Chapter 327: Shinji Hirako's Day of Suffering
"Captain, here are today's official duties. Please handle them."
In the Fifth Division captain's study, Aizen placed a stack of documents on Shinji Hirako's desk with a thud.
Looking at the documents before him, Hirako's face turned pale.
"Are you kidding me? Why so many?"
"We're the Fifth Division, not the Eighth Division. Where did all these documents come from?"
"Oh, I received them from other divisions."
Aizen's voice was gentle: "I was concerned other divisions couldn't handle their duties, so I took on some of their workload."
"?"
Hirako stared in disbelief.
He exclaimed in shock: "If other divisions can't handle it, you think I can?"
"I believe in you, Captain."
Aizen smiled.
Hirako fell into deep thought.
He raised his hand and flipped through the documents.
Then he couldn't hold back: "Wait, why are there vice-captain documents here? Shouldn't you be handling these?"
"Sorry, Captain. I'm currently working on the Hell Barrier version upgrade under the Captain-Commander's orders, so you'll have to handle these for now."
"I...!!"
Hirako's expression twisted.
He opened his hands, clenched them into fists, then relaxed them again.
"Well then... do your best... Sōsuke."
He said through gritted teeth, offering his blessing to Aizen.
Aizen nodded with a smile: "Thank you, Captain."
Watching Aizen's retreating figure, Hirako grabbed his face with both hands and let out an angry cry.
...
...
Fifth Division, training hall.
Dozens of squad members gathered here, creating quite a lively scene.
Shinji Hirako dragged his heavy footsteps as he passed by this place.
These past two days, he had been handling various official duties brought back by Aizen, leaving him completely drained.
Seeing the bustling dojo, he showed a puzzled expression.
"Hey, what's going on inside?"
Shinji Hirako randomly grabbed a member.
"Ah, Captain Hirako!"
The member first saluted him, then broke into a smile:
"The Twelfth Division sent over several testing devices that can quantify the power of sword strikes and test strength in real time."
"Everyone wants to try and see what numerical value they can achieve, so they all came over!"
Hearing this, Hirako grew curious and walked inside.
He saw the members divided into several groups, lining up in queues.
In the center of the dojo stood two black boulders.
A researcher from the Twelfth Division was explaining:
"This is called a testing stone, forged by fusing killer intent stone, titanium metal, and some Reiatsu-sensitive materials!"
"After enhancements and modifications by our Twelfth Division, it not only possesses the ability to quantify the power of sword strikes but can also self-repair!"
"As long as it isn't completely destroyed, damaged parts can be quickly repaired by injecting Reiatsu."
"In the future, this set of tools will likely become one of Seireitei's standards for testing abilities!"
While he was explaining, a squad member already shouted and swung his sword to strike.
Clang!
The Asauchi struck the test stone, leaving a white mark.
The electronic screen at the top displayed the number "16."
Beside him, a seated officer of the Fifth Division focused his energy and swung his sword.
This time, it left a shallow cut on the test stone.
The electronic screen displayed "72."
A researcher from the Twelfth Division stepped forward and injected Reiatsu into the test stone.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, the cut began to slowly heal.
Soon, it was restored to its original state.
Shinji Hirako stroked his chin, showing a curious expression.
This thing was quite interesting.
The angle of the slash, the speed, the amount of Reiatsu carried, and the technique of Reiatsu burst—all were clearly reflected in the data.
With this machine, every improvement made by the squad members could be clearly demonstrated.
It was perfect for boosting morale—a good thing indeed.
One by one, the squad members stepped forward and delivered their slashes.
In the end, the best result came from the Fifth Seat, who left a cut nearly half a centimeter deep, with a displayed number of 283.
Though half a centimeter was negligible compared to the massive size of the test stone, it was still quite impressive compared to most who struggled to even leave a mark.
Seeing Shinji Hirako, the squad members looked at him with anticipation.
"Captain! Show us your skills!"
"If it's the Captain, he'll definitely produce an amazing number!"
"Captain, give us something to marvel at!"
Amid the enthusiastic shouts of the squad members, Shinji Hirako snorted with a laugh.
"Alright, since you've asked so sincerely, I'll let you see what a Captain-level slash looks like!"
He drew his Zanpakutō and walked toward one of the test stones.
After staring at it for a few seconds, he suddenly took a step forward, his blade tracing an arc of cold light as it struck the test stone with force!
Screech—
The test stone emitted a grating sound.
As Shinji Hirako withdrew his sword, all the squad members gasped in astonishment.
On the test stone was a slash nearly twenty centimeters deep.
Forty times deeper than the Fifth Seat's!
And the number on the screen...
33,816.
The squad members couldn't help but inhale sharply.
"Over a hundred times stronger?!"
"So fierce!"
"As expected of the Captain!"
"Strong and powerful, strong and powerful indeed!"
Shinji Hirako snorted again and sheathed his Zanpakutō.
Just as he was about to say something flashy, a voice suddenly sounded beside him.
"Oh... interesting. A stone that can test the power of a slash, huh?"
"Perfect timing. Let me give it a try as well."
Shinji Hirako turned to look.
He saw Aizen standing before another stone, his hand resting on the hilt of his Zanpakutō.
Swish!
The Zanpakutō was drawn, tracing a flash of cold light.
Clang!
Aizen twisted his wrist and sheathed the blade.
The next moment, under the stunned gazes of Shinji Hirako and the Fifth Division members, the test stone—over a meter in diameter, equipped with self-repair functionality and incredibly sturdy—suddenly split into two halves.
The upper half slid slowly along the smooth cut surface.
Finally, it crashed onto the floor with a thud.
The screen, which displayed the damage number, showed a row of dashes because the test stone had been completely destroyed.
Shinji Hirako: "..."
Squad members: "..."
A test personnel from the Twelfth Division hurried over.
"It was actually cut through?!"
"Previous tests have never produced such a result..."
"We sincerely apologize! We'll return to strengthen the material. Please participate in our test again next time!"
Aizen nodded. "Very well, I look forward to it."
Hearing Aizen's voice, the members of the Fifth Division finally snapped out of their shock.
"V-Vice Captain Aizen... he cut through the giant stone!"
"How can this be? How is this possible?!"
"Even the captain couldn't do it, yet Vice Captain Aizen succeeded!"
"As expected of Captain Aizen!"
"So powerful, incredibly powerful!"
Amid the cheers and crowd of division members, Aizen smiled and shook his head.
"The captain simply didn't use his full strength. When it comes to true ability, I'm still far from matching our captain."
As he spoke, he adjusted his glasses.
"Wouldn't you agree, Captain?"
Like hell I would?!
Shinji Hirako's face turned pale.
He had essentially used his full strength in that strike earlier.
Although he hadn't used his Shikai or Bankai, his technique and power had been nearly perfect.
While he had always known Aizen was hiding his true strength, he never imagined it would be to this extent!
Before this, Aizen had never revealed anything to maintain his disguise.
When he saw the guy personally go to the captain's meeting to help Satoru, even exposing himself before Captain-Commander Yamamoto, Hirako had been quite pleased, thinking he could finally see how much strength Aizen had been hiding.
Now he had seen it clearly—too clearly.
So clear it felt despairing.
How could the gap between people be this large?
When he became captain, this guy was just a student. How could he become this powerful in just a few decades?
What troubled Hirako even more was that after Aizen exposed himself before Yamamoto, instead of acting like someone who'd been found out, he had completely let loose.
Many things he would never have done before, he now performed without any pressure.
In just over a month, the division members' respect for Aizen had grown ten, even ninefold.
He was almost being overshadowed as captain!
Just thinking about it gave Hirako a feeling like he'd fucked Komamura.
Then he realized something.
Come to think of it... hasn't that Sōsuke guy been targeting me recently?
He looked at the severed test stone lying on the ground.
He couldn't help feeling that object shared some subtle connection with his own fate.
....
...
Although Aizen was powerful and his popularity kept growing, Hirako knew that the more this happened, the more likely the villain's evil plans would advance ahead of schedule.
As the hope of the entire Soul Society, he had to investigate and uncover the truth!
With strong conviction and determined resolve to win, Hirako went to the Twelfth Division and found Mayuri Kurotsuchi.
Getting straight to the point, he directly asked Kurotsuchi to help him devise a method to track Aizen without being detected.
Kurotsuchi seemed somewhat surprised by this.
Seeing that Hirako didn't appear to be joking, he grinned and said:
"Captain Hirako... are you unaware of my relationship with Captain Mikami?"
"I know."
Hirako nodded.
"You're closely connected with Satoru, a member of the Mikami Group."
"But having a good relationship with Satoru doesn't mean you get along with Sōsuke, right?"
"According to my investigation, your relationship with him isn't exactly brotherly—more like sworn enemies at the very least."
"A mere individual who doesn't even qualify as a researcher, yet constantly acts as if he's in a position to lecture others—doesn't that anger you?"
Upon hearing this, Mayuri Kurotsuchi slightly furrowed his brow.
He truly held little fondness for Aizen.
But... Aizen was, after all, Satoru's friend. If he were to join forces with an outsider against him, Satoru would be displeased.
He clicked his tongue in annoyance, preparing to see his guest out.
However, before he could speak, Shinji Hirako interjected:
"Speaking of which, Captain Kurotsuchi, you weren't present at the time, so you might not have heard."
"After the Hell War, the Captain-Commander wanted to invite Sōsuke to become the captain of the Tenth Division, but he refused."
"At the time, one of the reasons Sōsuke gave for declining was that displaying his talents would be utterly meaningless."
"He said that in the entire Soul Society, the only person qualified to acknowledge his intellect was Kisuke Urahara."
"Even though you, Captain Kurotsuchi, are the captain of the Twelfth Division, you weren't even mentioned by him."
"..."
Mayuri Kurotsuchi narrowed his eyes.
His blood pressure spiked.
He didn't even need to verify the authenticity of these words—the moment Shinji Hirako described the scene, he could vividly imagine Aizen's voice uttering them.
So angry, so furious!
After gritting his teeth for a few seconds, he entered the laboratory.
Shortly after, he came out again and handed a box to Shinji Hirako.
"This is an aura concealment medicine. After taking it, it will block most of the Reiatsu emitted from your body."
"With this, you'll definitely be able to evade Aizen's detection."
Upon hearing this, Shinji Hirako's eyes lit up:
"Really able to evade?"
"Ah." Mayuri Kurotsuchi grinned, revealing a smile. "I guarantee it can evade Aizen's detection."
Shinji Hirako showed a happy expression, thanked him properly, then turned and left.
Watching his retreating figure, Mayuri Kurotsuchi felt somewhat emotional.
When Aizen wasn't on guard in advance, evading his detection with this medicine wasn't difficult.
But... evading Satoru's detection would be impossible.
Recalling his answer and confirming it was correct, he nodded with satisfaction and returned to the laboratory.
Taking the medicine back, Shinji Hirako conducted a test that same day.
He took one pill and hid in Kensei Muguruma's room.
When the latter returned to his room, he showed no awareness at all.
Afterward, worried that Kensei Muguruma might be too weak to sense him, he went to test near the Fourth Division treatment room.
This time, he was completely reassured.
None of the captains lying in the treatment room noticed him.
Even Unohana, who passed by, showed no reaction whatsoever.
Without a doubt, he had found the right person this time!
With some excitement, he began his investigation plan.
...
...
After secretly observing Aizen for several days, Shinji Hirako finally found an opportunity.
That evening, that kid Aizen was going to meet with Satoru.
The two were definitely going to discuss some important information, possibly related to that guy Sōsuke's ambitions.
Having investigated their meeting location in advance, Shinji Hirako went ahead to set up an ambush.
After taking Mayuri Kurotsuchi's brand aura concealment medicine, he raised his hand and cast a "Bending Light" spell.
Now, he was practically invincible.
Whether visually, through perception, or any other method, nothing could detect him!
Before long, under his expectant gaze, two figures approached.
It was Satoru and Sōsuke Aizen!
As they walked, they were discussing something.
Satoru was gesturing about something to Aizen, who frowned slightly.
As the two drew closer, Shinji Hirako heard Aizen's voice:
"No, you can't act so recklessly. These are completely different powers. Until we confirm the risks, we can only activate one at a time. We absolutely cannot use two or more simultaneously."
"With such rigidity, how can you achieve great things?"
"Before achieving great things, you'll lose your life over trivial matters?"
Aizen's voice was cold.
Just then, Satoru seemed to sense something and let out a surprised sound.
Under Shinji Hirako's "what the Komamura" stare, Satoru turned his head and glanced in his direction.
At that moment, Shinji Hirako felt like the protagonist in a horror movie.
Fortunately, Satoru didn't say anything.
But this momentary change had already been noticed by Aizen.
He narrowed his eyes and carefully extended his perception.
A few seconds later, Aizen sighed.
Under Shinji Hirako's horrified gaze, he turned and walked step by step toward him.
As he passed by Shinji Hirako, he raised his hand and tore away the Bending Light from the air.
Watching this scene, Satoru couldn't help but feel emotional...