Chapter 451 - 451: Aizen’s Bankai, the Choice He Made, and Kyōka Suigetsu

"This isn't a power I originally intended to use."

Wrapped in flames, Cyrus spoke quietly.

"But I know what you're planning to do. Sooner or later, you'll have to face something like this anyway. Consider this an opportunity to get used to it in advance."

"You know what I'm planning?"

Aizen blinked, his expression difficult to read.

If Cyrus had said something like that earlier, Aizen would never have believed him.

But now Cyrus had even reproduced Zanjitsu Gokui.

Aizen understood perfectly well that Cyrus's flames were not actually the same power as the Captain-Commander's, yet seeing such a close imitation still made his heart tighten.

"Try not to turn into ash."

Cyrus lightly tapped one foot against the ground.

The space beneath him exploded.

Amid the violent spatial turbulence, his flaming figure was already in front of Aizen.

The heat was so intense that even coating himself in spiritual power did little to protect him.

Whoosh!

Aizen didn't dare take the attack head-on and immediately retreated.

"You may be wondering why I haven't used Bankai."

He spoke while evading, only for a flaming slash to come tearing toward him.

Aizen twisted aside.

The attack carved through the desert below, instantly melting the sand and leaving behind an enormous trench filled with glowing magma.

"It isn't that I never learned it."

Aizen continued moving.

"It was a choice."

"Between Shikai and Bankai, I chose Kyōka Suigetsu."

Cyrus raised an eyebrow.

"So if you use Bankai, your Shikai ability is canceled?"

"Exactly."

Aizen nodded.

"I do possess another level of power, but I cannot afford to use it."

Aizen was not Zaraki Kenpachi.

For someone who had become a captain through the conventional route, naturally he had already mastered Bankai.

But Kyōka Suigetsu's ability was simply too valuable to abandon.

If activating Bankai meant relinquishing the effect of his Shikai, then too many things he had carefully built over the years would immediately change.

Cyrus abruptly stopped.

"I want to visit Soul Society."

The flames surrounding him instantly withdrew into his body.

The heat lingering in the air, however, remained intense enough to continue scorching Aizen.

"Now?"

Aizen stopped as well and quietly relaxed a little.

"Not immediately."

Cyrus thought about it.

"Come see me again soon. Or send that squinty-eyed guy."

Aizen remained silent for a moment before nodding.

"Very well."

He had little room to refuse.

From Cyrus's tone, it was obvious that even if Aizen did nothing, Cyrus would eventually find his own way into Soul Society.

"Good."

Cyrus nodded and turned away, though he didn't immediately leave.

"What I showed you was only an imitation. I don't know exactly how powerful your Captain-Commander's version really is."

He glanced back slightly.

"But now you should at least have some idea of what you'll need to prepare for."

Aizen smiled.

"Are you helping me?"

"No."

Cyrus answered without hesitation.

"I'm just curious to see what you'll do."

His body dissolved into flame and vanished.

Only after Cyrus disappeared did Aizen unconsciously exhale.

That kind of power truly did need to be taken seriously.

He would have to develop some way of countering flames like those.

Whether they belonged to the Captain-Commander… Or to Cyrus.

Aizen had seen it himself just moments ago.

Cyrus's heat had grown so extreme that even the space of Hueco Mundo had begun to distort under it.

Part of that might have been because Hueco Mundo itself was unusual.

As a realm existing between the World of the Living and Soul Society, its spatial structure was naturally less stable than either.

Even so, what Aizen had witnessed told him more than enough.

After a few moments of thought, he stepped forward and vanished like smoke.

…

Back at the great forest, Starrk remained on watch.

Even though the Shinigami stood strangely motionless, none of the Hollows dared attack them while Starrk was there.

They were arrogant, violent creatures accustomed to killing.

But Hueco Mundo had one rule that nearly all of them understood.

The weak obeyed the strong.

Especially when the strong could kill them with almost no effort.

Some of the Hollows undoubtedly had other ideas, but none were foolish enough to show them now.

There was no point.

Whoosh!

A figure appeared.

A faint disturbance passed through the gathered Hollows, but once they realized it was Cyrus, everyone immediately quieted down again.

"Go back." Cyrus spoke calmly.

"Got it."

Starrk didn't ask why.

He simply turned around and left.

Nelliel and Harribel followed immediately.

Some of the other Hollows left without hesitation as well, while others paused briefly before reluctantly following.

They weren't happy about it.

After all, the Shinigami looked completely defenseless at the moment.

But none of them wanted to experience what had happened not long ago for a second time.

That sensation of being utterly helpless before Cyrus was still far too fresh in their memories.

Aizen returned shortly afterward.

Gin visibly relaxed when he saw him, then glanced toward the forest with his usual narrowed eyes.

"Let's go."

Aizen looked at Gin, then toward the other Shinigami.

"That's it?"

Gin was clearly puzzled.

The Hollows had withdrawn, but the battle itself had never truly reached a conclusion.

If they simply returned now, how were they supposed to explain what had happened?

"You don't need to worry about that."

Aizen shook his head and looked toward the motionless Shinigami.

Kyōka Suigetsu would provide the answer.

There was a reason Aizen had chosen to preserve his Shikai even at the cost of never using his Bankai.

Complete Hypnosis was simply too useful.

It allowed him to control every sense of anyone caught beneath its influence.

The Shinigami standing there might appear motionless from the outside, but in their own perceptions, countless events had already taken place.

And constructing a seamless false reality for them was something Aizen had done so many times that it had become second nature.

"Come back here again later."

Aizen said to Gin as he turned away.

Then he left.

Gin watched the forest for a moment.

The masked figure who had drawn so much of Aizen's attention was already gone.

'Did they reach some kind of agreement?'

Gin wondered.

The other Shinigami then turned in unison.

Those who had been wounded were supported or carried by their comrades, and the entire expedition silently departed like a procession of puppets.

Cyrus watched the scene through Observation Haki from a distance and couldn't help clicking his tongue.

'That ability really is absurd.'

He could imagine at least one limitation.

If one of those hypnotized Shinigami suddenly suffered real physical harm, perhaps the contradiction between their senses and reality might force them awake.

But even with a weakness like that, Complete Hypnosis was still outrageously powerful.

'And he gave up his Bankai for this?'

Then again, considering that Aizen's plan had effectively succeeded later on, perhaps the trade-off made perfect sense.

If Ichigo hadn't appeared as an unpredictable variable, almost nobody would have been capable of breaking Aizen's scheme.

Even the Captain-Commander had been manipulated.

Cyrus briefly wondered whether Kyōka Suigetsu could affect him.

Then he shook his head.

'Forget it.'

There was no reason to test something like that.

If Aizen actually tried to place him under Complete Hypnosis, Cyrus would simply have to kill him.

It might be troublesome.

But not impossible.

What interested Cyrus more was something else.

Would Aizen begin developing a plan specifically designed to counter him?

Given Aizen's personality, the answer was almost certainly yes.

That thought actually made Cyrus a little curious.

He removed the white mask from his face and looked toward Robin, Hancock, and Baby 5 waiting nearby.

Then he tossed the mask toward Robin.

"Come on. That's enough excitement for now."

Robin caught it easily.

"It's over?"

She examined the mask briefly before looking back at him.

"Those Shinigami aren't going to come back?"

Surely Soul Society wouldn't simply abandon the investigation after everything that had happened here.