Release Your Zanpakuto, Shizuya-kun

Release Your Zanpakuto, Shizuya-kun

The definition of Soul Society was actually quite broad.

Aside from the Seireitei, where the Shinigami and nobles gathered, it was divided into four large regions according to the four cardinal directions.

These were the places known as Slum Streets. According to the intelligence provided by the Gotei 13, the Slum Streets were also divided into different districts.

The earlier the district number, the closer it was to the Seireitei, and the better its public security tended to be.

Relatively speaking.

The later the district number, the more common murder and arson became. They were practically lawless zones.

"Just because they took a fancy to our swords and the valuables on our persons, they could mercilessly kill passersby they had never even met."

"How tragic. In these people's eyes, human lives held no value whatsoever."

"Shizuya-kun, Tōsen, you two also came from the Slum Streets. You should understand the lamentable nature of such things, shouldn't you?"

Aizen toyed with the small crystalline block in his hand, his expression as calm as still water.

By now, three Soul Bodies that looked like street thugs had collapsed on the ground. Their bodies had gone limp, and all life had completely left them.

Arima Shizuya watched as their liquefied souls were drawn out one by one and collected into a translucent sphere.

Something hazy and ethereal was gestating within it, as though an unseen shadow were writhing inside.

The Hōgyoku.

Aizen had already clearly explained its origins and purpose earlier.

It possessed extraordinary power. The spiritual pressure leaking from it alone was enough to prove that.

"How marvelous... Though it looks like an object, I can sense fluctuations of something called consciousness within it."

The Hōgyoku was absorbing souls.

That was one of the reasons Aizen needed to come to Rukongai.

In such a lawless place, human life and death held no particular significance.

Even if someone vanished without a trace, at most they would become ink beneath a Shinigami's brush...

Reduced to a brief, simple unit of measurement.

Unlike the other half of the Hōgyoku created by Kisuke Urahara, whose raw materials were a vast number of Hollows.

The thing Aizen had created was made using numerous powerful souls as raw materials.

In other words—Slum Street residents with the potential to become Shinigami.

Killing carried no psychological burden for Aizen...

No, rather, to the so-called Slum Streets, the residents themselves held no special significance.

On the eve of the Thousand-Year Blood War in the original storyline.

Because the Quincy had exterminated a large number of Hollows, Captain Kurotsuchi had ordered the unauthorized erasure of twenty thousand Rukongai residents to maintain the balance.

When it reached Yamamoto, all that remained was a single question: "Why wasn't this reported beforehand?"

There might have been some helplessness in the fact that what was done was done, but regardless, the core philosophy of the Gotei 13 had nothing to do with so-called Slum Street residents.

After roaming about for two hours, Aizen's soul collection finally came to a temporary stop.

The group had originally intended to return.

But then several screams rang out from not far down the street.

Before long, a Slum Street resident covered in blood came screaming out from around a corner. He screamed without pause, and his left arm was completely gone.

"Save me, sa—"

Before he could finish.

A twisted monster moved after him yet arrived first, slamming him viciously to the ground with its webbed forelimbs.

It was a white shadow as long as a python. It twisted open its snake-like jaws and licked the chunks of flesh scattered across the ground clean.

A Hollow.

After devouring every last scrap of blood and flesh left on the ground, it cast a cautious glance in their direction, then slowly backed away until it disappeared into the distant woods...

Hollows invading Soul Society was nothing unusual.

Even when he had lived in the Slum Streets, Arima Shizuya had often heard of similar "massacre cases."

These creatures were far more active at night than during the day. For that reason, although the Slum Streets had no curfew, most people stopped their activities after dark.

The three of them calmly watched it disappear without taking any action.

The reason was Aizen's earlier warning.

Eliminating Hollows causing trouble in the Slum Streets was, by nature, the work of Shinigami within the Seireitei... But that was not why we came, so let us pretend we did not see it for now.

"After all, normal extermination missions begin with an investigation. Only after confirming the area in which a Hollow is active will the Thirteenth Division send Squad Members to eliminate it."

The fixed procedure was not the real reason. Fundamentally, they simply did not want to increase the chances of exposing themselves.

After all, Aizen did not know whether these active Hollows had already drawn the attention of other Shinigami.

If they exposed themselves over this kind of "righteous intervention," it would be a loss that outweighed the gain.

Besides...

"The weak are preyed upon and die. That, too, is one part of the natural cycle. We need only watch."

Such a cold assertion was enough to show Aizen's view of Slum Street residents... It was virtually no different from Yamamoto and the others.

At the same time, Arima Shizuya noticed that Aizen's gaze toward the Hollow was slightly different.

Thinking of everything that would happen in the future.

Perhaps he had already begun considering experimenting on these monsters, attempting to fuse Shinigami and Hollows.

With the day's outing over, Aizen led the two of them back into the Seireitei.

"That will be all for today, Shizuya-kun, Tōsen. Three days from now, at the same time, I will wait for you in the same place."

"Of course, if anything unusual happens, I will contact you in advance."

The three-day cycle of operations was not Aizen's own preference.

It was because, as the Vice-Captain of the Fifth Division, he was beginning to feel somewhat stretched too thin.

And besides.

"Captain Hirako seems to have some issue with me, so he has been watching me rather closely lately. To ensure you are not suspected, please keep your contact with me to a minimum during your usual activities."

So that was it.

It seemed the three-day schedule was also a buffer for Aizen to free himself up.

So Hirako Shinji had already begun to be wary of Aizen?

It felt as though nothing had changed.

Yet in truth, many things were rapidly brewing out of sight, racing toward their predetermined course.

It was somewhat unsettling.

But no matter what, at this stage, strengthening himself remained the priority.

After all, only by becoming strong enough could he possess the ability to withstand risk.

Three days later.

Another routine outing for training and feeding the Hōgyoku.

He had thought the day would end there, but Aizen unexpectedly chose to add extra training before they returned.

"Hmm, it's fairly secluded. This place will do."

...Hm? What did he mean? Aizen smiled at Arima Shizuya, a glint flickering in his eyes.

"As a reward for enduring the full training session twice, I can give you some special guidance regarding your Zanpakuto."

So.

"Release your Zanpakuto, Shizuya-kun."