Aizen and Rosse's battle ended in an extremely dramatic way.
In the end, it was not a crushing defeat in terms of strength, but simply a crushing defeat in conviction.
But to climbers, that was far harder to accept than a gap in strength.
If it were only a difference in strength, one could still convince themselves that they had taken the wrong path before, that if they had gone through the same experiences, they would have surpassed the other side.
But with the same desire for evolution, and it was not even Aizen's own desire, Aizen still lost completely.
Everyone present, including Aizen himself, could not understand why Rosse's hope for Aizen's evolution, and his trust that Aizen could evolve to the very end, surpassed Aizen's own.
It was simply unbelievable.
However, the moment the Hogyoku made its choice, the answer had already become obvious.
Aizen's evolution came from the loneliness of standing at the top, and his obsession with breaking the false rules of the world.
At his core was the arrogance of standing too high to find an equal, and the pressure that he alone had to stand above the heavens.
Deep down, he was still guarding against failure, guarding against the unknown summit.
But Rosse's expectations toward Aizen were pure joy in pursuing the path.
Rosse had no fear at all that Aizen would surpass him, and even believed that no matter how far Aizen reached, he still could not become stronger than himself.
He even deeply hoped that Aizen could climb high enough to stand beside him, or even threaten him.
Rosse treated the evolution of his rival as the best anchor to prove his own path.
This kind of ultimate confidence, taking an opponent's strength as his own joy, stripped away all fear and distracting thoughts.
The Hogyoku could materialize the strongest desire around it.
And it sensed clearly, within Aizen's desire for his own evolution, there was still the tension of someone following behind another.
But Rosse's desire for Aizen's evolution was a completely unreserved, sun-like certainty.
In terms of the purity and scale of conviction, Rosse's all-embracing heart crushed Aizen from an entirely different level.
But just as Hitsugaya and the others thought Aizen would sink into despair, his reaction completely exceeded everyone's expectations.
If it were an ordinary person facing something like this, after their beliefs collapsed, they would sink into despair for at least days, if not years.
After all, Aizen was not someone like Kurosaki Ichigo, who could reignite his fighting spirit through instinct and passion alone. He was a seeker who combined schemes, talent, and intelligence into one.
Once someone this rational had their beliefs denied, they usually suffered even more than straightforward people.
Yet Aizen only laughed wildly for ten minutes.
Then, the unrestrained laughter stopped abruptly, and all emotions were perfectly hidden once again beneath those deep eyes.
"What is this? Has he gone crazy?"
Hitsugaya could not understand what Aizen was thinking now, and neither could the other Espada.
They only noticed that Aizen's spiritual pressure was rapidly dropping, his power constantly withdrawing inward.
They did not know what was happening, but they knew Aizen was doing something.
At a time like this, what meaning could there still be in doing anything?
'Could it be that Aizen chose to end himself?'
Right after that, under everyone's eyes, everything began peeling away from Aizen's body.
Including the Hogyoku, including Kyoka Suigetsu fused with him, including the massive spiritual pressure gained through evolution from the Hogyoku, and even the right arm of the Soul King that represented stillness.
They turned into dazzling points of light, separating from Aizen's body as though drawn by a magnet, surging toward Rosse in a vast stream.
As for Aizen himself, he only intercepted his Zanpakuto Kyoka Suigetsu midway, while keeping the Devil Fruit power Rosse had granted him.
At the same time, his body slowly regressed, and that terrifying aura capable of crushing space itself continued falling.
When the light faded, what appeared before everyone once again was the appearance he had before becoming captain of Squad Five.
Wearing a proper shihakusho, carrying a gentle smile like a spring breeze on his face, with an extra pair of black-framed glasses hiding the sharpness in his eyes.
"Isn't that how he looked a hundred years ago? Did Aizen abandon all his power?"
Hitsugaya Toshiro could not help widening his eyes, his hand gripping the sword hilt trembling slightly.
If, when Aizen released his spiritual pressure earlier, Hitsugaya had felt like a tiny flame that could go out at any moment while Aizen was a raging volcano, then now, he could no longer sense even the slightest spiritual pressure from Aizen.
It was as though he had lost all power and become an ordinary Shinigami.
No, not even a Shinigami. His current state was no different from a normal soul in the Rukongai.
"No. Aizen has found his true path," Unohana Retsu softly spoke from the side.
She showed no sign of guarding herself. Instead, she looked at Aizen in the distance with great admiration. In her eyes was even a trace of praise and envy she herself had not noticed.
Aizen's current state was exactly like when she first met Rosse and fought him with everything she had.
From Rosse, she saw the possibility of taking her swordsmanship a step further, and understood that Yachiru was far from the limit of the sword.
But she had waited over a thousand years for that day, and wasted away for a thousand years as well.
Aizen used a hundred years to walk through the confusion she had spent a thousand years trapped in. That truly made her envious.
Now Aizen had changed even more thoroughly. He discarded every shortcut gained through outside means and found a completely solid road that belonged only to himself.
Aizen gave up everything obtained from outside sources, keeping only Rosse's power, which was also the power Rosse had gained in his own world.
Aizen wanted to recreate Rosse's path and walk it all over again.
This time, he and Rosse were fellow travelers on the same road.
No longer climbing for the throne. Instead, he wanted to prove to Rosse, and also to himself, that he deserved Rosse's expectations for his evolution.
If they truly walked the same road, then he, Aizen Sosuke, would still be that peerless genius.
To be crushed in the conviction he was most proud of, yet still break free and be reborn this quickly, Unohana had never seen such spirit before.
She had experienced something similar herself, but she sank for a thousand years.
After touching a wall she might never overcome in her life, she no longer knew why she lived. She only wanted to find a suitable chance to bury her dull self in battle.
Only after Rosse appeared did she finally see a new turning point.
"I am inferior to Aizen," Unohana muttered softly.
The words were not loud, yet Hitsugaya beside her felt his heart shake hard, subconsciously glancing at her.
He did not only know Aizen's past. He also knew the murderous history hidden beneath Unohana's gentle appearance.
'Even the first Kenpachi admits she is inferior to Aizen?'
Hitsugaya looked forward again, shocked as he watched that black figure who had fallen from godhood to mortality, descending from the sky and walking step by step toward Rosse.
The current Aizen looked so thin.
Yet somehow, he also felt completely different.
If the previous Aizen was a false god floating in the air, hollow and arrogant, then now, he was a true seeker walking firmly on solid ground.
Clearly the same person, yet he gave off a feeling of returning to simplicity.
The current him felt more real, and also inspired deeper awe from the heart.
Under everyone's silent gaze, Aizen walked step by step until he stood before Rosse.
He looked at the tall man before him with a smile.
Then he made a shocking move that surprised everyone present.
Aizen raised both hands and calmly adjusted the collar and sleeves of his shihakusho with care. Then he slowly bent his straight back and knelt on one knee upon the white sand-covered ground.
He slightly lowered his proud head, his voice calm and firm, "Aizen Sosuke is willing to offer you everything."
There was not the slightest humiliation in this kneel. Only willingness.
During the earlier battle, Aizen had imagined countless ways he could lose.
Perhaps Rosse had long planted some hidden trick inside his body. Perhaps Rosse held some decisive trump card that ignored differences in strength.
But he never imagined that the thing he would lose in was the conviction he took pride in most.
And not only that, he lost because Rosse believed in his evolution more than he himself did.
How ridiculous, and how shocking.
Someone else wanted his evolution more than he did.
And that someone was not family, nor a close friend, but the absolute rival walking the same road.
Aizen could not imagine how vast such a heart must be, but he knew that at this moment, his pride had been completely won over.
Following a lord like this, the sights he would see in the future would definitely be far more wonderful than becoming a lonely king by himself.
In the future, perhaps he would still become confused after evolving to a certain peak. But as long as he looked at the figure ahead of him, he would never lose his direction.
Nor did he worry that Rosse would stop moving forward.
Just from today's events alone, even if Rosse slowed down someday in the future, he, Aizen Sosuke, would use his own way to become the sharpest blade and push him one step further.
'My path is not lonely.'
"Get up. You don't need to perform this kind of etiquette anymore."
Rosse smiled and stretched out a hand, personally helping Aizen up from one knee.
His movements were natural, without any sense of superior charity, only respect toward a fellow seeker.
At the same time, Rosse declared seriously, "From today onward, you, Aizen Sosuke, are my second-in-command."
No additional title before second-in-command.
One person below him, above all others.
From the beginning, Aizen had been the second-in-command Rosse had chosen.
Compared to Aizen's monstrous intelligence and methods, the abilities of the women around Rosse truly fell short by more than one level.
That was a difference in talent, and Rosse did not force anything.
Everyone had their own place. He would not excessively interfere with others' thoughts. If they wanted to manage affairs, then let them manage affairs. If they wanted to fight, then let them fight on the front lines.
Even if the person he chose only wanted to be a flower vase, it did not matter.
His world was large enough to hold countless people.
Regardless of gender, as long as they were willing to follow him and offer loyalty, they would always find a place that belonged to them.
It was just that among them, Aizen was one of the people Rosse valued most.
With someone possessing both ambition and talent following at his side, even Rosse himself felt a pressure and surging motivation.
It was also a kind of spur.
If he walked too slowly, Aizen really could turn back against him.
"As you wish, Your Highness Rosse."
Aizen slowly stood following Rosse's strength.
He raised his head and smiled at Rosse through the black-framed glasses.
With that glance, both understood each other's thoughts.
They were very similar, only choosing slightly different roads in the beginning.
But different roads led to the same destination. Two people filled with absolute conviction toward the future and evolution would eventually either become mortal enemies who respected each other most, or become the companions most suited for one another.
Using an entire world as the chessboard, they walked this road step by step.
In the end, Aizen lost, and he accepted the defeat wholeheartedly.
"Next, it's time to write the final ending for Soul Society."
Rosse slowly turned around, his gaze seeming to pass through Hueco Mundo and see the storm rising within Soul Society. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly into a smile.
"Sosuke, can you stop them?"
On the Soul Society side, ever since the Kuchiki family made their move, he had remained silent for a long time.
Just because his Tenth Division and Twelfth Division did not move did not mean the other divisions had no thoughts.
Most of the Shinigami in the Gotei Thirteen today had only become Shinigami from souls in the Rukongai because they benefited from his policies.
But how many of them still remembered that kindness, and were willing to firmly stand by his side, even if he became a destroyer of worlds?
He looked forward to it.
But before that, he still had one thing to do.
Aizen would move first and buy him some time.
"As you wish. I will not let them cause you even the slightest trouble."
Aizen lowered his head slightly. There was not a trace of unnecessary emotion on his face, his tone as calm as if stating an established fact.
He had abandoned the Hogyoku, and his spiritual pressure had returned to its former level, but that absolutely did not mean he had become weaker.
He lightly gripped Kyoka Suigetsu in his hand, and in that instant, a surge of energy overflowed from his body.
In terms of quality, that energy was not inferior to his previous self at all. It was even slightly higher, though the quantity was far lower.
All the Espada looked at him in surprise.
They roughly understood why Aizen abandoned the Hogyoku.
The current Aizen himself had become purer.
So pure that his actual combat strength had become even stronger.
Still far from matching Rosse, but...
"Mere remnants of Soul Society. I alone am enough to suppress them."
Aizen slowly sheathed Kyoka Suigetsu, then raised a hand and pushed up the black-framed glasses on his nose. A cold reflection flashed across the lenses.
Seeing this, the other Espada silently chose to leave.
They still needed to maintain the fusion between Hueco Mundo and that world. Other than Unohana, none of them could participate in the final battle.
But in their eyes, whether they joined or not made no difference.
With the strength of those Shinigami, it was impossible for them to change anything.
"We should start moving too."
Hitsugaya looked at the scene and slightly grinned.
He would not attack innocent people, but within Soul Society, there were still countless people he hated.
And toward those people, he would not show mercy.