"A very strange Hollow has appeared, one skilled at covert operations?"
"Yes, they can only roughly determine that the opponent is entrenched there, but they have been unable to find this Hollow's specific location. That is why they requested extra assistance."
Taking the application handed to him, Kaien Shiba located the area on the map and nodded.
"Alright, I understand."
"I have to trouble you to make another trip, Kaien."
"What trouble? This is my duty as the Lieutenant of the 13th Division."
Looking at Kaien Shiba, who had clearly just returned less than two days ago, Jushiro Ukitake sighed.
Although he was the Captain of the 13th Division, his illness often relapsed. Consequently, most of the division's duties were handled by Kaien Shiba. For combat missions like this, he and Kaien Shiba should have been responsible together, but considering his body, Kaien usually sortied alone.
Originally, it wouldn't have come to the point of constantly shearing the same sheep that was Kaien Shiba. However, a graduation scandal had occurred at the Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy this year, resulting in a pitifully small number of graduates from the Main Campus.
As for the Branch Campus, no one from there came to the Gotei 13 at all. The few remaining graduates mostly went to the 5th Division, leaving the 13th Division with almost no new recruits to replenish its ranks.
With insufficient manpower, the veterans had to continue stepping up. The few Seated Officers were so busy their feet barely touched the ground; after all, those with ability must do more work.
"It will be better next year. The Captain-Commander said he wants to strictly grasp the combat literacy of the students. Next year, the number of graduates will be much higher. Coupled with the increase in practical combat courses, there won't be a need to be this busy anymore."
"Then I'll have to take a good vacation next year. The Madam has already complained to me several times; she has always wanted a child."
"Hahaha, rest assured. Next year, I will go directly to the Captain-Commander and pester him to give us more people, guaranteeing you enough vacation time."
Ukitake laughed, making a promise to Kaien Shiba.
The Lieutenant did not stay much longer. He picked up his Zanpakuto, stepped through the Senkaimon, and headed for the World of the Living.
However, the moment he appeared in the World of the Living, three shadows began trailing behind him.
"Although I said that Kaien Shiba is quite useful to the Yellow Turbans, surely there was no need for all three of us to come together, right?"
Suzuki Makoto looked at Aizen and Gin Ichimaru, feeling somewhat puzzled.
"I only came because I had to put on a show for the Nobles. I was also surprised that Captain Aizen suddenly said he wanted to come along."
The squinty-eyed fox spread his hands, indicating he didn't know either.
"Hmm, actually, I just wanted to conveniently lay down a line and attempt to see if I could find an old friend of mine."
The man chuckled softly.
"Old friend?"
"Yes, his name is Kisuke Urahara, the former Director of the Department of Research and Development."
Gin Ichimaru's expression shifted; he hadn't expected Aizen to suddenly be so interested in this man who had been missing for decades.
"Is it about the failed Hollowfication experiments from last time? Do those experimental subjects still have value for recovery?"
"Captain Hirako and the others are not important. What is important is that Kisuke Urahara has not stepped into the Soul Society again for so many years, nor has he even actively attempted to contact the Captain-Commander. This indicates that those experimental subjects did not actually die; otherwise, he should have long since turned his focus back to how to deal with me."
"Perhaps he doesn't have a Senkaimon to return, nor a channel to contact the Captain-Commander?"
"For Kisuke Urahara, the difficulty of creating a Senkaimon is no different from repairing the front door of his own home."
Aizen spoke with absolute certainty; his confidence in Kisuke Urahara was just that abundant.
"As for channels to contact the Captain-Commander—Kaien Shiba is the current head of the Shiba family. His sister, Kukaku Shiba, was once a famous active element within the Seireitei. It was only after she lost an arm later on that she left the Seireitei. Before that, she still had many friends, such as Yoruichi Shihoin."
"I believe that as long as Yoruichi Shihoin speaks up, Kukaku Shiba will definitely help her. And for the Shiba family to contact the Captain-Commander is the most normal thing in the world. Therefore, the fact that no signs have emerged after so many years only proves one thing: Kisuke Urahara believes that remaining hidden is more important than making the Captain-Commander wary of me."
Suzuki Makoto's expression remained flat, as if he had never had contact with Kisuke Urahara before.
However, he knew Aizen's interest in Kisuke Urahara very well. If Urahara wanted to stabilize the Hollowfication of those Captains, he must have completed the prototype Hogyoku he had made. If Aizen obtained the Hogyoku in Kisuke Urahara's hands, the progress of the entire plan would instantly leap forward by a large margin.
It was just that Suzuki Makoto didn't want to let Aizen make his move this early.
The progress of his own Zanpakuto was only one-third complete, and he was still quite interested in bumping into that fellow named Yhwach. After all, the Soul King was already a cripple. The All-Knowing and All-Powerful Yhwach could barely count as a small Soul King, so this naturally became Suzuki Makoto's primary target.
To kill Yhwach, Suzuki Makoto could tear open the barrier of the Wandenreich right now and go in with the Captain-Commander to massacre them. After all, the opponent still had a long way to go before true recovery—but what meaning would there be in that?
It would be better to wait until this small Soul King regained his power and turned the Seireitei into a chaotic mess. Then, he could lead the Yellow Turbans to wipe out the Wandenreich and the Soul Society Nobles in one fell swoop, reaping the benefits while the others fought.
"So you want to create some traces, at least to make Kukaku Shiba believe that Kaien Shiba is not dead yet, inciting her to contact Yoruichi Shihoin, thereby flushing out Kisuke Urahara?"
Aizen nodded, affirming Suzuki Makoto's words. Although he hadn't specifically searched for Kisuke Urahara all these years, the fact that the other party could leave absolutely no trace showed quite some capability. Since Suzuki Makoto wanted to keep Kaien Shiba alive, he would simply go with the flow and make use of this 'waste.'
"Sounds quite interesting. When we find this Captain whom even you hold in high esteem, I would be very interested in sparring with him."
"Then I'm afraid you will be disappointed. Kisuke Urahara's strength lies in formulating targeted methods after analyzing existing intelligence. When facing a powerful enemy for the first time, his performance will not be too good."
A hint of contempt flashed in Sosuke Aizen's eyes.
He acknowledged Kisuke Urahara's scientific research capabilities; after all, he was an existence capable of researching the Hogyoku just like him. His talent and wisdom were naturally not much worse than his own—but the man's character was simply too unbearable.
After learning the truth about the Soul King, he actually chose to turn a blind eye like a cowardly turtle, sealing the Hogyoku he created and keeping the lid on tight, with no intention of taking a step further.
Such a person is too cowardly!
---
PS: I was shot down by gastroenteritis. I was busy catching up on work progress before, and now I finally have the energy to post this.
I am very sorry.
____
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