Masatsuki Aozaki's expression remained unchanged. It didn't matter how many people ca—once they had witnessed Kyōka Suigetsu, escape was impossible.
An unconscious shift in perception took hold in everyone's minds.
Half of the guards and death dealers began to show signs of transformation—green skin and eerie orange-red eye sockets, the unmistakable traits of monsters. Their bodies instinctively succumbed to fear.
They didn't even realize the abnormal changes unfolding before them. Instead, they threw themselves into battle, swinging their Zanpakutōs with all their strength—against their own comrades.
At the end of the corridor, in the depths of the shadows, Masatsuki Aozaki sheathed his Zanpakutō. His figure gradually faded into nothingness.
The howling storm and the monstrous horde engulfed the guards and death dealers, leaving them with no escape. Overwheld by the fear of death, their adrenaline surged, driving them into a frenzy. They leaped into the air, Zanpakutōs flashing coldly as they struck. Reiatsu cut through the atmosphere, and the scattering blue Reishi clung to their blades.
Madness granted them unprecedented strength, but their blades were turned on the wrong enemy. No matter how fiercely they fought, in the end, Masatsuki Aozaki remained unscathed.
Moving effortlessly through the chaos, he evaded their frenzied attacks, occasionally channeling the power of the Hōgyoku to Hollowfy the fallen guards.
It was rely a passing thought—sothing done out of convenience.
They were destined to die regardless, so why not ensure they served a purpose before their end?
The attic was hollow. Masatsuki Aozaki leaped out of the corridor into the empty air, where Reishi quickly gathered beneath his feet, forming footholds. He strode through the sky, guided by his vast Reiatsu perception, which encompassed the entire attic.
Against these frenzied Shinigami, he could have acted, but there was no need.
Letting them tear each other apart would achieve the sa result—death would claim them all just the sa.
A smirk curled at the corner of Masatsuki Aozaki's lips. Soone was approaching—soone whose Reiatsu rivaled that of his two senior disciples.
He had overlooked sothing odd. The Tsunayashiro Clan was missing a key combatant.
More precisely, in this situation, such a combatant was indispensable.
The air turned pale, like a thick white mist.
Rain poured down, yet the air was oppressively hot.
Even in the height of sumr, it shouldn't be this stifling.
The tastacias had not fled. Instead, they ignited in bursts of fla, collapsing into ash that scattered before Tokinada Tsunayashiro. For a brief mont, he felt a strange sense of clarity.
Tokinada Tsunayashiro smirked slightly. This scene felt oddly familiar—using the power of the strongest Shinigami to kill Shinigami.
Then, he caught a scent—cold, sinful, unmistakable.
The day he lost that woman's corpse, he had slled the sa stench, emanating from the expressionless elders.
Icy cold seeped up from beneath his feet.
That woman's corpse should have been his—it was his plaything. But those old n had taken it away, and on a snowy day decades ago, it had disappeared forever.
A surge of fear exploded in the depths of Tokinada's heart. The falling raindrops seed to soften, landing gently on his face, caressing him like a lover's touch.
That gentle woman... how utterly detestable.
Why couldn't she just beco part of this wretched world?
Then, he suddenly understood—she was still here. No longer a corpse, but now a part of the very world itself.
...Making this world all the more unbearable.
...
12th Division, Shinigami Research and Developnt Institute.
Under the overcast sky, a figure in a black hooded cloak moved silently. A distorted light screen shrouded their slender form as they stopped near the white building that stood alone in the open space.
The structure, built from pure white boulders, was heavily surveilled. Patrolling Shinigami moved through the area, and Rokureichū monitors covered nearly every corner.
Yet, curiously, only three teams of guards were assigned to patrol this highly secured facility.
The concealed figure took a step forward, then leapt lightly onto the rooftop.
"Aizen-sama, this is the map of the Shinigami Research and Developnt Institute. The laboratories in this building are assigned to ordinary team mbers like , but the truly important data is hidden in the underground research facility."
Inside a modest laboratory within the white building, a young man nad Ōko Yushima patiently explained,
"That's the true core of the entire Shinigami Research and Developnt Institute."
"You've done well, Ōko. I've also prepared what you need."
Sōsuke Aizen pulled the curtain aside slightly, peering outside.
"I have high expectations for your research. I hope you achieve sothing worthwhile."
"It's an honor to be recognized by you, Aizen-sama," Ōko Yushima replied with a smile. "But your research is the true masterpiece. I look forward to the day you succeed."
...
"Hey! Mayuri Kurotsuchi, how's your research coming along?"
A slouching man strode into the room, spreading his arms wide in greeting. "Looks like things are going well. I still rember how miserable you looked a while ago."
"You really are an insufferable man, Kisuke Urahara." Mayuri Kurotsuchi shot him a glance and took a step back. "Have you finally abandoned that ridiculous research of yours?"
"Well, you are a man who took everything from and then kicked aside. Cold as ever."
"That obsession with experintal subjects... That's an emotion only you seem to possess."
Kisuke Urahara casually placed a hand on Mayuri Kurotsuchi's shoulder, his manner oddly familiar. To an outsider, they might have looked like close friends.
"So, what do you really want?"
"Obviously, I ca to get you for dinner. You haven't left the lab in ages, have you? I can't keep bringing you food forever—it's starting to get annoying."
"Just have that brat lieutenant bring it," Mayuri Kurotsuchi scoffed. "If she's going to take the title of lab director, she should at least be put to work."
"That won't do. You two would definitely end up fighting, and knowing you, you'd probably blow up the underground facility. That kind of repair job isn't cheap."
Kisuke Urahara waved a hand dismissively.
"I'm not Masatsuki—I can't just get the Captain-Commander to foot the bill for my squad's damages."
"So, you're implying that I'm as much of an idiot as Hiyori..." Mayuri Kurotsuchi muttered, his expression unreadable. "I'm not so reckless child who throws tantrums."
"But Hiyori is..."
Before Urahara could finish, the lab's alarm blared, the sound echoing throughout the underground research facility.
"Oh dear, looks like lunch is off the table."
"Thinking about food at a ti like this... That's just like you, Kisuke Urahara."
"It's a sha Masatsuki refuses to bring lunch—so heartless." Urahara sighed dramatically as he opened the lab door and walked out.
"Hmph. That's the sa trick he used to get close to that woman, Kirio Hikifune," Mayuri Kurotsuchi muttered in annoyance.
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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