After hearing Shiba Isshin's reasoning
Urahara Kisuke let out a faint, self-deprecating chuckle.
"I suppose I should be happy," he said lightly, though there was a trace of weariness beneath it.
"To think there's still someone willing to believe I'm not the villain of that story."
It wasn't that no one had ever believed in him.
Shihōin Yoruichi had believed him.
Tsukabishi Tessai had stood beside him.
Even Shigure Sōsuke had never doubted him.
They had risked everything to help him escape Soul Society.
But
Those were people who knew him.
People who were close enough to trust him without needing proof.
Everyone else?
They believed the official verdict.
That Urahara Kisuke had conducted illegal Hollowfication experiments.
That he was responsible for the Visored incident the Hollowfication of multiple captains and lieutenants.
That he was a criminal who had betrayed Soul Society.
So hearing Isshin speak so plainly
Without hesitation.
Without suspicion
It stirred something in him.
A feeling he hadn't revisited in a long time.
"…So," Isshin pressed, leaning forward slightly, curiosity plain on his face.
"What actually happened back then?"
Even now
Though he had lost his Shinigami powers and could no longer perceive spiritual pressure or Hollows
His instincts hadn't dulled.
If anything
His curiosity had only grown sharper.
Urahara remained silent.
For a moment
He didn't answer.
Instead
Another voice spoke.
"It was Aizen."
Isshin's head snapped toward the speaker.
Shigure Sōsuke.
"Aizen…?" Isshin repeated, brows tightening.
Aizen Sōsuke, Captain of the Fifth Division.
A man known throughout the Gotei 13 for his kindness, humility, and reliability.
Someone widely regarded as
Trustworthy.
And now
He was being named as the mastermind behind one of Soul Society's darkest incidents?
"Shigure… are you sure there isn't some kind of mistake?" Isshin asked, unable to hide his disbelief.
"I understand why you'd think that," Shigure replied calmly.
"Aizen spent decades cultivating that image."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"But what you saw… was only ever a façade."
Isshin fell silent.
Shigure continued, voice steady:
"The Hollowfication incident the one involving Shinji Hirako and the others…"
"That was Aizen's doing."
"He conducted experiments on Shinigami and souls, attempting to break the boundary between Hollow and Shinigami."
"When those experiments escalated, he targeted higher-level subjects captains and lieutenants."
Isshin's expression darkened.
"But," he interjected, "if that's true why wasn't Aizen exposed?"
"Why weren't you able to report him?"
Shigure gave a faint, knowing look.
"You think we didn't try?"
He continued:
"Urahara and Tessai brought the matter to Central 46 themselves."
"They presented everything they had."
"But when the investigation began "
"Aizen had an airtight alibi."
Isshin frowned.
"At the time of every incident," Shigure said,
"Aizen was confirmed to be inside the Fifth Division barracks."
"Multiple witnesses. Consistent testimony."
"Not a single contradiction."
Isshin's confusion deepened.
"And not only that," Shigure continued,
"the evidence somehow shifted."
"Instead of implicating Aizen "
"It pointed to Urahara and Tessai."
Isshin's eyes widened.
"They were arrested," Shigure said flatly.
"Declared responsible."
"And the Hollowfied captains and lieutenants "
"Were ordered to be executed as 'corrupted souls.'"
"…That's insane," Isshin muttered.
"It is," Shigure agreed.
"But it's also the reality of how thoroughly Aizen controlled the situation."
Isshin clenched his fists slightly.
"…Then how did he do it?"
Shigure's gaze sharpened slightly.
"Through his Zanpakutō."
Isshin stiffened.
"…Kyōka Suigetsu?"
He knew of it.
After all
Aizen had never hidden its supposed ability.
"A water-type Zanpakutō," Isshin said slowly.
"Something about reflection… confusing the enemy through visual distortion."
Shigure shook his head.
"That's the lie."
Isshin's pupils contracted.
"Kyōka Suigetsu is not a water-type Zanpakutō," Shigure said.
"It is an illusion-type Zanpakutō."
Silence fell over the room.
"Its true ability," Shigure continued,
"is Complete Hypnosis Kanzen Saimin."
"It allows Aizen to control all five senses of anyone who has seen its Shikai release."
"Sight. Sound. Smell. Taste. Touch."
"Everything."
Isshin's breathing slowed.
"And once you've seen it even once," Shigure added,
"the hypnosis remains permanently in effect."
"…That's…" Isshin trailed off.
Then, more firmly:
"That's not a weakness you can work around."
"There is a limitation," Shigure said.
"It cannot violate fundamental logic outright."
"But in practice?"
He gave a faint shrug.
"That hardly matters."
Isshin understood immediately.
With control over all five senses
Reality itself could be rewritten from the target's perspective.
Alibis could be fabricated.
Evidence could be falsified.
Witnesses could be manipulated.
"…So that's how he did it," Isshin said quietly.
"He used Kyōka Suigetsu to create a perfect alibi…"
"And then used it again to frame Urahara."
Shigure did not deny it.
But then
Isshin's expression changed.
As another realization struck him.
"…Wait."
His voice lowered.
"At the academy…"
"You said Aizen demonstrated his Shikai there, didn't he?"
A heavy silence followed.
Because if that were true
Then every student who had witnessed that demonstration
Had already fallen under Kyōka Suigetsu's Complete Hypnosis.
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