"What?!"
"Aizen is still alive?!"
"Are you kidding me? The Final Getsuga Tenshō is a Soul King–level attack!"
"How did he survive without getting split in half?!"
"I can't deny it—this power granted by the Hōgyoku really does make Aizen unkillable! Truly immortal!!"
At that moment—
With the world erupting in shock—
The screen showed the bottom of the canyon.
Hōgyoku Aizen braced one hand against the ground.
As the smoke dispersed, he slowly climbed out of the fracture in the earth.
Though his expression—
looked strained, uncomfortable.
It was clear that he had suffered immense damage just now—
and the pain still lingered.
But then—
Before the viewers' eyes—
every wound on Aizen's body
healed instantly.
High-speed regeneration had begun.
And his appearance was no longer the monstrous hollow form.
He reverted—
back to the refined form of a Shinigami.
The audiences' first reaction:
"The old Aizen… is back!"
"No way…"
"Even that didn't kill him?!"
"Why does it feel like Ichigo's strongest strike actually helped him—forcing him back into his original, flawless form?"
Inside the First Division—
The Captains exchanged looks, frowning deeply.
In that instant—
they finally understood the true horror of the Hōgyoku.
"Eternal life. Infinite vitality."
—this terrifying description had been completely confirmed.
A full-power Soul King–tier attack.
If even that couldn't kill Hōgyoku Aizen—
Then in the future…
this man would be utterly unstoppable.
With eternal life—
and endlessly growing reiatsu—
he would truly be invincible.
But the despair didn't end there.
In the silence, the screen delivered another shock.
CRACK—!!!
Ichigo's body—
The black bandages of the "Final Getsuga Tenshō" vanished.
The traces of Tensa Zangetsu on his forearm disintegrated.
His hair faded—
returning from jet-black to orange.
Every visible change—
declared one thing:
Ichigo's last shred of Shinigami power… was gone.
"Damn…"
"So in the end… it still wasn't enough?"
"He couldn't do it…"
"Aizen… and his Zanpakutō… had the last laugh!"
The sky collapsed.
The Gotei 13 fell into utter despair.
Even without celebrating early—
the result remained:
Aizen won.
That man—
always overwhelming—
an unscalable mountain crushing their hearts—
bringing endless pressure and hopelessness.
And then—
Aizen's triumphant voice echoed from the screen:
"You've lost, Ichigo Kurosaki."
"Do you see it? My Zanpakutō — Kyōka Suigetsu — is disappearing."
"You should understand what that means."
"It represents the Hōgyoku's judgment: I no longer need a Zanpakutō."
"Just like you did earlier—my evolution has ascended… to a new realm."
Aizen's lips curled into an ecstatic smile.
He raised his right arm—
where Kyōka Suigetsu had once been fused.
The camera zoomed in—
revealing the blade of Kyōka Suigetsu
crumbling away grain by grain—
dissolving into white dust.
It truly mirrored Ichigo's previous transformation.
Aizen, too, had reached—
the fusion of soul and blade.
A new, perfected state.
The moment this was shown—
the world erupted again.
"WOOO!!!"
"Congratulations Aizen-sama!!!"
"Fusion achieved! Perfection realized! You're destined to become the Soul King!"
"From now on, you won't need to release your Zanpakutō— you can cast illusions at will!"
"In the future, your five-sense hypnosis can affect ANYONE beneath the Soul King!"
Inside Las Noches—
Hollows and Arrancar trembled, overwhelmed.
Their emotions burned hot as they gazed at the throne.
Even though Kyōka Suigetsu had dissolved—
to them, Aizen WAS the Zanpakutō now.
As long as he lived,
Kyōka Suigetsu's power would live eternally inside him—
stronger than ever.
No release needed.
No conditions.
No ritual.
With infinite spiritual growth—
Aizen was now a walking Kyōka Suigetsu.
This form—
was even more invincible.
"Ahh…"
Gin shrugged, fully admitting defeat:
"Captain Aizen, congratulations.
Now even your one weakness—'touching the blade before hypnosis'—is gone."
"I can't imagine any possible method to defeat you after this… and Kyōka Suigetsu's power."
Hopeless.
Gin fully conceded.
But he still felt a sliver of pride.
Because indeed—
He had been the closest to killing Aizen.
Two stabs.
Dismemberment.
Even ripping the Hōgyoku out of Aizen's body—
No one else could boast such feats.
Aizen smiled faintly.
"Gin… you're correct."
"After surviving life and death, driven by the Hōgyoku—
my future self evolves again, reaching Ichigo's realm."
"And Kyōka Suigetsu—now fused with my eternal soul—
will live within me forever."
His smile widened.
This evolution matched every expectation.
He had reached a new stage—the strongest form yet.
His power—
his Zanpakutō ability—
his mindset—
all would grow even stronger.
However—
Just as Aizen finished speaking—
before his expression could fully settle—
BANG—!!!
A heavy tearing sound erupted.
The camera shifted—
revealing Aizen's chest pierced from the inside.
Red, glowing cones of Kidō
shot out from within his body—
one after another.
The sudden reversal
stunned the entire world.
And the happiest man alive—
was Urahara Kisuke.
"No way…"
"Could it be… the seal I implanted inside Aizen during my appearance in the ranking video?"
"That Kidō… finally activated?!"
Beneath his green-striped hat—
Kisuke's eyes widened with delight.
He never expected this…
His future self had been operating on fifth-layer foresight.
Even present-day Kisuke admired his own preparation.
"Eh?"
Beside him—
Yoruichi and Tessai stared blankly.
Completely stunned.
"What the hell…"
"You can insert last-minute plot twists in a battle like THIS?!"
"Store manager…"
"You didn't sleep with the video author, did you?"
Tessai gave a thumbs-up.
Yoruichi added teasingly:
"Kisuke, if we're being generous, this is 'strategic foresight'—laying groundwork ahead of time."
"But honestly? You stole the win."
"You waited until Aizen was at his weakest… then snatched the MVP!"
"At this rate, people will call you the King of Sneak Attacks forever!"
The teasing was merciless.
Meanwhile—
In the video—
a familiar green figure landed behind Ichigo.
"Aizen… was that you?"
Aizen growled, furious at being ambushed.
"That's right."
Kisuke stepped forward, clogs tapping.
"After merging with the Hōgyoku, you're practically immortal.
The only method left… is sealing you."
"Seal me? Don't joke."
"I have ascended to a new realm—your level of Kidō cannot possibly—"
Aizen didn't finish.
Kidō activated.
More crimson spikes erupted, piercing Aizen's entire body.
Sealing Kidō — Ninety-Six: Kifūjin Kōkafūmetsu!
Crimson light engulfed him—
Aizen's body swallowed whole—
encased completely within
a multi-layered cruciform cage.
"It's over…"
"Unexpected, yes. But at least Aizen is sealed.
He can't threaten Soul Society anymore."
In the First Division—
Kyoraku exhaled deeply.
His nerves finally eased.
Moments earlier—
during Aizen's struggle—
it looked like the seal might fail.
Kyoraku nearly had a heart attack.
"Yes…"
Sui-Feng nodded.
"I misjudged Urahara Kisuke.
In the end, only he could end Aizen."
Above them—
Yamamoto finally spoke:
"Hmph… do not forget.
Kyōka Suigetsu has disintegrated."
"With Aizen sealed—
the blade that tormented Soul Society…
is now gone forever."
"This ranking… should be concluding."
The old man looked exhausted.
This entire arc—
Aizen and Kyōka Suigetsu—
had tormented the Gotei 13 endlessly.
Even him.
Multiple times he grew angry, frustrated—
forced to sit and watch Aizen flaunt his arrogance.
But now—
it was finally over.
He could breathe again.
———
Meanwhile—
Hueco Mundo sank into the opposite atmosphere.
Quiet.
Somber.
Defeated.
"Aizen-sama…"
"How could his ending… be like this?!"
The Arrancar were devastated.
Their invincible hero—
not slain—
not defeated—
but sealed.
Soon to be delivered back to Soul Society—
a prisoner.
Such humiliation
was unimaginable to beings
who had worshiped him relentlessly.
"Captain Aizen…"
"After all that… you still failed to escape."
"Your future self…
will probably spend countless years in confinement."
Gin spoke quietly—
still shocked.
The fall of Hōgyoku Aizen
was far from anything he expected.
It contradicted the unstoppable mastermind
Aizen had always been.
Captured—
and imprisoned by those he once manipulated.
But—
Aizen ignored the mockery.
He smiled calmly.
"Gin… your interpretation is mistaken."
"Imprisonment and sealing do not equal defeat."
"The Hōgyoku has not been removed.
Therefore… my power has not ended."
"On the contrary—
both my spiritual pressure
and Kyōka Suigetsu, now fused with my soul—"
"will continue evolving even in confinement."
"This is enough."
This perspective—
and arrogance—
no one else could match.
Aizen did not see imprisonment as humiliation.
Instead—
It confirmed his path.
Through Ichigo's transformation—
he realized his previous evolution was flawed.
Now corrected—
his next stage
could truly reach the Soul King.
———
Meanwhile—
as viewers discussed Aizen's fate—
the video provided the answer.
The light-screen flashed.
A new scene played—
Dim lighting.
An oppressive atmosphere.
Central Great Underground Prison.
The same location shown
when the massacre of the Central 46 was revealed earlier.
Only this time—
the "corpses" were alive again.
Every seat in the tribunal held a shadowy figure.
"Huh…"
"Another batch of new Central 46?"
"Watching this bunch kills my mood instantly…"
Kenpachi snorted, annoyed.
In reality—
the Central 46 corpses hadn't even been cleared away yet.
Their blood was still drying.
Yet the video showed a brand new group of "sages."
Ridiculous.
But then—
their verdict stunned the world.
"For the next judgment—"
"Former Fifth Division Captain, criminal Aizen Sōsuke—"
"shall be imprisoned in the lowest level of the Central Great Prison—Muken."
"For a duration of—"
18,800 years.
Nearly twenty thousand years.
A sentence so outrageous—
it shook the entire world.
(End of Chapter)
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