"Anything will do, just some information that leads to the next step... hmm..."
Looking at Sosuke Aizen's body, which had been transported to the Fourth Division, I rest my hand on my forehead and sigh in thought.
Now, for the investigation—
"First, a re-examination of the body. There is a possibility this is an elaborate fake, so we need to determine that first. After that, we will investigate the injuries."
"The... injuries?"
"Yes. From the state of the wounds, we can determine what kind of weapon was used and how much killing power it had. If Yoruichi—Yoruichi Shihoin—is truly the culprit, the wounds should show the habits of the Stealth Force."
Well, since it is Sosuke Aizen we are talking about, he likely prepared that kind of evidence thoroughly to avoid suspicion.
"Come to think of it, Teacher, you are acquainted with the Captain of the Second Division..."
"Yes, I am. That is why I will use Soifon's movements as a benchmark to see if the characteristics of the Stealth Force are visible."
I make it sound simple, but this is only possible because I, as a doctor, know how an assassin fights.
...Well, normally Captain Retsu Unohana would be the one performing the autopsy. Since she is far more familiar with sword wounds than I am, I imagine she would see through those habits in an instant.
Wait, does that mean you have to master the art of killing just to become a doctor...? Medical students really have it rough...
"For now, let us start the investigation from there. I know it will be difficult, but I appreciate the help."
"Yes, Ma'am!"
Oh, that is right. I have not introduced him yet.
Izuru Kira is currently serving as my assistant for the autopsy.
Since both Isane Kotetsu and Momo Hinamori still seemed busy, I asked him to help because his hands happened to be free—though I am not sure if that was good or bad timing for him.
With that, let us begin the autopsy—
『I know all about this! The medical examiner is always the one who suffers when the forensics people make unreasonable demands "just to be safe!"』
...Well, if you consider being given unreasonable demands by Captain Retsu Unohana, that is not entirely far from the truth.
Ahem.
Now then, I began the autopsy. After performing a full investigation—
"The possibility of this being a Gigai or a doll is extremely slim... Or rather, the more I investigate, the more medical evidence supports the fact that Captain Sosuke Aizen is dead."
—It was perfect.
From the top of his head to the tips of his toes, it was Sosuke Aizen through and through.
I am honestly impressed he could pull this off with just hypnosis.
Even more impressive is Captain Retsu Unohana.
Despite having no prior knowledge, she was able to look at this and realize, 'Oh! This is a life-sized figure of the very popular Captain Sosuke Aizen!'
That woman is definitely not normal...
"Haa... haa..."
"Kira, are you alright?"
Izuru Kira seems to be out of breath.
He is visibly shaken, and his complexion is quite pale.
"I-I'm sorry... I just feel a bit... unwell..."
"I see... Investigating the body of someone you knew personally is bound to make you feel sick."
"Yes. Captain Sosuke Aizen would occasionally give me advice... He would listen to me and others and offer guidance. And now, Captain Sosuke Aizen is dead, and I realized I'm performing an autopsy on him..."
Advice? I wonder if he was filling the boy's head with nonsense?
Seriously, that glasses-clutching guy! You can't let your guard down for a second!
『Since you're talking about crushing his glasses, he's finally turned into a sushi metaphor...』
"Keep your head up and focus, just for now. If you go into this half-heartedly and miss something critical, it would be an insult to Captain Sosuke Aizen."
"Y-Yes! Teacher, I'll do my best!!"
『Oh! A female Captain encouraging her younger male subordinate—what a scene full of potential!! A flag has been raised!!』
No, while those situations exist... Sosuke Aizen's corpse is right next to us. Nubatama, are you okay with that?
I mean, this is probably a fake, but it's still a pretty bad look visually, isn't it?
"Now that you've got your energy back, let's move on to the blood test. At the same time, we'll perform another external examination."
"Um, why is that...?"
"As we can judge from the wounds, Captain Sosuke Aizen was killed without offering any resistance. Don't you think that's strange? The opponent cut down all the soldiers in the room and then finally stabbed Captain Sosuke Aizen, right?"
If I recall correctly, the original story was something like "I'm going to go persuade them alone because there's a traitor among us."
But he was killed.
And he was killed with a single blow, with his body pinned to the wall.
It was done in a way that emphasized his death as much as possible.
As for the reason, was it thought to be something like, "In addition to going alone, he let his guard down because it was someone he wanted to persuade. Therefore, he was killed in one hit without being able to resist"?
I don't remember clearly, so this part of my opinion includes a lot of speculation.
However, in this case, there were other people present besides Sosuke Aizen.
If you think about it for a moment, anyone would realize there was enough time to resist.
Naturally, one would think there must have been some reason why he couldn't resist.
If I didn't investigate that, I'd be considered a deadbeat, and besides, it's just plain unnatural.
Perhaps the reason Captain Retsu Unohana noticed wasn't from her knowledge as the Fourth Division Captain, but from her intuition as the former Eleventh Division Captain—she couldn't sense the lingering scent of a fight...
"Ah, I see! If that's true, there should have been time to resist! It's weird that he didn't!!"
The situation is unnatural in the fine details. Was this death performance an ad-lib...?
No, I wonder if even this was calculated to look that way...?
"Exactly. That means he might have been made drowsy with drugs beforehand. We're going to investigate those possibilities as well."
"Yes!"
And so, the autopsy continued.
Once again, I looked carefully from the top of Sosuke Aizen's head to his toes.
I even checked everything else, wondering if drugs had been absorbed rectally or something.
『A full investigation of Aizen's body!! Well, what are your impressions!?』
Nothing in particular. Or rather, I can't afford to react to every little thing...
Oh, but. It was probably above average.
『What was?! What was above average!!』
"Nothing special found, then..."
"That would mean he was indeed killed without offering any resistance."
"But that's strange. That's what you're thinking, right?"
"Yes, exactly. Captain Sosuke Aizen should have had plenty of time to notice."
"Perhaps the premise is wrong? What if he wasn't killed last, but was the first one targeted?"
"Eh, um... Teacher?"
"There was only one wound on the body, so there is no doubt he died instantly. I was at the scene as well; the surrounding soldiers were lying there heavily wounded while Captain Sosuke Aizen was stabbed, so there's no mistake he was last. We might need to hear the story again, though."
"What about the possibility of an elaborate doll?"
"Um, excuse me..."
"The probability is quite low, but it remains a possibility. However, if such an elaborate doll was made, there might be records left at the Research and Development Institute. If there's anything else... come to think of it, I believe that kind of research was being done in the Twelfth Division long ago. I think it was called 'Reigai'...? It might be necessary to investigate that as well... By the way—"
Izuru Kira looks troubled, so it's about time I called her out.
"—Even if it is your old stomping ground, could you please refrain from entering without permission? Captain Retsu Unohana."
"Oh, my apologies. When I asked the Fourth Division members, they all told me where you were so kindly that I couldn't help myself."
She just slipped in and joined the conversation so naturally that I wasn't sure what to do.
"Well, that's fine now. Since you've come all this way, please help us. I'd like to hear your assessment as the Captain of the Eleventh Division as well."
There's no point in complaining; she won't listen anyway.
In that case, I might as well hear the opinion of someone who stands at the top of the combat specialists.
"My, is it alright to let an outsider help?"
"You're more familiar with wounds than I am, aren't you? Besides, since you've come this far, you'd probably force your way in to see it even if I objected."
"That's not true at all. I was simply struck by a bit of nostalgia, wanting to see the work of the lovely subordinate I raised with such care."
"Thank you. However, if you had said those words while looking away from the wounds on the corpse, I could have accepted them with pure joy."
"Um, Teacher... Captain Retsu Unohana... please, let's keep things peaceful..."
Izuru Kira is trembling.
If you're scared by this level of tension, you're going to break, you know?
In this manner, I exchanged opinions with Captain Retsu Unohana.
The conclusion was: "This is Aizen's body, but there are doubts surrounding his death."
Still, this autopsy feels quite scripted, doesn't it?
By the way, during our exchange of opinions, Izuru Kira was shaking the whole time. I wonder if he was cold?
"It's already midnight..."
After that, I prepared the autopsy report and delivered it to the Head Captain.
I made sure to include a sentence in the report stating, "There is a possibility the body is an elaborate fabrication."
By the time I finished writing it, submitting it, and giving my report at the same time, it was already very late when I finally headed home.
"I'll go to the Thirteenth Division tomorrow..."
Since Captain Jushiro Ukitake went out of his way to speak to me in secret, I'm sure another troublesome matter is waiting for me...
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]