The world twisted with pressure and silence.
The secluded cliffside clearing, hidden deep within a folded boundary space just outside Seireitei's formal patrol routes, had become a crucible of reiatsu and raw panic. Akira and Aizen stood at the heart of it — blades drawn, surrounded by a phalanx of elite warriors clad in dark lacquered armor without divisional insignias.
"Tsukoyomi Wardens," Aizen muttered. "Private enforcers of the Tsunayashiro Clan. Not Gotei."
Akira's brow furrowed. "So they're not bound by the same laws."
"No," Aizen replied coldly, "they're bound by intent — ours, or theirs."
The enemy moved as one — coordinated, efficient, deadly. Their Kidō patterns came layered, weaving suppression with capture. Energy seals aimed not to kill, but to immobilize. Their attacks weren't reckless. They were surgical.
One Warden launched forward, chains glowing with twisted symbols of Bakudō. Akira raised Zhuoyin — golden light erupted in a crescent.
[SYSTEM ALERT: Light Severance – Counter Complete. Danger Level: Medium. New variable detected: Binding Field Harmonized with Soul Fragment Signature.]
Zhuoyin hissed in his mind. These aren't simple techniques. They've studied you, child.
Akira's grin didn't waver. "Then let's give them a new lesson."
He shifted forms —
"Consume, Zhuoyin."
Golden brilliance inverted to shadow. The blade's edge drank light, devouring the nearest binding net mid-flight. Dark tendrils erupted from the blade's swing, clawing through the formation.
Behind him, Aizen raised Kyōka Suigetsu with a single word: "Shatter."
For a heartbeat, nothing changed.
Then half the Wardens screamed — blades turned on allies, defensive walls collapsed, and one even flung himself backward as if something monstrous emerged from the fog that wasn't there.
Yet half remained calm.
"They've trained against illusion," Aizen murmured, impressed and irritated. "At least some of them."
The leader stepped forward now, removing a silver mask. Cold, noble features, long dark hair tied in intricate Tsunayashiro fashion. His voice was smooth and indifferent.
"You are dangerous not because you are strong," he said. "But because you exist. That cannot be permitted."
Akira scoffed. "You nobles sure know how to make genocide sound poetic."
[SYSTEM SUGGESTION: Activate Destructive Protocol – Area Annihilation: 37.4% success probability. Warning: High collateral signature. Detected Yamamoto-level monitoring field nearby.]
"No," Aizen whispered sharply. "We can't unleash that here. Not yet."
Akira nodded, dropping into a crouch. "Then say the word."
Aizen's mind raced. The enemy was adapting. Illusions were growing less effective, and the countermeasures were tightening. But there was a pattern. A vulnerability. The rearguard had delayed reactions — not by hesitation, but sensory latency. One of them was reinforcing the field.
"There. The anchor," Aizen pointed. "Back left. They're delaying our perception. Drop him."
Akira didn't hesitate. One burst of Void Flash —
[Hohō Mastery 97% → 99%. Spatial Sync Achieved. Calculating Vector Breach... SUCCESS.]
He vanished.
A heartbeat later, the ground ruptured behind the anchor Shinigami as Akira emerged from literal darkness, blade first. The illusionary fog surged — Aizen amplified it instantly.
The enemy began to falter. Lines cracked. Commands distorted. For the first time, panic rippled through their formation.
"Now," Aizen said. "We leave."
He thrust Kyōka Suigetsu downward. The world split open.
To the attackers, the ground collapsed — massive Hollows emerged, screaming with thousand-eyed visages, tearing reality itself. A roar of impossible destruction.
To Akira and Aizen — a calculated escape tunnel masked by synchronized illusion and high-speed displacement.
They vanished into the veil.
Later, in a ravine near the Second Division's outer perimeter
Akira dropped to one knee, sweat soaking his collar.
"That was new," he muttered.
Aizen exhaled slowly, adjusting his collar. "They're not going to stop. That wasn't a warning — that was an execution attempt."
Zhuoyin pulsed darkly. They'll come again. With better tools.
[SYSTEM ALERT: Threat Level Escalated. Strategic Countermeasures Recommended. Suggesting: Formation of Secure Intelligence Network. Alternative: Seek Alliance with Subversive Factions.]
Aizen's eyes glinted. "We'll need more than power."
Akira stood, brushing dust from his haori. "Then we do what they fear most."
"What's that?" Aizen asked, glancing sideways.
Akira smiled.
"We keep surviving."