"!!!"
"The big moment is coming?!"
"Unbelievable… This battle was already supposed to be at its climax—yet… there's still a reversal?!"
Shock!
Every viewer in the world was stunned.
Ichigo Kurosaki's sudden counterattack tore apart the massive lie.
No one expected the plot to twist like this.
Everyone had assumed that Hōgyoku Aizen was seconds away from executing Ichigo—
becoming the final victor of this ultimate showdown.
But unexpectedly…
The viewers had overthought the situation.
Ichigo Kurosaki had been pretending to be weak the whole time.
From beginning to end—
his situation was never dangerous.
And just now—
Ichigo casually swung his blade and blew away all of Aizen's restraints,
even blasting Hōgyoku Aizen back with a single strike.
This alone proved—
He was unfazed.
He was effortlessly dominant.
And in raw power—
he overwhelmed Hōgyoku Aizen completely.
Before this footage was revealed,
the reason the world mistook Ichigo for being suppressed was simple:
The video creator was trolling.
The video repeatedly skipped crucial middle segments,
creating an illusion for the viewers—
the illusion that Ichigo was weaker.
But the truth—
Was exactly what the screen was now showing.
There had never been a reversal.
There was never a moment Ichigo was losing.
———
At the same time—
As all eyes watched with rising excitement—
Ichigo's voice echoed through the transparent light-screen,
emotionless, stripped of joy or sorrow, as if standing at the absolute peak of power:
"Enough, Aizen…"
"I'm tired of your nonsense."
As he spoke—
Ichigo's right arm fused completely with his Zanpakutō.
His left hand lifted, touching the black binding chains crackling with "85雷"—
an overwhelming storm of thunderous power.
"Next…"
"I'll let you witness it—
the true… Getsuga Tenshō."
He drew his blade.
The tip pointed straight at Hōgyoku Aizen.
Under his messy bangs, Ichigo's gaze hardened—
determined beyond anything shown before.
And then—
The reiatsu Aizen had earlier judged "sacrificed"—
the power Ichigo supposedly no longer possessed—
erupted.
RUMBLE——!!!
With his will as the trigger—
His power no longer restrained—
no more compression—
no more limiting seals—
His reiatsu burst forth in full.
A black tsunami of spiritual pressure swept the sky,
forcing clouds to scatter from the heavens.
The transparent barrier—
and even the light-screen itself—
shook violently, unable to endure the vast force of Ichigo's Shinigami power.
The vibration resonated into the real world,
leaving viewers dizzy, overwhelmed,
feeling as if they themselves were in the battlefield.
"Terrifying…"
"What kind of overwhelming reiatsu is this?!"
"So Ichigo's reiatsu wasn't sacrificed—it was just completely beyond our ability to perceive…"
"And even Hōgyoku Aizen couldn't sense it! Their power levels are on totally different tiers!"
A global uproar erupted.
But the viewers didn't even have time to discuss.
Because the next scene—
Made every viewer jump.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—!!
The surge of black reiatsu tore through the sky.
Shockwaves rippled.
Karakura Town's sky shattered—
clouds twisted—
thunder roared.
"Look!!"
"The screen is cracking again!!"
"Just his spiritual pressure alone is exceeding what the light-screen can withstand?!"
"This version of Ichigo—he's a spiritual-pressure monster on three levels!!!"
Before the viewers could react—
The black tsunami burst through the fractured screen,
rushing directly toward them like a hundred-meter wave.
Indiscriminate destruction.
Nothing could withstand it.
Countless viewers were blown away—
even Captain-level combatants were helpless.
Before Soul King–tier reiatsu—
No one could stand.
Bodies hit the ground.
Bones cracked.
Most fainted instantly—
and that was only because the light-screen blocked most of the damage.
If they had been truly present—
They would've been obliterated.
Body crushed, reduced to fragments—
instant death.
"Captain Aizen…"
Gin Ichimaru's eyes widened beneath his bangs,
his voice trembling with a fear that grew the more he watched.
"That Ichigo… is clearly powering up at a ridiculous pace."
"I'm seriously worried your future self is gonna be erased in one hit!!"
Even the prelude—
just the pressure—
was already enough to shake the heavens.
It was impossible to imagine
what would happen when Ichigo finally released the full technique.
Could Aizen—
even with the Hōgyoku embedded in his body,
with infinite evolution and near-immortality—
truly withstand what was coming?
Gin doubted it.
And more than that—
He truly acknowledged Ichigo as a man-made Soul King.
His future growth—
far exceeded anything Aizen, Gin, and Tōsen had predicted.
This form—
no different from the Soul King himself.
Exaggerated.
Insane.
Divine.
Yet Aizen—
Ignored Gin's comment.
All his attention—
all his focus—
was locked on the screen.
As the one who would one day face this Ichigo—
Aizen's mindset was more complicated than anyone else's.
Shock.
Concern.
And yet—
Excitement.
Yes.
Aizen's emotions surged.
This Ichigo—
this overwhelming, transcendent Ichigo—
was someone who could finally stand on the same plane as him.
For hundreds of years—
Aizen had waited for such a being.
And now—
here he was.
And Aizen wanted to see—
Could his future, perfectly fused self—
stand firm against the coming strike?
If he could—
Then he had undoubtedly reached the Soul King's realm.
The throne of the heavens.
The peak he longed for.
———
Meanwhile—
As the black reiatsu tsunami began to settle—
Ichigo's new form, awakened by "Final Getsuga Tenshō,"
emerged on the screen—
stunning the world.
His entire body was wrapped in flowing black spiritual smoke.
The Zanpakutō fused into his right arm—
the blade "Tensa Zangetsu"
was gone.
It had merged with him—
becoming one with his soul.
And even the iconic black coat was gone.
Replaced by—
black bandages wrapped around his entire body—
and jet-black hair, longer, thicker,
blowing behind him with the dark smoke.
"The Final Getsuga Tenshō…"
"Means I… become the Getsuga itself."
"And once I use this technique—
I lose all my Shinigami powers."
These words—
broadcast through the video into reality—
hit viewers like a nuclear shockwave.
Another explosion of uproar.
"Insane…"
"He's wagering all his transcendent Shinigami power?!"
"This next attack… it's basically Soul King-tier!!"
"To think we would witness the Soul King's power in our lifetime!"
Shock.
Awe.
People stared blankly at the black-clad Ichigo,
feeling as though they were facing the Soul King himself.
No one doubted it anymore.
This Ichigo—
was invincible.
No matter who the opponent was—
whether the Monk, Hōgyoku Aizen, Yhwach—
any of the top leaders of their races—
All of them would lose
to the Final Getsuga Tenshō.
It was absolute.
———
Meanwhile in Las Noches—
Aizen's excitement became uncontrollable.
He noticed something important.
"It disappeared…"
"I didn't see wrong! The moment the power fused—"
"Ichigo's Zanpakutō completely vanished—
merging into his spirit!"
Aizen's eyes flashed violently.
A bold thought struck him:
"Then that means…"
"Before this—neither I nor Ichigo had reached the true final stage."
"And only when the Zanpakutō disappears—
when the power returns inside the body—
when perfect fusion is achieved—
that is the true endpoint of evolution!!!"
His dark eyes gleamed with fanatic brilliance.
At this moment—
Aizen understood.
Ichigo's transformation allowed him to see—
The key to advancing life-levels.
The secret of true evolution.
And so—
He smiled wildly.
"It seems…"
"My hollowfied Hōgyoku form is not the peak."
"My future self…
will likely obtain an even stronger form!"
His delight overflowed.
He ignored the screen—
ignored everything—
even though Ichigo was now raising his right arm.
Black reiatsu condensed—
forming a translucent black blade.
"Holy—!!!"
"ICHIGO IS ABOUT TO UNLEASH IT!!!"
"This might be the strongest attack shown in the ranking video since it began!!!"
The entire world fell silent.
Everything paused.
Only Ichigo remained—
the center of the universe.
And then—
The black blade descended.
A storm surged forward—
splitting space apart—
carrying world-ending power—
and slashed directly at Hōgyoku Aizen.
BOOOOOM!!!
A catastrophic explosion consumed the battlefield.
A colossal sphere of light swallowed the entire screen—
then shattered the transparent barrier itself.
"It exploded!!!"
"Not just the screen—the entire light-wall exploded!!!"
"This is truly a world-destroying strike!!!"
People screamed and fled,
their fear instinctual—
their awe absolute.
They all clearly saw—
in the final instant before the screen burst—
Aizen's hollowfied form—
was swallowed whole by the endless black tsunami,
his monstrous silhouette wiped out.
The sky—
the land—
the distant outskirts of Karakura Town—
all split apart.
Everything touched by the Final Getsuga Tenshō—
was erased.
———
"Absurd…"
"My Getsuga Tenshō…
is NOTHING compared to this…!"
"The difference is hundreds of times!!"
In the ruins of Karakura Town's outskirts—
Isshin Kurosaki, blown away earlier,
climbed to his feet, covered in dirt.
As Ichigo's father,
he was deeply familiar with Getsuga Tenshō.
He even felt that Tensa Zangetsu transcended the three worlds.
But—
He never imagined—
that the same technique,
in his son's hands—
would reach Soul King–tier.
Unquestionably.
It left Isshin utterly speechless.
Meanwhile—
in Urahara's shop several blocks away—
Urahara Kisuke, Tessai, and Yoruichi sat in stunned silence.
Cold sweat drenched their backs.
They could barely breathe.
"…So…"
Tessai swallowed.
"Is this… the end of the reversals?"
"I think the ranking is finished.
Hōgyoku Aizen is definitely done."
A Soul King–level strike—
nothing could survive it.
Not even Hōgyoku Aizen.
However—
Urahara shook his head.
"…I'm not convinced."
"Of course I want Ichigo to win."
"But this was his one attack.
He sacrificed all of his Shinigami powers for it."
"If he didn't kill Aizen—
then because of the Hōgyoku…
Aizen might evolve again."
At these words—
Urahara's voice grew heavy.
If Aizen evolved further—
He would truly become the Soul King.
The ultimate nightmare.
And with Kyōka Suigetsu fused with Soul King power—
He could destroy the world,
cast infinite illusions,
a limitless Tsukuyomi.
And indeed—
Urahara's fears came true.
Just as he finished speaking—
The light-screen repaired itself.
The cracks vanished—
a new scene emerged.
The camera looked down upon—
an endless abyss, bottomless and terrifying.
The location had not changed.
The same battlefield—
the outskirts of Karakura Town.
But the land, once whole—
had been flattened by the Final Getsuga Tenshō,
sculpted into the canyon they now saw.
Then—
As the camera panned—
viewers received two pieces of news:
Good news:
At the canyon's edge,
Ichigo's black silhouette still stood.
His power had not faded yet.
Bad news:
At the far end of the abyss—
Aizen…
was still alive.
(End of Chapter)
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