Chapter 276
Shinji Hirako looked up.
Your injury...?
Kaien Shiba is in very poor condition.
Not only was his Zanpakuto missing from his waist, but even his adjutant's armband was gone, and a huge wound ran through his entire arm.
"I'm fine, I just ran into a bit of trouble while Zanpakuto."
Kaien Shiba glanced at his arm.
"I have Captain Ukitake's latest update here--"
Just as Kaien Shiba was about to take something out of his pocket and hand it to Shinji Hirako, he was interrupted by a voice coming from the shadows of the corridor:
"Captain Hirako."
Sōsuke Aizen appeared there.
"Sōsuke?"
"That Lieutenant Kaien... is a fake."
The night, the shadows, and the darkness could not conceal the gleaming glasses.
"?"
Both Shinji Hirako and Kaien Shiba showed surprise on their faces.
"Lieutenant Aizen, what are you saying—"
The latter was about to interrupt.
"Whoosh."
Shinji Hirako immediately created distance between the two.
"..."
The barracks fell silent instantly.
Before coming to the captain's office, Aizen had already resolved the issue of materializing the Fifth Division's Zanpakuto: because of Muramasa's rebellion, there were simply too many experimental subjects to be gained this time, and there was really no need to take action against his own division.
"Sōsuke, you're saying this guy is a fake?"
Although these were all part of the plan, seeing Shinji Hirako's trust in him caused a slight ripple in Aizen's otherwise calm heart.
"... or perhaps I misread it."
"Ha?"
"Just kidding, the Kaien Shiba in front of you is definitely not your friend."
Aizen adjusted his glasses and said with a serious expression.
No wonder I felt something was off earlier.
"You've noticed the problem too?"
"No, it's purely based on intuition... especially after hearing you say that."
"..."
Retract the foreword.
Aizen had absolutely no other thoughts about such an unreliable captain.
Ten minutes ago.
"Um?"
The monitors hanging in the vice-captain's office were displaying footage of Haruto fighting Kitahara Kenshin in the sewers.
The invisible and intangible ripples appeared as a bewitching purplish-red color in Aizen's eyes.
"Muramasa?"
Aizen glanced down at the Zanpakuto leaning against the wall.
"Bakudō #99"
The light blue swastika pattern rapidly magnified on the fingertip.
"..."
Just as he was about to press it down, Aizen suddenly stopped what he was doing.
"No."
"I feel like I haven't been active enough in my body lately."
He recalled the battle scene he had just witnessed: whether it was a one-sided massacre or a battle of equal strength, Aizen, who was used to standing behind the scenes, hadn't done it in a long time.
"The materialization of 'Kyōka Suigetsu'."
Aizen observed the transformation of his Zanpakuto with remarkable quietness, and the massive amount of Reiatsu constantly being drawn from his own body to solidify it.
This was quite a novel experience for him as well.
"It should bring some fun, right?"
"Whoosh."
It didn't waste much of his time.
As the water mirror that had formed in mid-air shattered rapidly, a brown-haired man who bore a 90% resemblance to Aizen —the other 10% coming from someone who wasn't wearing glasses and had hair gel on—appeared before Aizen.
"..."
"All right."
Aizen's tone was tinged with disappointment.
"Trying to take a shortcut this way seems like wishful thinking."
"How?"
The Kyōka Suigetsu spoke, its arrogant tone dripping with mockery.
"You want me to do all that random research for you?"
"..."
"Well."
Aizen sighed softly.
"The fact that I had this thought shows that there's still a naivety in my heart that I haven't abandoned... Now I'm much calmer."
Aizen didn't care about Kyōka Suigetsu's rebellion.
It was precisely because he sighed that the immature attitude displayed by someone who was part of his own power was the reason for his sigh.
"Pretending to be something one way."
Kyōka Suigetsu also seems to harbor resentment towards Aizen.
"And you?"
"If you clearly have that kind of power, why not be more direct in your actions?"
He completely ignored Aizen's question.
"For example?"
For example, like this--
Kyōka Suigetsu, who resembled Aizen, raised his right hand.
The extremely concentrated flow of gravity even cracked the incredibly sturdy space of Seireitei.
"Kurohitsugi!"
"Kurohitsugi."
Preemptive strike?
The latecomer surpasses the early bird!
The instant Kyōka Suigetsu uttered the name of the Kurohitsugi, Aizen's Kurohitsugi had already left his grasp.
"Buzz!!"
The dark and chaotic energy fields intertwined, instantly shattering the newly built office into pieces!
Fortunately, the Seireitei was filled with signs of battle, otherwise the obvious Kidō emanating from the Kurohitsugi would have been detected long ago.
"..."
In a stalemate.
"Looks like I overestimated you."
"?"
"It completely copied the power of 'Kyōka Suigetsu,' yet it couldn't affect me."
"Smack!"
Aizen did nothing.
The surrounding space shattered as if it were a mirror.
"It's pointless."
When vision returns to clear...
The office remained the same as before, but in front of Aizen was a completely "water" group.
A humanoid form without a face.
"Hadō #90"
That was a real Kurohitsugi.
Gravity drew lines in space, and the deep coffin completely enveloped the human figure transformed from Kyōka Suigetsu.
"Kurohitsugi."
"Thump!!"
At the same time.
Noble Street.
In contrast to the chaos in the area where the Gotei 13 were located, the usually bustling noble mansion was unusually quiet today.
It's not that there aren't Soul Reaper among them who Zanpakuto.
It's purely because...
Thick, bloody water flowed along the man-made stream, turning the clear water into a filthy, rusty mess.
A dark shadow moved swiftly across the rooftops.
The corpses of nobles were carelessly discarded in various corners where they had died, while the secret chambers containing valuables and intelligence remained empty and open to the public.
A massacre is unfolding silently, and the Gotei 13, caught up in the chaos, remain completely unaware of what's happening.
"Whoosh!"
Ten minutes later.
More than thirty people in black robes blended into the night, their bodies completely devoid of any blood or valuables: whether it was the night-clothes that suppressed scent and Reiatsu or the spatial bags that held large items, they were all extremely rare replicas of Heavenly Bestowed Armaments.
"Is it all done?"
"..."
No reply is the best answer.
"Very good."
The leader nodded almost imperceptibly.