Chapter 658 Aizen's Proposal

In Makoto's view, the fight between Beam and Tosen was quite interesting.

To be honest, if during the future Karakura Town battle, Aizen hadn't created that Arrancar, Wonderweiss, to seal Ryujin Jakka, his fight with Yamamoto would probably have ended up looking something like this.

The two of them would have just stared at each other.

Their fight was a classic case of raw power vs. gimmick.

Aizen's Kyoka Suigetsu was unquestionably the ultimate gimmick Zanpakuto. Even the Captain-Commander could only stare helplessly when faced with its tricks.

But the problem was, Yamamoto's Ryujin Jakka was also the ultimate among raw power types. Its extreme flames could instantly destroy an entire Karakura Town.

You can use Kyoka Suigetsu to fool my five senses? Then I, Yamamoto Genryusai, don't need to distinguish truth from falsehood at all. I'll just use Ryujin Jakka to incinerate everything around me, and that'll be that.

Yamamoto had truly demonstrated this in the original work's battle.

When he activated his Shikai's strongest technique, [Ennetsu Jigoku], he intended to burn Aizen and all of Karakura Town to ashes.

So what if you fooled my senses? I'll just destroy this entire place and take you down with me.

This could also be seen when he told Ichigo to run away.

At that time, Yamamoto explicitly stated that the Shinigami present had all prepared themselves for death. "You are not a Shinigami. Flee. This has nothing to do with you."

He no longer cared about casualties on his own side, just to drag Aizen down to hell.

But at the last moment, Aizen used Wonderweiss to seal Ryujin Jakka, preventing that mutual destruction.

From this, it was clear that Aizen truly feared Yamamoto... the old man hadn't even used his Bankai, yet he had already forced Aizen to reveal the trump card he had prepared specifically for that battle.

And now Tosen's fate was almost exactly that of Aizen without Wonderweiss.

And coincidentally, Tosen's ability had a bit of a budget version of Kyoka Suigetsu feel to it... within the space he created, he sealed off all of the enemy's senses except touch.

But the problem was: you sealed sight, hearing, smell, and Reiatsu Perception, but you left touch intact.

Isn't that just asking for trouble?

A skilled fighter could determine your position the moment their blade made contact with yours and counterattack to send you packing.

Moreover, the space this Bankai created wasn't that large. If it were a speed-type fighter like Yoruichi or Ulquiorra, they could just charge in a straight line and escape. What's the point of sealing them?

It's such a useless Bankai that it's no wonder Tosen switched to Hollowfication as his new power-up later on.

But then again, there were plenty of useless Bankai in the original work. Tosen's was somewhere in the middle, which was still passable.

At that moment, Tosen collapsed weakly to his knees.

No matter how much he tried to force himself, the pain and exhaustion from his body had completely crushed his last shred of willpower.

"Good work, Kaname."

Aizen's comforting voice came from behind, gentle and calm. "Rest for a while."

"Aizen-sama, I..."

Tosen struggled to stand, his voice still carrying a hint of unwillingness.

"That's enough."

Aizen interrupted him again. This time, his tone carried a barely noticeable hint of impatience.

Sensing that impatience, Tosen's face showed fear. He immediately lowered his head. "Yes."

Then he quietly withdrew behind Aizen, not even bothering to treat his still-bleeding wounds.

With the complete collapse of the Enma Korogi space, the fragments of the black barrier dissolved into countless tiny Reishi in the air.

There was no longer any obstruction between Makoto's group and Aizen's trio. The two sides formally met on the plaza in front of Las Noches.

Looking at Makoto, who radiated a completely different aura from the other Menos Grandes around him, Aizen judged in almost a single glance that this man was the leader of this group.

The next second, Aizen raised his hand in a polite gesture of invitation: "Would you be interested in cooperating with me? New King of Hueco Mundo."

As soon as he said this, not only Tosen, who was kneeling on the ground bleeding profusely, but even Gin, who had been maintaining his fox-like smile on the other side, widened his eyes in shock.

'Cooperate?'

The two of them could hardly believe their ears.

Aizen had said before coming to Hueco Mundo that he was going to recruit these Menos Grandes as his minions.

And now, upon seeing Makoto in person, Aizen had directly changed 'recruit' to 'cooperate'?

Makoto studied Aizen's trio for a moment, his gaze moving from the Lieutenant's armband on Aizen's shoulder to Gin's clearly elementary school student height.

From their attire and current state, he could roughly judge what point in time the Soul Society was currently at.

These three had almost certainly not yet acted against Shinji and the others. The tragedy of the Vizard hadn't happened yet, and Kisuke and Yoruichi hadn't yet been exiled from the Soul Society.

"Four-eyes, who do you think you are?" Yu sneered coldly.

Although he and Beam usually couldn't stand each other and bickered constantly, they were surprisingly united when it came to outsiders.

Just like Beam's earlier thinking, Yu also felt that Aizen's group, as Shinigami coming to Hueco Mundo, couldn't possibly have good intentions.

Even if Aizen offered to become Makoto's subordinate, Yu didn't think it was necessary, let alone talk about cooperation as equals.

As soon as he said this, Tosen, who was kneeling on the ground using his remaining spiritual power for emergency treatment, raised his head in fury.

'Damn it, the locals here are just too rude!'

Psykos, standing nearby, pushed up her white glasses and looked away expressionlessly.

She felt that the comment 'four-eyes' was collateral damage to her.

Aizen, however, wouldn't be angered by such insults.

He simply calmly observed the Vasto Lorde-class Menos Grandes around Makoto, his gaze lingering notably longer on Ulquiorra and Starrk.

He hadn't expected that these two clearly Arrancarized Vasto Lorde would willingly follow the orders of Makoto, a Vasto Lorde who hadn't even achieved Arrancarization himself.

In other words, although Makoto hadn't Arrancarized, his actual combat power was already superior to these two successfully Arrancarized Vasto Lorde!

That was why he had changed 'recruit' to 'cooperate'.

With that thought, Aizen spoke again: "Achieving Arrancarization isn't just about increasing power. It requires a certain special catalyst. I believe you are already aware of this."

As soon as he said this, the expressions of Psykos, Yu, Beam, and the others darkened simultaneously.

Clearly, this opponent had done quite extensive research on Hollows.

Aizen naturally didn't miss the brief shadow that passed over their faces. His smile deepened slightly as he continued, "And I can help you break through that limitation."

"We don't trust you, Shinigami."

Harribel suddenly spoke up, her emerald eyes above the shark mask fixed directly on Aizen.

But at that moment, Makoto raised his hand to interrupt his new wife's words. "That depends on whether you have the ability to back it up."

Hearing these words, a flicker of surprise crossed his subordinates' faces.

Because the implication was that as long as Aizen could prove his strength matched his promises, Makoto wouldn't mind cooperating.

Aizen smiled slightly. This outcome was within his expectations.

Before coming to Hueco Mundo, he had already prepared multiple plans. The worst-case scenario was all-out war with Las Noches. The best-case scenario was using his research on the Hogyoku to earn their trust.

Makoto's proposal was currently a middle-ground approach.