Tōsen Kaname approached silently.
No one noticed him.
Like a ghost, a shadow, a beam of moonlight, he moved without a sound.
He walked behind Naruto, raising his sword high.
In his inner world, the Nine-Tails bared its fangs.
It could sense an approaching presence, not very powerful, but filled with pure, undisguised malice.
The sword carried a chaotic and mixed power, identical to the power of those Naruto was currently fighting.
Naruto did not notice.
"Ashura" enveloped the Nine-Tails, causing it to speak: "Kid, be careful behind you!"
Almost instantly.
Naruto, driven by instinct, reached backward with both hands without turning his head.
Abandoning the incantation.
"Bakudō #39. Enkōsen (円閘扇, Round Lock Fan)."
A spinning golden shield appeared between his palms.
The sword struck it with a clang and was deflected.
Naruto turned his head.
He saw nothing and sensed nothing.
Perplexed...
Where did the attack come from?
Who was behind it?
Only the feedback from his spiritual pressure at that moment confirmed the Nine-Tails' warning.
"What was it?" Naruto asked the Nine-Tails.
The Nine-Tails bared its fangs: "Kid, can't you sense it?"
Naruto silently shook his head, conveying a "no" message.
His eyes were deep.
Unable to sense the attacker aiming for him.
Could it be...
The culprit behind the disappearance of souls in Rukongai, leading the Captains and Vice-captains to such a state?
Silently.
No wonder even the captains were caught off guard.
"Behind, to the right." The Nine-Tails hesitated but spoke again.
Naruto followed the instructions.
His Adamantine Sealing Chains continued to suppress Kensei Muguruma and Shinji Hirako.
But he split off two arms, wielding a sword and casting a spell, attacking in that direction.
Tōsen Kaname dodged.
The Nine-Tails warned again.
In the forest.
Ichimaru Gin gave a fake smile and murmured, sounding like a complaint but with a sinister tone: "Oh dear, how unfortunate."
"It seems he has noticed Tōsen."
"Could it be that Uzumaki has already deciphered Aizen-sama's Zanpakutō?"
Sosuke Aizen did not speak, still smiling, watching Naruto.
His sword was named "Kyōka Suigetsu."
Its ability was not as it appeared at the Shin'ō Academy.
The "water flow type" was merely a facade for outsiders.
Its true power was "complete hypnosis."
Anyone who had seen the sword's Shikai with their own eyes would have their five senses, even their perception of spiritual pressure, manipulated by Sosuke Aizen, losing their ability to judge reality.
It was powerful.
But its ability still had a flaw.
No matter how close to "perfect" someone or something was, it was still "imperfect."
If they had not "seen" the Shikai with their own eyes.
Then they would not be affected by Kyōka Suigetsu's hypnosis.
Sosuke Aizen's gaze shifted to Tōsen Kaname, who was easily dodging Naruto's attacks.
This subordinate of his was the one who could escape "Kyōka Suigetsu's hypnosis."
Not because he was strong, but because he was blind.
He could see nothing.
Even though he was blind, all his other senses were as sharp as, or even sharper than, those of a normal person.
"Gin, I thought you would understand the principle that 'what the eyes see is not necessarily true' by staying by my side." Aizen said softly, "Naruto has not seen through my ability."
"The attack was so slow that even Kaname could dodge it."
"It's because inside Naruto, there is something that hasn't seen my Shikai."
But sealed inside Naruto's body...
What could that be?
Aizen raised his hand and adjusted his glasses.
Ichimaru Gin was about to speak.
Upon seeing Aizen suddenly raise his head and look to the left, he followed suit.
A surge of spiritual pressure was approaching.
"An unexpected guest has arrived," Aizen murmured.
But as the figures landed, Aizen focused on one cloaked in black and smiled slightly.
It turned out they were not unexpected guests after all.
No wonder he was the Captain of the 12th Division.
To be able to develop an artifact that even disrupted his own perception.
Naruto turned his head and looked over joyfully.
This spiritual pressure came from someone he knew well and trusted.
It was the Chief of the Kidō Corps, Tsukabishi Tessai.
And seeing the man beside him, who could not be sensed but had a visible form under the black cloak, made him even happier.
"Chief Tsukabishi!"
"Captain Urahara!"
Urahara Kisuke removed his hood, looking at those either subdued or unconscious, his gaze sweeping over their faces in shock: "How did they end up like this?"
"Be careful!" Naruto didn't answer but instead warned, "There are invisible, undetectable enemies around."
The two immediately became vigilant.
In the woods.
Aizen whispered, "Come back."
His voice carried through.
"Aizen-sama, I can..." Tosen Kaname began.
"I have said..." Aizen lowered his voice even further, "Come back."
Tosen, terrified, instantly used Shunpo to retreat behind Aizen: "Yes, please forgive my previous presumptuous words and actions."
Aizen squinted, looking ahead.
Naruto was the first course.
Urahara Kisuke was the second course.
The Nine-Tails fell silent.
Naruto inquired.
The Nine-Tails grinned: "Kid, that guy ran away."
Naruto relayed this information to the two who had just arrived.
"An invisible, undetectable enemy is the culprit behind their hollowfication?" Urahara Kisuke frowned.
Sparse forest, fading moonlight.
Eight Hollowfied individuals, lost in madness.
These things made his heart pound.
He realized that he was not the only one conducting "that kind" of research.
"Does Captain Urahara know what happened to them?" Naruto's voice rose, "Then he must be able to save them, right?"
"They have already undergone such changes." Urahara Kisuke nodded but frowned, his tone somber, "If handled here, the conditions are insufficient, but if taken back to the barracks..."
Anyone could hear the disappointment in his words.
Time, environment, equipment...
None of it was available here.
"As long as they can maintain this state and return to the 12th Division," Tsukabishi Tessai said, "With the equipment in the barracks, we should be able to save them, right?"
Urahara Kisuke was surprised: "Maintain this state?"
He did not deny the latter part.
"Is it possible to do that?" Naruto was also surprised.
Tsukabishi Tessai nodded, his expression serious. He raised his hands: "I will now use two forbidden techniques."
"I need Urahara-sama and Third Seat Uzumaki to..."
"Temporarily pretend not to hear or see anything."
"As for how they return to the 12th Division, I ask Third Seat Uzumaki to take responsibility in front of the Captain-Commander."
Uzumaki Naruto didn't hesitate: "Yes, no problem."
Spiritual pressure surged around the Kidō Corps Chief.
The incantation began.
Space and time rippled, taking them away.
In the woods.
"The strong dish ran away." Ichimaru Gin whispered.
In his heart, a heavy weight settled.
Aizen shook his head: "Gin, Tosen. Let's go back."
"Is Aizen-sama really letting them go?" Ichimaru Gin followed behind Aizen.
Aizen lifted his head and said, "People think the flowers growing on the edge of cliffs are the most beautiful."
"It's because people stop at the edge of the cliff."
"But unlike those fearless flowers, they can't take a step toward the sky."
"Don't you think Naruto is an especially beautiful flower?"