One Piece: The Living Devil

Chapter 721

Buzz!

The next moment, a sudden mutation occurred.

Right at the center of Aizen's smooth forehead, the skin that had been perfectly intact suddenly split open like torn silk.

No blood flowed out. Instead, a deep, chilling purple light seeped from within.

A vertical eye slowly opened inside that crack.

It was an eye that did not belong to any living creature.

Deep within its pupil, it seemed as though countless shattered mirror fragments were reflected, carrying a cold gleam capable of piercing through every illusion in the world and reaching the very essence of things.

Fullbring · Eye of Truth!

This was the feedback the Hogyoku had given him.

'What an incredibly result.'

His Zanpakuto, named Kyoka Suigetsu, once allowed him to toy freely with the five senses of everyone in this world, weaving lies into truth. Yet as the mastermind behind all of it, as the greatest deceiver who specialized in creating falsehoods, what he most longed for in the depths of his soul was actually a pair of eyes capable of seeing through illusion.

The newly born vertical eye shifted slightly, its gaze complex and deep as it passed over layer after layer of people before settling on Rosse not far away.

It was precisely because of this man's existence. Precisely because of the layers upon layers of mist, which even he could not fully see through. That the proud Aizen Sosuke developed such a pathological longing for truth.

And because of this single exchange of gazes, Aizen understood even more clearly the gulf that lay between them.

Even after merging with the Hogyoku, even after awakening the True Eye, he still could not stand on equal footing with Rosse.

At most, he could only reach the same level as that Kurosaki Masaki.

Rosse was still far beyond him.

Their eyes met silently in midair. Even without a single word spoken, a tacit understanding that belonged only to them had already been reached.

Recently, although Aizen had been adjusting his condition, he still knew what had been happening in Seireitei. Ichigo was never someone who could keep things hidden.

His actions, completely undisguised, had already exposed his purpose clearly enough.

Since Rosse wanted to watch a performance, then as thanks for earlier, he might as well add a little extra gift.

Aizen thought quietly to himself, and then completely released his suppression of the Hogyoku.

"Now!"

The Hogyoku, which had been floating a few centimeters in front of his chest, no longer hesitated under the pull of spiritual particles. Like a heart returning to its body, it slammed fiercely into Aizen's chest and fused completely with his flesh.

Thump! Thump!

His heartbeat suddenly accelerated like war drums pounding.

The spiritual pressure around Aizen began to skyrocket exponentially. That power was not only violent, it also carried a kind of uncontrollable madness.

Rip!

White bone armor began spreading across the surface of his skin, covering his neck and chest, and even starting to creep toward his face.

"Ugh! Aaaaah!"

A painful groan squeezed out of Aizen's throat.

For the first time, an expression of extreme agony twisted across that face which had remained calm for countless years.

"Captain?"

Within the crowd, Hinamori Momo clasped her hands tightly together, her knuckles turning white.

Seeing the captain who had always seemed as perfect as a god showing such pain, her heart felt as though it were being cut apart. She wanted nothing more than to rush forward and suffer in his place.

"Sensei..."

Ichigo tightened his grip on Zangetsu, his eyes filled with worry and prayer.

But every muscle in his body was tense, and more than half his attention was locked onto the narrow-eyed Ichimaru Gin standing beside him.

That snake-like killing intent was growing stronger and stronger.

"Every... one..."

At that moment, Aizen in midair raised his head with difficulty. Cold sweat covered the face that was about to be swallowed by the bone mask, his voice broken yet resolute.

"I... can't... suppress it... much longer..."

"The Hollow inside... is... backlashing... I must... enter my inner world... and suppress it... with all my strength..."

"During that time... my body... will... go berserk..."

"I'm counting... on you..."

Before he could finish speaking, countless purple spiritual threads burst out from every pore of his body, instantly wrapping around him layer upon layer and forming a massive, pulsating purple cocoon.

"Berserk?"

That single word made every captain present tense instantly.

Before anyone could react, the cocoon floating in the air suddenly erupted with blinding light from within.

Crack!

The spiritual cocoon shattered instantly, countless fragments scattering like falling cherry blossoms.

A brand new figure slowly descended from the light.

That was no longer a Shinigami.

Nor was it a human.

It was a Hollow-shaped creature that resembled a god or demon.

His body was slender and pale. His face was completely covered by a pitch-black Hollow mask with only a single vertical eye.

Six bone wings spread fully behind him. At the end of each wing hung a ferocious skull radiating the aura of death.

"This..."

The face of Ninth Division Captain Tosen Kaname was filled with gravity. Even though he was blind, his senses that perceived the world so sharply now fell into unprecedented confusion.

"I can no longer sense Captain Aizen's spiritual pressure," His voice trembled slightly.

And it wasn't just him. All the captains and vice-captains below First-Class spiritual might displayed shocked expressions.

That monster was clearly floating right in front of them. They could see it with their eyes.

Yet on their spiritual pressure sensing radar, there was nothing there.

This didn't mean Aizen had grown weaker.

It meant they were no longer in the same dimension.

Just as a two-dimensional ant cannot perceive a three-dimensional human, beings of lower dimensions simply cannot comprehend those of higher dimensions.

"Hey, hey... you've got to be kidding me."

Yoruichi clicked her tongue in amazement. Although her words sounded nervous, her face clearly showed the expression of someone enjoying the show.

"If a monster at this level goes berserk, forget the Tenth Division. The entire Seireitei would get torn apart," As the former caretaker of those Visored, she was no stranger to Hollow rampages.

But compared to the thing in front of them, the rampages she had seen before were like a baby's crying.

"Everyone attack together! Suppress Captain Aizen!"

Just as the monster was about to release its first roar, Rosse's calm yet authoritative voice echoed across the field.

Clang!

Zanpakuto were drawn, sharp flashes of cold light illuminating everyone's faces.

"Hereby, in the name of the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, I issue a special authorization!"

"To suppress the berserk Captain Aizen, I permit all of you within Seireitei…"

"Release your Bankai!"

Before the words had even finished echoing, Rosse's Zanpakuto had already burst forth with dazzling brilliance.

"Bankai · Heaven-Dome Purifying Cycle!"

Buzz!

Space twisted.

Under everyone's stunned gaze, another Rosse stepped out from the void.

It was himself, summoned through his Bankai, the strongest summoning his Bankai could achieve.

Of course.

Even so, he still wasn't using his full strength.

Today, he would always remain just a supporting character.

As for who would take the lead role, that would depend on whose performance shone the brightest in the coming show.

"Captain Aizen! Forgive me!"

With a thunderous roar, Komamura Sajin was the first to attack.

His massive figure appeared incomparably majestic under the raging spiritual pressure. Raising his Zanpakuto, he shouted:

"Bankai · Kokujo Tengen Myo'o!"

Boom!

The ground trembled violently.

A colossal armored warrior phantom dozens of meters tall rose behind Komamura, clad in pitch-black heavy armor and radiating suffocating pressure.

The gigantic Zanpakuto in its hand, nearly forty meters long, descended toward Aizen in midair with crushing force.

That single strike was enough to flatten a small mountain.

Yet facing that blade, which even compressed the air into explosions, Hollowfied Aizen simply tilted his head slightly.

Shh!

A faint sound of wind cutting through the air.

Aizen's body hadn't disappeared, yet on every captain's retina it felt as if his existence had suddenly skipped a frame.

The next moment, the previously motionless Aizen had already appeared behind Kokujo Tengen Myo'o.

"When did—"

Komamura Sajin's pupils shrank violently.

Before his brain could process the information—

Crack!

A sharp sound like shattering glass rang across the field.

Under everyone's horrified gaze, a massive crack suddenly appeared across the chest of the black-armored giant.

Then the forty-meter blade that hadn't even finished falling split neatly in half, like tofu sliced by an invisible blade.

Boom!

The gigantic Myo'o phantom didn't even have time to cry out before collapsing into countless spiritual particles.

"Pff!"

The damage rebounded instantly.

Komamura Sajin's towering body seemed struck by a heavy hammer. Blood sprayed wildly from his mouth.

It was as if his spine had been pulled out. Without even managing a scream, he collapsed backward and fell unconscious on the spot.

One strike. Just one strike had instantly defeated a captain with Third-Class spiritual might.

"Th-this is Captain Aizen now? That's just ridiculously strong!"

Hitsugaya Toshiro's palms were soaked with sweat as he gripped Hyorinmaru, his throat dry.

Before he could even recover from the shock, a wild golden spiritual pressure had already rushed past him like a cannonball.

"Hahahaha! This is the feeling! Come on and fight!"

Kenpachi Zaraki, who had been waiting impatiently, burst into beast-like laughter.

He tore off his eyepatch, and that suffocating golden spiritual pressure erupted skyward like a volcanic explosion.

Ignoring Komamura's miserable state entirely, he gripped his blade with both hands and charged at Aizen with the momentum of someone determined to cut every living thing in half.

However...

Slash!

The wild laughter stopped abruptly.

Like a rock concert that had its power suddenly cut off the moment it began.

Kenpachi's rampaging spiritual pressure had only just reached its peak. It hadn't even lasted a second before a pale Hollow shadow pierced through his defenses.

Blood splattered everywhere like spilled ink, staining the ground red.

A terrifying wound deep enough to reveal bone appeared across Kenpachi's chest.

His body flew backward like a kite with its string cut, crashing heavily beside the unconscious Komamura.

Dead silence fell across the entire field.

"Hey... you've got to be kidding me."

Seeing another comrade instantly defeated, Hitsugaya's face turned even paler than his Hyorinmaru.

At that moment, the monster with the black bone mask slowly turned its head.

That single eye, devoid of emotion, locked precisely onto Hitsugaya.

Whoosh!

It felt as though space itself had folded.

There wasn't even the starting motion of Shunpo.

One second Aizen wasn't within sight, the next second he was already right in front of Hitsugaya's nose.

The suffocating aura of death made Hitsugaya forget how to breathe.

"Cough! Um, if I surrender now, is it too late?"

A bead of cold sweat slid down Hitsugaya's forehead, his lips trembling.

'This is way too ridiculous!'

'With strength like this, even that Hollowfied berserk Ichigo from before probably wouldn't be worthy of carrying Aizen's shoes in this form!'

'This isn't a battle at all.'

'It's a one-sided slaughter!'

"ROAR!!"

The response he received was an inhuman roar.

The six bone wings behind Hollowfied Aizen suddenly spread wide, and the six ferocious skulls at their tips opened their mouths at the same time.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

Six dark-purple spheres of light rapidly gathered and compressed inside the skulls' mouths.

Those weren't ordinary Ceros.

Each sphere contained destructive spiritual pressure exceeding the level of a Vasto Lorde's Cero, enough to make Hitsugaya's soul tremble.

"If that hits me, forget leaving a corpse. I'll probably turn to ashes instantly," Hitsugaya's pupils shrank to needle points.

The instinct to survive forced him to instantly release Bankai. Frost wings spread from his back as he stumbled and retreated with desperate Shunpo.

But it was too slow.

Compared to Aizen's speed, his escape looked like slow motion.

Boom!

The six Ceros merged into one, forming a purple torrent powerful enough to pierce heaven and earth.

Carrying absolute destructive force, it blasted toward Hitsugaya.

The speed was so terrifying that his brain had only just issued the command to dodge when the light of destruction already filled his entire vision.

'It's over!'

Just as Hitsugaya stared helplessly, waiting for death, in the next instant, a much more imposing figure suddenly appeared in front of him.

Slash!

There was no earth-shattering clash of spiritual pressure.

No dazzling exchange of techniques.

Rosse simply held his blade in one hand and casually swung it forward.

A strange scene occurred.

The unstoppable purple torrent of spiritual particles, powerful enough to flatten half of Seireitei, stopped the instant it reached three feet in front of Rosse's blade.

It was as if it had collided with an invisible absolute domain.

There was no explosion.

No shockwave.

The violent energy vanished like pencil marks erased by a rubber.

Or like snowflakes falling into boiling water.

Amid a harsh sizzling sound that set teeth on edge, it simply dissolved into nothingness.

This was the ability of Rosse's Shikai, the Purifier.

Within a certain range, it could reverse time. Publicly, he described it as a purification power.

But under Bankai, this ability had been elevated to the level of rules themselves.

Within this domain, he was the sovereign of time.

He couldn't force spiritual particles into submission as brutally as Kurosaki Masaki could.

But he could forcibly rewind the localized time of any spiritual particle fluctuations that tried to invade his domain, restoring them to their original harmless free-particle state.

Not just spiritual particles.

Other forms of energy could also be tyrannically rewound into nothingness.

With just this alone, all ranged energy attacks in the world were meaningless before him.

[T/N: For me the best part of bringing you chapters everyday is reading your comments. Be it anything witty or a simple "Tftc", they all keep me motivated to keep posting chapters. So, do comment and please give a REVIEW.]

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