Pillars of fire rose as the earth shook.
Behind them, an endless Blazing Hell surged. Deafening booms thundered from underground, like countless shells detonating all at once. Waves of blistering heat rolled toward them, making the scalp crawl.
An apocalyptic scene unfolded from within the forest. Burning winds swept across the land, erasing everything in sight—
Including the Gillian's remains, and the Shinigami corpses lying just outside the treeline.
Visible cracks rippled outward, widening like the jaws of a ravenous beast devouring everything on the ground.
Aizen said nothing. He just grabbed Naraku and ran.
Right before the world exploded, he'd finally figured out where the danger had been hiding.
Underground.
Before they'd even arrived, someone had planted a multi-layer, high-tier Hadō array several meters beneath the surface—trigger-based.
Once the Reiatsu in the area reached a set threshold, the spells would detonate.
Just as he'd expected before they left, the nobles had already started clearing obstacles from their path.
Kidō this sophisticated and well-hidden could only be the work of the Five Great Noble Houses.
"Here comes the big one," Naraku muttered.
As Aizen sank into thought, the lava behind them shot skyward. The air itself burned; the ground beneath their feet charred black and belched thick, choking smoke.
Razors of danger pressed in from every direction. Death felt inches away.
Aizen gauged the distance and realized that, at his current speed, he couldn't get both of them out in time.
So he stopped.
Without turning around, he said to the boy behind him:
"Naraku. No matter what happens next—keep it a secret for me."
"…?"
Before Naraku could respond, a blazing column of Reiatsu surged up like a second sun. A towering shaft of light pierced the sky.
For a heartbeat, everything in the forest froze in place.
The roaring earth, the falling dust, the raging wind, the rising magma, the cracking ground—
All of it went still, as if locked by some overwhelming force.
A moment later, thin lines of light spread out from beneath Aizen's feet, running straight upward into the sky until they vanished from sight.
His pupils glowed a faint electric blue as his Reiatsu spiked to its limit. Standing between waves of molten rock, he looked utterly calm—
Like a god looking down on the world.
"Bakudō #81: Dankū."
High-tier Bakudō, chantless cast.
The ground groaned under the strain as invisible walls rose up on all sides, forming one layer of barrier after another. They sealed them in completely, blocking out the furnace-like heat from every direction.
He didn't neglect the ground either. The defense was seamless—no blind spots.
Naraku stared, stunned.
No way.
He'd thought he'd already done a good job of overestimating Aizen—but this still blew past his expectations.
What did "rookie Shinigami starting at Grade 4 Reiatsu" even mean?
What did "chant-skipping and dropping a sixfold high-tier Bakudō" mean?
What did "meticulously laid noble traps crumbling in front of Dorae-Aizen" mean?
Standing before the wall of Dankū stretching into the clouds, the surging lava lapped right up against the barrier as if ready to swallow them whole.
No matter how it crashed and seethed, it couldn't cross that line.
At his side, Aizen's face was tight and complicated.
He'd been hiding his talent and power the whole time.
From the day he entered the Spiritual Arts Academy, his mask had never slipped.
He did it because he'd realized early on that he and "normal geniuses" weren't even in the same category.
He was a true anomaly.
In all of Soul Society's history, no other Academy student had ever reached his level.
Leaving Reiatsu aside, the Kidō that ordinary Shinigami found frustrating and difficult, he picked up like it was nothing. Everything else was the same.
And now, because of an unexpected crisis, he'd exposed his secret in front of his friend earlier than planned.
What would Naraku think?
Would he pull away because of all the things Aizen had kept hidden?
Would he expose that secret to others?
If it came to that, there really might not be a place left in Soul Society for him.
The nobles would never tolerate someone this powerful who wasn't under their control—nor someone who had intentionally hidden his strength.
If it came to that… he'd probably have to abandon everything here and flee—to the Living World, or to Hueco Mundo.
Aizen took a deep breath and turned toward Naraku, just as the boy whistled in awe:
"Man… they don't call you the Dragon of Documents for nothing!"
Aizen: "?"
You bring up that shame-inducing title now of all times?
Is this really the moment to talk about paperwork?
Are you okay?
Aizen inhaled again, forcing his emotions back under control, and resisted the urge to draw his sword and smack this idiot.
"You see all this," he said, gesturing at the towering Dankū barrier and the tangible Reiatsu swirling around him, "and you really don't have anything to say?"
"What's there to say?" Naraku blinked. "Didn't I already tell you before—you're 'the one who knows everything'?"
"Besides, it's not like I don't have secrets. It's not like I go around bragging, 'Hey Aizen, I apprenticed under Yamamoto, I'm gonna be Head-Captain soon and rule Soul Society,' right?"
Aizen: "…"
For all his joking, the tension between them had loosened noticeably.
And judging by how quickly Naraku accepted his friend as a hidden powerhouse, it almost felt like he'd expected something like this all along.
An absurd thought floated up in Aizen's mind.
What if everything he just said wasn't a joke?
While he was still turning that over, the lava outside slowly solidified, and the temperature plunged.
A powerful, unfamiliar Reiatsu slid into both of their senses.
"Wow. You two actually survived that level of impact," a voice drawled. "I really underestimated you."
The newcomer was also a Shinigami—but he wasn't wearing the uniform of the Gotei 13, nor that of the Central Court.
A noble retainer.
His tone dripped with contempt, but the brief flash of horror on his face said everything about what he'd just seen.
Clearly, what Aizen had done had completely shattered his expectations.
"A genius Shinigami this rare is truly a sight," the man smiled, an expression so slimy it turned the stomach.
"But I wonder… how much longer you can hold out?"
So what if he was a genius?
Reiatsu had its limits. Blocking a blast on par with a volcanic eruption in an instant—his spiritual power had to be nearly drained dry.
Time to end this farce.
He slowly drew the sword at his hip. Pressure roiled off him; Reiatsu flared bright and violent, and his cold eyes locked onto the two of them.
"Time to send you on your way."
Aizen's expression tightened. The man's Reiatsu was hovering around Grade 4—solid vice-captain level.
And the stranger was right. The Dankū barrier had burned through a lot of Aizen's power.
Naraku was in no condition to fight someone like this.
This time… they really might be in trouble.
~~~
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