"Tōsen, my friend…"
"Your loyal vice-captain, Kisuke Yumi, just went down. You must be feeling pretty heavy right now, huh?"
In front of the transparent screen, Ichimaru Gin stretched lazily, his tone carefree as he watched the Shinigami vice-captains fall, completely unbothered.
"Not at all," Tōsen replied coldly, his face obscured by a black cloth, masking any emotional shift. "This is his fate. The weak have no place on the final battlefield."
His icy response revealed his heart of stone.
"Tch, tch, tch. If Yumi heard that, his faith in you would probably crumble," Gin teased with a playful smirk before changing the subject. "By the way… why haven't the three of us shown up even once?"
His casual remark sent a chill through the underground chamber.
Aizen's brow furrowed.
Tōsen froze, realization dawning.
Gin was right. The rankings were halfway done, and even vice-captains were getting screen time. So why hadn't they, the captains, appeared at all?
Could it be…
Aizen's lips curved into a calm, confident smile, his glasses glinting. "Gin, do you remember when we saw the Fantasy Master ranking? Muguruma Kensei and Hōjō Rōjūrō appeared briefly. You recall which divisions they belonged to, don't you?"
Click.
Gin's mind clicked into place, the puzzle solved. "I see… so in the future, we must have successfully defected to Hueco Mundo!"
A hundred years ago, before the Visored incident, Kensei and Rōjūrō were the captains of the Third and Ninth Divisions. Their departure allowed Gin and Tōsen to take their places.
In the future, after their defection to Hueco Mundo, Kensei and Rōjūrō must have returned to fill the vacant captain positions, as seen in their brief appearance wearing captain's haori in the hospital.
"Gin, don't get too excited," Aizen said coolly. "That future is as illusory as Kyōka Suigetsu now."
"You mean the ranking videos have altered the future, and our plans might not come to fruition?" Gin, having worked under Aizen for nearly a century, instantly grasped his meaning.
"Exactly," Aizen nodded. "With these videos exposing secrets and disrupting the timeline, the future is chaotic. Even I can't predict it with certainty anymore."
His tone lacked its usual confidence, tinged with a rare hint of frustration.
Even someone as meticulous as Aizen, whose centuries of plotting had never failed, was shaken by the unpredictability these rankings introduced.
He knew, with his strength at the pinnacle of the Shinigami, he was guaranteed a spot in the top five. That meant his centuries of schemes would soon be exposed.
"Gin, Tōsen…" Aizen's voice was calm but resolute. "We should prepare. We might need to defect sooner than planned, before Rukia can infiltrate Ichigo's side."
His eyes gleamed with a mix of composure and inevitability.
---
Meanwhile, the video transitioned, ending the vice-captains' segment and jumping to a new battle scene.
At the Thirteenth Division, Kyoraku Shunsui's voice rang out: "Finally! The scene after my Bankai's finale!"
His excitement was palpable, accidentally crushing the edge of a tea table with his grip.
In the video, Kyoraku, with two fingers raised, used delicate Reishi threads to cleanly sever Lille Barro's neck. The scene connected seamlessly with the previous ranking.
But this wasn't a killing blow—it was the start of a nightmare.
"Arghhh!"
As Kyoraku's strength waned from overusing his spiritual energy, Lille's maniacal roar erupted from behind:
"Damn Shinigami! I told you—a mere Bankai can never kill a divine envoy!"
A blazing white laser shot out. Kyoraku, unable to dodge, was pierced through the abdomen, blood spraying as the tide turned against him.
"Oh no…" Ukitake Jūshirō's heart sank, a bad premonition gripping him. "Just like the last ranking's pure-blood Quincies, the Schutzstaffel enhanced by Auswählen are nearly impossible to kill!"
Kyoraku's face was grim, a bitter smile crossing his weathered features. "My Bankai was my last resort. If that couldn't kill him, then my future self is doomed to fall on that battlefield…"
Though he was at peace with death, unafraid of his own demise, losing to a monster like this was hard to swallow.
The Schutzstaffel, enhanced by Auswählen, were beyond comprehension—mutated beings. Losing to such a creature stung Kyoraku's pride.
As Lille's near-dead body was enveloped in blinding holy light, his form expanded, transforming into something inhuman.
The light faded, revealing his true form: an eight-winged, four-legged, long-necked bird-like creature with a sharp beak and piercing eyes, shrouded in a miniature angelic halo.
The Bleach world erupted in shock.
---
Hueco Mundo, Las Noches
"???"
"A bird… a bird man? What the hell kind of monster is this?!"
The Arrancars, even those accustomed to grotesque Hollow forms, were revolted by Lille's twisted, long-necked bird transformation. His wings, riddled with gaping holes, looked corroded, amplifying the disgust.
"Ugh!"
"Disgusting! It's an eyesore!"
"This damn pure-blood Quincy is uglier than any Shinigami—ten thousand times worse!"
"Support the Shinigami for once! Kill this freak!"
The Arrancars set aside their grudges against the Gotei 13, redirecting their hatred toward Lille Barro.
It wasn't about factions or rivalries—publicly disgusting everyone on screen was a crime deserving death!
---
Back in the Video
"Kyoraku Shunsui…" Lille's bird-like voice echoed from the sky. "You must be utterly despairing right now, aren't you?"
His massive, round eyes reflected Kyoraku's battered, near-lifeless form on the ground.
With his second-stage Vollständig, Lille had turned the tables, showcasing a perverse, unkillable vitality.
"Weapons can't kill me…"
"Cutting my neck with spiritual pressure can't kill me…"
"I am immortal! Invincible! I am the divine envoy granted privileges by His Majesty, here to punish sinners like you!"
Lille's maddened roars were arrogant, his long neck twisting in a boastful display as golden holy light gathered at his sharp beak.
"Farewell… Second Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13! You'll perish in the divine radiance, burdened by your sins!"
As the golden light solidified, Kyoraku closed his eyes in despair, giving up the struggle.
Without surprise, the laser of holy light engulfed him, drowning his figure in endless brilliance.
The ranking round ended.
----------------
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