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The next five chapters will be uploaded on Patreon in the next 2 days.
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"It was almost discovered."
Ichimaru Gin leaned against the door and exchanged a glance with Aizen.
He could clearly feel Komamura Sajin's hostility.
A guy like a wild beast naturally possesses an equally wild, beast-like intuition—sharpened by instinct, not logic.
"Luckily, Captain Aizen used the Hōgyoku to reconstruct Tousen. If Captain Komamura Sajin of the 7th Division had realized Tousen was dead… we might have ended up with more complications than expected."
Glancing once more at the backs of Komamura Sajin and Tousen Kaname, Gin slowly shut the door.
"It's fine, Gin," Aizen said with his usual calm warmth, that gentle tone that never revealed the depths of his intent. "Even if Komamura suspects something, there won't be any proof."
Aizen set Tousen Kaname's Zanpakutō down gently on the table.
Just as Kurotsuchi Mayuri had developed the ability to reengineer and restructure his own Zanpakutō through surgical augmentation and spiritual science, Aizen—whose mastery of Kido, Reiryoku control, and spiritual alchemy bordered on godlike—was able to completely regenerate Tousen's broken Zanpakutō using the Hōgyoku's power as a spiritual stabilizer.
It was complicated, but not impossible—not for Aizen.
"No proof?" Gin's squinted eyes sharpened slightly, his voice dropping with meaning. "As expected of Captain Aizen... it must be Kyōka Suigetsu."
If it was Kyōka Suigetsu, then not even someone like Komamura Sajin would notice that anything about Tousen was off.
With Kanzen Saimin—the "Complete Hypnosis" of Kyōka Suigetsu—Aizen could fabricate an illusion of Tousen Kaname, down to his scent, voice, spiritual pressure, and movements. To Komamura, it would feel completely real. Unquestionable. Flawless.
That is the power of Kyōka Suigetsu.
And it was also the reason Gin had never made his move.
Even though he'd had chances—several of them—to assassinate Aizen, Gin had held back.
Because how could he be sure the Aizen standing before him was even real?
What if the real Aizen was observing from a distance, smirking?
What if the illusion had started before Gin even realized it?
"When... did you start thinking he wasn't using Kyōka Suigetsu?" That single doubt was enough to kill even the most carefully planned assassination.
There was only one chance.
One clean moment.
Miss it, and everything was lost.
So Gin waited.
Like a cold-blooded predator crouching in the grass, silent and motionless.
Waiting for the perfect strike.
"Gin," Aizen said softly, with a glint in his eye. "You seem to be thinking of something amusing."
Aizen turned to Tousen, still wearing that harmless, ever-smiling mask of his.
"Ah, I was just thinking," Gin replied, lazily twirling a strand of hair. "Whether it was Hirako Shinji who actually killed Tousen."
"Captain Aizen, you really do plan ahead for everything, don't you? So scary."
His smile widened, but his pupils briefly contracted.
Then, he smiled again. As always.
"Truly… interesting."
Aizen said nothing, his eyes watching Gin carefully.
---
Elsewhere.
"Tousen, where have you been these past few days? You even missed the captain's meeting—personally called by Head Captain Yamamoto."
Walking down the corridor of the Ninth Division barracks, Komamura Sajin kept his voice low but laced with concern.
He wanted answers. His instincts still warned him—something was off.
"Were you worried about me?"
Tousen Kaname walked ahead of him. Though blind, he moved with an eerie precision, like he could still see the path.
"No need for that. I was simply investigating a set of high-level convicts."
"Investigating prisoners?"
Komamura's brow furrowed as his eyes drifted toward Tousen's forehead.
"That scar…"
"It's nothing. A minor accident," Tousen cut him off calmly.
He couldn't allow Komamura to press the issue.
Because that scar wasn't an accident.
It was a wound from the enemy who had killed him.
More precisely, the person who had killed him before Aizen revived him using the Hōgyoku.
A wound from Hirako Shinji.
It was humiliating. A reminder of failure.
If not for the spiritual preservation properties of his modified physiology—enhanced by the Hōgyoku's reformation process—Tousen would have died fully, body and soul.
But the Hōgyoku was no mere artifact. It rewrote the boundaries between Shinigami and Hollow, life and death.
Because of it, his soul was reconstructed at the cost of stability.
Still, the process had side effects.
Like a reduction in Reiatsu.
Reviving someone from death—even with the Hōgyoku—was never clean.
Tousen's spiritual pressure had dropped. It was still within the captain-level range, but it had weakened by nearly 20–30%. That meant less control, less power, less intimidation.
From formerly high-tier captain class, he had now become average. Maybe even one of the weaker among the Gotei 13.
And that weakness?
He blamed it squarely on Hirako Shinji and Urahara Kisuke.
(Urahara Kisuke: "Wait, what?! I didn't even show up!")
(Hirako Shinji: "I'm innocent! I don't even know what this is about!")
"...I see."
Komamura didn't say more.
But the cut looked clean. Precision. Whoever Tousen had fought wasn't weak.
And he still didn't understand why Tousen had vanished completely for so long.
Then, suddenly—
"Komamura. I'm going to submit a request to travel to the Human World."
"…The World of the Living?"
Komamura blinked.
Captain-class Shinigami were rarely authorized to enter the human realm unless there were exceptional circumstances. Their Reiatsu alone could cause spiritual collapse in unprepared areas.
If a captain couldn't regulate their pressure, even a fragment of their presence could destroy unawakened souls.
"Why would you need to go there?"
Tousen paused.
Komamura placed a firm hand on his friend's shoulder.
"Tousen… Is this for justice?"
There was silence.
Then—
"Yes. Everything I do… is for justice."
A new weight settled on Tousen's shoulders.
The weight of his justice.
If the world was corrupt, then he would cleanse it.
To do that, he needed strength.
So he would observe Kurosaki Kanbaru more closely—monitor his evolution.
And find Hirako Shinji.
And kill him.
(Hirako Shinji: "Bruh. What did I even do?")
Join my Patreon to read advanced chapters.
Five new chapters uploaded on PATREON.
patreon.com/FrancisMWFosterHome
The next one chapter on webnovel will be uploaded in the next 2 days.
The next five chapters will be uploaded on Patreon in the next 2 days.
patreon.com/FrancisMWFosterHome