In the depths of the Repentance Palace, Tōsen Kana, who had lain dormant in silence for an entire month, suddenly opened his eyes. Though his visionless pupils remained dull and gray, his innate ability to sense Reiatsu—far beyond that of most Shinigami—let him clearly feel the imnse spiritual pressure approaching.
It was calm on the surface, but beneath that calm was a turbulent wave, like a flood about to burst through a dam.
"A powerful Reiatsu," he murmured inwardly.
"It's here at last."
"As Master Aiyan predicted… It's Kuchiki Ginrei."
Without hesitation, Tōsen Kana adjusted his posture and silently moved into a blind spot outside Kuchiki Ginrei's perception. His right hand, hidden in the shadows, reached out and gripped the hilt of his Zanpakutō tightly.
"Bankai—Suzumushi Tsuishiki: Enma Kōrogi."
A massive wave of black spiritual energy erupted from his body.
Centered around him, a boundless black sphere rapidly expanded in all directions. Within the blink of an eye, the ellipsoid barrier of Enma Kōrogi engulfed the entire deep prison level—including the oncoming Kuchiki Ginrei.
And strangely, despite the enormous size and spiritual fluctuation of this barrier, the commotion went unnoticed by the outside world. Whether by luck, design, or deliberate shielding—no alarms sounded in the upper levels of Seireitei.
Inside the black do of Enma Kōrogi—
Vision.
Hearing.
Sll.
Taste.
Spiritual perception.
All of it disappeared.
Kuchiki Ginrei's expression changed instantly.
"Enma Kōrogi..."
"A Zanpakutō of total sensory deprivation…"
"Troubleso!"
He didn't need to analyze. His instincts—refined through centuries of battle and command—had already calculated the risk.
With no hesitation, Kuchiki Ginrei roared,
"Bankai—Manchū Kaikyō: Wanchuan Kaikai!"
A roar of water answered the call.
The dark space trembled violently.
A flood of shimring seawater erupted from Ginrei's feet and surged in all directions. The mont his Bankai was activated, it swept through Enma Kōrogi like a breaking dam—water flooding into the realm of darkness, crashing against the invisible walls, trying to reclaim control.
Ginrei's Bankai—Wanchuan Kaikai—was one of the strongest water-elent Zanpakutō in Soul Society.
The tide of spiritual water expanded rapidly, pushing toward the limits of the barrier.
In re seconds, the flow would fill Enma Kōrogi entirely, triggering a violent collapse of the illusion.
But—
Clang!
A cold light flashed, splitting through the darkness.
Before the waves could overtake the entire barrier, a burst of Reiatsu shot forward like a blade of divine steel. Tōsen Kana, having reached the peak of lieutenant-level strength under the training of Aizen, surged forward with both hands gripping Suzumushi tightly. His body moved like a shadow in the current, fusing with his blade to beco a singular killing edge.
He pierced through the crashing waves.
And drove his Zanpakutō deep into Kuchiki Ginrei's abdon.
"Did it… land?" he wondered in the mont of silence that followed.
But—
No.
Yes.
It did and didn't.
The blade had aid for the heart—but as Reiatsu from Ginrei's Bankai surged outward, the overwhelming pressure bent the attack slightly off course.
Tōsen had rehearsed this strike in his inner world countless tis. He had practiced for an entire month. Yet the mont ca, and the chaotic torrents of Reiatsu forced the blow to deviate at the final instant.
But he felt no regret.
"No matter."
"This strike fulfilled Master Aiyan's will."
Tōsen Kana stood firm, even as the weight of spiritual water pushed down around him.
He hadn't co here simply to kill Kuchiki Ginrei.
His mission was never about assassination.
It was to shake the heart of Seireitei, the most cunning noble. To pierce the veil of his sches. To rattle the cage.
This single stab—even if not fatal—had done just that.
Suddenly—
Light returned.
Pain followed.
Sight, hearing, and sll returned to Kuchiki Ginrei's senses all at once.
He glanced downward, and his gaze locked onto the face of his attacker.
"Tōsen… Kana!"
A flash of cold realization crossed his aged face.
"Truly unexpected."
"A Shinigami born in Rukongai… a blind one at that…"
"Not only did you master Bankai in less than a year, but you managed to land a blow on —on !"
"Even Yoruichi of the Shihouin clan and my grandson Byakuya haven't achieved what you just did."
"And here you are, nobody… actually stabbing the head of the Kuchiki family."
His words seed to carry praise, but the tone dripped with bitterness.
There was no joy in his voice—only cold fury.
He had been deceived.
Kōga… had never been in this cell.
This was Tōsen Kana from the very start.
Sowhere along the line, the real Kōga had vanished—and Tōsen had taken his place, infiltrating the prison, enduring a month of imprisonnt… all for this mont.
Worse yet—
All of this… had been orchestrated.
By soone else.
"Aiyan…!"
Kuchiki Ginrei's expression darkened.
He hadn't seen through it at all.
From the rebellion, to Kōga's capture, to the infiltration of the cell…
He had beco a pawn.
And worse—he was just now realizing it.
"How far has this web already spread?" he thought bitterly.
"Is this rely the beginning?"
Tōsen, despite his injury, remained silent.
He watched as Ginrei's torrent of Reiatsu continued to fill Enma Kōrogi, flooding the domain.
He could already feel the illusion breaking.
But he had accomplished his mission.
Thanks to Aiyan, he had not only been smuggled into the prison, but had also tad Suzumushi—who had once belonged to another.
In just one month, he had awakened Bankai and made the power his own.
"It was Lord Aizen who forced Suzumushi to submit."
"It was Lord Aizen who taught the true na of Bankai."
"And it is because of Brother Aiyan… that I can stand here, blade to blade, with a noble of Soul Society."
Because without that knowledge, without that training, no matter how well he planned, Tōsen would have been powerless against soone like Kuchiki Ginrei.
Even now, he knew the truth.
While Wanchuan Kaikai was as fad as Ryūjin Jakka among elental-type Zanpakutō, Kuchiki Ginrei himself was no Yamamoto Genryūsai.
The difference in power was vast.
The only reason he had even managed to wound him was due to the compatibility of his Bankai and the elent of surprise.
Otherwise, even if he attacked with all his strength—he wouldn't have stood a chance.
But now…
The tides had shifted.
The board had been flipped.
The opening move had been played.
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