The storm surged, forming a hurricane that carried the group far from the battlefield. Upon landing, Shinji finally breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at the unconscious Hiyori and the others, his gaze darkened.
They couldn't even handle a single subordinate of the enemy—and even Captain-Commander Yamamoto had been pinned down!
"That bastard Aizen..."
Despite the overwhelming resentment in his heart, Shinji knew the gap between himself and Aizen could no longer be described in dimensions. If he were to appear before Aizen now, the man could likely kill him with a single glance.
Licking his parched lips, Shinji spoke to those beside him. "Let's go. We'll help the Captains deal with the Espada. Even if we can't kill Aizen, we'll take some of his subordinates with us!"
The others remained silent. Their hatred urged them to seek revenge, but reality had dealt them a harsh blow. Without sufficient strength, such vengeance was nothing but a dream. Carrying the unconscious Hiyori, they exerted their full power to reinforce the Captains.
Meanwhile, Lilynette had blocked the path of Urahara's trio, but they hadn't started fighting yet. Kisuke Urahara understood that their strengths were relatively close; a fight wouldn't result in a quick victory. Furthermore, he sensed that Lilynette's spiritual pressure was far greater than before. If they truly clashed, the outcome was uncertain.
Lilynette, however, thought differently. Though she had been somewhat distracted by certain "personal matters" lately, she was still a battle-maniac at heart! Seeing the three make no move, she grew anxious.
"Hey! Are you three going to fight or not? If you don't, I will!"
Lilynette formed pistols with her hands, gathering emerald green Reiatsu at her fingertips. The trio opposite her felt a slight sense of relief. Just a Cero, nothing to—
Before that thought could finish, a scene they would never forget unfolded. Thousands of Ceros poured out from Lilynette in the blink of an eye—at least three thousand rounds in a single burst!
As they were about to be swallowed by the light, Yoruichi's sleeves exploded. Turning into a blur of supernatural speed, she grabbed the other two and narrowly evaded the first wave.
They landed, hearts pounding. They had been far too close; had Yoruichi been even half a second slower, Urahara and Isshin would have taken the blast head-on.
"What was that? How can someone release that many Ceros at once?" Isshin gasped.
"I wonder where Lilynette ranks among the Espada," Yoruichi muttered.
"With a move like that, she must be the First, right?" Urahara added, glancing at the other battlefields.
Ichigo and Kenpachi were neck-and-neck, showing no sign of finishing soon. Ulquiorra was single-handedly toying with Tōshirō; the ice crystals behind the young Captain were almost gone. Byakuya was entangled with a large Arrancar, and while not at a disadvantage, he couldn't break away.
Most Captains were in similar straits, generally suppressed. Only now did Urahara truly grasp the power gap between the Gotei 13 and the Espada.
"Our only hope now lies with the Eighth Division."
Captain Shunsui Kyōraku was not here. Due to the unique nature of his Bankai, the Captain-Commander had ordered him to guard the Seireitei as the final line of defense.
"Let's deal with the trouble in front of us first. Lilynette won't be easy to fool," Yoruichi said, grabbing Urahara and weaving through the barrage of Ceros with ease.
Seeing this, Lilynette grew annoyed. These are just my auto-attacks, and you're dodging them so easily? How unsatisfying!
"Let's turn up the difficulty a notch!" Lilynette smirked.
The Cero fire stopped. Just as Yoruichi tried to catch her breath, her hair stood on end. A sensation of being "locked on" washed over her!
"Infinite Fill, Stage Two: Bullseye!"
BOOM!!
A mushroom cloud rose from the ground. Over three thousand Ceros struck the exact same spot, the accumulated energy undergoing a qualitative change! Even Lilynette was startled by the sheer power of her own move and began to panic.
"Hey! Suppliers! Are you dead?!"
Amidst the scorching magma, Urahara and Isshin combined their strength to hold up a barrier, barely keeping themselves from sinking into the molten earth. Both were severely injured and unable to continue fighting. Yoruichi was in even worse shape; her defensive power was lower than theirs. After shattering some Ceros with her limbs, she had been swallowed by the infinite tide. She lay in Urahara's arms, her breath fading.
Urahara pulled something from his robe and fed it to Yoruichi, barely tethering her soul to her body. At this point, he was truly enraged! His usually nonchalant expression turned dark and somber.
With a flash of Shunpo, a heavily injured Urahara stood on the surface, glaring coldly at Lilynette. Though they were on opposite sides, he hadn't intended to fight for real! Stalling Aizen was supposed to be a formality; only the Royal Guard could stop Aizen now. But with Yoruichi in this state, he had a reason to fight.
"Bankai! Kannonbiraki Benihime Aratame!"
As the name was chanted, a giant female figure manifested behind him. Countless red threads, like the laws weaving the world together, swept toward Lilynette.
"Oh? Starting to fight back?" Lilynette's interest was instantly piqued. She flickered away to avoid the threads. She didn't know what they did, but she wasn't about to let them touch her. She fired a Cero, but it passed straight through the red lines.
"What is this?" Lilynette frowned. This was the first time she'd encountered something her Ceros couldn't hit. Is it a rule-based ability?
Before she could think further, red threads erupted from Urahara, tearing the earth apart. The landscape shifted instantly as mountain peaks rose from the ground to form a giant hand, clutching Lilynette!
"So fast?!" Lilynette was shocked. She expected the massive hand to be slow, but its speed was incredible. With a burst of emerald Reiatsu, she shattered the stone hand and escaped.
Their gazes met. Lilynette could feel the fury in Urahara's eyes and subconsciously shrank back. Uh oh, I think I messed up again...
The commotion was so massive it drew everyone's attention. Nel and Halibel arrived to see if Lilynette needed help, accompanied by Orihime. As the ultimate healer, Orihime rushed toward the heavily injured Yoruichi the moment she saw her.
Ren Kurogane watched this with a feeling of helplessness. I told them to just play around and stall. How did they nearly kill someone again?!
Opposite him, Old Man Yama held his tachi, ignoring the events behind him. He was debating whether to use his Bankai. Ren Kurogane's strength was an enigma; every time Yamamoto increased his power, the opponent would erupt with an equal amount. No matter how strong the old man became, Ren remained his equal.
Yamamoto began to suspect: Does his power fluctuate based on my own?
Thinking this, the Captain-Commander's Reiatsu plummeted, returning to a calm state. The surrounding temperature remained high but stopped rising. Seeing that the old man didn't want to continue, Ren also restrained his power and landed.
Without a word to Yamamoto, Ren instantly appeared beside Orihime, picked her up, and moved to the side of the injured Yoruichi and Isshin. "Heal them."
Leaving behind those words, he went to Lilynette and rapped her on the head. "I told you we're just stalling! Why did you use such heavy hands?"
Lilynette pouted, looking aggrieved. "I just got a little serious. Who knew they'd be so weak..."
"You still dare to talk back?" Ren glared, and Lilynette finally shut up. She knew she was in the wrong today; otherwise, with her temper, she wouldn't be so submissive. Of course, if the other side had struck first with lethal intent, she would have killed them long ago.
Fortunately, with the super-healer Orihime present, Ren didn't have to worry about losing his supplier for goods from the Living World.
Seeing Ren arrive, Urahara knew the fight was over. Though he was unhappy, he was a master of endurance. Releasing his Bankai, he returned to the side of the now-recovering pair and sighed. "It's no use. Ichigo, the only one who could stop Aizen, is on the side of the Espada. The rest is up to the Royal Guard."
They looked toward the Seireitei, which was now shrouded in a black-and-white void. Suddenly, a purple figure burst out, and a flood of purple Reiatsu shot into the sky, shattering a barrier and tearing a rift in the heavens. The light surged through the rift, entering another world.
Suddenly, a flame crossed the sky, heading back toward the Seireitei. The battles between the Espada and the Captains stopped.
Old Man Yama returned to the Seireitei and was relieved to find Shunsui Kyōraku still alive. Seeing Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tōsen lying on the ground, the "helpful" old man considered cremating them on the spot.
However, Shunsui stopped him. "Gin was a double agent. If not for him, I might have died by Aizen's hand." Gin was still breathing; with proper care, he would live, though the Central 46 would likely sentence him. Tōsen, on the other hand, was dead. In the midst of Shunsui's Bankai, someone as weak as Tōsen was killed almost as an afterthought. Only Aizen, protected by the Hogyoku, had survived and broken through to the Royal Palace.
Just as Shunsui asked if they should follow Aizen, a purple light flashed in the sky again, followed by Aizen's arrogant voice echoing in everyone's ears.
"Zero Division, you are too arrogant. You are merely guards for 'that thing.' Why do you believe you are a match for me?"
"AIZEN!!"
A roar of pure fury erupted. The sky was covered in pitch-black ink, and the world plunged into darkness. Ren Kurogane used a Cero for illumination. Hearing the voice of the monk from the Zero Division, he wondered aloud, "I wonder what Aizen did to make the monk so angry?"
Ren suspected Aizen might have blown up the individual palaces of the Zero Division. The Zero Division members were the Soul King's personal guards; their most unique trait was that they could be resurrected as long as their palaces weren't destroyed—simply by someone calling their name. If Aizen truly destroyed the palaces, the monk had every right to be furious.
In the Royal Palace, Aizen was covered in black ink, his form completely obscured. Before him, a bearded monk held a giant brush the size of a person, writing and drawing.
Upon closer inspection, the monk was writing a book.
He wasn't just writing a few characters or changing Aizen's essence—like turning him into an ant and crushing him. Against Aizen, who had fully fused with the Hogyoku and evolved to an incredibly high dimension, the monk's power could no longer "re-label" him. He was currently using power borrowed from the Soul King to suppress Aizen.
Aizen wasn't sitting idly by; he tried to mobilize his Reiatsu to break the cage, but found the power irresistible. Even fused with the Hogyoku, he couldn't break through.
"Is this the power of the Soul King? Unexpectedly troublesome."
Even though he had prepared himself, Aizen was shocked by the Soul King's power. In the face of it, even his Kyōka Suigetsu was useless and easily seen through.
"A pity... if only that guy had been willing to help me..."
The thought existed for only a fleeting second before Aizen's consciousness plunged into darkness. The black ink vanished, leaving only a black coffin slowly descending from the sky, eventually disappearing beneath the First Division headquarters.
Seeing Aizen's downfall, Ren Kurogane shook his head with regret and shouted to the Espada, "Retreat!"
CRACK!
Space shattered. The Espada entered Gargantas one by one, leaving the Soul Society. The Captains didn't stop them; though they wanted to, they lacked the strength.
As Ren was the last to leave, peace returned to the Soul Society—if one ignored the massive hole in the sky. Meanwhile, Ichigo stared at his father, Isshin, and fell into deep thought.