Three days passed in the blink of an eye. The Seireitei looked peaceful and serene—or rather, only the silence remained.
Three days had been enough for Kyōraku and the others to evacuate every uninvolved person from the Seireitei. Now, only the thirteen captains remained within, quietly awaiting the arrival of their guests.
As for the other Shinigami who had already reached captain-class strength, they had been dispatched to Rukongai to protect the temporarily evacuated personnel and maintain order there.
Beneath the Squad One barracks, at the Shin'ō Underground Great Prison, Tsunayoshi sat at the prison's entrance with a face full of bad luck.
The ordinary personnel of the Seireitei could be evacuated, but that did not mean the criminals could be moved out as well. To prevent Aizen's invasion from causing an accident with Yamamoto and the others, which could in turn weaken the defenses of the underground prison, Tsunayoshi had been assigned to guard the gate here.
There was nothing in the Shin'ō Underground Great Prison except darkness. Fortunately, Tsunayoshi only had to stand watch at the entrance and did not have to suffer the same punishment as the prisoners.
Because of the special circumstances, a place as lonely as the prison entrance was now filled with a liveliness that should not have existed there.
In fact, Tsunayoshi was not the only one guarding this place. Urahara's group and his friends from the World of the Living were here as well. They were currently using the surveillance system Urahara had installed to monitor the situation across the Seireitei.
At this point, aside from being a little dark, the entrance to the prison was basically an unusual movie theater to those who had lived in the World of the Living. Tatsuki and the others had even started grilling meat. Other than the lack of sunlight, it was practically a picnic.
"Riruka, Yukio, don't eat until you're stuffed. You two need to be ready to move."
Tsunayoshi reminded Riruka and Yukio, who were launching a fierce assault on the grilled meat. The two of them had been tormented by Urahara lately and had barely eaten anything decent. Now that they finally had the chance, they seemed determined to make up for it in one go.
"We… know…"
Ignoring their muffled reply, Tsunayoshi moved over beside Urahara, who was sitting in front of a wall of monitors. Urahara had covered every corner of the Seireitei with surveillance spirit insects, all for the sake of broadcasting the battle situation in real time.
"How is it? Still no movement?"
"Nothing. Soul Society is perfectly fine. There aren't any abnormal spatial fluctuations at all."
Urahara's hand was a little tense as he switched between screens. Depending on how things went today, they might have to go straight to the Royal Palace. Even now, he still was not entirely sure which side winning would be better.
If Squad Zero won, it would prove that the Royal Palace was still that unshakable mountain looming over them.
If Aizen won, then they would have to head to the Royal Palace and face Aizen directly. At that point, could they really defeat him?
Urahara did not know. All he could do was take things one step at a time.
"You were full of enthusiasm when we were making the plan. Now that it's about to happen, you're getting nervous?" Tsunayoshi said with a smile.
Back then, when Tsunayoshi and Urahara had plotted against Aizen and the Royal Palace together, Urahara had also been thinking of letting the snipe and the clam fight while the fisherman benefited. Now, he had instead begun to worry about gains and losses.
"It's because of you, isn't it? I still remember that battle you had with Aizen like it was yesterday."
Kisuke Urahara recalled Tsunayoshi's battle with Aizen at the Royal Palace. Originally, he had only gone to Hueco Mundo with Tsunayoshi because he had enough strength to rely on. But after watching that battle, he realized that his own level of power was only enough to deal with the Aizen who had not yet evolved.
As for the Aizen who had broken free of his cocoon and become a butterfly, Kisuke Urahara currently had no real way to handle him. Unless Tsunayoshi first beat Aizen into a weakened state, Urahara would only be able to use a few minor tricks.
"Your specialty was never combat. Modification is what you're good at. Obsessing over battle strength is completely unnecessary," Tsunayoshi quipped.
Benihime's power was mainly modification. Even after becoming one with Urahara, direct frontal combat was still not their specialty.
Fortunately, Urahara had made a wall of screens, and their group of friends was here with him. That was the only reason Tsunayoshi could stay here. Otherwise, if he really had to sit in this place alone for an entire day, he might genuinely tear the prison apart.
"What are you two talking about? The meat's ready."
With lightning-like speed, Yoruichi stuffed a piece of freshly grilled meat into Tsunayoshi and Urahara's mouths. It had just come off the grill, tender and juicy.
In a dim corner of the prison entrance where the light did not reach, a noble-looking woman was staring at the grilled meat, drooling.
Suddenly, she saw Tsunayoshi's eyes sweep in her direction. Startled, she quickly shrank back into an even darker corner. She did not know whether it was her imagination, but it felt as though that man had discovered her.
Her true personality was not this timid at all. In fact, she very much wanted to approach the man who had changed the Seireitei. However, her master had strictly ordered her not to come into contact with Tsunayoshi, so she had hidden herself.
Otherwise, she really would have liked to get close to him and see what kind of man he was—the man who had even changed her taciturn master.
Without leaving any trace, Tsunayoshi withdrew his sweeping gaze. Of course he had discovered the woman hiding in the corner: Urozakuro, the Zanpakutō of Sōya Azashiro, the eighth Kenpachi.
Her Bankai ability allowed her to fuse herself with Reishi. After Bankai, she took the appearance of a noblewoman. Sōya Azashiro had already fused the entire Seireitei with his Zanpakutō.
In other words, even while trapped within Muken, nothing that happened in the Seireitei could escape Sōya Azashiro's eyes.
Previously, Tsunayoshi had simply forgotten that such a person existed. Add to that the fact that Sōya Azashiro had deliberately kept Urozakuro away from him, and Tsunayoshi had never been reminded of him.
Only now, with Tsunayoshi blocking the entrance to Muken and Urozakuro forced to appear nearby to observe the situation, had she been discovered by Tsunayoshi's extraordinarily high level of control over Reishi.
If it were anyone else, unless Urozakuro took the initiative to reveal herself, there would be no possibility of detecting her at all.
Tsunayoshi did not dwell on the matter of Sōya Azashiro. Right now, the more important issues before him were Aizen and the Royal Palace. He turned his gaze back to the screens, where a black line had already begun spreading across the sky above the Seireitei.
A Garganta large enough to cover half the Seireitei gradually opened, instantly drawing the attention of everyone in both the Seireitei and Rukongai.
"Quite the grand entrance…" Tsunayoshi remarked.
"Lieutenant Sasakibe, are we really going to be fine if we don't go help?"
In Rukongai, Sasakibe, the only one wearing a white haori, had become the leader of the lieutenants. Hearing Renji's question, Sasakibe once again recalled what Yamamoto had told him yesterday.
"Chōjirō, no matter what happens tomorrow, do not enter the Seireitei."
"Do not worry. This old man will be fine. Your duty is a heavy one. Protect them in my place…"
In Sasakibe's heart, he would not have hesitated in the slightest to die alongside Yamamoto. But faced with Yamamoto's words, which sounded almost like a final will, he had ultimately chosen to obey Yamamoto's order and come to Rukongai to protect the residents of Soul Society.
"Stay in Rukongai and guard the districts assigned to your squads. Did your captains not give you orders?"
There were three parts anger in Sasakibe's cold words. Already displeased that he could not remain at Yamamoto's side, Renji's question had struck exactly where it hurt.
Hearing Renji being reprimanded, the other lieutenants all reined in their thoughts. Without exception, each of them had been given strict orders by their own captains that they were not to take part in today's battle.
High above the Seireitei, only a dozen or so figures emerged from the Garganta, despite its exaggerated size. Aizen led the group at the front with both hands in his pockets. Behind him was Kaname Tōsen, and behind Tōsen were the Espada.
He had not even brought any Fracción. Aizen had only brought the Espada with him, making it look nothing like the opening of a great war. Who started a war by sending only the commanders charging in, without bringing any foot soldiers?
If he had not been afraid the act would look too fake, Aizen would not even have brought the Espada. After all, in his deal with Tsunayoshi, Las Noches and the Espada were bargaining chips. They were no longer truly his possessions.
But it did not matter. How many of these Espada survived would depend on how thoroughly Tsunayoshi had conveyed his words. In any case, Aizen had not told the Espada that this was all an act.
Aizen had not even told Kaname Tōsen. The only ones who knew the truth were him and Sora Inoue. As for everyone else, in Aizen's eyes, they were all dispensable. The only one who had ever truly mattered was himself.
The Garganta slowly closed. Looking at the familiar scenery below, Kaname Tōsen immediately stepped forward.
"Lord Aizen, I will take people to the Hakutōmon at once."
For the sake of spectacle, they had opened the Garganta above the Seireitei. However, the Seireitei had a barrier. To enter normally, one could only pass through the four great gates, including the Hakutōmon. Tōsen was preparing to make full use of his experience working in the Seireitei and volunteer as their guide.
Aizen raised his hand and stopped Tōsen from acting.
If they went slinking off to find the Hakutōmon now, would his grand entrance not have been for nothing?
Did he, Aizen, not know the Seireitei had a barrier?
A mere barrier—he could break it with a raise of his hand.
Aizen extended his hand and lightly pointed forward with a single finger. A white streak containing immense Reiatsu shot toward the Seireitei. The Seireitei's barrier immediately reacted, blocking Aizen's attack first.
However, that enormous barrier did not seem as sturdy as imagined. Under Tōsen's shocked gaze, Aizen shattered the barrier with a single strike. There was no need to pass through any Hakutōmon. They could directly break into the Seireitei from the sky.
A slight smile curved Aizen's lips. Just as he had thought, Tsunayoshi had already conveyed his intentions properly.
That strike just now was a super-enhanced version of Byakurai. After fusing with the Hōgyoku, Aizen's use of Kidō was no longer limited by spell numbers. Even a low-ranked Kidō spell could unleash tremendous power in his hands.
Of course, the Seireitei barrier being destroyed in one blow was partly due to Aizen's powerful Byakurai. But the greater reason was the cooperation of the Kidō Corps inside the Seireitei. Without their cooperation, Aizen would have needed to spend a little more time using Byakurai to break through the barrier.
"Lord Aizen, shall we begin the attack now?" Tōsen asked.
The main reason Tōsen spoke up was because Aizen had not given them any battle plan before the fight. In Tōsen's view, this was very unlike Aizen's usual style. However, he could only attribute it to Aizen's overwhelming strength.
"No rush. The masters of this place have already come to greet us."
Seeing that Aizen remained as calm and composed as ever, unhurried and unflustered, Tōsen silently let out a breath of relief.
Good. Lord Aizen was still the man who controlled everything.
It seemed this battle would be settled with ease.
Ever since Aizen had returned from his trip, during the time Tōsen had helped him create the Ōken, Tōsen had always felt as though Aizen was no longer the Aizen he knew.
Tōsen had once asked Aizen about it. Aizen's answer was that he had already reached a higher realm, and that both his vision and his strength far surpassed what they had been before.
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