Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Chapter 447 Your seeing me now is like an ant seeing the blue sky.

Bang! ! !

On the 14th floor of the building, a white arm covered in cracks pushed aside the construction debris, and Aizen, covered in grime, stood up.

His brows furrowed, his anger barely contained.

Aizen is the most arrogant guy in the Bleach world. He firmly believes that he is the only true god who can surpass everything and reside high in the heavens.

He's only in a certain position when he's alone, but he's always putting on airs in front of others, otherwise he wouldn't always have oil on his hair.

However, Aizen was not a shallow person who didn't know his limits. When faced with the powerful strength displayed by Xia Zuo, he was able to endure it for a while.

Not long ago, he was suffocated underground by Xia Zuo and left in a sorry state, but he still managed to crawl out and calmly tidy his hair and clothes.

However, it's going too far to deliberately turn the blade to strike someone's face instead of taking half a head off with a single blow.

Add to that the crisp and loud "slap," what's the difference between that and slapping someone in public?

Even though Aizen knew that his evolution required pressure and negative emotions from both the outside world and himself as catalysts, slapping himself in public was just too much of a loss of prestige.

Especially the red mark on his face, its color so bright and striking, was so clear and obvious even from a thousand meters away.

Seeing Aizen trembling with rage, Xia Zuo deliberately laughed loudly, trying to provoke him as much as possible.

Xia Zuo even went so far as to humiliate him, saying, "Captain Aizen, your strength is nothing compared to your words. I haven't seen you use the Kyoka Suigetsu ability either. Are you afraid, or are you unable to?"

Ignoring Xia Zuo's almost pointless provocation, Aizen smiled again and explained, "Zanpakuto are the reflections of a Shinigami's soul, and their abilities are the solidification of the Shinigami's own characteristics."

"If you go any further than the Captain-Commander, the Shinigami soul characteristics solidified in your Zanpakuto will no longer exist, and Kyoka Suigetsu will become meaningless."

"Just like the various skills and characteristics of microorganisms, they are meaningless to fish that have completed evolution."

Aizen raised his Zanpakuto, Kyoka Suigetsu, and arrogantly declared, "Having completed my evolution, I no longer need a Zanpakuto."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Zanpakuto merged into Aizen's body inch by inch, completely recovering the soul characteristics that had been separated when he became a Shinigami.

Just as Kyoka Suigetsu completely disappeared from his right hand, Aizen's spiritual pressure surged again, forming a spiritual pressure storm that soared into the sky.

Aizen's body changed once again.

First, there was his forehead, with a slit between his eyes. Beneath the deep, dark, and invisible slit, there seemed to be an immature eye.

As the crack widened, the once striking eyebrows disappeared, and the skin became even whiter, as if it had been coated with a thick layer of white powder.

The indigo-dyed hair became longer, darker in color, and extremely smooth, obediently hanging down the back of the head.

He clearly followed the example of the gods of the Lesser Days, discarding his original masculine characteristics and transforming into asexual celestial beings.

But these are just minor changes; the real major changes are in his body.

A huge circular hole appeared in Aizen's chest, and the previously vanished Hogyoku was re-formed and embedded in the center of the hole.

Behind him unfolded three pairs of enormous white butterfly wings, which slowly flapped through the air and spiritual particles.

Xia Zuo sighed contentedly, "Aizen, you have finally transcended the realm of a Shinigami and climbed to the edge of the world's well. You are just one step away from leaping out."

"Can we continue?"

Aizen didn't answer. He stared blankly at Xia Zuo, his usually calm eyes now revealing unconcealed astonishment.

Xia Zuo patiently gave him time to process the shock.

After all, when a tadpole that could only stay submerged in the water transforms into a frog and surfaces to see the bright well opening, it does take time to process the light it perceives.

Aizen's promotion was too rapid, leaving him with no time to adapt.

But Aizen is Aizen after all. After only a dozen or so breaths, he had begun to adapt to his new power and his fear of Shaza.

He closed his eyes and said with deep emotion, "Lord Xia Zuo, you are truly great and kind."

Aizen bowed deeply and said, "Please forgive my past rudeness. I was so shallow back then that I dared to look down on someone as great as you."

"And you—you actually didn't crush me, who was as weak as an insect at the time—I'm so grateful."

"Rest assured, I still have the strength to go further. I will definitely be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with you and then challenge you!"

"I won't just leave like this—uh, uh!"

The flat blade of the measuring ruler pierced through Aizen's body, with half of the blade protruding from his chest.

Until the moment it pierced through, no one noticed the movement of the measuring rod.

Even the Grim Reapers watching from the sidelines didn't see Xia Zuo move.

In fact, Xia Zuo didn't move at all. He used the Zanpakuto, Megumi-chi, as a flying sword for cultivating immortality. Controlling the flying sword to take someone's head from a hundred meters away was just normal operation for him.

Xia Zuo said anxiously, "If you can continue, hurry up! Don't waste time, we're all very busy people!"

Aizen stared in surprise at the Zanpakuto in his chest, asking incredulously, "Xia Zuo, how come your Zanpakuto is still here?"

Xia Zuo explained, "I have three things to say about this, listen carefully."

"When you are a naive beginner, you see mountains as mountains and water as water."

"When one's skill reaches its peak, one sees mountains not as mountains, and water not as water."

When you reach the pinnacle of skill, mountains are still mountains, and water is still water.

Aizen was completely stunned.

Since there was no Todai in the present world of Bleach, this was the first time he had heard such a profound truth, and he was immediately captivated.

He murmured to himself, "Mountains, water—yes, no, or still—"

As he chanted this, the illusory image that had melted into his right arm suddenly reappeared out of thin air. No matter where he looked at it, it was exactly the same as the original one, but there were also clear differences.

Xia Zuo clapped and exclaimed, "Great! That's wonderful! Aizen, your talent and comprehension are truly amazing. I didn't choose the wrong person!"

"Since you've already figured out the path forward, then I won't stand on ceremony."

Aizen raised his head, his eyes now calm and composed. He slammed his fist on his chest, sending the measuring rod flying out of his body.

Then he gripped the Mirror Flower Water Moon tightly, and as he flipped his arm, he flashed forward to the side and swung his Zanpakuto at Xia Zuo.

clang!!

The Mirror Flower Water Moon Slash landed on Xia Zuo's index finger. The sharp Zanpakuto, combined with the terrifying spiritual pressure, couldn't cut through Xia Zuo's skin, just like Goku fighting Trunks.

Xia Zuo frowned slightly and said, "You have figured out your path and there is no problem with the use of your power, but your growth rate is still insufficient."

"Even with your best efforts and my cooperation, you still can't cut my skin. This won't do."

"It seems the fusion with the Hogyoku isn't strong enough. Let me help you out."

Xia Zuo flicked Kyoka Suigetsu away with his index finger, then clenched his right fist and precisely struck Aizen's opening, blasting all his power into the Hogyoku inside the round hole.

hum!

The re-condensed Hogyoku was struck so hard that it produced a piercing tremor and burst forth with a dazzling blue light.

Aizen stumbled and flew backward uncontrollably.

It wasn't his own power that was exerted, nor was it the aftershock of Xia Zuo's power; rather, it was the power of the Hogyoku that burst forth and dragged its master away from danger.

"Ha, I knew it, the Hogyoku has a soul and some consciousness."

Swish!

Two figures rushed into the battlefield at high speed. Xia Zuo glanced at them and recognized them as the green-hatted shopkeeper and the black-skinned catwoman.

For the first time, Kisuke Urahara disregarded his hat, letting it be blown away by the wind, and locked his gaze firmly on Aizen, who was flying backward, shouting, "Break apart, Benihime!!"

Before Aizen could deploy his Crimson Shield, countless red arrows of light split off from his Zanpakuto Benihime, precisely striking Aizen's limbs and neck.

Aizen, whose entire body was numb from Xia Zuo's blows, had no way to resist and could only let the red light arrow pierce through his body.

However, Aizen's smile did not disappear. He calmly said, "So it's Urahara Kisuke and Shihouin Yoruichi. You're just dreaming if you want to steal my Hogyoku!"

"Shut up!" Kisuke Urahara shouted. "Bind her, Benihime!!"

Countless black ribbons flew out from the Zanpakuto again, weaving themselves into a net that, together with the red light arrow, bound Aizen into a dumpling.

In the blink of an eye, Kisuke Urahara used his ultimate move twice in succession. His spiritual pressure plummeted, and he could no longer continue attacking.

All he could do was shout, "Yoruichi!!"

"Understood!" Yoruichi transformed into a black shadow, lunging at Aizen with unseen speed: "What a long-winded man, so annoying!"

A powerful spiritual pressure gathered on her right fist, transforming into dazzling bolts of lightning that instantly increased her speed by another 30%.

As Yoruichi got closer to Aizen, she punched the Hogyoku in the round hole with all her might.

Unlike Xia Zuo's previous attempt to shatter the Hogyoku, Yoruichi's method was to push, severing the connection between the Hogyoku and Aizen's body with a single punch and sending the gem flying out at high speed.

Catching his breath, Kisuke Urahara used Shunpo to precisely catch the Hogyoku. He laughed triumphantly, "Aizen, the Hogyoku isn't yours. It was created by me using the Soul Society's resources; it's the Soul Society's property!"

Aizen was tightly bound by black spiritual pressure belts, but he still smiled and said, "Urahara Kisuke-senpai, when did you become so vulgar?"

"When has the ownership of treasure ever been determined by reason?"

"As long as I am stronger than Seireitei, not only will the Hogyoku be mine, but Seireitei itself will be mine."

Kisuke Urahara did not argue, but instead focused intently on applying a seal to the Hōgyoku.

After the sealing was completed, it was like throwing away a hot potato, and it was all handed over to Hitsugaya Toshiro.

Seeing that Captain-Commander Yamamoto had looked away, he laughed and said, "Oh, oh, don't doubt me. I've changed now. I won't take things that don't belong to me anymore, haha."

Yamamoto Shigekuni snorted coldly: "You have a criminal record, Urahara kid."

Aizen suddenly laughed and said, "You Shinigami are really something, interrupting my conversation with Lord Shaza."

"Honestly, how come you still don't realize your place? You still don't know what you can or can't do?"

Captain-Commander Yamamoto led the way, with Kenpachi Zaraki and Shunsui Kyoraku on the left and right, Yoruichi Shihouin and Kisuke Urahara providing support, and the lightly injured vice-captains Momo Hinamori and Omaeda standing in the second row.

All the Shinigami pointed their Zanpakuto at Aizen, shielding Toshiro, who wielded the Hogyoku, behind them.

In a remote corner of the battlefield, Gin Ichimaru sat there awkwardly and dejectedly, as far away from the Grim Reapers and the four remaining Arrancar.

He muttered to himself, "This is so embarrassing. Why doesn't anyone believe me anymore?"

"Oh dear, why is Captain Unohana being ostracized too?"

Standing on the other side of the battlefield, Retsu Unohana was also alone, clearly rejected by the Grim Reapers.

Or perhaps she deliberately rejected the Grim Reapers?

Regardless, Sister Hua remained as gentle as ever, and said calmly, "Xia Zuo's strength is beyond expectations, so it's understandable that the Captain-General and the others are wary of him."

"But I trust Xia Zuo, so I have to have my own stance."

Gin Ichimaru blinked, feeling as if something had been stuffed into his mouth, rendering him unable to speak.

Just then, Aizen appeared in front of Toshiro.

For some unknown reason, Toshiro suddenly lost his ability to move and could only watch helplessly as Aizen reached out to take the Hogyoku.

"Stop!!" Toshiro roared, unleashing all his spiritual pressure to regain control of his body.

Without a second thought, he raised Hyōrinmaru and aimed it at Aizen.

With a soft thud, Aizen was pierced through, but he smiled and twisted away, revealing Hinamori Momo, who had been brutally stabbed through the chest by Hyōrinmaru.

Toshiro instantly broke down, and the Hogyoku he was holding tightly in his hand took the opportunity to break free and fly towards Aizen, where he was taken into his chest.

The seal placed by Kisuke Urahara has been destroyed without anyone noticing.

After this turn of events, the Hogyoku seemed to realize the danger and no longer resisted Aizen's absorption. It even actively disintegrated its own existence and completely merged into Aizen's body.

Aizen raised his head and let out a low roar. A bright light shone from the round hole in his chest, and a dazzling five-colored light illuminated the world.

A powerful purple spiritual pressure erupted from Aizen's body, instantly blowing away the surrounding ground. Then, an impenetrable barrier of spiritual pressure completely obscured him.

A moment later, the spiritual pressure barrier collapsed on its own, and Aizen's appearance changed drastically once again.

Aizen's face turned black, and three holes appeared on his upper body, with the phantom of the Hogyoku embedded in the top hole.

The six enormous butterfly wings transformed into dragon wings, with heads consisting only of mouths growing from the joints of the wings.

It could be said that he no longer possessed any of the characteristics of the Grim Reaper, but he also didn't have many of the characteristics of the illusory.

Aizen said coldly and indifferently, "Thank you, Lord Xia Zuo. Thanks to your help, I was able to reach the final stage of evolution."

He opened his eyes, which were flashing with white light, looked coldly at Xia Zuo, and then froze once again.

Xia Zuo asked, "If you were to see me again in your current state of mind, would you feel like an ant seeing the blue sky?"