The Seireitei is also divided into Outer Court and Inner Court. From a high vantage point, a high wall with Sōkyoku at the center separates the Outer Court and Inner Court.
Only the First Division is stationed in the Inner Court; the rest of the Squads are all in the Outer Court. The Seventh Division is responsible for daily patrols and defenses, and the Central 46 are also located here...
"A thief has infiltrated the Great Spirit Book Gallery! Quickly, apprehend him, dead or alive!"
"Over there, don't let him get away."
"Bakudō #62: Hyapporankan: Hyapporankan!"
In the distance, shouts of fighting and killing arose. Ling, who was originally admiring the moonlight on the top of the Senzaikyū, looked over, but was too far away to see the specific situation clearly.
Since that was the direction of Central 46, Zero, who hated those old bastards, muttered "Serves them right" and then ignored them.
The commotion caused by the arrest lasted less than a minute before a beam of white light illuminated the night sky—it was the 'Sōren Sōkatsui'. A master had gone to intercept and kill that 'thief'; the ability to unleash such Kidō meant he was at least Vice-Captain level.
When Captain of the Seventh Division Love Aikawa, who was in charge of guarding the Inner Court, arrived at the scene, the problem had already been solved; he was reportedly reduced to ashes by the 'Sōren Sōkatsui'...
'Heh, looks like I was too hasty. The intelligence said there wouldn't be any patrols at night, but I didn't expect someone to come anyway...'
Aizen chuckled coldly a few times, then turned and left. The useless subordinate who gave him the wrong information had already been sentenced to death by him.
This exposure also taught Aizen that he couldn't trust those useless fools; trust was meaningless. Only he himself was absolute.
Moreover, his thinking was not thorough enough. The first retreat route he had considered earlier was no longer safe due to the brief engagement, so he chose the second retreat route.
This trouble further solidified Aizen's character of 'planning before acting'; he was eliminating his own weaknesses, a process that can be called growth...
The Senzaikyū is located near the First Division's Squad Barracks, and not far from where the Captains hold meetings, so security in this area is not strict. The area around Yama-jii's office, covering several square kilometers, only requires about ten people to be kept on a daily rotation to secretly monitor for thieves.
This was requested by Yama-jii himself. The reason was simple: Yama-jii was afraid that if he took action, it would involve those weak Guards... However, no one has dared to assassinate him for nearly a thousand years.
Seeing that things were over, Zero felt something was wrong. Even from this distance, he could feel that the experts of the Central 46 of the Royal Guard had emptied the Kidō, but the opponent's Reiatsu had indeed disappeared.
"The target isn't the Central 46, but the Great Spirit Book Gallery, right? Could it be an enemy of Tsunayashiro? Or perhaps someone who utterly despises the Central 46, just like me!"
After making a few speculations, Zero was about to get up and jump off the roof of the Senzaikyū when he suddenly sensed a faint Reiatsu moving rapidly. He instinctively froze, like an unchanging building.
'The Reiatsu I sense is very weak, but the opponent's speed is not slow. The fact that I can perceive it as fast suggests it's using a movement technique like Shunpo...'
Zero became excited upon thinking about this, because even a normal Soul Reaper could not use Shunpo with such low Reiatsu, and Zero sensed that the distance covered by Shunpo each time the opponent used it was not short.
Zero immediately judged that the person was a master, and the fact that they were so restrained in their power to move so quickly indicated that the other party was afraid of something. This, combined with what had just happened in Central 46...
Aizen's second retreat route was right next to Sōkyoku. He could avoid the large number of pursuers coming in from the Outer Court by simply bypassing Sōkyoku.
... At this point, Aizen was not the same Aizen who had hypnotized the entire Seireitei; he still had reservations...
Those who arrived at the beginning were absolutely unable to see through the Kyōka Suigetsu, but those who came later might realize something was wrong, but by then Aizen had already run far away.
Aizen, who thought there were few people patrolling this road, felt a chill down his spine the moment Zero stood up and immediately stopped his Shunpo.
Aizen filled with suspicion: 'Has a powerful expert been discovered?'
From Zero's perspective, Aizen suddenly stopped moving, hidden in the shadows, and Zero couldn't see him, only vaguely sensing his approximate location.
The two were at least three kilometers apart, but their perception abilities were ridiculously strong, allowing them to instantly sense the slightest movement in their surroundings.
"Are you not moving, baby? I'm coming over there!" Zero was happy to have something to do to relieve his boredom.
For the past twenty years, aside from routinely going to Hueco Mundo to devour various Adjuchas to obtain Reiryoku, I have been researching advanced Kidō on my own.
His Reiatsu levels has grown to 8.1, which is a level that can be achieved without Hollowfication. With nothing else to do, Zero plans to challenge Yama-jii to test the depth of his power.
'It moved? It's coming towards me. It's been exposed after all. Which Captain is it? But whoever it is, let's see if it can catch me first!'
Aizen immediately Shunpo to leave. This time, he didn't hide his strength too much, but released a portion of it and quickly circled around to the back of the Sōkyoku. Not only was that place relatively remote, but it was also far away from the First Division, in case the Captain-Commander intervened.
In fact, in one of the rooms of the First Division, Yama-jii was sitting cross-legged and using his Inner World as a rest, had already opened his eyes the moment Zero chased after him.
When he sensed that the number of mobiles was zero, Yama-jii closed his eyes again and didn't open them again. He hadn't sensed Aizen...
Zero's mastery of Shunpo isn't particularly fast, but he can travel a long distance in one go, and he can release his Reiatsu without restraint. If someone were to sense his Reiatsu at this moment, they would find that Zero's Reiatsu moves forward in an almost flickering manner.
Although Aizen was fast, he dared not move like Zero to avoid attracting more Captains.
However, this speed was simply beyond the reach of the ordinary Squad Member who were blocking the Inner Court; they couldn't even sense that the two had escaped from the Inner Court.
Before a rare, desolate area in the Seireitei, Zero stood in front of Aizen, blocking his path.
"Konnie Chicken, where are you going?"
Zero greeted him with a smile. Even though the 'thief' in front of him had concealed his face, his eyes seemed to reveal youth. Seeing that he did not answer but instead drew his Zanpakuto and gripped it in a reverse hand, Zero also began to draw his sword.
In fact, Aizen was also a little confused. The newcomer was none other than Nangong Kenpachi, known as the strongest Captain besides the Captain-Commander, and rumored to have a particular fondness for killing. He had slaughtered Hollows and Pluses from Soul Society.
Aizen didn't think much of killing Aizen; that was Soul Reaper's job. But when it came to slaughtering ordinary Awakened Reiryoku in Rukongai, Aizen felt that Nangong Kenpachi was just a bully who liked to prey on the weak!
If Zero knew what Aizen was thinking, he would respond, "How could I not like it if it increases my power! Especially since I can also cut down someone as powerful as you and absorb their strength..."
The moment they met, Aizen knew that this was no longer just a claim or a rumor, but the truth. That's why he held his Zanpakuto and silently released 'Kyōka Suigetsu'.
The murderous intent, the violent Reiatsu, and the fact that Zero had slowly drawn the blood-red double-edged straight sword from his back indicated that Zero was about to make a move and had no intention of letting Aizen go.
Just as Aizen had predicted, the Greatsword came swinging down. Nangong Kenpachi was greeting him a moment ago, but the next moment his Zanpakuto was already slashing down on him.
Boom!
The immense force could no longer be called a slash; it was an indiscriminate destruction of the ground with Reiatsu. Aizen raised his Zanpakuto with both hands to forcefully withstand the slash, while Zero, who was holding the sword with one hand, was unable to strike.
As Aizen held his Zanpakuto, his left index finger suddenly pointed at Zero: "Hadō #78, Zanka no Tachi!"
Two crisscrossing Kidō strikes appeared. Zero recognized the move and retreated decisively, but the ring of strikes followed closely and struck his chest.
"You are indeed no ordinary person. After creating this distance, even Shunsui Kyōraku's 'Zanka no Tachi' could only burn me with Reiatsu, not cut my flesh open. Who exactly are you?"
The burst of blood from his chest filled Zero's smile with cruelty; he was determined to go all out and no longer let his guard down.
Because Zero pulled out a measuring device from his pocket and learned that Aizen's current Reiatsu was a staggering 4.8, which was his power level after his Shikai, far exceeding that of Detachment Captains.
Among the Gotei 13 Captain who fought Zero, it's quite impressive that they could reach this level after Bankai. This shows how strong Aizen's talent is; he has grown to an extremely terrifying level in such a short time.
Especially the silent liberation of the Kyōka Suigetsu, which signifies that he has already attained Bankai...
Aizen was also surprised. His control over the Kidō power had reached a level of perfection. When he sensed that Zero was weaker than him, he thought he could at least seriously injure Zero with one blow, but he didn't expect to be defeated.
'We can't delay. Since we can't kill him, we'll get rid of him!'
Aizen changed his target, intending to control Zero slightly before quickly escaping. He sensed several Captain-level approaching.
"Bakudō Number Sixty-Three..."
"Innocent!"
Aizen was about to release the Bakudō when Zero roared and released the seal. Zero's terrifying Reiatsu shot straight into the sky, and the red pillar of Reiatsu impacted the Sekimon from the inside out, which was quite spectacular.
"Someone who could infiltrate the Great Spirit Book Gallery was defeated by you with a single Kidō, leaving not even Zanpakuto? That's utterly ridiculous! Everyone, scatter and search! Sealing the Inner Court!"
Love's sharp eyes were fixed on the group of people bowing their heads and seeking credit. He couldn't help but shake his head, then continued to order the search.
Just as they dispersed to search, a red beam of light shot straight up into the sky in the distance.