At the same time.
Unlike Abarai Renji—
who had lost his composure at the footage, even flaring with humiliation and anger—
Inside the hidden 5th Division base, the reactions of the trio there were completely different.
"…That is…"
"Kurosaki Ichigo?!"
Cold eyes fixed on the screen.
When the orange-haired boy's face became clear on camera,
the always composed Aizen—
whose expression rarely changed, no matter the situation—
had his pupils contract sharply.
For the first time, his gaze wavered.
Behind him, Ichimaru Gin's expression mirrored that reaction.
Beneath his fringe, his eyes narrowed carefully as he studied the footage.
After confirming it again and again, he finally spoke:
"Click, click, click…"
"Well, well. To think it would be Kurosaki Ichigo."
"Didn't expect him to appear in the countdown video. And it looks like he's actually fighting Abarai Renji!"
Yes.
Ichimaru Gin recognized him immediately.
That orange-haired youth in the video was Kurosaki Ichigo—the protagonist of the Shinigami world.
Why so certain?
Because years ago, due to Ichigo's father—Shiba Isshin—the trio of Aizen, Gin, and Tōsen had marked Ichigo since birth.
For years, they had monitored him from the shadows, tracking his every step of growth.
That was why, seeing Ichigo now, Gin felt no surprise.
Instead, he recognized him at once, a sly grin curling across his face.
"Gin…"
"This countdown video… seems far more interesting than I first thought."
Aizen lifted a hand, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. A faint smile appeared.
At first,
He had regarded the video with cold indifference, instinctively rejecting the unknown.
The so-called Zanpakutō rankings meant nothing to him.
He did not care in the slightest.
But now—
It was different.
With Kurosaki Ichigo's appearance, everything changed.
As the mastermind in the shadows, conducting hollowfication experiments and manipulating countless schemes, Aizen had long known Ichigo's true heritage.
He knew that within Ichigo lay a blend of different bloodlines and powers.
So when he saw, on the footage, that Ichigo had become a Shinigami—
Aizen's mind began racing.
Guesses formed instantly.
And for the first time, interest flickered in his gaze.
He was eager to know:
Why had Ichigo appeared in the "Senbonzakura" countdown?
What role would he play in the events to come?
And what would unfold next?
Meanwhile—
The footage continued.
The battle pressed on—
BOOM!
Reiryoku surged.
Power burst forth.
Kurosaki Ichigo's orange hair whipped in the wind.
Smoke and dust swirled around him as his pressure forced Abarai Renji down, rendering him immobile.
Then—
Ichigo leapt into the air, raising his Zanpakutō with crushing force, ready to strike down Renji and end the fight.
But suddenly—
"Shunpō (Flash Step)!"
With no warning.
Without even appearing on-screen beforehand,
the cold figure of Kuchiki Byakuya materialized behind Ichigo.
Draped in a black Shihakushō, Byakuya's presence was chilling.
In his hand—was most of a broken Zanpakutō blade.
CRACK!
The sound of shattering steel rang out as the camera followed.
In an instant, Ichigo's sword was severed.
It happened so fast, no one could even react.
Byakuya's skill—and the cutting power of his Zanpakutō, Senbonzakura (Thousand Cherry Blossoms)—were displayed in full.
The contrast to his lieutenant Renji could not have been clearer.
"Amazing!"
"Who is that cold man?"
"I didn't even see him move before he cut through Ichigo's sword!"
"But… this means Ichigo's in danger now!"
In the Human World, at Karakura High School, Sado Yasutora and the others watched the screen with worry.
At first, they had been shocked just to see Ichigo appear.
They couldn't make sense of it.
Then, as Ichigo overwhelmed Renji, they breathed a sigh of relief and cheered for him.
But with Byakuya's sudden intervention—
the fight turned dire.
Now, on the screen, Ichigo clutched nothing but a shattered hilt with a sliver of steel.
Blood welled from fresh wounds.
It poured steadily from his body.
Orihime and the others grew pale.
If it didn't stop—Ichigo might die.
"Who is he?"
"Why is the gap between us so vast? What's going on here?"
"Could these be glimpses of the future?"
As the one shown in the video,
Ichigo's gaze was fixed on the screen.
Confused.
Yet deep down, instinct whispered—
This wasn't fiction.
These were real events.
Future events.
"Does that mean…"
"That someday, my identity changes? That I won't remain just an ordinary high schooler?"
"That I'll take on another life—like what I'm seeing now?"
For now, Ichigo knew nothing of Shinigami.
He had no concept of Zanpakutō or Shihakushō.
But instinct told him:
In the future, not far from now, he would meet the two men on the screen.
Renji—who nearly fell to him.
And Byakuya—who effortlessly struck him down.
These men…
he would cross paths with them again.
And his destiny would change forever.
What Ichigo did not know—was that at that very moment, in Karakura Town, inside the family clinic, his father Kurosaki Isshin was working.
When he saw the footage, he froze, eyes nearly popping from his skull.
And then he shouted aloud:
"What the hell?!"
"Ichigo… became a Shinigami?!"
"How is that even possible?!"
(End of Chapter)
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