"A Breathing Style lets oxygen enter every cell in the body through deep breathing, partially enhancing the body's natural healing ability and physical functions. Total Concentration Breathing calms the mind and makes thinking more flexible..."
"Heh, fighting by adjusting your breathing. What an interesting training system." Aizen smiled gently at the figure prostrated below him.
Then he drew the Zanpakutō hanging at his waist. Quieting himself and steadying his breath, Aizen swung it lightly through the air. A fierce blast of wind shot from the blade, severing a nearby tree.
No, that wasn't the right feeling.
Aizen's brows knitted slightly. He had intended to apply the principles behind the Breathing Style, but it seemed he had failed.
"A Breathing Style manifests through 'forms,' allowing even mortal flesh to slay demons." After witnessing a glimpse of Aizen's strength, Hiraga Ichirō, a Demon Slayer Corps member, had been utterly won over. He became Aizen's devoted fan and shameless sycophant, telling him everything he knew.
Sheathing Kyōka Suigetsu, Aizen looked at Hiraga Ichirō, who lay prostrate before him, and adjusted his black-framed glasses. "Do you also desire power?"
"Yes, Lord Aizen. I desire power!" At Aizen's question, Hiraga Ichirō suppressed his excitement and answered with a respectful expression.
The Hōgyoku appeared in Aizen's palm. A faint glimmer broke away from it, drifting slowly like a firefly before darting into Hiraga Ichirō's body.
With a cry of agony, Hiraga Ichirō clenched his teeth and endured the pain piercing deep into his soul. After an unknowable stretch of torment, the soul within his body felt as though it would burst free of its shell, yet his flesh held it firmly imprisoned.
The piercing pain receded like the tide. Hiraga Ichirō examined himself. His strength had not changed at all, but he could not shake the