"How naive. Did you think that just learning Bankai and reaching the Captain-level would make you my match?"
Aizen said expressionlessly, looking down at the fallen Ichigo.
Renji, not far away, saw Ichigo, who had been defeated in one blow, and couldn't help but exclaim in shock: "How... how is this possible? He blocked Ichigo's full-power strike after his Bankai with just one finger..."
"This is impossible..."
Whoosh!
Before Renji could finish his sentence, Aizen suddenly vanished from his sight.
"He disappeared!"
Renji exclaimed in surprise.
Squelch!
Before he could figure out what was happening, Renji only felt a sharp pain in his body, and then blood sprayed wildly from his back.
"Wh-when?"
Renji tried to turn around and look back, but before he could move, he suddenly felt the world spinning.
"Da... damn it..."
Thud!
Renji's body heavily fell to the ground.
"Ichigo!"
"Renji!"
Rukia looked at the two fallen figures, unable to get up, and couldn't help but show a look of despair on her face.
Tap, tap, tap...
Aizen slowly walked up to Rukia.
"Come, stand up, Rukia."
Aizen gently extended his hand to Rukia, who was sitting on the ground.
But just as he reached his hand in front of Rukia, Aizen suddenly grabbed her by the neck and roughly lifted her off the ground.
Then, when Aizen let go, Rukia's body involuntarily fell back towards the ground.
Aizen frowned, reached out again, and grabbed Rukia, saying, "Can you stand properly? Rukia."
"Oh, I see."
Looking at Rukia, covered in cold sweat and trembling all over, Aizen suddenly realized: "Is it my Reiatsu that's too strong, making your whole body weak, right?"
"But it's okay. Although it will take a bit more effort, I'll just drag you along... Hmm?"
A heavy breathing sound came. Aizen turned around and saw Ichigo, lying on the ground, struggling desperately, trying to stand up again.
Rukia said worriedly, "Ichigo..."
"How pitiful. You're still conscious? What tenacious vitality. But vitality that doesn't match your strength can become a flaw instead."
Aizen said.
Looking at Ichigo, who was struggling desperately to get up, Aizen couldn't help but continue: "I advise you not to push yourself too hard. Right now, your spine is probably only barely maintaining its connection. No matter how hard you try to get up, it's futile."
"No matter how strong your will is, it's useless, because from a human structural standpoint, it's simply impossible."
"That's enough, Kurosaki Ichigo. You have already fully exerted yourselves and brought out your greatest value. Now just lie there obediently."
"Finally, let me praise you one last time."
"You performed your task very well."
Aizen praised.
"Wha... what task?"
Ichigo asked with difficulty, looking at Aizen.
"Yes, I knew you would invade the Soul Society, and the location would be the West Rukongai."
"So I sent someone to monitor the White Road Gate. As soon as your tracks were discovered, I immediately lowered the Sekkiseki Wall, and then had Gin drive you away."
"This way, your only way to enter the Seireitei was through the [Flower Crane Cannon]. With such an exaggerated method of invasion, combined with your strength to escape from the Captains, just as I expected, you easily attracted the attention of the entire Seireitei."
"Thanks to you, even when a Captain suddenly 'died', there wasn't much chaos. This allowed me to escape by feigning death and carry out my plan more conveniently."
Having said this, Aizen paused, looking coldly at Ichigo.
"Wait... wait! How did you know we would enter from the West Rukongai?"
Ichigo suddenly thought of something and quickly asked Aizen.
"Oh my, what a strange question. Isn't it obvious? The West Rukongai was once Urahara Kisuke's base in the Soul Society. The Senkaimon he created can only enter through the West Rukongai."
Aizen explained.
Hearing Aizen's explanation, Ichigo felt a chill in his heart. Seeming to think of something, his expression turned ugly.
"Heh, what's with that expression? Aren't you his subordinates? Didn't Urahara Kisuke order you to come and retrieve Rukia?"
Aizen raised an eyebrow and asked meaningfully.
Hearing this, Ichigo was struck as if by lightning, freezing in place.
"Wh... what are you saying?"
Ichigo asked, his face pale, his expression wavering.
Kisuke had been helping Ichigo selflessly without asking for anything in return. Although Kisuke was always mysterious and hid many things from him, Ichigo was still very grateful to him.
But now, according to Aizen's words, Kisuke was simply using them, not genuinely wanting to help them. Thinking of this, Ichigo couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.
"Is that so? It seems you don't know anything. Very well, finally, let me tell you."
"Shinigami have four basic combat methods: Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Shunpo, Kido. But no matter which one, there is a so-called limit. No matter how strong your ability, no matter how outstanding your talent, once you reach the soul limit, you can never advance another step. In other words, that is the limit of a Shinigami."
"Throughout history, for countless years, no one has ever been known to break the limit of a Shinigami and evolve to a higher realm. Not even Yamamoto Genryusai, known as the strongest Shinigami in a thousand years, or Hitsugaya Toshiro, the most genius Shinigami in the history of the Soul Society, have achieved it."
"Yamamoto Genryusai has been stuck at the limit of a Shinigami for who knows how many thousands of years. It can be said that relying solely on his own training, he has little hope of breaking the Shinigami limit."
"As for Hitsugaya Toshiro, although he is very young, his strength has already reached the Shinigami limit. However, this is actually not a good thing for him."
"Thousands of years, tens of thousands of years, or even until death, he will remain in place, forever unable to enter a new world!"
Speaking here, Aizen's emotions seemed somewhat excited, and he appeared to empathize.
"Ah, I'm sorry. You probably can't understand this feeling. Let me continue with other things."
Aizen said apologetically.
"To break the limit of a Shinigami, after in-depth research, I finally discovered a method, and that is..."
"The Hollowfication of a Shinigami!"
"The Hollowfication of a Shinigami, the Shinigamification of a Hollow..."
"I conducted countless experiments, but in the end, they all failed..."
"Just then, Urahara Kisuke created something, something that could instantly touch the boundary between Shinigami and Hollow. Its name is [Hogyoku]!"
Speaking here, a hint of dread flashed in Aizen's eyes. Of course, it wasn't fear of the Hogyoku itself, but fear of the man who surpassed him in intelligence.
"After the Hogyoku was created, Urahara Kisuke immediately realized it was a very dangerous thing. He wanted to destroy it, but in the end, he was unable to do so, so he could only choose to seal it and hide it within the soul of a Shinigami."
"Now do you understand?"
Aizen lifted Rukia, his expression indifferent: "The hiding place he chose back then was you, Rukia."
Hearing Aizen's words, Rukia remembered Kisuke, and her hair stood on end, filled with fear.
"Do you know why your Reiryoku couldn't recover in the Living World before?"
Without waiting for Rukia to answer, Aizen continued: "Because the Gigai he created for you can continuously decompose Reiryoku. If it continued, you would have gone from being a Shinigami to an ordinary soul!"
"Do you understand? He wasn't trying to help you, but wanted to sacrifice you to hide the Hogyoku!"
Aizen's words pierced Rukia's heart like sharp swords.
Rukia couldn't help but recall the scene when she met Kisuke that day...
"Oh my, you seem to be in trouble. Do you need me to lend you a Gigai?"
Back then, Rukia was in a desperate situation, and Kisuke suddenly appeared, extending a helping hand.
But now, looking back...