Did it finally devolve into this scene?
Ishikawa casually tore off his charred and tattered upper garment, his gaze fixed on Commander Yamamoto amidst the smoke.
At this moment, he looked as disheveled as could be, his entire body scorched, one arm turned to charcoal, and even his internal Reiatsu was nearly depleted from suppressing his indiscriminate flames.
Although he didn't know when he and Shinji had discussed it, their plan could be said to be perfect; it was just that they thought Aizen's Kyōka Suigetsu was overly terrifying.
No, strictly speaking…
Neither Commander Yamamoto nor Shinji believed that Aizen would dare to directly withstand Commander Yamamoto's full-power attack in his current state, so they subconsciously assumed that the Aizen appearing at the edge of the barrier was the real Aizen.
But in reality, Aizen had been trapped by Commander Yamamoto's flames the entire time. He only used Kyōka Suigetsu twice from beginning to end: once to prevent his voice from reaching Shinji and the other, and once to create an illusion at the barrier's edge.
In other words, if Commander Yamamoto hadn't immediately redirected his attack, perhaps the battle would have already concluded.
"H-how is that possible…?"
Looking at the heavily injured Commander Yamamoto, the faces of the Gotei 13 members were filled with disbelief.
Commander Yamamoto was defeated?
Even though this scene unfolded before their eyes, it was still hard for them to believe, and they were even more inclined to think it was an illusion created by Aizen's Kyōka Suigetsu.
But whether it was the people on the ground who had fallen due to the shattered barrier, or Shinji, charred and smashed to the ground in the distance, they vaguely realized… this scene was very likely real, not an illusion.
"Yamamoto Genryusai."
As he spoke, Aizen slowly descended from the void, approaching Commander Yamamoto little by little: "To you, I will not say 'I spare your life,' to one who is equivalent to the history of Soul Society…"
"Hey, are you preparing to deliver a curtain call speech?"
However, his words were interrupted by a sudden interjection: "Or do you think I pose no threat to you whatsoever?"
Aizen slowly turned around, looked at Ishikawa, who was shirtless in the distant sky, and smiled slightly: "Is your observation over?"
Ishikawa chuckled at the question: "Barely."
"Then do you have confidence?"
"Also barely."
Aizen nodded, not asking further, but instead carefully observing Ishikawa.
Earlier in the Blazing Hell, although Ishikawa had been staying in the corner, resisting the flames, a very strange aura had faintly emanated from within that purple super Reiatsu barrier. But once he left the protective barrier, that aura suddenly disappeared without a trace.
Aizen could confirm that Ishikawa must have done something within the protective barrier.
"To be honest."
Ishikawa smiled faintly: "Although this is my third battle with you, I still have absolutely no confidence in defeating you, and just now… what I observed made me realize one thing."
"Oh?"
"The current me cannot kill you!"
Aizen chuckled lightly; although there was no hint of sarcasm in his laughter, it gave one the feeling of 'you're stating the obvious.'
"If you are trying to stall for time this way, I advise you to give up."
Aizen stepped forward, the layer of milky-white, tangible Reiatsu around him fully recovered, enveloping him once again:
"As my battle for godhood, your performance has been excellent enough. Next… hmm?"
Aizen's words suddenly paused, and he turned to look into the distance, a strange glint in his eyes: "Is this why they follow you?"
Ishikawa followed his gaze and shook his head slightly:
"They are my friends, not subordinates; there is no such thing as following."
Looking out, the distant sky was completely enveloped by dark Reiatsu, appearing like black clouds pressing down.
A feeling of oppression and fear from the bottom of one's heart instantly permeated the entire Karakura Town, even making the sunlight appear somewhat dim.
Dark feathers fell from the sky, but as they descended, they strangely dissipated, forming wisps of dark mist.
"This is truly surprising."
Within the black mist, Starrk sighed heavily as he watched his surroundings change: "I just feel like I'm being eliminated."
Ulquiorra was like this, and the Cirucci before him was also like this.
Is a second Cero a common thing?
Buzz~
Just then, the void trembled, and endless black energy gathered to form a solid black Reiatsu sphere. Within the sphere, a purple flame suddenly spread out. This purple flame flickered on and off, appearing extremely inconspicuous, as if it could extinguish at any moment.
But this trace of flame exuded an extremely terrifying aura, and the surrounding black mist all surged into the flame.
When the mist dissipated, Starrk finally realized…
That purple flame was not a real flame, but a face tattoo imprinted on her brow.
At this moment, Cirucci's appearance had changed drastically. Her original pantyhose had become bone armor resembling leggings, and her slender waist was completely uncovered, revealing a unique beauty.
Behind her were a pair of wings taller than herself, her original purple wavy braided hair had turned into knee-length hair like a purple waterfall, her face had not changed much, only her original teardrop face tattoo had become a purple flame-shaped face tattoo on her brow, and her entire being exuded a dangerous and violent aura.
Although Cirucci's second Cero was completely different from Picaro's, one thing was extremely similar: both of them had purple, tree-branch-like patterns covering their entire bodies.
Just then, Cirucci suddenly looked up at the sky and let out a long howl. The howl was not piercing, but most of the people present felt a strange tremor in their souls.
"That's really terrifying~"
Kyōraku Shunsui looked at Cirucci, who was howling at the sky, and asked: "Is this kind of situation common in Hueco Mundo?"
"No."
A voice replied: "This is also the first time I've seen such a situation… Hmm, judging by Aizen-sama's reaction, he's clearly a bit surprised by the current situation as well."
"Is that so?"
Kyōraku Shunsui turned his head, looked at Ichimaru Gin opposite him, and smiled: "Then that's truly something to be grateful for."
"Grateful?"
Ichimaru Gin shook his head slightly: "This is not something to be grateful for. Rather… after Aizen-sama sees this, your situation will become even more dangerous."
"You see, in Aizen-sama's view, Arrancar have long since reached their limit; no matter what method is used, they will not improve further. However…"
Ichimaru Gin looked up at Aizen in the sky, a strange smile on his face: "Something he couldn't do, someone else did. What do you think he'll think?"
The so-called Espada…
It might sound impressive, but in reality, they are just a group of pitiful wretches who have already been abandoned but are completely unaware.
Once this battle ends, even if they don't die, they will be purged by Aizen, because in Aizen-sama's view, these guys are no longer sufficient to continue following him.
But the ability Cirucci is now displaying will make Aizen-sama interested in Arrancar once again.
Or rather…
He will study these Arrancar, trying to find answers from them.
Thinking of this, Ichimaru Gin couldn't help but glance at Ishikawa in the sky. He really didn't understand how Ishikawa had managed to do it, considering that Aizen-sama couldn't even make the Espada advance further, even with the Hōgyoku.
"Is it that exaggerated?"
It wasn't Kyōraku Shunsui who asked, but Lisa, his former Vice-Captain. She frowned: "Didn't that guy named Ulquiorra also undergo a second Cero earlier?"
"In your opinion, was that a second Cero?"
Ichimaru Gin shook his head slightly: "The Arrancar's Zanpakutō release is called Cero precisely because after the Zanpakutō is released, the Arrancar will revert to their original form. In other words, this is not an enhancement, but a kind of unsealing."
"Ulquiorra's second Cero was surprising, but it didn't exceed this scope. Strictly speaking, his first Cero didn't fully revert to his original form, and his second Cero was his true appearance as a Hollow. Although he never showed it, Aizen-sama was not surprised that he possessed this ability."
"But…"
Ichimaru Gin paused, looking at Cirucci in the sky: "The form she is now displaying is a change at the life-level. One could say that her normal state and her state after second Cero are completely at two different life-levels. Her situation is like Aizen-sama merging with the Hōgyoku; this is an evolution!"
An evolution that could only possibly be achieved by merging with the Hōgyoku!
"You truly have given me a great surprise."
Aizen meticulously observed Cirucci's current form, especially the purple patterns on her body.
Ichimaru Gin was right; the form Cirucci was now displaying was indeed an evolution at the life-level.
And it truly did shock Aizen.
But it wasn't for the reason Ichimaru Gin thought… that someone else had achieved something he couldn't.
Because, if he wanted to, he could also make the Espada evolve to their current form.
Even…
Everything Cirucci was now revealing did not differ much from his own deductions.
Hōgyoku Espada!!
As the name suggests, it was to make the Espada, who could no longer evolve, merge with the Hōgyoku, thereby allowing them to break through their current level of strength.
Regarding this, Aizen had once thought about trying it. Although a complete Hōgyoku was extremely difficult to create, it was not difficult to reproduce the incomplete Hōgyoku he had once made; it just required a lot of time and effort, which was simply not worth it.
Moreover, as Ichimaru Gin said, Arrancar, in his view, were already a failed product, so he naturally had no interest in continuing to invest effort in them.
But now it was different.
Because Aizen could confirm that there was no trace of the Hōgyoku's aura on Cirucci's body, not even a single wisp.
Is it due to the patterns on her body?
Aizen looked at the dense, tree-branch-like patterns on Cirucci's body and suddenly felt a strange sense of familiarity.
"???"
Ishikawa looked at the terrifyingly powerful Cirucci, his face showing no outward expression, but his heart was utterly bewildered.
Because…
He had once 'had the fortune' of glimpsing Cirucci's second Cero, and while its form hadn't changed, it was definitely not as terrifying as it was now, and…
What the hell were those purple patterns?
Cirucci never had those patterns on her body when she used her second Cero before.
Ishikawa suddenly realized that he completely misunderstood the Arrancar he had modified. He had always thought… that it was already impressive for Cirucci to defeat Nnoitra with her second Cero.
As for Picaro defeating Baraggan with his second Cero, Ishikawa wasn't particularly surprised. Picaro was, after all, once recognized by Aizen as the 2nd Espada, so it wasn't incomprehensible for him to defeat Baraggan of the same rank in a life-or-death battle after gaining the ability of a second Cero.
But the current scene was completely beyond his comprehension.
The Cirucci before him even made him feel threatened, which made Ishikawa's mind involuntarily conjure up a cheesy plotline… like Cirucci being the descendant of some Hollow King, and her bloodline just happened to be activated by his Spell Inscription.
However, Ishikawa was absolutely certain that Hollows didn't care about bloodlines…
And…
Although those patterns were Reiatsu Crest, their tree-branch-like appearance on her body reminded Ishikawa of a certain power from his memories.
Quincy's Blut Vene!
The patterns on Cirucci's body now were very similar to the Blut Vene in Ishikawa's memory, but fundamentally, there was a huge difference.
"How fascinating."
At this moment, Aizen completely ignored Ishikawa, and no longer attempted to kill Commander Yamamoto, but instead looked at Cirucci with great interest, as if anticipating her performance.
And just then, another terrifying aura arrived.
Ishikawa and Aizen simultaneously turned their heads, and what greeted their eyes was none other than Nel.
At this moment, Nel's form was roughly consistent with her first Cero; she was still a half-human, half-goat figure holding a long spear, but the spear was burning with purple flames, and she had gained four horns like a demon. Her chest, elbows, and shoulders were covered in white fur, and her pristine white waist and abdomen had purple patterns.
But unlike Cirucci, Nel did not have those tree-branch-like Reiatsu Crest on her body.
This scene made Aizen shake his head slightly.
Ishikawa also frowned, muttering to himself: "Could Cirucci really be the descendant of some Hollow King?"
Unlike the two of them, Cirucci glanced at Nel and showed no surprise.
Because after the second Cero, the purple patterns on the body do not appear immediately, but gradually emerge on the surface after a long period of time.
It took about half a year for the purple Reiatsu Crest to appear on her body after she was modified; for Picaro, this process took more than eight months.
Only when the purple patterns appeared, the life-level evolution of the second Cero was truly unleashed, allowing the Arrancar modified by Ishikawa to grow further.
The reason for this…
According to Cirucci's guess, it should be the process of completely digesting Ishikawa's flesh and blood, which was fused with the Reiatsu Crest.
It wasn't simply about devouring flesh and blood; rather, the combination of flesh and blood with the Reiatsu Crest caused the Reiatsu Crest, which had integrated the flesh and blood, to undergo such a transformation.
Therefore, neither the Reiatsu Crest alone nor the flesh and blood alone could bring about this life-level evolution.
The Reiatsu Crest was created based on Ishikawa's spiritual power, and only Ishikawa could use it. Cirucci could only engrave Hollow Marks by relying on her connection with Ishikawa.
It could be said that the Reiatsu Crest represented Ishikawa's Reiatsu, while the flesh and blood represented Ishikawa's physique; neither could be absent.