Published: February 7th 2025, 5:54:11 pm
Toshiro stared at the corpses of the Central 46 members with wide eyes. He had no idea that he’d come across such a sight when he forcibly entered the chambers of the ruling legislative body of Seireitei. It was a hunch on his part that the Central 46 was compromised, but now he learned that they were all murdered.
“The blood is dried up. They’ve been dead for days.” Toshiro muttered, rubbing the dried blood between his fingers.
“But how can that be? We received orders…” Rangiku’s eyes widened as the realisation set in.
“Yes, whoever is responsible for their murder was sending orders in the guise of Central 46.” Toshiro said grimly.
“But how is that possible? It’ll be impossible to hide these murders. Someone would’ve noticed it. We were also here when the review petition was filed for Rukia.”
“I do not know Rangiku. Nothing makes sense anymore.” Toshiro muttered, glaring at the sight of the dead council members.
It was then that his eyes fell on Izuru, who was observing them from outside the main chamber of the building.
“Iziru!” Toshiro yelled, seeing the lieutenant of Squad 3 looking down at them from the doorway.
The cold look he saw in Izuru’s eyes made him feel uncomfortable.
“Did Ichimaru do this? What is your involvement in all of this?” Toshiro asked with a rising temper.
“Where is Momo?”
But his questions remained unanswered, and Izuru ran away.
“Go after him.” Toshiro ordered with gritted teeth.
Rangiku nodded before disappearing in a flash step, chasing after the Squad 3 lieutenant.
‘Something does not feel right. How can Ichimaru cover up all of this and issue orders in the guise of Central 46 without anyone the wiser?’ Toshiro mused as he moved further into the bowels of the compound.
‘Why would Aizen write that letter and accuse me? If he didn’t, then how did Ichimaru forge that letter?’ Toshiro wondered.
The more he thought about the events of the last week, the more he got a headache. Nothing made sense anymore, and the Gotei 13 was fighting amongst itself without looking into the enemy movement in the shadows. He was also starting to suspect the whole fiasco with Rukia Kuchiki was somehow arranged. He got the distinct feeling that the events of the last few weeks were no coincidence. He suspected this was all preplanned, and that scared him.
‘Who is capable of concocting such an elaborate scheme? It cannot be just Gin Ichimaru.’ Toshiro thought.
No matter how much of a crooked prodigy he thought Gin Ichimaru to be, he knew there was no way the Squad 3 Captain could’ve pulled off such an elaborate scheme on his own. The prospect of more traitors collaborating with Gin made Toshiro stand on the edge.
Suddenly, he felt a stray spiritual pressure deep within the Central 46 compound. He immediately rushed towards the source at full speed, sword in hand. But what he saw there shook Toshiro to his core.
“Impossible!” Toshiro stared at the two men with wide eyes.
Standing before him was Gin Ichimaru, and he was accompanied by the supposedly dead Squad 5 Captain, Sosuke Aizen.
“How…? How’re you alive?” Toshiro splattered.
“This is a fundamentally flawed question, Captain Hitsugaya. You imply I was dead, which was never the case.” Aizen said with a gentle smile, but his eyes held a gleam of mocking that was alien to Toshiro.
“Where is Momo?” Toshiro growled, ignoring everything else for the moment.
Only silence and smug smiles greeted his question. Toshiro‘s eyes slipped from the two Captains and fell on the door behind them. He used a flash step to slip behind the two traitors and found Momo lying prone on the floor, drenched in blood. Initially, he felt utter surprise, but it quickly turned into rage. His rage mirrored in his reitsu as it blew out of control.
“Why? Why would you harm Momo? She had nothing but admiration for you?” Toshiro asked coldly, glaring at Aizen‘s smug face, unable to comprehend such monstrous acts from a man he admired so much.
“That is precisely why I made her my subordinate. Her admiration made it easy to control her.” Aizen said with a cheeky grin. “Remember this, Toshiro. Blind admiration is the state furthest from understanding. You, of all people, should remember that.”
Toshiro let out a rageful shout before releasing his zanpakuto and rapidly assuming his Bankai form. Ice spread everywhere, plummeting the chamber's temperature rapidly. His reiatsu flooded the chamber, forcing Aizen and Ichimaru to keep a safe distance from him. At the same time, Captain Unahona and her lieutenant walked into the chamber.
“You’ve talked enough today, traitor. It’s time for you to die for your crimes.” Toshiro glared coldly at the traitorous Captain.
“Heh.” Aizen snorted. “Such strong remarks. But I wonder whether they’re the chatter of the weak.”
Toshiro let out a shout before surging forward with a beat of his wings.
“Die, you traitor!” Toshiro screamed before he plunged his sword straight through Aizen’s heart.
It brought him immense pleasure to watch Hyorinmaru stab through the traitor’s body and encase Aizen in ice. But his moment of victory was short-lived as he felt a sudden change in reiatsu.
The next thing he felt was pain… pain like never before. It felt as if his soul sleep was shattered in a single strike. He found Hyorinmaru’s voice fade from his mind. The next thing he knew, he was falling with the ice before him, crumbling to fine dust. The Aizen before him shattered into a million pieces as if it was a mirage.
Then Toshiro saw a fountain of blood – his blood.
“This is impossible!” Toshiro muttered before he fell, dark spots filling his vision.
His only hope was for Captain Unahona to deal with the traitors and save Momo. With that prayer, he succumbed to his wounds.
******
Unahona stared at the sight before her with some trepidation. She rushed as fast as she could but was still not fast enough. Her eyes fell on the prone forms of Captain Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Hinamori. Then her eyes went back to observe the nonchalant-looking Captain of Squad 5.
“Captain Unahona. I have to admit your arrival is not completely unexpected, though we expected you’d arrive sooner.” Aizen said with a carefree smile.
“Captain Aizen… no. After what I have seen here, I don’t think I’ll be addressing you as Captain.”
“Oh?” Aizen raised an amused eyebrow.
“Your plan has so far succeeded. You chose this place because it’s totally isolated and would be above the scope of any investigation by the Gotei 13. This allowed you to hide away to move your plans from the shadows while a brilliantly designed corpse doll cemented your death before the Gotei 13.” Said Unahona, keeping a close eye on Aizen.
“Hmm. You’re quite wrong on many counts. First of all, I don’t need to hide away from anyone. Secondly, I never used a corpse doll.” Aizen said, suddenly holding a corpse of himself in his hand, making Unahona and Isane blink in surprise.
“When… did you?” Isane muttered, stunned by the two Aizens before her eyes.
“When did I what? I have been standing here holding it the whole time. It’s just that you are not perceptive enough to see it. Or better yet, I decided you should not see it until now.” Aizen declared with an easy grin.
Unahona was taken aback by the explanation from the traitorous captain.
“Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu.”
Unahona watched with wide eyes as the corpse in Aizen’s hand shattered into pieces, replacing it with the traitor’s Zanpakuto.
‘This is his shikai ability. But… how is this possible?’ Unahona wondered with a troubled look.
“My Zanpakuto, Kyoka Suigetsu. Its ability is perfect hypnosis, which allows me to control all of your senses. From the senses originate all trustworthiness, all good conscience, all evidence of truth. Kyoka Suigetsu allows me to craft the truth I want and make you believe it is your truth.”
“No. Your Zanpakuto is a water-type Zanpakuto. Its power is to use a mist and reflections to confuse enemies into attacking each other. You demonstrated its power before all the gathered lieutenants, Captain Aizen!” Isane exclaimed.
“I see now. That was a hypnosis ritual.” Unahona said, seeing the depth of Aizen’s betrayal.
“How very perceptive of you, Captain Unahona. A perfect hypnosis means the complete control of all five senses. And all I need to do is show my enemies the release form of my Zanpakuto. Once they see it, they’ll not be able to escape my illusions.” Aizen explained.
Unahona’s eyes widened at the implicit meaning in Aizen’s words.
“I see you’ve come to the realisation on your own. Yes, Kaname Tosen is my follower, and it’s time for me to complete my plan. So, if you’ll excuse me…” Aizen smirked at them as Ichimaru used a teleportation spell to disappear with Aizen from the Central 46 Chambers.
Unahona started at the empty space where Aizen and Ichimaru had occupied a moment before.
“Isane.”
“Yes, Captain.”
“I want you to inform all captains, lieutenants and seated officers about what we found here. Make sure the Ryoka also gets the message. Find out where he is going and give them Aizen’s location.” Unahona ordered.
“Yes, Captain.” Isane nodded.
Unahona turned her attention to the bleeding forms of Hitsugaya and Hinamori. She trusted the other captains and lieutenants to take care of Aizen. For now, her duty was to treat the wounded.
*****
Harry strained against the intense heat bellowing out of the Captain Commander in continuous waves. His plan to keep draining the heat from the strongest Shinigami in existence was starting to show its fundamental weakness. Head Captain Yamamoto seems to possess an infinite well of spiritual energy, which puts him in the tough spot of continuously draining the intense heat.
It was now a battle of stamina and spiritual pressure. This battle was something he was bound to lose. Harry knew he did not possess the power to keep this going indefinitely.
“So, are we really going to keep this going? I don’t think I have enough fuel to keep this going.” Harry said to the two captains.
“Well, it was bound to happen sometime. You did your best, Harry-san.” Captain Kyoraku patted him on the shoulder before taking his voice a few notches down, “Please keep him bound as long as you can. Once you pull out, we’re dead.”
“He is just humouring us. If he really wanted to hurt us, he’d have done so.” Captain Ukitake said with a frown.
“Ah. It’s a shame the old man won’t listen to anything we say.” Captain Kyoraku shrugged with a sigh.
“Well, at least we brought the Rukia-san some much-needed time to escape. If my senses are right, the ryoka also managed to defeat Captain Kuchiki. If we’re lucky, those kids will manage to escape intact.” Captain Ukitake mused aloud.
“Well, I don’t think I’ll have to worry about another edition of the Women’s Association’s stupid magazine. So, that’s something.” Harry muttered.
“Hey! That was one of the best things to look forward to.” Captain Kyoraku said, looking offended.
As if taking personal affront to their conversation, Captain Yamamoto increased the output of his fiery spirit energy, forcing Harry to strain to contain the immense power so that it did not spill out.
“Don’t you think you’ve had enough of it, sensei? Forgive and forget, I say.” Captain Kyoraku tried once more to appeal to the better sense of the Head Captain.
“There will be no forgiveness for traitors, only swift justice.” The Head Captain growled as he poured more of his fiery spirit energy outward, which Amaterasu absorbed by distorting space.
Suddenly, they all froze as kido connected with them to the voice of the Squad 4 lieutenant.
“Everything I am about to tell you is the truth.”
As Isane narrated the events, Harry and Captains Ukitake and Kyoraku were surprised. Their suspicion that Kisuke Urahara was orchestrating this entire event was now proven untrue. The traitors were within the Gotei 13 this whole time.
“This is impossible. To think that Captain Aizen did all this…? For what?” Harry asked with wide eyes as the information about the decimation of Central 46 became known to him.
“Sosuke Aizen… a traitor!” Head Captain Yamamoto looked thoroughly floored at the revelation.
“What shall we do, sensei? Don’t you think it’s time we put an end to this fight and address more important matters?” Captain Kyoraku asked, looking pointedly at the Head Captain.
“Hmm.” The Head Captain merely grunted.
“Harry-san.” Captain Kyoraku nodded at him.
Harry lifted the spatial distortion surrounding the Captain Commander, pulling Amaterasu back into his arms almost numbly. He couldn't comprehend how someone like Captain Aizen would turn a traitor. The man was his teacher at the Shino Academy and had guided him through his academy years. He also came to the startling clarity that Aizen probably used him to concoct this entire scheme by sending Rukia to Karakura town.
The more he thought about it, the more enraged he became. He hated the fact that he was played like a fool once again. But unlike last time, he was determined to make sure no one close to him died on his watch.
“Captain? The Sokyoku hill.” Harry said, looking at his captain with an earnest look.
“Let’s not waste any more time.” said Captain Ukitake with a frown.
Harry was totally in agreement. He was itching to throw some magic-powered kido at Aizen and watch it blow up on that traitor’s face.
“I’ll deal with you three after Aizen and his fellow conspirators are brought to swift justice.” the Head Captain growled, pulling back his fiery spirit energy and sealing his Zanpakuto.
Together, they hightailed it out of the battlefield straight towards the Sokyoku hill. Since they made sure their battle took place far away from the Sokyoku hill, it took them some time to return to the place.
When they finally arrived, it was to the scene of utter carnage. Captain Komamura was bleeding from innumerable wounds on his body. Lieutenant Abarai had fallen flat on his face with blood pooling around him. The Kurosaki boy was also on the ground with blood everywhere, and the boy’s spiritual pressure dropped rapidly every second. Captain Kuchiki was barely standing on his knees with Rukia in his arms.
The good news was that the traitors were caught and surrounded. Aizen was caught by Yoruichi Shihoin and Captain Soifon with a blade poking against his neck. Gin Ichimaru was also at sword point, thanks to Rangiku. Lieutenant Hisagi was keeping his blade poised behind Captain Tosen’s back, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.
Harry stood by Captain Ukitake’s side as the other captains and lieutenants surrounded the three traitors. He couldn’t help but notice Aizen was the least bit bothered by the turn of events. The same could be said of Ichimaru. His eyes softened when he locked eyes with Rangiku for a second. Through the many ‘dates’ they went together, she knew enough about Rangiku to know this was not what she expected from Gin Ichimaru, her childhood friend.
His eyes fell on Aizen once more, and he couldn’t comprehend why Captain Aizen orchestrated such an elaborate scheme.
‘Why did he do all this? It doesn’t make any sense.’ Harry thought, his eyes tightening the longer he looked at Aizen’s smug face.
“There is nowhere for you to go, Aizen.” Captain Soifon said coldly, pressing her sword against his neck.
Aizen merely hummed with a smile. Suddenly, the sky split open, and a golden beam fell on Aizen.
“What the hell? Menos!” Harry gasped, seeing the gigantic Hollows tearing a Garganta in the sky of Soul Society.
“That’s impossible! How did they breach our dimension?” Captain Ukitake said, staring at the Hollows in the sky with wide eyes.
More yellow beams of light struck the Sokyoku hill, covering the traitorous captains.
“Do not attack! That is Negacion, used by Menos to rescue their fellow Hollows. The moment that light enveloped them, they became beyond our reach.” the Head Captain said with a piercing look directed at the traitorous captains.
Harry ignored everything else that went on and only stared at the grinning façade of Sosuke Aizen.
“You were my mentor. You used that relationship to send Rukia to the World of the Living.” Harry accused, glaring at the traitor.
“Yes. Thank you for that. I could’ve done so without your help, but you made my plans smoother.” Aizen grinned at him without an ounce of shame, making Harry gash his teeth in anger.
“You’ve joined with the Hollows.” Captain Ukitake said, staring at Aizen, “Why go to such lengths?”
“To reach higher.” Aizen said, a glint of seriousness entering his eyes.
“You’ve become that corrupt.”
“You’re blinded by your self-righteousness, Captain Ukitake. From the beginning, no one stood at the top. But that unattainable vacancy in the heavens ends now.” Aizen claimed, shattering his glasses and slicking his hair back.
“From now on, I alone shall stand at the top.”
Harry scowled, seeing the arrogant smirk on Aizen’s face. The urge to try his luck against the Negacion was there, but the reasonable part of his mind knew it would be a wasted effort. Despite Amaterasu’s power over space, he was not willing to test it out against a huge dimension like Heuco Mundo.
When the Garganta snapped shut, Harry felt like some tension bled away. Despite what happened, he felt it was better that Aizen chose to escape instead of fight. The powers of Kyoka Suigestsu, as described by Lieutenant Isane, sounded too much of a hassle to get around. He had no ability to ward off Kyoka Suigetsu’s power.
‘At least, none that I know of. I’ll have to ask Amaterasu whether she knows any magic to block hypnosis.’ Harry made a mental note while helping to transport the injured captains to the fourth division.
*****
“Is this really necessary, Captain?” Harry asked, staring at the badge before him with some hesitance.
It didn’t sit well with him that they were intent on monitoring Ichigo Kurosaki using the badge. The kid had the guts to invade Soul Society to free Rukia and, in the process, managed to achieve Bankai, the pinnacle of a Shinigami’s power. Harry understood what that represented, considering the kid was not affiliated with the Gotei 13, which made Ichigo Kurosaki a loose cannon.
Besides, having that much power in the hands of a human teenager was just asking for disaster. Who knows what the kid would end up using the Shinigami powers for in the world of the living? Such concerns were valid as teenagers were fickle and tended to act rashly.
Still, from what he had seen so far in the last few days, the Kurosaki kid was not that bad. It may be a little bit rough around the edges, but it's nothing too dangerous or power-hungry. However, the decision was already made, and he had no say in such matters.
“This is the best way forward. The alternative is posting Onmitsukido operatives to watch Kurosaki-san.”
Harry made a face at that picture painted by his captain.
“Yes, it’ll not go over well.” Captain Ukitake said, seemingly reading his mind from his expression alone.
“Still, shouldn’t we extend a small courtesy to Kurosaki-san for his help in uncovering the traitors amongst us? I mean, we could charge Shihoin-san or Urahara-san to watch the kid now that they’re cleared of all charges.” Harry suggested as they rounded a corner to a road leading to the Senkaimon gate.
“They were cleared of all crimes by the emergency powers vested in the Captain Commander. That is by no means a binding pardon. They still need to be cleared by the Central 46 once the ruling body is restored.” Captain Ukitake explained patiently. “Besides, their interests may not necessarily align with the Gotei 13.”
Harry fell silent at that and stood in the background as Captain Ukitake managed to convince Kurosaki-san to take the monitoring device masquerading as the substitute Shinigami combat pass. The underhanded tactic went along smoothly without a hitch, and the children were safely returned to the human world. He had to admit the ryoka girl Orihime was impressive. The girl managed to heal all the ryoka to pristine condition within hours, a feat not even Captain Unahona could boast of.
He hoped these kids were left alone for the remainder of their lives. But there were still some gaps in the whole Aizen episode. He supposed it wouldn’t be long before the details about what the traitors were up to were revealed.