The Universal Villain

After being hit with both the brute force of Kirin and a level 99 Kido at the same time by all means Shen was surprised he was still standing but suddenly it made sense. "You crazy bastard." There were two Hogyoku in the world of bleach. One created by Aizen and the other by Urahara although its powers are convoluted it basically grants wishes as long as the user is strong enough to be recognized.

However, even Aizen's Hogyoku wasn't perfect. It had the power to do many things, but it was still limited which is why he wanted to merge it with Urahara's to make it complete. But looking at the scene in front of him Shen could tell that Aizen was forced to do something more sporadic.

Where does one keep an item like the Hogyoku? Sitting in a room defenseless around Espada who would certainly leap at a chance to grow stronger?

Of course not even if Aizen trusted the Espada there was no guarantee that they wouldn't take the Hogyoku to become stronger than him especially with people like Gin and Barragan around. So that only left one possibility remaining. Aizen had been keeping the Hogyoku on him the entire time. Though Shen didn't know where he was hiding it he could only guess the explosion forced him to act.

Looking at Shen, Aizen spoke. "Indeed I was hoping to save this until it was complete, however, it looks as though I'll have to figure out a way to merge the Hogyoku while it's in this state." Implanted in Aizen's c.h.e.s.t was his Hogyoku, the incomplete version. Shen would have never thought Aizen would risk merging with the Hogyoku in this situation especially when it's incomplete.

'Well In a way this saves me time when it comes to looking for the Hogyoku but on the other hand…' Looking at Aizen Shen could the Hogyoku's aura dimmed noticeably as the wounds on his body began to heal. 'The speed of the regeneration is not as fast as the completed Hogyoku and it looks like it takes some energy on the Hogyoku's part.'

The complete Hogyoku has infinite energy allowing its master to evolve endlessly without worry but this imperfect version had a limit. Seeing this Shen knew he had to remove the Hogyoku from Aizen's body forcefully but also quickly so the Hogyoku didn't run out of energy before he could merge it with Urahara's.

If he missed this opportunity Shen could only imagine how long it would take to create another Hogyoku. "I see you're already beginning to understand the implication of this fusion." Staring at Shen's face as it began to scrunch Aizen continued to talk to Shen in a more apathetic tone. "As long as I'm fused with the Hogyoku defeating me is impossible you know that."

Comprehending Aizen's words, Shen knew he was right. Since the Hogyoku's energy is limited if he actually fought Aizen even if he won he would lose the Hogyoku. He didn't even know if he would live over 100 years old let alone waiting for Urahara to magically create a Hogyoku he couldn't even make before.

Being faced with this situation Shen had to think hard about what he could do. 'I need to extract the Hogyoku from his body before it recognizes him as its master. But I also can't fight him or else the Hogyoku will use all of its energy healing his wounds.' It was while Shen was in his thoughts that Aizen made his move.

Crossing the distance between him and Shen Aizen had a confident look on his face. The moment Aizen went into Shen's detection radius it was like an alarm going off in his head. Also by instinct, he raised his right arm preparing to block Aizen's attack. 'Bastard isn't even going to give me time to think.'

It was only after Aizen appeared next to Shen's side did his Zanpakuto's blade make contact with Shen's right arm. But this clash caused Shen to realize something. 'He's gotten stronger.' Comparing his previous strikes from the one he just took Shen could tell he didn't put enough effort into blocking as Aizen's Zanpakuto left a gash on his skin.

Twisting his body Shen raised his right leg to his side. Kicking towards Aizen, Shen's leg ignited as Aizen raised his Zanpakuto to block his Shen's strike. As Shen's foot made contact with the blades surface fire erupted forward like a wave engulfing anything in front of Shen's kick. As the fire began to dissipate leaving the sand in front of Shen as he lowered his leg burning in some places.

In the distance, Aizen was still standing though his clothes had been scorched even more leaving barely anything remaining on his c.h.e.s.t. "Taking advantage of the Hogyoku like this is low Aizen even for you." As Aizen's burns began to heal, Shen's annoyance increased. "Without that thing, I would have killed already." Of course, Shen's annoyance didn't go unnoticed by Aizen.

"Relying on one's abilities alone when defeat is the only outcome is a foolish move. If you have an asset that can assist you in your goals you should use it and if it's out of your grasps take it." Holding his Zanpakuto to the side, Shen thought over Aizen's words as something hit him. 'That might work.'

Suddenly Shen turned around Shen punched at the air behind him as Aizen's figure appeared narrowly avoiding Shen's fist as it caused a hurricane of wind to twist the sand behind Aizen. Avoiding Shen's attack dragged his Zanpakuto across the ground in an arc intending to cut Shen in half. Sensing this Shen leaned back performing a semi backflip as a white halo engulfed his foot narrowly.

The wind pressure from Aizen's attack caused slivers of Shen's white hair to fall as he performed the last half of the flip his leg came from below Aizen's view. Extending his arm downwards Aizen held out his hand as he spoke. "Seki."

Appearing in his open hand a small light blue orb appeared. As the white halo of Gura Gura and the Kido Seki, it created a strange balance. As the Gura Gura, no mi tried to bend and crack whatever was in front of it as Seki was repelling all force with a constant supply of Reiatsu. After remaining like that for a couple of seconds the two of them eventually separated as the force of their two moves caused them to be sent hurling across the sand before landing.

'It seems it really is the only way. To get the Hogyoku out of him without wasting all its power I'll have to kill him in a single move. But if I mess up leaving him even partially alive and he evolves then it'll be game over. 'Shen had plenty of moves that could kill Aizen such as Amaterasu he didn't know the limit to Aizen's durability.

If he cast a Kido with high defense along with his natural durability Shen couldn't be sure he could kill Aizen instantly. With this mindset, Shen knew what he needed to do however actually doing it was a different issue.

As Shen continued to fend off Aizen's attacks he was kept on the defensive. Although Aizen's Kyoka Suigetsu did not work on Shen it could still mess with his reaction time. Ignoring your eyes and completely relying on a sixth sense is difficult. It was like ignoring a car about to hit you when in fact it's coming from behind.

There was no other word for it other than trippy. While their battle continued into open deserts of Las Noches inside of the throne room two separate battles were also taking place. Multiple sounds ruptured through the throne room as cracks appeared on pillars and the floor alike. Finally becoming visible both Gin and Ulqiorra could be seen clashing in mid-air.

Smiling at Ulquiorra, Gin spoke in his natural voice which always came out sarcastic. "You're really strong aren't you. I'm surprised you only ranked fourth." Appearing abruptly behind Gin, Barragan with his ax like Zanpakuto raised in the air swung towards Gin's back. For just an instant Gin felt his moves had become sluggish as he dodged to the right as a cut appeared on his long white sleeves.

Looking towards Barragan, Gin spoke. "And you with that decaying power of yours. I always found it interesting how Aizen made you number two. I have a sneaky suspicion he simply did that to mock you." Standing up straight despite Gin's talk he has been very cautious during the entire fight up to this point. 'They move like their robots precisely and unreactive when it comes to taunts.'

Gin's narrow eyes opened slightly as he focused all his attention of Barragan. 'I'll take care of the more troublesome one first.' Dashing forward Gin's sub-target was Ulquiorra as he let loose a volley of attacks. From every direction possible he pushed Ulqiorra back and away from Barragan.

In response to Gin turning his back on him, Barragan and Ulquiorra moved in sync as Barragan rushed Gin from his side holding his ax in a prime swinging position. However, before he could get any closer to Gin's target changed and with one swift stroke, he knocked Ulqiorra away from him. As he turned his Zanpakuto towards Barragan. "Your Resurreccion is dangerous. It's best if I get rid of you before you use it."

During his time with the Espada Gin was very careful not to use his Bankai around them. With Aizen and Tousen he didn't have a choice but to show them to gain their trust. However, when it came to the Espada he had plenty of reasons to keep it hidden so he could use it when they least expected it."Bankai... Kamini no Yari."

As Gin's spiritual pressure ignited like a flame from his body everything that happened next was a blur. Pointing his Zanpakuto's tip towards Barragan's head his ability didn't even get a chance to activate itself.

A white flash pierced through Barragan's head and the rest of the throne room. Afterward, Gin proceeded to lower his Zanpakuto cutting half of the entire area in half as a wall of smoke emerged from the ground. No matter how strong one may be, getting attacked by Gin's Bankai was already fast insanely fast at that.

However, if it is used suddenly in secret and with its speed, it's nearly impossible to avoid. In an instant, Barragan had been killed and cut in half as the two sides of his body fell to the ground. Turning his attention to Ulqiorra who had been knocked into the ground causing cracks to appear on the floor below his feet Gin smirked.

Twisting his wrist ever so slightly he swung his Zanpakuto again towards Ulquiorra. As the Zanpakuto dragged itself across the throne room walls cutting through everything it's way Ulqiorra held up his Zanpakuto as an unrelenting force hit him.

Back to where Shen and Aizen were fighting they suddenly stopped moving as something began to happen. The massive tower containing the throne room began to shift and slide as its remaining structural supports crumbled. And not long after that, a figure could be seen being sent flying out of the tower as green Reiatsu began to fall from the darkened sky like rain.

Seeing this scene from afar Shen felt as if a light bulb had gone off in his head. 'Perfect.'