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Chapter 332 B
🕑 Added 2025-04-28 15:00:12 +0000 UTCChapter 332
2-in-1 chapter:
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"Captain, here are today's official documents—please handle them." In the 5th Division captain's office, Sōsuke dropped a thick stack of paperwork onto Hirako Shinji’s desk with a crisp thud.
Shinji's face turned pale as he looked at the mountain of files before him.
"Are you kidding me? Why is there so much?"
"We’re the 5th Division, not the 8th! Where did all this come from?!"
“Oh, I took some from other divisions,” Aizen replied gently. “I was concerned the other squads wouldn’t be able to finish their administrative tasks, so I decided to help them out.”
“?”
Shinji stared, dumbfounded.
“Just because they can’t finish, how does that mean I can?!”
“I believe in you, Captain,” Aizen said with a smile.
Shinji fell silent, then raised a hand and flipped through the documents.
Soon after, he couldn’t hold back anymore. “Wait a sec—why are there vice-captain level documents in here?! Isn’t that your job?!”
“Sorry, Captain. Per the Captain-Commander’s orders, I’m currently upgrading the Hell Barrier protocols. So, for now, please help out!”
“I...!!”
Shinji’s expression twisted. He clenched and unclenched his fists.
“…Then do your best… Sōsuke.”
He gritted his teeth as he offered his 'encouragement.'
“Thank you, Captain,” Aizen said cheerfully, nodding as he turned to leave.
Watching his retreating back, Shinji grabbed his face in both hands, yelling in frustration.
…
…
5th Division dojo.
Dozens of squad members were gathered—it was lively.
Dragging his tired feet, Shinji passed by. These past few days of handling the paperwork Aizen dumped on him had left him drained.
Seeing the bustling dojo, he looked confused.
“Hey, what’s going on in there?”
He grabbed a passing member.
“Ah, Captain Hirako!”
The member saluted before smiling brightly. “The 12th Division sent over some test devices! They can digitize slash power to analyze real-time combat strength.”
“Everyone’s excited to see how powerful their attacks are!”
Curious, Shinji stepped inside.
The members were divided into groups, lining up in turn.
At the center were two large black stone blocks. A 12th Division researcher was giving an enthusiastic introduction:
“These are called Test Stones, forged by fusing Sekkiseki Stone, titanium, and spiritually sensitive materials!”
“Strengthened and modified by our squad, they not only measure slash force in numeric data, but can also self-repair! As long as they’re not fully destroyed, they can quickly recover using injected spiritual pressure.”
“In the future, this tool could become a Soul Society standard for evaluating combat potential!”
As he explained, a squad member gave a loud shout and slashed down.
Clang!
The Asauchi hit the Test Stone, leaving a faint white mark.
The digital screen lit up with the number “16.”
Another officer concentrated, swung his blade, and left a shallow cut.
This time, the display read “72.”
A 12th Division researcher walked over, injecting reiryoku into the stone. The wound visibly began to regenerate, soon returning to its original state.
Shinji stroked his chin with interest.
This was actually pretty neat. The angle, speed, and pressure of a slash—all reflected in numbers.
With this tool, progress among members could be clearly seen.
A good way to boost morale.
One by one, squad members took their turns. The best result came from the 5th Seat, who made a slash nearly half a centimeter deep—registering a “283.”
Compared to the size of the stone, it was tiny—but for most, even scratching the surface was hard. Seeing Shinji, the members all turned eagerly.
“Captain! Show us what you’ve got!”
“We bet you’ll blow the scale!”
“Come on, let us witness captain-level power!”
Shinji chuckled. “Since you asked so sincerely, I’ll show you what being a captain means!”
He drew his Zanpakutō and approached a Test Stone.
After a moment of focus, he stepped forward sharply, blade flashing in a curved arc as it struck!
Skreeee—
The Test Stone screeched.
As Shinji withdrew his blade, everyone stared in shock.
A slash nearly 20 centimeters deep.
*Forty times deeper than the 5th Seat!*
On the screen… 33816.
Gasps filled the room.
“Over a hundred times stronger?!”
“That’s insane!”
“As expected of the Captain!”
“So powerful, so commanding!”
Shinji grinned and sheathed his sword, just about to drop a witty line—when another voice cut in:
“Oh… interesting. A stone that tests slash force?”
“Perfect. Let me try.”
Shinji turned to see Sōsuke standing before the other Test Stone, hand resting on his Zanpakutō.
Shing!
A flash of light, a clean draw. A split-second later, the blade was back in its sheath.
And in front of all of them, the one-meter-thick stone—reinforced, and able to regenerate—split in half.
The top half slid cleanly down the smooth cut.
Boom.
It crashed onto the dojo floor.
The damage screen, detecting total failure, displayed a row of dashes.
Shinji: “…”
Squad members: “…”
The 12th Division technician rushed over.
“It was actually… cut clean through?!”
“This has never happened before during testing…”
“We sincerely apologize. We’ll reinforce the structure and invite you to try again next time.”
Aizen nodded. “No problem. I look forward to it.”
As his voice rang out, the squad members began reacting.
“Vice-Captain Aizen… he cut it in half?!”
“How?!”
“Even the Captain didn’t manage that, but Vice-Captain Aizen did!”
“A true monster!”
“So powerful, so commanding!”
Amid their cheers, Aizen shook his head modestly.
“Captain just wasn’t using his full strength. I’m nowhere near his level.”
He adjusted his glasses, looking at Shinji with a smile.
“Right, Captain?”
Right, my ass!
Shinji’s face turned green. He had used full power just now.
No Shikai, no Bankai—but his technique and force were near perfect.
He always knew Aizen was hiding strength… but this much?
Back when Aizen broke cover at the Captain's meeting to help Kaelith, Shinji was relieved, thinking he could finally gauge the guy’s limits.
Well… he saw it, alright. Too clearly.
It was the kind of clarity that filled a man with despair. How could two people be this far apart? Just a few decades ago, that brat was still a student.
Now he was beastly unmatched.
To make it worse, since revealing himself in front of Yamamoto, Aizen hadn’t held back at all.
Things he never used to do—now became a daily occurrence. In just over a month, his popularity among the squad had skyrocketed.
As captain, Shinji was being completely overshadowed.
And then it hit him— That bastard had been eyeing his position lately, hadn’t he? He looked at the broken half of the Test Stone on the floor.
Somehow, it felt symbolic of his own future.
…
…
Despite Aizen’s strength and rising popularity, Shinji knew—this made it even more likely he had some evil plan brewing.
As the Soul Society’s last line of defense, he had to uncover the truth. Fueled by resolve, Shinji went to the 12th Division and met with Mayuri. Straight to the point: he asked Mayuri for a way to follow Aizen without being detected.
Mayuri was surprised at first, but seeing Shinji wasn’t joking, he grinned.
“Captain Hirako… you don’t know about my relationship with Kaelith, do you?”
“I do.”
Shinji nodded. “You and Kaelith are close. Part of the 'Kaelith group.'”
“But that doesn’t mean you and Sōsuke are on good terms, right? Based on my investigation, far from being comrades, your relationship with him is more like deep-rooted resentment.”
“He constantly acts like an expert, even though you’re the actual scientist. Doesn’t that piss you off?”
Mayuri narrowed his eyes.
He really didn’t like Aizen.
But… Aizen was Kaelith’s friend. If he betrayed him, Kaelith wouldn’t be happy.
He clicked his tongue, preparing to decline.
Then Shinji added:
“By the way, you probably didn’t hear this, since you weren’t present after the Hell War. The Captain-Commander offered Sōsuke the 10th Division captaincy—and he refused.”
“One reason he gave was that revealing his talents was meaningless.”
“He said, in the entire Soul Society, only Kisuke Urahara was qualified to acknowledge his intellect. He didn’t even mention you—Captain of the 12th Division.”
“…”
Mayuri narrowed his eyes further. Blood pressure rising.
He didn’t even need to confirm the quote—he could perfectly imagine Aizen saying it.
Infuriating. Infuriating!
A few moments of gritted teeth later, Mayuri entered his lab. He returned shortly after and handed Shinji a small case.
“This is a spiritual-pressure concealment drug. After ingestion, it will suppress nearly all of your detectable energy.”
“With this, you will evade Aizen’s senses!”
Shinji’s eyes lit up. “Really?!”
“Absolutely,” Mayuri grinned. “I guarantee it.”
Shinji, elated, thanked him and left.
Mayuri watched him go, sighing. Avoiding Aizen’s detection wasn’t hard—if Aizen wasn’t looking for it.
But evading Kaelith’s senses? Impossible.
Still, his words weren’t wrong. Satisfied, he returned to the lab.
That very night, Shinji ran tests.
He took a pill and hid in Muguruma Kensei’s quarters. The latter noticed nothing. Still uncertain, he tried again outside the 4th Division's medical wing.
Not a soul detected him.
Even Unohana walked past without reacting.
Perfect.
With excitement, Shinji began his surveillance operation.
…
…
After several days of covert observation, Shinji finally found his chance.
That night, Aizen was set to meet Kaelith. They’d definitely talk about something—and maybe, just maybe, it would reveal Aizen’s ambitions.
Shinji scoped out their meeting location and set an ambush. Swallowing the concealment pill, he cast “Bent Light.”
Right now, he was invincible.
Sight, sensing—no ability could discover him!
Soon, the two figures appeared.
Kaelith and Sōsuke Aizen.
They chatted as they walked—Kaelith gesturing, Aizen frowning slightly. Drawing closer, Shinji heard Aizen’s voice:
“No. This can’t be rushed. These are fundamentally different forces. Until we confirm any harmful interactions, we must not use more than one at the same time.”
“So rigid. How will we ever achieve greatness like this?”
“Lose your life before greatness, and what’s the point?”
Aizen’s tone was cold.
Just then, Kaelith paused.
“…Hm?”
He turned his head, looking right at Shinji’s direction.
In that moment, Shinji felt like the protagonist of a horror movie.
Thankfully, Kaelith said nothing. But even that brief moment triggered Aizen’s awareness.
His eyes narrowed as he focused.
A few seconds passed.
Aizen sighed.
Then, under Shinji’s horrified gaze, he turned and walked over.
As he passed, he reached out and tore away the camouflaging “Bent Light.”
Watching this, Kaelith couldn’t help but feel a little impressed…
