Chapter 196: The Fourth Stage of Evolution—Aizen's Final Form
The instant after the Black Coffin's completion, Aizen had just begun displaying a smug smile when he heard a sharp crack. The masterpiece he'd been so proud of—what he'd regarded as absolute perfection—suddenly shattered before his eyes.
With a casual wave of Kurosaki Ichigo's hand, Aizen's fully-incanted Kurohitsugi disintegrated like a simple pane of glass, instantly transforming into powder that dissipated between heaven and earth.
When Kurosaki Ichigo's figure appeared before Aizen once more, at this moment Aizen's face had twisted to the point of deformation. His entire body convulsed continuously. He couldn't believe what was transpiring before him—why had his fully-chanted Kidō been destroyed so effortlessly by his opponent?
At this instant, Aizen's entire worldview suffered a devastating blow!
"It seems you haven't realized it yet. Compared to you in your current state, my strength is even greater!"
"At the moment when we were clashing blades earlier, it was my sword that sent that mountain flying..."
Saying this, Kurosaki Ichigo shifted his body and moved slowly toward Aizen. "I'm coming for you now, Aizen!"
SLASH!
With crimson blood blooming through the air, Aizen's chest was sliced with a long wound by Kurosaki Ichigo, who had appeared before him instantaneously.
The intense sense of crisis caused Aizen's body to dissipate into spirit particles at the moment he was cut. He then rematerialized atop a mountain peak not far away.
Looking at the relocated Aizen, Kurosaki Ichigo lowered his head while gripping his blade and spoke leisurely: "It's a peculiar sensation. When I intentionally created distance between us, you questioned why I did so. Yet this time, you're the one who chose to retreat. Now it's my turn to ask you."
"Just now... why did you distance yourself from me?"
Aizen pressed his hand against the wound, observing Kurosaki Ichigo's casual and indifferent gaze. The muscles across his face couldn't help but begin twitching. Aizen's entire body started trembling, and the blade in his hand shook constantly. At this moment, Aizen had finally been completely provoked by Kurosaki Ichigo's dismissive attitude.
"I see now..."
"Does it please you to block my sword? Does it please you to shatter my Kidō? Does it please you to damage my body?"
"Don't get too carried away, human!"
With Aizen's furious roar, the wound inflicted by Kurosaki Ichigo began healing. The gap between his brows burst open instantly, revealing a white glow. Then the fissure began overflowing with blood, and Aizen's own pupils started dilating during this process as he lost consciousness.
Finally, as Aizen's neck tilted, his eyes lost their luster. The skin on his face began disintegrating like cracked ceramics.
At this moment, a purple beam of light erupted from Aizen's body and shot toward the skies. Violent shockwaves danced wildly throughout the entire world. With the gradual intensification of the Reiatsu within Aizen's body, after his third-stage transformation, Aizen finally began approaching the final fusion stage.
"AAAHHHHH!"
As Aizen roared, the Hōgyoku's evolution of Aizen was finally completed. When Aizen's brand-new form was revealed before Kurosaki Ichigo, even he—who had maintained an unchanged expression throughout—frowned for the first time.
Aizen's facial skin had torn from the center and split to both sides of his darkened face. Three holes had appeared across his upper body, with the Hōgyoku embedded in the topmost cavity. His Zanpakutō had fused completely with his right hand—even his arm had transformed into a blade.
The original three pairs of enormous butterfly wings had also vanished at this stage. At the position of his new wing ridge, a "skull" had grown from each prominence. At this moment, Aizen possessed absolutely no Shinigami characteristics whatsoever. He appeared far more terrifying than any Hollow.
After the final evolution completed, significant blood stains pooled beneath Aizen's feet. This represented the remnants of his previous form after undergoing his new evolution—as though he'd burst forth from his former body.
"Is that so? You still cannot forgive me, Hōgyoku?"
"It is an unforgivable sin for me to have fallen behind a mere human being!"
The instant his voice fell, the skulls on Aizen's wing ridge expelled high-density Reiatsu projectiles in Kurosaki Ichigo's direction. The purple Reiatsu bullets were released with casual ease, yet produced a tremendous boom. Accompanied by violent tremors throughout the ground, the terrifying explosion transformed the plain not far from Ichigo's position into a canyon.
The scorching shockwave melted all surrounding objects. The solid rock was instantly evaporated beneath this fiery air current, transforming into gas that dissipated directly.
The crimson light instantly illuminated the entire sky. Even Karakura Town, tens of kilometers distant, could perceive it clearly. Sensing that desperate Reiatsu, Urahara Kisuke—after briefly healing his own injuries—sat cross-legged on the ground. Kurosaki Isshin and Shihōin Yoruichi, who had been unconscious nearby, were also being rescued with support from Soul Society.
"This level of Reiatsu... I'm afraid it's already..."
Standing beside Urahara Kisuke, Unohana Retsu—who gazed at the sky filled with radiant light—sighed with her hands folded at her abdomen.
"I can only place my trust in Ichigo. He's not a child who disappoints!"
Urahara Kisuke rose to his feet, retrieved the hat that had fallen to the ground, patted the dust from it, and placed it atop his head.
"Are you heading over there, Captain Urahara?"
Although a hundred years had passed, Unohana Retsu's form of address for Urahara Kisuke hadn't changed.
"It's time to go. Kurosaki and Yoruichi—please entrust them to your care, Captain Unohana!"
Urahara Kisuke looked at Unohana Retsu and spoke with grave solemnity.
"Please rest assured and leave them to me. The most severe injuries have been treated, and Isane is currently examining them for any lingering complications!"
As she spoke, Unohana Retsu glanced toward Kotetsu Isane, who was treating Kurosaki Isshin and Shihōin Yoruichi.
"Well, I truly appreciate it. There's one matter that concerns me!"
"What is it?" Unohana Retsu asked with interest.
"Since Kurosaki went to Hueco Mundo to rescue Miss Inoue, I've lost contact with him. Time has been short, and I haven't had the opportunity to confirm whether Miss Inoue is safe."
Speaking thus, Urahara Kisuke spoke with self-reproach. "If Miss Inoue were here, the process of treating the wounded would be considerably easier."
"Forget it. After this matter concludes, I'll travel to Hueco Mundo to investigate further. Well then, I'm departing. By the way, the other captains who were situated within the barrier pillars have all been transferred to the underground space beneath my shop. Captain Unohana, if you have time, please go examine them as well!"
Hearing Urahara Kisuke's words, Unohana Retsu—who had believed the other captains had perished alongside that Arrancar—suddenly brightened. She bowed deeply to Urahara Kisuke and couldn't wait to address Kotetsu Isane: "Isane, please care for them here. I'm taking the other team members and departing immediately."
"Huh? Captain, I—"
Before Kotetsu Isane could complete her sentence, she witnessed Unohana Retsu hastily release Minazuki. After mounting it, she departed from the scene.
Observing Unohana Retsu's retreating figure, Urahara Kisuke didn't dare delay any further. He leaped into the air and rushed toward the location where Kurosaki Ichigo and Aizen were fighting.
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