Creak!
Just as Yoruichi and the other were still immersed in the massive shock brought by False Sky, Lying Bones, the heavy doors of Central 46 were pushed open.
A special messenger belonging exclusively to Central 46, dressed in a specially tailored black uniform, quickly walked into the hall. He knelt on one knee in the central area, head lowered, not daring to look up.
Clearly, he had no idea this was a play performed by both the dead and the living. He had simply received a summons from Central 46.
Immediately after, under the horrified gaze of the two in hiding, the Kuchiki family judge seated at the highest position, who had clearly been dead for quite some time yet now looked completely alive, suddenly spoke.
His voice was dignified and aged, exactly the same as it had been in life, "By the highest order of Central 46!"
"We received a secret report yesterday from the head of the Kuchiki family, claiming that traces of the previously missing human from the World of the Living were discovered inside the Fifth Division barracks. The nature of this matter is extremely serious. It not only concerns a human from the World of the Living, but may also involve internal sheltering within the Gotei 13."
"After an emergency overnight discussion by Central 46, a special search order is hereby issued."
"Second Division Captain Hitsugaya Toshiro, Sixth Division Captain Kuchiki Byakuya, Seventh Division Captain Komamura Sajin, and Ninth Division Captain Tosen Kaname are hereby ordered to immediately lead their units to the Fifth Division for a full search! The hidden human must be found!"
"Deliver this search order to Captain Commander Yamamoto of the Gotei 13 at once and have him supervise its execution. There must be no mistakes!"
"Yes!"
The messenger accepted the order without the slightest doubt. He was born into a lower noble family, and from childhood he had been taught absolute obedience to the authority of Central 46.
And in his eyes, this was nothing more than a routine delivery mission.
The recipient was Captain Commander Yamamoto, not those captains personally. Without any suspicion, he turned and walked out.
"The judge giving the order, which family was he from?"
Before the messenger had fully withdrawn, Ichigo in the shadows was already unable to sit still. Cold sweat seeped out on his forehead.
Listening to that grand sounding command, the clues in his mind instantly connected.
Late last night, Kuchiki Byakuya had just secretly visited Aizen, and at that time he himself had been hiding in the captain's office.
And now, early this morning, Central 46 was sending four captains to search Aizen's Fifth Division in the name of a report from the Kuchiki family head?
To outsiders, this would either look like the Kuchiki family deliberately targeting Aizen, or that because Aizen had refused to side with Rosse, Kuchiki Byakuya, acting on Rosse's orders, was framing him on purpose to stir the situation into even more chaos.
And if Inoue Orihime were really found during the search, then this dirty water would stick completely.
Aizen would most likely be directly judged as hiding a human from the World of the Living, or even labeled as having dealings with the wanted criminal Yoruichi.
At that point, even if Aizen had a hundred mouths, he would not be able to explain himself. He would only become the target of everyone's arrows.
But what about the truth?
All of this was entirely staged by the Kyoraku family behind the scenes.
It was completely orchestrated by Kyoraku Shunsui alone.
"That was originally a senior member of the Kuchiki family."
Yoruichi stared fixedly at that breathing corpse, her tone grave to the extreme.
"The Kyoraku family's move of killing with a borrowed knife is really brilliant. If we don't stop this quickly, the moment that messenger leaves, the entire Seireitei will know that it was Kuchiki Byakuya who reported Aizen."
"Even if the messenger doesn't say anything, in order to make the act complete, Kyoraku Shunsui will definitely arrange other channels to spread the news and completely ignite the conflict between the Kuchiki family, Rosse, and Aizen."
At this point, a trace of bitterness flashed through Yoruichi's eyes.
Right now, in her view, Aizen's suspicion had instead been washed away quite a bit.
After learning the truth about False Sky, Lying Bones, all the logical loopholes had been filled.
This was clearly that old schemer Kyoraku Shunsui, knowing they suspected Aizen, deliberately going with the flow and using Inoue Orihime as bait to push Aizen to the forefront as a scapegoat.
If Kyoraku Shunsui really succeeded, and she still foolishly remained in the dark, she might even applaud while trying to expose Aizen.
'One ring linked to another. What a vicious scheme.'
At this moment, Yoruichi and Kurosaki Ichigo looked at each other, and both saw the same resolve in the other's eyes.
No! They absolutely could not let Inoue be exposed. And they absolutely could not let the Kyoraku family's plot succeed.
They had to rescue her before the search team arrived.
Understanding each other's intent, the two did not hesitate for a second. Using the shadows as cover, they quickly retreated toward the secret passage they had come from.
They could not break out through the main gate of Central 46. That would not only alert the Kyoraku family sages, but also directly expose their tracks, making the situation even worse.
But that also meant they had to circle back underground and return to the surface from another route. Time was tight. Every second counted!
However, what these two hurried infiltrators completely failed to notice was this.
Right beside the corner where they had just hidden, less than half a meter away, a tall figure had been standing quietly all along.
Aizen stood upright, the corners of his mouth always carrying a gentle yet playful smile, watching their flustered backs disappear into the depths of the secret passage.
From beginning to end, this had merely been a grand performance named Kyoka Suigetsu.
From the moment yesterday when he sensed Inoue Orihime's spiritual pressure appear in the Fifth Division, Aizen had already calculated every move that would follow.
Inoue being in the Fifth Division was an established fact that could not be concealed. It was also a suitable trigger handed to him by Rosse.
Since it could not be hidden, then he might as well turn it into the most exquisite chess piece of this game.
He just had not expected his luck to be this good. When he came to Central 46 today, he happened to run into Ichigo and Yoruichi, the two most perfect spectators.
Their existence was like a gift from heaven, saving him a great deal of effort in guiding things afterward.
What could make someone believe more deeply than seeing it with their own eyes?
Of course, this play about the Kyoraku family seizing power was not entirely fake.
After all, Aizen could not split himself into pieces. He had to be a captain, a teacher, and the mastermind behind the scenes. He was truly busy.
So the daily operation of Central 46 really did require a few obedient and ambitious agents.
Clearly, these ambitious sages of the Kyoraku family were the best chess pieces.
Back then, when he had disguised himself as Kyoraku Shunsui and casually demonstrated the so called False Sky, Lying Bones, then painted them a grand vision of the Kyoraku family climbing to the peak of Soul Society, these old men's eyes had instantly turned red. Without hesitation, they boarded the pirate ship.
Even the dirty work of slaughtering the other sages had not been done personally by Aizen.
He had only used Kyoka Suigetsu to lightly control the sages of the other families, making them obediently sit in their seats. Then these members of the Kyoraku family had eagerly swung down the butcher's blade with their own hands.
As for whether the real Kyoraku Shunsui might suddenly burst in to expose everything?
The smile at Aizen's lips deepened.
Those strings of prayer beads currently held in the hands of those sages were not mere decorations.
They were objects he had carefully refined using the fragment of the Soul King in his possession, combined with a fragment of Kyoka Suigetsu itself.
A Zanpakuto was originally an extension of a Shinigami's soul.
Even reforged into prayer beads, with Aizen's current mastery over spirit particles, he could still exert absolute influence remotely.
As long as the beads were in their hands, even if the real Kyoraku Shunsui stood right in front of them, in the eyes of these deeply hypnotized sages whose cognition had been completely twisted, the genuine article would only appear as an ambitious schemer who had been hiding for years.
And the most exquisite part of this layout was this.
He, Aizen Sosuke, was completely hidden behind the curtain, even playing the role of a victim about to be framed on stage.
When all those who thought themselves clever peeled back layer after layer of conspiracy's mist, the truth they would finally uncover would still only be another lie he had carefully woven.
To toy with all living beings in the palm of his hand, not only avoiding discovery, but even enjoying being misunderstood, even being cleared of suspicion, it was truly interesting.
"Lord Rosse."
Aizen looked toward the direction of the Tenth Division, excitement flashing in his eyes.
"I wonder how much of this move I've learned from you?"
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