"Welcome to my Soul Society…"
The corners of his mouth lifted in a faint arc.
Both hands rested lightly on the armrests of the throne.
In those simple words he had spoken, there was an air of absolute confidence, calm and unhurried.
Yet this time—
for their second encounter, Yhwach had already become the new Soul King. The torrent of spiritual power raging inside him
had swelled to the point where all of Soul Society could barely contain it!!!
Even the spectators outside the scene,
though separated by the screen as they watched,
found that a single glance
was enough to make their very bones tremble. Their spiritual bodies were nearly crushed under the pressure. Countless people shivered uncontrollably and let out screams filled with terror!
In contrast, look at Aizen.
Even as he faced Soul King Yhwach head-on,
his demeanor was like that of a calm homeowner sitting in his own "house" called Soul Society.
Confronting this uninvited guest at the door,
he simply smiled, took the initiative to greet him, and displayed nothing but poise and confidence.
His presence didn't lose out in the slightest!
Such a composed, unruffled attitude,
and the sheer contrast it created,
once again made the audience sigh in admiration:
"I have to admit, it really has to be Aizen!"
"If it were anyone else, the moment they opened their mouth to speak, their spirit body would probably explode from the pressure!"
"That terrifying torrent of dark spiritual power is clearly too much for even the space of Soul Society to bear!"
"Look at how the darkness is warping and twisting the entire battlefield…"
"Soul King Yhwach's power is absolutely horrifying!!!"
In fact,
for this whole stretch of time,
the overwhelming majority of viewers in the Bleach world
were only able to endure the Soul King's pressure and keep forcing themselves to watch
because Aizen was there on screen,
giving them the courage to continue.
He alone
was carrying more than ninety percent of that crushing pressure on his shoulders!
He sat there on his throne, all by himself, facing down the raging tide of the Dark Soul King!
"Savior Aizen"—
those words were not an exaggeration at all!
At this moment,
even the Shinigami of the Gotei 13
had to admit they were relying on Aizen. Thanks to him, their hope had not been completely extinguished.
Otherwise, they would already have believed that Soul Society was doomed, beyond all salvation!
"Aizen…"
"Even if he has the Hōgyoku inside his body…"
"when it comes to the power of the Soul King, there's no guarantee he can't be killed anymore, right?" Jūshirō Ukitake's expression was deeply troubled.
Among everyone present,
he was one of the people who cared most about the fate of Soul Society, no less than the Head Captain himself.
Because,
inside Ukitake's body,
the Soul King's contingency had been planted.
If the three worlds ever fell into complete collapse,
he could sacrifice himself and temporarily take the Soul King's place.
Therefore,
as someone who knew the hidden truth and could vaguely guess the fate that likely awaited his future self—
Ukitake's heart was even heavier.
Most likely, he too would end up giving his life!
And even at the cost of his own life, he still wouldn't be able to stop Yhwach!
Now,
with even that method having failed,
the burden of saving the Bleach world, of confronting the Soul King head-on,
could only fall on Aizen alone!!!
———
Meanwhile,
inside the video,
the conversation between the two final bosses continued to unfold:
"Indeed…"
"Meeting you again, under such drastically different circumstances."
Darkness surged. Soul King Yhwach's tone was grim, his emotions icy.
Gone was the attitude from last time,
when he'd gone all the way to Muken to sincerely seek Aizen's cooperation.
"Heh…"
Aizen's lips curled.
He ignored the torrent of pressure continuously bearing down on him from all directions.
As always,
he treated the opponent before him just like any other he had ever faced.
Right to their face, he provoked them with words:
"How unexpected…"
"I thought you and the others would settle things up there in the Soul King Palace."
The curve of his mouth deepened.
Half smiling, half sneering, Aizen twisted the taunt even further:
"Looks like Kurosaki Ichigo… was more troublesome than you anticipated, wasn't he?"
When he spoke that name,
there wasn't the slightest hint of hostility in his voice.
If anything, it sounded like…
they were united against a common enemy, fighting side by side!
At this moment, Kurosaki Ichigo was essentially being treated as Aizen's teammate—the main force standing against Soul King Yhwach!!!
And once this exchange
was broadcast through the ranking video to the real world,
it caused a stir—
because it directly involved
Kurosaki Ichigo, the protagonist of the next round of rankings.
Moreover,
Aizen's words
also indirectly confirmed that, by the time the Thousand-Year Blood War reached its finale in the future,
Ichigo's ultimate strength
would also rise to the level where he could confront the Soul King himself!
As a result,
a massive shock rippled through the audience!
Once again, they were left stunned!!!
"Ichigo…"
"That's amazing!!!"
"In the future, you'll also be one of the five heroes who save the world!!!"
In Karakura Town,
on the high school campus,
Orihime Inoue gasped, her beautiful eyes sparkling as she gazed at Kurosaki Ichigo in front of her, overflowing with worship.
She understood all too well how terrifying Soul King Yhwach was.
Even as an ordinary human, after watching for so long, she now had a clear impression—the scope of that power could drown the world like a boundless ocean.
Precisely because of that,
having seen it with her own eyes,
Orihime admired her future husband even more!
Right now Ichigo was still just a human with a mortal body.
Yet in the future, he would rise to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Soul King and truly become the one who stood against the ruination of the world!
How much courage would that take,
to bear such a responsibility on his shoulders!!!
"Yeah…" Tatsuki Arisawa couldn't help sighing as well. "Honestly, I feel like you're not going to sit this one out, Ichigo!"
"There's a good chance you'll jump into the fight halfway through—team up with Aizen, and together take on that evil Soul King Yhwach!"
Saying this,
Tatsuki felt even more emotional and incredulous.
Back in the middle of this very ranking,
when Blood-Blue Aizen had nearly broken Soul Society,
it had also been Ichigo who stepped forward!
He'd defeated Hōgyoku Aizen as the "savior,"
shattering his ambition to create the Ōken!!!
And now,
because of this common enemy—Soul King Yhwach—
the two of them were about to join forces instead.
Such a dramatic turn of events made even Tatsuki, as a close friend, feel it was unbelievable!
As for Ichigo himself,
he was every bit as shocked that Aizen would turn over a new leaf and that his future self would actually fight alongside him!
However…
his gaze
never left Soul King Yhwach.
He stared at the raging currents of spiritual pressure wrapped around Yhwach, swallowing the entire screen.
Even someone as strong-willed as Kurosaki Ichigo
couldn't help but feel a flicker of doubt at this sight—
Facing such an overwhelmingly powerful enemy,
a brand-new, evil Soul King…
Was it really possible to defeat him? That question hung heavy in his mind.
Especially since,
right now, Aizen was still bound by seals.
Only three of his spiritual locks had been removed.
If his future self was the main fighter,
victory felt very far away…
But,
just then,
a turning point arrived!
"Boom!!!"
On the screen,
Soul King Yhwach raised his hand.
The dark spiritual power around him surged,
forming a storm like a titanic waterfall that blew straight through the projection!
The transparent light curtain shook violently,
and the audience was once again caught in the blast. Countless people were blown away!
"Uwaaa…"
In the midst of the screams,
those viewers who managed to resist the fear and pressure and look toward the screen
saw only shockwaves filling every inch of it.
Then—
they noticed something that left them utterly ecstatic.
Because of this sweeping eruption of dark spiritual power,
everything within the battlefield had been pulverized to dust!
Naturally,
Aizen—the target of the attack—
and the throne that had been restraining him
were no exception!!!
With a resounding crack,
the gigantic wall of wind exploded, shattering apart in the shockwave.
At the same time,
with his restraints obliterated,
Aizen's imposing figure slowly emerged from within the smoke and dust.
In that instant,
it was as if the scene itself froze.
And all the viewers, upon seeing this,
were stunned for a heartbeat—
then erupted into an earth-shaking roar of celebration:
"Holy crap!!!"
"Aizen… he finally stood up!!!"
"He's no longer bound! His arms and legs are free—he can move as he pleases!!!"
"Is the real show finally about to start? A fully unbound Aizen… versus the evil Soul King Yhwach!!!"
The audience collectively lost their minds.
The mood, which had been so weighed down before,
turned hopeful again.
If, earlier,
everyone had felt that the sealed Aizen's power was lacking and that he wasn't enough to stand against Soul King Yhwach,
then—
now everything was different!
With his shackles removed, just how strong Aizen truly was remained a complete mystery!
No one could say for sure.
Armed with that same overwhelming spiritual pressure,
and with the fully integrated power of his Zanpakutō, Kyōka Suigetsu,
what kind of breathtaking battle scenes
would we see in the coming moments?
The thought alone made the audience tremble with excitement!!!
———
"Lord Aizen should be able to win, right?"
Inside Las Noches,
even the most laid-back of them all, Coyote Starrk,
couldn't help but stand up now, his gaze fixed on the screen with rare intensity.
The lazy expression had disappeared from his face,
replaced by excitement and burning eyes!!!
This clash at the summit,
even surpassed that previous showdown in Karakura Town—the battle between Soul King-form Ichigo and Hōgyoku Aizen!
After all…
Soul King Yhwach was a genuine Soul King.
There was no time limit, and, as far as they could see, he had no weaknesses at all!
It might be
that all he had to do was stand there.
The raging Soul King power within him would be enough to crush the world.
Only Aizen
had the qualifications to keep smiling, to speak so lightly in front of Soul King Yhwach the whole time!
"Of course!" Lilynette clenched her fists, her petite body wriggling with excitement as she cheered. "Lord Aizen has transcended!"
"He's no longer just the ruler of Hueco Mundo, representing us Hollows… he's about to save the entire world!!!"
The other Espada all stared at the screen, eyes blazing.
Seeing Aizen there,
they felt an absolute sense of security in their hearts.
None of them
believed that Aizen would lose to Soul King Yhwach!!!
———
At this moment,
in the video,
the standoff and the battle were on the verge of exploding!
"Aizen…"
"Please don't project your own frustrations onto me with these provocations…"
"The one who lost to Kurosaki Ichigo was you and no one else!!!"
Soul King Yhwach sneered,
dark currents swirling around him once more as he prepared another surge.
"Is that so?"
Aizen lifted his eyes slightly.
A faint smile touched his lips. "Either way, I should thank you for helping me get through those days…"
"Yhwach, thanks to you, I'm now able to do this—stop you with everything I have!!!"
As his words fell,
his spiritual pressure erupted.
Aizen raised both arms.
A vast surge of violet spiritual power shot skyward, forming a torrent to rival Yhwach's.
It blew away the oppressive aura bearing down on the area,
stood toe-to-toe with the Soul King's power,
and made the entire screen explode in light once again!
Spiritual pressures clashed, pounding against each other.
Two colossal whirlpools collided—
their battle finally began in earnest!
In an instant,
the already-ruined lands of Seireitei
were completely annihilated. Every last building was reduced to rubble!
"So insane…"
"A true Soul King-level battle is absolutely terrifying!!!"
"The Seireitei that the Shinigami have maintained for a thousand years has been completely smashed to bits. They really don't even have a home left now…"
There was awe, shock,
and even some mocking laughter from other races who seized the chance to jeer.
All in all,
everyone watched, completely immersed.
They seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
to witness a peak-level Soul King battle through the transparent screen!
At that moment,
from within the footage, Soul King Yhwach's deep, rumbling voice sounded again:
"Aizen…"
"I still don't quite understand…"
"What is your purpose in fighting me? Is it for Soul Society?"
"I don't believe that doing this will benefit you in any way…"
His cold words
were dripping with contempt and disdain—arrogance with nothing held back.
After becoming the new Soul King,
Yhwach no longer regarded Aizen as someone on his level.
To his mind,
Aizen's motive for fighting him was utterly foolish!
However…
Aizen's response that followed
once again left the entire world stunned:
"It has nothing to do with personal gain…"
He shook his head slightly, standing within the physical storm of spiritual pressure.
His expression remained impassive as he spoke his creed with a faint smile:
"All this time, I have regarded myself as a prisoner."
"I fight only to destroy whatever seeks to control me."
When those words reached the real world, a thunderous uproar broke out at once.
At this moment,
Aizen had almost completely washed himself clean.
It was no longer about justice or evil.
His perspective stood on a height far beyond any simple concept of "sides."
From beginning to end,
Aizen had fought only for himself—
to avoid being ruled, to avoid being controlled, to refuse to live beneath the shadow of some distant Soul King.
Put simply,
Aizen existed
to prepare for the ultimate revolution—to overthrow the old Soul King.
And this,
was precisely why
Aizen would stop at nothing to fight Soul King Yhwach here and now!
A Soul Society destroyed by darkness
was not the future Aizen wanted!!!
"Aizen…"
Inside the First Division barracks, the captains of the Gotei 13 fell silent.
For the first time, they were truly hearing Aizen's inner voice.
Instinctively, they reflected:
All this time, they had misunderstood him.
Perhaps,
from the standpoint of the Gotei 13,
Aizen's actions—the way he'd manipulated everything from the shadows for over ten years—
did indeed make him a "criminal."
However…
when viewed from a higher plane,
one could say that Aizen bore no sin.
He wanted only to reorder things, to rebuild Soul Society, nothing more.
Yet…
just as the captains were lost in their complex emotions and quiet sighs,
the plot on screen twisted once more. Something completely unexpected happened!!!
Shhhk—!!
Craaaack—!!!
"He made it in time—and he really joined forces with Aizen!!!"
In the next instant, the viewers saw, beyond all doubt, that they might actually have a real chance this time.
Seeing Ichigo Kurosaki arrive, his appearance transformed,
everyone felt their eyes light up, their hearts igniting in an instant!
Aizen,
and Ichigo Kurosaki—
the top two wielders in this "Top Ten Strongest Zanpakutō" ranking—
would now join forces against Soul King Yhwach!
With a development like that…
this round of rankings had truly reached its flashiest, most explosive climax!!!
(End of Chapter)
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