After returning to the 12th Division, Kisuke Urahara's brow furrowed with concern. The recent incident was truly abnormal.

In theory, the casualties among the Soul Reapers should have been impossible to conceal, as they had been rising sharply for the past thirty years. Yet the strange thing was, everyone seemed to regard these deaths as normal, unconsciously overlooking the increasing number.

It was as if a veil had been lifted from everyone's eyes, suddenly revealing this fact that had long been obscured. The realization felt jarring.

"Something's not right..." Urahara mumbled grimly, entering the Department of Research and swiftly operating a computer terminal. He pulled up data on Soul Reaper casualties spanning the past century.

"This is..." Examining the figures, Urahara's expression changed. The death toll in Soul Society had remained relatively consistent year after year, with the highest and lowest figures differing by less than a hundred souls.

Such numbers were statistically impossible under normal circumstances. Someone was controlling the rate of Soul Reaper deaths. Or perhaps...

Urahara fell silent. Besides him, had someone else been researching that same power? Based on these figures, they may have already completed its development - unveiling their work for all to see, no longer hiding.

No, this was deliberate. Now that the power had been perfected, the culprit sought test subjects. And who better than the captains and lieutenants investigating these disappearances?

Realization struck Urahara. "Oh no, Hirako and the others are in danger!"

Moving quickly, Urahara left the 12th Division barracks, contacting Grand Kidō Chief Tessai Tsukabishi. From Tessai, he learned that the investigation team seemed to have uncovered a lead, now heading towards Rukongai's neighborhoods with Hachigen Ushōda in tow.

***

"Captain Hirako, there's a clue here."

Hirako's group hurried over at Hachigen's call, finding civilian clothes and shredded Shihakushō scattered on the open ground ahead.

"Damn it, more victims."

"Who could have done this?"

Hirako scanned the area, as if seeking the enemy lurking in the shadows.

After previous failures, Kensei Muguruma drew his Zanpakutō, shielding Mashiro Kuna behind him.

"Be careful Hirako, I sense something foul here, a sickening presence..." Before Kensei could finish, a flash of steel arced from the darkness, opening a gash across Love Aikawa's body.

"Who's there?!" Kensei roared, instantly releasing his Zanpakutō.

"Blast Away - Tachikaze!"

His blade transformed into a small dagger wreathed in swirling gales. Using his released form's increased speed, Kensei charged Love's position, swinging at the shadowy figure.

BOOM!

A massive blast of wind erupted, carving a wide clearing in that direction. But the assailant was no longer there.

"Watch out, Kensei!" As Kensei prepared another attack, Hirako's shout made him freeze.

Shik!

A Zanpakutō blade pierced through Kensei's chest from behind. Kensei's eyes widened in shock. Impossible! The one attacking...was Love Aikawa, the captain he'd just saved? Had Love been involved in this conspiracy all along?

Turning slowly, Kensei moved to question Love - only to see a white bone mask covering his face. A mass of white substance was oozing from Love's wound, rapidly engulfing his body in an eerie shell.

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"A Hollow? Love is...a Hollow?" Sensing the ominous reiatsu now radiating from the captain, Kensei gritted his teeth.

"Bankai – Tekken Tachikaze!"

BOOM!

Explosive spirit energy erupted from Kensei, his Hollow Wind Zanpakutō transforming into armored gauntlets. The focused detonation force roared in his fists.

BOOM!

With one thunderous punch, the devastating blast shattered Love's Hollow shell, the shockwave sending him flying with grievous wounds.

As Kensei moved to finish Love off, his vision began fading to black. The last thing he saw was the hole in his own chest oozing that same white substance, threatening to consume him as well.

“Ahh…”

“Huh!”

Whoosh!

Hirako evaded Mashiro's sudden attack with a Flash Step.

The lieutenant now wore a chilling white mask, her eyes glowing crimson as she relentlessly pursued Hirako, Zanpakutō swinging.

"What the hell is going on?"

Hirako recoiled, stunned as his entire team was ambushed, nearly wiped out in moments. When the bone masks appeared, their reiatsu had become that of ravenous Hollows.

To survive, he would have to strike them down.

"Collapse, Sakanade!"

With Hirako's release command, his Zanpakutō morphed into a ring on his hand, spinning slowly. Under its power, his Hollowfied allies immediately lost control of their senses and motor functions.

Staggering about drunkenly, they would lash out at random, tripping over themselves one moment, then leaping high the next. Sakanade's Shikai ability inverted all enemy perception and neuromuscular control.

Raise your right hand, the left would move instead. Try to step back, your body lurched forward. Even vision was reversed - the world appeared inside-out and upside-down to its victims.

Without specific countermeasures drilled over long periods, Sakanade's "Inversion of Senses" technique ensured instant victory.

With their coordination scrambled by the release, Hirako's masked allies posed little threat. He strode past them casually, sword raised to strike the final blows.

But to his surprise, their Hollowfied bodies proved tougher than even Gillian-class Menos - attacks that could slay those behemoths barely scratched them.

Gritting his teeth, Hirako struck with maximum force, inflicting grievous wounds that knocked the seven of them to the ground.

Stepping into an empty space, Hirako's left hand tore through the air, distorting reality itself as brilliant colors erupted where he grasped. When dispersed, two concealed figures appeared.

"Aizen? You too, Gin?"

There stood the bespectacled 5th Division Lieutenant Sōsuke Aizen, joined by his underling Gin Ichimaru, now elevated to the 3rd Division's lieutenant role.

The Kidō spell Aizen had used to hide them was #26 - Kyokkō, bending light to render objects invisible.

Hirako asked, "Is all this your doing, Aizen?"

"Who can say? Perhaps it is I...or merely the pawn put forth by another."

Aizen smiled placidly. "But you've remained impressively calm through all this, Captain. Your allies are reviving, by the way..."

Spinning around, Hirako saw the fallen seven rising once more, their terrible wounds already healing.

"Instant regeneration? They've become true Hollows..." Rage threatened to overwhelm Hirako's senses. "Aizen!"

For now, his Shikai kept Kensei's group incapacitated. His priority was taking down Aizen and Gin.

As Hirako attacked, a low voice reached his ears.

"Bankai – Enma Korogi."

In an instant, all of Hirako's senses - sight, sound, smell, spiritual perception, even taste - were engulfed by utter blackness. Only his sense of touch remained to feel the blade piercing his chest.

Just as abruptly, the sensory deprivation lifted. Staggering back, Hirako collapsed in a growing pool of his own blood.

A man stepped past, sheathing his sword behind Aizen. It was the blinded 3rd Seat of the 9th Division, Kaname Tōsen.

"Kaname...Tōsen?" Hirako's eyes widened in shock.

He never imagined the stealthy attacker would be Kensei's own subordinate. And Tōsen's ability surpassed even a captain's level.

"Damn you! Tōsen, after how Kensei looked after you in the 9th, why would you betray him like this?!"

"Do not blame him, Captain Hirako," Aizen replied calmly, his words carrying a sinister undertone. "I assigned Tōsen to the 9th Division. From the very beginning, his loyalty was to me alone."

"Your subordinate?"

Hirako glanced at the smirking Gin, realizing he must also have been one of Aizen's servants all along.

"Aizen...so this whole thing was your doing after all."

"Hearing you say that, it's as if you suspected me from the very start, Captain." Aizen feigned surprise. "When did you become aware?"

"When you were still knitting inside your mother's womb!" Hirako spat out the sarcastic retort.

For decades, Aizen had crafted a flawless public persona - unassuming yet brilliant, kind and ever-patient in sharing his profound knowledge. To Soul Society at large, he seemed a deeply admirable soul.

Yet Hirako had never trusted him, always detecting danger beneath that tranquil front, as if Aizen merely waited for a misstep to strike him down.

"I see..." Aizen sighed, head tilted. "And here I thought my facade had been impeccable around you, Captain."

"From the moment I first saw you, I knew you were a dangerous man who could never be trusted," Hirako growled. "Making you my lieutenant was solely to keep you under watch!"

"Heh heh...I'm grateful then, that you regarded me with such suspicion. It allowed me to avoid raising any further...alarms."

"Didn't I tell you? I was onto you from the very start!"