Killed For 100 Years in Hueco Mundo, Aizen Invited Me To Soul Society! Chapter 360: Conversation as Friends

From that mont on, there was no longer a distinction between Zanpakutō and master. The power of Shikai and Bankai—no, the essence of the Zanpakutō itself—was completely integrated with the shinigami.

An impossible feat by any standard.

This phenonon echoed what had once occurred in the legendary battle between Aizen Sosuke and Kurosaki Ichigo. After Kyōka Suigetsu was shattered, Aizen arrogantly proclaid that the Hōgyoku had deed the Zanpakutō unnecessary for him. Though ultimately, his overconfidence had led to his downfall, the seed of truth behind those words couldn’t be denied.

And after regaining his confidence—and more importantly, the Hōgyoku’s power—Aizen indeed beca one with Kyōka Suigetsu. While imprisoned in Muken and stripped of his weapon, the ability of Kyōka Suigetsu had already beco an extension of his body, cloaking him at all tis. Even Kenpachi Azashiro, with the power of Urozakuro supporting him, required a considerable amount of ti and power just to decipher the illusion.

Kyōka Suigetsu.

The rest may not have known the full story, but Yamamoto’s successor, Jushiro’s equal in cunning and tenacity—a longti captain—Kyouraku Shunsui had co to understand it the hard way.

He had used his Bankai, all four stages of it. Yet none of them succeeded in truly wounding Mazuru. As difficult as it was to accept, he had to face the truth.

"You win." Shunsui finally admitted.

Mazuru had earlier claid that he had lost. At the ti, Shunsui didn’t accept it. The man hadn’t even used his Bankai. There was still a sense, however faint, that he was holding sothing back. A final trump card perhaps. A buried technique that could reverse everything.

But now, with his body broken, his Bankai exhausted, and his enemy entirely unscathed, Shunsui could no longer deny it. He had lost—utterly.

"If you’re going to kill ." Shunsui said with a dry smile, "I hope you’ll give a clean death."

He preferred the swift cut over drawn-out agony. Let the end co like a sword stroke—brutal but clean.

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Perhaps years ago, he might have believed Mazuru capable of such rcy. But this man before him was different. Shunsui no longer knew what he would do, and so, he no longer held hope.

"Since you’ve asked." Mazuru said coolly, "I’ll grant your wish."

The words were emotionless, like a judgnt passed by a god. Shunsui exhaled slowly, closing his eyes. If the blade was going to co, he wouldn’t flinch when it fell. If he didn’t see it, he wouldn’t fear it.

But the slash never ca.

Instead, warmth—gentle and healing—spread across his shattered fra. Shunsui’s eyes opened in disbelief, only to find Mazuru standing before him, his Zanpakutō glowing in a deep crimson hue. The light poured over him, sealing his wounds, stitching together his broken flesh.

"This...?"

The healing light soothed not only his body but his spirit. Though his reiatsu remained dangerously depleted and would take a long ti to recover, his wounds were gone.

He felt alive again.

Still, a question lingered. "Why...?"

"You didn’t really think I was going to kill you, did you?" Mazuru asked in a tone that bordered on playful disbelief. "Seriously?"

He tilted his head, smiling faintly. "Do I look like such a cold-blooded bastard to you? If so, that would hurt my feelings."

Shunsui stared silently.

Was Mazuru a cold-blooded man? Not entirely. More than a year ago, when the Soul Society had declared him a traitor and sent expeditionary forces to Hueco Mundo, he had the opportunity—and justification—to wipe them out.

But he hadn’t.

He’d allowed them to leave alive. Perhaps, at that ti, so old attachnts had lingered in Mazuru’s heart. Sentints. mories. But that was then. More than a year had passed since. People changed.

The man standing before him now—was he still the Kyo Mazuru he once knew?

After a long pause, Shunsui voiced what had weighed heavily on him for years. "Why did you betray us?"

Mazuru’s eyes flickered. He t Shunsui’s gaze. "You people really love asking that question."

"Betrayal doesn’t always need a reason. But you already know mine, don’t you?"

Shunsui did.

Kuchiki Byakuya had once asked the sa question, and Mazuru had given him an answer. Shunsui knew Byakuya well enough to be certain he’d reported that conversation to Central 46—or at least to the Gotei 13’s leadership.

Even so, Shunsui admitted, "Captain Kuchiki did tell . But I still can’t understand sothing."

His voice dropped slightly. "You were brought back by Aizen. Even so, you weren’t tortured or persecuted by the noble clans. And yet, you despise them with every fiber of your being. Why?"

It was true.

Even Aizen—despite slaughtering Central 46—had done so to manipulate the system. He didn’t seem to have a personal vendetta against nobles.

But Mazuru?

He had annihilated Central 46 as well, but didn’t stop there. He razed half of Noble Street in a single strike. His actions scread of deep-rooted hatred.

"Before I answer..." Mazuru said, his eyes narrowing, "In what capacity are you asking ?"

Shunsui frowned slightly.

Mazuru continued, "As the head of the Kyouraku noble clan, a high-ranking noble? Or... as a forr friend, a fellow shinigami?"

Shunsui understood imdiately.

If he spoke as the noble head, then reconciliation was impossible. Mazuru had attacked nobility itself. As their representative, Shunsui would be his enemy by default.

But if he spoke as a friend... there might still be sothing left between them.

"I ask as the latter." Shunsui said quietly.

Mazuru looked mildly surprised. Then the expression faded.

It was the sa reaction he’d shown when he’d faced Grimmjow or Soujiro Kusaka. A fleeting emotion that quickly dissolved into a blank calm.

"I see."

His voice was cold again, detached from sentint.

"Your clan. The others. The nobles in Seireitei. Do you know how many lives they crush beneath them, just to maintain their place?"

"I was born outside Rukongai. I ca to Soul Society with nothing. Even after being chosen by a Zanpakutō, the nobles looked at like filth. Like a stray beast."

Shunsui said nothing.

"They let into Shin’ō Academy because my reiatsu was too powerful to ignore. But not once did they ever think I belonged."

"You ask why I destroyed Central 46 and the nobles?"

Mazuru’s eyes burned, not with rage, but with the clarity of mory.

"Because I’ve lived through the lies, the manipulation, the quiet suffocation of potential. They didn’t deserve what they had, and they certainly didn’t deserve the power they possessed over the shinigami despite being mostly weak and corrupt. They made it hard for to truly accept the way things were."

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