Hasumi Ren's pressure grew increasingly heavier.
Aizen's gaze pierced into his perception like an ice pick.
But Ren didn't dare make the slightest movement, doing his utmost to act as naturally as possible.
He knew that any subtle reaction right now could expose his ability to see through Kyoka Suigetsu.
But as the analysis neared completion and the illusion before his eyes was about to vanish, how should he react then?
At that moment, Ren noticed a faint tremor coming from the Zanpakuto in his hand, causing him to pause.
The next moment, Ren's consciousness sank into his inner world.
Entering his inner world after such a long time, Ren felt a bit unaccustomed to it.
In this pristine space, Garenge was sitting in midair, swinging her slender legs with a blade of grass formed from spiritual pressure dangling from her mouth.
Seeing Ren enter, she raised an eyebrow and smiled.
"Yo, small fry master, long time no see."
The blonde loli's eyes were expressive, carrying a somewhat mischievous look.
Ren was in no mood to bicker with her right now and cut straight to the chase.
"Save me, Ren-ren."
Hearing this, Garenge crossed her arms and laughed up at the sky.
"Gahahaha, now you know fear... Wait, Ren-ren? That's a rather unusual nickname."
Ren sighed softly, getting straight to the point with his question.
"Enough nonsense, quickly think of a solution. If the analysis is completely successful and I become immune to Kyoka Suigetsu, I won't be able to see his illusion. What do I do then?"
Garenge curled her lips, hopped down from the air, walked up to Ren, and stood on her tiptoes to pat his shoulder.
"Did you think Kyoka Suigetsu only relies on sight? That's just the trigger condition; everything after that relies on the influence of spiritual pressure, you idiot. Aizen's spiritual pressure invaded your perception, which is how he created the illusion."
She circled around Ren, tracing circles in the air with her finger, her tone carrying a hint of smugness.
"Since I can analyze his ability, I can naturally suppress my own power to adjust your tolerance to his spiritual pressure fluctuations. That's also why I called you in here. Don't worry, I'll help adjust it to a suitable level, maintaining the existence of both the illusion and reality simultaneously. After that, it's all up to your performance."
Hearing this, Ren felt much calmer, then a thoughtful look appeared on his face.
"But Aizen is watching me right now. Does that mean he noticed I can resist the erosion of his spiritual pressure?"
"Hmm... pretty much."
Garenge shrugged helplessly.
"When he looked back at you just now, it was most likely because he sensed something off with his spiritual pressure around you. Even if I can stabilize the fluctuations now, Aizen still noticed that anomaly earlier. Therefore... Master, you need to be careful."
Garenge gave him a gentle push, and Ren fell backward.
The next moment, his consciousness exited his inner world.
Returning to reality, Ren's expression remained unchanged, and nothing around him had altered.
The time spent conversing with Garenge in his inner world felt like only a fleeting second on the outside.
At this moment, the tearing sensation between illusion and reality in Ren's eyes gradually stabilized.
Before his eyes, the phantom Aizen's figure stopped fading, instead maintaining a semi-transparent state.
Meanwhile, the real Aizen in the distance was still quietly staring at Ren, his eyes slightly narrowed.
Aizen sensed that the imperceptible, subtle shift in his spiritual pressure around Ren from earlier had seemingly vanished, as if it had never occurred.
*How truly strange...*
In the distance, the Hollow swarm continued to slaughter each other. The Eleventh Division members had recovered and began taking advantage of Kyoka Suigetsu's assistance to slay the heavily injured Hollows.
"Ren, what's wrong?"
The phantom Aizen's voice sounded beside him, laced with a hint of concern.
Ren looked up, displaying a perfectly measured trace of surprise on his face, as if he hadn't fully recovered from the shock before him.
"It's nothing. I'm just a bit astonished, as it's my first time seeing such a peculiar Shikai."
"Is that so..."
In the distance, Aizen watched Ren converse normally with the illusion, the contemplative look in his eyes deepening.
For a split second earlier, Aizen had indeed felt a faint shift in his spiritual pressure around Ren.
But looking at Ren now, his spiritual pressure was stable, and his eyes held a bewildered look—a completely normal reaction for someone trapped in the illusion.
*Then what was the cause of that earlier...?*
Aizen did not believe it was merely his imagination.
At that moment, several Fifth Division members beside Aizen exchanged glances, and one of them asked in a low voice.
"Lord Aizen, is something wrong?"
Aizen didn't answer. He slowly walked up to Ren, Kyoka Suigetsu gleaming with a faint silver light in his hand.
Suddenly, an icy killing intent erupted from him without any warning.
That killing intent wasn't violently bloodthirsty like Unohana's, but it carried an extreme, absolute coldness and ruthlessness.
In an instant, Aizen swung his Zanpakuto without warning, the tip of the blade aimed straight at Ren's neck.
As the blade rapidly approached, Ren could even feel the freezing edge threatening to slice his skin.
But right at the exact moment the tip was about to touch his skin, Aizen's hand abruptly stopped.
Aizen quietly stared at Ren, who was currently conversing softly with the illusion beside him, showing absolutely no reaction.
The next moment, Ren seemed to feel something slightly off. He raised a hand to touch his neck and looked around with a bewildered expression.
His gaze calmly swept past Aizen's deadpan stare, then looked elsewhere.
"What's going on? My neck suddenly feels a bit itchy."
Watching Ren look around in confusion before returning to converse with the illusion beside him...
Aizen's killing intent finally began to slowly recede.
His Zanpakuto had already been moved away the instant Ren raised his hand.
Then, Aizen sheathed his blade, as if that fatal test had never happened.
Turning around, Aizen spoke flatly to the several Fifth Division members beside him.
"It's nothing. Continue with the mission."
"Yes, Lord Aizen."
Although the squad members were full of doubts, they didn't dare ask any further and respectfully complied.
Aizen didn't linger any longer. Leading the men behind him, he turned and walked toward the outskirts of the camp.
Their figures quickly disappeared into the night.
Even after Aizen's spiritual pressure had completely faded away, Ren didn't dare show any abnormalities.
His fingertips had turned slightly pale, and a fine layer of sweat had formed on his back.
In that moment just now, he truly felt as if he had brushed past the gates of hell.
There was nothing fake about the slash Aizen had suddenly executed.
If Ren had made the slightest movement, even if there was just a hint of a flaw in his eyes, or if his breathing had faltered even a little...
That blade absolutely would not have stopped before hitting his skin.
Fortunately, Ren had won the gamble.
The key to this lay in the countless times he had faced Unohana's killing intent on the training grounds behind the Fourth Division barracks over the past few months.
Under Unohana's killing intent, he had learned how to maintain his composure under the threat of death.
He was now able to remain calm even when a blade was at his throat, having learned to make the most correct reactions on the razor's edge between life and death.
Those days of being beaten half to death on the back mountain, the moments of suffocating under Unohana's killing intent, and the countless experiences of feeling as though he had died beneath her wooden sword...
All of it proved useful in this very moment.
At this moment, Ren finally let out a deep breath in his heart.
Aizen indeed had ulterior motives for coming on this mission.
Using the Hollow swarm's attack as cover, he had secretly arranged for his subordinates to carry out other tasks.
Whether letting him see Kyoka Suigetsu was part of his plan or not, Ren didn't know.
Ren looked up in the direction Aizen had left, a trace of solemnity flashing in his eyes.
Aizen's mind was far too meticulous, and his methods were far too ruthless. The slightest misstep would lead to eternal damnation.
Ren didn't let his guard down, continuing to maintain his hypnotized facade.
After all, there were still members of other squads around, and no one could guarantee that Aizen didn't have spies among them.
With Kiganjo's participation, the battle in the distance gradually neared its end.
The attacking Hollows were slaughtered one after another by the Eleventh Division members, while the number of wounded also increased.
As the last Gillian let out a mournful howl and its massive body crashed to the ground, the Garganta in the sky finally began to slowly close.
That pitch-black rift writhed and gradually sealed shut like a living wound, eventually disappearing completely.
Only a cold, clear moon and a few sparse stars remained in the night sky.
Only the stench of blood in the air and the shattered earth bore witness to the battle that had just taken place.