It was not that Aizen felt fear; rather, he believed that now was not the opportune moment for a decisive battle to the death.
If he dragged this fight out any longer and allowed Head Captain Yamamoto and the remaining Captains to intervene, even he would find himself in a precarious situation.
Therefore, it was far wiser to return to Hueco Mundo, complete all necessary preparations, and then initiate the final war against Soul Society.
However, even though he intended to retreat, Uchiha Madara was not about to let him leave so easily.
Of course, Aizen was not the type of person to swallow a loss silently. Before departing, he intended to leave both Madara and Lin Xuan with an unforgettable lesson.
Aizen reached into his robes and retrieved the Hogyoku he had extracted from Rukia Kuchiki. Surrounding the crystal was a thin, transparent layer of spiritual energy—a seal he had personally placed to suppress its aura and maintain his disguise.
Now, secrecy was no longer required.
Aizen concentrated a pinprick of Spiritual Pressure on his fingertips, piercing a small opening in the seal. Instantly, an ethereal, divine aura spilled forth.
Without hesitation, Aizen absorbed a single strand of the Hogyoku's power into his body.
The moment the energy entered his physical frame, Aizen felt a dramatic transformation take place. His bones crackled and popped, and the rigid ceiling that had long limited his strength began to blur and shatter.
"Just as I anticipated... even though this Hogyoku remains incomplete, it still functions!" The corners of Aizen's mouth curled into a triumphant smile.
The power of the Hogyoku did not disappoint him.
His theory was absolute truth: the Hogyoku could indeed break through the innate limits of a Soul Reaper's power!
This was merely a single strand of its power, yet his strength had surged by a staggering margin. If he could fuse with a fully completed Hogyoku, he might truly achieve power that surpassed all creation.
With this Hogyoku in hand, many of his grandest research projects could finally be realized.
Aizen turned his gaze back to Uchiha Madara, inspecting the majestic aura emanating from Madara's Six Paths Mode. His eyes burned with intense desire.
Though he did not understand the exact nature of that power, he could feel its immense potency.
If he could analyze and master this force, several theoretical concepts he had previously abandoned might actually become possible to achieve!
*'Fascinating... I must find a way to obtain this man's power!'* Aizen thought to himself.
His Zanpakuto hummed softly.
In the next instant, Aizen vanished into thin air. His speed was so absurdly fast that even Shisui Uchiha, who was watching intently with his Sharingan activated, failed to track his movement.
Madara smiled faintly. "Your power suddenly surged quite a bit! Excellent—this makes things fun! Let me see how you dance!"
BOOM!
Aizen materialized out of nothingness directly at Madara's side. A dark, terrifying energy flared from his palm, enveloping Madara instantly.
"Hado #90: Kurohitsugi!"
A gigantic, pitch-black box of spiritual energy materialized around Madara, inside of which thousands of dark blades manifested, tearing toward Madara from every conceivable angle!
Bolstered by the Hogyoku's power, the destructive force of Aizen's Kurohitsugi had reached terrifying heights—enough to instantly vaporize an ordinary Captain!
Madara merely snorted in disdain. Coating his skin in a dense layer of black Armament Haki, he chose to tank the storm of shadow blades head-on with his bare body.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The shadow blades rained down relentless strikes, yet they only managed to push Madara back a single step. The lethal barrage failed to leave even a scratch on his skin!
"Hmph! In the past, I might have found this attack somewhat troublesome. But current me is far stronger than before!" Madara sneered.
With a flick of his fingers, the Truth-Seeking Orbs floating behind his back transformed into razor-sharp spears, shooting outward in all directions.
BOOM!
Under the relentless bombardment of the Truth-Seeking Orbs, the massive black coffin shattered like brittle glass!
Yet right at the moment of breaking free, Aizen reappeared directly in front of Madara. His Zanpakuto surged with terrifying Reiatsu as he brought it down toward Madara's head!
Space tore open along the path of his blade.
However, just as the strike was about to connect with Madara's skin, a subtle grin appeared on Madara's face.
"Since you enjoy invisible sneak attacks so much... take a taste of this—"
"Limbo: Border Jail!"
BOOM!
In mid-air, Aizen's descending Zanpakuto suddenly ground to a complete halt, held back by an invisible force as if striking an impenetrable wall!
"What?! How is this possible?!" Aizen's brow furrowed sharply.
Before he could process what had happened, an overwhelming sense of fatal danger struck him from behind! Instinctively, Aizen pulled his blade back to block across his chest.
BOOM!
A staggering, titan-like force slammed into his Zanpakuto, catching Aizen completely off guard and sending him flying backward hundreds of meters through the air!
Aizen tumbled through the sky before finally stabilizing his stance.
His expression, however, turned utterly grim.
He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that his blade had struck something solid, and that a second entity had just attacked him from behind.
Yet he could neither see, feel, nor detect the location or presence of his attacker in any way!
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T/N:
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