Everything in sight was collapsing. Gin Ichimaru's arm shifted by only the slightest angle, yet a chilling gleam swept across a vast stretch of the battlefield, severing everything it touched.
Distance lost all meaning in that instant. That slender, icy light extended to the edge of vision itself, as if heaven and earth had been split in two.
Caught in its path, Isshin Kurosaki raised his Zanpakutō to his side, bracing against the despairingly long blade.
The sword pressure wrapped around it swept past Isshin Kurosaki's body, blowing apart the ruins on his other side.
"Your Hyapponzashi..." Isshin Kurosaki forced the absurdly long blade away. "Has it evolved this far already?"
"Hyapponzashi? It did used to be called that, since it could stretch to the length of a hundred katana." Gin Ichimaru chuckled softly. "But that was only Shikai. With Bankai... it's thirteen kilometers."
"If it's that long..." Isshin Kurosaki suddenly closed in. "Then I'll just have to fight you up close!"
The great blade came crashing down, only to be stopped by the short blade in Gin Ichimaru's hand. Isshin Kurosaki flicked the fingers of his left hand, and a powerful burst of Reiatsu struck Gin Ichimaru squarely in the chest, sending him flying backward.
His slender body smashed through several ruined buildings. A streak of white light shot out from the rubble, thrusting straight toward Isshin Kurosaki's chest.
Isshin Kurosaki dodged to the side, then accelerated toward Gin Ichimaru in the wreckage. His Zanpakutō had only just begun to fall when it was once again blocked by the short blade in Gin Ichimaru's hand.
Gripping his sword with both hands and pressing down, Isshin Kurosaki stared at Gin Ichimaru. "You deliberately told me how far it can extend so I'd overlook how fast it extends, didn't you?"
"As expected of Captain Shiba. You noticed that quickly." Gin Ichimaru made no attempt to hide it. "Kamishini no Yari isn't the longest Zanpakutō. It's the fastest Zanpakutō. Its extension and retraction speed is the speed of sound..."
Isshin Kurosaki suddenly felt the resistance against his blade vanish. Gin Ichimaru shifted slightly, and Kamishini no Yari retracted even farther, slipping free from the pressure of Isshin Kurosaki's Zanpakutō before extending again in a horizontal sweep.
The speed of sound? Isshin Kurosaki raised his blade in front of him. If it was only the speed of sound, blocking it would still be easy.
Kamishini no Yari passed through Isshin Kurosaki's Zanpakutō like a phantom, carving a wound across his chest.
Isshin Kurosaki was sent flying backward as though he had been struck by a whip.
If he had not sensed something was wrong and defended with Reiatsu in time, he would not have merely been knocked away. He would have been cut in two.
"The speed of sound?" Isshin Kurosaki steadied himself and tugged at his bloodstained mouth. "Are you kidding me?"
That phantom-like pass through his Zanpakutō had actually been the blade extending and retracting at high speed, avoiding Isshin Kurosaki's Zanpakutō and leaving only an afterimage behind.
"I wasn't finished," Gin Ichimaru added with a smile. "Kamishini no Yari's extension and retraction speed is the speed of sound... multiplied by five hundred."
Isshin Kurosaki tightened both hands around the hilt.
He had originally planned to deal with Gin Ichimaru quickly so he could go help Muten Natsu.
But now...
...
Blades collided with a ringing clash.
The rippling ink was absorbed by the arm armor. Muten Natsu closed in again and swung Myōki.
Sōsuke Aizen raised his blade to block, but Muten Natsu, who had been in front of him, abruptly appeared behind him.
"Shadow Stealth?" Sōsuke Aizen quickly identified Muten Natsu's method of movement. "It seems the black mist behind you isn't just for show."
The inward-curving blade broke free of its restraint, drawing power from within the arm armor as it slashed toward Sōsuke Aizen.
Sōsuke Aizen raised his Zanpakutō behind him to block, only for his chest to be struck by a vicious slash.
At the instant the attack was about to land, Muten Natsu activated Shadow Stealth again and changed his position, successfully striking Sōsuke Aizen's body.
The pitch-black blade nearly split Sōsuke Aizen in half. Muten Natsu waved his hand, releasing a surge of Spirit Ink that swallowed the wound on Sōsuke Aizen's body.
Raging karmic flames ignited, preventing the wound from regenerating at high speed. Muten Natsu reached through the black fire, grabbing for the Hōgyoku in Aizen's chest.
"Very good..." Sōsuke Aizen flashed backward, avoiding Muten Natsu's hand. No blood flowed from his body. The wound looked like a pitch-black fissure, and an eerie white substance surged out from it, drowning the karmic flames. "I have already reached... the limit of a Shinigami."
The cross-shaped fissure that had opened beside the Hōgyoku embedded in his chest was now completely filled with that eerie white substance.
Muten Natsu grabbed at empty air. His five fingers clenched, and the karmic flames that had not yet fully gone out condensed into the shape of a hand, reaching once more for the Hōgyoku.
"It's useless. The will of the Hōgyoku has already begun to understand my thoughts. It no longer wishes to return to you." Sōsuke Aizen allowed the hand of karmic flame to approach, while the white substance surging from his chest repelled and neutralized it. "My soul is being reconstructed..."
"What a fitting name, Hōgyoku." As the eerie white substance enveloped Sōsuke Aizen's body, he felt the changes within himself and smiled. "It truly is something that completely shatters the boundary that should never be crossed between god and non-god!"
Bang!
A blood-red beam pierced Sōsuke Aizen's shoulder, causing the eerie white substance surging over his body to halt for a moment.
"So you've come?" The eerie white substance pouring from Sōsuke Aizen's body hung behind him like a cloak. "Kisuke Urahara."
"It's been a long time... Aizen-san." Kisuke Urahara held up his cane and pressed down the brim of his fisherman's hat. "You certainly have a distinctive look now."
The eerie white substance on Sōsuke Aizen's body writhed, twisting around him as the pierced area rapidly healed. "The process of evolution is always ugly."
"I didn't say you were ugly..." Kisuke Urahara lowered his eyes slightly. "You and the Hōgyoku... have fused."
"This is not fusion. I would prefer you call it [submission]." Sōsuke Aizen corrected him. "The Hōgyoku you could not control has submitted to me."
"Could not control it... Yes, that's true." Kisuke Urahara murmured, "At the time."
"At the time? What an obvious refusal to admit defeat." Sōsuke Aizen's figure flickered. "Whether you admit defeat or not no longer matters."
The Zanpakutō in Sōsuke Aizen's hand pierced through Kisuke Urahara's body. "You have already lost your chance to control the Hōgyoku forever."
Pop!
Kisuke Urahara's entire body burst like a balloon. It was the portable Gigai he had developed to deceive opponents.
His real body appeared behind Sōsuke Aizen, and he placed a hand on Sōsuke Aizen's shoulder. "Bakudō #61, Rikujōkōrō!"
Six beams of light converged, pinning Sōsuke Aizen in place.
Sōsuke Aizen's gaze was contemptuous. "Do you really think a Bakudō of this level can restrain me?"
Golden chains shot out from beside Kisuke Urahara, coiling around Sōsuke Aizen's body like a giant serpent. "Bakudō #63, Sajō Sabaku!"
Kisuke Urahara changed his hand seal. "Bakudō #79, Kuyō Shibari!"
Black light split into nine points in front of Sōsuke Aizen's chest, floating around him and further sealing his movements.
Kisuke Urahara raised his staff high. After using Eishōhaki three times in a row to release Bakudō and restrain Sōsuke Aizen, he finally had time to cast a Hadō. The lengthy incantation came swiftly to completion.
"Limit of the thousands hands, respectful hands, unable to touch the darkness. Shooting hands unable to reflect the blue sky. The road that basks in light, the wind that ignited the embers, time that gathers when both are together, there is no need to be hesitant, obey my orders. Light bullets, eight bodies, nine items, book of heaven, diseased treasure, great wheel, grey fortress tower. Aim far away, scatter brightly and cleanly when fired! Hadō #91, Senju Kōten Taihō!"
A crimson light floated beside Kisuke Urahara, then rapidly stretched into scarlet lines that struck Sōsuke Aizen's body one after another.
Violent explosions erupted in succession. Reiatsu raged wildly, and the thunderous roar was deafening.
"It seems that after gaining the power of the Hōgyoku, you've gotten a little too careless..." Kisuke Urahara murmured. "Aizen-san."
"You're right." Sōsuke Aizen's voice came from behind Kisuke Urahara. Before Urahara could finish turning around, Aizen swept his hand out and tore through his body. "Because I no longer need to be on guard... carelessness means nothing to me."
The eerie white substance had already covered nearly all of Aizen's body, forming a smooth robe-like shape. Only half of his face remained exposed.
"I can feel it. Now that the Hōgyoku has submitted to me, my body has begun to far surpass every ability I possessed back in Soul Society... when I was already without equal." Sōsuke Aizen watched the bloodied Kisuke Urahara fall. "Now I don't even need to dodge Kidō in the nineties!"
"No... When I said you were careless, I wasn't talking about your failure to dodge." Kisuke Urahara steadied himself in midair. "The old you would never have touched me twice without taking any countermeasures."
Golden light bloomed around Sōsuke Aizen's wrist, forming a shining, eye-shaped ring.
Sōsuke Aizen sensed the abnormality in his body. "This is..."
"A seal." Kisuke Urahara adjusted his hat. "I sealed the Reiatsu vents on your hands, the ones every Shinigami has. You will be burned to ash from the inside by your own Reiatsu."
Sōsuke Aizen's incomparable power erupted from within him, turning into a deep blue light that pierced heaven and earth, completely engulfing him.
That terrifying force made all of Karakura Town tremble, and the dazzling light even outshone the sun in the sky.
"Excellent work, Special Seat Natsu." Kisuke Urahara approached Muten Natsu. "We made it this far thanks to you holding out until now."
Muten Natsu narrowed his eyes at the violent Reiatsu in the sky. "It can't be that easy, can it?"
"Of course." Kisuke Urahara sighed. "If this were the old him, an attack like that..."
"Would have killed me." A body wrapped in pure white appeared silently between Muten Natsu and Kisuke Urahara. Only the Hōgyoku in his chest, with a cross-shaped fissure extending from it, and the eyes not yet covered by that eerie white substance, revealed the figure's identity. "Unfortunately..."
Sōsuke Aizen reached into his wrist, removed the golden ring, and crushed it casually. "The Hōgyoku you created has already exceeded your understanding. Even a technique prepared specifically for me can do nothing to me."
Kisuke Urahara said nothing. He drew his Zanpakutō from his staff and charged at Sōsuke Aizen.
Isshin Kurosaki descended from the sky, gripping his burning Zanpakutō. "Burn, Engetsu!"
Sōsuke Aizen swatted him aside with a casual wave of his hand.
"Sorry about that, Captain Aizen," Gin Ichimaru said. "There was so much commotion just now that, before I noticed, he'd slipped over here."
"It doesn't matter. It's already over." Sōsuke Aizen raised his blade to block Muten Natsu's attack, braced the sole of his foot against Kisuke Urahara's Zanpakutō, then spun and knocked them both back at once.
Muten Natsu's figure blurred as he used Shadow Stealth to close in again.
Sōsuke Aizen swung his blade in a horizontal slash, its edge touching the spreading ink stain. "That technique is useless now."
The ink stain silently collapsed. Muten Natsu used Shadow Stealth again, but Sōsuke Aizen unleashed his Reiatsu, dispersing all the black mist around them.
Just as Sōsuke Aizen's attack was about to land, a figure dropped from the sky.
Boom!
Yoruichi Shihōin descended from above, her limbs wrapped in Kisuke Urahara's specially made iron armor, and drove Sōsuke Aizen into the ground with a single punch.
"Ooohhhhhh!"
Yoruichi Shihōin hammered Sōsuke Aizen with punch after punch.
The terrifying force passed through Sōsuke Aizen's body and into the earth, like a chain of violent earthquakes. The surrounding ruins were shaken off the ground, tumbling and breaking apart in the shockwaves.
"Whew..." Yoruichi Shihōin let out a long breath as dust drifted down around her. "Well?"
Black mist surged. Muten Natsu appeared beside Yoruichi Shihōin, grabbed her scarf, and yanked her backward.
A violent Reiatsu shot into the sky, blasting Muten Natsu away.
"If he had been even a moment slower, she would never have been able to use Shunpo again." Sōsuke Aizen rose to his feet, the cracks Yoruichi Shihōin had punched into his body already healing. "Do you have any more tricks? I will destroy them... one by one."
"Hey, kid." Yoruichi Shihōin pulled Muten Natsu up. "You okay?"
Muten Natsu staggered to his feet. "I would've been fine after a short rest, but after you yanked me like that, I'll need a little longer."
Sōsuke Aizen's attack just now had not been aimed at Muten Natsu. With Ink Fortress's defense as well, he had taken some injuries, but nothing fatal.
"You can't blame me for that." Yoruichi Shihōin glanced at Kisuke Urahara. "It's his fault for making this iron armor so clunky."
"Well, well... If we want to counter Hierro, sacrifices have to be made." Kisuke Urahara sighed. "Still, this really is a difficult situation."
Muten Natsu stared at Sōsuke Aizen. "Do you have any other ideas?"
"Even if I don't..." Kisuke Urahara raised his Zanpakutō. "It's too late to run now."
"Is that truly the case?" Sōsuke Aizen said. "That seemingly helpless complaint is another one of your tactics, isn't it?"
"What..." Kisuke Urahara raised an eyebrow. "Now you're being cautious again?"
"Not cautious. Observant," Sōsuke Aizen corrected. "You are the only person in Soul Society whose intelligence surpasses mine. Even if our power is unequal, I still hold you in high regard."
"You flatter me..." Kisuke Urahara raised his hand. "These days, I'm just a poor shopkeeper who sells cookies and candy."