Ichigo Kurosaki's emotional state was completely spiraling out of control at this moment. He nearly wanted to jump through the screen and confront Aizen directly, demanding answers!
[Urahara Kisuke]: Kurosaki-kun, please calm down and don't give Aizen the satisfaction of seeing you lose composure.
[Kuchiki Rukia]: Manager Urahara, I don't really understand what Aizen means either...
[Abarai Renji]: How can Aizen speak as if he knows everything about our lives? Even my battle with Kurosaki Ichigo?
[Zaraki Kenpachi]: And he knew every detail about my fight with Ichigo Kurosaki too?
[Kuchiki Byakuya]: This "realm of Hollowfication"... Is that mask Kurosaki Ichigo is wearing actually the result of a Shinigami becoming a Hollow? Does Aizen know everything about that process?
[Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez]: How the hell am I involved in this? Damn that Kurosaki Ichigo—couldn't I have just finished him off completely?
[Ulquiorra Cifer]: Grimmjow, stop making a scene. It appears I will also battle Kurosaki Ichigo in the future.
These crucial opponents from Kurosaki Ichigo's journey toward power found it difficult to believe what Aizen was revealing.
[Kurosaki Ichigo]: He knew about all these battles ahead of time...?
[Urahara Kisuke]: Kurosaki-kun, don't fall for Aizen's psychological manipulation. He's cunning by nature and may simply be trying to deceive you.
Urahara Kisuke was equally surprised, but as Aizen's primary opponent, he couldn't allow the traitor the satisfaction of appearing omniscient.
If everyone was fooled by Aizen, it would be far too embarrassing for the Shinigami...
[Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni]: Precisely. This individual's illusions and personality make it impossible to distinguish truth from falsehood. He may simply be attempting psychological warfare.
[Zaraki Kenpachi]: Hey, is all this talking going to accomplish anything? You might as well just start fighting!
In the projection, Kurosaki Ichigo's past experiences were quickly summarized by Aizen, leaving the substitute Shinigami stunned by these revelations...
As he spoke, Aizen reached out toward Kurosaki Ichigo with an almost paternal gesture.
"Kurosaki Ichigo!"
"Every single one of your battles, from the very beginning until now, has unfolded exactly as I planned!"
Upon hearing this declaration, Kurosaki Ichigo was even more shocked.
"My battles from the past until now... all within your expectations...?"
"This... what the hell is going on?"
"I'm asking you—what is going on?!"
Kurosaki Ichigo was becoming completely hysterical!
Aizen remained perfectly calm throughout the outburst.
"Please lower your voice. I have always believed that you would become the perfect specimen I've been searching for all this time! That is precisely why I've been carefully nurturing your growth!"
Aizen stopped pretending.
He was confronting Ichigo Kurosaki with the absolute truth!
Ichigo Kurosaki's entire journey of seemingly impossible power-ups was actually the result of Aizen's meticulous planning!
Without Aizen's intervention, how could Ichigo's protagonist-like progression have been so smooth!?
Therefore, Aizen now gazed at him with the eyes of an artist appreciating his greatest masterpiece.
Ichigo Kurosaki: "???"
He was becoming increasingly confused and disturbed.
He was Aizen's perfect specimen?
He had become the experimental subject of the mad scientist Aizen?
Aizen seemed to thoroughly enjoy Ichigo's shocked expression, so he continued explaining everything with obvious relish:
"Otherwise, don't you find it strange?"
"You had never encountered a single Hollow in your entire life, but the moment you met Rukia Kuchiki, you were immediately attacked by one!"
"The bait used by the Quincy Ishida Uryū to eliminate weak Hollows somehow attracted a Menos Grande..."
"When you first became a Shinigami and were slowly developing your powers, Rukia—who had managed to remain hidden—was suddenly discovered by Soul Society..."
At the same time, under Senyu's masterful editing, the projection began showing flashback scenes as Aizen spoke to Ichigo in the present.
The scene where Ichigo Kurosaki first defeated a Hollow after obtaining Shinigami powers from Rukia appeared on a high-tech monitoring screen.
The person observing this screen was none other than Captain Aizen Sōsuke of the Fifth Division—still wearing his glasses and maintaining his gentle, scholarly facade!
He watched Ichigo Kurosaki with an expression of deep satisfaction and calculation...
It became clear that Aizen had indeed been monitoring Ichigo Kurosaki for an extremely long time!
Later scenes showed Ishida Uryū's bait attracting the Menos Grande, and Ichigo's spiritual pressure suddenly spiking as he defeated the massive Hollow in a single strike. This battle was "coincidentally" observed by a special surveillance device in Soul Society.
This was one of Soul Society's monitoring systems for the Human World, originally used to randomly observe Karakura Town.
But it "just happened" to focus on the scene involving Ishida Uryū and Ichigo Kurosaki, ensuring that Ichigo would gain Soul Society's attention.
Afterward, the Onmitsukidō quickly obtained information about Rukia Kuchiki's location.
[Kuchiki Rukia]: No way... Now that I think about it, that really was quite a coincidence, wasn't it? Could all of this actually have been arranged by Aizen?
[Kurosaki Ichigo]: How is this possible... What is he talking about...?
[Ishida Uryū]: Now that you mention it, I was very confused at the time too. The contest between Ichigo and myself nearly spiraled completely out of control. Is this the reason why?
[Suì-Fēng]: I... I thought discovering Kurosaki Ichigo and the others was simply the result of our Onmitsukidō's diligent surveillance work.
In the projection, Aizen continued his devastating revelation:
"Furthermore, individuals like Abarai Renji, Zaraki Kenpachi, Kuchiki Byakuya—when you fought them, their power levels were perfectly calibrated to be just within your capability to overcome!"
"All so that you could continue improving..."
"Haven't you ever found that... strange?"
At this moment, Aizen's words were absolutely soul-crushing!
[Kurosaki Ichigo]: ???
[Abarai Renji]: ???
[Zaraki Kenpachi]: If that's true, it does seem like quite a coincidence that I encountered an opponent like Kurosaki Ichigo so quickly. If it had been a different captain, they might not have been interested in just fighting him.
[Kuchiki Byakuya]: Damn it, is this actually possible? How can you claim that everything involving us was orchestrated by Aizen? This feels absolutely revolting.
[Unohana Retsu]: But within Soul Society, Aizen really did manipulate many of us quite thoroughly...
[Kyōraku Shunsui]: Indeed, although Ukitake and I both sensed something was wrong eventually, it was still far too late...
[Ichimaru Gin]: Hehe! Your entire Soul Society was originally part of Captain Aizen's grand design.
[Hitsugaya Tōshirō]: Damn it, I refuse to accept this!
Everyone in Soul Society was filled with terror!
They could no longer distinguish which actions they had taken of their own free will versus those that had been subtly manipulated by Aizen!
It was as though everyone had been dancing in the palm of Aizen's hand!
In the projection, the more Aizen spoke, the more devastating his words became.
"Kurosaki Ichigo, do you still believe all of this was mere coincidence? Do you think your victories in battle were purely the result of your own efforts?"
The more Kurosaki Ichigo listened, the more confused and horrified he became.
So these events weren't because of protagonist luck?
These encounters weren't arranged by fate?
The fool... was actually me all along!?
Unable to accept this reality, Kurosaki Ichigo roared loudly, leaped to his feet, and attacked Aizen once more!
CLANG!!
Facing this lightning-fast strike, Aizen still treated it as nothing more than a child's tantrum.
He caught Kurosaki Ichigo's Zanpakutō with a single hand!
Aizen spoke with calm disappointment:
"Please don't let me down again. As my greatest creation, you shouldn't possess only this level of power!!"
He gazed at Ichigo Kurosaki with an almost tender expression, as if looking at a beloved child who had misbehaved.
If he truly wanted to be ruthless, Ichigo Kurosaki would have died countless times over!
Even during this climactic battle, Aizen still maintained the mentality of a nurturing father figure, patiently trying to guide Ichigo Kurosaki toward greater strength!