The Drama Queen Blue Oni

"Tell me, Seikyo, aren't you being a bit too rough on my sister?"

"Huh? You call that rough? Big Brother, I didn't even fight back, alright?"

"If you used even a third-tier spiritual pressure, it would be a miracle if she could break through your barrier! Couldn't you have just pretended to be blown away? If she could vent that hatred, she might be able to live a normal life."

"Forget it! Without you, she'll never return to the life she had before. She might as well start toughening up sooner!"

Still in the World of the Living, Seikyo and Kaien watched everything through the connection between their Zanpakuto, seeing exactly what Blue Oni saw on the other side.

Every word Blue Oni had just spoken was controlled by Seikyo from this end.

Kaien, however, was not entirely satisfied. He felt it had gone too far.

But Seikyo had no intention of changing his style.

"Letting you see Kūkaku one more time was generous enough!" Seikyo severed the connection with Blue Oni. "It's lucky no captains were over there; otherwise, when Blue Oni caught that Thunder Roar Cannon, he might have been exposed as a fake."

"So, what now?" Kaien wasn't entirely at ease. "Is it really okay to just leave it to Blue Oni?"

"Don't let his usual silence fool you; that guy is a natural-born actor." Seikyo crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't think for a second he'll slip up."

"I'm just afraid he'll overact!"

"That guy has a massive itch for drama! I don't even know how he developed a personality like that!"

Watching Seikyo's expression, Kaien chuckled. "Maybe it's because you're a drama queen yourself! After all, aren't Mod Souls created from your own spiritual pressure?"

Seikyo pondered this for a moment and nodded. "Perhaps."

After all, I really am acting at every moment of every day.

Including right now.

"Welcome back, Captain Aizen."

Somewhere in the Soul Society, Aizen and Tosen returned from the World of the Living through a Senkaimon that even the Twelfth Division could not detect.

Gin Ichimaru was there to greet their return.

The mission had been quite fruitful.

Beyond the experimental data gained from the Hollow-fused subject Tosen now carried, they had successfully removed Shiba Kaien from the Soul Society...

Although subsequent tracking of Hyakume-ki Seikyo confirmed that Shiba Kaien had been rescued, the goal of removing the current head of the Shiba clan from the Soul Society had been achieved.

Additionally, they had definitively located Urahara Kisuke, which was an unexpected bonus.

"It seems this 4th Seat Hyakume still has connections to Hirako Shinji and his lot."

Aizen had not previously discovered the link between Hyakume-ki Seikyo and the Visored.

But this time, the speed with which Hyakume-ki Seikyo had delivered Shiba Kaien to Urahara Kisuke proved he knew for certain that Urahara could treat him.

This confirmed his relationship with the Visored.

At the very least, they had met since the incident over sixty years ago.

In that case, there was a high probability that he also knew Aizen's true colors.

Aizen felt his estimation of Hyakume-ki Seikyo needed to be raised significantly.

After all, to know his true nature and yet show no special reaction when they met—this temperament was different from the simple-minded brutes of the 11th Division or the double-dealing nature of Hirako Shinji.

If it hadn't been necessary to return, Aizen would have liked to see what else he might do in the World of the Living.

Since a lieutenant had officially died in the line of duty, a captain-level meeting would surely be called, and Ukitake Jushiro would certainly report the circumstances of this outing in person.

Thus, Aizen and Tosen had to return.

Captains like them could not simply leave the Soul Society for long.

The next morning, as soon as Captain Ukitake had recovered enough from his illness, he received orders to report to the First Division headquarters to brief the Captain-Commander on the full details of the incident.

Captain Ukitake was not surprised. He changed out of the captain's haori stained with his and Kaien's blood and headed toward the First Division.

By this time, the news of Lieutenant Shiba Kaien's death in the line of duty had spread throughout the entire Seireitei.

Even the details—that his body had been possessed by a Hollow and he had been killed by Seikyo—had leaked out.

At Seikyo's front door, Toshiro looked at the tightly locked gate, pulled out a key, and let himself in.

The moment he stepped inside, Toshiro caught the scent of alcohol.

He followed the smell to the courtyard, where he found Seikyo sprawled out on a lounge chair.

He was currently fast asleep, a wine cup having already fallen from his hand to the ground.

Beside Seikyo, on an empty lounge chair, sat a bottle of wine and another empty cup.

Toshiro had rushed to his master's home the moment he heard the news.

After all, Toshiro knew very well the bond between his master and Lieutenant Shiba.

If Toshiro put himself in those shoes—if he had to kill his own best friend... say, if he had to kill Momo—he felt he would go insane.

It felt quite restrained for Master to choose to drown his sorrows in alcohol like this.

However, just as Toshiro was about to approach Master, he suddenly felt himself locked onto by an extremely dangerous gaze.

Although Toshiro could not see the source of the gaze, he knew clearly that if he took one more step forward, he would be attacked by the other party.

This feeling made Toshiro very uncomfortable, and subconsciously, he initiated the Shikai of Hyōrinmaru...

Then, in the next instant, Toshiro saw a massive monster.

It was about a dozen meters tall, a giant spherical entity floating above Aoto's head. It seemed to lack a true physical form, passing directly through the eaves of the roof when it touched them.

But on the side facing Toshiro, a single vertical eye was watching him, as if it would truly begin its assault should he dare to do anything else.

Before this giant spherical monster revealed itself, not a single trace of Reiatsu had leaked out.

But the moment it appeared, an overwhelming pressure of Reiatsu radiated in all directions.

The captains currently holding a captain's meeting in the First Division all sensed this incredibly powerful Reiatsu.

Reiatsu of the Second Class...

And it was extremely familiar.

Kyoraku Shunsui's expression shifted, and disregarding the fact that he was inside the First Division, he immediately rushed out.

Unohana Retsu and Ukitake Jushiro took the same action as Kyoraku Shunsui.

Captain-Commander Yamamoto's expression also changed; although he did not rush out like the other three veteran captains, he stepped onto the First Division's balcony, gazing into the distance toward the source of that Reiatsu.

That massive ball of flesh had appeared there, standing out conspicuously.

The other captains followed as well.

Although they were all puzzled by the sudden reaction of those three captains, they had not followed them.

Now, seeing that ball of flesh, they also sensed a tremendous danger.

"What is that?"

Zaraki Kenpachi looked at the ball of flesh, feeling curious, but even more interested in the powerful Reiatsu radiating from it.

He wanted to try cutting it.

But at this moment, Soi Fon, whose expression was the worst of them all, spoke the name of that great ball of flesh.

"That is... Garaku Kairo!"