"You're… actually doing it!?"
"Are you crazy!?"
"Aizen's lost it, and now you're going crazy too!?"
Urahara's scalp went numb.
He'd thought Cole was joking, or just bluffing to confuse Aizen.
He never imagined…
That Cole was actually serious.
Even Aizen needed the Ōken (Royal Key) to open the Soul King Palace, yet this human high schooler actually wanted to knock it down by brute force.
Isshin was also startled. He hurriedly looked over at Kyoraku.
"Kyoraku-taichō, is it really possible to knock the Soul King Palace down?"
He hadn't been a captain for long. His seniority couldn't compare to a veteran like Kyoraku at all.
But in his mind—
The Soul King Palace, as the residence of the Soul King and the royal family, stood high above, protected by the Zero Division. There was no way it should be that fragile.
Kyoraku was drenched in cold sweat.
"The Soul King Palace exists in an independent space above Soul Society. No one knows its true nature. To enter, you need the Ōken and must pass through seventy-two barriers."
"It's said that every single barrier possesses terrifying defensive power—on the level of the Kōtotsu in the Dangai (Precipice World)."
"In the past thousand, ten thousand, even a million years, there has never been any record of someone forcefully invading the Soul King Palace."
Hearing this long explanation, Isshin figured they were safe. He let out a long sigh of relief.
"So that means Cole can't knock the Soul King Palace down."
Kyoraku's mouth twitched.
"I never said that."
Isshin froze.
"But you just said that in the past million years no one has ever invaded…"
"The key thing," Kyoraku said, on the verge of tears, "is that in the past million years, there has never been a monster like this!!!"
He had no idea why his luck was so bad—
That he just had to live in the era of Cole and Aizen.
Compared to the endless flow of history, even a Shinigami's thousand-year life span was barely a drop in the bucket.
And yet in this one tiny stretch of time, a whole bunch of monsters had popped up in a row.
Aizen was one.
Cole was one.
Ichigo counted as half of one.
Thanks to this pack of monsters, this salted-fish who only wanted to slack off now had to fight for real.
Cold sweat slid down Isshin's forehead.
"Kyoraku… since no one's ever knocked the Soul King Palace down before, it shouldn't suddenly happen this time… right?"
He knew Cole was strong—stronger than his pride and joy, his eldest son.
But to be the first in history? That seemed a bit too outrageous.
Kyoraku let out a dry laugh.
"Captain Shiba, maybe you haven't read the records in the Great Spirit Book Gallery, but I have."
Meeting Isshin's nervous gaze, Kyoraku's expression turned uncharacteristically solemn.
"I can tell you this much—throughout the entire history of this world, Cole and Aizen are both dangerous enough to rank in the top five. They're among the most dangerous beings in existence."
Isshin sucked in a sharp breath.
He'd never imagined Kyoraku's evaluation of those two would be this high.
From the side, Urahara added in a faint tone:
"Captain Kurosaki, what are you so surprised about? If your son does what I told him to, his danger level will be even higher than Aizen's."
Saigo no Getsuga Tenshō (Last Moon-Fang Heaven-Piercer).
That move was the most dangerous ability he'd ever seen.
You gave up all your Shinigami power—
And in exchange, for a short period of time, attained a godlike status.
Put simply, if Ichigo entered the form of Saigo no Getsuga Tenshō—
His combat power would surpass even Yamamoto.
Isshin snapped out of it and forced a couple of dry laughs.
He still had zero interest in letting his son train that move.
While they were talking—
Under the weight of the five iron pillars, Aizen roared in rage, struggling nonstop as cracks started spiderwebbing through the massive pillars.
His Million Shield and ultra-reiatsu barrier were pushed to the limit.
The combined power of both—
Slowly erased the five pillars, reducing them to nothing.
After finally breaking free, Aizen's eyes were bloodshot as he glared at Cole floating above the sky in front of the rift.
He couldn't accept it.
He had already evolved—
And yet a mere human had still humiliated him, pinned him to the ground, and suppressed him.
His oversized pride had finally been pushed to the brink. His body trembled with rage, his fist clenched so hard his knuckles popped.
"Cole!!!"
His roar shook the heavens.
Aizen's face darkened—literally.
His face turned black, and the skin of his old face split down the middle and hung on either side of that black visage.
Three holes opened on his upper torso—
The Hōgyoku sat within the highest one.
His zanpakuto fully merged into his right hand.
From each of the six enormous butterfly wings on his back, the central spine sprouted a skull-like bulge, bizarre and hideous all at once.
In this form—
Aizen no longer had any traits of a Shinigami at all. He looked more like a Hollow.
More monstrous and terrifying than any Arrancar.
As he completed this evolution, Aizen froze for a moment.
Then he burst into wild laughter, spreading his arms in manic elation.
"Cole, I really didn't expect it. My extreme hatred for you has actually pushed me into yet another evolution."
For most lifeforms, fear and danger were the primary driving forces of evolution, pushing a species to adapt to the world.
Hatred, as a mere emotion of the mind, normally couldn't affect the evolution of life itself.
And yet he had evolved.
That alone was proof of just how enraged he'd been—
His fury had reached deep enough to shake the very foundation of his existence.
With that thought, Aizen floated up into the sky, looking down coldly at everyone present.
Everyone's faces grew more serious than ever.
Byakuya flicked his right hand, scattering a cloud of cherry blossoms around himself. Frowning at Aizen, he asked:
"Cole, what's going on? Why can't I feel Aizen's reiatsu at all?"
Within his spiritual network, he couldn't sense Aizen's existence whatsoever—
As if the man simply no longer existed in this world.
And yet his eyes could clearly see Aizen.
The sheer strangeness of it filled him with a sense of foreboding.
The others were frowning as well.
Every living thing in this world possessed spiritual pressure—
The only difference lay in how strong or weak it was. Names aside, it always existed.
But now—
They truly could not feel Aizen's reiatsu at all.
At that moment, Hirako limped over and joined them, looking up at Aizen with a tight, dry voice.
"You… have you already evolved into a new dimension?"
Aizen looked mildly surprised.
Then he grinned.
"Hirako-taichō, I used to think you were just an idiot. But looking at you now, sometimes you're not that stupid."
Hirako's mouth twitched.
But the more he thought about it, the less he could find any room to argue.
He felt a deep sense of sorrow in his heart.
After all, Aizen had once been his vice-captain.
Even though he had understood Aizen's ambition and danger—
He still hadn't guarded against him properly, and ended up being forced into hiding with his name erased for a hundred years.
And in the end…
Aizen had run through him like he was nothing, like slicing vegetables.
Unable to contain his zeal any longer, Aizen looked down at everyone like a god, speaking in a detached, indifferent tone:
"This is what a higher-dimensional realm is. We are no longer in the same dimension. Naturally, you cannot sense my reiatsu. It's like ants being unable to comprehend the greatness of humans."
The moment his words fell, everyone's faces darkened as one.
Too arrogant.
He'd actually compared them, the Shinigami, to ants.
And the worst part—
Was they didn't really have any way to argue back.
Even before evolving this far, Aizen had easily overwhelmed them.
Now it would only be easier.
Rukia bit down on her lip.
"Aizen, don't get ahead of yourself. You were just getting beaten around by Cole a minute ago. Where do you get off being this cocky?"
Everyone's expressions eased a little.
That was true.
He'd only evolved once. His strength shouldn't have changed that much.
Aizen chuckled softly.
"Rukia, it seems you still don't understand the essence of evolution. Evolution isn't about gradually increasing your strength—it's a leap in a single step, a shift in the very nature of life."
Rukia blinked in confusion.
She didn't understand what "the nature of life" was supposed to be.
Aizen couldn't be bothered to lecture her on evolution. Something like that would never be understood by the ignorant.
Rukia had no choice but to turn to Cole, mumbling:
"Cole, what does he mean?"
It wasn't that she'd admit she was poorly educated.
Shinigami simply never studied this sort of thing. It wasn't useful to them at all.
Cole's lips quirked upward.
He lowered his head, bringing his mouth close to Rukia's ear as he spoke with a smile:
"Well, 'evolution' is a kind of qualitative leap in the nature of life. It's like trilobites evolving into vertebrates, or monkeys evolving into humans. They're two completely different levels."
Feeling his warm breath at her ear, Rukia's earlobes turned crimson.
Her head spun a little, but she still understood what Cole was saying, and her expression grew troubled.
"So this is what evolution is…? Just one evolution can create that big a gap?"
Even if she didn't understand evolutionary theory—
She understood his examples.
A bug turning into a vertebrate.
A monkey becoming a human.
Those were complete changes in species.
You could say that every evolution represented an earth-shattering transformation.
If you used numbers as an example, a single evolution might mean jumping from a battle power of one hundred to one million.
Thinking of that, Rukia looked at Cole with growing worry, biting down on her lower lip.
"Cole… can you still win like this?"
Cole couldn't help laughing.
He reached out and ruffled Rukia's hair firmly, speaking with absolute confidence.
"Relax. I've got this."
Rukia's face blossomed into a smile. She nodded hard.
"Mm. Cole, I've always believed in you."
Cole laughed loudly, then raised his right hand and pointed it at Aizen.
"Aizen, since you've evolved into a new dimension—then let this little ant give you something big."
As his voice fell—
A profound chant rolled from his lips.
"Hands of a thousand, reaching toward the horizon.
Inaccessible darkness of the exalted hand, unreachable azure of the heavenly archer!
Road bathed in radiant light, wind that fans the sparks into flame—
When all gathers as one, there shall be no doubt. Obey my command!"
"Eight bodies of light bullets, nine lines, heavenly sutras, rushing treasures, great wheels.
Grey gun turret, draw the bow to the farthest distance—vanish cleanly into the firmament!"
"Hado no 91 - Senju Koten Taiho (Way of Destruction 91 - Thousand-Hand Bright Heavenly Culling Cannon)!!!"
(End of Chapter)
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