Chapter 649 - 649 Silent Victory

Aizen was sealed, the war was over. Yet Toshiro, the victor, stood still in place, silent, as if pondering something.

"If it were you... what would you do? Aizen..." Toshiro murmured to himself.

Even though they were enemies, Toshiro had to admit that Aizen was a worthy opponent, a true great leader.

Toshiro couldn't help but wonder, 'If Aizen had succeeded, what would have happened? How would he have transformed this world?'

Before being sealed, Aizen had questioned Toshiro why he didn't replace the Soul King. Toshiro's answer was that it was too troublesome, and that the Soul King's existence was necessary.

It was indeed too troublesome, but the Soul King's existence was not necessarily necessary.

True God-level is truly a genuine god, possessing the power to reshape the world, even create worlds. Toshiro didn't know whether Aizen, a half-baked god, had such ability, but Toshiro could sense that he himself did.

However, although Toshiro had this ability, he unfortunately lacked the ambition. He had no intention of replacing the Soul King, only wanting to silently protect his companions and loved ones, living a stable and peaceful life.

In this regard, Toshiro was very similar to the Hitsugaya Toshiro at the end of the original work, who sighed, 'Peace is wonderful.'

After standing still in silence for a long time, Toshiro seemed to have come to a resolution. He suddenly sighed: "Well, whatever. Aizen has been sealed, the war is over. There's no use thinking about this now. And... even if Aizen's words were correct, I have my own principles. At the very least, I won't change my way of living just because of Aizen's words."

Having said that, Toshiro lightly tapped the ground with his Zanpakuto. The endless ice-snow power within the Ice Domain gathered from all directions, returning to Toshiro's body.

The entire replica of Ice Domain, which had been covered by the Hyojin Ryoiki, also returned to its original, dilapidated state.

"Well then... I wonder how everyone else is doing?"

Toshiro muttered to himself. Just as he was about to use his sensory ability to sense how the other members of the Gotei 13 were doing, a figure approached from the distance.

Whoosh!

The figure landed before Toshiro and asked with concern: "Toshiro, are you alright?"

"Yes, don't worry, Hana-chan, I'm fine. And... this war is over," Toshiro replied.

The newcomer was Unohana, Captain of the 4th Division. Sensing that the earth-shattering commotion of the battle had suddenly ceased, she had guessed that the fight between Toshiro and Aizen had been decided, so she had hurried over to see the situation.

"..."

Unohana breathed a sigh of relief: "It's good that you're safe. By the way, you said this war is over, so... is Aizen dead?"

As she spoke, Unohana glanced at Aizen frozen on the cross.

"No, Aizen is not dead. After fusing with the Hogyoku and surpassing Shinigami and Hollow, Aizen has become immortal. Even I cannot completely kill him. So in the end, I could only seal Aizen," Toshiro said with some regret.

"Is that so? However... compared to directly killing Aizen, sealing him forever to repent for his sins might be an even more severe punishment," Unohana said.

"Come to think of it..." Unohana looked at Toshiro again: "I've been somewhat concerned for a while. I can't seem to sense your Reiatsu. If I hadn't seen you with my own eyes, I wouldn't even be able to tell if you were in front of me. And..."

"Plus, you just said that Aizen's strength surpassed Shinigami and Hollow. But... what level have you reached, you who could defeat and seal such an Aizen? Could it be..."

"Yes, I have indeed broken the Shinigami limit and evolved to another level," Toshiro answered proactively.

"So that's it. To actually break the Shinigami limit. You are the first Shinigami to do this, aren't you? As expected of the Shinigami hailed as the most prodigy in Soul Society's history," Even the usually composed Unohana couldn't help but look amazed upon hearing Toshiro's affirmative answer.

"No, there's nothing to be proud of. And... if we have to say, the first Shinigami to truly break the Shinigami limit should be Aizen, even if he borrowed the Hogyoku's power," Toshiro said.

"Alright, stop being modest. A great sinner of Soul Society like Aizen has long been stripped of his Shinigami status. Although being stripped of status doesn't mean he isn't a Shinigami," Unohana retorted.

"I know, I know. Let's not talk about this anymore. How is everyone doing? Especially... Genryusai-sensei," Toshiro asked solemnly.

"As for everyone, although many have suffered injuries of varying degrees, after treatment, they have stabilized. At least for now, their lives are not in danger. As for the Captain-Commander... his injuries are quite severe. Moreover, his left arm is almost carbonized. To save Captain-Commander's life, the entire left arm had to be amputated. If he wants to recover, he will probably have to rely on Inoue Orihime's ability," Unohana said in a heavy tone.

Although Unohana said this, Toshiro knew that with Yamamoto's stubborn personality, he would not be willing to accept treatment from Orihime. That meant Yamamoto would probably lose his left arm permanently, never to recover.

But fortunately, it was just one left arm, which would not affect Yamamoto's strength much.

"Hana-chan, take me to see everyone," Toshiro said.

"Yes, follow me," Unohana nodded.

In the western part of the replica of Karakura Town, the farthest area from the battlefield between Toshiro and Aizen, all the combatants in this war had been placed by Unohana.

"Captain!"

"Captain Hitsugaya!"

"Toshiro!"

As soon as Toshiro and Unohana appeared, aside from Sasakibe, who was guarding Yamamoto, Rangiku, Isshin, Kisuke, Yoruichi, and the others all crowded around.

Kisuke and the others had been severely injured and unconscious in the previous battle with Aizen, but after Unohana's treatment, they had woken up. So upon seeing Toshiro, they all gathered around.

Among them, Rangiku looked red-eyed, clearly having cried heavily, but now seemed to have calmed down.

"Alright, everyone, don't worry. I'm fine. And Aizen has been defeated. The war is over," Toshiro said simply, then looked at the rows of neat and uniform ice sculptures beside him.

Yes, a group of neatly arranged ice sculptures. Frozen inside were a group of Gotei 13's Captains and Lieutenants, as well as Shinji and the other Vizard, and Ichigo and his group.

Earlier, to stall Toshiro and take the opportunity to deal with Yamamoto first, Aizen had used Kyoka Suigetsu's ability to manipulate everyone's five senses, making them mistake Toshiro for Aizen, resulting in a 'righteous gang beating' of Toshiro.

To go save Yamamoto and deal with Aizen, Toshiro had been forced to temporarily freeze everyone. Only Unohana, who had stayed in the rear and not participated in the battle, Rangiku who had arrived later, Sasakibe who had been guarding outside the barrier, and Kisuke and the others who had been defeated by Aizen, were spared and not frozen by Toshiro.

The reason the now-frozen people were here was probably that Unohana, worried that the aftermath of the battle between Toshiro and Aizen might affect them, had moved them to this place farthest from the battlefield.

Then Toshiro walked before the row of ice sculptures and gently waved his arm.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The rows of neat ice sculptures shattered one after another, but the people inside appeared before Toshiro safe and sound.