Meanwhile—
About an hour earlier, hurried footsteps suddenly echoed outside the Fifth Division captain's office. Moments later, the tall and burly figure of Tokio Tsunayashiro appeared in the corridor.
Tap… tap… tap…
Though the captain's office was only steps away, Tokio gradually slowed his pace until he came to a complete stop outside the door.
For some reason, his heart was in turmoil. He had already sensed that the last place Kasumiōji Hoko's spiritual pressure had vanished was inside this very room.
"Please… don't let anything have happened to you, Hoko!"
Suppressing the unease in his chest, Tokio slowly raised his right hand and pushed open the wooden door.
Creak—
As the door swung open, a thick stench of blood rushed out, forcing even the broad-shouldered Tokio to stagger back several steps.
When he steadied himself and walked into the room, bracing against the metallic scent, the scene before him struck him dumb.
In the spacious office, Captain Sōsuke Aizen of the Fifth Division lay slumped over his desk. Several books were scattered at his feet, their pristine pages long soaked crimson with blood.
And on the floor behind Aizen's body lay Hoko—collapsed in a pool of vivid red blood. Her once-bright golden eyes had lost all light, yet they stared fixedly ahead.
CRACK!
It felt as though thunder had exploded in a clear sky.
Tokio collapsed to his knees.
His eyes remained locked on Hoko's corpse as he muttered hoarsely, "H-How… how could this happen? Hoko… Hoko…"
The Fifth Division captain's office was utterly silent. Aside from Tokio, who had just arrived, only two cold bodies remained in the vast room.
The one slumped over the desk was Aizen—Sōsuke Aizen, Captain of the Fifth Division and specially appointed calligraphy instructor at the Shin'ō Academy. He had been killed from behind with a single fatal strike.
And the weapon used to kill him was none other than his own Zanpakutō—Kyōka Suigetsu.
A water-type Zanpakutō said to manipulate light and water to distort an opponent's perception.
The body on the floor was Hoko—Kasumiōji Hoko, Vice-Captain of the Fifth Division. She too had been killed from behind.
Yet no weapon matching the wound on her back could be found at the scene. Moreover, her Zanpakutō—Higanbana—was missing, clearly taken by the killer.
"Hoko…"
Tokio stared fixedly at her lifeless form. He slowly knelt beside her and pulled her tightly into his arms. Tears slid down his face one by one.
"Damn it!"
With tears in his eyes and his teeth clenched, he growled,
"Who was it… who did this, Hoko?! Can you tell me?!"
Tap.
Hoko's right hand slipped limply to the floor.
The faint smear of blood on the tip of her slender index finger suddenly caught Tokio's attention.
He snapped his gaze toward the floor.
On a brown wooden plank previously concealed beneath her body, there was a crooked character written in blood—
"九" — Nine.
"Nine… the Ninth Division?!" Tokio's mind flashed like lightning as his thoughts raced.
Exactly! Given Captain Aizen's strength, there's no way a killer could have approached him from behind and ended him in one blow unless... unless the killer was someone the Captain knew well and trusted implicitly. Someone he would feel safe around even with his Zanpakutō within their reach!
And only a Captain-level Shinigami could kill another Captain with such efficiency.
Tokio's eyes fixed on the blade lodged in Aizen's back. A realization dawned upon him.
I understand now! The killer is the Ninth Division Captain—Kaname Tōsen!!
And there could be only one explanation: Tōsen killed Captain Aizen for some reason, and afterward killed Hoko when she accidentally witnessed the act.
Since Higanbana possessed an independent consciousness and instinctively sought out and absorbed the spiritual power of powerful shinigami nearby—
Tōsen must have deliberately taken Higanbana to prevent anyone from discovering the residual spiritual pressure on its blade and identifying him as the murderer of both Aizen and Hoko!
"Damn it!"
Tokio gently laid Hoko's body back down on the floor, then suddenly sprang to his feet and rushed outside—
Only to collide head-on with Momo Hinamori and more than a dozen members of the Central Investigation Unit.
"Third Seat Tsunayashiro? What are you doing here?!" Hinamori cried out in shock.
"…."
Burning with the desire to avenge Kasumiōji Hoko, Tokio Tsunayashiro had no time to answer Momo Hinamori's question. Gripping his Zanpakutō, he leapt onto the rooftop and sped toward the Ninth Division barracks.
"Wait—" Hinamori stepped to the captain's office entrance and looked inside.
The moment she saw the scene, she screamed in horror:
"Hoko? Hoko's been killed too!!"
"What?! Was there an accomplice?!"
The members of the Central Investigation Unit were stunned. They quickly split into two groups—one stayed behind to examine the scene, while the other rushed off in pursuit of Tokio.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Determined to seek revenge on Kaname Tōsen, Tokio disregarded the strain on his spiritual power and chained together several bursts of Shunpo. Before long, he arrived at the Ninth Division's district in Seireitei's northern sector, near Clover Street.
"Tōsen Kaname—get out here!!"
He vaulted over the marble pillar at the entrance of the Ninth Division barracks—the one engraved with a bold black "九" (Nine)—and stormed toward the captain's quarters.
"You insolent bastard! Barging into our Ninth Division like this and even shouting Captain Tōsen's name! Seize him—!"
More than a dozen Ninth Division members rushed over. Seeing Tokio rampaging through their barracks, they were instantly enraged and drew their Zanpakutō, charging forward.
"Out of my way—!"
Blinded by fury, Tokio swung his blade and knocked aside the surrounding shinigami one by one. He then used Shunpo again, landing in the central courtyard of the Ninth Division barracks.
"Tōsen Kaname! I'm going to kill you!!"
"Bastard!"
More and more Ninth Division members arrived. Hearing him openly insult their captain, they flew into a rage and drew their swords—
"Stop!"
A cold command rang out at that critical moment.
All the shinigami froze. They looked up toward the source of the voice.
Kaname Tōsen stood calmly before the captain's office.
"Captain?!"
"I said, stop."
"Yes, sir!"
Though reluctant, the Ninth Division members obeyed. They retreated like a receding tide, leaving a circular open space in the courtyard for Tōsen and Tokio.
"Third Seat, Tsunayashiro," Tōsen said gravely as he descended the steps into the courtyard and faced him, "before I discipline you, I will allow you to explain the reason for your outrageous behavior."
"Or is it that you have no proper justification at all? Is it simply because you were born into one of the Four Great Noble Houses—the Tsunayashiro Clan—that you believe you can ignore Seireitei's laws and openly challenge me, Captain of the Ninth Division?"
"Tch. To think you can still act so calm and ask 'why' after committing such a despicable act—"
Tokio gripped his Zanpakutō tightly, glaring at Tōsen with blazing eyes.
"You truly are vile and contemptible to the core!!"
He raised his blade and shouted:
"Lay to rest and engrave it in memory—Ikimikidomoe!!"
With a surge of spiritual pressure, the Zanpakutō transformed into a colossal river beast over a hundred meters tall. Its appearance resembled a massive green toad covered in grotesque bumps, viscous green fluid oozing from its body.
"Hmph. Compared to your cunning and treacherous brother, Tokinada, you are truly foolish and ignorant."
Tōsen slowly drew his Zanpakutō, pointing it diagonally at the massive green beast. He whispered: "Cry—Suzumushi!!"