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Aozaki Reiji, cloaked in a black robe, arrived at the Shin'ō Academy, following a familiar path.
This was a divine weapon Yoruichi Shihouin had lent him.
As he drew near, he sensed something was amiss; a faint scent of blood permeated the air.
Perhaps an ordinary student of the Shin'o Academy wouldn't notice, but unfortunately, Reiji had killed many people and was intimately familiar with the smell.
He concealed himself, leaping onto a rooftop, from where he could feel the intense spiritual pressure of a fierce clash in the distance.
A hint of surprise flashed in Aozaki Reiji's eyes.
Shinigami were fighting… and quite a few of them!
This was only a few streets away from the Shin'ō Academy; who would be so audacious?
Looking down, he saw two groups of Shinigami on the street, engaged in a fierce battle.
The Shinigami leading both sides were at the level of high-ranking officers.
Based on their attire, Reiji immediately concluded that these were Shinigami of the Gotei 13 fighting against rebels.
But why? How dared the rebels come here?
This was the Shin'ō Academy, home not only to civilian students but also many noble scions; harming them would undoubtedly incur public wrath.
The Tsunayashiro Family was powerful, but their elders were not fools; they shouldn't make enemies for the family in such a way.
Aozaki Reiji tugged at his hood, thinking of Yoruichi Shihouin.
Could it truly be for her? She certainly had that value.
But didn't the Tsunayashiro Family fear completely enraging the Shihouin Family?
They likely didn't.
Recalling his past life's memories, he arrived at this answer.
In the original work, Yoruichi Shihouin was forced to leave the Soul Society, and the Captain of the 2nd Division position was not inherited by the family head, but by Suì-Fēng, which already hinted at some issues.
After all, for a thousand years, the positions of Captain of the Second Division and Commander of the Onmitsukidō had always been inherited by the Shihouin Family, never with an exception, yet it changed precisely in Yushiro Shihouin's generation.
Whatever the reason, it indicated that the Shihouin Family's influence was waning, to the point where they couldn't even retain the Captain-class position.
Aozaki Reiji carefully observed the battle situation.
Immediately after, he discovered two more people lurking furtively in the shadows, observing the nearby battlefield.
Both were dressed in black, their faces obscured, but Reiji quickly guessed their identities.
After the battlefield descended into chaos, one of the black-clad figures, enveloped in Kido, moved swiftly and suddenly appeared on the battlefield.
With a flash of a blade, a rebel fell beneath his sword before he could even react.
"Who's there?"
Seeing the black-clad figure suddenly appear on the battlefield, several Shinigami cried out in alarm.
Everyone present was a professional Shinigami from the Gotei 13 and the rebels, with high-ranking officers among them.
This fellow suddenly appeared and instantly killed a Shinigami with his first strike, yet no one had noticed him before—what kind of strength was this?
Seeing everyone's gaze fixed on him, the black-clad figure chuckled softly, gripping his Zanpakuto in a reverse grip, its tip pointed downwards.
There was no release command, but Reiji knew his Shikai was already complete.
"Aizen?!"
Seeing this movement, he immediately recognized the identity of the black-clad figure, and the identity of the other black-clad figure hidden in the shadows was also self-evident.
Who else could it be besides Tōsen Kaname?
He had practiced this movement many times in private; there was no mistaking it.
"Reflect, Shinra Bansho!"
Shinra Bansho completed its Shikai while still in its sheath, simultaneously switching to the power of Kyōka Suigetsu.
He tightly gripped the hilt, secretly pleased that Shinra Bansho's Shikai had made no significant commotion, thus avoiding attracting attention.
"It worked!"
The scene before him remained unchanged, and Reiji immediately felt a surge of secret joy.
The Gotei 13 Shinigami and the rebels looked at Aizen in bewilderment, then turned to their teammates beside them.
This sight sent chills down their spines; their comrades, whom they could originally entrust their backs to, had somehow turned into enemies seeking to take their lives.
A space-type Zanpakuto?
This thought arose in their minds.
Almost without hesitation, driven by the instincts of years of battle on the battlefield, they swiftly raised their Zanpakuto and slashed at the "enemies" beside them.
In an instant, the shouts of battle once again echoed through the streets, and blood and flesh filled every corner of the battlefield, then dissipated into spiritual particles.
As the battle continued, Reiji was surprised to discover that two Vice-Captain-class Shinigami were hidden among the rebels.
Aizen walked among the crowd, occasionally delivering a light slash, cutting down the Shinigami in his way and ending their fragile lives.
His objective was very clear; ordinary Shinigami no longer satisfied him, and officers and Vice-Captains were his targets for this expedition.
In less than ten minutes, the street was already littered with corpses, and the bodies of Shinigami slowly dissipated into spiritual particles.
In the Soul Society, only the strong were worthy of leaving behind corpses.
Watching the enemies constantly falling and constantly appearing, the officers and Vice-Captains on both sides of the battle were on the verge of collapse.
Reiji, lying on the rooftop, watched with wide eyes, nervously observing Aizen gracefully walking through the blood-stained streets, harvesting the spiritual power of one Shinigami after another.
The intense pain made the Shinigami howl in agony; they instantly felt their strength drained, unable to even maintain their spiritual bodies.
The seemingly powerful Vice-Captain-class Shinigami, unable to react, were instantly killed by Aizen with a casual flick… Reiji couldn't help but swallow.
The impact of seeing it with his own eyes was ultimately stronger than the images he had imagined in his mind; the spiritual pressure of those two Vice-Captains was a whole level higher than his own.
Soon, the wails on the ground ceased, and only one person stood calmly in the middle of the battlefield.
"Swish!"
Aizen said nothing more, waving Kyōka Suigetsu with his right hand to flick off the blood from the blade, then sheathing it.
He looked around, then moved swiftly, disappearing from his spot.
Reiji lay motionless on the rooftop, and after nearly fifteen minutes, he slid down from the roof and entered a small alley.
Recalling the battle process, a sense of urgency arose in his heart.
Through the battle just now, Reiji had realized some things.
Ordinary Shinigami no longer qualified as experimental subjects; only Shinigami of officer rank and above would be considered by Aizen.
There were two possible reasons for this situation.
First, Aizen's experiment had entered a more advanced stage, and the original experimental materials were insufficient to continue the experiment.
Second, precisely the opposite of the first possibility: his experiment had made no progress, so he needed better experimental materials to cultivate the Hōgyoku.
Reiji leaned more towards the second possibility.
Aizen had not obtained Matsumoto Rangiku's Souls and was unaware of the existence of the "Soul King's Fingernail."
That is to say, the Hōgyoku's desires had not yet been fulfilled, and he urgently needed to find experimental materials that could satisfy the Hōgyoku.
Reiji leaned against the wall, thinking of Matsumoto Rangiku, and suddenly felt an urgent desire to return to the Shin'o Academy.
After all, he wasn't originally born into this cruel world; even though he repeatedly told himself not to be soft-hearted, he couldn't truly be ruthless.
He cautiously crept to the wall, poked his head out to peek at the battlefield, and confirmed it was safe.
Only then did he stand up, brush off the dirt he had gotten from sitting on the ground, and use Shunpo to vanish.
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