"Tousen Kaname… what are you talking about? More than ten years?"
Grimmjow's pupils tightened, shock rippling across his features. He had assumed only months had passed since his death. Aizen's attitude toward the Espada was well-known. He would never waste excessive effort on them.
"Grimmjow, I am the one overseeing the Espada now," Tousen said calmly.
More than ten years earlier, before Aizen defected, the Espada existed but held no formal titles. Grimmjow opened his mouth to speak, but Aizen's indifferent glance cut him silent.
"Grimmjow," Aizen asked, voice soft but sharp, "have you gained any new abilities?"
Since the Hogyoku had resurrected him, Aizen suspected there might be new awakenings—something akin to Shiraha's evolution.
"No, Lord Aizen." Grimmjow shook his head. His Reiatsu had increased drastically, but no new powers had surfaced.
Aizen's eyes dimmed slightly with disappointment. "You will remain the Sixth Espada. Tousen, take him. I wish to speak with Ulquiorra."
The hope that Grimmjow might awaken abilities similar to Shiraha had proved unfounded. His Reiatsu had grown stronger, nothing more. It did not interest Aizen enough to pursue further.
"Understood, Lord Aizen."
Tousen bowed and escorted Grimmjow out.
Gin watched them leave, smiling. "Well, Captain Aizen, Grimmjow doesn't seem very obedient. Should we kill him?"
"It does not matter," Aizen replied. "I can create him again or destroy him whenever I choose."
To Aizen, even the entire Espada were nothing more than pieces arranged for the convenience of his plan.
Gin chuckled. "As expected of Captain Aizen."
Aizen looked toward Ulquiorra. "Go to Karakura Town. Determine whether Kurosaki Ichigo's power poses any threat to me."
For weeks, Aizen had been carefully observing events in the human world. Ichigo's Hollow had begun to awaken.
"Yes, Lord Aizen." Ulquiorra pressed a hand to his chest in salute. Without a shift of expression, he turned and left the palace.
Gin tilted his head. "Ahh, Captain Aizen, does that boy Kurosaki Ichigo really deserve so much of your attention?"
Aizen's answer was simple. From the moment of Ichigo's birth, he had monitored him. Every enemy Ichigo faced had been calibrated to push him―threatening enough to drive him forward, yet never enough to overwhelm him.
Until Shiraha appeared—and shattered every piece of Aizen's arrangement.
"Gin, Kurosaki Ichigo's latent power has not yet fully awakened."
Aizen's gaze sharpened before he vanished into another chamber.
Since Hirako Shinji transferred into Karakura High, training had changed entirely. After meeting Ichigo and revealing the truth about Shiraha and the Vizards, Ichigo accepted their invitation immediately—unlike in the original timeline. He had not attended school since. Instead, he remained in the Vizard base, training to suppress and refine his Hollow.
Meanwhile, Shiraha lived leisurely at the Urahara Shop. He brewed tea, debated Kidō with Urahara Kisuke, and occasionally descended into the underground training chamber to instruct Renji and Ishida. Orihime and Sado trained separately under Tessai's guidance.
"Hadō Sixty-Three: Fiery Lightning Howl!"
A column of golden lightning erupted from Shiraha's palm, roaring across the cavern toward Ishida and Renji.
"Rain of Light!"
Uryu unleashed a barrage of spirit arrows, pelting the thunderous strike.
The moment the arrows met the lightning, they shattered into stray spirit particles and vanished.
"Bankai—Baboon King Zabimaru!"
Renji's Zanpakutō expanded with a roar, transforming into a massive serpent coil, armor plates spiraling around his body. Brown fur draped across his shoulders. The right sleeve extended to the wrist, while the left reached only to the elbow.
"Bone Cannon!"
Renji swung Zabimaru, the great baboon king opening its jaws to fire a massive red pillar of condensed Reiatsu. It streaked through the air and collided with Shiraha's Fiery Lightning Howl.
The explosion drowned the chamber in blazing light. Rock and earth across hundreds of meters shattered beneath the pressure. The Bone Cannon disintegrated under the storm of golden lightning, which continued forward with unbroken force.
Zabimaru braced itself before Renji and Uryu, shielding them. The lightning smashed into the massive serpent, tearing it apart. Segments of the broken Baboon King scattered across the ground.
As the dust cleared, Renji and Uryu staggered into view, battered and barely upright.
Shiraha flashed in front of them with a single Shunpo, smiling faintly. "Renji, after all these days, your Bankai is still so underdeveloped. I'm disappointed."
Renji's Bankai remained incomplete.
"I'm sorry, Captain Shiraha."
Supporting each other, Renji and Uryu bowed, shame clouding their faces. Despite relentless effort, Renji had made almost no progress toward mastering the true form of his Bankai.