GA: Chapter 159 – The Label of "God"; A Person Who Combines Power, Charisma, Wisdom, Strategy, and Talent
Su Yunqing had watched Girlish Number and understood Kasashita Shiya's personality well enough—she had a sharp tongue—so she made a point of warning her.
Joining the chat group didn't mean everyone was automatically friends. And Kasashita had only just arrived. Their relationship hadn't reached the level where that kind of banter was appropriate.
The Oldest Godslayer: "…"
He had genuinely only been interested in this Aizen person Kasashita mentioned.
Though if Kasashita had spoken to him like that in his own world, the outcome was hard to predict.
God Slayers acted on impulse. Their mood often determined their response.
In a good mood—no issue.
As for law—it simply wasn't something that applied to beings like them.
Kasashita: "Understood."
Kasashita Shiya opened the memory copy and read through it in silence.
The man she had admired for so long was a transmigrator—a plagiarist. Intellectually, she understood that since those works originated from another world, his conduct wasn't truly wrong. But emotionally, it still stung.
Like a foundational belief in writing had been quietly shattered.
The memory copy contained information on group members, and she looked at [The Oldest Godslayer]—Marquis Voban's. Reading about his personality and strength, she felt her scalp prickle.
This was a genuinely terrifying existence who hunted gods with a mortal body and seized their authorities.
If a being like that took notice of her with malicious intent, it wouldn't bode well—for her or for the world behind her.
Current technology had no means of contending with a God Slayer.
She could only hope he hadn't taken her words to heart.
Ordinary Group Owner: "Compared to Kasashita Shiya, the more difficult one is actually you, @Fifth Division Captain."
Ordinary Group Owner: "As expected—watching anime, I always loved this kind of maximally intelligent villain. But actually encountering one in reality is a completely different feeling."
Ordinary Group Owner: "In terms of raw intelligence, Angel Yan, Tony, Bai Xuan, and Heavenly Path General in this group are none of them inferior to you—yet somehow I feel like I'd be completely outmaneuvered by you specifically."
Ordinary Group Owner: "Is it because they all give me the impression of being on the side of good? Scratching head.jpg"
She hadn't watched nearly as much anime as a true enthusiast, so her knowledge of villains wasn't particularly deep. But the few who had left the deepest impression on her stood out clearly: Death God Karl, Aizen, Shaman King's Hao, Naraku—and Guigu from Overman, now that she thought about it.
That man hadn't looked like a good person from the start, and the Snow King had indeed been a bit too trusting—but there was a reason he'd managed to deceive them for so many years.
Thinking about it now, Su Yunqing no longer really felt these people were villains.
Their actions were simply the expression of their own beliefs, their own individual pursuits. Like Morgan—whether she was wrong depended entirely on your vantage point.
Once certain things reached a certain level, good and evil became inadequate tools for judging a person.
In the Bleach world, the only two figures Su Yunqing would genuinely call villains were the King of Hollows—Aizen Sōsuke—and the King of the Quincies—Yhwach. Setting Yhwach aside, Aizen, viewed across the entire narrative, was one of the most transcendent figures in the story regardless of which side he stood on.
Even the author himself had given Aizen the label of "god."
Unlike the others, Aizen refused to submit to the Soul King's rule—and this wasn't merely an idea he entertained. He acted on it. Becoming a god. Claiming the throne at the apex of the heavens.
As that line of his went: No one stands at the top from the beginning. Not you, not I—not even God. But the vacancy at the throne of heaven is about to end. From now on, I will stand at the top.
He lived by those words. If it weren't for Kurosaki Ichigo's terrifyingly explosive growth, defeating Aizen might not have been possible at all.
In a certain sense, Ichigo's overwhelming power was inseparable from Aizen himself.
Aizen was like a secret teacher lurking in Ichigo's shadow—continuously elevating his strength, crafting himself a worthy opponent.
As for talent—before Kurosaki Ichigo, the cheat of cheats, appeared on the scene, Aizen's natural gift was absolutely terrifying. In the period before he obtained the Hōgyoku and defected from Soul Society, he had advanced entirely on the strength of his own talent alone. In a mere hundred years, he had attained the power to stand against all of Soul Society by himself.
His destructive capability might fall short of Yamamoto Genryūsai—but raw destructive force had never been the sole measure of power.
And on top of that, the age difference between Aizen and Yamamoto was staggering. Even during the period of his imprisonment, Aizen's spiritual pressure continued to grow without limit—beyond what the Hōgyoku itself could explain. It spoke to untapped potential still waiting to be drawn out.
If his potential had already been exhausted, no miracle of the Hōgyoku could create something from nothing.
In Su Yunqing's eyes, Aizen Sōsuke was genuinely the kind of villain in whom power, charisma, wisdom, strategy, talent, and breadth of mind converged into a single being. Even Yhwach couldn't compare.
In the early parts of the story, everything about Kurosaki Ichigo played out within Aizen's sight—he observed everything, controlled everything, like a god presiding over the board.
In the final battle against Yhwach, though it appeared to be Ichigo, Renji, and Aizen against Yhwach together, the role Aizen played was the most pivotal. Alone, he performed the functions of three people—creating opportunities for Kurosaki Ichigo at every critical moment.
Lighthouse Richest: "First time I've seen the Group Owner be this wary of a single person."
Lighthouse Richest: "This one's setting must be something else entirely."
Tony Stark narrowed his eyes slightly. He had never seen the Group Owner like this—placing someone's intelligence in the same category as herself and the others, and yet showing far more intense wariness toward this one person specifically.
An intelligence-type villain?
Surely it was more than just that.
Sacred Guard Left Wing: "Similar to Karl?"
Child of Nature: "In some respects, yes. A person who combines exceptional power, talent, charisma, wisdom, and potential—if he existed in your world, I believe he has the makings of a Chief God."
Child of Nature: "The word 'potential' undersells it. What he lacks is only a Fourth Generation Divine Body."
Child of Nature: "In every other regard, he already satisfies the conditions."
Child of Nature: "It sounds like an exaggeration, but it's my genuine assessment. At minimum, he comes closer to being a true king than you—in the memory copy where you inherit the throne."
Back when Bai Xuan had been at his most uncertain about the future, many figures had surfaced in his mind—people who had never faltered, who knew exactly what they sought, who were supremely rational and nearly impossible to sway through emotion alone.
Holy Kesha. Death God Karl. They had both appeared in his thoughts.
Aizen had been among them too.
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