[T/N: As the word count of has increased to 2000-3000 words per chapter, I will be posting 1 chapter/day till it comes back down to 1000 words. After which, I will continue to post 2 Chapters/Day. Have a great day~]
"The clues we have right now are still too few, and the situation is far too chaotic."
Seeing the conflicted look on Ichigo's face, Aizen gave guidance at just the right moment.
"But from what we can tell at the moment, Kyoraku Shunsui's side does have the bigger problem. The unsolved case from a hundred years ago, combined with all the current abnormalities, makes the probability of him being the mastermind behind the Royal Palace far higher than Rosse, who is out in the open."
As time passed, he was gradually able to see parts of the board Rosse had laid out.
Aizen had always been very clear about his own position.
In this grand play, he was never the scriptwriter, but rather a high-level promoter who moved with the tide.
Rosse wanted to overturn the old order. That was the main theme of this whole drama, and it was an unstoppable trend.
What Aizen needed to do was simply to ride that trend, borrow its force, and achieve his own goal.
Since Rosse wanted to use this opportunity to push Head Captain Yamamoto and Kyoraku Shunsui off the stage, all Aizen had to do was cooperate and muddy the waters.
And the better he cooperated, the more Rosse would return the favor and let him obtain that Hogyoku.
That was called a win-win.
"Ahhh! This is way too complicated! Forget it!"
Ichigo grabbed his hair hard, turning his messy head into a bird's nest. His eyes grew firm again.
"I can't figure out all these twists and turns. But now, the goal is actually clear."
"If I want to save Inoue, I have to find that Yoruichi and get the truth out of her! And if I want to save Rukia, then in three days I have to defeat that stubborn old man, Head Captain Yamamoto! That's right, isn't it?"
Who cared who the mole was, who the mastermind was.
As long as he saved the people he had to save and beat the people he had to beat, the truth would naturally come out.
"That's a very sharp summary."
Aizen nodded approvingly and said gently, "That's indeed how it is. If your only goal is to save someone, then you only need to focus on what's in front of you. As for whether Rosse or Kyoraku Shunsui belongs to the Royal Palace, at your current stage, it doesn't actually matter."
Based on what he knew about Kurosaki Masaki and Rosse, whether that woman would still acknowledge this son of hers was still an open question.
People who fell into Rosse's hands, what they would eventually be molded into, was obvious enough.
Last night's scene, to put it bluntly, had been nothing more than one of Rosse's twisted stage productions from beginning to end.
Only a fool like Ichigo Kurosaki would truly believe it was a miracle of motherly love.
"I understand, Sensei."
Ichigo took a deep breath and bowed seriously to Aizen.
"If there's anything you need my help with, just say it. As for everything else, I'll handle it in my own way."
———
When he walked out of the Fifth Division barracks, Ichigo glanced up at the moon overhead and felt an unprecedented sense of steadiness in his heart.
Even though the road ahead was shrouded in fog, in this crisis-filled Soul Society, having Aizen behind him as support truly made him feel at ease.
After leaving the Seireitei, Ichigo returned to the small house in Rukongai.
He had also learned from Aizen that Shihoin Yoruichi was probably collecting the bodies of the Shihoin family at the moment.
Once that was done, she would likely come to find him.
And all he could do now was first figure out Inoue Orihime's situation, then make further plans.
That wait lasted until dawn.
Ichigo, who had been resting with his eyes closed, finally saw Shihoin Yoruichi arrive, her face exhausted, her clothes stained with blood and dirt.
Before Yoruichi could even catch her breath, Ichigo stood up. Spiritual pressure surged around him, thick with oppression.
"Yoruichi, where is Inoue?"
"How do you know?"
Yoruichi frowned slightly. After moving corpses all night, her head felt muddled, her reactions half a beat slower than usual.
"It's already spread all over Rukongai that you took Inoue away. So why didn't you bring her here? Where is she?"
"I don't know…"
Yoruichi gave a bitter smile. She was telling the truth, but she knew that explanation would never convince him.
"Huh? You're saying you didn't take her?"
Ichigo froze for a moment, and immediately thought of the ability to control the five senses.
It couldn't be that Yoruichi had actually done it, everyone in Rukongai knew it, and she was just deliberately denying it in front of him, pretending not to know.
"I did take her. After I took her, I first went to the Shihoin estate to explain the situation so they could be prepared. Then I planned to bring her here and wait for you to wake up. But Kurosaki Masaki appeared and directly took Inoue Orihime away."
Yoruichi sighed, not quite sure what else to say.
She had worked all day for nothing. The Shihoin family had even been dragged down with her. That was also why she had been so furious when she saw the family's situation.
She felt like an idiot.
"That's impossible. There's no way Mom took her."
Ichigo rejected it on instinct.
It made no sense.
Kurosaki Masaki had no reason to take Inoue away.
But at a time like this, Yoruichi would not use that as an excuse to brush him off, especially since the entire Shihoin family had been wiped out because of this.
"Who knows? I couldn't beat her. She flashed once, and Inoue Orihime disappeared with her, just like an illusion," Yoruichi shrugged.
"Control of the five senses?"
Ichigo's pupils shrank as he immediately thought of it.
If everything he saw and heard was fake, if even that so-called Kurosaki Masaki had just been an illusion created by someone,
then who had really taken Inoue Orihime became a terrifying question the more he thought about it.
"Control of the five senses?"
Hearing those four words, the originally exhausted Yoruichi suddenly lifted her head and stared at Ichigo in shock.
"How do you know the ability of Aizen's Zanpakuto? That's classified information only a few of us know!"
"Huh? Who did you say? Aizen?"
Ichigo's eyes widened. He looked at Yoruichi with an expression like she had lost her mind.
"Whose side are you on? Don't tell me Rosse that bastard brainwashed you too?"
'What kind of joke is this!'
His gentle and refined Aizen-sensei, who might have a bit of ambition, had a water-type Zanpakuto, okay.
How could it possibly be some sneaky ability to control the five senses?
A Zanpakuto's ability reflected the soul. His teacher did not look like some shady schemer. If anything, Rosse and Kyoraku Shunsui fit that image better.
This slander from Yoruichi was way too outrageous.
But then again, thinking about it, Ichigo suddenly felt it made sense.
After all, that claim had first come out of Rosse's mouth. So it was normal for Shihoin Yoruichi to think that way.
Most likely, she had been misled by Rosse.
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