Hachigen Ushōda nodded. "Correct, but to utilize higher-level Kidō, I require your assistance in restraining Captain Muguruma." Hirako smile
Hachigen Ushōda nodded. "Correct, but to utilize higher-level Kidō, I require your assistance in restraining Captain Muguruma."
Hirako smiled. "No problem. If we can't even manage to stall him, we captains are a disgrace!"
While Hirako and the others engaged the Hollowfied Muguruma, creating a diversion, Hachigen Ushōda completed the incantation for his Bakudō.
Focusing on the besieged Muguruma, a surge of potent spiritual pressure erupted from his hands.
"Bakudō #99. Kin!"
As Hachigen Ushōda finished the incantation, four black straps materialized from thin air, instantly wrapping around Muguruma's limbs, rendering him completely immobile.
Muguruma struggled, but a volley of spell-etched stakes descended, further securing the straps.
"Complete. Now, even Captain Muguruma won't be able to escape," Hachigen Ushōda said, wiping the sweat from his brow.
As Hachigen Ushōda had stated, Muguruma, bound to the ground by the black straps, continued to struggle fiercely.
Despite his Herculean efforts, his muscles bulging with strain, the four black straps remained unyielding.
Clearly, Bakudō #99, Kin, was not something he could break free from.
"Thank goodness the Captain-Commander had the foresight to request the Kidō Corps' assistance. Otherwise, this would have been a much tougher situation," Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi said, sheathing his Zanpakutō with a relieved smile.
Hirako then noticed Sarugaki kneeling on the ground, gasping for breath, and appearing unwell.
"Sarugaki, what's wrong?" Hirako asked, his concern evident.
Sarugaki pressed a hand to her forehead, weakly and intermittently telling Hirako to keep his distance.
From her voice, it was clear she was in considerable pain, desperately suppressing something.
Her reaction only fueled Hirako's worry, prompting him to approach and offer assistance.
Suddenly, a flash of light. Blood sprayed from Hirako's shoulder as a blade sliced through him. The others, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, were shocked and turned to Sarugaki.
"Aaaaaargh!!!"
With her blood-soaked Zanpakutō still in hand, Sarugaki let out a roar, her eyes and mouth spewing forth a torrent of white particles that rapidly coalesced into a horrifying bone mask.
It was clear that Sarugaki had suffered the same fate as Muguruma, undergoing Hollowfication and losing her self-control, leading to her attack on Hirako.
"Subdue Sarugaki immediately!"
Rabu Aikawa shouted the order. Ōtoribashi and Lisa Yadōmaru instantly redrew their Zanpakutōs, while Hachigen Ushōda prepared to unleash another Kidō spell.
At that very moment, a wave of black spiritual energy, like a dark curtain, descended, engulfing their vision, plunging them into complete darkness.
The sounds of blades piercing flesh were followed by the screams of Lisa Yadōmaru, Rabu Aikawa, and Ōtoribashi. Then, silence.
Hirako, having been knocked aside by Sarugaki's earlier attack, remained unaffected by the darkness and saw the figure behind the assault.
Dark skin, a striped mask, sunglasses obscuring his blind eyes—it was Kaname Tōsen, 3rd Seat of the 9th Division.
"Tōsen, it's you! Have you betrayed the Seireitei?" Hirako asked, his voice heavy with suspicion and disbelief.
Tōsen remained silent, but another voice, instantly recognizable to Hirako, shattered the silence, confirming his long-held unease.
"Tōsen has never betrayed the Seireitei; he never truly served it. Please do not blame him, Captain Hirako."
Hirako followed the sound, his eyes falling upon Aizen, slowly emerging from the shadows. Gin Ichimaru and Hegawa Miler stood behind him.
"Aizen, you're the mastermind! And Gin and Miler are your accomplices!" Hirako said grimly.
He had always been wary of Aizen, yet Aizen had never given him any reason to suspect his loyalty to the Seireitei.
Sometimes he'd questioned his suspicions, but his vigilance never faltered.
Locking eyes with Aizen, Hirako said slowly, "I always considered you dangerous, which is why I chose you as my lieutenant—to keep an eye on you. But I never found any concrete proof."
Aizen smiled. "I thank you for your suspicion, Captain Hirako. It is precisely your distrust that prevented you from noticing the anomalies."
Hirako scoffed. "I told you I sensed something was wrong, Aizen."
"No, you did not," Aizen said, stepping closer to Hirako.
A knowing smile played on Aizen's lips as he said slowly, "For the past month, the 5th Division's vice-captain walking behind you has not been me."
Hirako's face paled. The image of the figure that had been constantly at his side shifted in his memory.
What he had always perceived as Aizen, slowly morphed into the image of a bald Shinigami.
"My perfectly executed hypnotic suggestion, manipulating the target's perception to conform to my design—that is the true power of my Zanpakutō, Kyōka Suigetsu."
"Captain Hirako, you are a perceptive individual. Your instincts warned you of danger, causing you to distance yourself, always maintaining a subconscious distance. However, this is precisely what prevented you from discovering my actions."
"The biggest reason?" Hirako asked, his confusion evident.
Aizen laughed. "Precisely! Had you interacted with your lieutenant as other captains do, engaging in regular conversations, you might have detected the inconsistencies in the hypnotized imposter. No matter how meticulously I planned, and no matter how well he imitated my behavior, a familiar person would notice the subtle discordances in his daily actions."
Hirako felt a wave of regret wash over him; his vigilance had inadvertently provided Aizen with the perfect cover.
"Your hypnosis must have been passively triggered, then. That imposter walked right behind me, yet no one else in the Seireitei noticed a thing," Hirako said, his voice low and intense.
Aizen smiled. "Indeed. To anyone who saw him, he was me."
"A truly terrifying ability! For a man as cunning as you to possess such power...I suppose I can't complain about losing," Hirako said with a bitter laugh.
Then, Hirako's mind flashed back to his encounter with Yusuke Uchiha earlier that evening.
Nagato Yū, who had been with Uchiha, had seemed to notice something amiss, wanting to speak, but Uchiha had stopped her, concealing whatever it was.
"Damn it, could Uchiha Yusuke be working with Aizen?!" Hirako thought in horror.
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