Soul Society—Seireitei—Central 46.
Aizen Sōsuke stood where the "great sages" of Central 46 were supposed to sit.
At his side was the Captain of the Third Division, Ichimaru Gin.
Below them was Nemu, bound in restraints.
As for the sages who should have been judging her—
They lay strewn across the floor in grotesque heaps.
Blood was still spreading outward, but their lives had long since ended.
"Is this really okay?
Aizen-sama… it's not my place to question your ability, but if we kill every single member of Central 46 at once, someone might notice what happened here pretty quickly, you know~"
Ichimaru Gin held his bloodstained Zanpakutō, smiling as he looked down at Nemu.
Just moments ago, following Aizen's orders, he had slaughtered every Central 46 member who came to attend the session.
"It doesn't matter. Unless something unexpected happens… this should also be the last stretch of time we'll ever need their 'identities' anyway~"
Aizen smiled as if it were nothing.
Higashino Shuuichi had kept his promise.
He had truly made Urahara Kisuke "willingly" hand over the Hōgyoku shard he'd been hiding all this time.
And as Higashino Shuuichi's partner—and former superior—Aizen naturally had no intention of going back on his word.
But for Aizen, even if he had already decided to defect, his defection couldn't be… plain.
It needed ceremony.
It needed spectacle.
It needed to be unforgettable.
At the very least, in Aizen's eyes, his betrayal could not possibly be worse than Higashino Shuuichi's "rebellion" against the Tsunayashiro clan back then.
So even though Aizen could see Urahara's true aim—stoking a complete rupture between Aizen and Higashino Shuuichi's faction—
Aizen still chose to play along.
Didn't Urahara Kisuke want to see Aizen and Higashino Shuuichi's faction split beyond repair?
Fine.
Aizen would grant his wish.
Because in Aizen's view, only by dragging the entire Gotei 13—plus Higashino Shuuichi's faction—into the storm…
Only with that kind of scale and momentum could it surpass the lineup Higashino Shuuichi had faced back then.
Aizen had never, in his entire life, been inferior to anyone.
And he would not be inferior to anyone.
There were things he wouldn't say out loud—
But he would make them real.
He would stand above the heavens, with everyone watching.
And in Soul Society's history, his name would be written ahead of Higashino Shuuichi's.
Of course, Aizen had another reason as well.
When he had been observing the Human World earlier, he had already noticed Higashino Shuuichi using the disguise of "Kabuno Takuya."
And Urahara Kisuke had even gone out of his way to bring in an original Captain.
At the time, Aizen didn't know the true purpose behind Saitō Furōfushi's appearance.
But he immediately arrived at the same analysis Higashino Shuuichi would later reach himself:
Urahara Kisuke was still testing Higashino Shuuichi.
That was bad, because it meant Higashino Shuuichi still hadn't earned Urahara's trust.
But it was also good, because it meant Urahara hadn't discovered Higashino Shuuichi's true identity.
With that in mind, Aizen chose to intervene decisively at the critical moment—both to help Higashino Shuuichi out of danger and to ensure Higashino Shuuichi owed him a favor.
And now, it was the same.
Aizen couldn't rule out the possibility that Urahara was running a bold experiment with the Hōgyoku—
An experiment meant to test whether Higashino Shuuichi and Aizen were on the same side.
No one could answer that question for Aizen right now.
So Aizen chose to assume it was real rather than assume it was impossible.
If he played along, he could also—conveniently—help Higashino Shuuichi erase suspicion at Urahara's side once and for all.
And if you asked Aizen what he personally believed?
He absolutely leaned toward it being real.
Otherwise, why would that "rumor" already be spreading through Seireitei before Nemu even returned from the Human World—
That Nemu was an artificial being created from Higashino Shuuichi's genes?
Urahara Kisuke must have prepared all of this long ago.
He had only been waiting for a chance where Nemu would go to the Human World alone.
Down below, Nemu still wore that same expressionless face.
An artificial being who had spent years hidden inside the Twelfth Division by Kurotsuchi Mayuri—so hidden that even the Twelfth Division's vice-captain, Yushima Ōko, had known very little about her until now.
So even now, Nemu still didn't understand how to express her feelings.
To her, it was simple.
It happened.
That was all.
Even if, before being brought here, someone had told her her crime was severe enough to earn the death penalty—
In Nemu's heart, that outcome was still less painful than being abandoned by her father.
All she wanted to know was where her father had gone after arriving in the Human World.
On the platform above, Ichimaru Gin looked at Nemu's blank face and spoke as if recalling something.
"So you've made up your mind, Aizen-sama.
But why Nemu?
We still don't know what the situation is like on Kabuma Sayako's side, but the 'inheritance' Higashino Shuuichi left behind… isn't exactly small.
And that Sayako-sama has always carried herself as if she were Higashino Shuuichi's wife.
Their attitude toward this Nemu could be… extremely unpredictable.
What if—"
Ichimaru Gin deliberately stopped there, leaving the rest unsaid.
He knew Aizen would understand.
And though he said the outcome was unpredictable, Ichimaru Gin understood perfectly well that both he and Aizen could guess there was only one likely reaction from Kabuma Sayako's side.
After all, this involved Higashino Shuuichi.
If Higashino Shuuichi were still around, it would be easy—just ask his stance.
If he were dead, it would also be easy—an artificial being like Nemu wouldn't even need attention.
But Higashino Shuuichi was neither.
He had been confined in Muken.
And with Azashiro Kenpachi having escaped Muken and returned to Soul Society with absurd ease—an "open secret" among Seireitei's upper ranks—
No one could guarantee when Higashino Shuuichi might be "rescued" from Muken by Azashiro Kenpachi.
So anything related to Higashino Shuuichi demanded careful consideration from Kabuma Sayako and her people.
They couldn't possibly ignore it.
That was why, in Ichimaru Gin's eyes, choosing Nemu as the knife's edge was not exactly a wise move.
If Ichimaru Gin were designing things from Aizen's position…
Then Higashino Shuuichi's faction should never become enemies.
On the contrary—they were exactly the kind of people worth pulling in.
Right now, those Shinigami only managed to hold a foothold in Soul Society because of Kabuma Sayako's influence as the head of one of the Four Great Noble Clans.
Otherwise, given Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni's temperament, those Shinigami would have been treated as outright traitors long ago.
And those Shinigami knew that fact very well.
It was only some minor nobles—too blind to read the situation, obsessed with becoming "kingmakers"—who had, not long ago, forcibly pushed Higashino Shuuichi's former eldest disciple, Kisaragi Shūsuke, into the position of Tenth Division Captain.
Even then, Kabuma Sayako had only allowed Kisaragi Shūsuke to accept the appointment as an acting captain—
Making it very clear she only wanted a quiet life.
The tree may want stillness, but the wind refuses to stop.
Aizen's move, in Ichimaru Gin's estimation, could very well ignite the true power of Higashino Shuuichi's "inheritance," pushing them fully onto the stage of Soul Society's history.
If that happened, the obstacles Aizen faced would become far greater than they ever needed to be.
Of course, Ichimaru Gin wasn't kind enough to actually point any of that out.
After all, the real reason he had approached Aizen was to take revenge for Matsumoto Rangiku.
The more resistance Aizen faced, the better it was for Ichimaru Gin.
Unfortunately, Ichimaru Gin simply lacked too much critical information.
He didn't know the true relationship between Higashino Shuuichi and Aizen.
And he didn't know about the Hōgyoku that Urahara Kisuke had implanted into Nemu.
Missing the key facts meant the final analysis would head completely in the wrong direction.
So no matter how hard Ichimaru Gin racked his brain, he could never guess Aizen's true intent this time.
"There is no 'what if.'"
Those were Aizen's four words in reply.
Aizen wanted Higashino Shuuichi's faction to cause an uproar with him.
The more glorious Higashino Shuuichi had been back then—
The crazier Aizen's betrayal had to be now.
Ichimaru Gin understood.
And the Captain of the Seventh Division, Tōsen Kaname—standing in the shadows nearby—understood as well.
How many years had it been?
Since he began following Aizen-sama… how many years had passed?
Higashino Shuuichi was already locked away.
And only now had this day finally arrived.
"Kakyō, did you hear that?
The new world you longed for… is about to arrive."
In Tōsen Kaname's mind, that beautiful figure appeared again.
He had sworn to fulfill Kakyō's dream.
And now, at last, it was time to truly begin.
Tōsen Kaname couldn't help but clench his fists.
In the vast chamber of Central 46—
One "trial," four living men, four different thoughts.
That night, many people could not sleep.
Because Central 46 delivered a verdict with almost no suspense at all.
Nemu was brought in during the afternoon.
She was "sentenced" by dusk.
Three days later, the former Third Seat of the Twelfth Division—Nemu—would be publicly executed at Sōkyoku Hill!
That same night, the acting Captain of the Tenth Division, Kisaragi Shūsuke…
The vice-captain of the Twelfth Division, Yushima Ōko…
The vice-captain of the Tenth Division, Matsumoto Rangiku…
The former Captain of the Ninth Division—now the owner of a boxing gym in Seireitei—Muguruma Kensei…
The former Captain of the Third Division—now the owner and performer of a music hall in Seireitei—Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō…
All of them gathered at the Kabuma clan's residence, and none of them returned home.
Also that night, the former students of the Hirugetsu Class sent a single representative—
The Fifth Seat of the Eleventh Division, Ayasegawa Yumichika—
To visit the Kabuma clan and ask for Kabuma Sayako's view.
"Honestly, everyone was supposed to come together, but Ikkaku is a bit impulsive, and I was afraid he'd say something reckless.
Iba Tetsuzaemon has too many dōjō to take care of, so he couldn't come.
Kotetsu Isane-san was ordered by her captain not to leave the Fourth Division.
Ise Nanao-san was the same.
So in the end, there was no choice—we could only send a representative like me.
But I can promise you this, Sayako-sama: if you need our help, we will help!"
Ayasegawa Yumichika sat formally on his knees before Kabuma Sayako as he spoke.
This was probably the only truly unexpected detail in the entire incident.
Perhaps even Higashino Shuuichi never imagined that a "special class" he had thrown together so casually back then would still carry this kind of influence today.
But in Ayasegawa Yumichika's eyes, it was perfectly natural.
Because from their perspective—
Without Higashino Shuuichi, Madarame Ikkaku, Ayasegawa Yumichika, and Iba Tetsuzaemon never would have mastered Bankai in such a short time.
They might never have mastered Bankai at all.
In Soul Society's long history, the number of Shinigami who could achieve Bankai was tiny.
So if Higashino Shuuichi's Hirugetsu Class recruitment had not been a coincidence…
Then the credit could only belong to Higashino Shuuichi.
And as for the line Higashino Shuuichi taught them—
"There are no coincidences in this world—only inevitability."
They believed it without question.
So it became a beautiful misunderstanding.
Maybe, years from now, when Soul Society spoke of Higashino Shuuichi, they would add yet another label to him:
A master teacher.
"Any Shinigami taught by Higashino Shuuichi—even the weakest—can reach Bankai.
The slightly smarter ones become captains.
And the truly exceptional… reach heights ordinary captains can't even dream of!"
But in this moment, no one was thinking that far.
All eyes were fixed on Nemu.
And that same night—
Deep in the Twelfth Division barracks, inside the underground laboratory that still hadn't fully recovered from the damage Higashino Shuuichi once inflicted—
An uninvited guest arrived again.
"I'm suddenly starting to feel like all those layers of defenses I worked so hard to set up… are completely useless?"
Kurotsuchi Mayuri set down his work and turned toward the intruder.
"You can't say that. They still stopped me for a few seconds, at least.
If you hadn't prepared anything at all, Mayuri… you might've actually jumped."
The uninvited guest answered with a teasing lilt.
"Is that so?
And what of it?
To me, it still doesn't mean much."
Kurotsuchi Mayuri spoke without a shred of emotion.
This time, he truly had no intention of repairing those defenses again.
He might as well replace everything with alarm systems!
"Do what you like~
But I came to talk business. Tell me, Mayuri—was it Urahara Kisuke who had you spread the information about Nemu?"
"You could ask him yourself. Wouldn't that be faster?
Former Captain of the Second Division… and former head of the Shihōin clan… Yoruichi-san."
//Check out my P@tre0n for 30 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810