"Aren't these people dead?"
Tōsen Kaname stared at Kuchiki Ginrei—no arms, no legs, drenched in blood and half-crushed—yet instead of fading, his Reiatsu continued to rise. Not weakening. Strengthening.
Tsk.
Suddenly, Kuchiki Ginrei's mangled torso exhaled thick white Reiatsu. It wrapped around his wounds like bandages, but more than just healing—they writhed, squirming, and grew. From the torn flesh, limbs began to regenerate, thick and sinewy like those of a lizard, sprouting fingers, elbows, knees. His severed body stood again.
"Interesting."
Aizen's gaze was calm, but beneath that serene surface, his thoughts raced.
"Captain Ginrei… do you truly desire to live so desperately?"
"Not only did you preserve your life with Hollow power, but you even accelerated the Hollow process, achieving High-Speed Regeneration… Is it the influence of the royal bloodline flowing in your veins?"
The scene before him was remarkable—unprecedented. The Kuchiki clan patriarch, captain of the Sixth Division, a noble with royal lineage, had not only survived a triple-layered Hadō #90: Kurohitsugi but was thriving under Hollowfication. This wasn't merely survival—this was adaptation.
Aizen's fingers slowly curled into a thoughtful pose.
"Could it be… the noble clans have hidden this from Soul Society for generations?"
"What?"
Aiyan turned his head lazily, eyes scanning Aizen's expression. "Thinking of experimenting on the other noble houses too?"
Aizen didn't deny it. "Just one sample—Kuchiki Ginrei—gave better data than a thousand death row inmates combined."
"The Kuchiki, then the Shihōin, perhaps even the Tsunayashiro and Shiba…" A shadow crossed his expression. "Yes, we'll need them all."
Aiyan shrugged, smiling faintly. "Then let's go. It's about time we hosted a Hollow feast at the Kuchiki estate."
At those words, Kuchiki Ginrei, standing once more with rebuilt limbs and a tattered mask forming over half his face, roared.
"You dare… you dare attack the Kuchiki family!"
His voice had lost all calm and nobility, now warped and broken, tainted by Hollow madness.
But Aiyan's tone remained light. "Why wouldn't we?"
"You think you alone, a mere captain, would earn our personal attention?"
"You, Kōga—was merely our experiment's opening act."
Kuchiki Ginrei's mind teetered between rage and panic. "It wasn't me!" he shouted. "I didn't order the attack on your dormitory! The ones who targeted Aizen and you—they weren't of the Kuchiki family!"
He hoped—perhaps desperately—that logic might sway them, that some sliver of rationality still lived within the monsters before him.
But Aiyan's smile only deepened, cruel and cold.
"Don't degrade yourself, Captain."
"A noble house should face consequences as a whole."
"You taught us that yourself when you called the deaths of two Shinigami students a trivial matter unworthy of the Kuchiki name."
That final jab shattered what was left of Ginrei's mind.
"Aiyan!!!"
He howled like a beast. A Hollow mask fully formed across his face, and his eyes—golden, cracked with black veins—burned with killing intent.
He raised his hand, and from the center of his palm, a dense, scarlet sphere of Reiatsu condensed rapidly.
Cero.
"High-Speed Regeneration. Cero. Loss of rationality… this is full Hollowfication," Aizen noted calmly, eyes tracking every flicker of Reiatsu.
"But," he muttered, disappointment evident, "no control. No balance. No transcendence."
"He's powerful, yes. But what use is power without mind? This is no Visored. This is just a beast."
"Lord Aizen," Tōsen said, stepping forward. "If this is the case, let me destroy him. I'll activate Bankai: Suzumushi Tsuishiki: Enma Kōrogi, strip his senses, and strike him down."
"No," Aiyan interrupted.
Tōsen paused.
"Let him live," Aiyan said with an amused glance toward the thrashing Kuchiki captain. "Since he wants to cling to life so badly, let him."
"A fully Hollowfied royal-blooded captain… is far too valuable to discard."
Tōsen frowned. "But… what if he recovers? What if the Kuchiki family reverses the Hollowfication somehow?"
Aiyan's eyes glinted.
"Then let them."
"If the nobles truly can reverse Hollowfication… wouldn't that just be another variable in our research? More data."
"We're not just reshaping the Gotei 13, Kaname. We're redefining the entire system of Soul Society."
With that, Aiyan turned, brushing dust from his sleeve.
Behind them, the mad beast that was once Captain Kuchiki Ginrei shrieked at the heavens and charged once more, a second Cero already forming.
Aizen stepped forward, but Aiyan raised a hand.
"No need."
As Ginrei leapt into the sky, screaming his hate, Aiyan vanished from sight.
Shunpo? No.
Even Aizen had trouble tracking his movement.
Before Ginrei could release the Cero, a glowing golden seal appeared beneath him.
The air cracked.
"Hadō: Forbidden Technique – Ōgon Noroi (Golden Light Curse)."
From that golden sigil, pillars of pure light erupted upward, engulfing the raging Hollow. They wrapped around him like chains, infused with both destructive force and spiritual imprisonment.
Ginrei's scream was cut off as the golden light constricted around his body, suppressing his Reiatsu and dragging him down into unconsciousness.
His body, once ablaze with Hollow energy, fell silent—bound in Kidō light.
Tōsen's mouth dropped open.
Aizen raised an eyebrow.
Aiyan smiled.