Child of Nature: "Although a person's strength isn't only about power, power is still the most important factor."
Child of Nature: "If your spiritual pressure is strong enough, you won't worry about Aizen's Kyōka Suigetsu; if your strength is enough to crush him, you won't fear his intellect either."
When it came down to it, Roxie Vale's worry was simply that her own strength wasn't enough.
If she possessed overwhelming strength, she wouldn't be thinking like this at all; she'd only feel that Aizen joining the chat would make the group even more interesting.
Brandon White admired Aizen's intelligence, power, and charisma, and he also believed that Aizen's joining would let him achieve even greater things in the chat group; but he would not be cowed by Aizen just because of how he performed in the anime.
Because Brandon believed in his own strength.
Holy Guard, Left Wing: "A handsome face, a cultured and gentle air, towering intelligence, ambition that aims for the apex, the insight of one who 'knows everything,' an impeccable might, and an ability everyone fears."
Holy Guard, Left Wing: "Everything in his grasp, even to the point of deliberately cultivating his own opponents."
Holy Guard, Left Wing: "No wonder Brandon said you are far more suited than I was then to become a king."
After finishing the memory copy of Bleach, Angel Yan couldn't help but nod as well.
Even if a man like that didn't join this chat group, if he merely crossed into a new world, he could still create miracles beyond belief.
And once he joined the chat, his potential would only soar higher.
If it weren't for what happened between Aizen and Momo Hinamori, she would truly have wanted to see whether there was any angel within the angel civilization whose affinity matched his.
Just an Ordinary Admin: "You finished that fast?"
Just an Ordinary Admin: "Then again, you're an angel."
Uchiha Dance King: "Interesting man—both strength and intellect are top-tier."
Uchiha Dance King: "I acknowledge you."
Uchiha Dance King: "If you want to make a move against me, go right ahead if you can."
Uchiha Dance King: "Under these eyes of mine, you won't get a single chance."
Uchiha Madara skimmed the early Bleach plot with his Sharingan at high speed and roughly grasped Aizen's character.
As Brandon and Angel Yan had said, he truly was a man of keen intellect and magnetic charm.
But that wasn't enough to make Uchiha Madara wary—much less fearful.
All he could feel was excitement!
The Oldest Godslayer: "Kyōka Suigetsu—whether it can affect my thoughts, I'd actually like to try."
Come Be My Son: "Kyōka Suigetsu is just a weapon; it's only that its wielder is Aizen that makes it so formidable. But just like my Gura Gura no Mi—the Tremor-Tremor Fruit—we 'complete' one another. I also want to know whether Observation Haki can block Kyōka Suigetsu's influence."
Richest Man: "I don't know whether you can block it, but judging from Aizen's strength in the anime, even if your eyes or abilities can keep you from falling under Kyōka Suigetsu, you still won't beat him."
Richest Man: "And to be clear, I'm talking about before he ever joined this chat."
Richest Man: "As for now—you'll have to fight to find out."
His anime-watching speed wasn't as fast as theirs, but through the chat, he transmitted the memory copy to JARVIS, then used its compute power to extract everything related to Aizen and analyze the man as quickly as possible.
He really was a terribly difficult opponent.
Though Thanos's "intellect setting" was maxed out, what we saw in the memory copy was more his crushing power coupled with the Infinity Stones; his intelligence didn't get showcased as much. Aizen, by contrast, displayed both might and cunning to the fullest.
That mastery over everything—remaining calm no matter what came, the native pride that treated all things as beneath notice—simply crafted a perfect villain.
Even more terrifying was the masquerade!
He deceived the Soul Society for so many years and almost no one discovered him!
If that guy showed up in his world, he wasn't even sure he could see through the disguise.
And even if he could, what about the rest of the Avengers?
Unthinkable!
Boil Dagu into Soup: "I've gotta train my mental fortitude too, or I feel like I won't be able to withstand it!"
Boil Dagu into Soup: "Maybe after I transform into Tiga I can, but I can't stay transformed all the time."
Boil Dagu into Soup: "Annoyed.jpg"
Boil Dagu into Soup: "@Sōji Tendō, you're probably in the same boat, right?"
Sōji Tendō: "."
If you can't say anything useful, don't speak.
But like Dagu said, he, too, needed to figure out a way to strengthen his mind.
If his opponent possessed Aizen's power, then without sufficient mental strength, raw power would be useless.
Just an Ordinary Admin: "Reading your messages, I get the feeling my worry was unnecessary."
Just an Ordinary Admin: "Propping my chin with both hands.jpg"
Just an Ordinary Admin: "Anyway, @Fifth Division Captain, we're already at this point. If you can manage it, then go right ahead and do it—to those few blowhards. Uchiha Madara, Marquis Voban, Whitebeard—use it on them."
Just an Ordinary Admin: "But before that…"
Just an Ordinary Admin: "Welcome to the group, Aizen."
Child of Nature: "Welcome to the group, Aizen."
Boil Dagu into Soup: "Welcome to the group, Aizen."
Himouto Umaru: "Finally, a time when a bottom-tier member like me gets to speak."
Himouto Umaru: "Welcome to the group, Aizen."
Himouto Umaru: "I'm just a normal person, so please don't waste Kyōka Suigetsu on me—it'd be way too extravagant."
Kasumigaoka Utaha: "I really want to gripe: how come we're all newcomers, yet you're all welcoming Aizen? But… it's Aizen."
Kasumigaoka Utaha: "I'm only an ordinary person who's watched Bleach. If you need scheming and probing, don't come to me."
Kasumigaoka Utaha, being very prudent, also spoke up in the chat.
"The final twist—I didn't expect that," she murmured.
In Seireitei, Aizen brushed his fingers against his glasses. Whatever emotion flickered in his eyes, no one saw it.
It wasn't only the group admin; the attitudes of the others also diverged from what he had imagined.
Beyond their confidence in their own strength, they showed Aizen a peculiar kind of tolerance.
They knew his cold-blooded ruthlessness; they knew what he truly was, and yet still… heh.
In essence, Aizen was a solitary man—not only because of the disparity in power, but because his outlook itself diverged from others.
If he could, perhaps he truly had once wanted to be merely an ordinary shinigami—without that level of intelligence, without such talent, without those abilities; to be an ordinary, unexceptional Soul Reaper.
A genius by birth, who in the end only wished to be ordinary—Hōgyoku saw straight through that, and Kyōka Suigetsu shattered along with it.
Aizen's intellect and talent doomed him to be different from ordinary shinigami. He was lonely at heart, without any kindred, without anyone with whom he could speak as an equal.
Kisuke Urahara could have been that person. Aizen recognized his intellect—even felt it surpassed his own—but alas, their fundamental philosophies diverged.
(End of this chapter)