"Tosen!"
"Come down here, Tosen!!"
Just as Toshiro reluctantly gave up stopping Aizen, Komamura, who had been defeated on the spot by Aizen's Kurohitsugi earlier, suddenly regained consciousness and shouted wildly at Tosen in the sky, dragging his bleeding body.
"Tosen! I don't understand! Why did you become a Shinigami? Wasn't it for your deceased friend! Wasn't it to uphold justice!"
"Where has your justice gone!!"
Komamura demanded loudly.
Tosen looked down expressionlessly at his best friend… no, his former best friend. From the moment Aizen's scheme was exposed, the two were destined to be enemies.
"Komamura, I've already said, what these eyes of mine see is always the path with the least sacrifice. Justice has always been there. The path I walk is what is called justice!"
Tosen said somewhat arrogantly.
Komamura said with deep sorrow and indignation:
"Tosen..."
"Alright, Komamura, no need to say more. It seems he won't repent."
Toshiro stepped forward to stop Komamura, then looked at Aizen rising into the sky.
"What was all this for, Aizen?"
Toshiro looked at Aizen, his gaze burning.
"To pursue a higher realm."
Aizen replied.
"Is that so?"
Toshiro said noncommittally.
What Aizen was thinking, what he really wanted, his years of patience and painstaking effort… was it merely to pursue a higher realm? Toshiro didn't know. Perhaps only Aizen himself understood what he truly wanted.
"To be honest, I really look down on your methods, Aizen. There's nothing wrong with pursuing a higher realm, of course. But to achieve it by any means necessary, trampling on others' lives, colluding with Hollows... I cannot agree with that."
"If you want to pursue a higher realm, then rely on your own hard work and training. Using despicable tricks like schemes and plots… you've really fallen, Aizen!"
Toshiro's tone was mocking.
"No, it's you who is too arrogant, Toshiro-kun."
"History is always written by the victors. So methods don't matter. As long as you ultimately succeed, who will care about your methods?"
Aizen argued.
"No one stands on the top of the world. Not you, not me, not even gods."
As Aizen spoke, he took off the unfashionable black-rimmed glasses he had always worn.
"But the unbearable vacancy of the throne in the sky is over..."
Aizen reached out with his 'hair-gelling hand' and smoothed his hair.
"From now on... I will be sitting on it!"
Crack!
Aizen crushed the glasses in his hand.
After taking off his unfashionable black-rimmed glasses and changing his hairstyle, Aizen's temperament and image changed instantly. Coupled with his words, he appeared extremely domineering.
"Farewell, everyone… Shinigami, and Ryoka. Until we meet again."
"And Toshiro-kun, I hope next time we can have another wonderful duel."
Aizen glanced at everyone, then turned and stepped into the Hollows' opening.
Then the dark space closed, and Aizen and the others completely disappeared from everyone's sight.
"Is it over like this?"
Toshiro murmured.
This time, relying on his advantage of knowing the plot, Toshiro took the first step to obtain the Hogyoku, then painstakingly schemed and laid out plans to surround and kill Aizen.
But in the end, it failed, and not only did he fail to kill Aizen, but he also lost the Hogyoku he had obtained.
Moreover, the plot had undergone significant changes. Ichigo was hypnotized by Aizen.
From now on, Ichigo, the protagonist, wasn't completely useless, but at least when it came to fighting Aizen, he would be of little use.
The heavy responsibility of defeating Aizen in the future fell solely on Toshiro. Thinking of this, Toshiro felt the heavy pressure on his shoulders.
'Well, forget it. I won't think about it too much for now. At least the Aizen matter is temporarily over.'
Toshiro comforted himself.
Then Toshiro immediately canceled his Bankai and returned to his original form.
In Toshiro's current condition, maintaining Bankai would place an extremely heavy burden on his body.
When Toshiro was at his peak, after using Bankai, even doing nothing, his Reiatsu and aura alone could oppress the Soul Society. But now, even maintaining Bankai wouldn't have much deterrent power.
"Huh?"
Just as Toshiro's tense mind relaxed, he suddenly felt the world spin, staggered, and was about to fall to the ground.
"Captain!"
Rangiku's figure flashed, instantly appearing beside Toshiro and reaching out to support him.
"Captain, Captain, what's wrong with you?"
Rangiku asked anxiously.
"Don't... don't worry, I'm fine, just a little dizzy."
Toshiro leaned against Rangiku.
Unohana quickly stepped forward and carefully examined Toshiro's condition.
"How is Toshiro, Captain Unohana?"
Yamamoto's tone was rarely tinged with anxiety.
"Don't worry, Captain-Commander-dono. Captain Hitsugaya is not in any life-threatening danger. He was just seriously injured in the battle with Aizen, coupled with excessive blood loss, which is why this happened. With proper treatment and some rest, he'll be fine."
Unohana explained.
"Is that so? That's good."
Not only Yamamoto, but everyone else also breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Unohana's words.
Then Unohana immediately began using Kaido to treat Toshiro's injuries.
And Yamamoto began to instruct everyone to clean up the aftermath, tidying up the battlefield, and treating the wounded...
"Captain Kuchiki will be handled by Squad 1 and Squad 3!"
"Captain Komamura will be handled by Squad 7 and Squad 10!"
"Lieutenant Abarai has completed the sixth stage of surgery. Squads 8 and 9, proceed with immediate transfer!"
After the 4th Division's members arrived, under Isane's command, they quickly treated the wounded on the scene.
"Lieutenant Kotetsu, what should we do?"
4th Division's members who hadn't been assigned a task asked.
"Squad 4 and Squad 5? You go and treat the Ryoka."
Isane said after some consideration.
"B-But..."
"No buts. You should also know by now, those Ryoka are not our enemies. If anything, they should be considered benefactors of the Soul Society."
Isane asked rhetorically.
"Yes!"
After responding, the members of Squads 4 and 5 quickly ran over to Ichigo and the others.
'Speaking of which, what exactly is that ability that the girl among the Ryoka uses?'
Isane looked at Orihime not far away.
After treating Ichigo, Orihime actually began helping the Shinigami treat their injuries.
'I've never seen such a peculiar technique, and her healing speed is probably comparable to mine...'
Isane was very curious upon seeing Orihime using her peculiar technique to help heal the Shinigami.
On the other side, after briefly treating Toshiro's injuries, Unohana came over to Byakuya.
Then Byakuya seemed to say something to Unohana. Unohana looked at Rukia not far away and said, "Rukia, come here. Captain Kuchiki wants to talk to you."
"Yes!"
Rukia responded and quickly ran over.
Byakuya, lying on the stretcher, slowly began to speak: "Rukia, I have something to tell you..."