Dead Men Should Look Like Dead Men

Silence swallowed the bloodshed and death; the moment the One-Eyed Great Deity opened its eye, an indifferent gaze swept across the entire Central Execution Grounds.

Everything froze in that instant.

Fine, fragmented shadows spread across its profound body, countless branch-like tendrils descending around Kisaragi Akira, surrounding him in the center as if he were the moon amidst the stars.

This bizarre scene, never before witnessed, left him momentarily afraid to act rashly.

Reishi in the air gradually emerged and solidified, condensing in front of the offering table to form a slender, gaunt figure.

Seeing this, Azashiro Soya's eyes widened slightly, his calm expression shattered in an instant.

He instinctively raised his right hand, trembling as he reached out to touch that figure.

But the moment the figure's form and face became clear, Azashiro Soya's expression stiffened.

It's not my sister?!

A face that was unfamiliar yet carried a hint of familiarity, as if he had seen it somewhere before.

As the ink-like shadows continued to spread, one blurred body after another emerged from the condensing Reishi, springing up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

Cold sweat slid down Kisaragi Akira's forehead.

He roughly understood what was going on.

Because too much Reiatsu had been released, the ritual had summoned too many responses from the One-Eyed Great Deity.

And then.

The Reishi of the dead lingering in the execution grounds had all been "resurrected"!

If he remembered correctly.

Not long ago, Azashiro Soya had just said that almost his entire family had died in this very execution ground.

As the figures gradually became clear and their auras grew heavier.

Noisy voices began to rise incessantly, and the once eerie execution ground gradually showed a trend of turning into a bustling marketplace.

"What on earth happened?"

"Didn't I die?"

"That guy in the white haori looks so arrogant."

"Why is my body a bit blurry..."

As countless confused inquiries echoed, the shadows surging in the execution grounds boiled over, as if to drown everything in sight.

"Kisaragi Akira, what exactly is happening?"

Azashiro Soya furrowed his brows, feeling that the turn of events was beginning to exceed his control.

These illusory existences before him were actually his former "family."

The gathering of over three hundred figures made even this vast, deep pit seem crowded.

What is this?

An Azashiro Clan reunion?!

Azashiro Soya felt not a shred of nostalgia for his former family; it was a corrupt, money-grubbing clan that had completely cast aside the honor of their ancestors, thus inviting the disaster of their own annihilation.

It could be said that the extinction of the Azashiro Clan had everything to do with these people.

It was precisely the existence of this group that had brought him decades of pain he could never fully accept.

"Captain Azashiro, why don't you have a chat with your dad?"

Kisaragi Akira said cautiously, "If I heard correctly, that middle-aged man with the receding hairline to your left should be your father."

Azashiro Soya's face darkened, his blood pressure soaring.

Although he already had some understanding of how unreliable this kid was, actually dealing with him still made him feel like his composure was breaking.

That guy named Aizen was considered a young genius.

To think he could get along with this kid for so long without any issues, and without drawing his blade to kill him.

It was truly admirable.

"Hmm, don't like your dad?"

Kisaragi Akira pointed a finger, "Then maybe you prefer your mom? Three meters to the back-left, don't mention it!"

Aizen whispered from the side: "Say less, or I'll be the one collecting your corpse tonight."

Noticing Azashiro Soya's murderous gaze, Kisaragi Akira gave a sheepish laugh and decisively chose to play it safe.

Facing such a ruthless captain-level figure.

It was better to be careful.

Who knew if this guy was a killing machine just like Unohana Retsu?

Azashiro Soya's gaze shifted, sweeping across these familiar faces as he searched for the one he cared about most.

Back then, the moment he was about to be devoured by the Hollow during his execution, he had awakened his Zanpakuto.

Uro Zakuro.

Then, the nobles' moment of atonement arrived.

Extreme pain engulfed the stands as Azashiro Soya slaughtered the arrogant nobles in the most brutal way he could conceive.

The stench of viscera and blood permeated the execution grounds, not even a single complete corpse could be found.

Compared to the Azashiro Clan members who died in the mouths of the Menos, these nobles suffered several, even tens or hundreds of times more.

Yet, after his revenge, Azashiro Soya found no solace for his soul.

On the contrary, his heart was emptier than ever. Having lost everything he cherished, he could only walk forward blankly, on a path with no end.

In the days that followed, he temporarily came to his senses and decided to make his sister's dying words his life's goal: to become a Shinigami with immense power.

Decades later, he became the 8th Kenpachi.

Azashiro Soya strictly adhered to the Shinigami's code of conduct, perfectly executing his sister's final wishes.

"Northwest, in the prison on the wall."

Just as Azashiro Soya was searching, Aizen, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up to remind him.

As soon as the words fell, the Azashiro Soya before them instantly shattered into countless white light particles, disappearing from their sight.

"Is your observation skill that sharp, Sosuke?" Kisaragi Akira exclaimed in surprise. "I didn't expect you to find his sister's trace from so far away."

"No." Aizen shook his head and corrected him. "I didn't find her trace; I guessed she should be there."

"There is only one prison in the entire execution ground."

"From the story Azashiro Soya told earlier, he was locked in the prison when the Azashiro Clan members were executed, witnessing his family die one by one."

"If his sister truly cared about him as she did in the story, she would definitely appear in the prison."

Upon hearing this, Kisaragi Akira gasped.

That Sosuke's brain is still quite sharp.

Calm under pressure, rational thinking, agile mind.

Such a person could achieve great things no matter what they did.

Compared to the useless gluttons in the Soul Society, Aizen was a complete, all-around crushing force.

With such a friend, why worry about failing great endeavors?

Just as Kisaragi Akira was contemplating what great things to do, discordant voices arose from the "resurrected" crowd.

"Damn it, that brat from the Azashiro Clan dares to treat me like this!"

"Indeed, the punishment was still too light."

"It was our oversight that we didn't torture that brat to death."

"By the way, what's happening to us now? Why are we mixed with these commoners?"

"Where are the Shinigami, those idiots?!"

Unspeakable curses mixed with angry shouts continuously echoed in the crowded execution grounds.

As this group of "resurrected" nobles vented their residual fear and anger from their lives, a figure suddenly pushed aside the illusory figures on either side and appeared before them.

Looking at these ugly faces, Kisaragi Akira felt an inexplicable, irrepressible disgust.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, activating his Reiatsu. A massive dark shadow surged and erupted behind him, engulfing everything in front like a tide.

Since you are already dead, then disappear completely.

May the One-Eyed Great Deity bless you forever...

Thanks to the generous reward from the great cat-like-zi, and thanks to all the great ones for their monthly ticket feeding and recommendation ticket support!