"I can see..." Cracks opened on both sides of the swollen mask over Kaname Tōsen's head, revealing the eerie structure beneath, a web of orange blood vessels and a pair of emerald-green eyes. "I can see you... Komamura."
The lips exposed beneath the mask curled upward, baring sharp teeth.
"Hahahahahahahaha!" Kaname Tōsen threw his head back and laughed. "I can see! I can finally see! So this is the sky! This is blood! This is the world! This is you... Komamura."
"You're even uglier than I imagined," Kaname Tōsen murmured. "Who was it you said... you were going to forgive?"
Sajin Komamura said nothing. He swung his Zanpakutō.
The massive blade fell from the sky, but Kaname Tōsen neither dodged nor retreated. He caught it with one hand.
His sharp-nailed fingers curled, and a terrifying force bore down on the blade, easily shattering a chunk from its edge.
Sajin Komamura's arm trembled. The same chip appeared on the Zanpakutō in his hand.
Kaname Tōsen flicked his fingers lightly, the sharp tips of his nails tracing several rings through the air. "Los Nueve Aspectos."
Nine rings overlapped and transformed into a massive shockwave, striking Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō squarely in the chest.
This was the weakness of Sajin Komamura's Bankai. Its enormous body and immense power allowed it to protect allies while commanding a vast attack range.
But if it failed to destroy the enemy in a single blow, its close link to the user turned that gigantic form into an exceptionally convenient target.
The battle ended in an instant. Behind him, Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō collapsed and vanished. Sajin Komamura fell helplessly onto his back, blood spilling from his mouth and staining the fur around his lips red.
Kaname Tōsen had become powerful after his Resurrección, but Sajin Komamura was not completely incapable of fighting back.
It was just...
Looking at Kaname Tōsen's unrecognizable face, Sajin Komamura closed his eyes.
He had said that, for the sake of Soul Society, Kaname Tōsen had to be eliminated.
But even now, looking at Kaname Tōsen in this state, Sajin Komamura could not bring himself to strike him.
If he could not become Kaname Tōsen's support, if he could not make him love this world again.
Then at the very least... Sajin Komamura could choose not to hurt him.
That was the final thing he could do as a friend.
"It is time to end this, Komamura." A brilliant green light gathered before Kaname Tōsen's eyes, a Cero building and ready to fire. "Justice is not something that can be described with words alone."
Pfft!
A sharp blade stabbed into the vertical slit at the center of the mask, pierced through Kaname Tōsen's skull, and emerged from his chin.
"You really... aren't Captain Tōsen anymore." Shūhei Hisagi gripped the hilt tightly. "If you were still the you who couldn't see, you would have dodged that."
"Hisagi... you're alive?" Before receiving an answer, Kaname Tōsen already knew. "Right... fear. You stepped back half a step."
"You taught me that." Shūhei Hisagi closed his eyes. "Reap, Kazeshini!"
The sharp scythe pierced Kaname Tōsen's skull, and a blurred figure appeared before his eyes.
It was her, smiling. Her, looking up at the starry sky. Her, lying in a coffin... her...
Kaname Tōsen wanted to see more clearly, but the darkness before his eyes only grew thicker.
His twisted body returned to human form. Strength welled up inside Kaname Tōsen from nowhere, and he struggled to open his eyes.
What entered his vision was Sajin Komamura and Shūhei Hisagi watching over him.
"Komamura..." Kaname Tōsen realized this was his final moment of clarity. "Hisagi..."
"Don't speak! Your Hollow power is still letting you breathe, but your throat is already torn. You don't need to talk now." Sajin Komamura softened his voice. "Tōsen... before the battle, you said you had always known we would one day cross blades. As we fought, I felt the same thing. Hisagi must have as well."
Shūhei Hisagi's brow was tightly furrowed. He could hardly bear to look at Kaname Tōsen's miserable state, yet he did not want to look away.
"You said our relationship before this was all an illusion, that sooner or later we would cross blades, and be destined to come to this... to understand what truly lay in each other's hearts." Sajin Komamura's voice was low. "I won't tell you not to hate. I won't tell you not to resent. I just... I only hope you won't sacrifice yourself for revenge."
"Just as you lost your dearest friend..." Sajin Komamura clutched his bloodstained chest. "If I lose you, it will feel as if a hole has been torn through my heart too."
Komamura... even now, you still see me as your dearest friend?
"Thank you, Komamura." Tears spilled from the corners of Kaname Tōsen's eyes as he reached out. "Hisagi... let me see you properly. While I can still see, I want to..."
Shūhei Hisagi hurriedly bent down, bringing his cheek close to Kaname Tōsen's hand.
Just as they were about to touch. Pfft!
Kaname Tōsen's entire body burst apart, turning into thick blood that sprayed across Shūhei Hisagi's face.
Shūhei Hisagi's trembling eyes flew wide open. Warm blood slid down his face, like Kaname Tōsen's hand, the warm palm that never managed to reach him.
The fur on Sajin Komamura's neck bristled. His lips pulled back, revealing sharp white fangs. "Aizen!"
"What's wrong?" Sōsuke Aizen, who had been facing Shinji Hirako, turned his head toward him. "Weren't you the one who said he had to be eliminated?"
Ignoring his badly wounded body, Sajin Komamura charged into the sky and raised his Zanpakutō. "Bankai!"
Shinji Hirako shouted, "Don't fall for it!"
This was obviously a provocation.
With Aizen's ability, recklessly closing in could mean instant death.
A black Garganta suddenly opened beside Sōsuke Aizen. A figure appeared, and an invisible force spread outward.
The pupils of the many golden eyes on Zommari's body widened, locking onto almost everyone present.
In an instant, whether it was Sajin Komamura trying to attack or the others trying to help, all of them were frozen in midair.
"Aizen-sama..." Zommari presented the Hōgyoku with both hands. "My mission is complete."
"Muten Natsu and the others did not disappoint me after all." Sōsuke Aizen tucked the Hōgyoku into his robe. "Well done, Zommari. You may leave."
"And these Shinigami...?"
"Don't worry." Sōsuke Aizen cut through Zommari's body with a single slash. "The outcome has already been decided."
"Aizen-sama..." Zommari spread his four arms and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Long live! Long live! Long live!"
His grotesque body shattered and vanished, but Zommari's devout cries still echoed through the air.
"You would even do that to your own subordinate..." With Zommari's death, Shinji Hirako regained his ability to move. "How can you face their trust in you?"
"Trust is nothing more than the dependence of the weak. I never asked them to trust me. In fact, I often reminded them not to trust anyone, myself included. Sadly, not many are capable of doing that." Sōsuke Aizen held his Zanpakutō and looked at the gathered crowd. "All living things believe in beings greater than themselves. Without blind faith, they cannot survive. So those who are trusted, burdened by that weight, have no choice but to seek someone even stronger. Those above them then seek out even greater figures worthy of belief. That is how all kings are born, and how... all gods come into being."
Shinji Hirako sneered. "You think I'm going to believe that nonsense?"
"Of course you won't believe me, Cap-tain Hirako." Sōsuke Aizen spoke with measured emphasis. "What you've always believed in was only the illusion you wanted to believe, just like... one hundred years ago."
The hand Shinji Hirako used to grip his blade trembled slightly, but he forced it still.
"A fine mindset. It seems you have finally calmed down, Captain Komamura." Sōsuke Aizen glanced at Sajin Komamura as he regrouped with the others. "I feel you ought to be pleased. After all, only now have you finally come to truly share the feelings of your longtime dearest friend."
"I won't let anger cloud my mind again, Aizen." Sajin Komamura stood at the very front, using his massive body as a shield for his comrades. "Together with everyone, I will destroy you!"
Sōsuke Aizen's complete hypnosis from Kyōka Suigetsu was far too unsettling. To defeat him, they had to attack continuously once the battle began, forcing him to stay too occupied to use it.
Sajin Komamura was not known for speed. To do that, he needed to coordinate with the others and maintain an intense rhythm of attack.
"Then I suppose I should praise all of you. Especially you... Captain Hitsugaya, for still managing to remain calm." Sōsuke Aizen chuckled softly. "Is it because you saw Hinamori's body restored and brought to the World of the Living, so your hatred for me has disappeared?"
"Bankai, Daiguren Hyōrinmaru!" Tōshirō Hitsugaya forcibly froze the wounds Harribel had inflicted earlier with ice. It was such a strain that even the ice forming over his chest was tinged with blood.
With a single slash, ice flooded the sky and surged toward Sōsuke Aizen.
Sōsuke Aizen split the ice apart and raised his hand, releasing a translucent green barrier to block Shunsui Kyōraku's attack. "Using your junior's furious strike as a feint. That is very much your style."
"Bankai, Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō!" Sajin Komamura seized the opening and controlled the massive blade as it fell from above.
Kensei Muguruma tightened his grip on his bladed knuckles and, together with Hachigen Ushōda, sealed off the side Sōsuke Aizen could dodge toward.
"This won't work..." Gin Ichimaru watched from the sidelines, his eyes curved into crescents. "You have absolutely no proper understanding of Captain Aizen's power."
"Let me show you what so-called power is." Sōsuke Aizen raised his blade. "It is this."
The giant blade shattered in an instant. Sōsuke Aizen cut through Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō's blade, arm, and body all at once. With a reverse slash, he smashed the ice covering Tōshirō Hitsugaya, then raised his hand and caught Kensei Muguruma's fist. Before the explosive force could enter his body, he crushed Kensei Muguruma's fist, yanked him forward, and threw him at Shinji Hirako.
Hachigen Ushōda put on his mask and formed hand seals. The Bakudō he released had not even reached Sōsuke Aizen before his arm was severed in a single slash.
"The Visored are nothing more than failed products of my Hollowfication experiments. Even the Arrancar obey my commands." Aizen swung his blade and cut open Hachigen Ushōda's body. "Half-baked creatures like you have even less right to oppose me."
Dozens of Suì-Fēng rushed at Sōsuke Aizen at once. They were afterimages created by high-speed movement, impossible for the naked eye to distinguish.
Sōsuke Aizen shook his head lightly and raised his hand.
Crimson ice sealed half his body. Tōshirō Hitsugaya had turned his own blood into solid ice, restraining Sōsuke Aizen's movements.
Suì-Fēng landed a hit, and the Hōmonka spread its wings across Aizen's body. She drew her arm back slightly. "Two-hit kill!"
The sharp Suzumebachi struck the Hōmonka. The black pattern spread its wings, then... vanished.
"An interesting technique, but it cannot defeat me." Sōsuke Aizen seized Suì-Fēng's wrist. "A battle between Shinigami is a battle of Reiatsu. Your technique can be easily suppressed by my Reiatsu..."
Sōsuke Aizen's voice stopped abruptly. A sharp blade had pierced straight through his chest. Sōsuke Aizen struggled to turn his head and saw his reflection on the ice. Shunsui Kyōraku emerged from within it.
Sōsuke Aizen swung his arm and smashed Suì-Fēng toward Shunsui Kyōraku, while the corner of his eye caught Tōshirō Hitsugaya closing in.
A cold smile appeared on his lips. Sōsuke Aizen neither dodged nor avoided it, meeting Tōshirō Hitsugaya's attack head-on.
Pfft!
Another blade pierced through his chest. Sōsuke Aizen gripped the blade in his chest, ignored Tōshirō Hitsugaya behind him, and turned to stare at Shinji Hirako, who was standing upside down nearby.
A massive ring at the end of the strange Zanpakutō's hilt was looped around Shinji Hirako's wrist. The blade, with five small circular holes, spun like the hand of a clock.
"Your Kyōka Suigetsu isn't the only blade that can control the senses." Shinji Hirako smirked. "Under the effect of my Sakanade, isn't the whole world in your eyes turned upside down?"
Sakanade gave him complete control over another person's senses, causing visual illusions that inverted everything his opponent saw. Up and down, left and right, front and back were all reversed, and even the perceived location of injuries could be shifted.
The stronger someone was, and the more familiar they were with combat, the harder it became for them to adapt to that reversal.
In a battle where every second mattered, a momentary error in judgment could lead to an irreversible defeat.
One hundred years ago, because he did not trust Sōsuke Aizen, Shinji Hirako had never allowed him to learn the ability of his Zanpakutō.
Now, with its sudden activation, it immediately achieved a remarkable effect.
"Aizen, this is..." Tōshirō Hitsugaya tightened his grip on the hilt. "The pain you inflicted on Hinamori!"
"No," Aizen whispered. "It is the pain you inflicted on Hinamori."
Tōshirō Hitsugaya's eyes flew wide open. With a crisp sound, everything before him shattered like glass, revealing the truth.
What entered his eyes was not Sōsuke Aizen at all, but...
"Tō..." Momo Hinamori's voice was faint, her body pierced by the icy blade. "Tōshirō..."
"Ah..." Tōshirō Hitsugaya's body trembled, and his muffled sobs turned in an instant into a hoarse roar. "Aizen!"
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