Chapter 28 — Interfering With Reality & Kidō
The laboratory was still and silent.
Aizen stood before the workbench, eyes lingering on the blade embryo that had begun to undergo subtle transformation. Faint expectation glimmered behind his calm gaze.
The once-pure white blade now bore thin, drifting black patterns etched across its surface—chaotic streaks resembling scattered clouds.
This was the result of erasing Idō's will, extracting its reality-interfering chakra, and sealing that strange energy into a blade embryo constructed from God-Tree cells.
The entire active process took roughly a month.
But the preparation and theoretical groundwork behind it had taken years.
What he'd achieved now was merely one missing piece finally falling into place.
Even so, those cloud-like markings, though oddly beautiful, were not what he had originally envisioned.
"It must be some unknown reaction between that chakra and the God-Tree cells during infusion…"
A pause.
"…or perhaps a kind of evolution."
Aizen's mind cycled through countless considerations of the connection between "God-Tree cells" and "chakra," yet something still felt off.
"Rather than Yin-release chakra… it feels closer to a type of natural energy—one the human body cannot absorb."
"A fusion of Yin-type traits and natural energy?"
"If so… what is the true relationship between natural energy and chakra?"
Without experimentation, conjecture remained conjecture. Aizen would eventually seek the conversion pathway between them, but not today.
For now, he set those thoughts aside and gently lifted the cloud-patterned blade.
He first examined it with careful sensitivity… then cautiously infused it with chakra.
Pale blue chakra flowed smoothly into the blade, illuminating its cloud-markings one by one as a faint warmth spread through his hand.
Exactly as he had expected.
A blade constructed entirely of God-Tree cells displayed an extraordinary receptiveness to chakra.
The moment he poured chakra into it, the blade resonated—responding from a depth that touched the soul.
No—
it wasn't "as if" it touched the soul.
It actually did.
Aizen's eyes brightened faintly. He increased his chakra output.
And as he suspected—
Just like a true Zanpakutō, the blade's size began to expand with the influx of chakra, its shape shifting according to his will, becoming closer and closer to the form he imagined.
For a Shinigami, a Zanpakutō was literally the manifestation of one's spirit and spiritual pressure.
A captain-class Shinigami could, if he wished, expand his blade to the size of a building—
though the structure would become extremely fragile.
This, however… exceeded even that.
He raised one hand.
Without a single hand seal, a wisp of wavering light appeared at his fingertip.
Aizen studied it silently.
He had directly interfered with the chakra using spiritual pressure.
As a result, the energy reacted.
"So this blade doesn't simply interfere with itself… it allows my soul to directly interfere with reality."
Even Aizen felt a flicker of surprise.
He had harvested Idō's soul fragment precisely for its reality-distorting nature.
But for that trait to integrate so perfectly into the blade—
It far exceeded his expectations.
The adaptability of God-Tree cells was proving even greater than he imagined.
"If that's the case…"
Aizen's gaze shifted to a white lab mouse inside a containment pod.
He gently raised his hand.
"Bakudō #1 — Sai."
The moment his fingers pointed forward, the mouse—which had been darting frantically—froze mid-movement, pinned by an unseen force.
Then—
SPLAT.
It ruptured into a bloom of blood.
Aizen frowned faintly.
Just now, he used the blade as a spiritual amplifier, attempting to bypass chakra interference and cast kidō with spiritual pressure alone.
But the outcome was clear.
The moment he exerted spiritual force, chakra clung to it like a parasite, surging along the same reality-interference pathway—
distorting the structure of the kidō.
Thus the excessive force.
But moments later, his frown relaxed.
Energy was energy—
whether chakra or spiritual pressure.
If traditional kidō circuits didn't function properly here, then the answer was simple:
Modify the kidō to suit this world.
That, too, would become a new weapon for him.
If low-level kidō functioned…
what about higher-level ones?
Aizen's mind stirred.
He began chanting softly:
"O sovereign who reigns—
Mask of flesh and blood—
All creation—
Fluttering of wings—
Bearer of mankind's name—
Boiling heat and strife—
Rolling across the seas—
Advance and strike!"
"Hadō #31 — Shakkahō!"
The incantation completed flawlessly.
Aizen thrust out his palm.
An orb of dark-red light flickered into existence—
—but only for a heartbeat.
It sputtered—
—and collapsed into nothing.
Aizen blinked, briefly stunned.
Given Aizen's soul strength and experience, a properly chanted Hadō of this level should never fail.
It wasn't until he carefully examined the sensation again that his gaze returned to the blade embryo in his hand.
"So that's how it is."
He finally understood.
If his soul was like a vast lake, then the Idō-derived "reality interference" ability embedded in the blade acted like a filtering conduit.
The phenomena manifested in the physical world were like the purified water that managed to pass through that filter.
Trying to channel the entire lake through a single narrow pipe in an instant…
was naturally impossible.
"It needs further refinement."
Aizen shook his head—not in frustration, but in calm acknowledgment.
Compared to the early days of researching the Hōgyoku, the setbacks he encountered now were trivial.
After dozens of tests, he confirmed:
He could forcibly cast Hadō in the single-digit range, roughly up to the tenth seat—
and only by suppressing chakra interference with great effort.
The number was small, the power limited, but even so, it granted him several unexpected and subtle methods—
tools beyond this world's imagination.
A minor result, yes—
but one that revealed faint hints about the relationship between natural energy and chakra, as well as the possibility of converting one into the other.
A valuable discovery nonetheless.
As for modifying kidō circuits, however, far more work would be required.
Just as Aizen was considering possible breakthroughs, a knock sounded against the laboratory door.
"Enter."
The door slid open, and Hyūga Hizashi stepped inside, kneeling on one knee in solemn respect.
"Aizen-sama, disorder has begun spreading throughout the Uchiha compound. The situation is escalating quickly."
Aizen had instructed him beforehand: once certain conditions were met, he was to be notified immediately.
"So it has begun."
Aizen exhaled faint amusement.
"I had thought Shisui-kun would endure a little longer."
He attached the evolving blade at his side, then walked to another desk, retrieving a sealed envelope.
He handed it to Hizashi.
"Deliver this letter."
"Place it directly into Itachi-kun's hands."
Hizashi bowed deeply, without hesitation.
"Yes."
Aizen's gentle smile lingered as he watched the man depart.
It was almost time to pull the net tight.
Itachi-kun…
Let us see whether you truly possess the resolve you claim to have.