"Impossible.
It's obviously Kōga's ability."
"How so?"
Hirako Shinji shook his head repeatedly, his blood-stained face full of disbelief.
His own Zanpakutō rebelled.
He was stabbed in the back by the proud Sakanade.
Faced with the sudden reversal and unexpected shift in the situation, he was completely confused.
"Just being stabbed in the back by your own Zanpakutō— is that so hard for you to accept?"
"Where's all your arrogance just now?"
"Where did it all go?"
Aiyan observed Hirako Shinji's wonderful change of expression with interest.
From thinking he had everything under control, giving commands with the pride of a victor, to then being stabbed in the back by Sakanade and falling into the abyss—
Falling from the peak of the mountain to the deepest valley.
Even someone as mentally strong as Hirako Shinji, his composure was on the verge of collapse at this moment.
"I asked you, how could this happen!"
"You clearly are the wielder of Kōga's Zanpakutō! You both were obviously caught in my Bankai's ability!"
"Why weren't you affected?"
Hirako Shinji suddenly vanished on the spot, pulled his body off the Zanpakutō, and landed ten meters away.
Coincidentally— or perhaps not.
The place he landed was right next to Kuchiki Ginrei, still imprisoned by Bakudō.
"I clearly saw the Zanpakutō of you three just now in the darkness."
"Kōfūin— the strongest elemental Zanpakutō of light and darkness."
"Kyōka Suigetsu— the strongest illusion-type Zanpakutō."
"Enma Kōrogi— Kidō-based Zanpakutō."
"Illusions? No… that was clearly Kōga's ability!"
Hirako Shinji kept yelling, eyes wide and nerves stretched taut.
Being stabbed in the back by his own Zanpakutō, the physical wound wasn't what shattered him.
What truly collapsed his mind was the realization—
Everything happening in front of him clearly proved he had once again been dragged into the trap laid by the Sōsuke brothers.
After already losing his position as a Gotei captain at the gate of the Fifth Division, now once again—
Once again, he was caught in their web.
Yes.
At this moment, though Hirako Shinji looked like he was losing control, his mind was racing— filtering possibilities— until finally reaching a conclusion he least wanted to accept.
All his secret investigations into the Aiyan brothers…
All these days hiding in the Senzaikyū...
His covert spying on the brothers' abilities from the shadows...
All of it—
Was likely known from the start.
They hadn't just noticed it.
They had allowed it on purpose.
"Didn't you already guess it?"
"Captain Hirako."
"Oh— sorry. I forgot. You're not a Gotei captain anymore. Now, you're just a wandering Shinigami without a squad."
Aiyan looked at Hirako Shinji with a half-smile, who clearly knew the truth deep down but refused to admit it.
"What a pity, Hirako Shinji. It's not you who's been watching us—
We've been watching you."
"You didn't realize?
I've seen every move you made these days. I was right there beside you— watching everything."
"Your arguments with Muguruma Kensei, your disputes with Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō, your attempts to investigate us, and your pitiful behavior hiding in the Senzaikyū like a street rat."
"At first, I was curious. I wanted to see how far you could go. So I specifically told Yoru, who was also in the Senzaikyū, not to kill you so quickly.
Otherwise, we might've missed out on such a brilliant little play."
At that moment, Aizen— who had just sheathed his Zanpakutō— landed a final blow.
A sword made of words— more vicious than the blade of Sakanade.
Pfft.
When Hirako Shinji heard this, he immediately coughed out a mist of scarlet blood, coloring the surrounding air with the scent of iron.
He couldn't help but glance at the golden rice-dumpling-like figure of Kuchiki Ginrei tied up with Bakudō at his feet.
A thought suddenly crossed his mind.
He, too, had just played the fool— thinking he had the upper hand and treating the Sōsuke brothers as if he were holding all the cards.
Just like Kuchiki Ginrei before him—
Ugly.
Ridiculous.
Pathetic.
And yet— he hadn't even realized it.
"Aiyan!!"
Hirako Shinji roared like a beast. He screamed Aiyan's name over and over, then— ignoring the wound in his chest— he charged with his Zanpakutō at Aiyan and Aizen.
Boom!
Then—
The moment he stepped forward with Shunpo, he was sent flying back instead, sliding across the floor, falling awkwardly, tumbling over and over.
"You've never experienced Sakanade's reversal yourself, have you?"
"How does it feel?"
"Care to share your thoughts?"
Aizen looked down at Hirako Shinji coldly.
How could he let the former Fifth Division Captain die so easily?
From the moment at Shin'ō Academy—
When Hirako Shinji had stood before the crowd and arrogantly said that line—
"From the moment you were born, I've had my eye on you."
Ever since that day—
Aizen had decided to make Hirako Shinji's life worse than death.
In fact, the script for his humiliation had been written since that very moment.
"Sakanade…"
Hirako Shinji placed both hands on the ground, trying to lift his head.
But instead—
Bam!
He slammed it against the floor.
The scene was so pathetic that Aiyan and the others burst into laughter.
After several failed attempts, he finally adapted to the ability— reversing front, back, left, right, up, and down— and barely managed to lift his head.
Then, he looked toward the now materialized Zanpakutō, Sakanade— or rather, the version standing just a few steps from him.
What he saw froze him to the bone.
His Sakanade, who had accompanied him for centuries—
Was now standing right in front of him.
Zanpakutō raised.
Blade touching his neck.
"No…"
"Impossible…"
"Even Muramasa from Kōga's rebellion could only trigger conflict between Shinigami and Zanpakutō. He couldn't control the hypnosis of materialized Zanpakutō…"
"This— this isn't something Kōga's Muramasa could ever do…"
Hirako Shinji locked eyes with Sakanade—
But what he saw—
Wasn't familiar.
There was no will, no emotion, no soul behind those eyes.
Only a void.
A walking corpse.
Completely different from the semi-conscious, emotionally unstable Zanpakutō summoned by Muramasa's Bankai.
This wasn't possession or hypnosis.
This was control.
True control.
He could now ignore the will of a Zanpakutō altogether—
And directly force it to submit to the enemy.
"To think you noticed it so quickly, Hirako Shinji."
"After just one glance, you already recognized the difference between Kōga's Shikai and my Demon Sword Muramasa."
"Among the captains of Gotei 13 I've met, you're certainly above average.
But still— only above average."
Aizen offered a half-hearted compliment.
Compared to other captains like Muguruma Kensei, Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō, Aikawa Love…
Hirako Shinji was clearly a step above.
"All this time, your Zanpakutō…"
"Kyōka Suigetsu— Wait! Isn't that your Zanpakutō?"
"How did it become the demon sword Muramasa?"
As soon as Hirako Shinji heard Aizen refer to his Zanpakutō as Muramasa instead of Kyōka Suigetsu, his chest tightened.
It was as if an invisible hand had clutched his heart.
A suffocating sensation, like a tidal wave—
Rushing from his chest…
To flood his entire soul.
...
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