CHAPTER 170: CHAPTER 170: A BIG WIN FOR AIZEN

The frost-covered Wandenreich slowly faded away, and the shadows it had cast over the Seireitei returned to normal.

Yhwach, the Emperor, and Haschwalth, his right-hand man, were both taken down by Aizen and Tosen, who had charged in alone. The Wandenreich’s holy altar was completely destroyed. Sternritter D, M, and X were killed, leaving only "C," the Soul King’s right arm, missing without a trace.

The rest of the Sternritter didn’t fare any better. Aside from a few like Liltotto who surrendered to Uchiha Madara, the group was almost entirely wiped out.

With that, the Quincy organization completely collapsed.

This major victory naturally brought great relief to Yamamoto Genryusai. He felt proud of his decision to send troops into the shadow space—thinking it was the right call. From his point of view, this was a huge win.

But what he didn’t know was that someone else had gained even more from it.

In a dim laboratory...

"That ’holy son’ really was something," Aizen muttered softly, staring at the glowing Hogyoku in his hand. "It instantly pushed my Hogyoku into the next stage of evolution."

Ever since creating the Hogyoku a hundred years ago, he had been trying to make it perfect.

To achieve that goal, he kept absorbing souls with Shinigami powers into its core. He even created and fused special types of Hollows for this purpose.

But even with all that, the Hogyoku still wasn’t satisfied. After a whole century, it was still incomplete.

That changed today. After swallowing Yhwach’s soul, it not only became complete—it started evolving to an even higher level.

Even Aizen had to admit this was beyond his expectations. The Hogyoku’s potential was far greater than he had thought.

Of course, Aizen believed the main reason was that the souls it had absorbed before were nowhere near the level of Yhwach’s. That’s why he had misjudged it.

"Well well, congratulations, Captain Aizen," said Ichimaru Gin with a sly smile and narrowed eyes. "Looks like you just got really lucky."

"Gin, that’s no way to talk to Lord Aizen," Tosen said with a frown, clearly unhappy.

"It’s fine, Kaname," Aizen shook his head gently and smiled. "There’s no need to be so strict with our comrades." As he spoke, he turned to look at two bodies floating inside tanks.

They were the corpses of Haschwalth and Gremmy Thoumeaux—the latter having shown up just to get killed.

Clearly, Aizen kept their bodies because he was very interested in them—especially Gremmy, the Quincy who called himself the "Imaginator."

His power was very unusual—he could instantly turn anything he imagined into reality.

But when he fought Aizen, he panicked after realizing none of his attacks were working. In his fear, he ended up imagining how he would die... and then died in exactly that way.

Though his mindset was fragile, Aizen saw his ability as something worth studying. In a way, it had already stepped into the realm of gods.

"And yeah, I really did get lucky," Aizen said softly with a faint smile. "Thanks to that Madara guy holding the front line, our plan went incredibly smoothly."

At the mention of Uchiha Madara, even Tosen’s expression changed. "Just who is that boy, really?"

Back when Madara fought the Quincy army, Tosen had been watching from above in Silbern, using his spiritual sensing. He had a clear and direct understanding of just how terrifying that boy’s power was.

"Are you afraid, Kaname?" Aizen asked with a playful look in his eyes, clearly hinting at something.

"No, I’m not!" Tosen quickly shook his head and explained, "I was just—"

"It’s okay to be afraid," Aizen cut him off gently. "The courage to draw your blade even when you’re afraid—that’s what real bravery is. I believe you have that kind of courage."

"Yes, Lord Aizen!" Tosen dropped to one knee and said loudly, "No matter who the enemy is, I won’t fear them if it’s for the justice you believe in!"

"You really didn’t let me down. Good." Aizen nodded lightly, the corners of his mouth curling up. "You two can leave now. For the time being, we’ll have to shift our focus to Hueco Mundo."

He roughly calculated that it would take about fifteen years for the Hogyoku in his hand to fully evolve. During that time, he had no plans to stir up anything big in the Soul Society. All his research would be moved to Hueco Mundo.

That was the plan—unless something unexpected happened.

For example, if he managed to find the Hogyoku Kisuke Urahara had hidden, that might speed up the evolution process.

It wasn’t until the figures of Tosen Kaname and Ichimaru Gin disappeared that Aizen took out the Hogyoku again. "If I’m not wrong, you can hear me, can’t you?"

The Hogyoku had a will of its own—Aizen had always known that. But after absorbing Yhwach’s soul, he suddenly realized the Hogyoku might be more than just a conscious object.

"Yes, Lord Aizen." A hoarse voice rang in his ear.

Aizen raised an eyebrow but kept a calm expression. "You know who I am?"

"Of course. I knew back then—140 years ago, in the Soen District of the East Rukongai." The hoarse voice replied.

"I see. So that’s how it is."

Aizen could now confirm that the voice was actually the Hogyoku’s personification. He created the Hogyoku 140 years ago, and the Sōen District was the place he did it.

No one else could’ve known that—not unless they were him.

As for why the Hogyoku developed a personality, Aizen figured it had something to do with Yhwach. No—more accurately, it had to do with the Soul King.

Still, even though the Hogyoku was his own creation, Aizen had no intention of fully trusting it. Keeping his face calm, he asked, "So, do you have a name?"

"A name? Just call me Black Zetsu..."

A strange creature, dark as ink and shadow-like, slowly emerged from within the Hogyoku.

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