Noon, western Seireitei.
Shigure stepped out from the directional Garganta, a relaxed smile on his face.
He'd successfully returned from Hueco Mundo and Las Noches.
Though Harribel and her group had been somewhat bewildered by the sudden decision, they weren't lost or unable to accept it. After all, they'd vaguely anticipated this.
From the war's end until now, the Seireitei hadn't executed them. That alone said enough.
After arriving at Las Noches, Shigure didn't linger.
Though some surviving Arrancar remained—like the 6th Espada Grimmjow, plus non-combatant Fracción and former Espada—this wasn't Shigure's concern.
Harribel's injuries had basically healed. She naturally had ways to suppress them.
In other words, this new king's ascension didn't require Shigure's assistance.
And Shigure had no interest anyway.
So he directly returned to the Seireitei through the directional Garganta.
However, after arriving, Shigure didn't idle. He multitasked—returning to the 5th Division while simultaneously entering the Soul Wall Palace.
Before this morning's meeting, Shigure had already sent Aning inside.
Now was the perfect time to check in.
Not that he worried about Nelliel and Aning. They'd already grown close. No need for concern.
When Shigure suggested sending Aning inside this morning, her emotions had been quite high—no longer like before.
Shigure's actual target this time was... Aizen, sealed at the Soul Wall Palace's lowest level.
In fact, last night, Shigure had already begun noticing signs of Aizen's awakening.
During the fake Karakura Town battle, Shigure had used Bankai Candle Dragon's Reverse Scale Final Form "All Things Without Rain" to defeat Aizen, halting his evolution.
But when sealing Aizen and the Hōgyoku, he'd used the Soul Wall Palace's power.
So from the start, Shigure knew—
Though Aizen lost to Candle Dragon's power, he wouldn't be permanently locked by the Soul Wall Palace. After all, the Hōgyoku remained inside him. The Soul Wall's power couldn't match the Hōgyoku.
Therefore, seeing Aizen awaken didn't surprise Shigure.
In fact, he came precisely to reinforce the seal.
If Aizen's recovery went unchecked, eventually, a mere Soul Wall Palace wouldn't contain him.
Though Shigure remained confident he could defeat Aizen again, he couldn't guarantee absolute suppression.
And that was what Shigure didn't want to see.
"Whoosh."
At the Soul Wall Palace's lowest level, in the dim room, a faint sound suddenly rang out.
Then, directly before the bound Aizen, pale white light slowly condensed from the air, suddenly forming a human shape.
Aizen in the chair still kept his head lowered, eyes closed, at the wind-thunder shackles' center—seemingly still asleep.
Shigure's figure slowly emerged from the white light, his expression somewhat amused.
He slowly stepped forward, walking ahead while speaking:
"Captain Aizen, your behavior seems strange..."
"Since you've begun awakening, why... not simply open your eyes?"
His words fell. Nothing seemed to happen.
However, moments later, Aizen suddenly slowly raised his head, gradually opening his eyes from within the wind and thunder.
Seeing Shigure, a faint smile appeared on his face. He laughed softly:
"I must say, Segawa, you truly keep refreshing my understanding..."
"You're the first person to trap me in such prolonged slumber."
"I'm gratified."
He spoke unhurriedly, his tone like chatting with an old friend—warm as sunshine.
As if he occupied not a sealed chamber, but a tea room.
Shigure's thought moved. A black chair materialized behind him. Without looking, he sat down directly, then chuckled:
"'Gratified' seems inappropriately used. It sounds like you still think you can look down on me."
Seeing the chair suddenly appear behind Shigure, Aizen's gaze flickered. But only for an instant before regaining calm.
He looked at Shigure again, shaking his head with a light laugh:
"Hehe, I don't mean that. Please don't view me with such prejudiced eyes."
"Seeing you now, I'm truly gratified—not about strength, but... regarding 'your' existence itself."
Hearing this, Shigure's gaze immediately shifted.
However, Aizen didn't stop. Still smiling, he continued:
"During the time my consciousness recovered, I kept thinking about everything."
"From your entrance exam Zanpakutō release, all the way to recently, when you defeated me with that flawless Bankai..."
"The more I thought, the clearer my consciousness became."
"And intuition tells me, your strength and inexplicability... no longer belong to this world."
"So, I want to ask—"
"Are you truly 'Segawa Shigure'?"
"Or... an existence from some higher-dimensional world... merely borrowing this identity...?"
"?!"
Hearing this, Shigure's heart involuntarily skipped a beat. His expression froze slightly. His body stiffened.
Seeing this, Aizen slightly raised his chin. The smile on his face intensified.
"Segawa, your heartbeat accelerated. Your breathing stopped. This is a first."
"It seems... I hit the mark."
The smile on Aizen's face grew increasingly confident. Before this smile, the surrounding wind-thunder inscriptions even began dimming.
At this moment, Aizen felt absolutely certain—he'd truly surpassed Shigure once.
The most perfect time.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
Read up to (100+ ) advanced chapters on Patre\on
Visit us here: patreon.com/DarkGolds
Happy reading, everyone!