CHAPTER 149: CHAPTER 149: A GIFT FOR AIZEN

What... what is that?

Sui-Feng stared with wide eyes at the massive blue figure surrounding Uchiha Madara.

"Hey, woman," Madara glanced at her, clearly annoyed. "You planning to just stand there all day? Want to watch your men die for nothing?"

"I’m Sui-Feng, Captain of Squad Two."

Snapping back to her senses, she replied with irritation but quickly pulled out a signal flare from her coat.

"I do appreciate you saving me, but stop calling me that!"

Fwoosh.

Bright red fireworks exploded in the sky, and the Second Squad members, who had just received the retreat order, quickly turned and withdrew.

"No need to thank me," Uchiha Madara said flatly, not even looking at her. "Showing mercy to those who can’t fight is just something strong people naturally do."

Tch, was he just insulting her for being weak in a roundabout way?

Soi Fon’s mouth twitched hard, her face flushing with anger. Ever since becoming a squad captain, she had never been looked down on so openly.

And this guy was only a Third Seat!

She clenched her teeth, ready to fire back at him—until, just then, that glowing blue giant brought its energy blade down.

BOOM.

The thunderous crash shook the ground violently. A powerful blast of wind ripped out in all directions, stinging Soi Fon’s face.

Moments later, the wind died down.

Soi Fon’s eyes widened, and she froze in shock. Everything in front of her—the low buildings, the panicking crowd—was gone.

All that remained was a massive canyon stretching endlessly into the distance.

Was this guy for real?!

She sucked in a breath, staring in disbelief at the boy standing in front of her. One strike, and he’d caused that much destruction? Was he really just a Third Seat from the medical squad?

"Huh? Still some rats hiding?" Uchiha Madara didn’t care what Soi Fon was thinking. He raised an eyebrow and suddenly turned toward the forest on the right.

*Buzz.*

The energy blade in Susano’o’s hand hummed loudly as it slashed down. With another massive boom, the ground split in two and the forest was cut clean down the middle.

"Oh my, that’s some scary power," a figure with brown hair appeared out of thin air, as if tearing through space. "I almost got caught in that by mistake."

"Squad Five Captain?" Soi Fon raised an eyebrow at the newcomer.

Brown, slightly curly hair, black-rimmed glasses, and a white haori—it was Aizen Sosuke, Captain of Squad Five. His tone was polite as he spoke with a hint of apology. "Sorry I’m late, Captain Soi Fon. Looks like my support came a little too late."

Of course, he wasn’t here to help.

He had only planned to quietly observe the fight between the prisoners and Soi Fon, trying to gather the results and data he needed. He never expected a Third Seat from Squad Four to jump into the mix.

And that Squad Four Third Seat could even see through his invisibility technique?

Very interesting.

Aizen was now extremely curious about Uchiha Madara, though his face gave nothing away. "And this is...?" he asked, pretending not to know in order to avoid suspicion.

"He’s Squad Four’s Third Seat, Uchiha Madara," Soi Fon said after a pause.

"Squad Four’s Third Seat?" Aizen feigned surprise. "Impressive for someone so young."

"He’s not that young," came a sweet voice as Unohana Retsu suddenly appeared, smiling. "Madara’s an old friend of mine. Squad Four was short on people, so I dragged him along to help."

"I see. Then I’ve been quite rude," Aizen replied smoothly, though inside, his curiosity deepened.

Anyone Unohana—once the original Kenpachi—called an old friend was definitely no ordinary person.

And Aizen didn’t believe for a second that "short on people" was the real reason.

If Madara was by Unohana’s side, there had to be a bigger reason. Judging by the way he fought, could it be he was sent to deal with the nobles secretly causing trouble behind the scenes?

Either way, the Soul Society was about to get a lot more interesting.

Lowering his head, Aizen let a faint smile appear on his lips.

What he didn’t know was that his expression was being broadcast live on the screen.

Curly-haired Guy: Man, that smile’s creepy as hell.

Skirt-Flipping Maniac: For real. And if you look closely, he’s not quite the same as the version Anran-san played.

Machete Girl: The difference might just be age though. Anran-san is younger, after all.

Scarlet Lotus Fairy: It’s not just age. The real Aizen has a bigger mouth and wider cheekbones. Makes his smile look way more sinister.

Doujin Artist: I kinda wanna ask—how did Anran-san, the bootleg Aizen, feel seeing the real one show up?

This is an Actor: I felt nothing. Honestly, I kinda wanted to laugh.

Doujin Artist: Huh? Laugh?

This is an Actor: Yeah. He was hiding with his invisibility trick for who knows how long, and I dragged him out with one swing. He wasn’t so chill-looking back then.

Skirt-Flipping Maniac: Pfft. Okay, now I get it! Hahaha!

Wig Guy: Should we just go ahead and expose the fact that he never intended to help at all, just sat there hiding the whole time?

This is an Actor: No need to expose him like that—it won’t work anyway.

Corpse Soul Society’s Villain: Exactly. He could just say something vague like "we don’t know the enemy’s full strength yet, so I’m waiting for the right time." That would only make him more cautious and suspicious of us.

Amegakure Village’s Angel: So what’s next?

This is an Actor: Right now, Aizen doesn’t have many Arrancar under his command. I’ve already sent Kisame to Hueco Mundo to give him a little surprise.

Doujin Artist: Haha, planting another spy into his team, huh?

Shark-Faced_Guy: Come on, this isn’t just throwing in a spy. My job is to turn all of Aizen’s potential recruits into our people. The goal is to leave him all alone.

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