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Aizen's expression stiffened. He had intended to deal with Shin Uzumaki, but now he found himself surrounded by Head-Captain Yamamoto and the others.

"Head-Captain, can you release your Bankai?"

Ukitake asked Yamamoto, his voice strained.

His body was already frail, and under the crushing heat of Zanka no Tachi, he felt himself starting to break down.

His skin was beginning to crack. A few more moments, and he'd likely turn to ash.

Zanka no Tachi was terrifying. The sheer heat—over fifteen million degrees—was causing the very air in the Soul Society to evaporate. Anything it touched would be reduced to nothing.

A brief burst might be manageable, but this was a sustained, oppressive temperature. Who could possibly withstand it?

"Once Aizen is dealt with, I will release my Bankai."

Yamamoto said to Ukitake.

Before, with Kyōka Suigetsu still active, Yamamoto would never have dared to use his Bankai against Aizen.

The complete hypnosis could have easily made him mistake his own allies for Aizen. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

But now that Shin had nullified Kyōka Suigetsu, Yamamoto could unleash his full power without that fear.

Of course, he couldn't maintain his Bankai for too long. Doing so could inflict irreparable damage on the Soul Society.

If he ended up destroying the very place he was trying to protect, killing Aizen would be meaningless. Yamamoto wasn't about to make a trade that would cost him everything.

"All of you, fall back."

Yamamoto ordered his students and the captains of the other squads. The Visoreds were included in the order.

This was his battle now. If they remained, they would only get in the way, a liability he couldn't afford.

The Visoreds were reluctant. With Aizen right here, this was their chance for revenge.

But the Head-Captain had ordered them to retreat. Should they stay or go? Their reverence for Yamamoto was deeply ingrained.

Their gazes shifted to Hirako Shinji. As their de facto leader, the choice was his.

"We're pulling back. Let's give the Head-Captain the space he needs." Hirako made the decision without a second thought, terrified of getting caught in the crossfire of Yamamoto's next attack.

And so, the Visoreds, along with Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends, retreated to a safe distance.

"Zanka no Tachi, Higashi: Kyokujitsujin!"

This technique concentrated the entirety of Zanka no Tachi's heat onto the very tip of the blade. Anything it touched would be instantly vaporized.

Even Yhwach would be vaporized by a direct hit.

'I wonder if Aizen can even take a hit like that. Better copy the Hōgyoku first.'

Shin raised an eyebrow. He wasn't sure if Aizen could survive Yamamoto's devastating attack, so he decided to copy the Hōgyoku to be on the safe side.

Even if Aizen didn't die and the Hōgyoku remained intact, it was better to be cautious.

"System, copy the Hōgyoku's ability."

"[Consuming one Divine Replication Card. Hōgyoku's ability successfully copied.]"

It had been a while since Shin had heard the System's mechanical voice. He had to admit, he had almost missed it.

The Hōgyoku's ability was copied into Shin, not the object itself. He felt a new, unique power fuse with his being.

It was an advanced, indescribable force, and for now, he couldn't quite grasp how to use it.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

Aizen was undeniably powerful. Even without Kyōka Suigetsu, he could still one-shot a captain.

But he was facing the Head-Captain, a man whose combat strength was off the charts, an absolute titan of his era. In the original story, his death was nothing short of plot-induced stupidity.

Aizen couldn't dodge. He was incinerated by Yamamoto's strike.

Yamamoto immediately released his Bankai. He couldn't keep it active any longer without causing serious damage to the Soul Society.

"WATCH OUT, Head-Captain! AIZEN ISN'T DEAD!"

Urahara Kisuke shouted a warning to Yamamoto.

Aizen had essentially achieved immortality. A simple attack like that wasn't enough to kill him.

Soon enough, Aizen fully regenerated, completely unharmed, and stared coolly at Yamamoto. His body began to change—he was evolving.

Under the pressure of Yamamoto's attack, Aizen had felt a sense of powerlessness, of fear. With the Hōgyoku's aid, he had shattered his limits.

"He's already evolving beyond a mere Shinigami."

Shin observed Aizen's transformation. The Hōgyoku's evolution was guided by the wielder's heart. To be honest, the Hōgyoku was more like a wish-granting machine.

Aizen desperately craved greater power, and under his will, the Hōgyoku had initiated the first stage of his evolution. He was beginning his metamorphosis.

"Not dead? I underestimated you, boy." Yamamoto's surprise was fleeting, his expression quickly returning to a calm resolve.

So what if he wasn't dead? Killing him a second time wouldn't be difficult. Before Aizen could evolve further, he held no real advantage against Yamamoto.

In the original story, Yamamoto had held back his Bankai at the start, and was later tricked by Wonderweiss, having his Zanpakutō sealed.

But this time was different. Yamamoto had unleashed his Bankai from the get-go, going into a full-on berserker mode and one-shotting every Arrancar, including Wonderweiss.

"How strong is Aizen now?" Yoruichi asked Shin, with Unohana also stepping closer, her gaze fixed on him.

Anyone could feel that Aizen was now incredibly powerful, but no one could truly gauge the extent of his strength. They only knew it was absurdly high.

His Reiatsu alone was terrifying, so advanced that it was oppressive.

An average captain couldn't even dream of joining this fight now. They'd be crushed by his spiritual pressure before they even got close. In terms of Reiatsu, Aizen was undoubtedly supreme.

Probably no one besides Shin could claim to definitively overpower him. Not even Yamamoto in his Bankai state.

But now, Yamamoto was caught in a dilemma. He had just released his Bankai. Could he really use it again?

The greatest drawback of his Bankai was its sheer, uncontainable power. He might solve the Aizen problem, but if he destroyed the entire Soul Society in the process, it would still be his loss.

Aizen, however, now fixed his gaze on Yamamoto. Shin Uzumaki was an even greater threat, but if he couldn't even deal with Yamamoto, how could he ever hope to defeat Shin?

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