Chapter 96

An overwhelming pressure radiated in all directions!

It was no longer confined to the Seireitei!

It was spreading madly throughout all of Soul Society.

The other captains scattered in various places.

Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Kenpachi Zaraki, Retsu Unohana…

All raised their heads.

Staring straight at the white sky above.

Kenpachi Zaraki quietly tightened his grip on his sword hilt.

Retsu Unohana, meanwhile, moved even more urgently, rushing toward the Head Captain and the direction of Senya's Pavilion.

Mayuri Kurotsuchi, on the other hand, comically stuck out his tongue and abandoned the thought of researching Kuchiki Senya's power.

……

On the open ground.

The ground had melted into crisscrossing rivers of lava, the edges scorched black.

Vision twisted and warped from the searing waves of heat.

Shunsui Kyoraku and Jushiro Ukitake were covered in burn marks all over their bodies, their figures swaying unsteadily.

Katen Kyōkotsu and Suzumushi had also developed jagged cracks, giving off a scorched smell.

This was Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni, bare-chested, with Ryūjin Jakka in his hand radiating terrifying heat.

With absolute superiority, crushing two captains!

However.

The next moment.

The horizon turned pure white.

Completely overpowering his might.

"Is that… Kuchiki Senya's Bankai?" Shunsui Kyoraku gasped for breath.

He can actually overpower the old man? Senya's Bankai is truly terrifying!

Yamamoto's Heavy Strike shook his head lightly.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he surveyed the sky where pure white and blood-red intertwined.

"This is not Bankai."

"It is only a portion of Bankai's power."

"On the path of Bankai, Kuchiki Senya has walked far further than this old man…"

……

Beneath Sōkyoku Hill.

A silver-haired figure, always squinting—Gin Ichimaru.

His eyes had actually opened into a thin slit! Staring dumbfounded at the pure-white sky streaked with bloody light!

This kind of power!

Perhaps, it really could defeat Aizen!

The next moment.

He couldn't help but look at the figure before him—wearing square-framed glasses, hands clasped behind his back, the corners of his lips slightly upturned.

However.

There was no trace of fear on Aizen's face, only a deep appreciation in the depths of his eyes.

As if he were merely admiring a beautiful sight.

In a gentle tone: "How beautiful."

At the same time.

A red-haired figure, carrying a petite girl in a pure white prison uniform, staggered toward them.

Just in time.

They saw Aizen and Gin Ichimaru, who had long been waiting there.

Captain Aizen still maintained his usual gentleness.

"Captain Aizen! Captain Gin Ichimaru!"

Izuru Kira clenched his Zanpakutō hilt, fine beads of sweat streaming down his forehead, his heart pounding as if about to leap out of his throat.

The road of escape.

Two captains!

This was a power he could not resist.

Fortunately.

Given Captain Aizen's gentle and kind nature, perhaps he would show mercy.

Let them off the hook…

However.

The next moment!

Isane Kotetsu's solemn voice rang in everyone's ears!

"Warning!"

"Warning!"

"What I am about to say, you may find unbelievable, but every word is true!"

"Aizen Sosuke..."

What!

Captain Aizen is not dead!

He killed the Central Forty-Six Chambers, forged orders, and has already betrayed us!

All of this—

—was Aizen Sosuke's plot!

In an instant.

The entire Gotei Thirteen.

Every Shinigami exploded into an uproar!

Their minds went blank, all of them stunned for a heartbeat!

Aizen!

The Aizen who had always cared for his subordinates, gentle and easygoing—he was actually Soul Society's greatest traitor!

"C-Captain Aizen... you..."

Renji Abarai's voice came out halting, his pupils contracting violently. He gripped Snakehead tightly, aiming it straight at the Aizen before him!

"Renji, put Rukia down, then leave." Aizen Sosuke's words were like a spring breeze.

Yet they sent boundless chill rising in their hearts!

"You—you're no longer the Captain Aizen I knew!"

Renji Abarai's voice was low, his eyes filled with unwavering resolve as he stood firmly in front of Rukia, shielding her!

Unbelievable!

Unthinkable!

Aizen had truly betrayed them!

"No longer the Captain Aizen you knew?"

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"Unfortunately, that is your misperception. The Captain Aizen you knew never existed from the very start!"

Aizen pressed forward step by step, wearing the Captain's haori of the Fifth Division, his square-framed glasses reflecting the light, his expression below hidden from view.

Renji Abarai clenched his teeth hard!

"You really are a very stubborn person. It must be hard to make you leave."

"Without the power of the heavens on your side, your resistance is nothing more than a speck of dust—hardly visible to the naked eye."