"What exactly happened?"
"That reiatsu just now… was it Captain Ishikawa?"
"Who is he fighting? A Zanpakuto?"
"…"
Flames and lightning illuminated the entire Seireitei, and even from a great distance, the oppressive power emanating from the center could still be felt.
The entire Seireitei was swept by a fierce wind at that instant, due to the collision in the sky.
Regardless of where they were in Seireitei, everyone involuntarily looked towards the direction of the Thirteenth Division.
A shadow loomed over everyone's hearts.
Vaguely, they felt as if a monster was being born.
Thirteenth Division area.
Ishikawa, charred like charcoal, lay on the ground with a bitter smile on his face.
He had, after all, lost.
Misjudgment?
Not entirely a misjudgment.
Everything had unfolded as he had predicted, and the final blow had achieved the desired effect.
The only misjudgment was…
He believed that Aizen and Hōgyoku were only in a preliminary fusion, and now was the best time to kill him!
And that was indeed the case; what Ishikawa hadn't expected was that the Hōgyoku, which Aizen had barely integrated into his body, would choose to truly fuse with Aizen at the last moment.
"Your growth has indeed astonished me."
A voice, once again calm, emanated from the cocoon, devoid of any emotional fluctuation.
Crack, crack—
As the voice spoke, the light cocoon began to shatter from the head, revealing Aizen's face within.
"However, in the end, I still won."
Snap—
With a crisp sound, the light cocoon completely disintegrated, and a perfectly intact Aizen appeared before Ishikawa.
The moment he saw Aizen, Ishikawa was slightly startled, a strange glint flashing in his eyes.
Because Aizen's current form was quite bizarre; his head remained in its original state, while his body was enveloped in a milky-white, solidified Spirit Core, similar to a chrysalis during insect metamorphosis.
The unchanging head and body placed together looked extremely strange, as if the creature that should have gradually been born had, due to some external interference, emerged prematurely from the chrysalis.
Incomplete—!
This was Ishikawa's most intuitive feeling.
"Have you noticed?"
As if discerning Ishikawa's thoughts, Aizen glanced at his palm and shook his head: "You are not wrong in your thinking. You did indeed cause me a great deal of trouble, but… it is not irreparable."
"Compared to the changes in my body, I am more curious about how you managed to do it?"
Aizen looked at Ishikawa, his gaze filled with investigative intent.
Soul Combination Exchange!
This was what Aizen had always longed for in his heart.
"Urahara Kisuke always believed that Hōgyoku's ability was to break the barrier between Shinigami and Hollow."
"But that was merely the ability he wished for Hōgyoku to possess, which is why Hōgyoku manifested that ability before him."
"And Hōgyoku's true ability is… to read the hearts present around it and materialize them."
"However, if the subject itself does not possess the corresponding ability, even with Hōgyoku, it cannot be achieved. From this perspective, Hōgyoku's ability can also be understood as a power that 'guides towards the desired direction'!"
Soul Combination Exchange.
This was Aizen's inner desire, and the consciousness of Hōgyoku understood his heart, thus initiating fusion with him.
However…
The Ishikawa before him had achieved the same without Hōgyoku.
Even if it was just a prototype, far from perfect, and could not be used in combat without mastering the timing.
But, he still did it!
Aizen, who had always pursued this very thing, was certain that it was absolutely impossible to achieve this with the power of a Shinigami alone.
The probability was not almost zero, but absolutely zero.
"What secret lies within you?"
Aizen was not in a hurry to kill Ishikawa, but instead continuously observed him: "What helped you guide yourself towards the direction your heart desired?"
What helped me?
Ishikawa was slightly startled, feeling somewhat bewildered.
However, the answer to this question was not difficult to find…
The System!
If he had to answer, Ishikawa would not hesitate to say those two words.
Guiding towards the direction his heart desired?
A strange glint flashed in Ishikawa's eyes, because the System had indeed been helping him, helping him obtain the power his heart desired.
And the prerequisite for obtaining power was, as Aizen said…
He must possess the corresponding foundation, and then the System could deduce and guide him based on that foundation, thereby allowing him to gradually approach the goal he wanted to achieve.
From this perspective, the System's ability, to some extent, was indeed somewhat similar to Hōgyoku!
But there was a huge difference in essence.
Because the direction the System guided always originated from Ishikawa himself, aiming for realization without changing his essence, unlike Hōgyoku, which fused with its master.
The matter of the System had always been Ishikawa's biggest secret, and he naturally wouldn't disclose it to Aizen.
"Very curious?"
Ishikawa chuckled lightly, but his brain was rapidly working at that instant.
The effects of integrating Itto Kaso, a forbidden Kido, into his body were as terrifying as Ishikawa had predicted.
Nearly 160,000 experience points were exhausted, only barely sustaining his life.
His current condition was even worse than it appeared on the surface.
His Spirit Core was half-destroyed, his Binding Threads and Soul Sleep were almost completely annihilated, and his internal organs had almost entirely lost their proper function.
If it weren't for his physical strength barely maintaining his spiritual body, and Ishikawa's unique physique, he would have already dissolved into Reishi by now.
Forget about Spirit Core, Ishikawa couldn't even move a single finger.
In this state, to survive at Aizen's hands.
There was only one possibility…
That was to make him not want to kill him.
And piquing his curiosity was undoubtedly the best method!
As for what to do after surviving, that was something to consider only after surviving.
What to do next?
"No!"
Aizen looked at Ishikawa, then suddenly smiled and shook his head: "Even if a dead person is extraordinary, I have no further interest in exploring them." After speaking, he walked directly towards Ishikawa.
"I know you possess many secrets."
"Back in Soul Society, looking at you, I vaguely had a feeling that you could see the future, always appearing at the right time in places you shouldn't be, discovering things you shouldn't discover, and most importantly…"
"Although you disguised it well, from our first meeting, you held a great deal of caution towards me."
"Initially, I didn't pay attention, because not only me, but you were always extremely resistant and cautious towards the Shinigami as a group. It wasn't until later that I realized your caution towards me was different from that towards others."
Aizen stopped in front of Ishikawa, holding Kyōka Suigetsu above the back of Ishikawa's head.
"It was precisely because I noticed this that my original plan kept changing. Sometimes, even the me of the previous second didn't know what the me of the next second would choose to do, but rather changed with the circumstances."
"As a result, things unfolded as I expected, and you did not interfere again."
"From this, it is evident that you may indeed possess an ability to see fragments of the future, but it is not omniscience. Instead, it relies more on your acquired information for deduction and subsequent action."
"Of course!"
Aizen smiled slightly: "As for your corpse, I will preserve it well. In the future, when I sit upon the Throne of Heaven, I might, out of boredom, explore your secrets once more."
"But now…"
"I am no longer interested in you, or rather, apart from my long-pursued goal, there is nothing in Soul Society that can sufficiently pique my interest."
Aizen could feel that after Hōgyoku obeyed him, his body had far surpassed…
His former self, who was already unparalleled in Soul Society!
Desire for exploration? Caution?
These were no longer necessary for him.
Ishikawa looked at Aizen in front of him, and couldn't help but feel a bit wry. Although he had always known that fusing with Hōgyoku would have some impact on Aizen.
But the current Aizen…
He was completely different from his past self. At least, his past self clearly knew what he could achieve.
Now, his judgment was gradually being replaced by arrogance.
Under normal circumstances, this would undoubtedly be a good thing for him.
But in this situation, Aizen's arrogance made Ishikawa feel as if the heavens were playing with him, because this guy, who considered himself a god, was simply not suitable for communication.
Even if he wanted to betray and be his minion…
This madman wouldn't accept it.
Tsk…
He suddenly regretted it. If he had known he would die here, he might as well have died at the hands of that crazy woman, Unohana. At least he could have gained some affection before he died, right?
In this situation, Ishikawa found that he was still thinking about how to increase Unohana's affection, which made Ishikawa feel a bit speechless.
"It seems this is your limit."
Looking at Ishikawa, who had no strength to struggle, Aizen shook his head, and Kyōka Suigetsu in his hand stabbed downwards.
"Hey."
Clang—!
A crisp sound suddenly rang out.
A sharp and bright blade appeared between Kyōka Suigetsu and the back of Ishikawa's head, blocking the strike aimed at Ishikawa.
"This young man is, after all, a benefactor of my family. I can't just stand by and watch him die by your blade."
Aizen frowned and slowly raised his head, looking at the middle-aged man who had suddenly appeared beside Ishikawa.
"Shiba… no, should I call you Kurosaki Isshin now?"
Kurosaki Isshin?
Ishikawa, who had already prepared to embrace death, turned to look at the middle-aged man who had appeared beside him.
However, before he could clearly see the newcomer's appearance, the surrounding environment rapidly changed.
When everything settled, Ishikawa found that he had been brought to… Hisagi Shuuhei, who had been blown away earlier and had just rushed back.
"Uh—"
Seeing Ishikawa suddenly appear, Hisagi Shuuhei's running figure abruptly paused.
"Yo, Ishikawa, your new look is pretty good."
Yoruichi's voice came, and Ishikawa looked in the direction of the sound, only to see Yoruichi squatting beside him. He assumed it was she who had brought him here.
Ishikawa turned his head, looking in the direction he had been moments before.
He saw a middle-aged man confronting Aizen.
Although it was his first time seeing him in person, Ishikawa was not unfamiliar with him.
Because this middle-aged man was the uncle of Kukaku and Ganju, the former captain of the Tenth Squad, the head of the Shiba branch family… and Ichigo's father.
Kurosaki Isshin!
And standing with Kurosaki Isshin was another person.
It was none other than Urahara Kisuke, that perpetually late bastard!
You might as well just come to collect my corpse.
If his body allowed it, Ishikawa would have wanted to curse this bastard out, because this guy kept saying that he would monitor Aizen's movements and would notify his partner, him, at the first sign of Aizen's action.
Yet…
Aizen had already appeared in Soul Society, and this guy only arrived when he was about to die!
"You've arrived, Urahara Kisuke."
Aizen looked at Kurosaki Isshin and Urahara Kisuke, saying indifferently: "Unfortunately, you've arrived a bit late."
"Late?"
Urahara Kisuke adjusted his round hat: "Perhaps that's true, but judging by your current appearance, your evolution doesn't seem to have gone smoothly, does it? No wonder you wanted to kill Ishikawa."
Aizen's brow furrowed slightly.
"You want to say the impact isn't significant?"
Urahara Kisuke shrugged: "You can deceive Ishikawa with such words, but for you and me, it should be very clear… this step came too early, and too forcefully. Your current state shouldn't be as relaxed as it appears, should it?"
"…." Ishikawa.
Indeed, this guy was as annoying as ever.
"The two of us might not be able to kill you, and we might even be killed by you, but…"
Urahara Kisuke smiled faintly: "Would you choose to fight the two of us in this state…?"
"Three!"
Yoruichi appeared beside Urahara Kisuke, interrupting him.
"Ah, right, fight the three of us?"
Aizen gave Urahara Kisuke a deep look, his gaze still calm, but beneath that calmness, a hint of gloom was revealed.
Without further words, Aizen retracted his gaze and turned to walk backward.
Almost as soon as he stepped, the void gradually tore open, revealing a giant black hole.
Kurosaki Isshin frowned at the sight, tightening his grip on his Zanpakuto.
But Urahara Kisuke, beside him, pressed his arm, shaking his head slightly.
Aizen was indeed as he said; due to Ishikawa, his evolution had gone greatly awry, and he needed to adjust quickly.
But on their side…
They weren't prepared either. Starting a battle with Aizen now was not suitable.
After watching Aizen disappear into the black hole, all three walked towards Ishikawa.
"Ishikawa, you really gave me quite a scare this time."
Urahara Kisuke said with a smile, while pulling out a medicine bottle with a 'skull' pattern from his pocket. He poured out one pill and offered it to Ishikawa's mouth.
Looking at the medicine bottle and the scarlet pill, Ishikawa felt a sudden sense of unease.
"Don't worry, the pattern on this bottle is there to make people read the instructions carefully."
Urahara Kisuke chuckled: "You can only take one of these pills every hour. It effectively treats injuries to the spiritual body. When Kurosaki was cut by Captain Kucihki, he recovered after taking this kind of recovery medicine from me."
Ishikawa heard this and didn't dodge, because he simply didn't have the strength to dodge. He could only watch as Urahara Kisuke put the pill into his mouth.
However, after taking the pill, Ishikawa felt a sudden, intense pain throughout his body.
This wasn't a bad thing, because…
Before, Ishikawa felt no pain at all; his body was completely necrotic. Now, being able to feel pain was actually a good thing.
Although his internal condition was still bad, at least he was out of danger.
"The effect is good, isn't it?"
Urahara Kisuke looked at Ishikawa's expression and smiled slightly, then suddenly turned serious: "What you did this time, Ishikawa-sama, completely exceeded my expectations. You disrupted Aizen's evolutionary sequence, and this…"
"It might be a good thing, or it might be a bad thing."
"I'm not sure what the final outcome will be, but the preparations I've made must change accordingly."
"Before I came, I already sent out the news of your presence here. I believe someone will come to rescue you very soon; and Kurosaki and the others have also received intelligence about the Zanpakuto rampage and are rushing to Soul Society."
Urahara Kisuke paused, then glanced at Kurosaki Isshin beside him:
"So, we need to go back first and prepare for any potential countermeasures that might be needed."
With that, Urahara Kisuke looked at the medicine bottle… after looking at Ishikawa, he tucked it into Ishikawa's now-short pants:
"Remember, you can only take one pill per hour. Don't take too many."
"…"
Honestly…