"Where's the Hōgyoku? Did you hide it?" Tsunayoshi asked bluntly, showing no awareness whatsoever that he was prying into someone else's secrets.
Aizen did not mind telling Tsunayoshi the answer to that question, but that did not mean his subordinates were qualified to hear it. He swept his gaze around the area and immediately found a way to send them away.
"Sora Inoue!"
"Lord Aizen."
Hearing Aizen call his name, Sora Inoue immediately stepped out from among the ruins and replied respectfully.
"You will be in charge of rebuilding Las Noches. Everyone is to participate, including the Espada!"
As he said this, Aizen released a wave of Reiatsu. Most of the pressure fell upon the Espada standing at the front, with his main target being Baraggan, that disobedient subordinate of his.
Under the double intimidation of that Reiatsu and the combat power Aizen had displayed earlier, none of the Arrancar voiced any objections. They all knew they were not qualified to listen to what came next.
Under Sora Inoue's organization, the Arrancar of Las Noches dispersed in an orderly manner, while Aizen used the Dangai around his palace to set up a simple barrier.
Only after the barrier was complete did Aizen continue the previous topic. He smiled and raised his hand, and a crystal appeared in his palm.
"Thanks to you, the Hōgyoku has finally truly fused into my body."
Aizen's previous state had only involved embedding the Hōgyoku into the front of his body. Strictly speaking, that could not be considered fusion.
Now, the Hōgyoku had truly fused into Aizen's body and existed freely within him. That was why Aizen could summon the Hōgyoku into his palm.
"At best, that can only be called a half-fusion," Tsunayoshi said. "You still haven't fully mastered the Hōgyoku's power. If it were a true fusion, the Hōgyoku shouldn't still exist separately. It should have become part of your body."
"Hmph!"
Aizen flipped his hand over and returned the Hōgyoku to his body. He was already very satisfied with reaching this state. As for the form Tsunayoshi had described, in his opinion, that was something one could only encounter by chance, not something one could force.
"What about your sword? Don't tell me you destroyed it?" Tsunayoshi asked another question.
At the mention of his Zanpakutō, pride once again surfaced on Aizen's face. With a hint of arrogance in his tone, he said, "Naturally, my Zanpakutō has fused together with me."
As he spoke, Aizen held out his hand as if gripping something. A white substance gathered in his grasp, forming the shape of a blade. Right now, he was holding the blade of his Zanpakutō with his bare hand.
Tsunayoshi frowned and circled Aizen once. In the end, he came to a conclusion.
"That's also half-baked, isn't it? Your sword doesn't seem to have given birth to any new power."
Two eyes opened at Tsunayoshi's collar. These were the eyes that had fused with Mist-attribute Fullbring power. Through D. Spade's Demon Lens, he did not detect any power in Aizen's sword beyond Kyōka Suigetsu.
Aizen's smug expression twitched slightly. How could he not know whether it was half-baked or not? Right now, Kyōka Suigetsu's ability was the same as the Hōgyoku: it had merely fused into his body. Whenever he wanted to use it, he could manifest it in the shape of a sword at any time.
It was more convenient, but no new power had appeared. Aizen was still unable to do what Tsunayoshi had done after fusing with his Zanpakutō: unleash an illusion ability that even his Mirror-Clear Insight could not see through.
Thinking of this, Aizen asked with equal curiosity, "Sawada Tsunayoshi, why can your illusions still work on me?"
"When did you fall under the impression that my illusions were merely illusions?"
Hearing Tsunayoshi answer with words he himself had once spoken, Aizen was momentarily choked. Fortunately, Tsunayoshi did not follow up with a continued verbal attack. The next moment, he gave him an explanation.
"It's very simple. Like this."
Tsunayoshi snapped his fingers. An eye slowly opened on his calf, its movement seeming as though it had been slowed countless times over. Beside Tsunayoshi, a mass of white liquid gradually began to be kneaded into a human form.
A humanoid creature appeared beside Tsunayoshi. Its four limbs were pitch-black, while the rest of its body was covered in white muscle. There were three Hollow holes in its chest, four tails growing from its back, and six wings protruding from its spine. Each wing bore a mask resembling a Hollow's face, and a huge eye grew from each one.
This newly shaped humanoid creature had flowing black hair and a black face from which no expression could be read. On both sides of that face, there also seemed to be two pieces of skin-like material.
Then Tsunayoshi lightly tapped his staff against the ground. A violent roar erupted from the muscular creature. All of its teeth jutted outward, its eyes turned vicious and sharp, and a vertical eye tore open on its forehead.
Aizen frowned as he watched the entire process. He roughly understood what Tsunayoshi meant now. All of the figures Tsunayoshi created through illusion were shaped with Hollow power, then granted consciousness with Shinigami power.
From a certain perspective, they were all real. They were genuine, tangible matter, just like Hollows. Yet they were also false, like clay that Tsunayoshi could erase at any moment.
That was why even Aizen, after activating Mirror-Clear Insight, could not render himself immune to Tsunayoshi's illusions.
However, the thing Tsunayoshi had created this time truly was rather revolting. Compared to the opponents he had produced before, this one could hardly even be called human. It gave Aizen a sense of physical disgust.
"What an ugly thing."
Hearing Aizen's evaluation, Tsunayoshi quickly closed the eye. His gaze drifted away, his lips pressed together, and his expression seemed to say, "Las Noches really is Las Noches," making it obvious he was trying to cover something up.
Aizen was somewhat confused and did not know what Tsunayoshi was thinking. Urahara, who had watched the whole thing, revealed an amused smile. Using Reiatsu, he transmitted his voice to Tsunayoshi.
"That was Aizen, wasn't it?"
Based on Kisuke Urahara's understanding of Tsunayoshi, that figure definitely could not have been made at random. It had to contain some of Tsunayoshi's peculiar sense of humor.
Suppressing his laughter, Tsunayoshi nodded slightly. The character he had just created was Aizen from the final stage of fusion with the Hōgyoku in the original storyline. He had merely altered a few details: the hair color, the human skin beside the cheeks, and he had not even recreated the Zanpakutō. He had not fully shown Aizen the truth.
Sure enough, even Aizen himself thought it was ugly. That proved that the state from the original storyline was completely an erroneous evolution, a product catalyzed by the Hōgyoku after Ichigo broke Aizen down and his mentality became warped.
Just like Megidramon and Gallantmon, both were evolutions. Their directions were simply different.
Aizen looked at Tsunayoshi strangely. That expression clearly showed Tsunayoshi was hiding something from him. However, Aizen did not particularly care. His increase in strength had once again given him the confidence to challenge Tsunayoshi.
"Sawada Tsunayoshi, one condition has already been fulfilled. Let us complete our transaction as soon as possible."
Aizen glanced expressionlessly at Tsunayoshi. With this group of outsiders present, it was inconvenient for him to test his new abilities.
"Hueco Mundo is not a place where you should remain."
"Eh? You're already in such a hurry to drive us away?"
Tsunayoshi released his Beyond Bankai state and asked while sheathing his sword, "We don't have any real problem with that, but are you planning to challenge the Royal Palace in your current state?"
"Forgive my bluntness, but you'll lose miserably."
Regarding the members of Squad Zero, Tsunayoshi was never stingy about assuming the worst when estimating their strength. He himself was one of the Soul King candidates who possessed four types of power in one body. To avoid being turned into a limbless linchpin, he did not mind inflating the Monk's strength infinitely in his imagination.
"Heh. Do you think I'll head to the Royal Palace immediately after creating the Ōken? You underestimate me too much. I will wait until I have completely mastered the Hōgyoku before ascending to my throne."
Aizen did not mind acting as the vanguard for Tsunayoshi and the others. In any case, that was a place he would have to reach sooner or later.
If Tsunayoshi and the others had not come to Hueco Mundo, then according to Aizen's plan, fusing to his current degree would already have been enough to suppress everything. After that, all that remained would have been synthesizing the Ōken and challenging the Royal Palace.
But after witnessing Tsunayoshi's strength, Aizen changed his mind. If even Sawada Tsunayoshi was wary of the Royal Palace, then he should become even more perfect before considering ascending to it.
"As long as you've thought it through. When the time comes, remember to notify me. I want to watch the live broadcast," Tsunayoshi said sincerely. Rather than scheming back and forth with someone like Aizen, it felt much more refreshing to be direct.
However, this overly direct way of speaking still made Aizen somewhat displeased. He could not help but retort, "Are you not afraid that I will ascend to the throne and take control of the Three Worlds?"
"Defeat Squad Zero first, then we'll talk. If it really reaches that point, maybe the Manager will stop you."
Tsunayoshi truly did not care whether Aizen could take control of the Royal Palace. That was the confidence his strength gave him.
"Hey, hey, Tsunayoshi, don't drag me into this," Kisuke Urahara said, covering his mouth with his fan, clearly dissatisfied. However, his sharp eyes remained fixed on Aizen the entire time.
Kisuke Urahara?
Ever since accepting the Jūreichi sample, Aizen once again turned his attention to Kisuke Urahara. What gave Urahara the confidence to storm Las Noches together with Tsunayoshi? Did Kisuke Urahara truly possess the ability to oppose him?
It sounded ridiculous, but this was also the man who had invented the Hōgyoku. Had Kisuke Urahara used some kind of tool to reach a level where he could contend with Aizen? Aizen raised his level of attention toward Urahara slightly.
"Speaking of which, once we create the Jūreichi, you should have a way to make a barrier to seal it in, right?" Tsunayoshi asked.
Aizen's creation of the Ōken would absolutely not be completed in a single day. If the Reishi of the Jūreichi could not be sealed in place, then it would gradually disperse into Hueco Mundo over time, and the Jūreichi's effectiveness would naturally be greatly weakened.
"Of course. However, I will need some assistance. Ichimaru Gin-kun?"
Aizen's gaze fell on Gin Ichimaru. The core technology of Las Noches was still controlled by the three Shinigami among them. At the moment, Kaname Tōsen was away and could not return for the time being, so Aizen could only turn his attention to Gin Ichimaru.
Moreover, because their previous transaction had already taken effect, Gin Ichimaru was no longer Aizen's subordinate. That was why Aizen had to ask.
Gin Ichimaru did not answer. Instead, his gaze fell on Tsunayoshi. Tsunayoshi was the one who had fished him out. When it came to matters involving Aizen, he would listen to Tsunayoshi.
"Decide for yourself," Tsunayoshi said. He did not want to interfere too much with Gin Ichimaru's thoughts. "But if you can help, we should be able to return sooner."
"Fine. I'll do it," Gin Ichimaru said calmly.
All of the technology was in his head. This was not anything difficult for him.
"Then I will trouble you to make preparations first, Ichimaru Gin-kun. We will wait for you at the entrance of Las Noches," Aizen said.
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