Kabuno Takuya—an alias that Higashino Shuuichi had once used only for his Quincy clone—was known by almost nobody in Soul Society.
Basically, only the group led by Kisaragi Shūsuke back in the West Administration knew it.
So Higashino Shuuichi wasn't worried in the slightest that using this fake name would make other Shinigami notice anything off.
As for his appearance…
A newcomer like Hinamori Momo definitely wouldn't recognize Higashino Shuuichi.
And as long as he followed Hinamori Momo back to the Fifth Division—
"After all these years, I thought you'd decided to settle down in Muken (Infinite Hell) for good, Shuuichi~"
Inside the Fifth Division captain's quarters, Aizen personally brewed a pot of tea for Higashino Shuuichi.
"That was the plan at first. But Urahara Kisuke's moves have been way too strange. I was worried Aizen-sama might not be able to handle it alone."
Higashino Shuuichi sat across from him, took a sip, and spoke lightly.
"So I took the risk and ran out of Muken (Infinite Hell)~"
"Urahara Kisuke…"
Aizen removed the glasses from his nose and gently wiped the lenses with his finger.
"What he's doing is indeed hard to read. But the information you've been getting in Muken (Infinite Hell) doesn't seem much worse than what people have here in Soul Society."
"Because Kurotsuchi-taichō of the Twelfth Division is a smart man. My disciples coming to visit me is still pretty easy~"
Higashino Shuuichi replied unhurriedly.
"But they can't explain everything to me. A lot of things… even they don't know."
"So," Aizen said, pausing his hand, not putting his glasses back on yet, "you came out this time to cooperate with me?"
"We've worked together many times already, haven't we? And every time was pleasant."
Higashino Shuuichi smiled.
"Then what can you give me this time?" Aizen asked.
Aizen's fingers stopped.
"I heard some interesting things in Muken (Infinite Hell)," Higashino Shuuichi said. "For example—Thirteenth Division Fukutaichō Shiba Kaien's 'accidental' death.
And for another—the Tenth Division Taichō Shiba Isshin going missing.
I don't know whether those were your handiwork, Aizen-sama… but I assume your ultimate goal hasn't changed.
That Hōgyoku in Urahara Kisuke's hands…"
"You mean you can help me obtain the Hōgyoku from Urahara Kisuke?" Aizen's gaze held half suspicion, half trust.
Suspicion—because he had planned for decades and still never gained anything from Urahara.
Trust—because Higashino Shuuichi had never been the type to boast.
"I can't guarantee it," Higashino Shuuichi answered confidently. "But if you can let me meet Urahara Kisuke face-to-face, I think the odds are very high."
He had reasons for that.
In the original flow of events, the Hōgyoku Urahara Kisuke hid inside Kuchiki Rukia felt almost like it was placed there on purpose—left waiting for Aizen to discover.
Because the most brilliant method of hunting was to disguise yourself as prey, then let the real prey step into your trap without realizing it.
That move was something Higashino Shuuichi was far too familiar with.
And it wasn't that Higashino Shuuichi looked down on Aizen.
It was simply this: if, from the very start, Urahara Kisuke had possessed an information advantage over Aizen—and if the Reiō's will was secretly supporting Urahara—
then Urahara doing something like that would be perfectly natural.
Higashino Shuuichi understood very clearly: in this script meticulously woven by the Reiō, the Reiō didn't actually care whether Aizen possessed a complete Hōgyoku.
The Reiō only cared about whether a "wedge" could be created—reasonably, plausibly—an existence capable of replacing him and continuing to stabilize the three realms.
If the Reiō's will was still pushing the script forward…
Then the order of "wedges" the Reiō would pick next should be: Yhwach, Hikone Ubuginu, and—later—the Kurosaki Kazui who represented a certain possibility.
Aizen wasn't even part of that sequence.
If Higashino Shuuichi wanted, he could take over every role Aizen was meant to play.
Even including continuing the creation of Kurosaki Ichigo.
So as long as Urahara Kisuke truly was acting according to the Reiō's will, Higashino Shuuichi's confidence in "persuading" him rose to ninety percent.
And if Urahara wasn't…
Then it became even simpler.
Just fight~.
Aizen didn't dare kill Urahara because he feared losing the Hōgyoku's hidden location forever.
But Higashino Shuuichi wasn't afraid.
He believed that if Urahara died, that undead old bastard—the Reiō—would definitely arrange another "plot beat," letting someone "coincidentally" find the Hōgyoku Urahara had hidden, and then "coincidentally" letting Aizen discover it.
Either way, he could fulfill his promise to Aizen.
A deal with no downside.
Aizen didn't know the darkest secret buried under all this. All he could see was the confidence in Higashino Shuuichi's eyes.
"Heh."
Aizen smiled.
"Shuuichi… you're as confident as ever."
Their relationship had changed long ago.
Yet somehow, Aizen always felt as though it had never changed at all.
Hundreds of years ago, Higashino Shuuichi had made the same kind of guarantees—then carried out every task Aizen gave him flawlessly.
Hundreds of years later… it was still the same.
And it would inevitably remain so.
"Then what do you want from me this time?" Aizen asked.
The moment he asked that, it meant he already believed Higashino Shuuichi could deliver.
Higashino Shuuichi didn't answer immediately. Instead, he rose from his seiza on the tatami, walked to the window, and looked out at the crimson evening glow.
"Aizen-sama… over these centuries in Soul Society… how many sunrises and sunsets have we watched from here?"
Aizen understood. This wasn't a math question.
It was a question of feeling.
A question about Aizen's feelings toward Soul Society as it was now.
"You want me… to openly betray Soul Society?"
Hundreds of years of understanding meant they didn't need excess words.
Higashino Shuuichi only had to say one sentence, and Aizen already knew what medicine he was selling.
And it worked the other way around, too.
"Decades ago, you already could have done it. But you didn't.
Because you still had concerns—concerns about Zero Division above, concerns about the Quincies below…"
Higashino Shuuichi spoke softly, eyes still on the sky.
Aizen sat where he was, yet his gaze lifted to the same horizon beyond the window.
In that moment, it felt as though his emotions had synchronized with Higashino Shuuichi's.
Because every word Higashino Shuuichi said was exactly what lived in Aizen's heart.
The one who understands me… Higashino Shuuichi.
The Aizen of the past wouldn't have cared about any of that.
Because he hadn't even known those things existed.
And he hadn't understood how terrifying they were.
But the deeper Aizen understood, the more cautious he became.
The more cautious he became, the more he hesitated to step forward.
Only the ignorant are fearless.
He wanted so badly to shake the world in one clean strike—
to step out once, and have the world settled.
So even the slightest uncertainty became something he magnified infinitely.
"So, Aizen-sama," Higashino Shuuichi said, still watching the sunset, "I'm back.
The Quincies below—I'll handle them.
Zero Division above—I can also contribute.
From the first day I followed you, the wish I made to you… has never changed.
Let's create a new world together—how about it?"
Higashino Shuuichi turned back to Aizen, eyes filled with nothing but sincerity.
Aizen smiled.
Like a child.
Had Higashino Shuuichi never changed at all?
Had the only thing that changed… been Aizen's own heart?
After learning of Yhwach and Zero Division, Aizen had indeed begun to feel a fraction more cautious—while losing a fraction of his former unstoppable forward drive.
Yes.
He was Aizen Sōsuke.
This world would eventually be trampled beneath his feet, and he would be the king who stood above all heavens.
Why should he be so hesitant?
Such a simple truth—he never should have needed Higashino Shuuichi to remind him.
"I've stayed in Soul Society too long… I've almost forgotten what kind of Shinigami I used to be."
Aizen's voice grew quiet.
"Thank you, Shuuichi. You made me—"
"No, Aizen-sama," Higashino Shuuichi said, shaking his head and cutting him off.
It was rare—yet Aizen felt no discomfort at all.
"Even without me, you would have realized it someday. I just… couldn't wait any longer, that's all~"
"…Still, if we're going to rebel openly, we'll need some preparations," Aizen said.
He didn't even ask Higashino Shuuichi to "prove" his promise again.
Because deep down, Higashino Shuuichi's position had quietly shifted once more.
"I also need time," Higashino Shuuichi replied, "to help Aizen-sama obtain the Hōgyoku from Urahara Kisuke."
He wasn't in a hurry.
Aizen's betrayal was Aizen's stage.
The Higashino Shuuichi who had been "locked" in Muken (Infinite Hell) had neither the chance nor the need to participate.
He would simply appreciate it in another way.
For Higashino Shuuichi, if he wanted to fully escape the Reiō's control, borrowing the power of Hell was the only solution.
And to borrow Hell's power, a mind far beyond its era—a true scientific brain—was indispensable.
In the entire world of Shinigami, only two people possessed that kind of ability: Aizen and Urahara Kisuke. Kurotsuchi Mayuri might have a chance, but it was extremely slim.
And between those two, Higashino Shuuichi's choice was effectively only Aizen.
As for Urahara Kisuke—that man Higashino Shuuichi still couldn't see through even now—unless Higashino Shuuichi truly had no other choice, he would never choose him.
That was why Higashino Shuuichi had returned from the Reiōkyū: to accelerate the plot, and to find a way to resolve the unstable factor called Urahara Kisuke.
"So you're that sure you can find Urahara Kisuke?" Aizen asked.
With their shared objective set, the atmosphere in the room softened instantly. Aizen even put his black-framed glasses back on.
"It's not that I'm sure I can find him," Higashino Shuuichi said with a smile. "It's that I'm sure Aizen-sama already knows where Urahara Kisuke is.
That's your style, isn't it?"
That was exactly why, after returning, Higashino Shuuichi's first stop was Aizen.
Aizen might have trouble with Urahara, but Urahara would definitely "accidentally" reveal a flaw and let Aizen find him.
Otherwise, Urahara's later scheme wouldn't be able to continue.
"Heh."
Aizen didn't feel like evaluating Higashino Shuuichi's guess at all.
"Urahara Kisuke is currently in the World of the Living. The former Tenth Division Taichō, Shiba Isshin, has already made contact with him.
And incidentally—the former head of the Shihōin clan, Shihōin Yoruichi, is on very bad terms with Urahara Kisuke right now.
I found Urahara's trail through Shihōin Yoruichi."
Higashino Shuuichi, upon hearing that, felt as if ten thousand alpacas were stampeding through his mind.
In other worlds, other transmigrators could explain things with "timeline convergence" and move on.
But in the world of Shinigami, Higashino Shuuichi genuinely wanted to ask the Reiō to his face:
How much do you love the script you wrote back then?
Everything else has already been changed beyond recognition by me—yet you still insist on dragging things back to the original in the weirdest places?
Doesn't it feel even a little out of place?!
Higashino Shuuichi had countless complaints, but in the end, it all condensed into two lines:
"Even in this situation, why the hell can Urahara Kisuke still return right under Aizen's nose in the East Administration?!
Is every Shinigami in Soul Society seriously blind?!"
Urahara Kisuke was still openly wanted by Soul Society!
Every year, plenty of Shinigami were dying under those Reigai that carried the power and souls of the original captains.
How did Urahara have the nerve to do this?
Higashino Shuuichi had prepared himself psychologically for many possibilities—
but the one thing he hadn't expected was that Urahara could still, like in the original flow, return to the East Administration's territory and even live in the World of the Living's island nation.
"Then, Aizen-sama, you'll need to speed up your preparations~"
In the end, Higashino Shuuichi could only force a thin smile.
Urahara's behavior made him even harder to read.
A large part of it was likely still the Reiō's will manipulating things from behind the scenes—but Higashino Shuuichi couldn't shake the feeling it wasn't that simple.
Because the man doing all this…
was Urahara Kisuke.
When Higashino Shuuichi pushed open the door to the Fifth Division captain's quarters, the Fukutaichō outside—Hinamori Momo—was bright red, her small hands not knowing where to rest.
"Um… Takuya-kun, you and Aizen-taichō knew each other before?"
"Sort of," Higashino Shuuichi replied. "Old friends. And of course… still friends now~"
She was obviously eavesdropping.
Unfortunately, how could Aizen ever allow Hinamori Momo to hear anything useful?
"No wonder," Hinamori said seriously. "If you can become Aizen-taichō's friend, then it's only natural you'd have that kind of strength!"
"Then… ja ne?"
"Ja ne—ah, um, actually you could come to my place—"
Hinamori wanted to learn more about Aizen's past from Higashino Shuuichi.
But the speed at which Higashino Shuuichi left made her look like she was standing still.
"Just as expected of Aizen-taichō's friend…"
Hinamori murmured, full of emotion.
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