The three figures clad in black cloaks were none other than Aizen, Gin, and Tosen.
"A cloak that completely masks Reiatsu. By weaving in some Kido energy, it can even blend one's figure into the surrounding environment, becoming nearly invisible. Truly..."
"He left behind a fine souvenir, didn't he?"
"Urahara Kisuke!"
The black cloaks worn by Aizen and his two companions were originally developed by Kisuke during his time in the Soul Society, designed to conceal Reiatsu. After Aizen's machinations forced Urahara to flee the Soul Society, the cloaks and their production technology fell into Aizen's hands.
Isshin, who had already released his Zanpakuto, had been prepared to immediately slay the jet-black Hollow. However, he was suddenly attacked from behind, sustaining significant injuries.
"Guh... That strike just now... it definitely wasn't from a Hollow..."
"It was from a Zanpakuto!!"
Isshin spoke with difficulty, dragging his injured body. He immediately turned, wanting to see who had attacked him. But when he looked back, he found no one behind him. Aizen, after attacking Isshin, had immediately hidden himself away.
"Who's there!!!" Isshin shouted.
But no one answered his call.
"It's definitely a Shinigami..."
"There's a traitor within the Soul Society, pulling the strings from behind the scenes!!"
If he had only suspected a traitor before, Isshin was now completely certain.
"Where are you hiding?! Show yourself!!"
He continued to shout, trying to force the mastermind into revealing themselves.
At the location where Aizen and the other two were hiding.
"Ara ara, it seems he realized the attack he took wasn't from the Hollow!" Gin said, a fox-like smile on his face as his eyes remained narrowed.
"It appears so," Aizen replied indifferently.
Judging by his nonchalant attitude, Aizen clearly wasn't concerned about this development.
"Let's go, Gin, Kaname," Aizen said afterward.
Gin was momentarily taken aback. "Is it alright? To just leave like this?"
In Gin's view, to keep this matter secret, Aizen should kill Isshin.
"It's fine, Gin. Shiba Isshin's Bankai places an enormous strain on his body. My earlier strike severely wounded him, so he can no longer use Bankai," Aizen explained.
"Moreover, if he is defeated by a Captain who hasn't even used Bankai, it would only prove this test subject is a failure," Aizen added.
However, Tosen, who was usually completely obedient to Aizen, corrected him. "Not 'test subject'. Please refer to it as [White], Aizen-sama."
"It is fundamentally different from the hundreds of Hollows completed in the past. It is the first Hollow created based on a [Shinigami's soul]."
In Tosen's eyes, this experiment held immense significance. Its product shouldn't be simply labeled a 'test subject' like the previous ones.
"You are correct. My apologies, Kaname," Aizen readily apologized.
"However, its body is enveloped in that pitch-black armor, yet its essence is 'white', hence the name [White]."
"What an ironic name," Aizen remarked with a hint of mockery.
Meanwhile, elsewhere...
Isshin and the jet-black Hollow, dubbed [White] by Aizen, clashed once more.
Clang!
Isshin's Zanpakuto met White's bone blade.
"Gah—"
Even though he wasn't directly hit by White, Isshin couldn't help but grunt in pain. The impact caused the wound on his back to tear open further, blood flowing freely.
"The wound is too deep... My Reiatsu is unstable... I absolutely cannot use Bankai like this..."
The situation was extremely unfavorable for Isshin. Without Bankai, he couldn't even defeat the Hollow before him, let alone deal with the hidden mastermind still watching from the shadows. If nothing changed, he would undoubtedly die here.
"Roar!"
White let out a roar, its powerful energy erupting and forcing Isshin back. Then, a jet-black surge of Reiatsu, like a sword beam, flew through the air towards him.
"Tch!"
Isshin clicked his tongue in frustration and was forced to use Shunpo to evade White's attack. In his severely wounded state, direct confrontation was extremely disadvantageous.
Boom!
After Isshin dodged, White's attack struck a commercial building below, cleaving it directly into ruins. Fortunately, it was late at night, and no one was working inside, or else no one would have survived that strike.
Seeing Isshin evade its attack, White relentlessly charged at him again.
Watching White approach, Isshin couldn't help but feel enraged. "Damn it! Don't look down on me—"
"Ugh!"
Before he could finish, a tearing pain shot through the wound on his back again. Isshin reached back to touch the wound, only to see his entire hand stained red with blood.
At that moment, White had already closed in, launching a black Cero at Isshin.
"Damn it!" Isshin swore angrily.
"Getsuga Tensho!"
Gritting his teeth against the pain from his back wound, Isshin launched a counterattack. A crescent-shaped blade of Reiatsu shot forth to meet White's black Cero.
Boom!
The Cero and Getsuga Tensho collided, sending a powerful shockwave sweeping in all directions. Had their battle not been taking place in the sky, it would have devastated countless areas and caused innumerable casualties.
"Oooooh!!!"
Once the shockwave dissipated, Isshin, still fighting through his injuries, engaged White in fierce combat once more.
It was at this moment that a girl with orange short hair suddenly appeared on the ground below the battlefield.
It was Masaki, who had rushed all the way from the Ishida residence, determined to help the Shinigami.
Standing on the ground, Masaki looked up at the fierce battle between Isshin and White in the sky, sensing the immense Reiatsu from both sides. A cold sweat broke out on her forehead.
Plop!
Suddenly, something fell from the sky, landing right beside Masaki. She looked closely and was startled… it was an arm! A pitch-black arm that didn't look human at all!
Undoubtedly, it was White's arm, torn off by Isshin during their clash, even at the cost of further injury to himself.
Back in the battle between Isshin and White...
Bang!
At the same moment Isshin tore off White's arm, he was also struck by his opponent and sent crashing hard onto the roof of a building.
White, however, seemed to feel no pain. Even missing an arm, it relentlessly charged at Isshin as if nothing had happened.
"Huff... huff... huff..."
Watching White charge towards him, Isshin wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, panting heavily. "You're really something... still full of fight even after losing an arm, huh!"