A mont of silence.
Disbelief spread through the group in an instant, almost physical.
What is this guy talking about?
Nobody said it out loud. But the thought crystallized through the group on its own, arriving as sothing close to a consensus.
Captains were not all equal in power. That much was beyond question. Even Aizen didn't react right away.
Tosen turned his head toward Yusuke.
"Is this really going to be okay?"
The opposing side was not small fry. Across all of Soul Society, their combined combat power ranked sowhere in the top dozen. One against four?
Yusuke just smiled and nodded.
"Winning outright is probably too much to ask. But just to hit a certain set of objectives... that's more than doable."
The quest hadn't shown explicit rewards, because the structure this ti was different. What he'd get at the end would scale directly with how he actually perford in the field.
Put it another way.
If Yusuke genuinely went nuclear and dismantled all four of them on the spot, the rewards would top out accordingly. And even without a win, as long as he cleared the relevant stage objectives, the payout would be tiered by what he managed.
High risk, high reward. I'm going in. Do whatever you want.
On the other side.
Hirako turned quietly and looked at the people beside him. Rojuro. Love. Kensei. And himself.
The four of them weren't the absolute ceiling by any asure, but against a newcor they were unambiguously the superior force.
So who was Matsushita Yusuke?
Various pieces of intel surfaced and collided into shape.
Currently the youngest captain in the Gotei 13. Ca up through Kijishi, leans combat-type. Possibly runs multiple types of Zanpakuto release. Exact capabilities still unclear.
Intel gaps all around. In the current situation, those gaps were genuinely enough to give anyone pause.
But nobody standing here had a weak ntality.
"We're being looked down on."
Rojuro's gaze went dark. He took a slow breath, swung the golden chain back to his side.
"An upstart newcor, running his mouth like this."
Love clenched his fist. His voice dropped. His whole body tensed.
"I'll make you regret that."
BOOM!!!
Kensei answered with action instead of words. His reiatsu exploded outward in an instant, generating an intimidating pressure that made everyone take notice.
The humiliation of being knocked down. He was getting that back right now.
Unlike his companions, though, the calm one was Hirako.
And his gaze had shifted.
Toward Aizen Sosuke.
He didn't actually believe Matsushita Yusuke could take on four opponents. This was probably a distraction. The one who was actually worth his full attention was the person pulling the strings.
"Leave Matsushita Yusuke to you three!"
Hirako's call was sharp. He spun and charged straight toward Aizen.
Take the leader first.
Tosen's hand moved on reflex toward his Zanpakuto. Before he could draw, Aizen had already pressed down on his right hand.
"No need, Tosen. This man... leave him to ."
Hirako had closed the distance with shunpo. He raised his right hand and placed it flat against Aizen's chest.
"Hado #31 Shakkaho."
Chant-free. Point-blank range. A burst of blinding red light.
Both figures were swallowed by the light and gone.
Tosen stood where he was and turned his head slightly.
He located the two of them approximately a kiloter out.
The purpose of the Hado hadn't been destruction. It had been purely to generate a reiatsu current, forming sothing close to an energy mass, creating interference with detection across the surrounding area.
Aizen had been removed from the scene.
Which seed to have been within soone's expectations.
Even facing that outco, Aizen had offered no resistance. That counted as its own kind of answer.
Not far from where the confrontation had started, two figures landed. One in white, one in black. Separated by roughly ten ters, facing each other.
"Aizen Sosuke."
"Yes. I'm here, Captain Hirako."
Hirako spoke the na. Aizen answered it.
Just like every exchange across the years between them. In words and in tone, the shape of this conversation was like a distillation of the decades they had spent in each other's proximity.
Two people standing on entirely opposite sides of sothing. One carrying weight. One completely at ease.
"Honestly. I knew sothing was wrong with you a long ti ago."
He raised his right hand, index finger pointed. His tone carried a asured edge of contempt and sothing close to a reprimand.
"The reason I promoted you to vice-captain was specifically to keep you close enough to watch. To see clearly what you were actually planning when nobody was looking."
"And what exactly did those eyes of yours manage to see?"
Aizen tilted his head slightly. The corners of his mouth lifted.
"You discovered nothing of what I was doing. You couldn't read my actual intentions. Captain Hirako. Everything you believed you knew was built entirely on the premise of your own assumptions, and from that foundation you assembled a picture that was never real."
He spread his hands in a gesture that looked completely open, completely unguarded.
"Everything you thought you were seeing was what I wanted you to see. What I expected you to see. What I decided you were capable of seeing. Captain Hirako. Even knowing all of this right now, can you hold onto that composed expression?"
"...That's enough out of you."
Hirako's brow tightened. His hand went to his Zanpakuto.
"Yes. My taunting ends here as well. Although..."
Aizen adjusted his glasses.
Behind him, a terrifying reiatsu erupted. Under the azure column of light rising skyward, his expression beca shadowed, filled with sothing that could only be called a smirk pressed to its absolute limit.
"You don't actually think those three are a match for Matsushita-kun. Do you?"
****
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