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"I'm very sorry…"
"The Captain Aizen you thought you knew never existed to begin with!"
…
The truth laid bare.
The verdict sealed.
When Aizen's utterly indifferent words were broadcast in real time through the ranking video, the entire Gotei Thirteen was shaken to its core. Everyone's worldview was completely overturned.
In this world…
There was no longer a kind, gentle Captain Aizen.
From this moment on, there was only the traitor, Aizen.
The demon executioner who had brutally slaughtered Central 46.
"Damn it!!!"
"Aizen! Why did you do this?! Why fake your own death and deliberately frame others?!" veins bulging at his temples, Hitsugaya Tōshirō roared.
"Why? That's an interesting question…"
Meeting Hitsugaya's furious glare, Aizen looked straight into the camera. His cold, merciless gaze seemed to pierce through the screen and fall upon every single viewer as he spoke calmly, without the slightest concern.
"There's no such thing as 'deliberate' or 'accidental.'"
"Everything you've seen, everything I've done, was simply in pursuit of a higher dimension…"
Another crushing blow.
It slammed straight into the hearts of every Soul Reaper, igniting another wave of uproar throughout the Gotei Thirteen.
"A higher dimension? What does that even mean?!"
"Aizen's strength is near the bottom even among the captains, isn't it? What right does he have to say something like that?"
"I think he's just putting on airs. Killing Central 46 with tricks doesn't mean he can get past Captain Hitsugaya!"
At this point, no one bothered calling Aizen "Captain" anymore.
What they felt toward him now was the deep hostility reserved for a traitor.
And along with that…
A fierce doubt regarding Aizen's true strength.
One thing at a time. Even after learning that Aizen was a traitor, their understanding of his power was still stuck in the past.
Which was only natural.
After all, this was an impression built up over nearly a century.
Aizen had always kept a low profile. Aside from publicly showing the Shikai of Kyōka Suigetsu, he had never had any truly eye-catching moments in battle.
So in most people's minds, Aizen had simply ridden on seniority, taking advantage of the vacancy left behind after Hirako Shinji's defection to climb into the captain's seat.
To put it bluntly—
In the eyes of the majority,
once you stripped away the image of the "nice guy," Aizen was just dead weight.
And whether by coincidence or fate,
as if to test whether the audience's judgment of Aizen was correct,
the video showed Hitsugaya Tōshirō finally losing control of his anger.
"Aizen!!!"
"No matter what your real reasons are, that doesn't justify deceiving the entire Gotei Thirteen and slaughtering Central 46 at will!" Hitsugaya bared his fangs.
Hyōrinmaru was drawn in a flash.
At the same time, an icy-white, razor-sharp spiritual pressure erupted violently!
Crack—!
Every trace of moisture in the surrounding forest froze solid.
Frost spread, mist rose. The white fog born of extreme cold was so dense that even the camera capturing the ranking video became coated in a thin layer of frost.
Visibility dropped sharply.
"So it still came to this… the scene I feared most," Rangiku Matsumoto murmured anxiously within the Tenth Division, staring at every frame with tense focus.
As one of the people involved,
her reaction matched her on-screen self exactly, hands clenched tight with fear.
Two captains fighting each other.
Aside from the moment when Kenpachi Zaraki cut down the previous Kenpachi, nothing like this had happened for decades.
And Hitsugaya's opponent this time…
was the most heinous traitor in the history of the Gotei Thirteen.
The atmosphere thickened until it was hard to breathe.
Across the entire Soul Society, countless powerful figures fixed their gazes on Aizen, waiting for his next response.
"Planning to subdue me?"
Cold air brushed across his face.
Aizen's expression didn't change. His eyes were still like an abyss ready to devour its prey as he stepped forward with elegant calm, directly into Hyōrinmaru's pressure.
"Aizen…"
"He's not afraid of Hyōrinmaru at all?!"
Before the ranking video exposed everything,
most Soul Reapers only thought Hyōrinmaru was decent, a blade with enormous potential that still needed time to fully mature.
But…
After Hitsugaya's own ranking segment,
after witnessing the overwhelming power of a fully matured Daiguren Hyōrinmaru, everyone had been forced to reassess this strongest of ice-type Zanpakutō.
And so,
Aizen's behavior,
in the eyes of the viewers,
looked like blatant provocation. Arrogance without justification.
Yet…
"Step."
To everyone's shock,
with every step Aizen took forward, Hitsugaya retreated instead. His momentum was being completely suppressed.
Worse still,
Aizen continued his verbal assault.
"Hitsugaya Tōshirō…"
"On what basis do you believe you can stop me, let alone restrain me? It seems I may have praised you too highly earlier. You're far too confident."
Each step felt like it was stomping directly on Hitsugaya's heart, delivering suffocating pressure.
At the same time,
those watching through the screen felt an indescribable, crushing weight.
"What an overwhelming presence…"
"Is this really the Aizen we thought we knew?"
The Soul Reapers froze.
All their hostility and skepticism fell silent in that instant.
Aizen's towering figure was like a colossal mountain reaching into the heavens.
Even separated by light and time, it pressed down on everyone until they could hardly breathe.
"Captain Aizen…"
"How pitiful, the Gotei Thirteen. Only now, a hundred years later, do you finally qualify to see your true face," Ichimaru Gin said lazily, stretching in the underground chamber of the Fifth Division, his expression utterly calm.
"Gin, compared to this scene,"
"I'm more curious about why the creator of this ranking video was able to perfectly recreate my thoughts and plans. Don't you find that strange?" Aizen appeared composed, but even his heart rippled slightly.
The massacre of Central 46.
Faking his own death and shifting the blame onto the Ryoka who would later invade Soul Society.
Then, amid the chaos, going to Sōkyoku Hill, taking the Hōgyoku from within Kuchiki Rukia, and escaping Soul Society using the Garganta.
This plan…
was something Aizen had been secretly plotting for many years, ever since he discovered the location of Kisuke Urahara's Hōgyoku and realized Kurosaki Ichigo's uniqueness.
Even Aizen himself hadn't expected that
after completing only the first two steps,
the ranking video would expose everything ahead of time and play the entire plan in full.
It was completely beyond his expectations.
At that moment, a shout rang out from the video.
"Aizen!!! Stay right there!"
Unable to endure the pressure any longer,
Hitsugaya shouted angrily as he continued to retreat.
However,
the response he received was Aizen's relentless mockery.
"I don't quite understand…"
"If you want to defeat me, why are you deliberately widening the distance between us?"
Aizen's steps remained graceful.
With each stride, the imposing presence of one who stood at the pinnacle of the Soul Reapers radiated absolute dominance.
"Or is it that…"
"You're afraid that if you get any closer, my figure will suddenly vanish right before your eyes?"
"If that's the case, there's no need to worry."
"Because… that's just an unnecessary concern."
"..."
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