No one paid attention to Hirako Shinji.
The members of the Gotei Thirteen didn't even look at him. Aizen, Matsumoto Rangiku behind him, and the members of the Tenth Division didn't look at him either.
"Is this your opinion as well?"
Aizen's calm voice rang out again.
His eyes slowly swept across the other captains. He completely ignored what Hirako Shinji said, not even giving him a single glance.
Treating someone like empty air hurt more than any mockery.
The smile on Hirako Shinji's face froze instantly. His expression shifted between pale and dark.
"I firmly stand with Captain-Commander Rosse!"
Just as the crowd's emotions started wavering, Hitsugaya shouted.
Without hesitation, he stepped forward and walked to the Tenth Division's side together with Shiba Kukaku.
Hitsugaya gripped Hyorinmaru tightly, turned his head, and swept a cold gaze across the Second Division members behind him.
"If anyone wants to oppose Captain-Commander Rosse, I won't stop your choice. But if you draw your sword, be ready to become my enemy."
Clatter!
Before he even finished speaking, a large wave of synchronized footsteps rang out.
The members of the Second Division barely hesitated before moving together to the other side behind Hitsugaya and Shiba Kukaku.
The Second Division had originally been recruited under Shiba Kukaku's supervision. The faction that followed the Shihoin family had long since been cleaned out, so naturally there weren't many fence-sitters left.
Hitsugaya taking the lead was like pushing over the first domino.
Ichimaru Gin narrowed his eyes as usual and walked over with a smile like a poisonous snake.
Unohana followed calmly with an gentle pace.
After that, the illusion of Aizen created by Kyoka Suigetsu adjusted his glasses and joined them with a gentle smile.
Then came Zaraki Kenpachi carrying his damaged Zanpakuto, his face full of eagerness for battle, along with the blind Kaname Tosen.
All of them stood on Rosse's side.
However, unlike the Second Division, where nearly everyone switched sides, the other divisions looked far worse.
Aside from the Fourth Division, where many members followed due to their high level of obedience toward Unohana, very few people stood with their captains.
But among all of this, the most eye-catching choice, and the one that shocked everyone the most, was Tosen's decision.
"Kaname! What are you doing?"
In the crowd, Komamura Sajin, built like an iron tower, suddenly widened his eyes. The fur on his wolf head nearly stood up.
Many members of the Ninth Division also looked completely stunned.
Komamura stared hard at his blind friend standing beside Rosse with a calm expression, waves crashing inside of him.
His furry wolf face was filled with restrained anger and confusion.
Before this, he himself had wavered between Kirinji's side and Rosse's side.
But Komamura Sajin always acted according to justice. He judged matters, not people.
Whoever stood on the side protecting the stability of the world was the one he supported.
And now, Rosse had allowed Hueco Mundo to collapse, causing the cycle of the three worlds to face destruction. That clearly stood against justice, so naturally he would never follow blindly.
But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't understand why his closest and most respected friend, the Kaname Tosen who treated reducing bloodshed and sacrifice as absolute justice, would still stand firmly beside Rosse at a moment when the world itself was at stake.
Facing Komamura's anguished question, Tosen's unfocused eyes showed no reaction.
He merely tilted his head slightly and spoke in a flat tone, as though stating a simple truth, "Komamura, even if you kill the Captain-Commander here today, can you solve the current crisis facing the world?"
"No," Komamura's face turned dark green. His fists clenched until they cracked, but with his straightforward nature, he still answered directly.
This was also the rebellion alliance's deadliest weakness.
Whether it was the manipulation by the Kuchiki family or the public statements from the Twelfth Division, everything pointed toward Hueco Mundo's collapse causing the imbalance of the three worlds.
In the end, this group forcing their way here was only trying to demand an explanation from Rosse and force him to stop.
But then what?
If Rosse died and Hueco Mundo didn't return, what would happen?
Perhaps even Squad Zero and the Kuchiki family, who started this storm, had no real confidence that they could save Soul Society.
"Outsider, return Hueco Mundo to Soul Society. I can make the decision to let you leave."
Seeing morale starting to shake, Hyosube Ichibe stepped forward heavily. His large eyes locked onto the "Rosse" before him as he spoke in a deep voice.
This time, even Ichibe couldn't see through Aizen's disguise.
Aizen stood in place, a trace of ridicule rising in his heart. His disguise now had gone beyond the old illusion-making ability of his Zanpakuto.
In truth, if he only used Kyoka Suigetsu to create illusions affecting the five senses, Squad Zero, linked to the Soul King's spiritual pressure and possessing extremely high-dimensional perception, would still see through it easily.
But right now, he wasn't using illusions at all.
He had directly changed the structure of his spirit particles, altering his physical form itself. From bones to skin, he had completely become Rosse.
As long as he didn't actively release Aizen's own spiritual pressure, Ichibe was effectively blind.
Or rather, these people who barely knew Rosse would never suspect he was fake.
And the people who truly knew Rosse already knew the truth, so naturally none of them would expose him.
As for the fake Aizen standing there smiling on the other side, it wasn't empty air either. It was a thunder clone created through Devil Fruit powers.
Its appearance was exactly the same, even the spiritual pressure flowing inside it was real.
Against this kind of physical reality, abilities that ignored illusions through connection to the Soul King simply couldn't work.
"Return Hueco Mundo, then you'll let me leave?"
Disguised as Rosse, Aizen lowered his head and chuckled as if he had heard a ridiculous joke. The laughter gradually grew louder, carrying pity from someone looking down from above.
"Hyosube, have your senses become this dull and arrogant after staying in the heavens for too long? Since when did you gain the illusion that I'm the one at a disadvantage here?"
He slowly raised his head, his oppressive gaze lightly passing over every rebel present.
"You should understand. Right now, I am the one giving you a chance, not the other way around. If I only cared about results, I could have abandoned all of you from the very beginning, destroyed Soul Society directly, and taken what I wanted."
"The reason I sat in this Captain-Commander position was to grant you a chance to break limits, evolve together, and step into a new world together. But you insects clinging to the past have disappointed me."
After looking around the opposing crowd once, Aizen withdrew his gaze.
In the end, his eyes fell back onto the people standing beside and behind him.
Compared to the massive army on the other side, the Shinigami who still chose to trust Rosse made up less than one-third.
"I'll give you one final chance. Ten seconds. Anyone unwilling to stand with me, I will completely abandon them," Aizen gave nobody time to react or weigh their options. He immediately began counting down as though no one else existed.
"10!"
"9!"
"8!"
"7!"
Each number struck the hearts of every Shinigami like a heavy hammer.
"Rosse! Stop trying to confuse everyone with your lies!"
Kyoraku Shunsui suddenly lowered his straw hat, snorted coldly, and loudly interrupted the suffocating atmosphere.
"You can abandon even Soul Society, the place that raised the Shinigami, without hesitation. Do you really think the Shinigami willing to follow you matter to you at all? They were only cannon fodder to you from the start!"
Kyoraku Shunsui's words cut deep.
The moment he finished speaking, some of the Shinigami who had been shaken by Aizen's presence and wanted to switch sides froze in place, had cold sweat covering their foreheads.
"1!"
Aizen calmly spoke the final number, completely unbothered by their retreat.
"Good. Since no one else is willing to come over, then from this moment on, all of you before me are my enemies."
Aizen casually declared the split, then finally turned his eyes toward the guarded Kyoraku Shunsui.
"So this is the limit of your vision, Senior Kyoraku. Since entering Soul Society, have I ever once treated others as cannon fodder?"
"Even toward Shinigami like you, who secretly plotted against me and distrusted me, I still gave fair treatment. So why would I mistreat the people willing to entrust their lives to me?"
Snap!
Aizen calmly raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.
BOOM!
Countless black cracks instantly tore across the sky.
This time, they were no longer terrifying scars from the world collapsing, but gateways directly connecting to Hueco Mundo.
Right after that, hundreds of dazzling golden beams poured down from the cracks, accurately covering all the ordinary Shinigami behind Aizen.
"It's Negacion! The beam Menos use to pull in their own kind!", someone in the crowd shouted.
After the first few seconds of panic passed and the loyal Shinigami realized the light beams had no killing power and instead perfectly protected them, they finally relaxed completely.
There were many reasons they chose to stand with Rosse.
Some were grateful for Rosse promoting them.
Some blindly followed their own captains.
Others simply felt the temporary alliance on the opposite side had no chance of winning.
But regardless of the reason, they all felt completely at ease now.
Originally, they had already prepared themselves to fight their former comrades to the death, where survival was uncertain. Now that they could safely leave through Negacion, it proved Rosse truly hadn't treated them as cannon fodder.
That alone was enough.
Meanwhile, among the rebel Shinigami standing behind the captains, many showed deep regret and fear.
When the higher-ups fought, the people at the bottom always suffered the consequences.
Now all the ordinary Shinigami on the other side, people on the same level as them, had been sent safely to the rear. What was left for them?
Were they supposed to face monsters like Ichimaru Gin, Unohana Retsu, and Zaraki Kenpachi themselves?
How were they qualified for that?
"Heh... who knows what they'll experience after getting sent to Hueco Mundo? Maybe countless hungry Gillian are waiting there with open mouths," Seeing this, Kyoraku Shunsui quickly raised his voice and shouted.
Kyoraku understood better than anyone that Rosse absolutely wasn't the kind of person who discarded people after using them. Under the Espada's rule, Hueco Mundo definitely wasn't in such terrible shape either.
But at this moment, he had to say it. If even he didn't try to smear Rosse's image, the morale of the lower-ranked Shinigami behind him, treated as Soul Society's foundation, would truly collapse.
Even if they somehow won today, a Soul Society without its lower foundation would be no different from being destroyed.
Though even if they really won, they still had no idea how to save Soul Society.
But at the very least, they had to deal with the enemy first.
Even knowing this was a gamble with no retreat, one where they didn't even know what to do after victory, they could only force themselves forward.
Kyoraku Shunsui's words still managed to calm the restless mood slightly.
Under the complicated gazes of all the Shinigami present, the beams slowly rose into the sky.
Before long, the ordinary Shinigami standing with the Tenth Division disappeared into the cracks.
Among them was Hinamori Momo, tears in her eyes as she desperately struggled.
She didn't want to leave. She wanted to stay and fight for Aizen.
But under Hitsugaya's unquestionable force, she was still thrown into the Negacion beam and sent far away to safety.
Now, beside Aizen remained only the captains and vice-captains who had switched sides from each division, along with the Eleventh Division battle maniacs who refused to leave because they wanted to enjoy the fighting.
They stayed here purely because there was a satisfying battle waiting.
As for whether the world would be destroyed, that had nothing to do with the swords in their hands.
The field had been cleared.
"Now, it's your turn."
Aizen slightly raised his chin and looked at the crowd before him as if they were facing a great enemy. His tone carried relaxed amusement.
"I'm curious. You came to find me so aggressively, but what result exactly are you trying to achieve? You want me to bring Hueco Mundo back, but what if my answer is 'no'?", Aizen smiled. He truly wasn't anxious at all.
No matter what happened today, he was not the one who should feel pressured.
The real Rosse had already stepped onto the throne above the heavens. What Sosuke Aizen needed to do was simply finish this elegant conclusion and nail this group of fools who didn't know their place firmly to the ground, preventing them from becoming obstacles on Rosse's path forward.
And the amusing thing was that these Shinigami before him, tense as if facing a great enemy, didn't even know where the real Rosse actually was. So how could they possibly stop the transformation that would overturn the world?
Once the battle here fully began, it would also be the moment Rosse entered the Soul King Palace and began devouring the Soul King.
At that point, even if Ichibe and the others realized something was wrong, it would already be too late to return.
And besides, Aizen had no intention of giving them the chance to go back.
If they really returned, then how could he still deserve to serve as Lord Rosse's right hand?