One Piece: Kaido's adopted son, starts with the Eight Gates Formation.

"don’t worry."

"I'm not worried," Kaido replied in a gruff voice.

Whitebeard didn't expose him.

"You know how strong that brat is." The white-bearded man leaned on his naginata, looked up at the sky, and said, "He can even unleash the Soul King's power, and he can even extinguish Yamamoto's Bankai. A worm—"

"I'm not worried at all!" Kaido raised his voice.

The white-bearded man smiled and said nothing more.

Aizen stood not far away, already being targeted by Big Mom.

"What does your soul taste like?" Big Mom circled around Aizen, getting closer with each circle.

Aizen maintained his smile: "Ms. Charlotte Linlin, I am now the young master's woman. Obey my orders—"

"I'm just taking a sniff!"

"Not even a sniff." Aizen smiled and took a step back.

Kaido turned around and yelled, "Don't eat him! The young master said you're not allowed to eat him!"

BIGMOM pouted in dissatisfaction, but still stepped back.

Akainu was still wiping the skull sculpture in Barragán—it had become his daily routine. He had gone from being annoyed at first to being numb to it, and the act of wiping the dust had even become somewhat elegant.

Aokiji yawned and leaned against a crumbling wall to rest. Kenpachi Zaraki sat on the ground sharpening his sword, occasionally glancing up at the Gates of Hell.

Kyoraku took off his straw hat, fanned himself, and whispered to Byakuya, "Aizen has appeared... How do you feel about that?"

Byakuya remained silent for a long time.

"No. But the young master's orders are paramount."

"You adapted quite quickly."

"I had no choice," Byakuya said calmly. "From the moment the young master changed the allegiance of the Gotei 13, I had no choice."

"That's true." Kyoraku put his straw hat back on. "But don't you think—life with this little guy, though absurd, is much more interesting than before?"

Byakuya did not answer.

But there was a very, very subtle curve at the corner of his mouth.

Aizen listened to their conversation without saying anything, only smiling.

Something else was racing through his mind—

Yhwach's remnants still lurk in the shadows. The Soul King's left arm is in the Shadow Realm. Lynn has already entered Hell.

If Yhwach is smart enough—he probably won't attack the Soul King's palace now. He'll go after the Soul King's left arm.

Because the King of Spirit's left arm was on his territory.

Aizen narrowed his eyes. He didn't tell anyone about this analysis—not to hide it, but to wait.

He wanted to see what Yhwach would do.

Then he will make the most advantageous response.

This is Aizen Sousuke—a man who is always waiting for the perfect moment.

The other side of the gates of hell—

Lynn floated in an endless darkness.

The darkness is not visual darkness—his eyes can see in any environment. Rather, it is a "conceptual darkness"—the spatial rules here are different from those outside, and the concept of "light" is extremely diminished here.

A pale golden halo naturally emanated from Lynn's body, illuminating an area of ​​several meters around him.

Beneath my feet—if it can be called "below my feet"—lies a gray wasteland. The ground is made of some unknown substance, neither stone nor soil, and feels cold and smooth to the touch.

In the distance, scattered across the gray wasteland stood several enormous black stone pillars. These pillars were inscribed with various symbols, some he recognized, others he didn't.

"So ugly," Lynn commented again.

He floated for about ten minutes without encountering any living creatures.

Then he heard a sound.

It wasn't a sound from afar, but a sound from beneath my feet.

The gray ground was vibrating. The frequency was very low, like a heartbeat.

One. Two. Three...

The tremors grew stronger, and cracks began to appear in the ground. A dark green liquid seeped from the cracks, emitting a pungent odor.

"It stinks." Lynn pinched her nose.

The crack widened.

Something emerged from the crack—

A tentacle.

The tentacles are dark gray, covered with scales and barbs, and are about the thickness of a large tree trunk.

After the tentacles extended from the ground, they swayed slowly in the air, as if sensing something.

Then—more tentacles emerged from different cracks.