After the banquet ended, the moonlight was still as bright as washed silk, like a silver veil draping over the entire Seireitei.
Deep within the 11th Division's barracks, in a nearly forgotten side room.
Azashiro sat cross-legged on the tatami, eyes tightly closed, as if meditating, or perhaps just spacing out.
Light footsteps came from outside the door.
Setsuna and Aizen pushed open the door and entered. Looking at Azashiro, who seemed out of place in this world, Setsuna got straight to the point. "I plan to have you serve as the 4th Seat of the 11th Division."
For someone who had once been a Captain of the 11th Division, the 4th Seat was a very unappealing position.
But Azashiro didn't mind. He just stared intently at Setsuna. "You can open a Garganta on your own. Have you ever considered leading a team to conquer Hueco Mundo?"
Setsuna didn't directly answer this abrupt question. Instead, he walked into the room and sat down. "I've heard about your deeds. Your sister, to protect you, perished alongside a Hollow at the execution ground. So you want to eliminate all Hollows in Hueco Mundo. You believe that as long as Hollows don't exist, such tragedies won't happen again."
"Yes," Azashiro admitted frankly. "Hollows... those pathological beings shouldn't exist in this world. They devour souls, create suffering, bring death. Their very existence is an error, a 'mistake' this world needs to correct."
"But you should know very well," Setsuna's voice remained calm. "The Hollows released into the execution ground that day were just 'blades'. The ones who truly killed your sister were those holding the blades… the nobles who decided to use Hollows for the execution."
The room fell into dead silence.
After a long while, Azashiro finally spoke slowly, his voice as hoarse as sandpaper rubbing. "I know. So... I killed all those nobles from that day."
"But I heard," Setsuna pressed on, "you expressed regret for that day's massacre and voluntarily served your sentence. It seems you hold no resentment toward those nobles in your heart?"
"It was the law," Azashiro's voice returned to calm. "They... were also acting according to the law."
"Acting according to the law?" Setsuna sneered. "Then do you think your family members all deserved what they got?"
"Of course not!" Azashiro abruptly looked up, his voice agitated. "They must have been wronged! The esteemed lords of the Central 46 will surely, just as they showed me mercy, find the truth and exonerate our family!"
Hearing this almost naive statement, Setsuna couldn't help but laugh.
"I've never expected," He shook his head and sighed. "In this 11th Division's Captain's seat, a position known for producing troublemakers, there would be a 'good citizen' like you."
He finally understood why the original work's Azashiro, for a crime he hadn't yet committed, simply for having that thought, turned himself in and went to prison.
It was a pathological faith in 'rules', a pathetic attempt to prove one's 'innocence' by 'following the rules'.
Setsuna's smile faded, his voice turning serious. "You think the Central 46 is fair? But you killed so many nobles. Logically, you should have been executed long ago. Even if not subjected to the Sokyoku, you should have been imprisoned in the Muken for a millennium. How could your punishment be so light?"
Azashiro was silent for a moment, then said, "That day, I awakened my Zanpakuto in anger. The killing was unconscious. And I also showed remorse. So the esteemed lords of the Central 46 pardoned my crime."
Setsuna shook his head with a light laugh, looking behind him. "Aizen, explain to him why his punishment was so light."
Aizen showed a gentle smile. "4th Seat Azashiro, the Central 46 'pardoned' you not because you were 'unconscious', but because the strength you displayed frightened them."
"If they were certain you wouldn't resist, then the next time you committed a crime, you would naturally receive your 'deserved' punishment. As for exoneration..."
Aizen's smile deepened. "The wrongful case against your family was manufactured by those nobles themselves. How could they oppose themselves?"
These words struck Azashiro's heart like a heavy hammer.
Had he truly never speculated about his family's wrongful case? He just didn't want to face the truth. He didn't know what choice he should make.
"Could it be..." After a long time, Azashiro finally spoke hoarsely, his voice carrying a nearly pleading confusion. "Was I wrong to follow the law?"
"It's not you who's wrong," Setsuna's voice chimed in at the right moment. "It's this world."
"Following the law is certainly important. But if one day, you advance in what you believe to be the right direction, and the law becomes shackles on your feet..." Setsuna's voice was like a bell striking the soul, echoing in the moonlight. "Then the law is wrong. You must not lose your correct direction because of the law's constraints."
Setsuna sighed inwardly. This truly wasn't Azashiro's fault. In his previous life, even into the modern era, many people still retained residual toxins of feudal autocracy.
In the Soul Society, this group of nobles had ruled for over a million years, deeply entrenched. Even a fierce man like Yamamoto could be domesticated, let alone Azashiro.
Azashiro fell into confusion. When he was young, he experienced the tragedy of his clan's annihilation. He had been wandering outside all these years, never undergoing systematic study, never truly analyze the root of his own suffering.
He just instinctively wanted 'revenge', yet was bound by 'rules', painfully struggling between hatred and law-abiding.
And now, Setsuna had pried open this cruel truth, broken it down, and fed it to him bit by bit.
Setsuna didn't continue tormenting this man on the verge of collapse. He left the room with Aizen.
"He'll figure it out, and then become our strength," Aizen walked behind Setsuna, his voice still gentle. "He just needs time."
Setsuna didn't look back, only asked, "With your talent, isn't being the 10th Seat of the 11th Division too demeaning?"
"I don't like standing out," Aizen smiled. "Even the 10th Seat is a bit high-profile."
"Is that so?" Setsuna chuckled. "Our 11th Division has Zaraki, Azashiro, you and Yoruichi, plus me. Strength-wise, we're undeniably first among the 13 Divisions, enough to rival half of them. Indeed, we should keep a low profile."
"Setsuna-nii," Aizen pushed up his glasses. "Do you want to change this world? Sweep those nobles into the dust of history?"
"Exactly," Setsuna admitted frankly. "What do you think?"
The smile on Aizen's face was no longer the gentle, harmless one, but a smile tinged with excitement and anticipation.
Though he had long guessed Setsuna's thoughts, this was the first time he heard Setsuna admit it personally.
"Of course I look forward to it with anticipation. No one can stand in the heavens from the beginning. Since these rotten nobles occupy the throne of the sky, then drag them down and trample them into the mud."