"Who goes there? Why are you trespassing in the assembly hall!"
"Y-You're the Lieutenant of Squad 5, Aizen Sōsuke! An accomplice of the traitor Naraku!"
"Another rebel who disregards the rules of the Seireitei and shows no respect for us."
"Guards! Where is the Inner Court Troop? Apprehend this scoundrel and execute him on the spot!"
Cries rang out one after another, making the massive assembly hall exceptionally noisy.
Surprisingly, however, no matter how much the sages shouted, not a single Soul Reaper appeared.
Aizen simply kept his head slightly lowered, a faint smile playing at the corners of his lips.
Long before arriving at the assembly hall, he had already used Kyōka Suigetsu to control the five senses of the guards outside.
Therefore, no matter how much of a commotion was caused inside the assembly hall, it would not attract the attention of any other Soul Reapers.
"Bastard, did you do this?!"
The judge behind the third seat finally realized something was wrong and harshly reprimanded the man below.
"To think a mere Lieutenant would be so audacious! This is the height of arrogance!"
"Do you honestly believe that with your meager skills, you can defy the order we have established?"
Hearing this, Aizen slowly raised his gaze. The smile vanished from his lips, replaced by a dead calm, as tranquil as a placid lake.
His cold gaze fell upon them, and a brilliant flash of a blade shot up from below, piercing straight through the curtain in front of the third seat.
Scalding blood splattered, instantly dyeing the desk in front red.
Seeing the lifeless body collapse, the remaining members of Central 46 immediately panicked.
They never imagined that Aizen would actually dare to attack them inside the assembly hall. The sheer audacity of this act was even worse than Naraku Sora's previous transgressions.
Aizen lightly raised his hand and rested it on the hilt of his sword at his waist.
Seeing this, the sages completely lost their minds. They screamed themselves hoarse, their faces twisted in absolute terror.
Some even stood up, attempting to fight back with their own power or flee the area.
However, as the clear, crisp ring of a drawn blade echoed out...
It was as if a mute button had been pressed. The spacious assembly hall instantly fell dead silent.
All cries were completely erased.
The members of Central 46 slumped over their respective conference tables, a thick stench of blood drifting and filling the air between them.
Right at that moment, the main doors to the hall opened once more.
Two figures walked into the assembly hall, smiles plastered on their faces, seemingly certain of their success in the upcoming matters.
However, upon seeing the gruesome scene before them, their expressions instantly froze, and their bodies began to tremble uncontrollably.
Sticky blood continuously dripped down the desks. A figure stood in the center of the assembly hall, turning his head to look at them with a smile.
"Good afternoon, you two."
Kuchiki Ginrei's eyes widened. His gaze darted around before his furious voice echoed through the hall:
"Aizen Sōsuke, how dare you..."
Before he could finish, he watched in horror as the figure standing in the pool of blood suddenly appeared right in front of him. The rest of his words caught in his throat, unable to be spoken.
"I was wondering earlier how that guy managed to distinguish the real from the fake, but it turns out the answer was right on the surface."
"Hmm, a very clever design."
"Captain Kuchiki, would you be interested in participating in a little research?"
Looking at Aizen's calm and composed expression, a flash of panic crossed Kuchiki Ginrei's eyes, but he quickly forced it down.
Originally, under Inaba Kagerōza's orders, they were supposed to take advantage of Yamamoto's absence to control Central 46 in the assembly hall, then issue a series of commands to alter the power dynamic of the Seireitei.
Who would have thought someone would beat them to it?
Moreover, this guy was even more ruthless, directly wiping out all of Central 46, the symbol of the Soul Society's highest judicial authority.
Was he not afraid of making an enemy out of the Gotei 13?
Kuchiki Ginrei rested his hand on his hilt and abruptly drew his sword, attempting to eliminate the threat right in front of him.
As the only special existence among the many clones, there was a massive difference between him and the original.
The original Kuchiki Ginrei, due to his advanced age and years of constant warfare, was riddled with hidden injuries and couldn't even exert seventy or eighty percent of his true strength.
Taking this into consideration, that lord had specifically optimized these issues when creating him.
Right now, he was comparable to Kuchiki Ginrei in his absolute prime!
A mere Lieutenant could be dealt with a single wave of his hand...
*Squelch—*
The sound of tearing flesh rang out. Kuchiki Ginrei's movements halted, his expression instantly freezing as a spray of blood erupted from the Sakusui and Hakusui points on his chest.
"How is this possible..."
Aizen shifted his gaze to the other person, revealing a gentle smile as he issued a sincere invitation:
"Captain Aikawa Love, what about you?"
Watching Aizen slowly walk toward him, Aikawa Love's eyes darted around wildly. It was as if he had been possessed by Kurotsuchi Mayuri, his expression twisting into something incredibly ugly.
From start to finish, he hadn't seen Aizen's movements clearly at all. He only saw a flash of a blade, and Kuchiki Ginrei—whose strength was comparable to his own—crashed to the ground.
Such a terrifying monster was actually just a Lieutenant?!
Did that idiot Hirako Shinji have eyes on his backside?!
Aikawa Love opened his mouth, preparing to say something, but his vision suddenly went dark. A heavy, black torrent surged up from the ground, instantly engulfing him.
The next moment, a pitch-black coffin as tall as a man stood erected in the corridor.
Kensei Muguruma looked warily at the giant, furry dog in front of him. With his focus at its absolute peak, his right hand had already silently moved to the hilt of his sword at his waist.
As a battle-hardened Soul Reaper Captain, his perception was extremely sharp.
Moreover, the opponent looked incredibly ferocious, giving off the distinct impression that he was not someone to be trifled with.
Overwhelming Reiatsu materialized into a physical force, wrapping around the towering, burly physique. A heavy, oppressive weight descended upon the street, causing the surrounding buildings to groan under the immense strain.
"Captain Muguruma, it would be best if you surrendered."
"Once we enter combat, I can hardly guarantee that I won't hurt you."
Komamura Sajin's deep voice rumbled like rolling thunder.
Kensei Muguruma's face darkened.
Were the people of the New Gotei 13 all this arrogant?
This was clearly treating him like a pushover, showing absolutely no respect for him.
"Cut the crap. Naraku Sora has rebelled."
"As his subordinates, not only did you fail to stop him, but you're following him down this dark path. Your blind loyalty is beyond foolish."
Hearing this, Komamura Sajin grinned. "Thank you for the compliment."
"?"
*'Bastard, was that supposed to be a compliment?'*
Kensei Muguruma's breath hitched. He suddenly realized there was no point in talking to these brutes; they were fundamentally on different sides.
He immediately drew his sword and slashed straight at the figure in front of him.
*Clang!!*
The two Zanpakutō clashed, sending countless sparks flying.
Kensei Muguruma felt as if he had been slammed into by a massive mountain. Terrifying power transmitted through the blade, wave after endless wave.
*'The strength of this beast is actually...'*
Cyan winds swirled around his body. Discarding the incantation for his Shikai, Kensei Muguruma instantly released it, manipulating blades of wind.
The fierce gales danced, rushing toward Komamura Sajin like countless sharp blades, attempting to shred his body to pieces.
Komamura Sajin let out a heavy snort, visible white streams of air puffing from his nostrils.
Against such an agile opponent, his speed definitely couldn't keep up.
Fortunately, he had an area-of-effect attack.
"Bankai—"
"Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō!"
A violent pillar of crimson light shot into the sky, instantly engulfing the surrounding streets. The Soul Reapers fighting nearby couldn't withstand the oppressive aura and were forced to halt their battles and retreat into the distance.
A black-armored samurai, towering like a mountain, sat among the buildings. As it stepped forward, ripples instantly spread across the ground.
A giant blade, tens of meters long, was raised high. Completely ignoring the wind blades swirling around its body, it slashed downward without holding anything back.
Kensei Muguruma's pupils shrank, and he instantly activated his Bankai.
A dazzling pillar of light surrounded him, and shockwaves rippled outward with Kensei Muguruma at the center.
The overwhelmed ground cracked layer by layer like a spiderweb, sending rubble flying.
At that exact moment, Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō's blade descended, cleaving straight through the pillar of Reiatsu and unleashing its terrifying power directly into the center.
*BOOM!!*
A deafening roar erupted. The majestic impact spread outward in visible shockwaves like ocean waves, kicking up howling gales that utterly destroyed everything in the vicinity.
Trees were uprooted, the earth shattered, buildings collapsed, and billowing clouds of dust rose into the air.
The white-haired, muscular man was sent flying like a bowling ball, crashing through dozens of houses in succession and plowing a terrifying trench several kilometers long into the ground.
"Cough!"
Amidst the dust, Kensei Muguruma coughed up a mouthful of blood. He struggled to his feet from the ruins, a flash of unwillingness in his eyes.
*'If I remember correctly, this guy is supposed to be a Captain of the so-called New Gotei 13, right?'*
*'I originally thought it was just those people from Shino Prison messing around, coming up with some random nonsense.'*
*'If the other new Captains are anywhere near as strong as Komamura Sajin, then their overall strength is already no weaker than the current Gotei 13.'*
*'Damn it, where did that guy Naraku Sora pick up so many monsters?'*
Kensei Muguruma dashed out of the ruins, his Flash Step flickering as he attempted to bypass Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō and strike directly at Komamura Sajin.
However, just as he reached the halfway point, the sky suddenly went dark.
A straightforward, unadorned strike descended. The black-armored samurai obliterated Kensei Muguruma's resistance with overwhelming force, smashing him entirely into the ground.
The sudden uprising of Shino Prison instantly plunged the entire Seireitei into chaos.
It wasn't until this moment that the Soul Reapers of the Gotei 13 finally realized just how terrifying the power hidden within this inner court organization—which supposedly only managed the underground prison—truly was.
Not only did the ordinary squad members possess the strength to crush them, but even their own Captains didn't seem to be a match for those newly appointed Captains.
While the seated officers were rallying the Soul Reapers and coordinating with other squads to suppress the rebels...
Several figures exuding powerful auras had already blocked Naraku Sora's path.
"Stop right there, junior martial brother."
Kyōraku Shunsui drew his dual blades from the sheaths at his waist. Materialized Reiatsu swirled around his body as he cast a cold gaze forward.
"We can't let you keep fooling around like this."
Naraku Sora raised his gaze, looking at the familiar figures blocking his way, a hint of hostility flashing in his eyes.