"Ichigo, to receive guidance from Captain Kyoya, it seems Captain Kyoya thinks highly of you..."
"Captain Kyoya?"
Hearing Kisuke's form of address for Kyoya, Ichigo said in surprise, "Kyoya-senpai was also a Captain of the Gotei 13?"
"Also?"
Kisuke's eyes flashed. From Ichigo's wording, he guessed that Ichigo knew he and Yoruichi were also former Captains of the Gotei 13.
Of course, regarding this point, after deciding to send Ichigo to the Soul Society, Kisuke didn't think he could hide it from Ichigo for long.
He never intended to hide it from Ichigo either.
It's just that many things, when Ichigo's strength hadn't reached a certain level, telling him would be meaningless and only add to his worries.
"Hmm."
Kisuke nodded: "When I left the Seireitei, Captain Kyoya was still the Captain of the 11th Division."
"It's said that even back then, Captain Kyoya already possessed strength comparable to Captain-Commander Yamamoto."
"However, later, something happened, and Captain Kyoya left the Seireitei, went to the Rukongai, and founded the Revolutionary Army."
"As far as I know, the current 3rd Division's Captain, Gin Ichimaru, once served as Lieutenant under Captain Kyoya in the 11th Division."
"The 10th Division's Captain, Matsumoto Rangiku, was also the 5th Seat of the 11th Division."
"Currently, those Army Commanders in the Revolutionary Army who can rival the Captains of the Gotei 13 were almost all personally taught by Captain Kyoya."
"To say Captain Kyoya is the strongest person in the Soul Society might be somewhat debatable."
"But to say Captain Kyoya is the best teacher in the Soul Society, no one would disagree."
"You must understand, the swordsmanship developed over millions of years in the Seireitei was directly elevated to a higher level by Captain Kyoya."
"In the past, without Reiatsu and relying solely on swordsmanship, ordinary people couldn't become very strong."
"Now, as long as one has a certain level of mastery in swordsmanship, they can fight against seated officers, Lieutenants, and even Captains."
"It's said that after Captain Kyoya left the Seireitei and formed the Revolutionary Army, he also created the Hakuda techniques known as the [Rokushiki]."
"Ordinary people without without, if they train the Rokushiki to the extreme, can rival high-ranked seated officers and even Lieutenants."
Hearing Kisuke say this, although Ichigo didn't have a strong personal sense of it, he could still hear the respect Kisuke held for Kyoya in his words.
This was the admiration one feels for those who can accomplish things they themselves could never achieve, those who seem out of reach.
In Kisuke's view, Kyoya's contributions to the Shinigami were no less than those of Oetsu, the God of the Sword who created the Asauchi, or Senjumaru, who made the Shihakusho. It was a pioneering feat comparable to Kirinji's creation of the Kaido branch of Kido.
In Kisuke's opinion, if Kyoya had remained in the Gotei 13, he would undoubtedly have received an invitation to the Royal Guard and entered the Soul King Palace.
Or perhaps, Kyoya left the Gotei 13 precisely because he didn't want to join the Royal Guard?
After all, if Kyoya knew what kind of existence the Soul King truly was, he would certainly not accept entering the Soul King Palace.
"Hmm."
"By the way, Urahara Shopkeeper."
"When I returned from the Soul Society earlier, Kyoya-senpai told me that Aizen knows you're hiding in Karakura Town, and to force you out, he will inevitably send his subordinate Hollows into the Living World."
"Those two Hollows just now seemed to have come with that purpose."
Indeed, Ulquiorra and Yammy came to the Living World with a purpose.
But their purpose was not, as Ichigo thought, to find Kisuke, but to observe Ichigo's condition on Aizen's behalf.
Ichigo is Aizen's ultimate model for evolution using the Hogyoku.
To ensure his own successful evolution, he needs more data and information on Ichigo.
It's just that Ulquiorra only told Yammy they had a mission, but didn't specify in front of Ichigo what kind of mission they had in the Living World, leading to Ichigo's misunderstanding.
"Is that so?"
Kisuke frowned.
He didn't expect that Aizen, even after stealing the Hogyoku, still wouldn't leave him alone.
However, Kisuke quickly guessed what Aizen wanted from him.
'Aizen must have another Hogyoku that he created himself!'
Thinking about the Hollowfication incident a hundred years ago and the state of the two Hollows earlier, Kisuke immediately had a realization.
The Hogyoku created by Aizen leaned more towards [Hollow Shinigamification].
Whether it was White or the Arrancar in Las Noches in Hueco Mundo, they were Hollows who gained Shinigami power.
The Hogyoku created by Kisuke, on the other hand, leaned more towards [Shinigami Hollowfication].
This could be seen from restoring the Hollowfied Hirako Shinji and the others, turning them into Shinigami with Hollow power.
Only by fusing [Hollow Shinigamification] and [Shinigami Hollowfication] could it be considered a complete [Hogyoku]. (T/N: Hogyoku means Breakdown Sphere.)
Of course, up to this point, Kisuke's understanding of the Hogyoku's ability was still limited to this.
Aizen, however, believed the Hogyoku's power was to absorb the 'wishes' of those around it and materialize them.
Shinigami Hollowfication and Hollow Shinigamification were, in the end, merely the materialization of the deepest wishes of Kisuke and Aizen themselves.
'Aizen might have encountered some problems with fusing the two Hogyoku and needs my help.'
Regarding this point, Kisuke was quite certain.
Even though he hadn't seen the Hogyoku in Aizen's possession, he could imagine the difficulty of fusing two Hogyoku.
Because of Yhwach's prophecy from a thousand years ago, Aizen no longer had time to create a new Hogyoku.
That is to say, Aizen only had one chance.
Once the Hogyoku fusion failed, everything Aizen had done would become meaningless.
To ensure the perfect fusion of the Hogyoku, it would be impossible without Kisuke's help.
As for how Aizen would make him agree to help...
Kisuke shook his head, suppressing his curiosity about the Hogyoku's ultimate ability in his heart.
Can't think about it!
If he continued thinking, it's possible that without Aizen coming to find him, he might run to Hueco Mundo himself to help Aizen fuse the Hogyoku.
Anyway, ever since he fused the Hogyoku into Miyako's soul, Kisuke had anticipated something like this might happen.
Therefore, he had long integrated numerous sealing Kido into the Hogyoku.
Once Aizen fused with the Hogyoku, Kisuke could look for an opportunity to activate the sealing Kido hidden within the Hogyoku, thereby sealing Aizen!
"I see."
Ichigo nodded.
"Ichigo, although your strength is great, no matter how strong you are, you are only one person."
"If Aizen sends more subordinates, even you probably can't completely prevent them from causing greater destruction in the human world."
"Next, I will contact the Seireitei and have them send some Shinigami to the human world to defend against Hollows, to avoid causing more casualties among the people of the human world."
"Hmm, I'll leave it to you, Urahara Shopkeeper."
Hearing Kisuke say this, Ichigo had no objections.
Indeed, his strength had now become very strong.
But no matter how strong, he couldn't possibly kill all the Hollows entering Karakura Town in an instant.
If more Shinigami came to help guard, he would have more time to eliminate more Hollows.
…
Las Noches.
Aizen sat on the throne. To his left and right were Gin and Tosen, wearing white haori.
On the floor of the great hall below, ten Arrancar with broken masks on their faces were all watching the projection in the center.
They were the strongest force under Aizen's command… the Espada!
And the projection they were watching was not a technological creation from the human world, but the ability of the Cuatro Espada, Ulquiorra Cifer.
He could pluck out his own eye and release his vision as a projection for others to see.
For Ulquiorra, with his Super High-Speed Regeneration ability, plucking out an eye was about the same as a normal person getting a scratch.
It might even be less severe than a normal person having their skin broken.
After all, when a normal person's skin is broken, even without bleeding, it takes time for the broken skin to heal.
While Ulquiorra could regenerate his eye instantly.
In the footage, Chad's right hand was blown apart by Yammy's punch, and Orihime's Santen Kesshun was shattered by Yammy's fist. Several Arrancar snorted with laughter.
In their view, a guy like Yammy, who couldn't even kill a mere human, sharing the title of Espada with them was truly beneath their status.
Hearing these snickers, Yammy snorted coldly.
If Aizen weren't right above, he would definitely teach these guys who can't tell who's boss a lesson!
In the footage, just as Yammy was about to kill the orange-haired human girl with a punch, Ichigo's figure instantly appeared in everyone's sight.
"Oh?"
Seeing Yammy's arm easily severed, everyone's gaze became much more serious.
To become an Espada, even if only the Diez Espada, Yammy was no simple character.
Anyone confident enough to sever Yammy's arm with one slash had to be at least an Espada ranked 5th or higher.
Later, after Yammy released his Resurrección and was severely wounded by a slash, and then when Ulquiorra intervened and was almost killed, after that footage appeared, the entire Las Noches fell completely silent.
The ranking of the Espada was personally designated by Aizen.
Of course, if the Espada were dissatisfied with their ranking, they could directly challenge those above them in a rank battle. The winner moves up, the loser moves down.
Among them, the Segunda Espada, Baraggan Louisenbairn, had challenged the Primera Espada, Coyote Starrk, more than once.
But in the end, his rank did not become 1st.
The former King of Hueco Mundo, after having half his power sealed by Yhwach, even after becoming an Arrancar, could only remain beneath Aizen, the top three, and Starrk.
After a hundred years of rotation, the current Espada also accepted their current rankings.
The strength of the Cuatro Espada, Ulquiorra, was still recognized by everyone.
Especially since Aizen had once said that Espada ranked 4th and above were forbidden from releasing their Resurrección beneath the dome, effectively dividing the Espada ranked 4th and above from those ranked 5th and below, proving they were not on the same level.
Even without releasing his Resurrección, Ulquiorra's strength was terrifyingly strong.
But in front of Ichigo, he was severely wounded in just one move.
From the footage, everyone could see that if Ulquiorra and Yammy hadn't escaped relatively quickly, this time Las Noches might have lost two Espada.
It's not like Ulquiorra hadn't released his Resurrección… that Shinigami named Ichigo hadn't used Bankai either, right?
If they really fought, who would win or lose was hard to say.
But just from the strength Ichigo displayed, Espada ranked below 4th would have almost no resistance against him.
"My apologies, Aizen-sama."
After the footage ended, Ulquiorra bowed to Aizen. "My strength was insufficient, so I could not gather more information on Ichigo."
"No, Ulquiorra, you completed the task I assigned very well."
Contrary to everyone's expectations, Aizen did not punish Ulquiorra and Yammy for being easily defeated by Ichigo.
Instead, he believed Ulquiorra and Yammy had completed their mission.
In this, Aizen wasn't deceiving them.
It would be more accurate to say that Aizen saw more things from the battle between Ulquiorra, Yammy, and Ichigo.
Firstly, and most importantly, Ichigo was the ultimate goal Aizen wanted to become.
If Ichigo himself were weak, wouldn't that prove Aizen's goal itself was a mistake?
On the contrary, the stronger Ichigo was, the more satisfied Aizen felt.
Previously at Sokyoku Hill in the Seireitei, Aizen had once stopped Ichigo's attack with just two fingers.
At that time, Aizen felt somewhat disappointed.
But now, seeing Ichigo's current state and displayed power, Aizen knew his path was not wrong.
Ichigo's Zanpakuto itself was an aggregate of Hollow power and Shinigami power, which is why it could be split into 'twin swords'.
Furthermore, what delighted Aizen even more was Orihime's ability.
Although he only saw a part of it from Ulquiorra's perspective, Aizen, based on his own experience, deduced Orihime's true ability.
In this aspect, Aizen was much stronger than Kisuke.
Whether it was the Hogyoku or Orihime's ability, Kisuke never truly figured them out, whereas Aizen determined both abilities with just a glance.
Regarding the Hogyoku, Aizen created it first, so knowing its true ability wasn't surprising.
Recognizing Orihime's ability with one glance was the true mark of a 'god'.