Aizen was also very clear in his heart that if he continued to delay any longer, the situation would undoubtedly be disadvantageous for him. If he wanted to obtain the Hogyoku, he had no choice but to fight Toshiro.
Thinking of this, Aizen hesitated no longer. The immense Reiatsu within his body rapidly converged onto his Zanpakuto. Then, he kicked off the ground and suddenly charged towards Toshiro.
Seeing this, Toshiro did not show any weakness and met him head-on.
Step, step, step...
Step, step, step...
Both of them simultaneously strode forward, rushing towards each other.
Then, they both swung their Zanpakuto with force.
Boom! Boom!
Just swinging the swords, before even touching each other, a terrible explosive sound rang out in the air. This showed the immense power contained in their Zanpakuto.
Clang!
A loud, piercing sound of clashing swords rang out, and even the Lieutenants present couldn't help but instinctively cover their ears.
"...Ugh..."
Aizen groaned painfully, and his body involuntarily stepped back.
Aizen took three steps back before barely managing to stop himself.
"The wound... is it bleeding again?" Aizen looked down and saw blood continuously flowing from the wound.
After clashing head-on with Toshiro, Aizen was not only pushed back in one blow, but his injuries also couldn't help but begin to recur.
After all, the Hogyoku that Aizen himself created was just a flawed product. Before merging with the one created by Kisuke, it didn't have the imagined great power.
And the injury Aizen had sustained earlier was fatal. He had only temporarily suppressed it using his own Hogyoku, not fully recovered. After the head-on clash with Toshiro, the suppressed injury inevitably began to show signs of acting up.
Although Aizen could completely heal his injury using his own Hogyoku, it would take some effort and time.
And now, Toshiro obviously wouldn't give him time to recover properly.
"You dare to be distracted while fighting me? I'm really being underestimated!" Toshiro suddenly slashed a Kenatsu towards Aizen.
Sensing the danger, Aizen quickly sidestepped to avoid Toshiro's attack.
Boom!
After Aizen dodged, Toshiro's Kenatsu struck the ground behind him.
Then, a section of ground nearly a hundred meters long was cut off by Toshiro's Kenatsu and fell down from the Sokyoku Hill.
The Sokyoku Hill, as its name suggests, was a hill that protruded above the average elevation of the Seireitei. The ground was a mixture of earth and stone, very hard. Now, Toshiro had cut off a piece nearly a hundred meters long with one slash.
Rumble!
A huge crashing sound came from below the Sokyoku Hill, and even the people on top of the hill could feel the tremor.
Seeing this exaggerated scene, Ichigo in the distance was dumbfounded.
"So... so strong!"
"And he hasn't even used Shikai, let alone Bankai, yet he can unleash such a terrible attack. I'm afraid even my Getsuga Tensho after Bankai couldn't achieve this level."
"This is... the strength of the Vice-Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, Captain of the 10th Division, Hitsugaya Toshiro?"
Ichigo was completely shocked by Toshiro's strength.
"Such powerful and terrifying power. If I could have power like this, I could protect my companions, right?" Ichigo looked at Toshiro's figure, a gleam of longing flashing in his eyes.
After achieving Bankai and defeating Byakuya, Ichigo's confidence had soared. He even thought that if all thirteen Captains of the Gotei 13 were on Byakuya's level, then rescuing Rukia wouldn't be too difficult.
It wasn't until he encountered Aizen that Ichigo was doused with cold water, and his confidence suffered an unprecedented blow.
His powerful strike in Bankai state was easily blocked by Aizen with just one finger, and then he was effortlessly defeated on the spot. Aizen's immense strength once plunged Ichigo into despair.
But now, Aizen, whose strength was enough to make Ichigo despair, was being suppressed by Toshiro. This couldn't help but make Ichigo long to reach that level of power.
"Aizen! It's not over yet! Again!!"
Toshiro shouted loudly, pressing forward again, launching continuous attacks. Aizen also showed no weakness and counterattacked.
Although in terms of head-on combat power, Aizen was slightly inferior to Toshiro, coupled with the effect of his injuries, Aizen completely fell into the disadvantage in the battle. However, Toshiro couldn't do anything to Aizen for the time being.
Clang, clang, clang, clang!!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sounds of swords clashing, air exploding, ground shaking...
Wherever the two went, the places affected were all in utter chaos, worse than ruins. And if this continued, the entire Sokyoku Hill might disappear from the map of the Seireitei.
"Hey, Old Man Yama, are we just going to watch Toshiro fight Aizen alone? Shouldn't we go up and help?"
Outside the battlefield, Kyoraku watched the intense battle between Toshiro and Aizen and asked Yamamoto.
"Don't you already know, Kyoraku? Among those present here, besides Toshiro who can counter Aizen's Kyoka Suigetsu and those Ryoka who haven't been hypnotized by Aizen, all of us have been hypnotized by Aizen's Kyoka Suigetsu."
"Now, if we rashly go up to help Toshiro, we might not only be unable to help, but might even be used by Aizen."
Yamamoto watched the battle between Toshiro and Aizen with a calm expression, looking composed.
But Kyoraku was still worried: "I understand what you're saying, but... but what if Toshiro gets injured, or even..."
Although Toshiro was gaining the upper hand in the battle, the strength Aizen showed was not much inferior to Toshiro's. Even if Toshiro ultimately won, he would definitely be seriously injured, or even die together with Aizen.
"Calm down, Kyoraku!"
"You have to trust Toshiro. Toshiro has the advantage in the current fight, so the ultimate winner will definitely be Toshiro. And... if we can eliminate Aizen, even if he gets injured, it's worth it. I believe Toshiro thinks so too..."
Although he said this, Yamamoto couldn't help but clench his fists. His nails even pierced his flesh, and blood flowed freely without him knowing.
Clang!
Aizen struggled to force Toshiro back with a slash, then created distance, standing opposite Toshiro.
"Pant... pant... pant..."
His chest heaved violently, and Aizen stood there breathing heavily.
In terms of head-on combat power, Aizen was indeed slightly weaker than Toshiro. More critically, the high-intensity battle affected his injuries, which were gradually becoming impossible to suppress.
'At this rate, not only will I not obtain the Hogyoku, but I'll also end up here. There's no choice. Although forcibly fusing it will have great consequences... now, I have to do this...'
Thinking this, Aizen hesitated no longer. He suddenly took out the Hogyoku he had created from his bosom and directly embedded it into the wound on his chest.
"What?!"
Seeing this, Toshiro thought of something, his expression suddenly changed, and he instinctively wanted to stop Aizen, but... it was too late!!
Boom!
A vast, surging Reiatsu instantly erupted from Aizen's body.
Crack, crack, crack, crack—!!
The earth cracked, and bottomless chasms appeared on the ground of the Sokyoku Hill.
Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz—!!
Even the space of the Soul Society buzzed, like glass under too much strain, seeming ready to shatter at any moment.
"Reiatsu of this level... is actually stronger than mine when I release my full power in Bankai!" Toshiro exclaimed in shock.
"Is Aizen's strength really this strong...? No, it's probably Aizen's own Hogyoku combined with his full Reiatsu that achieves this level."
Looking at the Hogyoku embedded in Aizen's wound, Toshiro immediately understood what was happening.
Although he knew what was happening, he still had to figure out how to deal with it. Otherwise, if Toshiro also went all out, although he might be able to handle the current Aizen, the entire Seireitei would be affected by their battle.
"Now, the only option is..."