"I encountered a Shinigami captain named Muguruma Kensei."
"Among the captains, in terms of Reiatsu and strength, he should be considered the weakest."
"So, I've decided to use him as the unit of measurement for Reiatsu."
Seeing the usually composed and knowledgeable Bi-ō (King Bi) pause in confusion, Ran Yan casually explained.
"This measurement system... is vivid. And very intuitive," Aizen chuckled.
"According to your system, my Reiatsu plateau kicks in at 60 car-punches."
As expected of Ran Yan—he actually used a Gotei captain as a power metric.
Still, it worked.
And Aizen saw no reason not to adopt it.
"So, what are you planning next?" Ran Yan asked with interest.
Thanks to his presence, Aizen's methods had changed drastically from the original timeline. Instead of hiding his strength and operating from the shadows, Aizen now revealed his brilliance openly—yet never dropped the facade of gentleness and humility.
A far more effective mask.
"Since we now understand that both Shinigami and Hollows have power barriers, I want to test what happens when we mix those two forces."
"What if you inject Hollow power into a Shinigami spirit body?"
"And the reverse—what if you pour Shinigami power into a Hollow?"
Aizen smiled.
"Experiments on ordinary Shinigami mean nothing for us."
"That's why we'll need Captain Hirako Shinji."
"If he can help us transcend the boundaries of Shinigami evolution, I'm sure he'll be thrilled to participate."
His tone was casual, but the implications were terrifying.
"Of course, before that, we need to go somewhere."
His eyes met Ran Yan's.
"Hueco Mundo," Ran Yan said flatly.
"Exactly."
"That barren world has everything we need—endless experimental materials and Espada-level combatants who rival even the Gotei's elite."
"It's the perfect test field—and once secured, it becomes our forward base."
Ran Yan scoffed, "It's so pitiful, really."
"Even death... is a luxury."
From the moment Hirako Shinji said to Aizen, "Even when you were in your mother's womb, you were already a bad seed," in front of the entire academy...
His fate had been sealed.
And it wasn't just him.
Every captain and vice-captain close to him had also been marked by Aizen's wrath.
And knowing Aizen…
He wouldn't give them a clean death.
To the world, Aizen might appear magnanimous—wise, composed, protective.
But Ran Yan knew better.
To Aizen, people—no matter how close—were just tools.
Or toys.
And Hirako? He was barely a scrap of broken equipment.
Meanwhile – Fourth Division Barracks
After leaving the Kendo Hall, Hirako Shinji glanced at the wound on his shoulder.
The Reiatsu embedded in the gash still hadn't faded.
"…Damn Aizen," he muttered.
Even though Ran Yan was the one who impaled him…
It was Aizen's smug smile that made him grit his teeth.
Instead of returning to the Fifth Division, he made his way to the Fourth Division.
The residual Reiatsu from that strike didn't feel right—and he needed the best healer in Seireitei.
There was only one option.
Unohana Retsu.
"Sister Unohana, I'm here to visit~" Hirako called out as he stepped into the infirmary.
Before he could finish, a blur of white shoved him aside.
"Captain Hirako, please wait over there."
"I'm busy."
Unohana's tone was gentle, but firm as steel.
She stood beside a hospital bed, hands glowing as she healed a wounded Shinigami.
"...Seriously? I'm a captain too, you know."
"Shouldn't I get some special privileges?"
"Like... cutting in line?"
Unohana turned to him slowly.
Smiling.
Peacefully.
To anyone else, it would be a beautiful, angelic smile.
To Hirako Shinji, it was a demon's grin.
"N-Never mind. I'll wait quietly over here."
Hirako slinked into the corner and squatted like a scolded schoolboy.
He knew.
All the captains did.
Behind the saintly image of the Fourth Division Captain…
Was the former Kenpachi—the one who bathed in blood and reveled in chaos.
The only reason she didn't draw her sword anymore… was because Yamamoto Genryūsai had forced her into a white uniform.
But the blade still hung at her side.
And the monster hadn't gone anywhere.
Hirako didn't move for nearly half an hour.
Not even a twitch.
Suddenly, she was standing in front of him.
"Your injury—"
"Definitely caused by kendō."
"But not by a captain."
Unohana's gaze lingered on his wound.
And then… her eyes sharpened.
"Which captain did this?"
Her voice was soft.
Too soft.
Like a predator's purr before the strike.
"Why does it matter?"
"I thought healers were supposed to just heal, not interrogate."
Shinji laughed awkwardly.
Unohana didn't respond.
She just kept smiling.
And slowly…
Her right hand drifted toward the hilt of her blade.
"A-Alright, alright!"
"I'll talk!"
"It wasn't a captain—it was a student!"
"A freshman named Ran Yan!"
He blurted it out like a confession.
He didn't care about pride anymore.
He just didn't want that blade to clear the scabbard.