Every member of Central 46… was dead.
That just added yet another charge to Aizen Sōsuke's list of crimes.
Above the battlefield, what formed was Kuchiki Byakuya's blade.
"Shūkei: Senbonzakura Kageyoshi (Terminal Scene: Senbonzakura Kageyoshi)!"
Byakuya raised his right hand high, then brought it down. The gigantic sword—reassembled from countless shattered blades—came crashing down with it.
"A new technique?" Aizen lifted his gaze. He realized this was a move Byakuya had never used before.
But it didn't matter. Before absolute power, any clever trick was pointless.
Aizen couldn't even be bothered to move a finger. With nothing but a glance, that pitch-black Reiatsu—so dense it looked almost solid—gathered above him, forming a black shield.
The rain of blades slammed into the dark Reiatsu, sending violent tremors through the air.
Normally, Aizen's Reiatsu alone really could stop this kind of wide-area attack.
But Byakuya's technique wasn't that simple.
As the blades fell, they condensed again—into hundreds of razor-sharp spears, focusing all their force into a single point.
A sound like shattering glass rang out.
The black Reiatsu above Aizen's head was pierced.
"It worked!"
Off in the distance, Komamura Sajin—who had held back to avoid getting caught in the crossfire—felt his heart leap with hope.
Because this result had clearly exceeded Aizen's expectations, which meant Aizen couldn't have prepared for it in advance.
Byakuya's strike was going to hit.
Byakuya thought so too.
But Aizen's next action sent a chill through him.
Smiling, utterly unfazed, Aizen calmly sheathed his Zanpakutō. Then with his freed right hand, he reached up and caught Byakuya's Shūkei: Senbonzakura Kageyoshi.
Yes—caught it with one hand.
All the other spear-blades slammed into the ground, drilling hundreds of deep holes. Only the one in Aizen's hand was casually tossed back at Byakuya like a throwaway toy.
"That's a decent variation, Head of the Kuchiki clan… but it's still not enough~"
In the span of an instant, Byakuya realized his abdomen had been pierced—by his own Shūkei: Senbonzakura Kageyoshi.
His technique, stolen and returned with even greater force.
There was nothing more humiliating than that.
"Captain Kuchiki!"
Seeing this, Komamura Sajin's expression changed drastically.
How had the situation flipped so completely in the blink of an eye?
But at that very moment, a figure appeared behind Aizen—
Soifon, Captain of the Second Division.
"You exposed an opening, Aizen Sōsuke!"
Her Zanpakutō had already been released. With a light tap of her right hand to Aizen's back, a purple hornet crest bloomed there.
This was Suzumebachi's ability, Nigeki Kessatsu (Two Strikes, One Kill). As long as she struck the same spot again, the enemy marked with the hornet crest would die on the spot.
"You've improved, Shaoling."
Shihōin Yoruichi didn't move—she simply watched Soifon's attack and praised her quietly.
Before, everyone had refrained from coordinating an assault with Byakuya because his Bankai, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi, was indiscriminate and could easily injure allies.
But after Aizen reversed Byakuya's technique, Soifon seized that fleeting window. She used Shunpo (Flash Step) to slip behind Aizen and land her mark.
That kind of sharp awareness was exactly what Yoruichi had wanted her to master.
"Hmph."
But Aizen, even with the hornet crest stamped on him, wasn't worried in the slightest. He countered with a sharp turning elbow strike, forcing Soifon back.
"Fast reaction. You're a troublesome stinging bee~"
Aizen knew Soifon's Zanpakutō ability well. But the gap in Reiatsu between them was enormous—so even if Soifon fulfilled the condition, the "certain death" effect would never work on him.
So he stayed calm, even making time to compliment her.
Someone else, however, was not calm at all.
"Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō—Fumimae Zan (Advance Slash)!"
Komamura Sajin, who had already activated his Bankai during his fight with Muguruma Kensei, drove that colossal armored deity, Tengen Myō'ō, and swung a terrifying blade down at Aizen.
"Still not learning? For me, a move like this only takes… one finger!"
Even though Komamura's slash arrived almost right after Soifon's strike, even though Komamura held nothing back—
His blade, his momentum, his entire attack… was as fragile as paper before Aizen Sōsuke's single flick.
The blade shattered.
The man fell to his knees.
Komamura Sajin didn't understand. He had worked so hard all these years—so why was it that whenever he faced Shinigami who openly defied Soul Society, he still broke the moment he touched them?
It was the same with Higashino Shuuichi.
And now it was the same with Aizen Sōsuke!
"Truly worthy of Aizen-sama… handling three captains at once, so effortlessly~"
Up in the air, Ichimaru Gin—having successfully drawn hatred onto Aizen and then quietly handed the stage over to him—smiled with narrowed eyes.
Gin knew this wasn't even close to Aizen's limit.
In fact, it wasn't even close to Aizen's limit for today.
Aizen was still waiting—waiting for more Shinigami to arrive.
But for Ichimaru Gin, it didn't matter how many came. There was only one thing he cared about today.
"Gin… if you turn back now, it's not too late."
Matsumoto Rangiku stared at him. After half a second of silence, she spoke with a troubled expression.
"Rangiku, those words are what I should be saying to you. This isn't a place you should be."
Ichimaru Gin looked at her.
His tone carried no special emotion—like a final warning offered by nothing more than an ordinary friend.
"…"
Rangiku didn't answer. She simply kept staring.
She was trying to see whether the Gin in front of her was still the Gin she remembered.
But she couldn't tell.
Maybe Gin had truly changed.
Or maybe he had simply hidden himself too well.
Either way, Rangiku only had one way to resolve it.
She raised her Zanpakutō and pointed it at Ichimaru Gin.
"Gin, I'm not who I used to be. Maybe I can't understand why you became like this… but I'll use my own way to stop you from making more mistakes!"
Rangiku declared solemnly.
The moment she finished, something strange flickered through Gin's eyes—
But he always kept them narrowed, and Rangiku couldn't catch that fleeting shift.
"I'm not wrong, Rangiku. I've always been doing what's right.
At least… for me, it is.
But since you say so, I'd be happy to be your opponent.
I hear you've already mastered Bankai?"
Gin's voice was low and distant.
Rangiku could never have guessed that those words were, in fact, his honest feelings.
From start to finish, Ichimaru Gin had been doing what he believed was right—what he believed he had to do.
It was just something he couldn't tell anyone.
Not even Matsumoto Rangiku.
"Only when you truly understand how terrifying that man is… will you realize that no amount of caution is ever excessive."
After saying that to himself in his heart, Ichimaru Gin suddenly opened his eyes.
"Ikoroze, Shinsō!"
Since he couldn't persuade Rangiku to leave, he would have to use the most primitive—most physical—method to force her away!
"Unare, Haineko!"
Almost at the same time, Rangiku—who had long been ready—released her Zanpakutō instantly.
Gray mist swallowed her body and the surrounding area in a single breath.
Shinsō was stopped by Rangiku's ash-like fog.
For some reason, Rangiku felt that Shinsō was slower—slower than it had been back when they had first followed Higashino Shuuichi and Gin had only recently mastered Shinsō's Shikai.
Otherwise, at this distance, even with full preparation, she should have been injured.
Yes—Rangiku had already prepared herself to be hurt first.
But she wasn't.
The tension of battle left her no time to dwell on it, and she could only chalk it up to her own growth—her reflexes and overall strength had improved.
She didn't know the truth:
Ichimaru Gin simply couldn't bear to harm Matsumoto Rangiku with his own hands.
Even though he knew that inside Rangiku's body was a fragment of the Soul King's fingernail—left behind by Higashino Shuuichi before he was imprisoned—granting her endless regeneration that made her unafraid of injuries, even severed limbs.
What Gin needed was time.
Time to find an opening in the exchange—an opening where he could close the distance, then use Kidō, Senpan Hakujya (Thousand Coiled White Serpents), to forcibly transfer himself and Rangiku away.
If this were the Rangiku from the original timeline, Gin's goal would have been easy.
He wouldn't even need Senpan Hakujya—he could have simply used Hakufuku (White Crawl), the Kidō that forcefully knocks someone unconscious.
But facing a Rangiku who had already mastered Bankai, Gin knew it would take him some time.
Fortunately, his time was plentiful.
Because at this very moment, above Sōkyoku Hill, the Twelfth Division vice-captain—Yushima Ōko, from Higashino Shuuichi's faction—joined the battle.
After Nemu had been discarded by Aizen and taken away by Higashino Shuuichi, Yushima Ōko received a message from Shuuichi-sama and learned the truth: the Quincy "Kabuno Takuya" was actually Higashino Shuuichi.
At that point, Yushima Ōko no longer had any need to remain here helping the Gotei 13 fight Aizen.
But since Shuuichi-sama hadn't explicitly instructed whether they should leave or stay—
Yushima Ōko took it to mean he could do whatever he wanted next.
And Yushima Ōko had been eyeing Aizen—the man who had once lost to Higashino Shuuichi—for quite some time.
Back then, even the invincible Shuuichi-sama had only defeated Aizen Sōsuke by teaming up with Kisaragi Shūsuke and himself.
So if Yushima Ōko could defeat Aizen Sōsuke alone now… wouldn't that mean he had reached Shuuichi-sama's level from back then?
And if he rounded up a little after that, then he was definitely stronger than Kisaragi Shūsuke.
With Shuuichi-sama watching nearby, once this incident was over, he could "discuss" it a little with Shuuichi-sama—swap roles with Kisaragi Shūsuke, become the senior disciple…
And that would be perfectly justified.
"I'm such a planner!"
With that thought, Yushima Ōko struck.
Komamura Sajin had practically been insta-killed, Soifon had been forced back, and Kuchiki Byakuya clearly couldn't rejoin the fight for the moment. Kurotsuchi Mayuri and Unohana Retsu showed little desire to enter the fray—
So Yushima Ōko acted without hesitation.
And unlike before, when he had merely "gone through the motions" against Kuchiki Byakuya, this time Yushima Ōko directly dragged Aizen into his own space.
Raikū (Void Domain)!
Aizen's calm expression finally changed—just a fraction.
If he could, Yushima Ōko would have liked to drag Higashino Shuuichi in as well.
Not for any deep reason—he just wanted to show off properly in front of Shuuichi-sama.
"Shuuichi-sama, look at me now!
I've completely mastered the Dangai!"
That was the reason Aizen showed a hint of emotion:
The space Yushima Ōko had dragged him into wasn't ordinary—
It was the Dangai, a place extremely hostile to Shinigami!
Here, even someone as strong as Aizen would have his Reiatsu greatly restricted. His body would be worn down by the chaotic spiritual environment, and his control over Reishi would fall into disarray.
"Scared now, Aizen Sōsuke~?
This is the forbidden land no Shinigami dares touch without a Jigokuchō's guidance—the Dangai!
And I am the master of the Dangai!"
Yushima Ōko stood opposite Aizen, speaking with boundless pride and confidence.
In a place like this, even Kyōka Suigetsu would be useless.
Because the entire Dangai was under Yushima Ōko's control. Aizen could deceive Yushima Ōko's five senses—but he couldn't deceive the Dangai itself.
What Yushima Ōko forgot was that for a normal Shinigami, the Dangai was nearly unsolvable.
But for an abnormal Shinigami… there were plenty of solutions.
Aizen simply lifted a hand and tapped lightly in front of himself.
A layer of Hollow-exclusive Hanmaku (Reversal Membrane) formed instantly around his body.
This was a special ability Aizen had once designed specifically for the Espada. Combined with a special substance developed by Szayelaporro Granz, the Espada could further expand it into Hanmaku no Hi (Reversal Membrane: Cage), changing it from a self-applied defense into a prison that confined enemies.
But that was supposed to be an ability only Hollows could use!
Even Shuuichi-sama back then had needed to Hollowfy before he could use it—so how could Aizen use it directly?!
"How is that possible?!" Yushima Ōko was stunned.
But what shocked him even more came next.
Aizen took out the Hōgyoku he had obtained from inside Nemu—
And then, from who-knew-where, he produced another Hōgyoku that looked almost identical.
Because of Higashino Shuuichi, Aizen—who had been preparing for this day for a long time—began fusing the Hōgyoku right in front of Yushima Ōko.
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