Chapter 159: Caught Every Last One
Hearing Aizen's proposal, the room's unsettled captains turned as one toward the Captain-Commander.
When you weren't sure about something, going straight to the Captain-Commander for guidance was a perfectly sound approach.
Everyone waited in silence. Yamamoto alone sat with a thoughtful expression, then slowly spoke.
"There is some merit to it... let it proceed."
There it is.
Kyoka Suigetsu was truly devious. Its ability was completely unpredictable, and the thinking behind it was impossible to read from the outside.
With the Captain-Commander's approval, the captains who had already been preparing to leave stopped in their tracks. Even the uninterested ones had a "might as well take a look" moment, and that alone was enough to keep everyone watching.
Matsushita Yusuke quietly stepped back two paces and took stock of who was in the room.
Almost the entire current Gotei 13 roster. Captains and vice-captains, nearly all present.
Tragic. He's about to catch every last one of them.
Matsushita Yusuke's thoughts were running at full speed behind an expression that gave away nothing.
Aizen was being thoroughly methodical about it too. He didn't go first. He let everyone else take a turn showing their own abilities.
Only after Tosen had finished demonstrating Suzumushi did Aizen finally step forward.
As cover operations went, the preparation here was thorough. Clearly something he had been planning for a long time.
So devious, so careful. When this man decides to move, nobody can touch him.
Matsushita Yusuke gave a quiet shake of the head.
"Everyone, this is my Zanpakuto. Kyoka Suigetsu."
Aizen turned the blade downward and spoke in a low, steady voice.
"In terms of classification, this is a flowing water-type Zanpakuto. Its primary function is confusion: creating an illusion, something like a double."
Ding...
A faint ring, barely audible. A ring of visible wave-like ripples spread outward from Aizen in every direction.
The hem of his uniform lifted in a gentle current, then settled. The smile on his face was serene and subtly satisfied.
Maybe it was just Matsushita Yusuke's imagination, but Aizen's expression right now had a very particular quality to it.
The look of someone whose scheme was about to come together. Very Light Yagami.
There was definitely some excitement. He just couldn't let any of it show.
And because Matsushita Yusuke had been caught by Kyoka Suigetsu once before, he could feel the reiatsu ripples clearly as they spread. These flows moved like tides, washing back and forth, sweeping outward and rolling over everyone assembled from the Gotei 13.
Not a single person was spared.
Matsushita Yusuke watched carefully. Even Yamamoto and Unohana were no exception.
After the reiatsu saturation was complete, marking everyone present with Kyoka Suigetsu's signature...
Aizen's mouth curved upward. He turned the blade.
"Please observe, everyone."
In what seemed like a blink, a second Aizen stood fully intact beside him, wearing the same signature warm smile.
"This is my Zanpakuto's ability. Through reiatsu manipulation and simulation, I can replicate an individual with ninety-nine percent resemblance to myself. It can unconditionally imitate my full capabilities and appearance, and carries strong deceptive potential."
It sounded convincing enough. But Matsushita Yusuke knew this double was barely a hair's width compared to what Kyoka Suigetsu could actually do. The double was the most basic, ground-floor application of the ability. Nothing more.
He watched the captains around him weighing in with their assessments and comments, and let out a long internal sigh.
Everyone saw it. Good. You've all been got.
Matsushita Yusuke looked on at this quietly devastating scene with a completely neutral face. If not for the risk of being exposed, Aizen must have been absolutely thrilled on the inside.
Before long, the captain's meeting wrapped up its remaining business and moved toward adjournment.
Everyone could head their separate ways.
Per the earlier arrangement, Matsushita Yusuke found Aizen and Tosen waiting at the main gate. The three gathered, said their goodbyes to the others, and departed together.
"How did those three end up leaving together?"
"Matsushita-san and Aizen-san were teacher and student before, that makes sense. But how did Tosen-san end up in the mix?"
"He was also a student at Shin'o Academy, wasn't he? Probably had some contact with Aizen-san at some point."
"Are they already forming a clique? Isn't that a little conspicuous..."
The commentary trailed after them. All three caught every word.
Matsushita Yusuke glanced sideways without expression.
Aizen hadn't used Kyoka Suigetsu to cover their departure. Which meant this was something he had deliberately chosen to let others see.
Having a clique was a good thing. It showed belonging. It showed they weren't operating as lone wolves. And besides, the old man had his own inner circle.
"Let's go. Have a drink. To our incoming 'victory.'"
Back to the same izakaya as before.
This gathering was noticeably more relaxed. Partly because the underground relationship had finally come aboveground. Partly because Kyoka Suigetsu had just been successfully deployed across the entire room.
Without exaggeration, at this point, Aizen Sosuke was standing in an inherently undefeatable position.
Because the reason Aizen could get right in Yamamoto's face in the source material ultimately came down to Kyoka Suigetsu.
You want to cut me? Better think carefully about whether you'd actually be cutting me or one of your own people.
A thousand years ago, the old man would have risked it. Would have accepted the possibility of subordinates dying and struck anyway, aiming to finish Aizen then and there.
But a Yamamoto who had reined in his killing spirit, who had let that edge dull over the centuries, couldn't make that kind of decision anymore.
A hero past his prime.
Matsushita Yusuke swirled the cocktail in his glass and said, in a measured tone:
"Aizen-sensei. Do we have any clear objectives going forward?"
"A fair point. Let me think... we've achieved meaningful success at this stage, but there is still some distance to the final victory. Your reminder is very sensible, Matsushita-kun."
Really? I just asked casually...
Aizen rested his chin on his right hand, an expression that landed somewhere between a smile and not quite.
"Then. Let's start with conquering Hueco Mundo."