Thump!
"I'm sorry! I was wrong! Please forgive me!"
Seeing Toshiro completely disregard his threats, Yoshiaki panicked. With a thump, he knelt on the ground.
Thud, thud, thud...
Yoshiaki slammed his head like pounding garlic, all while crying and begging Toshiro to let him go.
As for the noble pride and dignity he had been shouting about, he had long tossed them to the far corners of the earth.
Between dignity and life, Yoshiaki unhesitatingly chose life.
Seeing Yoshiaki's state, the surrounding students immediately showed expressions of disdain.
Just moments ago, he called himself nobility, addressing others as 'vermin', yet now he thoroughly disgraced the noble title.
"Knowing you're wrong is good. Correct it properly in your next life."
With that, Toshiro swung his sword down at Yoshiaki.
Clang!
Suddenly, a figure appeared before Toshiro, drawing a sword to block him.
In that instant, Toshiro seemed to see a flash of blue light from the other party's blade.
"Hitsugaya-kun, hello. I am Aizen Sosuke, Captain of the 5th Division. Indeed, Utsunomiya-kun was in the wrong here. Rest assured, I will certainly request the academy to handle this fairly and give you justice."
A magnetic voice came from the person in front of Toshiro.
Toshiro looked up. The man had short brown hair, wore black-rimmed glasses, and donned a Captain's Haori. Aizen Sosuke … the second major antagonist in the anime.
At that moment, Aizen held his sword with a reverse grip, tip pointing downward, blocking the horizontal slash of Hyourinmaru.
Toshiro's pupils contracted, 'Damn it! I've been hit!'
That strange sensation earlier, plus the sword grip… absolutely no mistake. Aizen had just used his Zanpakuto Kyoka Suigetsu's ability, Complete Hypnosis.
Although Aizen hadn't chanted the release command, upon mastering Bankai, one can use Shikai freely without chanting.
And Kyoka Suigetsu's ability was virtually unsolvable. Anyone who witnessed its release even once would have their five senses completely dominated, trapped in the illusions created by Kyoka Suigetsu.
"However, Hitsugaya-kun, if you kill Utsunomiya-kun, matters will become complicated. After all, his crime doesn't warrant death, and he is nobility. This would bring you great trouble. Please leave it to me." Aizen showed an expression that said, 'I'm doing this for your own good.'
"You are right, Captain Aizen. However, I still wish to personally seek justice for Hinamori." Toshiro said.
Toshiro looked expressionlessly at Yoshiaki. "Mistakes must come with a price."
Hearing Toshiro's words, Aizen instinctively sensed something wrong. He instantly moved to restrain Toshiro first.
[Shunkuho!]
Toshiro exerted his newly mastered Shunkuho to its fullest. Facing Aizen now, he had no room to hold back.
At the last possible moment, Toshiro evaded Aizen's grasping left hand, his figure instantly vanishing from Aizen's sight.
"Aahh!"
Suddenly, a scream rang out.
Aizen's pupils contracted. He turned to see Toshiro holding Hyourinmaru, having impaled Yoshiaki.
Gush!
Toshiro withdrew the Zanpakuto. Blood instantly spurted from Yoshiaki's wound.
"Hmph, stop screaming. I only destroyed your Saketsu and Hakusui. You won't die… you'll just become a useless waste." Toshiro snorted coldly.
With timely treatment, he indeed wouldn't die. He would just lose his Reiryoku, become an ordinary person, and never be able to become a Shinigami again.
'Interesting. That speed just now... I actually couldn't intercept him in time.'
Aizen was inwardly astonished. Although he was far from exerting his full power earlier, his speed had already reached Captain-level.
'Honestly, I just came to see if there were any talents I could utilize. I didn't expect to get caught up in such trouble. Seems I'll have to put in some effort.' Aizen thought to himself.
To search for potential talents, Aizen had specifically taken a position as a calligraphy teacher at Shin'o Academy.
Hearing this year's students were exceptionally talented, even producing a monster like Toshiro, he came to Shin'o Academy to assess the situation.
After reviewing this year's student information, Aizen was about to return to the 5th Division when he encountered the incident of Yoshiaki knocking Momo down.
Seeing Momo, Renji, and Kira, all talents he had his eye on, present, Aizen thought this was a heaven-sent opportunity.
Watching Renji get defeated, Aizen inwardly thought, 'Perfect timing!'
He was about to step in and save the three, then unleash his Oscar-worthy acting skills to make them indebted to him. Unexpectedly, Toshiro appeared just in time.
If he couldn't save them, so be it. But seeing Toshiro defeat Yoshiaki and still intend to kill him, Aizen had an idea.
This was a legitimate chance to intervene and conveniently use Kyoka Suigetsu.
For a genius like Toshiro, becoming Captain-level in the future was almost certain. To prevent any mishaps, hypnotizing him sooner or later was necessary.
Momo, the other two, and many surrounding students were also present… perfect for hypnotizing them all at once, saving the trouble of gathering students under another pretext later.
"Hmph, be grateful. For Captain Aizen's sake, I'll spare your life this time." Toshiro looked disdainfully at Yoshiaki.
As Aizen said, Yoshiaki only bumped into Momo and used foul language. If Toshiro actually killed him, others would think Toshiro overreacted.
But if left to the academy, the most he'd get is a reprimand, a demerit, or at worst expulsion.
Toshiro wasn't willing to let it go at that.
Dragons have reverse scales… touch them, and you die!
Momo and his grandmother were Toshiro's most treasured people. In Toshiro's view, if he hadn't arrived in time, who knows how things would have turned out? Even if he couldn't kill him, he must make him pay a heavy price.