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The Crimson Commander

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Prologue: Rebirth of the Strategist

Pain. That was the first thing he felt.

It wasn't the searing kind he had imagined death to be, but a dull, lingering ache that radiated through his muscles. When his eyes fluttered open, he found himself staring at a wooden ceiling. For a moment, confusion gripped him.

Then came the memories. The truck. The accident. His life fading away.

"This… doesn't look like the afterlife I imagined," he muttered, his voice unfamiliar. He sat up, his body feeling heavier than it should. His crimson hair fell over his shoulders like a curtain. His eyes widened as he caught sight of his arms—tattoos winding down them in intricate patterns.

He stumbled toward a mirror leaning against the wall, and the face staring back at him was unmistakable.

"Abarai Renji," he whispered, his voice trembling.

The weight of realization hit him like a blade. He had been reincarnated into the world of Bleach. Not as Ichigo, not as Byakuya, not even as one of the villains—but as Renji.

Renji: the man who had always fallen short, always played second fiddle, always been a stepping stone.

"Not anymore," he said, his voice hardening. He clenched his fists, feeling the latent power in his body. "I'm not going to be a joke in this life. I know this world, and I know how to play it."

He stared at his reflection, his crimson eyes burning with determination.

"Aizen may be the schemer, Byakuya may be the master of precision, but I'll outwit them all. I'll climb to the top of this world—and I'll make sure no one can stop me."

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