No skipped chapter
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"Then, Gin…"
Aizen's calm voice carried like a blade through the air. At once, Ichimaru Gin tilted his head, that ever-present sly smile on his face, and slowly drew his Zanpakutō.
"Yes, yes, Captain Aizen," Gin said in a sing-song tone, as if everything was just a game. He thrust forward with casual grace. "Shoot to kill… Shinsō!"
The blade extended at blinding speed.
Amamiya Miyako's instincts screamed at him, and he leapt back. But Shinsō was far faster than he had anticipated—it shot straight for his head.
"Tch—!"
The tip grazed his cheek, splitting skin and drawing blood. Miyako felt the sting, but there was no time to care.
"How persistent," Aizen murmured, his gaze sharp with a hint of curiosity. "It seems I underestimated you."
He raised his hand almost lazily. "But let's see if you can withstand this… Hadō #90: Kurohitsugi."
A jet-black cube rose around Miyako, consuming him in an instant. Its crushing darkness swallowed his form whole.
Within the coffin, countless blades of black energy tore at him from all sides.
Outside, Aizen turned away without interest. To him, the matter was already settled.
A Kurohitsugi cast without incantation carried less than a third of its true strength—but even then, for a Vice-Captain level Shinigami, surviving it would be nothing short of a miracle.
But then—
Crack.
A fissure split the side of the black coffin. In the next breath, Amamiya Miyako forced his way through, staggering out with blood at the corner of his mouth.
"Hm?" Aizen's brow rose, his composure briefly disturbed.
But Gin was already moving. His grin widened as he snapped Shinsō forward once more.
"Shoot him dead, Shinsō!"
Miyako's eyes flickered, but instead of countering, he allowed the blade to pierce through him. His body jerked, then crumpled.
"…Miyako-san!"
Yoruichi's earlier signal echoed in his mind. The time is almost here. I can't waste more reiryoku on this fight. That arrow… it's my only chance.
He let his breathing shallow, his reiatsu dimming until it seemed to fade completely. To Aizen and Gin, he appeared broken and defeated.
"Gin, well done," Aizen said, his voice filled with approval.
"Heh. Shinsō's speed is still faster than his reflexes, it seems," Gin replied with mock humility. "But really, Captain Aizen, firing Hadō #90 without an incantation… that's terrifying. If Miyako-kun didn't have some strange trick, he'd be nothing but tatters right now."
"No," Aizen corrected, his tone cold. "If it does not strike, then it is failure."
He frowned slightly, as though displeased. Kurohitsugi had missed its mark, and Miyako had resisted far longer than anticipated. For both him and Gin to need this much time against a Vice-Captain was… irritating.
"You surprised me, Miyako Amamiya," Aizen admitted at last, narrowing his eyes. "To think there exists a way to crack open Kurohitsugi itself…"
An invisible barrier. A Zanpakutō with the power to resist kidō. All of it stoked Aizen's curiosity rather than anger.
On the ground, Rukia's voice rang out, filled with desperation. "Miyako-san!"
Her eyes widened in horror at his collapsed form. Even though he had warned her earlier that no one might be able to stop Aizen, the overwhelming display of power still left her breathless.
"Miyako Amamiya…" Aizen's voice dropped into a chilling calm. "Lie there obediently. I will attend to you after I retrieve the Hōgyoku."
His hand reached for Rukia—
But suddenly, two figures blurred into existence, one wrapped in white and the other in black, blocking his path with blades drawn.
Kurosaki Ichigo, battered but unyielding. Kuchiki Byakuya, his haori flowing in the wind.
They had arrived just in time.
"Not another step, Aizen!" Ichigo growled, sword already raised.
Behind them, a voice roared with fierce determination.
"Roar! Zabimaru!"
Renji's massive shikai lashed out from behind, crashing down toward Aizen's back like a striking serpent.
"Oh my…" Aizen sighed, almost disappointed. "I didn't expect them to recover this quickly."
With nothing more than a slight movement, he angled his Zanpakutō behind him. Zabimaru's strike coiled against Kyōka Suigetsu, unable to advance no matter how much reiatsu Renji poured into it.
In front of Aizen, Ichigo and Byakuya braced themselves protectively before Rukia—one standing tall, the other silent and severe.
"Onii-sama… Ichigo…" Rukia whispered, eyes wide at the sight of their backs shielding her.
Ichimaru Gin's sly smile widened. "Ara~ I didn't think they'd get here this fast, Aizen-taichō. My bad."
Aizen didn't even glance at him. "It's fine. They're just dust in the wind. Clearing them away won't take long." Even realizing Gin had allowed them through, Aizen simply didn't care.
Byakuya's sharp gaze narrowed. Despite his grievous wounds, he lifted his hand. "Scatter, Senbonzakura."
A storm of blades enveloped Aizen, cutting into him, leaving his body shredded before their eyes. But in the next instant, the bloody image dissolved into nothingness.
"Behind you!" Ichigo shouted, his eyes the only ones unclouded by Kyōka Suigetsu's hypnosis.
Byakuya turned too late. Aizen's blade came down in a blur, and crimson sprayed the air. Byakuya collapsed to his knees, blood staining the ground.
"Onii-sama!" Rukia cried, her voice cracking. The contradiction tore at her heart—this man who once upheld the law above all else now laying down his life to shield her.
Aizen's voice was calm, almost admiring. "To release your Shikai even with such injuries… remarkable, Kuchiki Byakuya."
"Damn it!" Ichigo clenched his teeth, trying to understand what had happened. Byakuya had struck at nothing, and then Aizen was suddenly behind him, cutting him down with ease.
"Bankai!" Ichigo roared, rushing forward, blade in hand. Renji flanked him, attacking from the opposite side.
Aizen merely tilted his head. "And you two… quiet down as well."
He caught Ichigo's blade between his fingers, pinched it as though it were nothing, then twisted. The backlash sent Ichigo flying, blood spraying from his shoulder. Renji's strike passed through thin air, never touching him.
Within seconds, Aizen had effortlessly cut them both down.
"…Now then." Aizen's shadow loomed over Rukia. "It's your turn, Kuchiki Rukia." His smile was soft, almost kind—but the malice behind it was suffocating.
Rukia's breath trembled, yet her eyes did not waver. She faced him head-on.
"To stay so calm in this situation… truly admirable," Aizen praised mockingly.
From within his robes, he drew a tool designed to extract foreign objects from souls. His eyes gleamed with hunger. "Now, return what I entrusted to you, Rukia." He reached forward, intent on tearing the Hōgyoku from her very being.
His hand pierced her chest—yet his smile faltered. Pulling free, he held an object in his palm. But… something was wrong.
Rukia's eyes snapped open, and a small smirk tugged at her lips. "What's the matter, Aizen? Didn't get what you wanted?"
For the first time, silence fell around Aizen. His expression darkened, the object in his hand shattering into dust under his grip.
And at that very instant—
"Now!"
From the side, Amamiya Miyako, blood staining his uniform from the wound inflicted by Gin's Shinsō, rose to his feet. He had deliberately concealed his Shikai's release until this moment.
In his grasp, his Zanpakutō had already taken its bow form, an arrow of condensed reishi trembling on the string. With sheer willpower, Miyako pulled it taut and loosed.
The arrow screamed through the air—its target not Aizen's body, but Kyōka Suigetsu itself.