Both start in hell: but their talents are multiplied a hundredfold.

Shen Jue paused, then added, "Also, I will indeed help you rescue Rukia."

"It's just sharing spiritual pressure with humans; in Soul Society, it's not an unforgivable crime."

"There's more to this story than meets the eye."

Ishida Uryu's expression froze.

"But not now, and not in your reckless way." Shen Jue turned and walked towards the barracks.

"Take a few days' rest. I'll personally come to pick you up after this storm passes."

Two female Grim Reapers stepped forward and led Inoue Orihime away from the scene, one on each side.

Shen Jue watched the orange-haired girl's figure disappear into the distance, then turned around and whispered something unrelated.

"It's time to begin."

He was referring to Ichigo Kurosaki.

Among all the main characters of the three major shonen manga, Ichigo Kurosaki is the most special type: a pure numerical monster.

From the moment he was born, he simultaneously possessed the bloodlines of a Shinigami, a Hollow, and a Quincy.

These three forces do not require him to actively cultivate and become stronger; he only needs to wait for himself to discover the hidden power within his body layer by layer.

Just like the Hollow White power within Ichigo Kurosaki's body, that thing itself was a product of Aizen and Shen Jue repeatedly adjusting and aggregating it using the Hogyoku.

The power of emptiness represents pure strength, requiring no further explanation.

You are Ichigo Kurosaki, an ordinary high school student. Your opponent, Yhwach, the founder of the Quincy, possesses an omniscient vision that overlooks the river of time, allowing him to step into the past, rewrite the future, and render all known powers ineffective before his eyes.

And what about you? You have nothing. You have no rule-based abilities, no tricks, and all you have are two newly forged Zanpakuto.

Then Ichigo Kurosaki defeated Yhwach.

Ichigo Kurosaki, upholding his belief in protecting others, condensed the power of Hollows and Shinigami into "Ichigo Power," and through sheer numbers, he forcefully cut Yhwach into the second wedge that fixed the three worlds.

Shen Jue understood this matter more deeply than anyone else.

After all, he's a numerical monster.

Numerical values ​​are precisely the reason for becoming king.

In a sense, Shen Jue is one-third of Kurosaki Ichigo's father.

The Hollow power within Kurosaki Masaki's body was personally extracted by Shen Jue using the Hogyoku.

It was because of that intervention that Masaki Kurosaki was not drained of her power and killed by Hollow's attack.

From the moment Ichigo Kurosaki was born, Aizen and Shen Jue's eyes were on him, and that gaze remained fixed on him for more than a decade.

In addition, Shiba Isshin, the former captain of the 10th Division, is an old friend of Shen Jue. In terms of seniority, Kurosaki Ichigo should call him Uncle Shen no matter what.

Shen Jue felt it was time to personally witness the growth of his junior, Kurosaki Ichigo.

Meanwhile, news of Shen Jue capturing two traveling villains has already spread throughout Seireitei.

The Eleventh Division's Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika Ayasegawa had just been defeated by the Ryuka, and Shen Jue followed up by easily capturing the Ryuka. Putting the two events together naturally raised their significance.

As expected, the captains' private assessment of Shen Jue was: "He truly deserves to be the head of security at Seireitei."

The nickname carries a hint of mockery, but beneath that mockery lies genuine recognition: Shen Jue's slightest move is at a level that other Grim Reapers cannot reach.

However, although the Seireitei is putting on a grand show, not many captains are truly taking this invasion of the Travelers to heart.

The timing of Shen Jue's ambush and capture by the Hollow, and Rukia Kuchiki's death sentence, is bizarre.

Captain-Commander Yamamoto, being an experienced and shrewd man, naturally sensed the subtle undercurrent of conspiracy behind the scenes and chose to remain inactive, waiting for the right moment to act.

And that single shot from the Shiba family's Hana-tsuru cannon, which sent the traveler to the Seireitei, made it clear to everyone with discerning eyes what was going on.

This is the work of the Shiba family; it concerns the four noble families, so there's no rush.

The only person who was truly angry about the damage to the dignity of the Seireitei was probably Mr. Yamamoto.

The lights in the Fifth Division's barracks remained on all night.

Aizen Sousuke sat at his desk, the documents piled up into two neat high walls, obscuring most of his gentle face.

The scratching sound of the pen tip gliding across the paper was the only sound in the room, continuing steadily from nightfall until dawn without ever pausing.

He reviewed official documents slowly but steadily, reading each one from beginning to end before adding his annotations.

The handwriting is neat and upright, as if it were printed.

Hinamori Momo was just three steps behind him.

She should have already finished her work.

As the vice-captain, Hinamori Momo didn't need to stay by the captain's side the whole time. The nights in Seireitei were always peaceful, and the Fifth Division's territory was never invaded by Ryoka.

But Momo Hinamori didn't leave.

She went to the tea room and brewed a pot of fresh tea for Aizen, using the kind of leaves Aizen usually drank. The water temperature was just right, neither too hot nor too cold.

When she placed the teapot next to Aizen, Hinamori Momo said softly, "Captain, please have some tea."

Aizen turned his head and smiled at her.

He took off his glasses, wiped the fog off the lenses with his sleeve, and put them back on. His dark brown eyes looked particularly gentle behind the lenses.

"Hinamori-kun, it's very late, go back and rest."

Hinamori Momo remained silent, only staring at Aizen with an admiring gaze.

Aizen then stopped trying to persuade him.

He lowered his head again and continued to review the next document.

Hinamori Momo leaned against the door frame, watching Aizen's back.

This man has been her captain since the first day she joined the Gotei 13.

Gentle, diligent, and always putting his teammates first, he is completely different from his friend, Shen Jue, the captain of the 10th Division.

Shen Jue, the captain of the 10th Division, has a bad reputation and conduct among the female Shinigami captains of the Seireitei.

After all, Shen Jue really enjoyed listening to music in brothels.

Aizen wrote every report meticulously, his every speech at the captains' meetings was watertight, and he treated every subordinate like his own family.

The Fifth Division has the gentlest discipline among the Gotei 13, and this gentleness is upheld by Aizen alone.

Hinamori Momo sometimes thinks that meeting a captain like her is probably the luckiest thing that has ever happened to her.

The chill of the early morning seeped in through the crack in the door, and she fell asleep without realizing it.

In her daze, it seemed as if someone had draped a coat over Hinamori Momo, carrying a faint scent of tea.

Hinamori Momo snuggled closer into the coat and had a wonderful dream.

Then she was blinded by the sunlight.

The first rays of morning light slanted in through the east window, falling on her face with an incongruous pallor.

She rubbed her eyes, straightened up, and found that she was covered with Aizen's captain's haori.

The teapot has gone cold.

The documents on the desk were still open, and the annotations on the last page were only half-written. The pen rested on the inkstone, and the ink had long since dried.

There was no one in the chair.

Hinamori Momo's heart skipped a beat.

She stood up and instinctively scanned the room, but did not see Aizen.

She walked quickly out of the captain's office. The corridor was empty, and the morning light stretched her shadow long.

She pushed open every door along the way, one by one—the document room, the meeting room, the storage room—and every single one of them was empty.

Hinamori Momo's breathing became more and more rapid as she used Shunpo to search for the team's barracks.

Then she smelled blood.

It was very faint, but it was particularly pungent in the clean morning air.

Hinamori Momo stopped abruptly, her body seemingly being pulled back by something, and slowly raised her head.

The main hall of the team's quarters was very high, with the beams reaching a height of three zhang (approximately 10 meters) from the ground.

Those huge wooden beams spanned the entire space, and no one ever looked up at them.

At this moment, Aizen Sousuke was hanging below the highest beam, his back pressed against the rough wooden surface, his arms outstretched, his hands pinned to the beam by two Zanpakuto that pierced through his palms.

Aizen Sousuke is paying homage to and imitating a classic scene from the ancient Western Jesus.