"Hey, hey, hey… this isn't a dream, right?"
Aizen Sōsuke was being held up by the neck, suspended in the air.
"That guy actually injured the Captain-Commander…"
"He said he broke the boundary between Shinigami and Hollow, went beyond both, and entered a whole new level…"
The Shinigami watching from afar were frozen in shock.
Lieutenants like Madarame Ikkaku even rubbed their eyes, thinking they might be seeing things.
The scene in front of them was just too unbelievable.
Before Nanaya arrived, Aizen Sōsuke had seemed unstoppable — a terrifying villain who left everyone in despair.
Even his subordinates had badly wounded many Shinigami.
And when Aizen himself took action, he nearly killed Captain-Commander Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni.
Later, the Visoreds (Masked Army) tried to fight him, but even they were completely overpowered by Aizen's evolved form. They had no chance.
That same nearly invincible Aizen… now looked completely defeated.
The contrast was so great, it was hard for anyone to accept.
"You can't kill me!" Aizen shouted at Nanaya, blood in his eyes. "The Hōgyoku has fully fused with me! I've surpassed normal limits — I've entered a higher dimension! I'll keep evolving until I become a god who rules the world!"
"So arrogant," Nanaya replied coldly. "You really think I can't kill you?"
In the original story, it was Urahara Kisuke who outsmarted Aizen in the end. Aizen had been dancing in Urahara's palm the entire time.
No matter how smart or tricky Aizen thought he was, he still lost to Urahara — a true genius.
And even if Urahara didn't exist, there were still plenty of powerful people in the world.
Like the Royal Guard from the Zero Division.
Or the Wandenreich, the hidden empire that hadn't even shown up yet.
Even if Aizen reached his final form, he might not be able to defeat those enemies.
Thinking this, Nanaya's eyes sharpened.
Behind him, the nine black Truth-Seeking Orbs twisted and reshaped, forming nine black spears. With a flick of his will, they stabbed downward.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
The sound of flesh being pierced echoed in the air.
Aizen, who had been roaring in anger, suddenly froze. After a few seconds, he looked down slowly.
He saw it — wherever the black spears hit, his flesh was vanishing, erased from existence.
Even his white Hollow armor couldn't protect him.
"This… this is…" he muttered, stunned. "It's destroying my body… even the Hōgyoku can't heal this…"
Aizen's eyes widened in disbelief.
He could feel the flesh disappearing — being wiped out completely — and no matter how fast the Hōgyoku worked, it couldn't restore what was lost.
It was like some invisible force was blocking any chance of recovery.
"Damn it!!!"
"How could I die at the hands of a human!?"
Aizen's face twisted with rage and fear.
Because deep inside, he realized — he might really die here. Killed by the human standing in front of him.
And just then…
Far off in the sky, Ichimaru Gin, wearing his usual fox-like grin, narrowed his eyes and muttered:
"Captain Aizen… looks like this is the weakest you've ever been. I didn't think a human could push you this far…"
"But you're still evolving. Just in case you recover… I, your most loyal follower, will make sure that doesn't happen."
Gin's sly smile grew wider.
Hidden in his sleeve, he held his short Zanpakutō. Quietly, he aimed the blade at Aizen.
Then said softly, "Bankai…"
"Kamishini no Yari."
There was no massive burst of spiritual pressure — just a silver flash that moved faster than sound.
"Swoosh!"
The blade shot forward and stabbed straight through Aizen's heart.
Everyone watching — except Nanaya — was completely stunned.
No one understood what had just happened.
"Did he… betray him?" Hitsugaya Tōshirō frowned, eyeing Gin. "Is he trying to switch sides?"
"This is… totally unexpected," said Kyōraku Shunsui, scratching his head in confusion.
"What the hell is going on!?" Kurosaki Ichigo shouted, unable to make sense of any of it.
But Ichimaru Gin ignored all of them.
He silently pulled his blade back, clenched his fist, and stared at Aizen, watching carefully.
"Is he dead…?"
Gin had waited hundreds of years for this moment — to strike down Aizen Sōsuke when he was most vulnerable.
His Bankai was said to move at 500 times the speed of sound.
But in reality, that wasn't true.
Kamishini no Yari only moved a few dozen times faster than sound. The true danger lay elsewhere.
When the blade extended and retracted, it turned into fine ash — and that ash carried a deadly poison capable of breaking down cells at a terrifying rate.
"Ahhh!!!"
Aizen screamed in agony.
Not only had the Truth-Seeking Ball pierced through his body, but now the poison from Gin's blade was tearing him apart from the inside.
The pain was unbearable — it felt like his entire body was being shredded. It was so intense, he even felt the urge to end his own life.
But along with the pain came his instinct to survive — and with it, his body began its final transformation.
His face turned pitch black.
The skin on his face split open from the middle and peeled to both sides, exposing the new black surface underneath.
Three holes appeared across his chest. The Hōgyoku floated inside the uppermost one. His Zanpakutō had now merged completely with his right arm.
His six butterfly-shaped wings, which had skull-like structures along their spines, no longer resembled anything Shinigami-like. They looked more Hollow than ever.
Aizen was no longer recognizable as human.
Even among Arrancar and Menos-class Hollows, this form would be considered extremely grotesque.
Still — his power had increased dramatically.
Watching all this, Nanaya's Rinnegan eyes pulsed faintly as he muttered:
"He's powerful… and somehow still evolving. Hōgyoku really is impressive. Even now, it keeps pushing him to grow stronger..."
At this point, Aizen had become something close to immortal.
All the damage he had taken moments ago was healing at an incredible rate.
He opened his mouth, ready to speak, but Nanaya gave him no chance.
"Sage Art: Storm Release – Light Fang!"
A flash of white light shot out and struck Aizen in the chest once again.
Then, with a calm expression, Nanaya raised his left hand and began chanting:
"Bakudō No. 61: Six-Staff Light Prison."
"Bakudō No. 63: Locking Bar Binding."
"Bakudō No. 75: Five Pillars of Iron."
"Bakudō No. 99: Forbidden Binding."
One after another, powerful binding spells locked Aizen in place.
Even after all that, Aizen still had enough strength to struggle.
Nanaya raised an eyebrow, then added another technique:
"Golem Chain."
With the sound of grinding metal, thick chains burst from Nanaya's chest and wrapped around Aizen's body.
Even in his evolved form, Aizen couldn't break free.
He roared in frustration, trying to force his body to evolve again.
But Nanaya didn't give him the chance.
He reached out his right hand toward Aizen's head, speaking with slight regret:
"To be honest, I'd rather kill you and take your body."
"If I made you into one of the Paths of Pain — along with the Arrancars I've already collected — you'd be incredibly powerful."
"You'd make the perfect Deva Path…"
Just as Nanaya prepared to summon the Truth-Seeking Balls again to finish Aizen off —
Rip!
The air around them tore open.
Three figures stepped out from the rift: two in white robes, and one in black.
"What the…!?"
The watching Shinigami were shocked:
"Who are these three?! Shinigami? No… Hollows? Not that either…"
In front of everyone, the figure in the black robe — face hidden in shadows — looked down at Aizen and spoke in a deep, commanding voice:
"Aizen Sōsuke, Shinigami… I need your power. Come with me."
Before Nanaya could respond, the mysterious figure turned to him.
"You're interesting, human. That power you awakened… it even surprised me. You've gone beyond this world."
"You're too dangerous. You must be eliminated."
Without waiting for an answer, he summoned a glowing blue bow from thin air, pulled the string, and formed a massive blue energy arrow.
"Great Holy Arrow of Destruction!"
Off in the distance, Ishida Uryuu watched silently: "..."
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