"Bankai: Kamishini no Yari (God-Slaying Spear)!"
The soft voice echoed out.
It was like a feather falling onto the surface of a lake.
In that moment, no one noticed anything wrong.
Although Gin clearly said "Bankai," there wasn't the slightest fluctuation of reiatsu. The air was calm, as if only a gentle breeze had passed through the sky.
Yet in the very next instant—
A dazzling white light shot from Gin's sleeve like a gale, a streak of the Milky Way piercing downward from the night sky and crashing into the earth.
Its speed was absolute.
And yet it made no sound.
By the time Kisuke, Shunsui, Barraggan, and the others sensed something amiss, the white gleam had already stretched thousands of meters away.
"Ugh…"
Aizen's pupils suddenly shrank. His face changed drastically as he lowered his head, staring in disbelief at the silver-white blade that had impaled his chest.
His white sleeve fell away and fluttered down to the ground.
The blade, extended to several thousand meters in length, contracted back into Gin's hand in an instant.
Still holding the manifested Kyoka Suigetsu in his other hand, Gin walked slowly toward Aizen and said in a light tone:
"The only way to escape Kyoka Suigetsu's complete hypnosis… is to touch its blade before the complete hypnosis is activated."
The memory of that answer echoed in Gin's mind.
Back then, he had still been a child.
After learning Aizen's true nature, he had resolutely chosen to become his companion.
He had willingly dirtied his hands, spending hundreds of years side by side with Aizen to win his trust.
All of it, every single thing—
Had been for this one strike today.
As long as he killed Aizen—
The woman he loved—
Rangiku—would no longer be in danger.
With that thought, Gin couldn't help glancing toward the ruined rooftop in the distance, where the gravely injured Rangiku was staring at him in a daze.
Coming back to himself, Gin showed his usual fox-like smile again.
"Thinking about it, I still gotta thank you, Captain Aizen. You're a cautious man. You'd never let me touch your blade so easily."
"But then, you went and invented a manifested Kyoka Suigetsu yourself."
The manifested sword spirit—Kyoka Suigetsu with Aizen's appearance—heard this and lightly swung the Kyoka Suigetsu in his hand as he said calmly:
"Aizen, what a pity for you. I'm Kyoka Suigetsu as well. Anyone I touch can completely escape Kyoka Suigetsu's hypnosis."
Everyone who saw this scene couldn't help widening their eyes in shock, their faces filled with disbelief.
Ichigo, in particular, was completely dumbfounded. He stared at Gin with his mouth hanging open, stammering:
"G-Gin…"
The man who always smiled like a fox, as sly and dangerous as a viper—
Had just stabbed Aizen through the chest.
Shunsui scratched his head helplessly.
"Seriously… how many twists are we going to get? This whole thing is getting way too messy."
The others were speechless as well.
Before Aizen and his two followers had defected from Soul Society, Gin was considered the most dangerous of the three.
Aizen, by contrast, had seemed like a gentle, easygoing nice guy.
And now?
Aizen was the ultimate villain.
Gin… was the good guy.
Even Kisuke was stunned by this turn of events. Looking at Kyoka Suigetsu, he couldn't help asking:
"Aren't you Aizen's zanpakuto?"
A zanpakuto turning its blade against its own master—that sounded ridiculous no matter how you thought about it.
Kyoka Suigetsu replied coldly, "So what? He may be my master, but I never intended to serve him forever."
His gaze turned icy as he looked at Aizen.
"Aizen, does my power really disgust you that much? You mastered my Bankai, and yet you've never once used my abilities."
"And on top of that, you seriously planned to erase me—turn me into just another part of your evolution?"
"Don't get ahead of yourself. I am Kyoka Suigetsu. Even if I'm separated from you, I can exist freely in this world as an independent life."
Right now, he also possessed Muramasa's power, allowing him to freely manifest in the world.
And with Hollow power inside him, he had completed his own Hollowfication.
Even without Aizen, he could use Muramasa's abilities to remain manifested and rely on Hollow power to live as an independent being.
"I've always known, Gin."
Aizen suddenly spoke. Clutching the bleeding wound in his chest with his right hand, he said:
"I've always known what you were after. I still kept you by my side because I wanted to see how you planned to take my life."
"But it's a shame, Gin…"
Aizen raised his head.
"You really think you can kill me with just this?"
"I've never thought that."
Gin cut him off.
Their eyes met. Gin lifted his zanpakuto, Kamishini no Yari, and said quietly:
"Can you see it? There's a little notch here."
He raised his index finger and tapped the blade. At the center of the blade, there was a small diamond-shaped gap.
Then, he pointed that same slender finger at Aizen's chest. The smile faded from his face.
"Just now, I left that little piece inside your body, Captain Aizen."
"What!?"
This time, Aizen's expression finally changed.
His heart trembled.
Gin lowered his hand and explained calmly, "I told you once before what my Bankai can do, right?"
"Sorry. I lied back then."
"Kamishini no Yari can't actually extend that far, and it's not quite as fast as I said either."
"It's just that, in the instant it extends and contracts, it turns to dust. And on the inner side of the blade, it carries a deadly poison that dissolves cells."
Aizen's face turned extremely grim.
Gin's fox-like eyes curved as he smiled.
"Looks like you've figured it out."
"When my blade pierced your chest and then retracted, it left behind a tiny grain of dust inside your heart, Captain Aizen."
"Gin!"
Aizen glared at him.
Gin chuckled. "If you've still got the breath to talk, I suggest you spend it thinking of a way to handle this instead."
"But even if you hurry…"
"A dying man still dies in the end."
He walked forward slowly, completely unafraid of the danger Aizen posed, and placed his hand on Aizen's chest.
"Uchikorose—Shinso (Shoot to kill, Divine Spear)!"
It wasn't even a proper attack call, just a simple statement—
Yet it was enough to make Aizen roar with rage.
"Gin, you bastard…!"
As he spoke, his chest wound suddenly erupted with white light.
At the microscopic level, the tiny dust particles began dissolving his cells like a furious toxin.
On the surface, the wound writhed and twisted.
Gin watched this, the usual smile on his fox-like face tinged with rare mockery.
"Getting a hole blown in your chest… I guess that makes your wish come true, huh?"
To transcend the boundary between Shinigami and Hollow, one had to abandon the identity of a Shinigami and accept the emptiness of a Hollow's heart.
The external sign of that transformation—
Was the hollow hole that formed in the chest.
And now, the hole created by his blade—
Wasn't it also a kind of "hollow," in its own way?
As Gin spoke, Aizen's pupils shook violently. The wound on his chest expanded dozens of times in the blink of an eye.
His cells were being devoured by the dust-like poison.
In just an instant—
The wound widened into a gaping, twenty-centimeter hole.
Through it, they could clearly see the Hogyoku, which had been fused into his body, being forcibly torn free.
Gin watched Aizen with a soft chuckle.
Before everyone's eyes, the hollow hole in Aizen's chest grew larger and larger, swallowing almost his entire chest as if it would completely melt him away.
The battlefield fell utterly silent.
No one dared to even breathe loudly.
Kisuke, Shunsui, Yoruichi, Shinji in the distance… all of them stared fixedly at Aizen.
All the damage they had managed to inflict together—
Didn't come close to what Gin had done with that one stab to Aizen's back.
The vicious poison that dissolved cells…
You could almost call it "a god-blocker, a Buddha-slayer."
Even Cole narrowed his eyes, tightening his grip on the golden staff, ready to unleash a heaven-shaking blow at any moment.
He had no interest in becoming some glorified guard dog for the Zero Division—
But this was too good a chance.
If he moved now—
He might one-shot Aizen.
Under everyone's gaze, Gin reached out a slender hand and grabbed the starry Hogyoku inside the hollow in Aizen's chest.
The moment his fingers closed around the Hogyoku—
Aizen's right hand lunged for Gin.
But Gin's movements were lightning-fast. Clutching the Hogyoku, he vaulted backward dozens of meters.
By the time he retreated all the way back to where Kisuke, Shunsui, and the others stood, both of them had already raised their blades in alarm.
Even Aizen couldn't withstand a single stab from Gin.
There was no way they believed they could.
Gin didn't seem to mind at all. Still holding the Hogyoku, he smiled at them.
"Kisuke, Captain Kyoraku, Captain Isshin, Ichigo… no need to be so nervous. It's all over now."
Even so, Kisuke and the others didn't dare loosen their grips.
The edges of their blades remained pressed to Gin's neck.
That stab just now had been far too terrifying—
None of them were confident they could block it.
Gin simply chuckled and let them keep their guard up, turning his eyes toward Aizen.
He watched as the brilliant mastermind, the would-be dimension-breaker, staggered backward a few steps before crashing heavily to the ground.
His life force bottomed out in an instant.
They couldn't feel the slightest trace of Aizen's reiatsu anymore.
It was as if he had really died here.
Kyoka Suigetsu exhaled in relief. He turned to leave Karakura Town.
Although he had helped Gin kill Aizen—
He didn't believe for a second that the Shinigami would treat him as a friend.
He was a sword that had betrayed its master, and on top of that, he possessed Hollow power. If he didn't run now, the Shinigami were certain to execute him.
Only by returning to Hueco Mundo, hiding beneath its endless skies—
Could he hope to evade the Shinigami's judgment.
"Gin…"
A weak voice sounded.
But no one on the battlefield heard it.
Gin slowly lowered his head and looked at his own wrist. Blood was pouring from where he held the Hogyoku.
Even with his heart and most of his chest dissolved by the poison, Aizen still had plenty of destructive power left in him.
"Now… it's really over, Rangiku…"
Everyone exchanged looks.
They all had the same strange, letdown feeling.
Aizen had been so overwhelmingly imposing, his speeches so stylish. He'd crippled Yamamoto, severely injured countless Shinigami—
He was just a step away from breaking through the dimension itself—
And he'd been taken out in a single strike?
That was too absurd.
Had Gin really been hiding this deep all along?
Cole stared at Aizen's "corpse" and casually teased Shunsui.
"Captain Kyoraku, if you ask me, once Gin goes back to Seireitei, your strength ranking's probably gonna drop to third place."
Gin's true combat strength had always been a mystery in the original timeline. No one knew his exact level.
In his previous fights—whether against Ichigo or anyone else—he pretty much finished things with a single slash.
The only time he fought using Bankai was against Aizen.
But Aizen's true power had been just as much of a mystery.
Now, Cole could finally judge that Aizen's current strength was already on par with Yamamoto.
And since Gin had managed to "one-shot" this version of Aizen, that meant Gin's combat power had reached its peak as well.
He was definitely stronger than Shunsui.
Shunsui could only give a bitter smile.
"That wouldn't be so strange. Gin's always been strong, after all."
Everyone knew Hitsugaya was a prodigy.
Few realized that Gin was also a genius—just one who didn't shine as brightly as Hitsugaya.
Gin himself felt quite cheerful at the moment. He smiled lightly.
"Captain Kyoraku, once we're back in Seireitei, I'll be counting on you to say a few good words for me."
He had his reasons for helping Aizen, but he'd still committed plenty of sins over the years.
Once Central 46 was rebuilt, those stubborn old fossils definitely wouldn't let him off. There was a real chance they'd lock him in Muken, the deepest level of the prison.
But if enough captains spoke up for him—
He might be spared the harshest punishment.
Shunsui smiled as well.
"Don't worry. You're a great benefactor this time. I'll make sure to speak to the Head Captain for you."
Hearing that, Gin couldn't help smiling more brightly. He turned toward Rangiku.
"Rangiku, you can't look at me like that anymore, okay? I've always been really worried about you. Just now, I was scared out of my—"
He never finished.
His body suddenly froze.
Not far away, from a ruined street, a terrifying purple reiatsu surged skyward—oppressive, violent, tearing at the heavens.
And that reiatsu—
Belonged to Aizen.
Cole's eyes narrowed as he looked toward the figure standing amidst the wreckage, half his body corroded, howling in rage.
"Ahhhhhhhhh!!!"
Aizen's roar shook the sky.
Bathed in the raging purple reiatsu, his body slowly rose, healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
In the hollow in his chest—
A cross began to form.
"What an undying cockroach… he evolved again!?"
Kisuke stared at Aizen in shock.
The Hogyoku wasn't even inside Aizen anymore—
So how was he still evolving?
As everyone stared at Aizen—
Cole's figure appeared high above him. He swung the golden staff and roared:
"Aizen, stop making trouble for me already!!!"
With a resounding boom—
Aizen's nearly regenerated body was blasted apart once more by sixteen earth-shattering strikes.
(End of Chapter)
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