The Bandit of the Anti-Membrane

"Minato, your timing is truly impeccable."

Orochimaru couldn't help but feel a sense of relief; he had already been planning to abandon Pakura and use a pre-set Flying Thunder God marker to escape if Minato hadn't arrived.

As for why he possessed the Flying Thunder God, that was thanks to his Eye of Keikogi: Pseudo, which had been upgraded to B-grade perfect quality. It allowed him to copy abilities and techniques below the fourth tier, though it could not replicate those requiring specific constitutions or bloodlines, such as Devil Fruit powers or innate magical talents.

Furthermore, copying a specific ability from another system did not mean he had fully mastered that system's energy.

For instance, he could copy a Soul Reaper's Kido or a mage's spell and release them exactly like the original, but that did not mean the supernatural power within the user's body had been converted into another system.

It still consumed Orochimaru's own Chakra; it simply manifested in different forms under the special rules of the Eye of Keikogi.

After all, the essence of the Eye of Keikogi was learning and copying, not conversion.

Suppressing these complex thoughts, Orochimaru forced himself to calm down and asked, "How did it go? Did you get the data?"

"I got it all. It's the same for Kisame."

"That's good."

Orochimaru let out a long breath. He had thought that with the Flying Thunder God technique, everything would go smoothly and he could retrieve the data and leave without anyone noticing, but he hadn't expected to run into Sosuke Aizen.

At the mere thought of Aizen, the wound on Orochimaru's chest began to ache again.

"The Sosuke Aizen outside is too strong. Let's retreat immediately."

Minato was slightly surprised by Orochimaru's words, but he felt an inexplicable sense of dread toward this Aizen as well, so he nodded in agreement.

Seeing that Orochimaru's injuries had slightly improved under his own treatment, and with Pakura now being carried on Kisame's shoulder, Minato spoke up, "This is a space created by my ability, an alternate dimension within the air. To be safe, let's move out of this range before I open a door to retreat."

Orochimaru nodded, and the group prepared to withdraw.

Outside the Door-Door Fruit space.

"Captain Aizen, are we just going to let the Ryoka leave like that?"

Gin Ichimaru asked, puzzled.

"No need to worry. I've prepared a little gift for them." Aizen's lips curled into a smile, as if everything were under his control.

Just as Orochimaru and the others inside the air door were about to depart, an anomaly occurred:

The unconscious, severely wounded Pakura suddenly began to emit a blue light, radiating a strange fluctuation.

Seeing this, Kisame immediately tried to drop her and move away, but he was a step too slow.

A brilliant light erupted around Pakura and Kisame, and a bizarre space tore open, swallowing them both. Within moments, the two were consumed by the mysterious black void.

Orochimaru and Minato were not spared either, as a strange light began to emanate from Orochimaru's body as well. A black crystal within him flared with intense radiance, tearing open a black space that swallowed both Orochimaru and Minato instantly.

In the blink of an eye, the group was transferred from the alternate space within the Door-Door Fruit into another dimension.

"It seems the gift has been received."

Aizen sensed the disturbance in the other dimension and realized his "little gift" had done its job.

"Let's go, Gin. We'll go back and study them properly."

"Captain Aizen, didn't they... didn't they run away?" Gin Ichimaru didn't understand Aizen's words.

"They have already been locked away by me in another dimension. Even that space-ability user who can open doors at will cannot break through."

"It seems everything is in Captain Aizen's grasp!" Gin Ichimaru praised.

Aizen turned to head back to his secret base for research, but suddenly, he stopped in his tracks.

"By the way, Gin, those Ryoka didn't seem to notice you from start to finish, did they?"

"Ah, that must be because my strength is too meager to be worth their attention. After all, anyone standing beside Captain Aizen would be eclipsed."

"Oh? Is that so?" Aizen said nothing more, as if it were just a casual question.

But Gin Ichimaru, who had answered, was currently experiencing a storm of terror within!

From his perspective, he could clearly see that Aizen hadn't continued walking, but was standing right behind him.

Gin was certain that if he showed even the slightest sign of anything being wrong, Aizen would cut him down without hesitation the next second.

This man was always so arrogant; it seemed that apart from himself, everyone else was merely a tool to be discarded at any time. And being the arrogant man he was, he naturally would not tolerate betrayal from a tool.

No matter how shocked Gin was on the inside, he dared not show any change on his face, and could only continue walking with a normal expression.

"Of course it is. Besides, with Captain Aizen taking action, I couldn't find an opportunity to intervene myself."

It seemed Gin's normal performance deceived Aizen; Aizen's hand moved away from the hilt of his sword, and Gin felt a sense of relief.

"Gin, why are you so nervous?"

Gin's heart tightened instantly, but he reacted immediately, bowing to express his apology.

"Forgive me, Captain Aizen! I encountered three of those individuals during the last Ryoka invasion, and they managed to escape at that time. Because I was too shocked, I didn't report this information to you immediately, and I feared you would blame me for it."

"Gin, I don't care about such things. Who doesn't have a few secrets of their own?"

Aizen tapped Gin Ichimaru lightly before turning and walking away.

Beneath the white haori that signified his status as a captain, Gin Ichimaru was already beginning to break into a cold sweat...

After returning from his last novice mission, Gin Ichimaru had enjoyed the complimentary healing provided as a new player benefit.

The hypnotic effects of Aizen's Kyoka Suigetsu had been purged by the Main God, meaning he was no longer under the control of Aizen's Zanpakuto. Even so, he hadn't expected to nearly give himself away in front of Aizen; it had been a truly harrowing moment.

However, having witnessed the power of the Main God, Gin Ichimaru was filled with confidence that he would eventually break free from Aizen's control.

Carrying a sense of relief, Gin Ichimaru accompanied Aizen to his secret base.

Inside the base, all sorts of strange containers could be seen everywhere, most of them holding various bizarre Hollows and the spiritual bodies of Soul Reapers.

"Very well, let us go and greet these interesting Ryoka."

In this experimental base, Aizen had installed devices capable of sealing off a specific area of space, ensuring there was no need to worry about the Ryoka escaping using spatial abilities.

Aizen prepared to open the extradimensional space where he had sealed the Ryoka using Caja Negacion.

Yet, when he located the space through his instruments, he discovered that it was already completely empty.

Faced with an unexpected turn of events beyond his control, Aizen did not seem angry; instead, the corners of his mouth curled upward slightly.

"This world seems to be getting interesting."