Every time Aizen was cut and then restored, his body was being forced to break through the wrapping of Hierro and sense the outside world.
Only by fully accepting Hollow power could Aizen escape the appearance of that white-masked figure and regain his human form.
Aizen was working toward that direction, but the situation was not especially optimistic.
Tsunayoshi keenly noticed that after the wounds on Aizen's body were restored through High-Speed Regeneration, the regenerated flesh appeared with the color of normal skin. In other words, it had returned to the form of a Shinigami.
But in the next instant, that skin would turn from yellowish human skin into the deathly white of Hierro from the inside out. The final result of the healed wound was still the same as before: it was once again covered by white Hierro.
This meant that Aizen had clearly already touched the steps leading to the next stage, but for some unknown reason, he had retreated again and continued maintaining his current form.
Even so, there was still some good news.
The hilt and guard of Aizen's Zanpakutō could no longer be seen at all. The pure white blade in his hand now somewhat resembled the appearance he had after fusing with his Zanpakutō in the later stages of Hōgyoku Aizen from the original story.
Tsunayoshi stood up and patted the dust from his rear.
Urahara asked curiously, "Are you going to enter the fight yourself?"
All this time, Aizen had been fighting the illusions created by Tsunayoshi. Tsunayoshi only needed to mobilize his Reiatsu and watch the show. With Aizen's current combat ability, he was still far from the point where Tsunayoshi needed to personally take the field.
"The swords are almost used up. I have to give him the final bit of pressure."
Tsunayoshi loosened his joints as he spoke.
Heroic Spirit EMIYA had only used Unlimited Blade Works once. Without his continuous projection, the number of swords inside was limited.
After fighting until now, there were not many weapons left to support Ultimate: Ghost Sword Art. Yet Aizen still showed no sign of entering the next stage, so Tsunayoshi needed another plan.
Tsunayoshi had also seen through it.
For Aizen, who was completely immersed in the power of High-Speed Regeneration, cutting him with thousands upon thousands of swords no longer had any meaning.
The instant a wound appeared, Hollow power would repair his body. Mere blade wounds could no longer apply pressure to Aizen, so the Hōgyoku would no longer respond to any further thoughts from him.
Next, Tsunayoshi needed to bring Aizen an attack that surpassed his understanding. Only then would he provide enough pressure for Aizen to break through the white cocoon made of Hierro.
The swords vanished.
The wasteland vanished along with them.
The chaotic Las Noches once again appeared before Aizen's eyes.
"Sawada Tsunayoshi, are you stopping here? There should still be fifty swords left to use."
Even without looking, Tsunayoshi knew how smug the expression beneath Aizen's mask must be.
The reason he did not immediately conjure the next character was because he wanted to give Aizen a warning.
"Aizen, whether this next move lets you break from your cocoon and become a butterfly, or turns you into dust, will depend entirely on you."
Tsunayoshi's voice was hollow and emotionless, yet it instantly stirred panic in Aizen's heart.
"Remember. Believe in the Hōgyoku."
In truth, Aizen's combat strength was closely tied to his emotions.
When Aizen witnessed the power of Ichigo after his return from the Dangai, he doubted the power of the Hōgyoku for the first time.
When Aizen saw that the results of hundreds of years of his own effort could not compare to the fruits of Ichigo's single training session, his faith in the Hōgyoku wavered.
It was precisely from the moment he could no longer believe that the Hōgyoku's power was supreme that the power the Hōgyoku provided him could never catch up to Ichigo. Naturally, he was beaten down completely, inside and out, by Ichigo after his return from the Dangai.
And the power Tsunayoshi was about to use had already far surpassed the scope of battle between Shinigami and Hollows.
There was only one way for Aizen to survive.
He had to believe in the Hōgyoku.
Hearing Tsunayoshi's words, Aizen's gaze fell to his own chest.
He suddenly realized that he seemed to have only ever taken from the Hōgyoku, and had never given the Hōgyoku the emotions that belonged to him.
There was no longer any time for Aizen to study this.
The eye on Tsunayoshi's shoulder closed completely. The longest horizontal line on his back split open, and Tsunayoshi opened the largest eye on his body.
Then Tsunayoshi transformed into a humanoid creature wearing a deep crimson suit, draped in a blue-and-white mantle, and wearing white gloves decorated with a red eye pattern.
The reason it was called humanoid was because this figure's head was an amber, shuttle-shaped cockpit. Inside the cockpit, one could even see a caped tardigrade.
The Space Insect King, Dagded Dujardin.
To him, the universe was merely a small room, and Earth was nothing more than an insignificant corner inside that room.
He was the strongest king, one who controlled all the power of the universe.
After the Space Insect King appeared, he did not even show any intention of speaking with Aizen.
His body slowly flew upward toward the sky, and Aizen was involuntarily carried upward along with him.
The scenery changed rapidly.
The earth.
The sky.
Aizen soon discovered that he had appeared in a mysterious space.
A sphere beneath his feet was rapidly shrinking.
Was this Earth?
Aizen then discovered that the Space Insect King's body was rapidly expanding.
His size instantly surpassed the surrounding planets, yet his expansion still did not stop. He continued growing until even planets were nothing more than toys in the palm of his hand.
Aizen no longer knew what kind of emotion he should use to face such a colossal existence.
Before the King of the Universe, he was nothing more than a speck of dust so tiny it could not be any smaller.
In the next instant, Aizen understood why Tsunayoshi had told him to believe in the power of the Hōgyoku.
The Space Insect King swept out with one enormous hand. The surrounding planets were swept away completely and gathered into his palm.
Aizen did not need to guess what would happen next.
Countless planets were thrown toward him by the Space Insect King.
Resist?
How was he supposed to resist?
Looking at those planets, each countless times larger than himself, Aizen had no thought of resisting at all. He could only close his eyes and communicate with the Hōgyoku with all his heart, hoping the Hōgyoku would allow him to survive this enormous meteor shower.
"Whew!"
In Las Noches, Tsunayoshi let out a long breath.
The Space Insect King's power was not easy to mobilize. Just this one meteor shower had nearly drained all of his Reiatsu. He had almost been completely wrung dry.
"Tsunayoshi, are… are you all right?"
Even Kisuke Urahara's speech faltered slightly.
This attack had not frightened only Aizen. Even Urahara and Gin Ichimaru, who were observing from the side, felt incomparably shaken.
As for the Arrancar watching from nearby, when Tsunayoshi unleashed the technique, they too felt as though they had been transported into the depths of space.
The weaker ones had already collapsed to the ground, clutching their heads like ostriches.
As for the stronger ones…
"Lilynette, are you sure you still want to fight him again?"
Starrk asked the twin pistols in his hands.
The instant he arrived in space, he had released his Resurrección. But even after releasing, he still had no confidence he could deal with that enormous meteor shower.
Before an entire planet, Starrk's Infinite Cero felt like a joke.
"N-No, Starrk… you… you go tell him… cancel it…"
Lilynette shrank inside the guns.
Against an opponent of this level, how could she still have any thought of revenge? Escaping was the first choice.
The eye on Tsunayoshi's back was slowly closing.
Although he had already changed back, as long as the eye remained open, the Space Insect King's damage to Aizen would continue.
"I'm fine. The one in trouble right now should be Aizen."
Tsunayoshi stared fixedly at Aizen as he spoke.
At this moment, Aizen was floating in midair above Las Noches, his eyes closed. His body existed in a state where collapse and restoration overlapped.
Logically speaking, Aizen's physical strength could not withstand even a single planet, let alone a meteor shower formed from countless planets.
Yet because of the Hōgyoku's existence, the instant Aizen's body collapsed and died, the Hōgyoku's power pulled him back again.
This left Aizen similarly suspended in a state overlapping life and death.
Even Tsunayoshi could not judge whether Aizen would survive his technique.
The eye on Tsunayoshi's back continued closing. The time it took to close was the duration of the meteor shower. If, during this period, Aizen's faith in the Hōgyoku wavered even slightly, he would truly die.
Aizen understood his current situation as well.
So from the moment he met the first planet, he completely entrusted himself to the Hōgyoku.
He believed the Hōgyoku would definitely allow him to survive this terrifying technique.
It was precisely this absolute faith that kept the Hōgyoku's power within Aizen operating at its highest level.
Aizen did not die within the meteor shower. Instead, he used the power of the meteor shower to complete his own transformation.
It was like forging iron.
Each planet was a heavy hammer, striking Aizen's body, which was suspended between Shinigami power and Hollow power.
The Hōgyoku was using Aizen's body to forge a blade.
As for the Zanpakutō that should have been held in Aizen's hand, it had long since vanished without a trace.
As the final planet fell, the eye on Tsunayoshi's back had already narrowed into a slit.
That was the final bit of power.
It was also the final hammer blow in the forging of Aizen.
The planet passed through Aizen's body.
This planet had not gained nothing. At the edge of its spherical body, there was something shaped like a human figure. It was pushing Aizen farther away.
Had Aizen failed?
No.
A closer look revealed that the thing swaying continuously with the force was like a piece of torn cloth. It was split open in the middle, and the Hōgyoku was no longer present on it.
Looking again at the path the planet had drawn, one could see a person standing quietly there in the void.
This time, he was no longer a humanoid creature.
His appearance was still handsome. A lock of hair naturally swayed over his forehead. His eyes were closed, and his face was filled with an expression of enjoyment.
He was savoring this rebirth after breaking free from his cocoon.
Seeing Aizen in this form, Tsunayoshi was utterly speechless.
This man, confident to the point of arrogance, had immediately begun shining the moment he was given a little sunlight, as though the one who had been in such a miserable state earlier had not been him, but a past version of Aizen.
"Hey, that's enough. How long are you planning to keep posing?"
Unable to endure it, Tsunayoshi spoke up to remind him.
"Heh…"
Aizen chuckled softly, opened his eyes, and looked at Tsunayoshi.
"Although this was a transaction, I still have no choice but to thank you, Sawada Tsunayoshi. Thank you for your efforts. They have allowed me to obtain this brand-new form."
Calling it brand-new was not entirely accurate.
Aizen's appearance had not changed much. He wore a white, form-fitting battle robe that somewhat resembled Ichigo's outfit after Bankai. It appeared to have been condensed from Hollow power.
Other than that, the most special thing about him was that he had neither a Zanpakutō nor any trace of the Hōgyoku on his body.
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