Chapter 872: [872] : Reduced to Ash
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"Nadegiri!"
The enraged Head-Captain swung his sword, and a terrifying wave of pressure tore through one of the Arrancar—no, it tore through several of them. After slicing through the first, the attack continued, mowing them down like wheat, eliminating a handful of Aizen’s Visored army in a single move.
Even the Espada didn’t dare to act rashly against Yamamoto. The arrogant Barragan held back, and none of the other Espada made a move.
"Without Ichigo’s trip to Hueco Mundo, the Arrancar are quite a bit stronger," Shin observed.
Because Aizen hadn’t had the time to capture Orihime Inoue, Ichigo had never invaded Hueco Mundo to rescue her. Naturally, the Arrancar had suffered fewer losses.
In a matter of moments, the Fracción of the Espada were dealt with. Aizen’s fire-extinguishing prince, Wonderweiss, was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps Aizen hadn’t created him.
In fact, Aizen had. But due to time constraints, the current Wonderweiss’s abilities couldn’t compare to his original counterpart. Aizen’s attention had been focused on dealing with Shin. Though Yamamoto was powerful, Shin’s presence had made Aizen lower his guard against the Head-Captain.
’With the Espada’s abilities, holding off Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto shouldn’t be a problem.’
Aizen glanced at Yamamoto. With the power of the Espada, they could indeed hold him off for a short time. Of course, the main reason was that even though Aizen wasn’t fighting Yamamoto himself, he was still using the power of his Zanpakutō, Kyōka Suigetsu, to influence him.
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A sudden slash shot towards Shin, but he caught the blade with ease.
"Aizen, are you that eager to attack me? Honestly, I’m disappointed in you. You have no patience at all."
Shin sighed and shook his head, then sent Aizen flying with a casual kick.
Kyōka Suigetsu was completely useless against Shin. One of Aizen’s trump cards was already gone.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
Just as Shin was about to say more, a terrifying heat made his eyes widen. He looked towards where Yamamoto was.
"Damn, the old man actually used his Bankai."
Using Bankai in the Soul Society—honestly, Shin hadn’t thought Yamamoto would do it. The power of Zanka no Tachi was simply too terrifying.
Even if he just stood still, the power of his Bankai could destroy the entire world. Yamamoto wouldn’t dare use such a terrifying power lightly. He didn’t want to turn the entire Soul Society into ruins just for one battle.
"Shin, can you save Harribel for me?" Nel asked from behind him.
"Save Harribel? Are you two close?" Shin asked, a little confused. The original story never showed them being particularly close.
"Not really, but we’re on decent terms. She’s helped me out a few times. If I had listened to her warning back then, I wouldn’t have been ambushed by those two bastards."
"So I want to save her this one time. If it’s not possible, then forget it."
"For you, little Nel, I’ll help that woman out."
Shin glanced at Nel, then used Amenotejikara, swapping Harribel’s position with a pebble. This was an advanced application of the technique that Shin had developed.
Just then, Yamamoto unleashed his ultimate move.
"Zanka no Tachi, North: Tenchi Kaijin!"
This was the most powerful technique of his Bankai. Just as its name suggested, it could reduce everything to ash. The Arrancar attacking Yamamoto were instantly cleared from the field.
Barragan, Starrk, Ulquiorra, Tōsen, and even Gin Ichimaru—none of them escaped.
Even Aizen’s creation, Wonderweiss, was gone. Though he could absorb flames, in the original story, he had absorbed the flames of a Shikai. This was the Zanka no Tachi of a Bankai.
"How terrifying."
Aizen felt no sadness at the loss of his subordinates. He was cold and ruthless; their deaths meant little to him.
What he cared about was the immense power of Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto. He had underestimated the Head-Captain, and now he had been taught a lesson.
If the current Aizen had taken that hit head-on, he would have died. There was no other possibility.
"So Gin just died like that? What a waste."
Shin’s mouth twitched.
In the original story, Gin had also died, but at least he had managed to launch a sneak attack on Aizen, even killing him once. His death had meaning. But this time, Gin’s death was completely pointless, killed at the hands of Yamamoto.
After all, Gin’s undercover actions were his own initiative, for his own reasons. In Yamamoto’s eyes, he was a traitor, and Yamamoto would never show mercy to a traitor. Though he had lost the ruthless, "do whatever it takes" personality of his past, the current Yamamoto was still incredibly decisive.
’Well, dead is dead.’ Shin wasn’t too concerned. Even if Gin had launched a sneak attack on Aizen, he wouldn’t have been able to kill him. Aizen now possessed the Hōgyoku; Gin couldn’t kill him.
Gin hadn’t acted when Aizen didn’t have the Hōgyoku. Now, he had lost his chance. If Gin knew, he would probably be crying his eyes out. Of course, the Gin of the past had been wary and hadn’t dared to act, knowing Aizen might have been aware of his plans. He knew Aizen was very vigilant and didn’t trust him.
Moreover, Aizen’s Kyōka Suigetsu made it impossible for him to be sure if the Aizen standing before him was real.
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"Well done, old man. Let me break Kyōka Suigetsu for you so you can deal with this brat."
Shin smiled faintly and said to Yamamoto.
Without breaking Kyōka Suigetsu, Yamamoto would have a hard time defeating Aizen. No matter how strong his attacks were, if they couldn’t hit their target, they were useless. But once the illusion was broken, it was a different story.
Then, Aizen would have to face Yamamoto head-on.
"Shatter, Kyōka Suigetsu." Shin possessed the power of Kyōka Suigetsu himself, so of course, he could completely dispel Aizen’s illusion. Yamamoto was now free from its influence.
Not just Yamamoto, but all the other captains had also been freed by Shin. Now, Aizen had to face a group of them.
And there was more bad news for him—the Visored army had arrived, and even the protagonist, Ichigo Kurosaki, had come with them to settle the score with Aizen.
In an instant, Aizen was surrounded and alone. Shin looked at him with a hint of pity. ’Not so arrogant now, are you?’
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