At the same time.
Sensing that Yamamoto had already made his move, Shin decided not to tangle with Baraggan anymore.
After a long period of attrition, Baraggan was already showing signs of decline.
"Soi Fon, Bankai."
"Understood."
"Bankai: Jakuhō Raikōben!"
The petite Soi Fon was enveloped in golden machinery, her right arm now a massive missile.
"Take this!"
The golden missile launched.
Baraggan used Respira, and the missile exploded before it could even touch him.
The explosion emitted a blinding light, and a powerful shockwave rushed toward Soi Fon and Shin.
Shin quickly summoned his Yogasa to block it.
"It's not over yet!"
Another Jakuhō Raikōben was fired. Simultaneously, Shin attacked with the Great Blade of Crimson, and Baraggan was instantly engulfed by the explosion and the fire.
"Damn it!"
Baraggan's final roar was swallowed by the sound waves of the explosion.
Although Shin had prepared for the recoil, he was still nearly blasted away by the immense force, leaving his arm slightly numb.
Soi Fon's Jakuhō Raikōben could originally only be used once every three days. Firing two shots consecutively left her extremely weak.
Shin dissolved the domain. The surrounding two hundred meters were desolate, with nothing left except the two of them.
He carried Soi Fon and found Unohana's location.
Soi Fon now only needed time to slowly recover her stamina.
"It seems the Captain-Commander intends to take Aizen down with him." Unohana said while looking at the ten gigantic pillars of fire.
"Aizen has now merged with the Hōgyoku. His Kyōka Suigetsu will likely be even harder to deal with."
Shin knew that with Wonderweiss present, Yamamoto's plan would not succeed.
—
The ten towering pillars of fire gradually converged. When they connected, they would trigger a violent explosion powerful enough to scorch the earth for a radius of over a hundred kilometers.
Just then, Wonderweiss, in his Resurrección form, suddenly appeared behind Yamamoto.
Wonderweiss's shoulders and thighs had become particularly broad, his limbs elongated, and his chest and abdomen were semi-hollowed out.
Yamamoto swung his sword in a backhanded strike, but the flames on the blade extinguished before they could touch Wonderweiss, and the blade itself was caught in his hand.
Yamamoto's eyes widened in shock, unable to understand why his flames had vanished into thin air.
Then, Wonderweiss pulled, throwing the momentarily stunned Yamamoto toward the ground.
Yamamoto asked, "Why did Ryūjin Jakka's flames disappear?"
Aizen landed opposite Yamamoto. "Allow me to tell you. Your Ryūjin Jakka is indeed the strongest Zanpakutō, but what if you no longer possess it?"
Yamamoto roughly understood.
"His name is Wonderweiss. He is an altered Arrancar I created using the Hōgyoku. His Resurrección ability is to seal your Ryūjin Jakka."
As Aizen finished speaking, Wonderweiss absorbed all the remaining flames.
"Go, Wonderweiss."
Wonderweiss instantly appeared in front of Yamamoto, but Yamamoto punched straight through his abdomen, sending him flying backward through several buildings.
Ikkotsu!
"Did you think that by sealing my Ryūjin Jakka, I would be defenseless?"
Yamamoto used both fists, attacking Aizen.
Sōkotsu!
Boom!
Wonderweiss suddenly appeared, shielding Aizen. His body, except for his head, was pulverized.
The power of the twin fists did not diminish and continued to smash toward Aizen.
Aizen's eyes flashed white, and an invisible wall of Reiatsu formed around him, powerful enough to crush anything that collided with it.
However, it failed to stop Sōkotsu. The materialized Reiatsu in front of Aizen shattered completely, his chest caved in, his internal organs were displaced, and he coughed up a large mouthful of blood. Even the Hōgyoku fell to the ground.
"It's over, Aizen."
But in the next moment, Aizen erupted with sky-high Reiatsu, forming a giant column of light that enveloped him.
When the Reiatsu dissipated, Aizen's appearance had changed again.
Metamorphosis: From Cocoon to Butterfly!
A slit resembling a third eye appeared on his forehead and his eyebrows vanished. There was a hole in his chest where the Hōgyoku resided, and three pairs of giant butterfly wings sprouted from his back. His Zanpakutō was nowhere to be seen.
Hōgyoku Fourth Fusion State!
Yamamoto stared gravely at Aizen. He could feel that the current Aizen had been completely reborn, far surpassing his previous self.
"I feel like I can finally fight you head-on, Captain-Commander. It's a pity you no longer have Ryūjin Jakka, and..."
Aizen looked toward Wonderweiss's head behind Yamamoto.
"I just said that Wonderweiss's ability is sealing. Captain-Commander, why don't you guess where the sealed flames went?"
Yamamoto looked back and saw that Wonderweiss's head was swelling rapidly. If this energy were released, the entire Karakura Town, along with the barrier, would be destroyed, potentially even endangering the Human World outside the barrier.
Yamamoto quickly lunged forward, trying to extinguish the flames with his own body.
Boom!
The flames exploded outward, destroying the surrounding buildings, but gradually shrank until they vanished.
Yamamoto lay in a gigantic crater, the lower half of his body scorched black by the flames, gasping for breath.
"As expected of the Captain-Commander, to be able to contain the explosion within the smallest possible area."
Aizen walked up to Yamamoto, intending to finish him off.
Bang!
A figure slammed into Aizen at incredible speed.
Shin carried Aizen away from the center of the explosion.
Karakura Town outskirts.
The two stood facing each other.
"Shin, long time no see."
"It hasn't been that long, Aizen."
[Mission Triggered: Defeat Aizen]
[Reward: 5000 Points]
Shin was initially quite pleased to see the system, which hadn't popped up in a while, reappear. But the reward was genuinely stingy. Last time, defeating Aizen was worth 4000 points, and now that Aizen had evolved several times, it was only 1000 points more.
Aizen was in no hurry to fight and said, "Baraggan's Senescence ability is troublesome, but it has a few flaws. Shin, I highly doubt you failed to notice them."
"Haha, what if I told you I did it on purpose? Would you believe me?" Shin shrugged.
"I see."
"So, appearing so conveniently, were you waiting for me to eliminate the Gotei 13?"
"And then you would defeat me in a high-profile manner to gain prestige?" Aizen voiced his conjecture.
Shin clapped his hands. "As expected of you, Aizen."
However, Shin did not mention that he never intended to defeat Aizen.
Aizen said, "But even so, Shin, you cannot control Soul Society."
Shin was naturally aware of this. He wasn't even a Shinigami, let alone the fact that the Royal Guard was above them.
"I never intended to control Soul Society. I just didn't want to be used by Central 46."
Shin paused, then continued, "Besides, establishing a new order in Soul Society is quite interesting, wouldn't you agree?"
Aizen looked thoughtful upon hearing this, then said, "A new Central 46? They must be dead by now, right?"
"No, perhaps not just them. I suspect even the noble clans have been mostly purged?"
Aizen's lips curled into a smile as he stared at Shin.