First Division barracks.
"Your Excellency Captain-Commander!"
Led by Byakuya Kuchiki, with Tōshirō Hitsugaya and Unohana Retsu following close behind, the group pushed open the office door and immediately questioned the Captain-Commander.
They showed absolutely none of their usual composure or aristocratic etiquette.
"Forgive my bluntness, but even if I hadn't used the Kuchiki Clan's influence to plead for leniency, given Captain Soifon's achievements over the last century, her strength, and her contributions to the Seireitei..."
"Under no circumstances should it be a death sentence," Byakuya Kuchiki argued strongly on the basis of reason, addressing the Captain-Commander who sat in his chair with eyes closed, resting his mind.
The Captain-Commander sat in his broad chair, hands folded atop his cane, his eyes opening a mere slit. He did not answer immediately. Instead, he slowly lifted the steaming teacup before him, brought it to his lips, and drained the scalding tea in one gulp.
Then, white steam was slowly exhaled from his mouth.
"A seven-day reprieve before the execution," the Captain-Commander spoke slowly. "That is the maximum limit this old man could secure after negotiating with Central 46."
There was no helping it. Although the Captain-Commander's power was the strongest in Soul Society, he did not have the final say on everything—unless the Gotei 13 were to discard Central 46 and the nobility of the Seireitei, returning to the mode of a 'killer group' from a thousand years ago.
Since they had decided to play within the rules, they had to abide by them.
"Go back," the Captain-Commander said, his words seeming to carry a hidden meaning. "Within these seven days, make the preparations that must be made. Saying anything more is useless."
This...
Byakuya Kuchiki and Tōshirō Hitsugaya looked at each other in dismay, both feeling that the Captain-Commander's words implied something else.
Could it be that His Excellency was telling them to prepare for a jailbreak?!
Night, Senzaikyū.
Inside the pale, towering spire, the night wind howled through the small window of the Repentance Cell, pouring into the room. The freezing Seki-Seki Stone floor was chilling to the bone.
Soifon sat with her back against the cold wall, closing her eyes to rest. Had she not recovered her Reiatsu, she might have long since fallen seriously ill from the harsh temperature within the Senzaikyū.
Suddenly, her eyelashes fluttered slightly, and she opened her eyes.
From the long corridor outside the cell, the sound of steady footsteps approached. It didn't sound like the movements a guard would make.
The footsteps stopped in front of the cell door, and the figure of Sōsuke Aizen appeared outside the iron bars. He wore that black cloak he used exclusively for doing bad deeds, and his face still wore that gentle, calm smile, as if he were merely visiting an ordinary friend.
"Good evening, Captain Soifon," his voice resonated in the empty cell. "It seems colder here than I imagined."
"You really kept me waiting, Captain Aizen..." Soifon lifted her eyes to look at him, standing up lazily. "If you hadn't come soon, I would have fallen asleep from boredom."
Aizen did not reply immediately. His gaze lingered on Soifon for a moment, his eyes narrowing slightly behind his glasses.
"I am somewhat surprised."
"That day at the First Division, Captain Soifon's Reiatsu was indeed weak to the extreme; that could not be faked."
"Why..."
There was curiosity in Aizen's tone. The Soifon before him was brimming with Reiatsu, and she had no intention of hiding it from him—exuding a stable 1st Spiritual Rank pressure.
"Call it a little trick." Soifon walked slowly to the bars. "Captain Aizen, surely you didn't come here tonight just to ask about this?"
Aizen chuckled low and pushed up his glasses. Of course not; Aizen had merely wanted to indulge his bad taste and see Soifon in a sorry state. It seemed his wish was going to remain unfulfilled.
Seeing Aizen silent, Soifon asked a question of her own: "Speaking of which... I also have something to ask Captain Aizen."
"Please speak, Captain Soifon."
"My death sentence—it's your masterpiece, isn't it, Captain Aizen?"
"Yes, but not entirely."
Sōsuke Aizen answered Soifon's question ambiguously. He removed the hood from his head and paced within the corridor outside the cell.
"My Kyōka Suigetsu is Complete Hypnosis, but it cannot truly alter a person's consciousness."
"Central 46 has coveted the Shihōin Clan's Second Division for a long time, and you, Captain Soifon, concentrate three key authorities in one person."
"I merely amplified the desires in their hearts."
"Besides, my intentions were well-meaning... Captain Soifon."
Saying this, Sōsuke Aizen spread his hands, making a gesture of helplessness.
"Well-meaning? Is that so?" Soifon raised an eyebrow. "Let's hear it."
Aizen pondered for a moment before speaking: "The current Gotei 13... is too slothful."
He turned his face sideways, looking at Soifon inside the cell.
Based on the intelligence he had obtained from Soifon, if the Gotei 13 were to face the Quincies in their current state, the outcome of the war would likely be unsightly.
Of course, Ichigo Kurosaki's power was immense; Aizen admitted that. But as a Shinigami, his pride did not allow him to pin all hope on a teenage boy.
Soifon was silent for a moment. She naturally understood Aizen's meaning.
"Captain Soifon, when you asked me to obtain the key to Muken back then, was it not for this very moment?"
Sōsuke Aizen lifted his sleeve and produced a set of keys to Muken, including the final one that had remained from years ago.
"Mhm. On the day of my execution, release Azashiro Kenpachi."
Soifon nodded, tacitly approving Aizen's plan.
"Then, it is time to discuss another matter, Captain Soifon."
Aizen took a step forward, took out a strangely shaped device from his bosom, and placed it gently on the ground outside the iron bars.
Soifon's gaze fell on the device, then lifted to meet Aizen's eyes. After a few seconds, she reached out through the gap in the iron bars and picked up the device.
Without hesitation, she slowly infused her own Reiryoku into the device.
Tiny points of Spirit Particle light lit up on the surface of the device and spread rapidly. Soifon's right hand turned into a smooth, lifeless wooden texture.
Soifon looked down at her woodenized right hand, her face expressionless, and suddenly thrust it toward the center of her own chest...
There was no expected sound of tearing flesh. The wooden fingers passed through her chest as if moving through a film of water, sinking in without obstruction.
Immediately after, the Hōgyoku, radiating a purple-black glow, was held in Soifon's hand.
At the same time, the special Gigai she was wearing lost its binding power over her Spirit Body, and Soifon's Spirit Body peeled out of the Gigai without obstruction.
"This is the other Hōgyoku from Kisuke Urahara's possession."
Walking to the bars, Soifon extended her hand and passed the Hōgyoku over.
A look of surprise flashed across Sōsuke Aizen's eyes. He immediately took out a specially made transparent box and accepted the other half of the Hōgyoku from Soifon's hand.
"I must apologize to you, Captain Soifon." Aizen tucked the box into his bosom. "Before this moment, I had imagined countless conditions you might propose, but..."
"I told you, the Hōgyoku is useless to me."
"Goodbye, Captain Aizen. Our next meeting should be in seven days, right?"
Soifon waved her hand and returned to the corner of the cell to sit down.
____
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