"What should we do now?"
Sensing the distant impact of Reiatsu, Nozomi Kujō lifted her small head, asking with concern.
She already knew that the woman who had left earlier had taken on the form of the man beside her.
It looked like she had gone out to act as bait.
Bait was usually ant to be sacrificed—but the man next to her clearly didn’t seem like soone who would pull sothing like that.
"You guys? Just wait for victory to arrive."
Masatsuki Aozaki responded calmly, his tone radiating a quiet confidence.
As he spoke, he rose slowly from his relaxed position on the tatami mat. His movents were smooth, graceful—effortless.
A glint of excitent flashed in his eyes, as if he were truly looking forward to the coming battle.
"Taking on the Gotei 13 alone... it’s sothing I’ve thought about for a long ti. Now that it’s finally happening—heh, it really gets the blood pumping!"
Masatsuki Aozaki grinned, a bloodthirsty smile spreading across his face like that of a demon from Hell.
The white haori on his back began to ripple without wind, flaring up like a dancing white fla.
His Reiryoku surged outward like a tide, and the sheer pressure made the very air around him feel heavy.
In the next instant, Masatsuki Aozaki vanished from the room in a flash—only to reappear high in the sky outside.
His black and white Reiatsu twisted and coiled like twin dragons, piercing through the sky and soaring upward at breakneck speed.
The oppressive force of it was imnse—like a mountain no one could climb—bearing down with overwhelming intensity.
That terrifying pressure swept across all of Seireitei in an instant, plunging it into a suffocatingly tense atmosphere.
Those who felt the surge of power turned pale, a shock they couldn’t even describe welling up in their hearts.
The Shinigami, still locked in fierce combat, looked up.
They knew.
This was the Reiatsu of the Captain-Commander himself.
The suffocating terror from the battle in Hell still lingered in their mories. That imnse, radiant force—they could feel it even from a world away.
As expected, whenever the world stood on the edge of calamity, the Captain-Commander would appear like a blazing sun, casting his boundless light across the land.
But when Masatsuki Aozaki’s figure suddenly appeared before their eyes...
"Aozaki... Masatsuki Aozaki!?"
The twenty-so figures who had just stepped out from the spatial corridor froze in shock.
Just monts ago, they were sure—this man had already left the 1st Division barracks and was on his way to the frontlines, blocked by Reigai Aizen.
So why was he here now?
Could it be... a trap?
They’d walked right into it!
A flicker of doubt passed through Ryōdoji Ganryū’s mind—but the truth dawned on him almost instantly.
They had just confird—this man had already left the 1st Division barracks, heading toward the frontlines, intercepted by Reigai Aizen.
And yet, here he was.
From the captain lee in the Shin’ō District, to Reigai Aizen’s ambush on the only route forward, to Masatsuki Aozaki himself—
It was all a setup.
A carefully crafted lure.
Their enemy had been leading them by the nose the entire ti—drawing them out into the open and straight into the trap.
Ganryū Ryōdoji and Inaba Kagerōza exchanged a glance—then made their decision imdiately.
"Run!"
They both knew that the man before them was not soone they could fight. If they didn’t flee right now, the consequences would be unimaginable. They could very well die here!
Without hesitation, the two turned and bolted, leading their retainers and the Reigai captains away from Masatsuki Aozaki at full speed.
But they had only taken a few steps when they saw a sword slash appear across the spatial rift that had brought them here. Slowly, it began to close.
"What’s going on!?"
One of the Ryōdoji retainers cried out. A chill ran through her, and the next instant, her body was sliced clean in two from the waist.
As her consciousness faded, she looked around—only to see that the others had t the sa end.
Masatsuki Aozaki glanced at the now-sealed spatial rift, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.
"Looks like none of you are leaving today."
Just then, Reigai Kensei Muguruma suddenly shouted,
"Bankai—Tekken Tachikaze!"
The na of the technique rang in everyone’s ears.
Under Masatsuki Aozaki’s mildly curious gaze, Reigai Kensei’s eyes widened, locking fiercely onto him.
After releasing Bankai, he wielded a toothed blade in each hand. Caterpillar-like treads coiled around his arms and connected across his back, which was also covered in armor.
He looked incredibly cool—though unfortunately, his power didn’t quite match. A clear break from how things usually worked in Bleach.
Masatsuki Aozaki smiled faintly, thinking to himself,
"Looks like this Reigai is based on Kensei Muguruma before the Battle of Hell. Not a bad replication technique."
The other Reigai captains didn’t fall behind. One after another, they began releasing their Zanpakutō.
As the chants echoed, more than a dozen imnse Reiatsu surged into the sky.
All that force, tangled and clashing chaotically, ford a colossal, oppressive curtain over all of Seireitei.
Masatsuki Aozaki grinned wide, showing no intention of stopping them.
He already knew that while these Reigai captains were strong, none of them were truly a match for him.
So he waited, calmly anticipating the battle to co.
"Don’t rush. Take your ti. Show everything you’ve got. Give a little fun, will you?"
A faint smile played across his lips, as if he were settling in to enjoy a well-staged performance.
As his words fell, the surrounding Reigai captains began to move, slowly closing in to form a tight encirclent.
They clearly weren’t interested in fair play—it was going to be all of them against one.
Their eyes were wary, locked onto the young man at the center like a band of warriors preparing to challenge a demon king. Every face was solemn, tense.
They stayed alert, their expressions serious, focused entirely on the one standing in the middle of their formation.
But Masatsuki Aozaki showed no fear or panic.
He remained still, his gaze sweeping coldly over his enemies, like a sovereign demon king overlooking the pitiful mortals foolish enough to oppose him.
There was not the slightest crack in his composure—it was as if everything was unfolding just as he had planned.
To play his villain role even better, Masatsuki deliberately chose not to move. He stood his ground, waiting for his enemies to make the first move.
And as he watched their tense faces, he couldn’t help but laugh to himself.
Who was really surrounding who?
Maybe the answer would only be clear once the battle was over.
At that mont, Kensei Muguruma stepped forward.
He frowned, eyes locked on Masatsuki Aozaki, and spoke with a touch of disdain.
"You little punk—you’ve got so skill, I’ll give you that. But don’t forget, you’re up against a whole group of captains. You think you can take us all on by yourself?"
As he spoke, he gathered Reiatsu into his dual blades, his aura flaring.
But hearing those words, Masatsuki suddenly rembered sothing—and his smile grew even brighter.
Looking at Kensei, he responded casually,
"Relax. I won’t waste too much of your ti."
That line made the surrounding Reigai glance at each other in confusion.
Feeling their strange looks, Kensei Muguruma froze for a mont.
Wait... why did that sound so familiar? Wasn’t that sothing he always said...?
So that’s my line!?
Damn it—why does this suddenly feel so embarrassing!?
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