The evening sun cast a dim yellow glow over the Fifth Division barracks, slanting across the courtyard of blue bricks and green tiles and forming beautiful patterns of light and shadow.
Inside the Fifth Division captain's office, there was suddenly a faint whoosh—a subtle ripple of spatial distortion.
Fūjin Taichi cautiously poked his head out from a cross-shaped dimensional passage.
The spacious office was deathly silent.
Aizen, who had faked his death, still lay slumped over the desk, his Zanpakutō—Kyōka Suigetsu—embedded in his back.
Of course, Taichi knew that the sword in Aizen's back was fake. The real Kyōka Suigetsu… was Aizen's "corpse" itself.
And his goal was simple: take advantage of this opportunity to steal the real Kyōka Suigetsu and hide it.
If Aizen lost Kyōka Suigetsu, at most he'd be a tiger without wings—still capable of dominating the forests of Soul Society, but vulnerable if he made a single misstep.
"Well then, Aizen! I'll be confiscating your Kyōka Suigetsu—"
Taichi's smug voice abruptly stopped.
His gaze shifted downward—
And he saw Kasumiōji Hoko lying at his feet.
"K-Kasumiōji Hoko?!"
His heart jolted. He rushed forward, lifting her into his arms.
"Hoko! Hoko!!"
"What?! Something's happening!"
Outside the office, Momo Hinamori and several members of the Central Investigation Unit heard the noise and hurried inside.
The moment they saw Taichi, they immediately drew their Zanpakutō and pointed them at him.
"Criminal Fūjin Taichi! What are you doing here?!"
"Hoko… what happened to her? What happened here?"
Taichi ignored the shouting investigators and looked directly at Hinamori, who stood silently.
"I… I don't know!" Hinamori shook her head. She glanced at Aizen's body and answered heavily:
"After Captain Aizen was killed… Vice-Captain Hoko told me to report to the Captain-Commander while she stayed at the scene.
When I came back… she had already been killed as well.
I don't know what happened! But…"
"But what?"
"But Third Seat Tsunayashiro Tokio of the Eighth Division appeared at that exact time! And… the moment he saw us, he panicked and ran away!"
The captain of the Investigation Unit, Akichi Dudu, shouted angrily:
"We now have reason to believe that Tsunayashiro Tokio murdered Vice-Captain Kasumiōji—and that he is closely connected to Captain Aizen's death as well!"
"Idiot."
"What?!"
"I said you're an idiot!!"
Taichi recalled the scene he had just witnessed in the Ninth Division—Tokio recklessly challenging Captain Kaname Tōsen despite the overwhelming gap in strength.
Rage flared within him.
"Anyone who's read the whole story can see Tokio's feelings for her long surpassed friendship!
And yet you idiots, with brains like pigs, came up with 'Tsunayashiro Tokio murdered Kasumiōji Hoko'?!
Do the details have to be spelled out in neon lights for you to understand?!"
"Bastard! Fūjin Taichi, as a criminal personally designated by the Captain-Commander, you have no right to spout nonsense here! Everyone—seize the criminal Fūjin Taichi!"
Clatter—
Nine shinigami, including Akichi Dudu, surrounded Taichi with drawn Zanpakutō.
Only Momo Hinamori hesitated, uncertainty flickering across her face.
"Third Seat Hinamori! Do you intend to defy the Captain-Commander's orders and shield the criminal Fūjin Taichi?!"
Akichi barked:
"Let me remind you—the Captain-Commander has ordered the execution of Fūjin Taichi!
Any member of the Gotei Thirteen who shows favoritism toward him will be treated as an accomplice and executed on the spot!"
"B-But… Taichi… Taichi…"
Hinamori's right hand gripped the hilt of her zanpakutō tightly, her eyes filled with turmoil.
"Third Seat Hinamori! Don't forget—the criminal Fūjin Taichi stands accused of assisting the Ryoka in invading the Seireitei!
And Captain Aizen… Captain Aizen was likely killed because he discovered something in advance—so Fūjin Taichi joined forces with those missing Ryoka to eliminate him!!!"
"W-What?!"
Momo Hinamori's heart jolted violently. Her brown-gray eyes locked onto Taichi as she asked in a trembling voice:
"Taichi… is what he said… true? Captain Aizen's death… was it really connected to you?"
"Hinamori Momo… your intelligence truly pains me."
Still holding Kasumiōji Hoko in his arms, Taichi slowly rose to his feet. Without even glancing at Hinamori, he walked toward Aizen's "corpse."
"Stop! What are you doing?!" Akichi Dudu barked angrily. "Criminal Fūjin Taichi, in my capacity as Captain of the Central Investigation Unit, I order you to immediately cease desecrating Vice-Captain Kasumiōji's body!
Otherwise, in accordance with the Captain-Commander's orders, I will strip you of your right to appeal and execute you on the spot!"
"Is that so… heh."
Taichi stopped behind Aizen's body, still holding Hoko, and said coldly:
"Whether you understand or not, let me offer you one piece of advice—do not judge a person solely by appearances and speculation."
"What?"
Hinamori, who had drawn her Zanpakutō halfway, suddenly froze and stared at him in confusion.
"Don't let him deceive you any further, Third Seat Hinamori! Since the criminal Fūjin Taichi refuses to repent… we will end him here! Everyone—"
Akichi raised his Zanpakutō and chanted in a low voice:
"Having seen a thousand sails, return still a king! Surge, Kōrō!"
"Charge!!" The other members released their Zanpakutō as well and rushed toward Taichi alongside Akichi.
But before they could take a single step, they suddenly felt an immense, invisible spiritual pressure descend from above—like a mountain pressing down upon their heads.
Their bodies grew unbearably heavy. Even breathing became difficult.
"Foolish…"
Taichi shook his head and sighed softly.
"I told you—don't judge someone based on appearance and guesswork.
I've only released a fraction of my spiritual pressure, and you 'elites' are pinned to the floor like stray dogs gasping for air..."
"T-Taichi... so you've had... Captain-level strength all along!"
Under the crushing density of his spiritual pressure, Hinamori fell to her knees with a thud. Struggling to lift her head, she looked at him and asked:
"Then Captain Aizen's death… really was connected to you?!!"
"Hinamori Momo… the 'dead Aizen' in your eyes is nothing more than a Zanpakutō. The real Aizen is hiding somewhere in the shadows, secretly observing Soul Society…"
Taichi extended his left hand and grabbed Aizen's "corpse."
"I know it's hard for you to understand right now… but time will prove everything."
As he spoke, he freed one hand to draw his Zanpakutō and opened a cross-shaped dimensional passage beside him.
Holding Hoko in one arm and dragging "Aizen's body" with the other, he slowly stepped into the void.
"Captain… Aizen…"
Hinamori watched helplessly as Taichi pulled "Aizen" toward the cross-shaped rift. She instinctively stretched out her right arm, trying to grasp something—
But under the crushing pressure of Taichi's spiritual power, she could barely breathe.
And what her hand ultimately caught… was nothing but empty air.