"Bankai…"
The moment those two words fell, Ishikawa was immediately enveloped in a purplish-gray light, and an invisible ripple slowly spread out, from the ice chamber to the surface, and from the Everything Store on the surface to the entire West 38th District.
Slowly, this strange ripple continued to spread, eventually encompassing the entire Rukongai West.
"Kokumei Mijaku!"
The purplish-gray light gradually dissipated, revealing Ishikawa within.
At this moment, Ishikawa's Zanpakuto had undergone a great transformation; its hilt was hexagonal, and behind the hilt was a white ribbon that was strikingly out of place with the gray blade, yet somehow blended in perfectly.
The white ribbon, as if conscious, wrapped around Ishikawa's arm.
Ishikawa himself was in an extremely peculiar state; his purple eyes showed no emotion whatsoever. If anyone were to meet his gaze, they would feel as if they were…looking at a god. Everything within his sight failed to stir any emotion in those purple eyes.
Or rather…
All living beings were objectified in those purple eyes.
Ishikawa couldn't describe his current state. His consciousness was clear, and his memories were vivid.
However, he felt as if all the people and things he had experienced in his life were distant passersby from a long time ago; no thought, no person, could evoke the slightest emotional fluctuation in him.
Strange…
But not fearful.
Because in this state, his concentration was incredibly focused, and his judgment would not be interfered with by anything.
At this moment, he was in a mental state where he eliminated differences in things, life and death, and waking and dreaming, allowing nature to take its course and becoming one with everything.
Above the Everything Store, the funnel formed by the converging Reishi grew larger and larger from top to bottom.
At this moment, a strange phenomenon appeared in the sky; a giant black hole slowly formed in the clear, cloudless sky, with twinkling stars emanating from within.
In the underground chamber, Ishikawa looked up, his purple eyes piercing through the surface and through the black hole.
Finally…
What met his gaze was a colossal structure suspended high above Seireitei, with five floating cities distributed around it. A powerful aura emerged from each city, almost simultaneously sensing the gaze that penetrated 72 barriers.
Was that…
The Soul King Palace?
Ishikawa's mind trembled slightly, but the presence of his purple eyes instantly calmed the shock within him.
This feeling was extremely bizarre; even though he clearly knew that those five auras were extremely powerful, and underestimating them would lead to a miserable death…Ishikawa, in his Bankai state, simply couldn't feel shocked by their power, and even felt a bit contemptuous…
This made Ishikawa feel incredibly strange internally.
High concentration in battle would indeed be of great help, but excessive concentration made Ishikawa subtly uneasy.
Perhaps because the ability after Bankai touched the realm of gods, Ishikawa, upon entering Bankai, would also enter a god-like way of thinking.
At this moment…
He even understood Aizen, understood his arrogance.
But he was not a god!
There were still many people in this world stronger than him. Facing enemies with such a mindset now was tantamount to seeking death.
Ishikawa had a clear understanding of this!
Because…
Kokumei Mijaku!
This was not only the name of his Bankai but also a spiritual word that protected Ishikawa from getting lost and sinking into this mindset.
If one were to reach the state of object-self assimilation like a god, then it would be better to let life and death blur into nothingness!
The existence of the Zanpakuto constantly reminded Ishikawa not to get lost, not to sink, otherwise he would no longer be himself.
Uncontrollable.
Ishikawa withdrew his gaze and shook his head slightly.
It wasn't the Zanpakuto's fault, but his own. He was still too weak.
So weak that he was dominated by the characteristics carried by his Zanpakuto, just like Ichigo. This was an extremely dangerous state, and Ishikawa didn't like it.
"Hoo~"
After a deep breath, Ishikawa calmed his mind and focused on the dense pile of corpses in the underground chamber.
His time was limited; the borrowed power was, after all, borrowed. Moreover, Ishikawa's Bankai consumed a lot of Reiatsu. If Ishikawa hadn't engraved the Reiatsu Crest on the entire surface of the Everything Store beforehand, Kōga Kuchiki's Reiatsu alone would not have been enough to sustain his Bankai.
But even so, the time he could maintain Bankai was still extremely limited.
Having made up his mind, with a thought from Ishikawa, the pure white ribbon wrapped around his arm distorted like a snake, then disintegrated into countless white light particles in the void.
In the cold underground chamber, it was as if snow had begun to fall at that instant.
Each snowflake drifted down and merged into the already deceased bodies.
In that instant, countless data flooded into Ishikawa's mind. The massive amount of information did not cause Ishikawa a headache; his purple eyes brightened at that moment, analyzing and reconstructing all the detected data.
And as he analyzed, each spiritual body began to collapse to varying degrees.
From weak to strong!
The first to show signs of collapse were the weaker villains. As they collapsed, individual light points merged into Ishikawa's body.
Bang—
With an almost imperceptible muffled sound, a corpse suddenly collapsed.
This was like a signal; the second corpse followed closely, and for a time, the sounds of spiritual bodies collapsing rang out incessantly.
Ishikawa's expression was focused, but he couldn't help but feel a little worried.
If they continued to collapse at this rate, he highly doubted whether these spiritual bodies could last until his 'analysis and reconstruction' was complete!
…
"What is that bastard doing again?"
Ishikawa, who was diligently analyzing the spiritual bodies, didn't know that the commotion he caused was actually much greater than he had anticipated.
Soi Fon stood by her office window, looking towards Rukongai West, with a hint of annoyance in her expression.
At this very moment, under Ishikawa's Reiatsu Crest, the Reishi of the entire Soul Society was continuously converging towards the west. Ishikawa was using this external power to maintain his Bankai.
But doing so…
Had a significant impact on Seireitei.
Regarding Ishikawa's intention to heal himself and restore his Shinigami abilities, Soi Fon—no, the entire Gotei 13—had been notified before he began. Ishikawa, to ensure he wouldn't be disturbed, even personally visited all the Squads before leaving Seireitei.
Including that madman Kurotsuchi Mayuri, he had to go to great lengths to politely decline Kurotsuchi Mayuri's 'kind' offer of assistance.
"…According to the data collected by the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, due to the large-scale fluctuation of Reishi, temporary Reishi storms have appeared throughout Soul Society; upon realizing this, the Shinigami Research and Development Institute immediately submitted an application to the Central 46, hoping to interrupt Ishikawa's current actions."
"However, according to the latest news, the Central 46 rejected Captain Kurotsuchi Mayuri's application, even stating that for the fight against Aizen, Ishikawa's ability to recover his Reiatsu could be of great help to the battle."
Soi Fon nodded upon hearing this, her gaze somewhat strange.
It was quite unexpected for those high-ranking individuals, who valued their lives above all else, to strongly support Ishikawa.
After all…
The previous members of the Central 46 could be said to be in cahoots with Kurotsuchi Mayuri; with their tacit approval, the Shinigami Research and Development Institute led by Kurotsuchi Mayuri had secretly committed countless heinous acts.
For example, the human experiments on the Quincy were orchestrated by the Central 46 behind the scenes.
And this was merely the tip of the iceberg.
Yet, Soi Fon also had to admit…
Everything that madman Kurotsuchi Mayuri did was considered with Soul Society—and even the Three Realms—in mind. His experiments also brought great benefits to Soul Society, even if the content of the experiments was gruesome, even bloody and cruel, it could not negate his contribution.
For Soul Society, people like Kurotsuchi Mayuri and Urahara Kisuke were indispensable.
This was probably why Urahara Kisuke brought Kurotsuchi Mayuri out of the Maggot's Nest in the first place.
"Has Captain Commander had any reaction?" Soi Fon asked.
For the current Seireitei, the attitude of the Central 46 was actually not important. What was important was…Captain Commander's attitude.
If Captain Commander wanted to stop it, then even if the Central 46 was displeased, they would not deny Captain Commander's decision.
Because Captain Commander's life was almost synonymous with the history of the Gotei 13.
His attitude was something no one could ignore.
The Commander of the Gotei 13 held great authority in Soul Society, but this authority was not due to the position of 'Commander of the Gotei 13', but because Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni was the Commander, which is why the position held authority.
This was something no successor could ever possess!
And it was also why, to this day…
Captains changed batch after batch, but the Commander never changed.
Because there was no suitable successor.
"Vice-Captain Sasakibe just came to deliver a message…"
Ōmaeda paused, then said somewhat puzzled, "He said everything should proceed as planned!"
As planned?
Soi Fon nodded, looking towards the direction of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute.
In that case, the work Urahara Kisuke entrusted to the Shinigami Research and Development Institute should be nearing completion.
"Since that's the case, let's prepare to depart as well."
Soi Fon turned her head and glanced at Rukongai West, vaguely understanding in her heart…
Captain Commander's reason for not stopping it likely included the intention of keeping Ishikawa as a final safeguard.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have allowed the Shinigami Research and Development Institute to place the Reigai and the replica model of Karakura Town in the uninhabited suburbs of West 38th District.
If they failed…
Then Ishikawa, who had recovered his Shinigami abilities and once heavily injured Aizen, would instead become Soul Society's last hope.
He was also the last remaining Captain-level strong individual in Soul Society.
Because Captain Commander, disregarding the opposition of the Central 46, had issued an all-out command: all Captains and Vice-Captains would go to the Human World's Karakura Town to engage in the final battle with Hueco Mundo, led by Aizen!
This was probably also the reason why the Central 46 would strongly support Ishikawa, because Ishikawa was also the only person who could prevent them from repeating the mistakes of their predecessors if the operation failed…
Of course, Soi Fon did not believe this operation would fail.
No one could defeat Captain Commander, not even Aizen, who had broken through the boundary between Shinigami and Hollows using the Hōgyoku.
…
Las Noches.
Silence!
The meeting room was completely enveloped in silence. Everyone couldn't help but hold their breath, turning their gaze to the figure on the throne.
"Why is everyone so lifeless?"
A soft voice spoke, its tone extremely calm, yet everyone involuntarily straightened their backs.
"Don't be nervous, relax a little. Don't waste this rare good tea."
Cirucci looked at the tea on the table, glancing at the other Espada out of the corner of her eye. Only after seeing Starrk, No. 1, pick up his black tea, did she reach for the black tea on the table. The other Espada reacted similarly to her.
Don't be nervous, he said…
Cirucci felt that no one sitting here could possibly relax.
Because it was simply too terrifying!
She had never felt this way before; it was a feeling of dread, from the depths of her soul to every single hair on her body, when facing an unknown entity. Just sitting there made her feel a sense of suffocation.
Lord Aizen was still enveloped in a milky-white, tangible Reiatsu, just as he was when he returned from Soul Society ten days ago, but his medium-short hair had become long.
Beyond that, the most noticeable change was a deep purple pupil that had appeared on his forehead, and purple patterns had emerged around his eyes, starting from the corners.
Just looking at him gave one a dreamlike sensation.
Completely different!
The former Lord Aizen was indeed frightening, but that was only in terms of his Reiatsu.
But the current Aizen…
They could no longer sense Lord Aizen's Reiatsu at all. Even though he was sitting right in front of them, everyone felt as if…Lord Aizen was in a different dimension than them!
Just being looked at by him made them feel completely seen through; in front of him, there were no secrets whatsoever.
"You have no need to fear me."
Aizen chuckled, his gaze sweeping over everyone's faces one by one: "As long as you follow me, you will have no rivals before you."
"So you only need to do your work well."
Aizen paused, resting his face on one hand, and beckoned to his side.
Kaname Tōsen, who was like a guard, immediately stepped forward and tapped a spot on the wristband of his white attire, and an image instantly appeared before everyone's eyes.
In the image, five individuals were advancing towards Las Noches.
Behind them, countless ice crystals were scattered, and within the ice crystals was a colossal entity made entirely of sand, though its life force had now completely vanished.
"As you can see, there are only 5 enemies, so there's no need to panic."
Cirucci couldn't help but inwardly complain, 'We're not nervous because of the invaders…'
"Nor should you overly emphasize them. You only need to return to your respective areas of responsibility, and as usual, be neither arrogant nor impatient."
"Just await the challenges from those who are far weaker than you!"