A storm of spiritual pressure erupted into the heavens. Tia Harribel hovered in the air, her golden eyes fixed coldly on the white-haired boy below. The earlier indifference in her gaze had sharpened into deadly seriousness. If not for that strange, infant-like roar that broke the ice binding her, she would have been frozen to death beneath his attack.
She raised her massive blade once more, muscles tensing, determination etched in every motion. This time, she would not underestimate her enemy.
Two figures suddenly flashed to Hitsugaya Tōshirō's side—Sarugaki Hiyori and Yadōmaru Lisa.
"Hey, can you still move?" Hiyori barked, her eyes locked on the Espada above.
Tōshirō pushed himself up from the cracked ice, his breath visible in the cold air. A fresh surge of Reiatsu burst from his body, climbing toward the heavens like a white dragon. His gaze hardened, battle spirit reignited.
Hiyori and Lisa raised their Zanpakutōs, their own Reiatsu flaring in unison. The three spiritual pressures collided with Harribel's in the air, compressing the atmosphere until space itself distorted and the ground beneath them groaned.
Harribel's eyes narrowed.
"Up."
With that calm word, Tōshirō stepped forward and vanished. Hiyori and Lisa disappeared after him, reishi trails splitting the sky. Harribel moved as well, sonido ringing like a blade's shriek.
The world flashed white—then thunder roared. The clash began.
---
Across the battlefield, Wonderweiss tilted his head, blank eyes blinking at the man before him.
"I'm Muguruma Kensei," came the deep, sharp voice. "And I'm going to kill you."
Kensei's eyes glimmered with cold confidence. He drew in a breath, body tensing like coiled steel.
"Bankai—Tekken Tachikaze!"
A violent gale erupted around him, his body clad in armored plates of reishi. The Zanpakutō in his grip split into twin, jagged knives.
"Wondawise!"
The childlike Arrancar shuddered, his eyes lighting up with unnatural joy. Then both figures vanished.
The next instant—impact. The explosion shook the heavens.
---
High above them, Aizen and Hirako Shinji faced each other in silence. One hundred years of resentment and betrayal hung between them, the weight of old wounds pressing into the still air.
The scene was surreal—Aizen stood inverted in the sky, head facing downward, while Shinji stood upright below. Their orientations mirrored their ideals—completely opposite, yet perfectly aligned in conflict.
Aizen's lips curved faintly. "This ability of yours… interesting."
His senses were completely reversed, his world turned upside down by Shinji's Zanpakutō, Sakanade, whose Shikai inverted all perception—up and down, left and right, front and back.
"To invert every sense of an opponent's perception… quite the impressive technique," Aizen said softly.
He tried to raise his hand—and instead lifted his foot. His tone didn't falter.
"Hmph. I see."
"It's been a long time, Aizen," Shinji replied coldly, eyes sharp beneath the visor's shadow. "You've become even more pretentious."
He stepped forward, killing intent heavy in the air. "They want to drag you back to the Seireitei for judgment. But you and I both know…" He stopped in front of Aizen, his words edged like steel. "…that's impossible. For me, there's only one end for you."
The blade lifted. "Death."
A sharp whistle cut through the sky.
Shinji swung—only for his sword to halt midair.
A crisp snap echoed.
His pupils constricted.
Aizen's fingers were calmly pinched around the blade's edge.
"What…?"
It was impossible. His senses were reversed. His perception inverted. No one could move naturally under Sakanade's effect—yet Aizen did so effortlessly.
"How…?" Shinji's breath hitched, voice cracking with disbelief.
"Your ability is indeed remarkable," Aizen said mildly. "But once you adapt to it, it becomes meaningless."
"Impossible!" Shinji snarled. "My Sakanade completely inverts perception! No one can memorize every direction—up, down, left, right, front, back—while fighting!"
"Ordinary people?" Aizen's tone softened into something almost pitying. "You still mistake me for one of those."
His gaze was calm—almost gentle, as though he were lecturing a child who'd failed to grasp something simple.
Aizen was no ordinary being. He could retain what others could not. Perceive what others failed to see. To him, even inversion was nothing but a pattern to master.
"After all these years, Shinji… you've made no progress at all."
He drew Kyōka Suigetsu.
A flash.
Blood blossomed in the air like a crimson flower.
Shinji's body jerked as pain ripped through his chest. His sword slipped from his fingers, falling end over end as he plummeted. A long red trail marked his descent, splattering across the air like spilled paint.
His vision blurred, Aizen's voice the last sound reaching him.
"Ants."
Darkness claimed him.
The Shinigami coalition suffered its first loss.
And before long, a second followed.
---
In a vast crater below, Muguruma Kensei lay broken, drenched in blood. His armor cracked, his Zanpakutō shattered. The battlefield was silent except for his shallow breathing. Wonderweiss was gone—vanished into the night.
Kensei's jaw tightened in fury, but his strength had left him. The world faded into black.
---
Above, Aizen stood amidst the silent storm. Feeling the fading reiatsu of Baraggan and Starrk, disappointment flickered briefly in his eyes. He had overestimated them. Despite all his efforts, the Arrancar he'd forged were only imperfect creations.
His expression cooled. He vanished.
A moment later, Harribel froze mid-swing. She sensed him appear behind her.
"L-Lord Aizen…"
Her heart sank. Across from her, Hitsugaya, Hiyori, and Lisa recoiled instinctively, terror flaring in their eyes.
Aizen ignored them. He looked at Harribel, eyes cold and distant.
"You've disappointed me."
Her face drained of color. "Please, Lord Aizen—give me time. I will defeat them, I swear it!"
"No need."
The words fell like judgment.
A flicker of steel—
A burst of red.
Blood blossomed across Harribel's chest like a frozen rose.
Her eyes widened in disbelief. Even Hitsugaya and the others froze, unable to process it.
He had struck down his own ally.
"Why…?" Her voice trembled, barely audible beneath the hum of falling reishi.
"You've lost your value," Aizen said, his tone utterly devoid of emotion.
Her vision dimmed. The warmth left her limbs. The world fell away beneath her feet.
It wasn't the cold of ice this time.
It was the cold of death.
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