The day of the execution.
Seireitei, Muken Prison.
The air was filled with the scent of decay and deathly silence. The thick Seki-Seki Stone walls cut off almost all Reiatsu and sound.
The guards watching the prison stood stiffly at their posts, staring blankly ahead, turning a blind eye to the man wearing a white Captain's Haori who walked leisurely past them.
Sōsuke Aizen took out several ancient-looking keys from his sleeve and inserted one into the keyhole of the first cell's iron door, which was covered in sealing runes.
The key turned, emitting the heavy sound of a mechanism shifting, and the dim runes on the door extinguished one by one.
The iron door slid open silently.
Inside the cell, a thin man with long hair slowly raised his head. He moved his body, stiff from disuse, and looked at Sōsuke Aizen who had appeared before him.
"Is it time?"
Azashiro Sōya ignored the Zanpakutō chattering away while lying on his body and stood up.
"About time, I suppose." Sōsuke Aizen looked at his empty shoulder with interest. "Who are you talking to?"
Azashiro Sōya paused in his steps and replied impatiently, "An annoying fellow..."
"Could it be your Zanpakutō?"
Aizen extended his spiritual senses, but still could not detect any living thing here other than the two of them.
"Something... like that."
Azashiro Sōya followed Aizen out of his cell, only to find that the man before him did not intend to walk toward the exit, but instead walked toward the seal next door.
"Are you lost? Sōsuke Aizen."
Azashiro Kenpachi stopped, looking at the man before him with vigilance.
"The plan has changed," Aizen replied gently, casting his gaze toward the adjacent cell. "There is another guest who also needs to leave the table early."
Thus, Azashiro Sōya said no more, simply following silently behind him.
Aizen walked to the neighboring cell door and used another key to open the seal...
The prisoner in this cell clearly did not have Azashiro Sōya's composure.
The moment the door opened, a disheveled figure with sunken eyes lunged fiercely at the doorway, only to be blocked by an invisible barrier of spiritual power.
"Patience, Mr. Tsunayashiro."
Sōsuke Aizen dangled the keys in his hand, indicating that he hadn't fully undone the other's seal yet.
It was said that the criminals imprisoned in Muken were terrifying existences who could not die, but due to Sōsuke Aizen's intervention, the pitiful Tokinada Tsunayashiro had also been locked inside.
If Aizen hadn't released him, the man might have become the first prisoner in history to starve to death in Muken—calling him the disgrace of Muken wouldn't be an overstatement.
Tokinada Tsunayashiro panted heavily, staring dead at Aizen and Azashiro Sōya outside the door.
The white bony mask on his body had long since faded, but the traces of madness brought about by Hollowfication still lingered in the depths of his eyes.
"Aizen... Sōsuke..." Tokinada Tsunayashiro's voice was hoarse. "You... why..."
Why let him out?
Inserting the final key into the cell door, Sōsuke Aizen did not answer Tokinada Tsunayashiro's question; he simply stepped aside slightly.
Tokinada Tsunayashiro looked at him warily, then looked at the silent Azashiro Sōya beside him.
Finally, the thirst for freedom outweighed his suspicions.
He stumbled out of the cell door, greedily inhaling a mouthful of the relatively fresh air outside the prison, even though it was still filled with the cold scent of Seki-Seki Stone.
At this moment, Aizen finally spoke to Tokinada Tsunayashiro:
"Because the Seireitei today will be very chaotic."
"Chaotic enough for you to do some things... that you have always wanted to do."
"You are free, Tokinada Tsunayashiro."
He pushed up his glasses and led Azashiro Kenpachi toward the exit.
Given his current situation, he had no choice but to trust the other's plan. Tokinada Tsunayashiro quickly followed.
When they walked out of the underground Muken prison and saw the sunlight of Soul Society once again, Sōsuke Aizen suddenly added a key piece of information.
"Central 46 is currently holding their daily routine meeting in the council chamber."
"All members are there."
This sentence ignited the flames of revenge in Tokinada Tsunayashiro.
The smile of rebirth on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a malice and rage that almost spilled out of his eyes.
Whoosh—
Tokinada Tsunayashiro's figure turned into a blur, fleeing toward the Central 46 compound, the symbol of the highest authority in the Seireitei.
Rukongai, a deserted wasteland.
An ancient Senkaimon opened, and three figures walked out from the light.
"Is this Soul Society?"
Ichigo Kurosaki walked out of the Senkaimon wearing a cloak, looking curiously at the buildings before him that seemed straight out of the Edo period.
"That's right."
Yoruichi Shihōin and Kisuke Urahara followed closely behind.
As their figures drew closer, the Reishi protective membrane in the air above the Seireitei flickered in and out of view.
"Ahead is the Reishi barrier of the Seireitei!" Kisuke Urahara's voice carried in the wind. "Ichigo! Cut it open!"
Hearing Urahara's words, Ichigo Kurosaki gripped Zangetsu, which was strapped to his back, with his right hand. The cloth strips wrapped around the blade unraveled and fluttered away.
He grasped the massive black and white Zanpakutō with both hands and raised it high above his head.
"Getsuga—"
Alarming Reiatsu surged madly toward the blade, and black-and-blue light rapidly condensed to wrap around Zangetsu.
"Tenshō—!!!"
A colossal crescent-shaped blast of black-and-blue Reiatsu tore free from the blade. The sky above the Seireitei seemed to be split in half by the dark blue crescent moon.
The moment of impact, a deafening roar swallowed everything. A visible shockwave exploded outward in a ring, blowing the trees in the surrounding Rukongai area this way and that.
The transparent shield flowing with azure spiritual power clashed with the Getsuga Tenshō, erupting with blinding white light.
Crack.
A subtle yet clear sound of shattering came from the surface of the shield...
A crack appeared, then spread madly like a spiderweb!
Bang—
The shield shattered completely, turning into blue Reishi particles that scattered across the sky.
They leaped in a flash, glancing back at the breach in the shield that was slowly repairing itself, then followed Yoruichi Shihōin as they dashed toward Sōkyoku Hill.
Inside the Senzaikyū.
Shunsui Kyōraku and Jūshirō Ukitake walked unhurriedly on either side of Soifon, who was bound by Bakudō.
When the Getsuga Tenshō collided with the Seireitei's shield, both of them stopped almost simultaneously.
They raised their heads, looking in the direction of the Reiatsu explosion, and exchanged a glance.
Unfamiliar Reiatsu. Who could it be at a time like this?
Soifon, whose head was lowered, twitched her brow. This was Ichigo Kurosaki's Reiatsu.
"Ya-re ya-re..." Shunsui Kyōraku raised his hand to press down his straw hat. "How scary. Why did such a huge commotion have to happen at this specific time?"
"We'd better walk a bit slower, be careful." Jūshirō Ukitake coughed twice and looked at Soifon. "Captain Soifon, what do you think?"
"I am long since no longer a Captain, Captain Ukitake."
Soifon sighed. The blatant partiality of her two colleagues really made her feel a bit embarrassed about defecting.
Meanwhile, at Sōkyoku Hill.
Rangiku Matsumoto, Isane Kotetsu, Momo Hinamori, and Rukia—the four of them quietly sneaked to the area directly beneath the cliff where the execution stand was located.
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