A massive single eye opened only a sliver, like a golden rift torn across the sky.
The golden gaze gleamed, its reflected light illuminating the eye's owner. It looked like a gray-blue worm made from countless tentacles tightly coiled together. Veins bulged along its short, thick arms, and the nails on its fingers were Gillian masks. The spiked nose on each mask alone was several times thicker than Wonderweiss's entire body.
"Ugh..." Wonderweiss tilted his head back and stared at the mountain-sized monster before him. "Ah...?"
The colossal monster said nothing. It simply stretched both arms forward, and a massive fissure opened with the motion, revealing the chaotic interior of a Garganta.
Wonderweiss scratched his head, then stepped into the Garganta.
Amid the chaotic torrent of Reishi, a fissure opened, revealing a clear blue sky and the figures floating there.
"Awoo..." Wonderweiss blinked, fixing his gaze on the white-haired Shinigami.
Pfft!
Jūshirō Ukitake's body shuddered as Wonderweiss's bloodstained palm pierced through his chest.
"!!!" Shunsui Kyōraku swung his katana at the back of Wonderweiss's neck, but a gun was pressed against his body first.
Bang!
An indigo Cero erupted, blasting Shunsui Kyōraku and Jūshirō Ukitake down together.
"Sorry," Starrk said, watching the two of them fall. "If Wonderweiss is here, that means things are almost finished over there. Aizen-sama can't wait any longer."
"Shunsui!" Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto shouted. "Jūshirō!"
"Inhale." Wonderweiss lifted his head, then let out a sudden, piercing roar. "Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
The deafening roar rang out. Cracks split open across the towering ice flowers behind Tōshirō Hitsugaya, and in an instant, the fine fractures connected into a massive rift that split the tower apart.
Harribel emerged from the shattered ice, her gaze colder than the ice itself as it locked onto the stunned Tōshirō Hitsugaya.
Reiatsu surged, and the lingering dust was blown away by a long sigh. Baraggan swung Gran Caída, and a purple-black aura spread outward.
"How is that possible..." Suì-Fēng stared at Baraggan. "He isn't even injured..."
Behind Wonderweiss, a deep black hole appeared beneath the colossal monster's single eye. A violent aura surged out from within, forcibly extinguishing the still-burning Jōkaku Enjō.
"That smell..." Gin Ichimaru lightly fanned the air in front of his mouth and nose. "As unpleasant as ever."
"I agree." Kaname Tōsen's sense of smell was even sharper than Gin Ichimaru's. "The smell of death... this must be what people mean by that."
"I think it's quite nice. The smell of death..." Sōsuke Aizen stepped through the air. "It suits this scene perfectly."
Looking at Gin Ichimaru beside Sōsuke Aizen, Izuru Kira, who was still treating Tetsuzaemon Iba, sank into deep despair.
Rangiku Matsumoto, Tetsuzaemon Iba, Ikkaku Madarame, and Yumichika Ayasegawa were badly wounded. Suì-Fēng had lost an arm. Jūshirō Ukitake and Shunsui Kyōraku's fates were unknown.
By contrast, Hueco Mundo's top fighters had suffered almost no losses.
If this continued, then all that awaited Soul Society was...
"Hold it."
A voice with an odd accent rang out, and a group appeared in the sky.
"It's been a long time..." Shinji Hirako twirled his hat on his fingertip. "Aizen..."
Kaname Tōsen sensed the Reiatsu of the eight members of the Visored Corps. "Those are..."
"Now this is interesting." Gin Ichimaru's smile was the same as ever. "Every one of them is... a familiar face."
Back when these people had still been in the Gotei 13, Gin Ichimaru had just graduated from the Shin'ō Academy after only one year, then killed the 3rd Seat of the 5th Division in front of Sōsuke Aizen.
Thinking back on it now, that had already been a hundred years ago.
"It really has been a while." Shinji Hirako tilted his head. "Anyone from the Gotei 13 want to go say hello?"
"Not me!" Hiyori Sarugaki crossed her arms, looking irritated.
She had once been the Lieutenant of the 12th Division of the Gotei 13. After the former Captain was promoted, Kisuke Urahara became the new Captain of the 12th Division and founded the Research and Development Institute. As Lieutenant, she also took on the position of Research Lab Chief.
Later, after being harmed by Sōsuke Aizen, she was forced to leave Soul Society. Now, there were not many people in the Gotei 13 who knew her, and she did not know many of them either.
"You're so loud, Hiyori!" Shinji Hirako frowned in annoyance. "I wasn't asking you!"
"What do you mean, you weren't asking me?!" Hiyori Sarugaki flew into a rage. "You asked us, didn't you? Do I not count? Are you leaving me out?!"
Love Aikawa sighed. "I don't have anyone."
He was the former Captain of the 7th Division. After he left, the former Lieutenant of the 7th Division, Jirōemon Kotsubaki, also retired.
"Same here," Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi said, glancing at the gravely wounded Tetsuzaemon Iba.
When Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi served as Captain of the 3rd Division, his Lieutenant had been Tetsuzaemon Iba's mother, Chikane Iba.
"As for me..." said Hachigen Ushōda, former Vice-Commander of the Kidō Corps, "I was never part of the Gotei 13."
Former 9th Division Captain Kensei Muguruma's gaze swept over Shūhei Hisagi. "Me neither!"
Former 9th Division Lieutenant Mashiro Kuna pressed him, "Kensei, you don't? Why? Really? You don't have anyone? You don't have to be shy at a time like this!"
"Shut up!"
"See?" Mashiro Kuna pouted. "You're getting angry again!"
Lisa Yadōmaru's figure flickered. She vanished from the group, found Shunsui Kyōraku embedded in the road, and stepped on him. "How long are you planning to play dead?"
"That hurts... Ouch!" Shunsui Kyōraku lifted his head. "What a problem. We haven't seen each other in a while, and you've gotten prettier."
Lisa Yadōmaru kicked him again.
"Ow!"
"Then keep lying there." Lisa Yadōmaru turned away. "I'll show you just how strong I am now!"
"Lisa..." Shunsui Kyōraku watched her from behind. "I'm glad to see you so full of energy."
"...Idiot!" Lisa Yadōmaru's figure flickered and disappeared from his sight.
Shunsui Kyōraku sat there on the ground, his gaze distant.
A hundred years ago, because of Sōsuke Aizen's Hollowfication experiments, residents of Rukongai had begun vanishing one after another. At the time, the Reiatsu of 9th Division Captain Kensei Muguruma and his Lieutenant, Mashiro Kuna, disappeared while they were investigating. When the Captain-Commander was arranging for people to look into it, Shunsui Kyōraku had personally suggested that Lisa Yadōmaru go with them.
Part of it was because he wanted her to gain experience, and part of it was because he trusted her abilities.
But whatever the reason, the final result was that Lisa Yadōmaru, along with the others, was caught up in Sōsuke Aizen's Hollowfication experiment and forced to leave Soul Society, her whereabouts unknown.
As Shunsui Kyōraku saw it, everything Lisa Yadōmaru had gone through was his fault.
Yet when they met again, all she did was kick him twice.
As if to tell him...
["I'll show you just how strong I am now!"]
I wasn't beaten by what happened to me. I became stronger.
Just like back then... watch what I can do.
Shunsui Kyōraku slowly let out a long breath, tugging at the corner of his mouth with a complicated expression. "Honestly..."
At least kick me a little harder.
"You..." Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto looked at Shinji Hirako, whom he had not seen in a hundred years. "Have you come here for revenge?"
"This is about Aizen. It has nothing to do with you. Even if I did hold a grudge, I wouldn't pick a fight with you in a place protected by a barrier this strong." Shinji Hirako pointed at Chōjirō Sasakibe behind him. "If this guy hadn't shown us the way, we'd still be wandering around outside."
"I am truly sorry." Chōjirō Sasakibe knelt on one knee in apology. "I did consider whether I should let them in, but when I saw the state of the battle inside..."
"It does not matter." Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto gripped his scabbard, his thumb resting against the sword guard. "For now, may I consider you allies?"
"Need you even ask? Of course not." Shinji Hirako snorted. "We're not your allies. We're Aizen's enemies. If we're talking about allies... Muten is the one on our side."
"Wuuu~~~~~~ aaah~~~~~~!!!" Wonderweiss shrieked loudly. "Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
"That guy really is noisy." Gin Ichimaru glanced sideways. "That's what I hate about him. Always making a racket."
"Every sound Wonderweiss makes has meaning," Kaname Tōsen reminded him. "Just watch quietly."
Beneath the single eye of the massive monster behind Wonderweiss, an opening split apart. Surging blackness flowed out, and pale masks could faintly be seen within it.
"That's..." Tōshirō Hitsugaya recognized them. "Gillian?"
Gillian were not difficult to deal with, but in numbers like this, they were a problem.
Dense swarms of Gillian fell from the sky, crushing buildings beneath them as they rose and let out distant roars.
But an even more savage roar descended. Wearing her mask, Hiyori Sarugaki dropped from the sky and split a Gillian's head in two with a single slash.
As if responding to a signal, every member of the Visored donned their masks and moved.
Kensei Muguruma threw punch after punch, and each Gillian he struck exploded with a thunderous boom.
Mashiro Kuna, dressed in her skintight suit, delivered kick after kick, smashing one Gillian after another apart.
Hachigen Ushōda snapped his fingers, and a rectangular barrier enveloped a Gillian's head. He pressed his palms together, and the barrier instantly turned red, tearing the Gillian's head away from its body.
Lisa Yadōmaru's figure flickered again and again. She swung her katana once, but the Gillian looked as if it had been cut dozens of times, falling apart in pieces.
Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi spread his arms wide. As his fingers moved, a melody rang out, and the Gillian before him seemed to be tightened by invisible threads, writhing as blood sprayed from it like rain.
Love Aikawa drove both hands into a Gillian's mask, then let out a roar and tore it in half.
In the blink of an eye, a vast number of lower-tier Menos were wiped out, their efficiency so high it was startling.
Shinji Hirako rushed straight toward Sōsuke Aizen and swung his katana down.
He struck at the man who had once been his Lieutenant.
["Aizen... I knew it..."] On that night a hundred years ago, Shinji Hirako, his body being eroded by Hollowfication, saw the mastermind behind it all. ["It was you..."]
["You realized it? Impressive."] Sōsuke Aizen praised him. ["When did you figure it out?"]
["Isn't it obvious...? I knew it before you were even in your mother's womb!"]
Sōsuke Aizen closed his eyes as usual, as if he could not stand Shinji Hirako's choice of words. ["I see."]
["I always thought... you were dangerous and untrustworthy. That's why I chose you as the 5th Division's Lieutenant... It was all so I could... keep an eye on you, Aizen!"]
["Yes... I should thank you for that, Captain Hirako."] A cold gleam reflected off Sōsuke Aizen's glasses. ["Because you suspected me, you never noticed."]
["I already told you, I knew from the start..."]
["No. You did not... You did not know that for the past month, the person following behind you was not me at all."]
Sōsuke Aizen had used Kyōka Suigetsu's ability to disguise someone else as himself and place them at Shinji Hirako's side, while he moved in the shadows, plotting a Hollowfication experiment targeting Captain-level Shinigami.
But that operation was not flawless. It was just that...
["You are a perceptive man, Captain Hirako. If you had treated me the way other Captains treat their Lieutenants, perhaps you might have seen through it."] Sōsuke Aizen spoke calmly. ["But... you did not. Because you never trusted me, you always kept your distance. You refused to open up to me, gave me no information... and forbade me from taking part in any affairs. Because of that, you could not notice the small differences in habits and movements between me and my double. The reason you will lose, Captain Hirako, is because you know nothing about me at all. And that is precisely why I... was willing to become your Lieutenant."]
A flash of steel swept past, and blood filled Shinji Hirako's vision.
Kaname Tōsen shook the blood from his blade. "I missed."
"You hit me, idiot." Blood from the wound on Shinji Hirako's forehead ran down and covered his left eye.
"That does not count as hitting you," Kaname Tōsen corrected him. "What I aimed for was the head farther back."
Shinji Hirako wiped away the blood. "You've got a big mouth for a small fry."
"Then you must be very frustrated..." Kaname Tōsen closed in with a swing of his katana. "Knowing you will die at the hands of a small fry."
Clang!
A towering figure blocked Kaname Tōsen's path. Sajin Komamura used his arm guard to hold back the blade.
Kaname Tōsen stepped back, putting distance between them. "Sajin Komamura..."
"I never imagined..." Sajin Komamura looked at the mark left on his arm guard. "That one day, I would have to protect someone from your attack."
"...I did." Kaname Tōsen raised his Zanpakutō. "Sooner or later, we were always going to cross blades. One of us would sacrifice himself for his own justice."