The choice to rebel

Hundreds of years have passed since the second great quincy invasion and the Seireitei has seen great change as there have been no major wars waged since then. Shunsui reinforced the gotei 13 and brought them back to positions of great strength by forcing each captain and vice-captain to revisit their relationship with their zanpakuto. Per his instruction, every captain was to fully master the relationship with their zanpakuto, gaining the full acceptance of their respective zanpakuto spirits, and every vice-captain was now required to learn bankai. When this decision was first announced, there was disputes over raising the requirements for vice-captains, but as Shunsui would retort: "The invasion of the quincy wasn't just a call for change within the seireitei, it was an example of how weak we had gotten over the years, so complacent in our own abilities only to learn some of us had been fighting with the wrong abilities all along. If we refuse to grow and push ourselves to new limits, the Gotei 13 will never rise beyond the strength it had in its foundation. The seireitei cannot afford to keep losing in order to win, there would simply come a time when there would be nothing to avenge, nothing to come back from thus our only option is to be strong enough to take on whatever threat may come in the future." This would subdue the rebellious opinions of any of the captains as they came to agreement that they needed to reclaim their position of power, to become stronger than the gotei 13 had ever been. Every captain would go on to vigorously train and develop the relationship with their zanpakuto, unlocking the true potential of their bankais and shikais. For some, this would be particularly challenging and require special means of training, such as Toshiro's case. It is said that for the 10th division, the day-to-day management of the squad and their roles would be overseen by Rangiku while Toshiro would train within the battlegrounds of Muken for several days without much rest. It had created a looming curiosity within the squad as they pondered as to why their captain would need to go all the way there just to train, unaware of the danger they would have been in within his vicinity. By the time he had left Muken, Rangiku would note subconsciously a change in her captain, a sign that he had unlocked something completely new and that he was in another league of power...

Presently in Muken, a ruckus seemed to have occurred, with shouting being overheard from outside before fading screams; and as some shinigami head towards the noise to investigate what was happening, their bodies froze as what they saw shook them to their core...

Within the Soul Palace, a mystery voice asks Ichibe: "It has begun, hasn't it?" to which he would nod in reply, and the mystery person subsequently respond: "I see... I'll go and get ready then, it should only be a few days left."

"It's been so long since I've seen the sun, and breathed in fresh air. I could get used to this." A loud, excited voice exclaimed, placing his sealed zanpakuto on top of his shoulder.

"Calm down, you won't ever have to worry about going back to Muken, you're all free now." A smug Aizen responds. He and four others emerged into the sunlight that shines over the seireitei on this clear day. The others took in deep breathes, embracing the freedom they have been provided by their new ally, ignoring the pile of bodies right behind them. They then walked off to find refuge outside of the seireitei until their plan could unfold...