"Well, who knows?"
Hitsugaya shook his head.
Regarding the matters between the Revolutionary Army and the Gotei 13, Kyoya hadn't kept them in the dark.
So, everyone in the Revolutionary Army knew that invading the Seireitei was a war rehearsal agreed upon by Kyoya and Yamamoto for both the Revolutionary Army and the Shinigami of the Gotei 13.
Since Yamamoto hadn't told the Shinigami of the Gotei 13 about this news, wanting to create a real war atmosphere, Hitsugaya naturally wouldn't disrupt Yamamoto's plan.
Therefore, Hitsugaya didn't plan to tell Aizen the truth either.
Aizen was the opponent personally assigned to him by Kyoya, so he didn't dare underestimate him.
"We are merely following Kyoya-sama's will."
"After you, Captain Aizen!"
"How is this possible?"
Seeing Hitsugaya assume a combat stance, Momo's eyes widened in disbelief as she looked at Hitsugaya.
"Toshiro... is an enemy?"
For the naive Momo, her childhood friend Hitsugaya and the gentle, handsome Aizen might be her entire world.
And now, the two people she cared about most were about to fight. How could she accept this?
Immediately, Momo hurried out from behind Aizen, stood between Aizen and Hitsugaya, and spread her arms.
"Toshiro, Captain Aizen, can't we talk first? Do we really have to fight?"
"Momo, step away first."
Seeing Momo like this, Hitsugaya frowned.
He glanced at Aizen, who showed no reaction, not understanding why this Captain, whom Momo seemed to admire, didn't stop her.
But while Aizen could act indifferent towards Momo, Hitsugaya couldn't.
"Captain-level battles, whether it's the Reiatsu or the aftermath of the fight, are not something you can withstand."
"You need to be at least one kilometer away to not be affected."
"Toshiro..."
Momo's pupils trembled.
This was the first time Toshiro had refused her, which Momo found hard to accept.
At that moment, a warm hand rested on Momo's head.
Momo looked up and saw Aizen's gentle face.
"That's enough, Momo."
"Your efforts, I see them."
"But, the current situation in the Seireitei cannot be changed by your will alone."
"Captain Aizen..."
Hearing Aizen's words, Momo instantly felt even more wronged.
'Even Captain Aizen could see that I was trying hard to stop the fight, so why couldn't Toshiro understand?'
"Don't worry."
A cold glint flashed across Aizen's glasses, but his voice remained gentle as he spoke to Momo, "Listen to Army Commander Hitsugaya and leave beyond one kilometer for now."
"Or, you can go to the 4th Division to find Captain Unohana first."
"No matter the outcome of this battle, we'll likely need Captain Unohana to treat either me or Army Commander Hitsugaya."
"Okay."
Tears instantly streamed down Momo's face.
The two people she cared about most were about to fight and kill each other, yet she could do nothing.
Perhaps the only thing she could do now was to find Unohana, as Captain Aizen said.
Immediately, without even looking at Hitsugaya, Momo hurried towards the 4th Division.
"Army Commander Hitsugaya, I look forward to learning from you!"
…
"It's finally begun!"
Far away, where Aizen and Hitsugaya couldn't see, Kyoya's Observation Haki remained focused on the battle between Aizen and Hitsugaya.
It was undeniable that the current Aizen's strength was definitely second only to Yamamoto among the Gotei 13.
But that was the Aizen who had abandoned everything.
The current Aizen was still the Captain of the 5th Division, the universally acknowledged 'nice guy' of the Seireitei.
And to better hide himself, Aizen's self-positioning within the Gotei 13 was upper-middle tier.
That meant as long as Aizen didn't want to ruin his 'persona', before obtaining the Hogyoku, he simply wouldn't reveal his true power.
This was also why, when Kyoya informed the Revolutionary Army about the strengths of the Gotei 13 Captains, he classified Aizen into the third tier.
Simultaneously, Aizen was also the first opponent Kyoya found for Hitsugaya.
In the Bleach storyline, Hitsugaya, affected by Kyoka Suigetsu, encountered Aizen multiple times but was instantly defeated each time, becoming a stepping stone to highlight Aizen's strength.
Now, Kyoya wanted to see what kind of performance Hitsugaya Toshiro, who was taught by him and not hypnotized by Aizen's Kyoka Suigetsu, would display in battle against Aizen.
Of course, Kyoya wasn't only focused on Hitsugaya. All Revolutionary Army's members who entered the Seireitei were also under his perception.
While Hitsugaya and Aizen began their fight, the battles between the Revolutionary Army and the Seireitei's higher-ups also commenced.
Shusuke had a clear target, directly forcing his way into the 1st Division.
Currently, he was fighting against the 1st Division's Lieutenant, Sasakibe Chojiro.
Ikkaku and Yumichika directly attacked the 11th Division and were currently jointly battling Zaraki.
Kukaku was on her way to the Repentance Cell, intercepted by the 2nd Division's Captain, Sui-Feng.
Ichinose encountered the 9th Division's Captain, Tosen. Neither had used Bankai yet, and currently, Ichinose seemed to have the upper hand.
Ashido faced the 6th Division's Captain, Kuchiki Byakuya, and the two were well-matched adversaries.
As for Ichigo and the others-
After defeating the 7th Division's Lieutenant, Sajin's subordinate, Ichigo encountered the 7th Division's Captain, Sajin himself.
Chad met Kyoraku, who was heading to the 13th Division.
Uryu encountered the owner of the Strongest flying-type Zanpakuto, Tsunzakigarasu, the 7th Division's 4th Seat, Ikkanzaka Jirobo.
Although the difference in strength was significant, and Uryu easily shot away Jirobo's Zanpakuto and pierced his Saketsu.
Kyoya's Observation Haki also detected that the surveillance bacteria in the Seireitei had already noticed Uryu.
This meant the 12th Division's Captain, Kurotsuchi Mayuri, had already taken notice of Uryu.
Barring any surprises, Uryu had currently become Mayuri's test subject.
The Quincy's Progenitor Yhwach's imminent resurrection after a thousand years to seize the world was something most Captains who didn't care about the world largely ignored.
But for those with strong thirst for knowledge, they instinctively wanted to know more of the world's secrets.
Therefore, whether it was Aizen, Kisuke, or Mayuri, they had all entered the Great Spirit Book Gallery multiple times and knew who their future great enemy was.
To research the Quincy, Mayuri had secretly intercepted the communications of the Quincy in the human world ten years ago, preventing the Shinigami stationed there from helping to purify Hollows.
To survive, Ishida Soken had to use all the Quincy Techniques he knew.
Unfortunately, Soken's own strength was average, and what he displayed only gave Mayuri a slightly better understanding of the Quincy.
Additionally, to show that Ishida Soken never violated the treaty until his death, meaning he never used his powers to eradicate Hollows to survive, Mayuri only dissected Soken's corpse after other Shinigami guided his soul to the Soul Society.
However, although a deceased Quincy's body still retained some of the Quincy's mysteries, it wasn't enough for Mayuri.
Now that a live Quincy had appeared, how could Mayuri not cherish the opportunity?
If he didn't uncover more Quincy mysteries from Uryu, Mayuri would feel he had let down this Quincy who came to the Seireitei just before Yhwach was about to attack.
Currently, the only Captains in the Seireitei with spare time were Yamamoto, Gin, Unohana, Rangiku, and Ukitake.
…
Clang!
Clang clang clang clang!
In the alleys of the Seireitei, the sound of Zanpakuto clashing echoed like firecrackers. From the direction of the sounds, sparks occasionally burst forth.
Those were the sparks scattering when Hitsugaya and Aizen's Zanpakuto collided.
"Army Commander Hitsugaya is young, yet his strength cannot be underestimated. Truly remarkable."
Aizen felt the force from Hitsugaya's Zanpakuto and his swordsmanship skills during their fight, and couldn't help but praise.
Although he hadn't truly unleashed his real Reiatsu in the battle against Hitsugaya, he hadn't hidden his swordsmanship skills.
Swordsmanship at the Master Swordsman level and peak 3rd-Class Reiryoku allowed the strength Aizen displayed to almost reach the second tier of Captain-level as defined by Kyoya.
However, under his attacks, although Hitsugaya was at a disadvantage, he wasn't instantly defeated.
The most important reason was clearly that Hitsugaya's own Reiryoku had already reached 2nd-Class level.
If not for Hitsugaya's body not being fully grown, still looking like a child, which reduced his attack and defense range in battles of the same level, and his swordsmanship not yet reaching the Master Swordsman level, the strength Aizen was currently displaying might not be enough to withstand Hitsugaya.
But even so, Aizen could confirm that if Hitsugaya could fully mature, his future achievements might not be weaker than his current self.
"However, for Army Commander Hitsugaya to defeat me, I'm afraid you'll need several more decades of training."
"Is that so?"
Retreating again after their blades clashed, Hitsugaya showed no reaction to Aizen's attempts to disrupt his emotions.
He wasn't inexperienced in fighting strong opponents.
After graduating from Baltigo Academy and becoming the 7th Army Commander, to quickly attain strength matching his status, Hitsugaya sparred with the other Army Commanders almost daily.
From being unable to defeat anyone at the start to being undefeatable later, Hitsugaya took less than ten years.
Currently, within the Revolutionary Army, only the Chief of Staff, Kuchiki Koga, posed a challenge to Hitsugaya due to his Zanpakuto's ability.
The other Army Commanders had long been surpassed by Hitsugaya.
And what Hitsugaya relied on was his Zanpakuto.
"I hope Captain Aizen can remain this confident in what follows."
Raising his Zanpakuto high, Hitsugaya uttered his Zanpakuto's release command.
"Sit Upon the Frozen Heavens, Hyorinmaru!"
Boom-
Blue Reiatsu erupted from Hitsugaya's body. A biting cold spread, condensing faint mist in the surrounding space within a certain range.
On the ground, on the grass, on the leaves, on the window panes, droplets of moisture appeared.
The Zanpakuto in Hitsugaya's hand also changed form. A chain appeared behind the hilt, and at the end of the chain was a sickle resembling a crescent moon.
This display caused the smile on Aizen Sosuke's face to freeze for an instant.
'Another genius comparable to Captain-Commander Yamamoto?'
For a moment, Aizen's thoughts became somewhat chaotic.
Once, Aizen was also a 'genius'.
Moreover, he's a 'genius' far surpassing other geniuses by several levels.
However, the Aizen back then didn't want to be so high-profile, so he chose to blend in and hide himself.
All his worries came from the uncertainty after his Reiryoku reached the Shinigami's limit, unable to find a path forward.
And his Zanpakuto, Kyoka Suigetsu's ability gave Aizen the capital to play with the world.
Trapped by the Shinigami's limit, Aizen Sosuke once felt that the world was full of malice towards 'geniuses' like him.
He was certain that Yamamoto's Reiatsu, like his own, was firmly restricted at the Shinigami's limit.
But Yamamoto's Zanpakuto, Ryujin Jakka, could allow him to break through the Shinigami's limit and ascend to a higher dimension after Bankai.
His own Zanpakuto, Kyoka Suigetsu, while undoubtedly powerful in terms of ability-
It could not match Ryujin Jakka in enhancing the Shinigami's own Reiatsu.
Fortunately, Aizen found records about the [Soul King] in the Great Spirit Book Gallery, thus beginning his search for a method to break the Shinigami's limits.
Based on his analysis of the Soul King's power's essence, Aizen concluded that a single type of power had its limits.
To break through one's own power, new power was needed to shatter one's limits, allowing oneself to ascend to a higher dimension.