Hearing that familiar voice, Aizen's killing intent faded.
But his blood pressure rose.
Satoru!
Why was this guy here?
For a moment, Aizen felt his mind go blank.
Had Satoru seen his laboratory?
When had he arrived?
His strength was advancing by leaps and bounds every day. By all logic, he should have long surpassed Satoru.
Yet, he hadn't even noticed Satoru's presence at such close range!
Had that guy noticed his own progress?
How should he explain the lab situation?
No matter what, he would never abandon the lab.
They were so close to achieving results.
Even as a patient man, he couldn't accept total failure at this critical juncture.
Aizen's expression darkened.
If the worst came to pass, even if it meant making an enemy of Satoru, then so be it…
Just as countless thoughts flashed through his mind, Satoru, standing atop a stone pillar, suddenly looked up at him.
"Yo!! Sōsuke!!"
"Your best buddy came to save your ass when you were at death's door. Touched much?"
Aizen: "…"
He wanted to curse.
Right in front of the enemy, this idiot just blurted out his real name?
Wait…
Could it be that Satoru had known everything he was doing all along?
Perhaps he had come here specifically to stop him…
If so, revealing himself now might have been to save Gotei 13's Kenpachi Kiganjō.
Without this interruption, Kiganjō would soon exhaust himself in his frenzy.
That would have been Aizen's moment to strike.
Satoru must have seen this and intervened to stop Kiganjō from wasting his strength.
Aizen's gaze gradually calmed, turning rational.
He looked at Satoru, preparing to use Kiganjō's status as a rebel to his advantage.
As Yamamoto's disciple, Satoru couldn't ignore Kiganjō's rebellion.
At the very least, he could be persuaded to stay neutral…
Just as he opened his mouth to begin his verbal maneuvering, Satoru's lazy voice rang out again:
"Quit spacing out! You'll regret it if you let him escape!"
"No clue what nonsense you're thinking, but save it for later."
"Let's deal with this guy together first!"
"No need for honor against traitors—just gang up on him!"
The moment he finished speaking, Satoru moved, appearing instantly before Kiganjō and slashing down with his sword.
BOOM!!!!!
A violent wave of spiritual pressure erupted in all directions.
Staring at Kiganjō right before him, Satoru grinned.
With one hand gripping his sword, he clashed with Kiganjō.
His other hand suddenly clenched into a fist and struck out—
One Bone!!
Faced with Satoru's sudden punch, Kiganjō instinctively dodged backward.
But the moment he leaned back, a kick slammed into his lower back, forcing him forward.
The instant Satoru threw his punch, Aizen had flash-stepped behind Kiganjō.
His perfectly timed kick sent Kiganjō's stomach hurtling toward Satoru's fist.
BOOM!!!!!
The tremendous impact pierced through Kiganjō's defensive spiritual pressure, driving straight into his gut.
Kiganjō's eyes bulged, nearly popping out of his skull!
The excruciating pain nearly made him black out.
Somehow, he managed to endure.
Spiritual pressure surged as over a dozen spatial fissures tore open around him.
Unwilling to clash directly with spatial forces, Satoru and Aizen both flash-stepped away.
Aizen gripped his Zanpakutō, his gaze fixed on Kiganjō while casting a sidelong glance at Satoru with mixed emotions.
He was finding it increasingly difficult to understand what Satoru was thinking.
With a light flick of his blade, Satoru summoned his shadow.
Then, he suddenly recalled Old Man Yamamoto's words from before.
After a brief two-second pause, he spoke:
"Ora ora, Star Platinum!!"
Aizen: "?"
What the hell?
In midair, Kiganjō pushed back the two opponents, a flicker of hesitation in his eyes.
The one in the black cloak—though he hadn't gotten a clear look at his face—somehow seemed familiar.
From that punch earlier, he could clearly sense the opponent's immense spiritual pressure. This was likely another individual close to captain-level strength, if not already a captain himself.
Unlike a freak like Satoru, he had no desire to fight two captain-level opponents...
...Wait a minute?
At the thought of Satoru's name, his pupils abruptly contracted.
Staring at the half of the face visible beneath the black hood, Kiganjō was both shocked and furious:
"Satoru!!"
Satoru reached up and pulled off his hood. "Well, well. I'm honored that Captain Kenpachi still remembers me."
The moment he clearly saw Satoru's face, Kiganjō panicked.
Though he didn't know how the guy had managed it, Satoru had single-handedly taken on both Rennosuke Kamikawa and Yasushi Takada!
Just imagining himself in that situation—he had zero confidence in facing those two simultaneously...
Almost instantly, the thought of fleeing flashed through his mind.
Despite all his grand talk about the Soul King and justice, his reasons for joining the rebellion had nothing to do with those ideals.
The reason Kiganjō defected was simple.
Once the rebels achieved victory and seized the Seireitei and the Royal Palace, that great one would attain supreme power.
At that time, that great one would reshape his talents, bestow upon him strength, and make him the strongest Shinigami!
But if he died, all talk of being the strongest Shinigami or possessing the greatest power would become meaningless.
With this thought, Kiganjō hesitated no longer. Raising his hand, he prepared to unleash an attack to disrupt Satoru and Aizen, seizing the chance to escape.
He had even planned his counterattack after fleeing.
If he could return to the Seireitei first and report that Satoru had conspired with the "Shadow Killer," conducting secret human experiments in the Rukongai, the old fools of the Central 46 would surely be shaken to their core.
By then, even if Satoru returned, he wouldn't be able to overturn the situation before the terrified Central 46.
Everything he said would be dismissed as slander.
He would remain the captain of the 11th Division, while Satoru and that… what's-his-name, Sōsuke, would become corpses under the blades of the Central 46!
Thinking this, Kiganjō grinned and raised his sword.
Aizen warned, "He's going to run."
The moment the words left his mouth, a look of surprise flickered in his eyes.
Midair, Kiganjō held his Zanpakutō with an incredulous expression as he looked down.
An invisible blade had pierced through his chest.
Aizen: "…"
If he wasn't mistaken, this was likely Satoru's Zanpakutō ability.
So… that nonsensical release command earlier was actually real?
This was hard to accept.
What kind of sins had a person committed to end up with such an awful release phrase?
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