"Is that so? What a pity."
There was not the slightest hint of pity in Aizen's tone. His eyes, fixed on the cave entrance, were filled with eager anticipation.
Aizen could no longer wait to begin attempting the creation of the Ōken. Merely familiarizing himself with his current power and manufacturing the Ōken already made him feel as though he did not have enough time. On top of that, Gin Ichimaru had left, and Kaname Tōsen had yet to return.
Aizen silently calculated whether he should cultivate another suitable assistant among the Arrancar. If he remembered correctly, Szayelaporro's Reiatsu seemed to have disappeared. Perhaps he could find a new assistant in Szayelaporro's laboratory.
"Why don't you try entering the Forest of Menos in the flesh? With you inside, I might be interested in firing another arrow," Tsunayoshi joked, pointing at the cave entrance.
"Using me as the target? Before I ascend to the Royal Palace, I doubt you would be willing to part with me," Aizen said, looking directly at Tsunayoshi.
He understood all too clearly what Tsunayoshi and Kisuke Urahara were working so hard to help him accomplish.
"Speaking of that, I'll have to trouble you with one more thing."
Tsunayoshi clasped his hands together without the slightest embarrassment and requested, "Before you go up there, remember to tell us. I want to watch the live broadcast."
"A live broadcast? It seems this plan of yours was prepared long ago. Back then, letting me leave at the Sōkyoku Hill was also part of your plan, wasn't it?"
Aizen now understood why Tsunayoshi had been so easy to talk to back at the Sōkyoku Hill. Sawada Tsunayoshi had never actually planned to leave him alive there.
"There's no helping it. From ancient times until now, Soul Society has only produced one brave warrior like you. Help us out a little."
"A brave warrior? Perhaps after me, I will no longer be the only one."
Aizen sneered softly, then raised his head to look at Hueco Mundo's night sky.
"There is no need for me to notify you. When I break through those barriers, you will certainly notice."
That was precisely why Aizen insisted on fusing with the Hōgyoku to increase his strength. Breaking through the barriers between the Royal Palace and the Seireitei would not only alert the Seireitei; the Royal Palace would notice as well.
This meant that on Aizen's path to the Royal Palace, petty deception like Kyōka Suigetsu would no longer hold any meaning. His true reliance would be having the strength to defeat Squad Zero head-on.
"I see!"
Tsunayoshi struck his palm with his fist, deliberately pretending to have a sudden realization.
"Thanks for the reminder."
Aizen's expression changed when he heard those words. He thought of a possibility.
"Don't tell me you people have already prepared a method to monitor the Royal Palace?"
Only that reason could explain why Tsunayoshi wanted Aizen to notify him in advance.
"No, no. How could we have that kind of ability?"
Tsunayoshi waved his hand very modestly. He was not lying. They did not have a way to monitor the Royal Palace. However, a method to connect to the Royal Palace could still be considered.
"You even managed to tinker together Zanpakutō fusion. If you claim you have no plans regarding the Royal Palace, I refuse to believe it."
Aizen changed the topic and brought it back to Tsunayoshi.
"That final attack you used against me was not your full strength, was it?"
Aizen still brooded over his battle with Tsunayoshi even now. That had been the closest he had ever come to death. Only because the Hōgyōku had responded to him had Aizen been able to break free from his cocoon and be reborn.
It was also after fusing with the Hōgyoku that Aizen understood just how arrogant he had been when the Hōgyoku had merely been embedded in his body. The current him could fight ten versions of his former self without issue.
"Of course it wasn't my full strength. If I manifested everyone at once, then what was destroyed probably wouldn't be limited to Las Noches. The stability of the entire Hueco Mundo might be affected."
Tsunayoshi said, "The consequences would be far more severe than old man Yamamoto's Bankai."
Hearing this, Aizen gained a rough understanding. He had found records about Yamamoto in the Great Spirit Library. Yamamoto's Bankai might evaporate Soul Society, but Soul Society itself would still exist. It was only the living beings within it that would be affected.
But the power Tsunayoshi possessed after fusing with his Zanpakutō could actually affect the stability of an entire world. Without question, that was a higher level of power. No wonder it was called Beyond Bankai.
Just like that, time slowly passed.
Only Kisuke Urahara worked miserably on restructuring the Reishi. Tsunayoshi and Aizen idly chatted about the issue of Zanpakutō fusion. Gin Ichimaru silently eavesdropped from the side, while Ichigo and the others played games with Nel to pass the time.
Hueco Mundo had no transition between day and night. According to Kisuke Urahara, an entire day and night passed before he finally transformed all the Reishi into a stable state that could officially be handed over to Aizen.
Aizen did not waste any more words. Together with Gin Ichimaru, he sealed the cave entrance with a pile of complicated Kidō. As for the manufacture of the Ōken, he would have to wait until Kaname Tōsen returned before moving forward with it.
There were no farewells of any kind. Both sides had merely completed a transaction.
Kisuke Urahara opened a Garganta behind a sand dune leading to the World of the Living.
Ichigo and Uryū needed to return to the World of the Living, while the others needed to go to Soul Society. However, opening something like a Garganta directly into Soul Society would have far too great an impact, so Tsunayoshi and the others prepared to use the World of the Living as a transfer point, then take a Senkaimon to Soul Society.
They parted in a hurry at the Urahara Shop. Ichigo took Nel to find Orihime Inoue. The only question was whether, after Nel's injuries were healed, she would become her adult self or remain in her child form. If she turned back into an adult, Ichigo's next few days probably would not be too pleasant.
Meanwhile, Tsunayoshi was walking through the streets of the Seireitei with Ashido and Gin Ichimaru.
The moment Kisuke Urahara returned to Soul Society, he plunged straight into the laboratory. Aizen's fusion with the Hōgyoku had given him some inspiration, and he could not wait to verify it.
Rukia, meanwhile, had taken Kaien Shiba's Reishi to Squad 12 . Before the resurrection experiment could begin, Squad 12 needed to help manufacture a Reigai belonging to Kaien Shiba.
Therefore, the task of reporting to Yamamoto naturally fell upon Tsunayoshi. Before going to Squad One, Tsunayoshi planned to make a detour and visit Squad Ten first.
"The Seireitei really hasn't changed much," Ashido said.
He had already taken off the Hollow-related mask he wore. Now, dressed in a Shihakushō, he looked from the outside like an ordinary Shinigami.
"Under the management of an old thousand-year Shinigami like Yamamoto, what could possibly change?"
Tsunayoshi casually complained, "But the winds of change have already begun blowing through Soul Society. Very soon, you'll see many new things appear in this windmill called the Seireitei."
A region's style was closely tied to its ruler. Tsunayoshi believed that once the Captain-Commander changed, those outdated things in Soul Society would quickly be replaced.
"This is fine too. At least I don't feel too unfamiliar with it," Ashido sighed.
The friends he had known were already gone. To him, only these familiar streets could give him a slight sense of belonging.
"Sawada Tsunayoshi, aren't we going to Squad One?" Gin Ichimaru, who had been silent the entire time, asked.
Along the way, Tsunayoshi had deliberately avoided streets with people, specifically choosing smaller paths. For the time being, no one had discovered Gin Ichimaru, this wanted criminal.
But Gin Ichimaru, who had lived in the Seireitei for much longer, had clearly noticed that Tsunayoshi was not taking them to meet Captain-Commander Yamamoto. This direction looked more like it led to an area he had always been afraid to approach.
Tsunayoshi rolled his eyes and said irritably, "With old man Yamamoto's personality, who knows how he'll deal with you? Before that, are you sure you don't want to return what should be returned to its rightful owner?"
Gin Ichimaru took out the jar sealing the Soul King's fingertip. He had already realized that Tsunayoshi was leading them toward the Squad Ten barracks.
"You can just give this to Rangiku."
Gin Ichimaru's voice grew quieter and quieter as he handed the jar to Tsunayoshi.
"Are you kidding me? I'm not getting involved in matters between you two little lovers."
Tsunayoshi did not even look at the jar Gin Ichimaru held out.
"Eh? Are we going to see Gin-san's sweetheart?" Ashido asked.
"I don't have a sweetheart..."
"He went undercover under Aizen for hundreds of years for a portion of that girl's soul. What kind of relationship do you think they have?" Tsunayoshi directly interrupted Gin Ichimaru's explanation, ignoring the faint blush on Gin's face.
"It seems Gin-san's love for your sweetheart runs deep," Ashido said, pinching his chin and nodding with great understanding.
Gin Ichimaru gave up. There was no way he could outtalk these two. Seeing Rangiku once would not kill him.
Probably.
Tsunayoshi familiarly slipped into Squad Ten through the bushes beside the rear wall of the barracks. This was the back door Rangiku had left for herself, making it convenient for her to return to the barracks whenever she got drunk.
"Mm, from here on, we'll need to use a little Reiatsu."
Tsunayoshi gripped his trident, released a cloud of mist to envelop the three of them, and walked into the barracks.
"So boring. Where did Haineko run off to have fun this time? And Captain too. He only knows how to train every day. He doesn't even come to the barracks to help share the pressure."
Inside Squad Ten's office, Rangiku was sprawled alone over the desk, bored out of her mind as she signed and stamped documents.
During the all-out war-preparation period, the authority of captains and lieutenant had been greatly delegated downward to free them from the interference of miscellaneous affairs. However, as lieutenant, with the captain not showing up, Rangiku still had to set aside some time every day to confirm squad matters.
Even though there was clearly not much work left, Rangiku still could not help complaining. Aside from being bored alone, she truly disliked handling squad affairs.
When they were not preparing for war, most of the squad's paperwork was personally completed by Tōshirō. What Rangiku needed to do was lie on the sofa nearby and occasionally interfere with Tōshirō's work.
Hearing the door open, Rangiku did not even raise her head before complaining, "Didn't you say all of today's work was already here? Why is there more?"
Rangiku thought squad members had brought her additional work. In reality, Tsunayoshi had walked in with Ashido and Gin Ichimaru.
"Ashido-san, sit wherever you like. We'll have to fend for ourselves. Don't count on them to entertain us."
Tsunayoshi skillfully took out the tea set Isshin had left behind from the cabinet and began brewing tea for Ashido as though he were the owner of Squad Ten.
"Tsunayoshi?"
Only then did Rangiku raise her head and realize that the person who had entered was not a squad member. When she saw the unfamiliar person beside Tsunayoshi, she quickly sat up straight and tidied her appearance. She could not embarrass Squad Ten in front of outsiders.
She swept the long hair at her forehead behind her ear.
Then Rangiku's movements froze.
She saw the figure standing at the door.
The figure she had longed for day and night.
"Gin?"
Her voice held three parts shock, three parts relief, and four parts uncertainty.
No matter how one looked at it, Gin Ichimaru should not be appearing in the Seireitei right now. He was a wanted criminal.
"Rangiku, long time no see."
Gin Ichimaru raised his head. It was still that familiar smiling face Rangiku knew. However, the smile on that face held less of its former coldness and two parts more guilt.
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