"Fifth Division, focus on protecting the Fourth Division."
Aizen's voice rang out amidst the chaos, calm and powerful.
The members of the Fifth Division immediately gathered around, shielding Hasumi Ren and the Fourth Division medical relief squad he was leading in the center.
They drew their swords and stood on guard, their eyes scanning the surroundings, ready to deal with any Hollows that might charge at them.
Aizen himself stood at the very front, his back to the group.
His posture was upright, his Zanpakuto already drawn, the blade gleaming with a cold, clear light under the moonlight.
The next moment, Aizen noticed a figure standing beside him.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Ren slowly draw the Zanpakuto at his waist. His expression was calm, looking as though he intended to face the enemy together.
"Ren, as a member of the Fourth Division, you do not need to participate in frontline combat."
Aizen spoke in a deep voice, gesturing for Ren to step back.
Ren gave a sound of acknowledgment but did not hide behind Aizen as advised.
"I can fight too, Lieutenant Aizen."
Hearing this, Aizen chuckled softly and said no more.
"Is that so? Then be careful."
After all, this was exactly the moment he had been waiting for.
Several Hollows broke through the defensive line the Eleventh Division had painstakingly set up, charging toward the rear.
The next moment, Aizen slowly raised his Zanpakuto.
Moonlight cascaded down, the luster on the blade flowing like ripples of water, carrying an indescribably eerie beauty.
"Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu."
Aizen's voice was very soft, so soft it sounded like he was talking to himself.
The Zanpakuto in his hand turned into fragments and dissipated into the air.
In that instant, Ren clearly felt a peculiar spiritual pressure spread out from Aizen.
That spiritual pressure was formless and intangible, yet omnipresent.
It rippled outward like water, sweeping past Ren's body, past everyone around them, and spreading toward the distant horde of Hollows.
Ren's pupils contracted slightly.
*It's here.*
Without the slightest hesitation, he pressed his hand against the Zanpakuto at his waist, his lips moving slightly.
The release command was spoken so softly that only he could hear it.
The moment the Zanpakuto left its sheath, the blade had already transformed. A silver-white chain extended from the pommel, wrapping around Ren's wrist.
Aizen cast a sidelong glance at Ren's Zanpakuto, a hint of contemplation flashing in his eyes.
The next moment, a system prompt appeared before Ren's eyes.
He hadn't expected this opportunity to come so suddenly.
As Aizen released Kyoka Suigetsu, everyone watched as the Hollows that were originally lunging toward the camp suddenly changed direction, madly biting and tearing at their companions beside them.
These Hollows had actually begun to slaughter each other.
A chaotic light flickered in their eyes, as if they were not looking at their own kind, but at their most terrifying enemies.
Their massive bodies collided, tearing into each other until blood and flesh flew everywhere.
Roars, wails, and the sound of shattering bones intertwined, leaving the surrounding Soul Reapers at a loss for what to do.
"This is..."
A Fourth Division member's eyes widened, staring at the scene before him in disbelief.
"It's Lieutenant Aizen's Zanpakuto ability!"
Another Fifth Division member shouted excitedly.
"Lieutenant Aizen's Zanpakuto is a running water-type. It can refract light through water currents, making the Hollows unable to distinguish friend from foe, which is causing them to kill each other."
"With Lieutenant Aizen here, we don't have to worry about a thing!"
The morale of the surrounding Soul Reapers soared. Those skilled in Kido were already chanting Hado incantations, preparing to blast the confused Hollows into oblivion.
Ren listened to these words, his face remaining completely impassive.
But his gaze never left Aizen.
The analysis progress displayed by the system was climbing.
As the analysis deepened, the world in Ren's eyes began to undergo bizarre changes.
At first, it was just a subtle sense of tearing.
It was like two different images overlapping; the edges would occasionally misalign for a split second before quickly merging back together.
That feeling was hard to describe, as if the entire world was trembling slightly, yet he couldn't pinpoint exactly what was wrong.
But soon, the tearing sensation grew stronger and stronger.
Then, Ren saw it.
In the image, a slightly transparent Aizen still stood in place. His expression was solemn, holding his Zanpakuto as he manipulated the distant horde of Hollows into mutual slaughter.
His posture was strict, his expression focused; everything looked perfectly normal.
But in the other torn image...
Aizen was turning around to leave.
The images intertwined and overlapped, like a fractured hallucination.
Ren took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay calm and continue observing.
Until the tearing became more frequent, more distinct.
In the scene before him, Aizen still stood in place, maintaining the posture of controlling the Hollows, but he was becoming increasingly blurry.
The Fifth Division members looked at the fading phantom, their faces filled with admiration and excitement.
Yet not far away, from the corner of his eye, Ren could see it.
Aizen had already walked more than a dozen paces away.
His steps were light and slow, like an ordinary stroll.
Subsequently, from the crowd behind them...
Several Fifth Division members, seemingly having received some sort of instruction, stood up and broke away from the group, gradually following behind Aizen.
The eerie part was that the people around them remained perfectly calm, as if they hadn't noticed a thing.
Someone was even whispering to the empty air beside them.
As if there was still someone standing right there.
The two scenes existed simultaneously, yet remained independent of each other.
At this moment, Ren didn't dare show any signs of abnormality.
He understood now.
The Aizen and Fifth Division members standing in place, about to vanish, were all illusions in his eyes.
The real Aizen was about to leave with his subordinates.
Meanwhile, everyone else around him—the Eleventh Division members, the Fifth and Fourth Division members beside him—were all currently hypnotized by Kyoka Suigetsu, believing that Aizen was still in place directing the battle.
This was Kyoka Suigetsu.
What a flawless Complete Hypnosis.
However, right at that moment, something Ren never expected happened.
Aizen suddenly stopped in his tracks and slowly turned his head.
Under the moonlight, Aizen's gaze was as placid as water, devoid of any emotional fluctuation.
He just quietly looked back in the direction behind him, his gaze landing precisely on Ren.
In that instant, Ren felt his heartbeat stop for a second.
But he didn't move.
He didn't even let his facial expression change in the slightest.
He merely maintained his previous posture, his head tilted slightly as he watched the Hollows slaughtering each other in the distance.
His lips were slightly parted, his face bearing just the right amount of astonishment.
Just like any Soul Reaper seeing Kyoka Suigetsu's ability for the first time.
The system's analysis prompts continuously jumped before his eyes, but Ren had no time to pay attention to them.
All of his attention was focused entirely on Aizen, who had turned back to stare at him.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds...
Over a dozen seconds passed, and Aizen just kept looking at him.
Those gentle eyes currently held no emotion whatsoever.
Just a calm gaze, as if observing something.
But Ren's breathing remained steady, his expression natural, and his gaze still fixed on the distant horde of Hollows.
Occasionally, he would blink, looking slightly amazed, as if shocked by everything happening before him.
Perfectly playing the role of a bystander blinded by the illusion.
However, what caused Ren's pressure to spike was that the phantom before his eyes was becoming increasingly transparent.
The Aizen in the illusion was tilting his head slightly, asking Ren what his Zanpakuto's ability was.
Ren answered simply, stating that Garenge possessed the ability to significantly increase the output efficiency of his spiritual pressure.
Afterward, he began to feign awe at Kyoka Suigetsu's ability.
Yet in the distance, for some unknown reason, the real Aizen continued to quietly watch him.
He had not left.