"AIR..."
Above the canyon carved out by the sword, chunks of rubble kept falling from both sides.
They dropped into the darkness below—yet not a single sound came back.
Everyone—Shinigami and Arrancar alike—fell completely silent after witnessing that power. Their eyes were full of shock.
They were all strong enough to cause massive destruction...
But even their power couldn't compare to the swing of Aizen Sōsuke's sword.
Each natural disaster created by the Ten Tails could destroy the world or kill a captain-level Shinigami on the spot.
But dozens of those disasters were sliced apart in a single sword strike.
"I can't sense Aizen's Reiatsu…"
Kurosaki Isshin narrowed his eyes. Without hesitating, he rushed forward, a burning flame dancing in his hand.
Aizen turned his gaze toward him, lifting Kyōka Suigetsu slightly.
But then, Aizen's body changed again.
A third pair of white butterfly-like wings appeared on his back.
His Soul Zanpakutō and left hand began to merge—Kyōka Suigetsu vanished completely.
"The sword's gone!?"
Kurosaki Isshin's eyes lit up. He felt this was his chance. He gripped his Soul Zanpakutō, Engetsu, and slashed down fiercely:
"Crescent Moon... Sky Strike!!"
Unlike Ichigo's version, Isshin's Crescent Moon Sky Strike was wrapped in violent flames, exploding downward with immense force.
But then—
"Snap!"
A single white finger stopped the blade.
"What!? Just one finger!?" Isshin's eyes widened in disbelief.
Aizen Sōsuke had blocked his flaming sword strike with just his index finger.
"This can't be happening… I can't sense your Reiatsu, and your Zanpakutō is gone…"
"Don't misunderstand," Aizen said calmly. "The reason my Zanpakutō disappeared… is because I don't need it anymore."
As he spoke, he casually snapped his fingers.
A blast of energy struck Isshin, sending him crashing to the ground.
Aizen slowly raised both arms. The six butterfly wings behind him spread wide. Looking down at everyone, he declared arrogantly:
"I am no longer a Shinigami. I've broken the boundary between Shinigami and Hollow. I've gone beyond both—and left this dimension behind."
"That's why the Hōgyoku decided I no longer needed a Soul Zanpakutō… It fused it into my body."
"You can't sense my Reiatsu anymore because I'm no longer on the same level as you."
Then, Aizen raised one finger, pointing directly at Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō.
"Hadō #4: Byakurai."
"Zzzap!"
A flash of white lightning shot forward.
Before Rōjūrō could even react, it pierced straight through his shoulder, leaving a gaping hole.
"W-What…?"
As the white bolt passed through, Rōjūrō finally realized what had happened.
He stared at the hole in shock.
"I couldn't even see the attack... And that was just Hadō #4...!"
Urahara Kisuke's face was grim.
The Bakudō trap he'd prepared—he never even had the chance to activate it.
Now even he wasn't sure what to do.
Should we contact the Zero Division…? he wondered.
But then, even his usual calm smile cracked into a bitter one.
Facing Aizen Sōsuke in this form… even the Zero Division might be useless.
This Aizen had already gone beyond what any Shinigami or Hollow could match.
Except maybe for Captain Yamato of the Zero Division, the rest might not even stand a chance.
All we can hope for now... is that monster—the Ten Tails—being sealed by Nanaya… and Ichigo…
Urahara looked toward both of them with hope.
Having known Kurosaki Isshin for years, he could already guess what Urahara was thinking.
Isshin clenched his teeth and dashed toward his son.
"Shua!" In an instant, he appeared in front of Kurosaki Ichigo, grabbed his arm tightly, and said in a low voice:
"Come on! We're leaving—now!"
He wanted to take Ichigo to the Dangai—the space between worlds—where time flowed much more slowly.
There, he could teach Ichigo the final move—the last version of the Crescent Moon Sky Strike.
Because to fight Aizen in this transcendent form…
Ichigo would have to transcend dimensions himself. And that final technique was the only way to do it.
"Wait! Dad, where are we going!?" Ichigo resisted slightly, then pointed at Nanaya with excitement in his eyes:
"Hold on, we can't leave yet! Nanaya's about to seal the Ten Tails—and become its Jinchūriki! It's going to be amazing!"
"You don't understand—"
"There are nine Vasto Lorde-level Arrancar Menos Grande inside that monster's body."
"And the last one—the Nine-Tails Demon Fox—is the strongest of them all. It nearly killed your son."
"I also want to witness the power of the Sage of Six Paths!"
"Huh?" Kurosaki Isshin blinked in confusion.
Ten Tails? Jinchūriki? Vasto Lorde? Nine-Tails Demon Fox? Sage of Six Paths?
He recognized all those words individually, but hearing them all together made no sense to him.
Still, one thing was clear—his son, Ichigo, believed Nanaya could actually take on Aizen Sōsuke.
Impossible, Isshin thought. Aizen had already surpassed what it meant to be a Shinigami. Even a captain might not be able to stop him...
Isshin shook his head hard.
He had just faced Aizen himself—and was completely defeated.
Only someone on the same level as the captain could stand a chance.
But the captain was already badly injured.
Still thinking about this, Isshin looked toward Nanaya.
That's when he noticed something unexpected—Byakuya Kuchiki, Zaraki Kenpachi, Unohana Retsu...
Isshin's eyes widened in shock.
"Th-They're here too...?"
He could understand if it were just his foolish son being reckless.
But those three were all top-tier captains—some of the most powerful fighters in Soul Society.
Could it be… there's something I don't know about? Isshin wondered, a flicker of hope in his eyes.
"Maybe… there's more than just Hollow and Shinigami powers inside that monster…"
"What an interesting creature," he muttered.
Then Aizen Sōsuke turned his gaze toward the Ten Tails.
Cold and god-like, he looked down on the beast with a chilling calm.
"So, human… you plan to use that monster to fight me?"
His voice was flat and dismissive. "You've done well for a human. But a mindless beast like this can never defeat me."
The surrounding Shinigami were sweating nervously as they watched.
They knew Aizen was right.
No matter how destructive the Ten Tails was, it was still wild and irrational.
And when reason battles madness, reason usually wins.
Aizen didn't even need to fight it directly.
A few high-level Kidō would be enough to seal the creature.
He raised his right hand toward the Ten Tails.
"Interesting monster. Let's seal it first."
"Bakudō #99: Forbidden!"
Suddenly, thick leather straps appeared in the air, wrapping tightly around the Ten Tails' massive body, just like the spell Lion's Majesty.
Then, giant nails stabbed through the bindings.
The Ten Tails roared in pain. Its flower-like face twisted as violent energy surged around it.
But Aizen remained calm, speaking the command clearly:
"First Song: Binding Wrap!"
A heavy white bandage tightly covered the Ten Tails.
"Second Song: Hundred-Link Bolts!"
Enormous spikes pierced deep into the monster's flesh.
"Final Song: Bankin Taihō!"
From the sky, a gigantic stone tablet engraved with a swastika symbol began to fall.
The moment the Shinigami saw it, their hearts sank.
That tablet marked the final form of Bakudō #99.
In all of Kidō—whether Hadō, Bakudō, or Kaidō—level 99 spells were the most powerful.
And once that final tablet landed, breaking free was nearly impossible.
"Boom!!"
The swastika tablet crashed down with a thunderous impact.
It was like a mountain dropping from the sky.
The Ten Tails was smashed into the ground, pinned beneath the colossal weight.
Then, Nanaya's Rinnegan began to glow.
In his mind, a strange power suddenly awakened. Almost instinctively, he began forming hand signs with both hands.
He spoke in a low voice:
"Six Paths: Ten Tails Coffin Seal!"
In an instant, the Ten Tails—still trapped under the massive stone—began to tremble.
Something invisible, something connected to Nanaya's Rinnegan, was pulling it in.
Despite its screams and howls, the beast's massive form began to shrink.
It twisted and coiled as it was drawn closer and closer to Nanaya...
Until finally, it disappeared—sealed within his body.
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