Tosen Kaname reacted quickly.
Though the attack had come suddenly, it was still within his ability to handle.
He didn't even need his Zanpakuto. With a wave of his hand, he fired a Byakurai and shattered the shadowy sword formed from Reishi.
But at that very moment, Aoto had already closed in on Tosen.
"Ryuki!"
The sharp thrust shot straight toward Tosen's exposed center.
"Cry, Suzumushi!"
Facing Aoto's attack, Tosen immediately released his Zanpakuto.
The boost in Reiatsu from his Shikai let Tosen evade Aoto's attack from below with greater ease. He then swung his sword at the hand holding Aoto's blade.
But when Tosen's sword came around, it struck a spiked club instead.
"Hungry Ghost!" Aoto smiled faintly, and Tosen felt his Zanpakuto caught by the club.
His Reiatsu was being devoured by it, too.
What an unusual ability!
But Tosen wasn't bothered. His Reiatsu surged, easily overcoming the weak pull, and he retrieved his Zanpakuto.
Still, after being outmatched several times in a row, Tosen was having trouble saving face!
"Suzumushi: First Form, Suzumushi Nishiki: Benihikou!"
The sound of countless insects beating their wings rang out, transforming into powerful sound waves that swept toward Aoto.
Sound-based attacks usually had a special property: they couldn't be defended against.
Whether they affected the hearing and caused hallucinations, or damaged internal organs through vibration, there was no way to guard against them.
Unless one created a wall of vacuum, sound propelled by Reiatsu wouldn't lack a medium to travel through, nor would it weaken easily.
But... sound waves could be countered by stronger sound waves.
"Bark, Sanga!"
A red, three-headed hound emerged from the ground.
Each of the hound's heads had a mask like a Hollow's. When all three opened their mouths, they unleashed a powerful sound wave that seemed capable of tearing apart everything in front of them.
Against its howling, Suzumushi's sound was far too faint.
But unlike Suzumushi's sound, which spread in every direction, Sanga's full-force howl only attacked in a 120-degree arc to the front... leaving room to dodge.
"Suzumushi: Second Form, Red Locust!"
Countless blades appeared as Tosen, who had emerged to Aoto's left, swung Suzumushi.
Like locusts that had found food, the blades shot through the air toward Aoto.
"Red Oni!"
Sanga instantly melted into lava. Red Oni unleashed a blast of molten rock, burning every blade back into Reishi.
As two Soul Reapers whose Shikai could take so many different forms, they'd certainly found a worthy opponent in each other.
Watching the fight, Kyoraku Shunsui looked astonished. "Goodness, that boy Aoto's Zanpakuto has so many forms. If I'd been in his place, I might've lost right at the start."
But no one took his feigned humility seriously. Captain-Commander Yamamoto and Unohana Retsu ignored him, and even Aizen, who was acting like a good-natured fellow, paid him no mind. Only Ukitake played along a little.
Still, the battle between Aoto and Tosen, two Captain-level Soul Reapers, was raging fiercely, yet it hadn't caused any damage to the First Division Barracks.
That was because the ground and walls here were made of Sekki-seki, the same material as the outer walls of Seireitei—a rare mineral that could completely block Reishi and Reiatsu.
But considering the First Division Barracks stood above Muken Hell, it wasn't especially surprising that it was built entirely from Sekki-seki.
Aoto and Tosen's battle continued, with their Zanpakuto revealing more and more forms... When Aoto had shown more than twenty and Tosen had shown over forty, Kyoraku Shunsui sighed over it again—and this time, the others agreed with him!
Even Aizen agreed. He knew that Tosen and Hyakume-ki Seikyo shared another similarity.
They were only suited to fighting with Shikai, which was why they had trained it to such a high level.
The Central 46 had forbidden Hyakume-ki Seikyo from using his Bankai, so no matter how powerful it was, he couldn't use it.
And although Tosen could use Bankai, his Bankai couldn't directly improve his ability to fight head-on.
That ran completely counter to the goal Tosen wanted to achieve.
That was why he kept training his Shikai, hoping to improve his strength further... but he had never managed to succeed.
So Tosen was even more invested than Aizen in researching Hollowfication and finding ways to break through the limits of a Soul Reaper's natural abilities.
Aizen could understand him.
After all, Tosen was the only companion who could understand and truly agree with his goal.
Meanwhile, the battle between Tosen and Aoto had reached its climax.
After exchanging another blow, Tosen dodged Suikotsu's assault and retreated beyond the range of Aoto's casual attacks.
"You've fully demonstrated the power of your Shikai to the Captain-Commander!" Tosen called out to Aoto. "Now it's time for Bankai! Since you can't use yours freely, how will you..."
"...deal with my Bankai?"
The ring behind Suzumushi's guard spun rapidly as Tosen activated his Bankai.
"Bankai: Suzumushi: Final Form, Enma Korogi!"
Nine rings flew outward, forming a pitch-black domain!
Anyone caught inside lost every sense except touch.
Sight, hearing, smell, taste... It was as if the whole world had been reduced to the self.
It was much like an upgraded version of Aoto's Shakukuro combined with Black Prison.
If Aoto could use Bankai, Garaku Kairo would be the greatest counter to this technique.
But if he couldn't... would he have no choice but to let Tosen carve him up?
As if!
Not being able to sense the world didn't mean it had disappeared!
He could just blast everything!
Aoto returned his Zanpakuto to its scabbard, his expression turning solemn.
"Born to slaughter inauspicious omens, honoring the darkness and bidding farewell to age..."
"Garaku Kairo!"
After countless years, Aoto spoke the true release incantation of his Zanpakuto once more.
Everything he'd used before could only be considered a partial release. This was the true Shikai.
The next second, thirty meatball-shaped monsters, each the size of a brown bear, appeared around Aoto.
Through Tosen's Bankai, Kyoraku Shunsui sensed that familiar Reiatsu and remembered his late friend, Kuruyashiki Kenpachi.
But then the familiar Reiatsu changed.
The thirty meatball monsters transformed into creatures of all different shapes.
Their Reiatsu shifted to match the various partial Shikai Aoto had used before.
Red Oni and the Three-Headed Hound were among them.
Hungry Ghost was a giant chinchilla with a mouth that took up half its body.
Blue Oni was a humanoid skeleton that glowed blue all over.
Ryuki was a little white dragon wrapped entirely around Aoto's left arm.
Shakukuro was a dark, amorphous blob with only two eyes... a sea cucumber?
Black Prison was a black cat perched on Aoto's right shoulder...
In any case, the thirty meatballs had all transformed into creatures with some Hollow-like features, completely surrounding Aoto.
Garaku Kairo was the strongest creature-type Zanpakuto in Soul Society to date. Its true purpose was to create creatures that could attack directly.
In the darkness, Tosen sensed the number of targets in front of him suddenly multiply, and felt a very bad premonition.
"Hey, you Little Oni Heads!" Using his connection with his Zanpakuto, Aoto happily gave the monsters their orders. "Attack in every direction at once! Get ready..."
After receiving the command, each monster opened its mouth and gathered an enormous amount of Reishi into a projectile... They looked exactly like Menos Grande Cero.
"Fire!"
The monsters, all in perfect sync, fired their attacks in every direction.
And so, without Tosen even launching an attack, his Bankai was blasted apart by the sheer volume and power of their combined assault!
Tosen tried to salvage the situation. If only one part had been hit, he might have been able to repair it. But with his entire Bankai under attack, there was nothing he could do.
The nine rings that formed the core of Tosen's Bankai had taken on a new shape. If they were damaged, the Bankai's effect would be greatly diminished.
Several attacks were headed straight for the rings, and Tosen hurriedly pulled them back.
Once Tosen's Bankai dissipated like a balloon, Aoto, commanding the thirty monsters, came into view of the other captains.
At first glance, the scene really did make him look like the King of Hueco Mundo, surrounded by Menos Grande.
He'd broken a captain's Bankai without using his own. The attack power of his Shikai had already reached Bankai level.
He really was impressive!
Aizen took off his glasses, wiped them, then put them back on, his expression very mild.
Toshiro's gaze was fixed entirely on his master. He looked incredibly impressive.
So every Shikai could turn into a monster!
Did that make his master a one-man army?
At noon, in the First Division Captain's Meeting Room.
Captain-Commander Yamamoto had convened a captains' meeting here.
Most of the captains already knew what this meeting was about!
They were getting a new captain, weren't they?
Sure enough, when Captain-Commander Yamamoto called for him to enter, Hyakume-ki Seikyo walked in from outside, wearing a pristine captain's haori, three long swords at his waist, and carrying himself with both flair and dignity.
"Hyakume-ki Seikyo, recommended by former 13th Division Captain Ukitake Jushiro and having passed the joint evaluation of several captains, including myself, is hereby officially appointed as the new captain of the 13th Division of the Gotei 13!"
The announcement seemed to start some kind of ceremony. Aoto felt something settle upon him.
It wasn't something intangible like responsibility, but some kind of authority? Or perhaps someone's gaze?
Whatever it was, Aoto could tell it was extraordinary.
After two hundred and twenty-two years in Soul Society, Aoto had finally become one of the captains of the Gotei 13.
He felt like it had happened pretty quickly.
After all, he'd taken things one step at a time and made steady progress.
Though Toshiro would definitely surpass him!
Hueco Mundo, Las Noches.
The King of Hueco Mundo was watching Nelliel play with the Picaro when he suddenly broke into a beaming smile—even as a skeleton, it was obvious he was delighted.
Seeing this, Starrk smiled and asked, "Your Majesty, has something good happened?"
The King of Hueco Mundo smiled and answered Starrk, "That giant watermelon I planted two hundred years ago is finally ready to harvest. Of course I'm happy!"