"I see."

"Aiyan, you actually developed a sentient Kidō that surpasses Shinigami Reiatsu perception and even escapes the probing senses of Menos Grande."

"So, you were never hit by my Kidō at all. You only created the illusion that you were, to deceive me."

Watching Aiyan pull out his Kidō fragments from his Reiatsu one by one, Urahara Kisuke's face instantly darkened.

"I exhausted every contingency..."

"And still missed this step."

"I overestimated myself."

He let out a long sigh, a flicker of irritation flashing across his expression.

"No, it wasn't overestimating yourself— just underestimating me."

Aiyan calmly corrected him.

"I've been aware of your Kidō for quite some time. But that wasn't the point."

"You're someone who considers a hundred steps for every one you take. You would never reveal yourself unless you were completely certain your Kidō had taken effect. If you couldn't be sure of that, you wouldn't have dared appear in person."

"So in order to draw you out, I let it happen."

"I knew about the Kidō you planted in Yoruichi's Zanpakutō. I still pretended I didn't. I also knew her captain's haori was seeded with your Kidō. Yet I deliberately allowed it to be transferred into my body."

"Of course, I fully studied your Kidō beforehand."

"It took me a full ten minutes to develop a technique that could break it."

He shook his head slightly, as if he even found it troublesome.

"Aiyan."

"If your goal was to humiliate me... then congratulations."

Urahara Kisuke's expression twisted.

He admitted now—he had completely underestimated Aiyan's mastery over Kidō.

It was like the first match all over again.

A crushing, one-sided defeat.

But deep down, he didn't believe a word of Aiyan's explanation.

To him, this was all just salt in the wound— meant to break his spirit and pride.

"Geniuses are arrogant."

"Maybe you place too much faith in the Soul King's power. You believe I could never crack your Kidō, let alone that you could dismantle it in ten minutes and craft a method to restrain me."

"But unfortunately, that's exactly what happened."

Aiyan raised his hand, and with a flick of his fingers, the blue spiritual particles he had just drawn from his own body drifted forward—floating into Urahara Kisuke's chest like snowflakes and vanishing.

"This Kidō... I've helped you improve it."

"The incubation period has been shortened from over half a month to under a few minutes before it fully integrates with a Shinigami's Reiatsu."

"How does that feel, Urahara Kisuke?"

Aiyan stepped forward and crouched beside him.

"You..."

Urahara Kisuke looked up, pale-faced, eyes wide in shock.

The expressions on the surrounding Gotei captains confirmed that what Aiyan said was real.

This Kidō had truly been perfected.

"Relax."

"Even if you've been struck by your own Kidō, it won't kill you."

"See?"

"No, I only needed to do this—so that your Reiatsu could be used again."

Aiyan's hand hovered over Urahara Kisuke's left chest, right where the bleeding had clotted.

As green light surged, Kaidō flowed once more. One after another, the Soul King particles that had embedded themselves into his soul were drawn out, just as Aiyan had done to himself moments ago.

"What… is this Kidō?"

Urahara Kisuke clutched his chest.

As the creator of the original Kidō, how could he not recognize that Aiyan had extracted every last trace of the Soul King's power—once fused with his own Reiatsu?

"Kaidō · Minor Extraction."

"Want to learn it?"

"I'll teach you."

Aiyan smiled faintly, locking eyes with him.

"But wait—"

"You need Reiatsu to use Kaidō."

"If you were truly struck by my Kidō and couldn't use Reiatsu at all, how would you cast Kaidō to save yourself?"

Urahara Kisuke frowned, thinking he had caught a contradiction.

"Simple."

"I separated a portion of my Reiatsu in advance. Then I sealed it away. At the moment of need, I reactivated it to power the Kaidō."

Aiyan's tone was so light, so casual, it made even veterans like Kyōraku Shunsui and Ukitake Jūshirō feel a chill in their bones.

They exchanged bitter smiles.

As captains themselves, as masters of Kidō—they understood all too well how easy that sounded, and how impossibly hard it truly was.

"Is the gap in Kidō this wide?"

"Hahaha... you're right."

"I underestimated you."

"I should have waited longer. Perfected the Kidō until it could not only bypass all detection—but also complete integration in mere minutes. Then I could've activated it during your next fight, in secret, when you used Reiatsu."

Urahara Kisuke slumped, as if every ounce of strength had been drained from his limbs.

Losing to Aiyan, he accepted.

But being shown just how vast the gap between them truly was?

That... was unbearable.

"In Kidō alone... my plans, my strategies, everything I laid—was meaningless."

Aiyan looked down at the man slumped at his feet.

"You understand now, don't you, Urahara Kisuke?"

"Compared to my Kidō, yours is like a worm facing a dragon—unworthy of mention."

"But I do thank you."

"You've worked so hard these past few days to try and 'please' me."

As he watched Urahara Kisuke's eyes lose their light, his face sank into lifeless despair—Aiyan turned and smiled brightly.

[Your Kidō production capacity is incredible. Hadō Forbidden Technique · Bijūdama unlocked.]

[Your Kidō boasts and constant flexing made me very happy. As thanks, I'll reward you with an on-the-spot creation: the Hadō Forbidden Technique · Bijūdama, made in ten minutes.]

Aiyan's joy lit his eyes.

Another new Kidō added to the arsenal.

As expected—from every perspective, the power of his Kidō outshone Kendo, Hakuda, and even Shunpo combined.

Hmm, how should I test it?

Just as Aiyan was mentally preparing to take the Bijūdama to Hueco Mundo for a test fire, Aizen appeared beside him.

"That was a fun match."

Aiyan smiled faintly under his silver-rimmed glasses.

"I'm a little disappointed, honestly."

"I thought Urahara Kisuke would make his move only after sending you away from Soul Society."

"But in the end, all his focus... was still on you."

"I waited so long for this."

Aizen chuckled, a trace of pity in his tone.

A wasted effort, perhaps.

Their voices weren't low—but oddly enough, no one around them heard a word, not even Urahara Kisuke.

"Just as I said: geniuses are arrogant."

"He underestimated too much."

"And not just Reiatsu or Zanpakutō—the difference between blade and blade is something no amount of strategy can overcome."

Aiyan glanced once more at the devastated Urahara Kisuke.

This wasn't the shopkeeper Urahara forged by centuries of struggle in exile.

Not yet.

Not in strength. Not in cunning. Not in endurance.

Not in the cold, ruthless resolve that made the original Urahara so dangerous.

This one still had a long way to go.

If only he could have kept him around a bit longer...

Maybe it would've been fun.

...

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