgo Shihoin's perspective at this moment, his Spiritual Pressure was overwhelming!
However, Sōsuke Aizen seemed to feel nothing at all.
"It's Spiritual Pressure! Spiritual Pressure!" Sōgo Shihoin exclaimed, "Can't you feel it? The Spiritual Pressure I'm releasing at will!"
"..." Sōsuke Aizen fell silent. "Did you release any Spiritual Pressure?! Don't joke around, Sōgo, I didn't sense even the slightest bit of your Spiritual Pressure!"
"So this is the difference between us!" Sōgo Shihoin looked at Sōsuke Aizen helplessly. "Just like how lower dimensions can't interfere with higher dimensions, as long as I don't want you to feel my Spiritual Pressure, you won't be able to feel Spiritual Pressure at all."
" Sōsuke, even now you don't understand?!" Sōgo Shihoin earnestly, "Don't you understand the qualitative difference in strength between us? It's an insurmountable chasm for you! Admit defeat, Sōsuke!"
"Admit defeat?!" Sōsuke Aizen sneered. "From the moment I decided to embark on this path, I never considered admitting defeat. So what if I'm truly no match for you?! Fight me, Sōgo!"
As Sōsuke Aizen finished speaking, his body was instantly enveloped in a strange white substance. The next second, his cheek suddenly shattered, and his eyes flashed with a dark blue light.
"You've become so unrecognizable, is this really evolution, Sōsuke!" Sōgo Shihoin. "Let me show you what true power from a higher dimension really is."
"A higher dimension!?" Sōsuke Aizen sneered, "You're nothing more than a part of this world's creation, just like us. You dare to claim you possess power from a higher dimension? Don't laugh your head off."
"Sigh..." Sōgo Shihoin sighed helplessly, "To be precise, this higher dimension's power is my true power, Sōsuke... you'd better be careful."
"The power of higher dimensions is your true power?!" Sōsuke Aizen's expression changed. "Don't try to fool me!"
"Fool you?!" Sōgo Shihoin smiled slightly. "I have absolutely no reason to fool you~"
"Null!"
Sōsuke Aizen had no intention of continuing his chat with Sōgo Shihoin. He brandished his blade and slashed at Sōgo Shihoin.
"Haha..." Sōgo Shihoin extended his hand in response to Sōsuke Aizen's attack.
"Boom!" The moment Sōsuke Aizen's sword collided with Sōgo Shihoin's hand, countless buildings, ground, bushes, and trees around them vanished completely.
"Why?!" Sōsuke Aizen was not happy about the power of his sword strike, because he discovered an incredibly terrifying fact: his sword could not even touch Sōgo Shihoin's palm.
"Did you notice?" Sōgo Shihoin smiled slightly. He extended a finger and flicked it lightly at Sōsuke Aizen's Sōsuke Aizen, deflecting it completely. " Sōsuke, look! Your sword can't even touch me. How can such a sword defeat me?!"
"Why?!" Sōsuke Aizen in bewilderment, "Why can't my sword touch you?!"
"Come on Sōsuke, give me your hand." Sōgo Shihoin stretched out his hand and waved it in front of Sōsuke Aizen. "Come on, come on..."
"..." Although Sōsuke Aizen was puzzled, he still listened to Sōgo Shihoin's words and extended his hand.
Sōsuke Aizen reached out his hand towards Sōgo Shihoin, but he found that he couldn't touch Sōgo Shihoin's hand. Even though their hands were so close, as if he could touch Sōgo Shihoin's hand at Sōgo moment, it also felt like he could never touch it. It was as if there was an Sōgo Shihoin distance between them...
"This is the difference in spiritual power," Sōgo Shihoin sighed. "When I couldn't control my Spiritual Pressure, I thought it was because my Spiritual Pressure was too strong, so you couldn't touch me. But when I could control my Spiritual Pressure, yet still couldn't touch you, I realized... it turns out we exist in different dimensions."
"Don't you understand yet?! Sōsuke!" Sōgo Shihoin calmly, yet with a hint of sadness, "I am a semi-high-dimensional life form living in a low-dimensional world! This makes me feel out of place, born extraordinary... but it has also robbed me of much joy."
"A semi-high-dimensional life form..." Sōsuke Aizen's eyes widened. "You mean I can never touch you?! What a joke! Sōgo Shihoin! What do you think all my efforts over the years have been for?!"
Sōsuke Aizen roared as his skin exploded, his body becoming ugly and grotesque.
"I will touch you, Sōgo Shihoin..."
Suddenly, Sōgo seemed to hear Sōsuke Aizen thoughts...
"It's over!" Sōgo Shihoin sighed, plunged one hand into Sōsuke Aizen's chest, pulled out a beautiful bead from Sōsuke Aizen's body, and then crushed it with force.
" Sōgo!" Sōsuke Aizen did not give up. It seemed that the Hōgyoku Hōgyoku the danger at the last moment and transferred all its power into Sōsuke Aizen's body.
At this moment, Sōsuke Aizen was still evolving. Wings resembling moths grew from his back, and there were six pairs of eyes on his split cheek. If one word could be used to describe Sōsuke Aizen at this moment, Sōgo would choose the word "ascension."
"I can destroy the Hōgyoku, but I cannot sever the connection between Sōsuke and the Hōgyoku," Sōgo Shihoin softly, then drew his Zanpakuto from his waist. "It seems I'll have to use you at times like this. Sayafushi."
" Bankai - Ruler of the Three Thousand Worlds, Maheshvara - Supreme Freedom..." Suddenly the world went dark, and there was no color between heaven and earth. The next second, Sōgo Shihoin opened his eyes, as if a beam of light illuminated the entire world.
Sōsuke Aizen couldn't help but look into Sōgo Shihoin's eyes. He saw two great suns, dancing and shining in Sōgo Shihoin's eye sockets, radiating endless light and heat.
"This is..."
Sōsuke Aizen Sōgo Shihoin for a moment, slightly taken aback.
" Sayafushi!" Before Sōsuke Aizen could think further, Sōgo Shihoin had already gently extended his five fingers towards Sōsuke Aizen...
"Uh..." Sōsuke Aizen panicked the moment Sōgo Shihoin pointed at him.
In a flash, Sōgo Shihoin seemed to have stepped out of Hindu mythology, the supreme god Brahma, the creator of countless worlds and the lord of three thousand worlds...
It is also like Vairocana in Esoteric Buddhism, who occupies the central position among countless gods and Buddhas, and is the fundamental Mahāvairocana Buddha of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the world!
In the instant Sōsuke Aizen lost his senses, Sōgo Shihoin's five fingers suddenly pressed down on Sōsuke Aizen, the palm growing larger and larger! With a sacred and inviolable power, it slammed down heavily on Sōsuke Aizen!
"Void!" The moment those five fingers touched Sōsuke Aizen, it was as if five swords in the world pierced into Sōsuke Aizen's body, each sword severing Sōsuke Aizen's desires, obsessions, pain, fear, and sorrow... At the same time, the moment Sōsuke Aizen's obsessions dissipated, his connection with the Hōgyoku was also severed.
"Ah... May my blessings be upon the beautiful Soul Society ~"
With happiness and joy on his face, Sōsuke Aizen offered his sincerest blessings to the beautiful Soul Society.
"See?" Sōgo Shihoin smiled slightly as he looked at Sōsuke Aizen face was filled with happiness and joy. "When you clear your mind and enjoy life, you will experience unprecedented happiness."
"Yes, Sōgo..." Sōsuke Aizen nodded slightly, "I am incredibly happy right now."
"My happiness... surpasses yours!" Sōsuke Aizen's face was filled with happiness; at this moment, he finally understood Sōgo Shihoin's happiness.
"Just enjoy yourself~" Sōgo Shihoin, and he snapped his fingers lightly. Instantly, a bottle of red wine and two crystal glasses appeared in the air.
"Just enjoy yourself~" Sōsuke Aizen filled his and Sōgo Shihoin's glasses with red wine, and the two gently clinked their glasses together.
The ruby-red liquid rolled down their throats; at that moment, they were the happiest people.
Meanwhile, in the dilapidated, Fake Karakura Town, Sōgo Shihoin used truth, goodness, and beauty to influence Sōsuke Aizen, filling Sōsuke Aizen's heart with joy and love.
Yoruichi Shihōin, Kisuke Urahara, and Isshin Kurosaki are constantly rescuing the squad captains who have been hacked to pieces. Whether it's because Sōsuke Aizen deliberately held back or not, every one of these squad captains, lieutenants, and Visored members is seriously injured, with one in ten crippled, but none of them are dead...
Disability is not terrible. In this world with Orihime Inoue, disability is like a joke. With a single refusal from Orihime Inoue, it's gone in a flash.
" Yama-jii -san~ Sōgo contacted me and said that Sōsuke Aizen has been dealt with."
Kisuke Urahara approached Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai, who was sitting on the ruins, and began to preach.
"I know." Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai narrowed his eyes. Ever since he Sōsuke Aizen and defeated, he had maintained this expression without changing. He seemed not at all worried that Sōsuke Aizen would actually attack the Soul King Palace, because he knew that the Soul Society now had the strongest guard, the invincible Sōgo Shihoin, who was even stronger than him.
" Yama-jii... are we going back to Soul Society now?!" Shunsui Kyōraku asked Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai as he approached him.
"No rush..." Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai gently shook his head, "We're all badly injured; it would be too undignified for us to go back like this. It's better to Ichigo Kurosaki, that girl..."
Five thousand~
(End of this chapter)