"Does it still need to be said?"
"Of course, it's the body of Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni."
"Captain Aiyan."
Seeing Aiyan—who was supposed to have left Seireitei and been cut off by the Seirei Gate—suddenly appear seated in his office, Kurotsuchi Mayuri at first broke into a cold sweat, his smile slightly stiff. But he quickly recovered his composure.
"Yeah?"
"But I seem to recall hearing Captain Kyōraku say you betrayed your own captain."
"And I also heard you say, as a Gotei captain, you must abide by the Captain-Commander's orders and the laws of the Soul Society."
Aiyan leaned back lightly in the chair, resting his hands on the armrests, and looked at Kurotsuchi Mayuri with interest.
"That's correct."
"As the captain of the 12th Division, I betrayed Captain-Commander Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni."
"As your captain, I should obey the orders of Captain Aiyan—because your will is the highest authority in Soul Society."
Kurotsuchi Mayuri controlled his breathing, keeping his tone as calm as possible.
"This was to win the trust of Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni."
"And it's also for you, Captain Aiyan."
"Right now, I can cut off Chōjirō Sasakibe's head at any time."
As he spoke, he drew his Zanpakutō.
"I'm glad you acted for me."
"However, Captain Kurotsuchi Mayuri…"
"I haven't finished speaking yet. Can you endure?"
Aiyan's lips curved slightly.
Boom.
As a ray of golden light flashed in his eyes, Kurotsuchi Mayuri's expression changed instantly.
He felt an overwhelming tsunami of Reiatsu—like a raging ocean—crash down on him, submerging him in wave after wave.
Whenever he tried to lift his head above the torrent, a new, even denser surge of Reiatsu would slam into him, forcing him deeper and deeper, until he was crushed into the abyssal depths of that spiritual ocean.
The heaviness, the suffocating pressure—bones creaking under the weight—invaded every nerve and fiber of his soul.
Snap.
Two heavy sounds rang out in succession.
The first—his Zanpakutō clattering to the floor.
The second—the impact of Kurotsuchi Mayuri's knees hitting the ground, palms pressed flat against the floor.
At the same time, two bursts of spiritual smoke erupted in the air, as if something invisible had shattered. Then came the sound of fabric tearing from the chair Aiyan sat in, splitting under the strain into jagged cracks.
"The Bakudō tool for binding Reiatsu, invisible to the naked eye, paired with a chair that suppresses spiritual pressure…"
"Well improved."
"Much better than the device Kirio Hikifune once used to bind Aizen and me."
Aiyan gave the chair a few casual pats.
Even that small gesture made Kurotsuchi Mayuri's expression contort further—already struggling on all fours under the crushing Reiatsu.
He could feel the pressure on him spike to an even higher level.
His body shook violently, before collapsing entirely—sprawled flat on the office floor, his face pressed into the cold surface, unable to even raise his head.
Click.
The spirit-particle-forged floor and walls groaned like they'd been trampled by a thousand elephants, spiderweb cracks spreading through the office.
'How… how is this possible?'
'Just his Reiatsu alone can immobilize me!'
'Since the Maggot's Nest, how could his Reiatsu have grown this much? Even Yamamoto Genryūsai's spiritual pressure couldn't do this!'
'Could it be… this man has surpassed the strongest Shinigami of the past thousand years?'
Thoughts flooded Kurotsuchi Mayuri's mind, his hands and feet ice cold, his gut twisting.
Last time, Aiyan's strength had shocked him. But after his release from the Maggot's Nest, gaining greater strength, vision, and resources, he had entertained other possibilities in his mind.
But now?
With only a glance—without even using a Zanpakutō—Aiyan had completely stripped him of all ability to resist.
Compared to his own growth, Aiyan's progress was on an entirely different dimension.
Even if he released his Bankai, even if his Reiatsu surged severalfold, even if he forced himself to fight—would it matter?
In his eyes, his Bankai was meaningless before Aiyan.
"It seems you understand now."
Retracting his Reiatsu after crushing Kurotsuchi Mayuri to the ground, Aiyan stood.
This man was not Tōsen Kaname.
Kurotsuchi Mayuri was covered in thorns and filled with poison—just like his Zanpakutō, Ashisogi Jizō.
Last time, pulling him from the Maggot's Nest had only brought temporary compliance.
Now, after becoming the captain of the 12th Division, inventing countless devices, and receiving orders from Central 46, Kurotsuchi Mayuri had developed many more ideas of his own.
Ta-ta.
Aiyan rose from the chair and picked up the Zanpakutō that Kurotsuchi Mayuri had dropped.
No one else would dare touch Kurotsuchi Mayuri's blade—it was full of hidden mechanisms and lethal poisons.
But Aiyan not only touched it—he examined and played with it without the slightest concern.
And in his hands, the usually deadly Zanpakutō was as docile as a kitten, all its abilities sealed.
Gulp.
The sound of rapid swallowing filled the office—it was Kurotsuchi Mayuri.
He could feel that his bond with Ashisogi Jizō had been completely severed.
He couldn't even trigger the hidden mechanisms or devices built into it.
This impossible, incomprehensible situation left him speechless.
"Perhaps I've spent too much time around you scientists."
"I still don't understand the science of Soul Society… but I do know that any device or invention has a threshold."
"Once that threshold is exceeded, it becomes paralyzed—or collapses entirely."
"Like your Reiatsu-binding device. If I exceeded its tolerance limit by twofold, perhaps it could still hold… but what about two, three, even ten times?"
Aiyan examined the Zanpakutō for a moment, then placed it back into Kurotsuchi Mayuri's trembling hands.
"You… you're one of the smartest people I've met—second only to my brother Aizen, and to Urahara Kisuke."
"Of course…"
"That's only in terms of invention and creation."
Aiyan patted Kurotsuchi Mayuri's shoulder—not harming him, but making it clear he would remain captain of the 12th Division only so long as Aiyan willed it.
But he was not the captain under Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni's command.
"I understand."
"About Captain Aiyan's presence in Seireitei… I know nothing."
Kurotsuchi Mayuri exhaled slowly.
Though sweating profusely, his face still pressed to the floor, he knew he had passed this test.
Not because of what he had just said—but because his abilities and inventions had earned Aiyan's tolerance this time.
As for the sting of hearing Aizen and Urahara ranked above him—any humiliation, resentment, or anger vanished instantly.
No—he realized—he had never truly felt them at all.
...
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