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Ichimaru Gin walked out of the dorm, seeing the clock outside already pointing to seven, yet the Squad Barracks area remained quiet. He skillfully called out to the Squad members outside the door:
"Izumo, what time is it? Reiji is still not up. Go wake him up and tell him to hurry. Don't forget today's main business."
"No problem, but I'm afraid the Captain still isn't willing to get up." Izumo, who was on patrol with the Squad members in the outer corridor, bowed and skillfully walked towards the Captain's dorm.
"It's fine. It's not the agreed-upon time yet, but at least let him know." Ichimaru Gin understood his savior perfectly and took care of him with extreme familiarity.
Don't let Aozaki Reiji seem like someone who indulges his desires; if he truly wants to do something, he will put his heart and soul into doing it to the best of his ability.
Not being easily swayed by desires is perhaps why he has survived safely until now.
Afterward, Ichimaru Gin went to the dining hall and habitually ordered a Chinese breakfast that Aozaki Reiji liked.
The Eleventh Division Squad members were mostly all present, each full of vigor, eager to throw themselves into the war.
Thump, thump!!
Hearing the knocking and sensing the familiar Reiatsu, Aozaki Reiji, lying on the bed, glanced towards the door.
He had woken up long ago, staring at the familiar ceiling for nearly ten minutes, doing nothing but lounging in bed.
The knocking sounded three times. Before Aozaki Reiji could speak, Izumo's Reiatsu slowly moved away.
After many days of getting along, he understood Aozaki Reiji's habits: only three knocks were needed, no extra words, and no meaningless reminders.
Aozaki Reiji sat up and leaned against the headboard. Something in the quilt squirmed along with him. He pulled back the quilt to see a familiar face.
"Is it Ryusui or Izumo? Or perhaps Ichimaru?" The lazy golden-haired beauty's voice carried a hint of charm, making Aozaki Reiji's heart tremble.
Her appearance clearly hadn't changed much, but her charm was growing, every gesture and smile captivating.
This was the charm of a mature woman.
"It's Izumo. You've seen him more than once, how can you still not recognize his Reiatsu?" Aozaki Reiji rubbed the cute little nose of this golden-haired older sister.
"I'm too lazy to remember. Isn't it enough to distinguish between friend and foe?" Matsumoto Rangiku hummed twice and lightly kissed her lover's lips.
Aozaki Reiji was noncommittal; he knew Matsumoto Rangiku wasn't lying.
To put it bluntly, Izumo wasn't important enough in her heart to warrant remembering his Reiatsu clearly.
"I have important things to do today, so I won't be accompanying you for now." Aozaki Reiji spread his hands and said casually.
"How can you!?!" Matsumoto Rangiku let out a cute wail.
"I told you about this a long time ago, so stop playing pitiful here and hurry back to the First Division."
In Aozaki Reiji's heart, that was still the safest place in the entire Seireitei. This sense of security could only be brought by Yamamoto.
Although he knew Kyōka Suigetsu was effective against Yamamoto, Aizen Sōsuke wouldn't easily try to deceive Yamamoto; this was Yamamoto's deterrent.
His very existence could, invisibly, exert psychological pressure on those with malicious intentions.
Under Matsumoto Rangiku's persistent coaxing, Aozaki Reiji reluctantly spent another half hour with her, then got everything ready, finished breakfast in the dining hall, and went to the Squad Dojo.
Inside the Captain's lounge next to the dojo, Aozaki Reiji looked at Ichimaru Gin standing opposite him. "Is everything ready?"
"The pre-battle mobilization is complete. Are you really not coming with us?" Ichimaru Gin asked.
"No, I have other things to do, and it's not convenient to go with you." Aozaki Reiji patted his shoulder and said with a smile, "This battle is all up to you, Captain Aozaki Reiji."
If there were other people in the lounge at this moment, they would notice that Ichimaru Gin's appearance had changed, becoming identical to Aozaki Reiji.
Ichimaru Gin showed no surprise, saying calmly, "I understand, Third Seat Ichimaru Gin, I'll leave the Squad Barracks to you."
Aozaki Reiji stroked the Shinra Bansho at his waist. The power of Kyōka Suigetsu had quietly activated at some unknown time, and in the eyes of some, Ichimaru Gin had clearly become Aozaki Reiji.
Having Ichimaru Gin impersonate him was a somewhat risky move, but this was also one of Kyōka Suigetsu's limitations.
Kyōka Suigetsu's ability is to change the hypnotized person's perception of a specific object; it cannot create something out of nothing.
This is also why Aizen usually needed to prepare a substitute when using Kyōka Suigetsu to deceive Hirako Shinji, and why he left his Zanpakuto when he faked his death in the future.
Without an object to substitute, he couldn't conjure a false self out of thin air.
This strongest illusion-type Zanpakuto actually has quite a few drawbacks.
It has extremely high requirements for the casting ritual, the target of the spell, the illusionary object, and Reiatsu, among other things. The illusions created by hypnosis also need to be constructed by the caster himself.
This is also why Aozaki Reiji doesn't like using Kyōka Suigetsu in battle: its output ability is limited, and its usage conditions are harsh.
For enemies of equal or lower Reiatsu, Aozaki Reiji can crush them without Kyōka Suigetsu most of the time.
For enemies with higher Reiatsu, Kyōka Suigetsu is ineffective, and being distracted by constructing illusions makes it easy for enemies to find weaknesses, making it practically useless to him.
One can only say that Aizen is truly remarkable, elevating Kyōka Suigetsu to a height that didn't belong to it.
Aozaki Reiji suddenly spoke, "Oh, right..."
"What is it?" Ichimaru Gin asked.
"Don't flirt with little girls while wearing my face!"
Aozaki Reiji reminded him with a solemn expression, seriously stating that this was his bottom line.
Ichimaru Gin rolled his eyes and said irritably, "Do you think I'm you? I'm not interested in women."
"To avoid exposure, Officer Kuna Mashiro has already been sent out by me and should be on her way with the female Squad members now."
"That's more like it."
Aozaki Reiji stroked his chin, clearly satisfied with this sensible junior, and waved his hand, saying,
"Since everything is ready, you all can depart."
"Aren't we waiting a bit longer?"
Ichimaru Gin subconsciously turned his head and asked, looking in the direction of the dorm area.
"No need to wait. She's a bit tired, so she won't come to see us off." Aozaki Reiji looked into Ichimaru Gin's eyes and said shamelessly.
Ichimaru Gin: "..."
He didn't need to ask; he knew what the two of them had done last night. This was not something a child like him should know.
Aozaki Reiji shrugged, feeling a bit helpless.
After all, Shiba Kūkaku, Yoruichi, and Lisa Yadōmaru were either far away or had little free time due to their status.
Relatively speaking, Matsumoto Rangiku's work was the easiest, and she had the most time to come find him.
Kuna Mashiro, who was the closest, was still in a relatively early stage with him, but it shouldn't be long before they advanced further...
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