The wind in the woods abruptly stopped. Falling leaves hung suspended in midair, as if frozen by some invisible, intense force.
Even the air turned into solid blocks of lead, so heavy it left one breathless.
Aizen's spiritual pressure, however, crashed down like a collapsing sky, bringing with it a suffocating sense of oppression.
It was like the water pressure ten thousand meters below the deep sea—silent, yet capable of crushing any tangible object.
Hasumi Ren's knees trembled uncontrollably, cold sweat instantly beading on his forehead.
A faint ringing echoed in his ears, and even the drum-like beating of his own heart was nearly masked by the overwhelming shroud of this spiritual pressure.
Ren gritted his teeth hard, forcing himself not to kneel on the ground.
As cold sweat dripped down, Ren could only feel his own spiritual pressure rapidly depleting in his effort to resist.
Perhaps in the very next moment, when his spiritual pressure ran dry, he would be completely crushed by this boundless force.
However, just as he was on the verge of giving out...
System prompts instantly flooded his entire field of vision.
*What... what is this...*
Ren only felt the total capacity of his internal spiritual pressure begin to increase violently.
It was like a sponge being thrown into a lake.
*Huh?*
Yet at this moment, Aizen's mind was as still as water. He calmly watched Ren, waiting for him to be pinned to the ground by his spiritual pressure.
Aizen intended to shatter Ren's psychological defenses, letting him witness the disparity between heaven and earth before discussing anything else.
But as time trickled by, Ren maintained that teetering posture without falling.
Although he looked to be struggling bitterly, this was... holding on for far too long.
A trace of confusion flashed through Aizen's eyes.
*Why is he so resilient?*
Then, Aizen noticed something bizarre.
The young man before him, who was on the verge of being crushed by his spiritual pressure, slowly straightened his back from his trembling, near-kneeling state.
A hint of astonishment flashed across Aizen's face.
*Hmm?*
*Is... is this right?*
Aizen frowned slightly, took a soft breath, and instantly raised his spiritual pressure output by an entire magnitude.
The next moment, Ren noticed the system prompts scrolling faster and faster.
Soon, a message announcing a [Spiritual Power Level Up] popped up, standing out brightly among the flood of experience point notifications.
Ren stared at the prompts, his eyes going a bit glassy.
Aizen showering him with spiritual pressure had actually leveled him up directly??
The bizarre situation left him momentarily confused as to whether Aizen's boundless spiritual pressure was more unfathomable, or if the system's fragment-stealing abilities were simply superior.
The next moment, Ren sensed Aizen's spiritual pressure gradually fading, then disappearing entirely.
Aizen looked at Ren in astonishment, though his heart was clearly not as calm as his exterior suggested.
He was genuinely bewildered.
Aizen had distinctly felt Ren's spiritual pressure increasing at a visible rate. Although it was merely a drop in the ocean compared to his own, the speed of the increase was astonishing enough.
Moreover, after he increased the intensity of his spiritual pressure output, the rate of Ren's spiritual pressure growth had actually sped up in tandem.
*What is going on?*
"..."
Aizen's brow furrowed slightly. This bizarre scenario set off a storm in his mind.
This display of sudden growth under pressure made him strangely think of Zaraki Kenpachi.
*Could it be...*
A touch of suspicion entered Aizen's eyes. The spiritual pressure surrounding him gradually faded, and the surrounding air seemed to begin flowing once more.
Ren didn't know why Aizen had suddenly stopped his spiritual pressure outburst, but the dissipation of the immense pressure certainly brought him a sigh of relief.
However, that experience of rapidly surging spiritual pressure vanished along with it, leaving behind only a scattering of unabsorbed spiritual pressure fragments on the ground.
This was, admittedly, a bit regrettable.
Ren looked at Aizen and found Aizen studying him in return.
Their gazes met, full of mutual probing.
At this moment, Ren remembered Aizen's earlier question.
It seemed it was time to answer.
"My purpose?"
Ren chuckled lightly. Feeling the boundless spiritual pressure flowing through his body, the new strength gave him even more confidence to speak.
He raised his hand, and a faint trace of black spiritual pressure surfaced on his fingertip. It was the spiritual pressure of Hollowfication—flashing for but a moment, yet accurately captured by Aizen.
A trace of surprise flashed through Aizen's eyes.
"This power is exactly what you are pursuing, isn't it?"
Ren's tone was certain.
"Last time, when you invaded my body with some kind of power, I felt a certain change within me."
"And now, this power is stirring restlessly inside me."
"I also want to know what the truth behind this power is."
Aizen's killing intent stalled slightly, and the probing look in his eyes deepened.
*So, this was the reason the Hogyoku failed last time.*
*He can actually control this Hollowfied power.*
This young man was far more mysterious than he had imagined.
"This... is rather interesting."
Aizen slowly retracted his killing intent. After his spiritual pressure receded, the falling leaves rustled down, restoring the sounds of the forest.
"But what makes you think I need your help?"
He paused, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
"Urahara Kisuke is also studying me."
To increase Aizen's trust, Ren sold out Urahara without hesitation.
Of course, this was something he had discussed with Urahara beforehand.
This was also part of the plan.
Hearing this, Aizen's eyes narrowed slightly.
Ren continued.
"He seems to have noticed the anomaly within my body. For a long time now, he has been trying to stimulate the power inside me."
"I can feel that he wants to know why my body can simultaneously accommodate the powers of a Soul Reaper and a Hollow."
"He thought I didn't notice his tampering, but in truth, I saw through his tricks long ago."
Ren's tone was calm, yet carried a trace of composure that saw through everything.
This part, however, was spoken from the heart.
After all, that damn Urahara really had done exactly that.
"He wants to use me as an experiment, to find a way to break through the limits of a Soul Reaper from me."
"Coincidentally, it seems Lieutenant Aizen wants the same."
"And I am equally curious about this power."
Aizen fell silent for a moment, then slowly spoke.
"Do you know what Urahara Kisuke is researching?"
"I'm not sure."
Ren shook his head, then looked at Aizen, waiting for his answer.
"The Hogyoku."
Aizen softly uttered these two words.
"He is researching the Hogyoku, wanting to use it to shatter the limits of a Soul Reaper."
"But he is too cowardly, bound by his so-called sense of morality, so much so that he doesn't dare to truly take that step."
Aizen looked at Ren.
"But I am different."
Aizen smiled.
In that smile, the cold scrutiny and killing intent from before were gone, leaving only a profound sense of interest.
"Urahara Kisuke is researching the Hogyoku, and I, too, am researching the Hogyoku."
"But I have been delving into it for much longer, and my results are far greater."
He took a step forward, closing the distance between himself and Ren.
"So, the question now is..."
"What can you do to help me?"