"The powerful Quincy from the Human World has come to Seireitei for the sake of the shinigami Nemu, and has issued a challenge to all shinigami with a single gigantic Shinsei Metsuya (Sacred Extinction Arrow)…"
Inside the 7th Division barracks, Hisagi Shūhei, the vice-captain, scribbled with his pen as he gathered material for the next issue of the Seireitei Tsūshin, brainstorming as he wrote.
"Even if that Quincy meant well, doesn't this just make Nemu's 'collusion with a Quincy' charge look even more solid? …Though she's about to be executed anyway, so whether the charge is 'solid' or not doesn't really matter anymore."
After finishing that newest entry, Hisagi Shūhei immediately packed his things and prepared to head toward Sōkyoku Hill.
That had to be the Quincy's final destination.
Still, Hisagi Shūhei wasn't convinced the Quincy would actually make it there.
After all, not only had the captain of the 7th Division—every captain in Seireitei who was currently free—received the Captain-Commander's interception order.
At this moment, because of that suddenly arrived Quincy, all of Seireitei had become lively.
But unlike the noisy mobilization in the other divisions, the 8th Division compound presented a completely different scene.
Vice-Captain Ise Nanao stood outside the captain's quarters and rejected every request from the 8th Division's members to deploy.
"Vice-Captain, why won't you let us go deal with that Quincy?"
"Yeah! It's just a Quincy. The captain doesn't need to move—we seated officers can teach him a lesson!"
In front of Ise Nanao, the 8th Division members babbled over one another.
But Ise Nanao didn't budge in the slightest. She only adjusted her glasses and answered with five flat words:
"No reason. That's why."
Simple. Brutal.
And impossible to argue with, because she was making it very clear she had no intention of reasoning with them.
And it wasn't really her fault—she didn't even know how to explain it herself.
Especially after what she'd seen a few minutes ago inside the captain's quarters.
Yoruichi Shihōin—former captain of the 2nd Division, former head of the Shihōin family, now a traitor to Soul Society, a traitor whose name somehow wasn't even on a wanted list.
Ise Nanao genuinely didn't know where to even start complaining.
This was only possible because their captain, Kyōraku Shunsui, had nerves of steel.
Not only was he willing to meet Yoruichi in private, he'd even arranged it "openly" in the captain's quarters.
Was he seriously not afraid of being found out?!
If this got exposed, even with the "Captain-Commander's disciple" label on Kyōraku Shunsui, he'd still be in for a world of pain.
The more Ise Nanao thought about it, the angrier she got—why had she been so out of her mind that she'd volunteered to stand guard outside for those two?
…Too late now. Since it had come to this, she could only grit her teeth and hold the line.
Outside, Ise Nanao had to worry about a thousand things.
Inside, Kyōraku Shunsui only had to think about how to entertain Yoruichi properly.
"So, Yoruichi… you suspect something's wrong on Central 46's side?" Kyōraku Shunsui frowned after hearing her speculation. "That Kisuke secretly planted his own people among those 'great sages' inside Central 46?"
"No," Yoruichi shook her head, half-denying his guess. "I don't think Kisuke could pull off what you're describing. Central 46 was reshuffled after the Higashino Shuuichi incident, and Kisuke was still in the West Administration back then—there's no way he could've influenced this place that deeply.
"But Central 46 absolutely has a problem. Otherwise, Kisuke would never do something like that for no reason.
"Especially after Kisuke had Mayuri do that… everything that followed escalated at a terrifying speed. If there isn't something rotten underneath, I won't believe it. Shunsui—haven't you ever doubted Central 46 even once?"
In Yoruichi's view, the real situation was more likely this:
Something had changed inside Central 46, and Kisuke Urahara learned about it—and used it.
And the reason Yoruichi had come to Kyōraku Shunsui was to borrow his influence, dig out the truth, and find a way to salvage Central 46's mistaken decision before things got even worse.
Kyōraku Shunsui found that deeply convincing.
Truthfully, he'd had the same suspicion for a long time. But the target was Central 46—given his position and his stance, if even one step went wrong and the investigation was exposed…
He might be fine, since he was a captain and the old man would probably shield him.
But his family would suffer vicious retaliation.
That was a weight Kyōraku Shunsui couldn't bear.
This time, however, with Yoruichi's guarantee, Kyōraku Shunsui could finally act without holding back.
Because there was one thing most shinigami in Soul Society didn't know:
Although the Shihōin family's head was currently Yoruichi's younger brother, Shihōin Yūshirō Sakimune—
That Shihōin Yūshirō Sakimune was a complete sister-adoring fool, the sort who obeyed every request Yoruichi made without question.
That was the fundamental reason Yoruichi could travel between Soul Society and the Human World so freely.
So Yoruichi's promise, in a sense, was the Shihōin family's promise.
And with the backing of the Shihōin—one of the Four Great Noble Houses—Kyōraku Shunsui no longer had to fear that if this ever came to light, his family would be dragged into it as innocent collateral.
"Then, Yoruichi—where do you want to start?" Kyōraku Shunsui's faint, lazy smile vanished as his tone turned serious. "To be honest, it's a little late for you to come to me now.
"There are less than ten hours left until Nemu is taken to Sōkyoku Hill for execution.
"We don't have much time."
Kyōraku Shunsui already had a target in mind.
But as someone who was a noble himself, who'd dealt with nobles for a long time, and who understood his own standing clearly—
He knew that at times like this, he should ask for Yoruichi's view first.
Even if, on paper, his current status was far above hers.
That was what the Four Great Noble Houses meant. That was the value of a former head of one of them.
"Go straight to Central 46," Yoruichi said. "Before I came, I already had Yūshirō Sakimune use an excuse to summon all of Central 46's members for an emergency meeting.
"They should all be there by now—waiting for you to go and check them one by one.
"Honestly, if it weren't inconvenient for me to show my face…"
Before she could finish, Kyōraku Shunsui stood up.
"I know. You'd have gone and found the truth yourself, right?" he said quietly. "Believe me—if someone among them really has a problem, I promise you I'll find them."
Kyōraku Shunsui was fully confident.
Almost at the exact same time, in the headquarters of another division, another man spoke with that same confidence.
"Everything that's happened… it was all your doing, wasn't it, Aizen Sōsuke?"
Shiba Isshin—his left arm severed—stood before Aizen Sōsuke with his Zanpakuto in one hand.
"Heh…" Aizen Sōsuke smiled. "I thought I might end up waiting for that man here. I didn't expect it would be you instead."
"You mean Kisuke Urahara?" Shiba Isshin's eyes sharpened at once. "So it really was you—behind the hollowfication of all those captains and vice-captains back then, and the one who forced them to flee into the Human World!"
"Is it? Isn't it?" Aizen Sōsuke mocked, unhurried. "You're a deserter shinigami now. In today's Soul Society, your words don't carry weight."
"That's not necessarily true," Shiba Isshin snapped. "Don't forget—the Shiba are still one of the Four Great Noble Houses. The current head of the Shiba, Shiba Kūkaku, is my niece. At the very least, she'll believe me!"
He raised his Zanpakuto, the tip pointing straight at Aizen Sōsuke's nose.
"What a terrible explanation," Aizen Sōsuke sighed, smile unchanged. "What are you trying to say? That today, you absolutely can't be allowed to walk out of here?"
"Heh. What a joke," Shiba Isshin sneered. "You wouldn't seriously think you can beat me, would you? Even missing an arm, I can crush you with one hand. Believe it?"
Shiba Isshin couldn't understand where Aizen Sōsuke's confidence came from.
Based on what he'd seen of Aizen's combat ability so far—and that cowardly habit of hiding in the shadows and stabbing people in the back—
Shiba Isshin genuinely believed Aizen Sōsuke was nothing more than a captain with ambition and no real strength.
Sure, losing an arm would affect his fighting power.
But dealing with a rat like this? It would still be more than enough.
In Shiba Isshin's mind, a man like Aizen Sōsuke—someone who only dared to scheme in the dark—once dragged into the light, had only one ending.
A violent death.
"Is that so?" Aizen Sōsuke said lightly. "Then I'll return those words to you.
"Shiba-taichō… you don't actually believe that the 'me' you've seen before… was the real me, do you?"
As he spoke, Aizen Sōsuke lifted his right hand, extending his index finger toward Shiba Isshin.
In that instant, Shiba Isshin felt his heart stop.
The sensation of death.
He didn't know what that finger meant—but his body was screaming at him to dodge.
Boom!
Behind him came the thunderous collapse of buildings. A flood of light poured through a wall that had been pierced clean through.
Shiba Isshin didn't even need to turn his head to understand what that meant.
"Just now… that reiatsu of yours…" Shiba Isshin stared at Aizen Sōsuke, disbelief shaking his voice.
"Just now?" Aizen Sōsuke didn't look surprised that he'd dodged.
Shiba Isshin wasn't a rookie, and Aizen Sōsuke hadn't intended to kill him outright anyway.
Otherwise he wouldn't have lifted his hand so slowly—telegraphing it so clearly, giving Shiba Isshin ample time to react.
"Shiba-taichō," Aizen Sōsuke said, as if toying with him, "are you talking about this kind of reiatsu?"
He deliberately released that same terrifying reiatsu again right in front of Shiba Isshin—then instantly withdrew it, returning to that harmless, gentle look.
It was as if he were telling Shiba Isshin:
"See? This is how I've been messing with you fools all along."
"How can you…? If you have reiatsu at that level, then why would you—"
"Why would I do that?" Aizen Sōsuke smiled. "Or rather—why would I hide myself?"
His figure vanished from where he stood, and when he reappeared, he was already in Shiba Isshin's face.
A single slash swept out.
Shiba Isshin reacted on instinct, bringing his blade up to block.
But to his surprise, Aizen Sōsuke's strike wasn't terrifying the way his reiatsu was.
It was the exact opposite—ordinary.
Slow. Straight angle.
Like a shinigami trained by the academy's standard curriculum, neat and proper.
It wasn't that it was weak… it just didn't match the reiatsu Aizen Sōsuke had shown.
It didn't give Shiba Isshin that crushing pressure he felt when facing the Captain-Commander.
And yet the reiatsu from earlier truly could be compared to the Captain-Commander's.
"Talent still has its limits, huh…?" Shiba Isshin thought.
If that was the case, then maybe he still had a chance—
"Bankai!"
Shiba Isshin didn't hesitate. He immediately unleashed his Zanpakuto's true form.
He was going to decide the outcome with Aizen Sōsuke in the shortest time possible.
Because he knew Aizen Sōsuke's Zanpakuto was a flowing-water-type—its strength lay in confusing the enemy and dragging the fight into a prolonged battle.
The longer it went on, the worse it would be for him.
And right now, Aizen Sōsuke seemed to be underestimating him.
That made this Shiba Isshin's best chance to turn the tables.
But what Shiba Isshin never expected was—
The instant he released Bankai, before he could even launch an attack, his body stopped moving.
His limbs had been pierced through.
He didn't know when.
It was just… suddenly so.
Even though the "Aizen Sōsuke" in front of him hadn't made any move at all—
Wait.
Hadn't "Aizen Sōsuke" said something just now?
Shiba Isshin suddenly remembered—those lips had moved slightly, forming a few words with no sound.
Those words looked like…
Bankai, Kamishini no Yari!
Shiba Isshin's eyes widened.
And across from him, that "Aizen Sōsuke" smiled even more brightly.
"Did you finally notice, Shiba-taichō~?
"The one standing before you… was never Aizen-sama in the first place~!"
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