"Shoot to kill, Shinsō."
Ichimaru Gin thrust his blade toward Rangiku.
The strike was frighteningly precise as it pierced her just one millimeter away from the heart.
'Why didn't he kill me?'
That was the question passing through Rangiku's mind in the final second before she lost consciousness.
Aizen said nothing.
He had never intended to kill Hitsugaya, Byakuya, and the others in the first place. Otherwise, he would not have held back against Tōshirō and Byakuya either.
"It's time to act, Gin."
Aizen was just about to leave Central 46 with Ichimaru Gin when two sets of footsteps came from the entrance.
The sound grew louder and louder until two figures appeared.
They were Fourth Division Captain Unohana Retsu and Lieutenant Kotetsu Isane, who had come at Kazuma's request.
"Captain Aizen!"
The moment Isane saw Aizen, her mind nearly went blank.
His corpse was clearly still lying in the Fourth Division!
"Soul Society's great criminal, Aizen Sōsuke. So you really are alive."
Unohana, however, remained perfectly calm. She had already expected this outcome.
"As expected of the Fourth Division captain. When did you discover that the corpse was not mine?"
Aizen was still confidently assuming that Unohana had noticed something wrong with his body.
In truth, Unohana had never examined the corpse at all.
Kazuma had told her long ago that there was something wrong with Aizen, so when his body had first been delivered to the Fourth Division, she had placed it in a corner and hadn't even touched it.
Still, the process had to be followed.
Unohana's gaze drifted toward Hitsugaya Tōshirō, Kuchiki Byakuya, Hinamori Momo, and Matsumoto Rangiku, all lying in pools of blood.
Her hand casually rested on her Zanpakutō.
Seeing the movement, Aizen quietly grew wary.
His current strength wasn't yet great enough to ignore the first Kenpachi.
Avoiding a fight was the best choice. Right now, the most important matter was retrieving the Hōgyoku that Urahara Kisuke had hidden inside Rukia.
"Captain Unohana, are you certain you want to attack me? Captain Hitsugaya and the others aren't going to last much longer."
Aizen was gambling that Unohana no longer possessed the same killing intent she'd had in the past.
Fortunately, he won that gamble.
Unohana's hand slowly moved away from her Zanpakutō.
"Gin, let us go."
Aizen took Ichimaru Gin and headed toward the Senzaikyū.
"Isane, hurry and check Captain Hitsugaya and the others' injuries."
Unohana's voice snapped Kotetsu Isane out of her daze.
She was still somewhat flustered, but she quickly gathered herself and hurried over to Hitsugaya and the others, her usually efficient movements now unusually careful.
She first knelt beside Hitsugaya and examined his injuries closely.
Tōshirō's eyes were tightly shut, his face as pale as paper, and the wounds on his body were horrifying.
Blood was still constantly seeping out. Isane gently touched the edge of one wound, and Hitsugaya frowned slightly, as if he could still feel the pain.
Her heart tightened.
She knew very well that the injury before her was extremely serious, and her own medical skill might not be enough to fully treat it.
Next, she looked at Hinamori Momo.
Momo's condition was just as poor. Her breathing was faint, and there were only two wounds on her body, but both were penetrating injuries, still bleeding without pause.
Isane's eyes filled with worry. She knew time was short, and they had to act immediately.
Kuchiki Byakuya and Matsumoto Rangiku's injuries were not as severe, but she couldn't be careless with them either.
She quickly checked their wounds and found them mostly light.
The two had only lost consciousness, and after some simple treatment, their conditions stabilized somewhat.
Isane stood up and anxiously reported to Unohana.
"Captain Unohana! Captain Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Hinamori's injuries are extremely serious — I can't handle them. They need more advanced medical treatment! Captain Kuchiki and Lieutenant Rangiku are better off by comparison, but we still can't be careless. I'll keep monitoring their conditions closely."
Unohana nodded, a trace of approval appearing in her eyes.
She knew Isane had already done her best.
"I will handle it."
Unohana summoned Minazuki and had it swallow the severely injured Tōshirō and Hinamori Momo.
"Isane, stop standing there. Hurry up and notify all division captains and lieutenants, as well as the Ryoka, that Aizen and Ichimaru Gin have betrayed Soul Society."
"I understand!"
Isane immediately released her reiatsu and cast Bakudō #77: Tenteikūra, swiftly capturing the reiatsu of the people scattered throughout the Seireitei.
Each time she caught a signature, it was as if she were weaving an invisible net, connecting everyone involved.
Once she had locked onto them all, Kotetsu Isane began her announcement.
"To all captains and lieutenants of the Gotei 13, as well as the Ryoka: Fifth Division Captain Aizen Sōsuke has been confirmed to have betrayed Soul Society. He attacked Sixth Division Captain Kuchiki Byakuya, Tenth Division Captain Hitsugaya Tōshirō, Fifth Division Lieutenant Hinamori Momo, and Tenth Division Lieutenant Matsumoto Rangiku. The above was personally witnessed by Fourth Division Captain Unohana Retsu."
...
Across the Seireitei, every captain and lieutenant who received the message stopped what they were doing.
Some showed shock, others remained completely calm, without the slightest ripple in their expressions.
"So it's come to this."
The rage already burning in Komamura flared hotter still.
Scenes from the past flashed through his mind like a film reel.
Captain Kazuma had once been so upright and brave, yet Aizen had maliciously branded him a traitor and had even 'supposedly' killed him.
Every time Komamura thought of that bloody scene, grief and fury flickered uncontrollably in his eyes.
He gripped the Zanpakutō in his hand tightly, as though drawing strength from the cold metal, and in his heart he swore he would make Aizen pay in blood and demand justice for Captain Kazuma!
If he had known that the very Captain Kazuma he'd spent all this time mourning was, at that very moment, sitting in the Captain-Commander's tea room and calmly sipping sake as if none of this had anything to do with him — well, would Komamura have exploded with rage on the spot?
Meanwhile, the news hit Second Division Captain Suì-Fēng like a storm breaking loose inside her.
A tangle of emotions warred within her.
At first, anger spread through her chest like fire.
She couldn't accept that Aizen, who had always seemed so gentle and kind to others, was actually Soul Society's true traitor.
The revelation left her furious.
Yet as the truth gradually surfaced, a flicker of joy rose alongside the anger.
Because this meant the matter involving Shihōin Yoruichi had finally been cleared!
The Yoruichi she had admired since childhood had not betrayed Soul Society at all.
That meant she could finally release the admiration and affection for Yoruichi that she had buried deep in her heart for so long, without any reservations.
'Why? If you didn't betray Soul Society, then why didn't you take me with you back then?'
Every emotion she owned seemed to blur and run together at once, leaving her lost and aching.
She didn't know how to face a change this sudden.
Nor did she know how she should even ask Yoruichi about it when they met again.
That confusion and unwillingness grew inside her like vines, driving her to find the answer and understand the reason behind everything.