Isshin Shiba was stunned—because the shinigami fighting him wasn't Aizen.
And because that shinigami's name was Gin Ichimaru, the Captain of the 3rd Division.
Since when had it started…?
So the thing Higashino Shuuichi had been saying all along back then… was true as well?
Only now, seeing it with his own eyes, did Isshin Shiba finally realize that from the very beginning, Soul Society had been wrong.
They had wrongfully condemned the innocent—and let people like Aizen and Gin Ichimaru get exactly what they wanted.
Isshin Shiba wanted to tell everyone in Soul Society the truth with his own mouth.
But his body wouldn't allow it.
"No wonder you were a genius shinigami back then…" Isshin Shiba said weakly, kneeling on the ground. "The one hailed as someone who surpassed Kaien… Your Kamishini no Yari is strong."
From the day he went to the Human World until now, he'd felt like he'd been fighting with his hands tied the whole time.
In the Human World, he kept getting ambushed.
And now, this wasn't any different from an ambush, either.
Gin Ichimaru's Zanpakuto release was already hard for an ordinary captain to guard against.
And then he'd wrapped himself in Aizen's skin on top of that—lowering Isshin Shiba's guard.
That only made it worse.
Isshin Shiba wanted to roar at these shinigami and Arrancar: Do you dare fight me head-on like a real man?!
He believed that if it were a straightforward fight, then whether it was those battles in the Human World—or this one—he wouldn't have lost so quickly.
But there were no "ifs."
This was a battlefield. Losing was losing.
Gin Ichimaru didn't show the slightest mercy. With Kyōka Suigetsu's hypnosis undone, he raised the Zanpakuto in his hand right in front of Isshin Shiba.
"Thanks for the compliment. Then let me send you on your way, Shiba-moto-taichō~" Gin Ichimaru said, smiling. "Shinsō!"
Before the words even finished, his blade became a streak of silver, a meteor that carved a brilliant milky river through the air.
That thrust crossed half of Seireitei.
It pierced the bodies of a few unfortunate shinigami.
It showed off a bit of color in front of countless eyes—
And yet, it didn't harm Isshin Shiba at all.
Because during the brief gap while Gin Ichimaru was speaking, an invisible spatial barrier had quietly unfolded around Isshin Shiba's body.
And in the instant before Gin Ichimaru's attack fired, the barrier opened—sending Isshin Shiba back to the Human World.
Isshin Shiba couldn't die.
Even Kisuke Urahara didn't understand why such a strange thought rose from the depths of his heart.
He could remain indifferent to other shinigami's lives—he could even remain indifferent to Yoruichi Shihōin's life—
Yet this time, for some reason, he had placed an "insurance policy" on Isshin Shiba.
Looking at Isshin Shiba beside him—already unconscious, forcibly dragged back from Soul Society—Kisuke Urahara wanted to reflect on his actions.
But he didn't even know where to begin.
It was as though that thought had appeared in his mind as naturally as breathing.
"This feeling… is really strange," Kisuke Urahara murmured.
He had experienced similar things before—just never this deeply, never this clearly.
But while Isshin Shiba's side was a dramatic, sudden exit, the burden on Gin Ichimaru's shoulders hadn't eased in the slightest.
If anything, it had grown heavier.
Because at this very moment, over where Kaname Tōsen was stationed to guard Central 46 and prevent "accidents"—
An accident, unsurprisingly, had happened.
The 8th Division Captain Kyōraku Shunsui and the 13th Division Captain Jūshirō Ukitake had both paid that place a visit.
And because Aizen had already decided to lay everything bare to Soul Society this time,
He had deliberately not covered Central 46 with Kyōka Suigetsu's hypnosis.
Aizen's original thought was that any shinigami who went to Central 46 at a time like this would be from Higashino Shuuichi's side.
So having Kaname Tōsen "put on a show" there would be enough.
Because Aizen understood Higashino Shuuichi's line of shinigami too well—people like Kisaragi Shūsuke and Yushima Ōko.
Once they discovered the truth, they definitely wouldn't fight Kaname Tōsen to the bitter end.
They'd report the situation at Central 46 to Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni and let the Gotei 13 handle their own traitors.
That was the choice they would make.
But Aizen hadn't accounted for a variable like Yoruichi Shihōin—
Or the effect of Higashino Shuuichi's return on Kabuma Sayako.
That was how Aizen, in terms of personnel arrangement, had made a rare, tiny slip.
"Isshin Shiba… so that was Kisuke Urahara, huh?" Gin Ichimaru said lightly, staring at the spot where Isshin Shiba had been—now empty.
He could guess it was Urahara's doing.
In fact, with Gin Ichimaru's strength, he had a chance to stop that spatial barrier from unfolding.
But he didn't.
One: it was troublesome.
Two: it wasn't necessary.
He wasn't truly devoted to doing what was best for Aizen, after all.
For something optional like that, of course he prioritized conserving his own strength.
So Gin Ichimaru only chuckled—then began the unique Kidō (Demon Arts) Aizen had taught them.
"Senpan Hakujya (Thousandfold White Serpent)!"
Countless bandages coiled around him. Using the spatial coordinates he had set in advance, Gin Ichimaru easily found the coordinate that corresponded to Central 46.
Normally, once Senpan Hakujya (Thousandfold White Serpent) fully wrapped him, a dense ring of bandages would also appear inside Central 46.
Then Gin Ichimaru would materialize at the position he had preset.
But this time, just as Gin Ichimaru braced to appear and immediately enter battle—
He discovered, to his surprise, that Senpan Hakujya (Thousandfold White Serpent) had failed.
"Well, this is a problem~" Gin Ichimaru muttered in a regretful tone.
But if anyone had been watching his expression, they would have noticed:
He showed not the slightest bit of panic or anxiety.
If anything, he looked… amused.
It's not like I don't want to go save you, you know~
It's just that I can't~
At the same time, inside Central 46, Kyōraku Shunsui turned his head and glanced at Jūshirō Ukitake behind him.
"What is it, Ukitake?"
Ukitake's pale, slightly weakened face showed a faint smile.
"Nothing, Shunsui. Someone tried to come over via spatial transfer. My divine hexagram noticed it," he said gently. "So I casually absorbed that little bit of reiatsu~"
"Is that so?" Kyōraku Shunsui snorted. "Then it seems our Captain Tōsen called for reinforcements. Let me guess—the name of that reinforcement wouldn't happen to be… Aizen Sōsuke, would it?"
He spoke, then looked toward Kaname Tōsen, who was trapped inside his Zanpakuto's ability.
"You guessed right, Kyōraku-taichō," Kaname Tōsen answered without denying it.
He was covered in wounds now, but his will, his spirit, and even his tone remained firm—unshakable.
Kyōraku Shunsui truly lived up to being the Captain-Commander's disciple, a veteran captain.
Even without Ukitake Jūshirō supporting him, Kaname Tōsen wasn't his match.
From the moment Kyōraku Shunsui and Ukitake Jūshirō walked into Central 46, discovered the sages' corpses, encountered Kaname Tōsen, clashed the moment they disagreed—
To now, when Kaname Tōsen had almost completely lost the ability to resist…
The entire process took less than twenty minutes.
Compared to Kyōraku Shunsui, Kaname Tōsen was still too weak.
Even with Bankai fully unleashed, he still couldn't beat Kyōraku Shunsui in Shikai alone.
Perhaps only once he reached the fully hollowfied form Aizen-sama had promised him would he have even the slightest chance of trading blows with Kyōraku Shunsui.
Thinking about it now, Kaname Tōsen found himself almost admiring Higashino Shuuichi.
All these years, Higashino Shuuichi had climbed step by step to that realm with talent that wasn't even as good as Kaname Tōsen's.
Yet Kaname Tōsen himself had, until today, practically stayed in place.
Back then, he'd sworn to strive for the beautiful world Kakyō carried in his heart.
And yet his performance was this disappointing.
How shameful…
And now the future of that beautiful world was so close, yet he might never see it.
If he had any regret left in this world, it was that.
He hadn't truly witnessed the arrival of that beautiful new world.
He had no face to meet his dead friend, Kakyō.
After hearing Ukitake Jūshirō say he had stopped a spatial-transfer Kidō (Demon Arts), Kaname Tōsen had completely abandoned hope.
Because he understood: no one was coming to save him anymore.
Aizen-sama was likely waiting calmly at Sōkyoku Hill, awaiting the final scene.
"Bankai, Suzumushi Tsuishiki: Enma Kōrogi!"
Kaname Tōsen suddenly surged up from the ground as if infinite reiatsu erupted from within him.
This was his final ripple—his final struggle!
If he could cause Kyōraku Shunsui even a shred of trouble, that would be enough.
But Kyōraku Shunsui wasn't fighting alone.
Behind him stood a man named Ukitake Jūshirō.
"Sōgyo no Kotowari. Absorb it," Ukitake said, as casually as if he were commenting on the weather.
And just like that, Kaname Tōsen's freshly expanded Bankai was absorbed by Ukitake's Zanpakuto ability.
Along with it—
Even the special domain produced by Kyōraku Shunsui's Shikai was absorbed as well.
"You've gotten stronger, Ukitake," Kyōraku Shunsui said, startled by the change.
Because in his memory, Ukitake's Zanpakuto had always passively absorbed the enemy's attacks.
To actively absorb another shinigami's technique like this—Kyōraku Shunsui was seeing it for the first time.
"These years… major events in Soul Society have come one after another. If I don't improve a little, then by the time I truly need to improve… it'll be too late," Ukitake Jūshirō explained with a gentle smile.
The two of them had forgotten Kaname Tōsen's existence.
Or rather, they had chosen to ignore him.
It was infuriating—and yet helpless.
Kaname Tōsen lay on the ground. Above him was the sky over Central 46—ripped open by battle.
The barrier between ground and sky had been shattered.
He had lost completely.
He wanted to rise and fight, but his body showed no sign of obeying him.
It was supposed to be a stage for three, yet it had become a play starring only Kyōraku Shunsui and Ukitake Jūshirō.
Kaname Tōsen was unwilling.
But in this game called life, there was never any medicine for regret, and no do-overs.
"Sorry… I'm coming, Kakyō…"
Until the moment Kaname Tōsen finally lost all signs of life, those guilty words still spilled from his lips in a whisper.
"You killed a captain," Ukitake Jūshirō said softly, standing before Kaname Tōsen's corpse, his tone heavy.
Before coming here, he hadn't expected it to end like this.
How long had it been since Soul Society last lost a captain?
And by being killed by their own…
"I didn't want to," Kyōraku Shunsui answered with the same sorrow, sweeping his gaze around and then drawing it away from the dozens of corpses. "At the very least, he should've been brought to judgment.
"But you saw how Kaname fought just now. Dying in battle might have been exactly what he wanted."
Kyōraku Shunsui wasn't someone who hadn't given Kaname Tōsen chances.
But Kaname Tōsen insisted on throwing everything he had into attacking him.
If Kyōraku Shunsui didn't use his Zanpakuto release, then even he couldn't guarantee his own safety against a captain's all-out assault.
On a normal day, Kyōraku Shunsui might accept trading injury for time.
But at this critical moment, he couldn't allow himself to suffer any premature loss.
Otherwise, in the almost inevitable war to come, he might lose the ability to influence the outcome.
At the same time, Kaname Tōsen's resolve only made Kyōraku Shunsui feel more strongly that behind this incident…
There was an even greater hidden hand.
A hidden hand that could make even a captain throw away his life to protect his identity.
Who would that be?
Who could it be?
In the past, the first name to surface in Kyōraku Shunsui's mind would have been Tokinada Tsunayashiro.
The second would have been Higashino Shuuichi.
But now, one was dead, and the other was locked in Muken.
So in today's Soul Society, who else could wield that kind of power?
"Aizen Sōsuke."
As if answering Kyōraku Shunsui's thoughts, Ukitake Jūshirō suddenly spoke the name.
"If you asked me to choose, that's who I'd suspect."
"Aizen…" Kyōraku Shunsui frowned.
He remembered it—Yoruichi Shihōin had said it before as well: the missing former 10th Division captain, Shiba Isshin, had pinned the disappearance of several of his seated officers on Aizen.
And if he pushed further back, even Kisuke Urahara had once said similar things.
"If it's really him, Ukitake… then I think we might have to—"
"Stop Nemu's execution!"
At that moment, Kyōraku Shunsui and Ukitake Jūshirō met each other's eyes.
They truly were friends of a thousand years.
Some things needed only a single glance.
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