Please Guide Me Well, Vice-Captain Aizen

Hueco Mundo, a scarred and fractured expanse of land.

Aizen Sosuke halted and looked at the handsome youth opposite him.

...His spiritual pressure felt different.

Was it Bankai?

No, that was not right.

His spirit authority was between the sixth and seventh ranks. Compared to an ordinary vice-captain, he was more than a level behind.

With spiritual pressure at that level, Bankai was absolutely impossible.

So was it... a [Multi-Stage Shikai]?

"You're making this difficult for me, Yato."

Aizen spoke, still in that gentle tone that made one feel like a spring breeze:

"It seems I'll need to readjust my strength and defeat you without killing you."

Uchiha Yato did not respond. He merely gripped his Soul-Cutter Sword tightly with both hands and charged again.

He did not use his prized fire-element Kidō, and Aizen did not use Severing Void. The two simply crashed straight into each other.

Rumble...

The ground beneath their feet groaned as Scarlet Eye and Kyoka Suigetsu pressed hard against each other, neither willing to yield a single step.

At that moment, a sudden change occurred around Yato.

Ribs as thick as an adult's thigh grew from the void, enveloping the youth like armor as purple heat and flames surged around them.

An equally massive skeletal arm extended from one side of the ribs, rising proudly before curling into a fist and slamming toward Aizen Sosuke's unguarded head!

Aizen did not retreat even half a step. Instead, he switched to holding his sword one-handed, raised his other hand above his head, and met Susanoo's fist head-on.

Bang!

The refined and elegant man paused slightly, looking down at his feet with a strange expression for the first time.

Just now, when Aizen had unleashed his powerful spiritual pressure and extinguished the black flames, this desert had sunk several meters, becoming incomparably solid.

Yet now, after blocking Susanoo's arm, countless tiny cracks had appeared beneath Aizen's feet.

"I see. A power worthy of respect, Yato." Aizen looked at the youth's six-pointed-star Mangekyō and sighed softly.

"But this ends here."

As he spoke, Kyoka Suigetsu's blade suddenly swung to the side, knocking Scarlet Eye away before rapidly slashing down at Uchiha Yato!

An entirely different kind of power burst forth from the blade.

Susanoo's skeletal frame seemed to be made of paper as it was severed in an instant.

Kyoka Suigetsu continued into the youth's chest, ruthlessly pinning him to the ground!

As spiritual pressure raged through him, Yato was wracked with unbearable pain and could no longer maintain Susanoo's initial form. The skeletal frame and arm vanished without a trace.

He panted heavily, gripping Kyoka Suigetsu's blade, yet he could not pull it out no matter what.

Gradually, Yato stopped struggling.

Because he realized that aside from the unbearable pain and his temporary inability to gather strength, he seemed to be otherwise unharmed.

Yato quickly understood what had happened.

When Aizen had blocked Susanoo's arm, he had already tested the limits of Susanoo's initial form.

Then, he added just a trace more strength beyond that limit, perfectly breaking through Susanoo's skeleton while deliberately avoiding his vital organs and piercing his body through a gap.

It could be said that this had been a completely one-sided battle. If he wished, Aizen could have reduced Yato to minced flesh within one-thousandth of a second!

But he had not done so.

"I'll leave you pinned there for a while first." Aizen released the hilt of his Soul-Cutter Sword.

"After all, young people these days are far too impulsive."

"Hmph... Vice-Captain Aizen, kill me or torture me as you please."

"Don't be so careless with your life, Yato." The man casually adjusted his black-framed glasses, then suddenly asked curiously, "Only a skeleton and arms?"

Yato froze slightly. Realizing what Aizen was asking, he considered it before replying:

"My spiritual pressure is insufficient, so I can't use Susanoo's full power. With seventh-rank spirit authority, I can only use a few ribs and arms."

"Oh? There's more to come?"

"That's only natural. Just like a human body, there are only bones now. Later, flesh and nerves will grow, and finally it will be clad in armor... I just don't know what rank of spirit authority that would require."

"I see."

Aizen nodded thoughtfully. Seeing that Yato had no intention of resisting, he swiftly pulled Kyoka Suigetsu free.

The youth sharply inhaled from the pain, but he expressed no dissatisfaction and did not flee. Instead, he sat on the ground, took out some ointment, and applied it to his wound.

Watching Uchiha Yato's behavior, Aizen grew increasingly satisfied.

A year ago, he had personally led the team that handled the Horiuchi Family massacre. That night, Aizen had discovered a spiritual pressure that was weak, yet resilient and untamed.

Afterward, he secretly investigated and traced the source of that spiritual pressure to Uchiha Yato.

After a long period of observation, Aizen Sosuke decided to personally visit Hueco Mundo and conduct a complete test on Yato.

The results exceeded his expectations.

After entering Hueco Mundo, Yato had killed many Menos, and he seemed deeply interested in Hollow power.

After his assistance to a Vasto Lorde was exposed, he had revealed killing intent and attempted to silence his classmates from Shin'ō Academy.

During their clash, he had displayed an astonishing Multi-Stage Shikai. Even after recognizing the disparity in their strength, he had not chosen to flee. Instead, he repeatedly addressed him as "Vice-Captain Aizen," displaying great respect.

Thus, a portrait of the person known as "Uchiha Yato" gradually took shape in Aizen's mind.

A highly talented young man who would inevitably become captain-class, perhaps even with the potential to glimpse Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's level, and who did not mind enhancing himself through Hollow power.

He was not loyal to the Seireitei. He dared to break the rules and kill anyone standing in his path, yet he understood the times and was clever enough to conceal his ambitions well at Shin'ō Academy.

—Uchiha Yato, a rare blade and a peerless steed seldom seen in this world!

Aizen had never feared subordinates who were too strong. He only feared those beneath him being too weak and too foolish to follow in his footsteps.

Though many people willing to die for him had gathered under him now, almost none of them truly caught his eye.

Even Tosen Kaname, the blind man, possessed merely mediocre talent in Aizen's eyes, someone he could only bring himself to use reluctantly.

Of course, the sharper the blade, the more easily it injured people; the swifter the steed, the more likely it was to rear and lash its tail.

As countless thoughts flashed through his mind, Aizen Sosuke extended his broad hand toward the youth sitting on the ground.

"I am Aizen Sosuke."

"One day in the future, I will ascend to the heavens and sit upon the throne."

"I hope that when that time comes, someone like you will stand behind me."

The heavens and earth seemed to fall silent at that moment.

Such treasonous words did not bring even the slightest fear or hesitation to either of their faces.

In this world, countless living beings were merely mounts. Only a select few dared to be kings.

Uchiha Yato did not make Aizen wait long. He extended his hand as well and clasped the other man's.

"Captain Aizen..."

"Ah, Yato, you should call me Vice-Captain." Aizen smiled and pointed to the vice-captain badge on his arm. "Obeying the Seireitei's rules is the duty of us Soul Reapers, isn't it?"

"Of course." Yato readily went along with it, taking half a step back and bowing slightly.

"Please guide me well in the days ahead, Vice-Captain Aizen."

Aizen lightly supported Yato's shoulder, signaling that there was no need to care so much about empty formalities.

From beginning to end, Aizen Sosuke never stated what his specific plan was, nor what kind of bloody path Yato would walk by following him.

When dealing with ambitious and intelligent people, some things did not need to be spoken aloud.

However...

The warm and handsome man recalled the youth's dark eyes.

Uchiha Yato, where would your ambition end?

At captain-class? Or even higher?

Or, like me, did you yearn for the throne in the heavens?

If you also wished to become king of the world, then perhaps one day, the blade I had carefully forged would turn and stab at me.

But how strange. Even considering that possibility, I felt not the slightest resentment.

If such a future truly existed...

Aizen Sosuke's long, powerful fingers lightly brushed over his Soul-Cutter Sword. Kyoka Suigetsu let out a melodious chime, like the sound of a zither and yet also like war drums.

I look forward to that day, Uchiha Yato.

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