"That was before."
Ran Yan didn't care about Shiba Isshin's claim that the Soul Society's fastest Bankai record took ten years.
No one knew better than he did—how proud his Zanpakutō was.
Now that it had boasted it could comprehend Bankai in three days and fully master it in half a month, there was no way it would fall behind. It would only advance further—never regress.
"You've already touched the threshold of Bankai, haven't you?"
"Hm."
"Your Zanpakutō probably manifested and dragged you into the inner world already, right? Maybe it even surrendered to you willingly."
Shiba Isshin looked at him sideways, half-joking, half-serious.
The guess didn't seem far-fetched.
"In 27 days, you'll see for yourself," Ran Yan replied with a relaxed smile.
"But I'll need one favor from you when the time comes."
"I want to borrow 200 seated Shinigami. Just to be my audience, of course."
He smiled politely—but his meaning was anything but casual.
Bankai's threshold?
Please.
He didn't need to "practice" it.
His Zanpakutō—Shokuin—would evolve on its own, forge its own Bankai, and forcefully transmit it to him when it was ready.
"You're really worried Hirako might try to back out when he loses, huh?"
Isshin chuckled bitterly. The sheer confidence in Ran Yan's voice left him both awed and helpless.
To most Shinigami, defeating a Gotei 13 captain was an unthinkable mountain.
But to this black-haired genius?
It was just another landmark on his inevitable path.
Something to glance at… maybe pause briefly… and then step over without a second thought.
"Come on, you're the one who said it, right?" Ran Yan smirked. "In order to become a captain through challenge, I need to defeat a current captain in front of 200 witnesses."
"And who else but you would be willing to lend me that many?"
Isshin's grin twitched.
This kid…
He was dead serious.
And yet, not arrogant.
He was certain Hirako Shinji would go through with the duel, too. And honestly? He probably would.
After all, Hirako had been wary of Aizen since day one—he wouldn't pass up a chance to "educate" Ran Yan, even if it meant a high-stakes public duel.
"Fine. I'll bring your 200."
"But only on one condition."
"Keep Hirako alive as long as possible."
The request stunned the crowd.
Even Yoruichi, Komamura Sajin, and the others blinked in surprise.
That was... a grim prediction.
Did he really think Hirako couldn't win?
"You're asking the wrong person, Teacher Isshin."
"You should be asking Captain Hirako not to die."
Ran Yan raised a brow.
"Ran Yan." Isshin's tone turned solemn.
"This isn't just about sparing a colleague."
"If you kill Hirako Shinji in an official duel—even if it's allowed—you'll make powerful enemies."
"He has connections. Friends in the Gotei. Even the Captain-Commander has respect for him."
"Killing him, even legally, could ruin your future."
Ran Yan didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he turned his gaze upward and whispered:
"We'll see."
Isshin sighed.
At least he'd tried.
He didn't owe Hirako much, but as a fellow captain… he had to say something.
Later – After Class
As students dispersed, Isshin, Yoruichi, and the others watched Ran Yan and Aizen walk away toward the dormitories.
Or rather—that's what they thought they were seeing.
In reality, the two never left the training ground at all.
It was all Kyōka Suigetsu.
Ran Yan sat on the steps of the Kendo Hall, leaning against the wall in his usual laid-back posture.
"We really hooked a big one."
"More than one," Aizen replied calmly. "We've got an entire school of fish tailing us now."
"This was bound to happen," Aizen continued. "The Soul Society has lasted for millennia. Of course there are people who see through masks."
"…But the joke is, they're only seeing what I want them to see."
"What they guard against is what I choose to let them fear."
Had the teachers and students not all been under the full sway of Kyōka Suigetsu, this entire conversation would've blown the entire Seireitei into chaos.
Especially for Hirako Shinji.
Everything—the suspicion, the actions, the hostility—had all been… engineered.
"To be fair, he's not bad," Ran Yan muttered.
"Pretty good at reading people… just not good enough."
"He saw you, but he couldn't see me."
"He never realized—we chose him, not the other way around."
"Since yesterday, I've cast Kyōka Suigetsu on the entire academy—just to draw him in."
Aizen's words were chilling.
"Since we've identified him as a threat, let's eliminate him," Ran Yan said.
"And the other captains close to him."
"Not so fast," Aizen waved it off casually.
"Even toilet paper and underwear have their uses."
"And a captain? He's still a piece on the board."
"You take his squad."
"I'll take the rest of him for other purposes."
"Experiments?" Ran Yan asked knowingly.
"Exactly."
"I've been reviewing the Soul Society archives recently," Aizen said, folding his arms. "And speaking with Isshin and Ukitake."
"They all agree—there's a plateau."
"After a certain point, a Shinigami's Reiatsu… just stops growing."
"It slows to a crawl. Then a decade. Then a century. Eventually… nothing."
"Not just Reiatsu. Zanpakutō, Kendō, Kidō, Shunpo, Hakuda—they all stall."
Ran Yan nodded. "So you're looking for a way to break the ceiling?"
"Exactly."
Aizen's eyes gleamed. "Right now, I estimate I'll plateau after my power grows tenfold from its current state."
"Even with Bankai—yeah, it might give me a five- to ten-times boost…"
"…But what's the point, if everything after that grinds to a halt?"
He clenched his fist. "I won't accept that."
"Oh, so your plateau hits around ten 'punches' of force?"
Ran Yan said casually, tossing out a number.
"Mine might be around sixty."
"…Sixty?" Aizen blinked.
He had scoured the archives of the Academy, read forbidden scrolls, and studied every documented captain in history.
But never—not once—had he heard anyone measure Reiatsu in "punches."
And certainly not at a level like sixty.