"Captain Aizen! Captain Ichimaru Gin?"
Having just narrowly escaped death, Shiba Miyako felt a surge of relief at the sudden appearance of Aizen and Ichimaru Gin, but quickly realized something was wrong.
Although she couldn't hear what they were saying, why weren't the two of them immediately slaying the Hollow behind them? Similarly, the Hollow wasn't attacking them either. It was as if they were allies, and she was the intruder—the enemy.
"A triggered Kidō. No wonder I didn't notice it; it was hidden inside the Zanpakutō all along," Gin muttered to himself. He turned to complain to Aizen, "You noticed it a long time ago, didn't you? How truly sly of you, Captain Aizen."
"Actually, I didn't notice it either. I merely thought it was a matter of course," Aizen replied with a smile. "Urahara Kisuke wouldn't send someone who easily panics to face me, and Kōe Shihouin isn't the type to diligently follow their wishes. The facts prove that I haven't overestimated him."
"Are you saying that Shiba Miyako is indeed crucial to Urahara Kisuke? No, perhaps she is simply important to Kōe Shihouin?"
Aizen nodded, confirming Gin's interpretation, and continued, "She might be important to both of them, though their purposes for using her differ."
"Then how should we handle this bewildered key figure?" Gin leaned down, looking at the wary Miyako inside the barrier, and stroked his chin. "She doesn't seem to have any value to us."
"Do not be impatient. I believe Kōe Shihouin will tell us exactly where her value lies."
Just as Aizen's voice fell, the barrier protecting Miyako suddenly trembled. Even though Kōe wasn't there, his voice materialized out of thin air. "Captain Aizen? Captain Aizen! You should be able to hear this, right?"
Gin's eyes snapped wide open, his pale blue gaze quickly sweeping the area. He clearly hadn't sensed Kōe's Reiatsu, so how was this voice being transmitted? He had never heard of a Kidō capable of sending messages to the outside world without leaving a trace. Even if there was one, Kōe should be in the Seireitei right now.
"Using Kidō to induce high-frequency, orderly fluctuations in Reiatsu to vibrate the air, thereby achieving the effect of a recorded voice. No matter how many times I see it, his Reiryoku manipulation remains incredibly stunning," Aizen said softly, sparing no praise for Kōe.
"Although I can't see it with my own eyes, I imagine Captain Aizen must be nearby, so I won't beat around the bush." Kōe's relaxed statement verified Aizen's words; the voice at this moment was indeed just a pre-recorded message.
"Before returning to the Seireitei, my good friend Urahara Kisuke gave me a brief introduction to Captain Aizen's affairs, so Captain Aizen must know exactly why I came back." Kōe's voice continued, his tone gradually turning solemn. "Therefore, Shiba Miyako absolutely cannot die. Otherwise, it will be an unnecessary and heavy loss for both of us. She is the key to finding the Hōgyoku."
At these words, Aizen cast his gaze upon Miyako for the first time. He was certain that Shiba Kaien knew absolutely nothing about the Hōgyoku, but could Urahara Kisuke have bypassed Kaien to contact Miyako directly? Could this woman truly be a blind spot he had consistently overlooked?
*Impossible.* Aizen quickly dismissed his own thought. It was hard to imagine someone like Urahara Kisuke, lacking any means to intervene, placing the Hōgyoku in the Seireitei so early on—let alone entrusting it to someone as incapable of bearing such a burden as Shiba Miyako.
But could this be a risky move played by Urahara Kisuke? And then having Kōe Shihouin return to the Seireitei as a double insurance policy? This seemed to make sense, but could those two really trust each other to such an extent? That was the question.
Furthermore, why couldn't Miyako be allowed to suffer an accident? Kōe Shihouin needed to give him a reasonable explanation.
"As for why you can't kill Shiba Miyako, let's wait until I've personally confirmed her safety before discussing it face-to-face, Captain Aizen. I really don't want to end up as the unlucky bastard whose efforts were all for nothing again." After Kōe's self-deprecating remark, the high-frequency vibrations of the barrier subsided once more. It appeared there were no further messages.
"Is this supposed to be a bluff?" Gin asked with a peculiar expression.
"I don't believe so." Aizen adjusted his glasses and continued, "He's merely holding back his trump card. Compared to seventy-two years ago, he has come to understand human nature better and grown more confident."
"Looks like we'll have to negotiate." Gin spread his hands and shrugged. Didn't understanding human nature imply that their side was also wary of this trump card?
"Whether we negotiate or not depends on if his trump card is significant enough. Right now, we are the ones holding the initiative." As Aizen spoke, he patted the head of Metastacia behind him and added, "Letting Kōe Shihouin take a look at Metastacia is also not a bad choice."
...
In the Seireitei's Shin'ō Academy, Kōe turned another page of the book in his hand, his gaze drifting toward the clock on the desk. *Ten o'clock.* Calculating from the earliest possible start time, Shiba Miyako's mission had already been underway for an hour.
He still hadn't sensed the hidden Kidō being triggered. So, did Miyako really just receive a simple, temporary mission?
He couldn't let his guard down. He turned another page. Kyōka Suigetsu's Complete Hypnosis could control Reiatsu perception, which meant theoretically, it could also block his connection to the Kidō. It was entirely possible that Miyako was already in danger, yet he remained completely oblivious.
This was exactly why he had opted for an auto-triggering Kidō. Miyako's life absolutely had to be preserved—not just because of Kōe's own obsession with saving Shiba Kaien, but also because she was the starting point for him to open up a new situation.
Therefore, at this moment, Kōe felt both nervous and somewhat expectant. If Miyako was already in deep trouble and he hadn't sensed it, didn't that prove Aizen had been influenced by his feint?
If that were truly the case, then the Shiba couple would more than likely survive.
The final page of the book was turned. Kōe closed it, placed it on the desk, and stood up to stretch. The time spent waiting always passed excruciatingly slowly.
Miyako's death led to Kaien's death. If this was merely a case of one tragedy brewing an even greater tragedy, then simply preventing Miyako from leaving the Seireitei would have easily avoided it.
But the problem was, this wasn't a simple accident. The two of them were merely stepping stones on Aizen's path of Shinigamification research.
And given Aizen's deep-seated scheming, his selection of test subjects might seem like a coincidence, but in reality, it was destined long ago.
Thinking carefully about the soul disappearance incident back then: Squads 1, 2, and 4 didn't mobilize easily; Squad 6 focused more on protecting the nobility; the Captain seats for Squads 10 and 11 were vacant; Squad 12, acting as technical support, rarely took the vanguard; and Squad 13's Captain, Ukitake Jūshirō, was bedridden year-round. Under those circumstances, the only ones who could leave the Seireitei for Aizen to experiment on were Hirako and the others.
True, there was the exception of Squad 8's Captain, Kyōraku Shunsui. But as Old Man Yama's disciple, Kōe knew better than anyone what position this resourceful senior brother held in the old man's heart. He was one of the very few people who could offer Yamamoto advice.
Therefore, there were absolutely no accidents in the soul disappearance incident. Hirako and the others had simply walked step-by-step into the trap according to Aizen's script.
With this foundation in mind, Kōe carefully considered what happened to Kaien. In all fairness, if Aizen merely wanted to select a Lieutenant for his experiments, Kaien was indeed the best choice.
He possessed formidable strength, immense pride, and, just like Ichimaru Gin, was a genius who graduated from the Shin'ō Academy in only a single year. He perfectly met the criteria for an excellent test subject.
More importantly, Kaien had an obvious weakness in the form of Shiba Miyako—one significant enough to make him lose his reason and become more easily fused with Metastacia. This was something none of his contemporary Lieutenants possessed.
Having figured this out, Kōe understood that simply keeping Miyako in the Seireitei wasn't enough. If Aizen bypassed Miyako and schemed directly against Kaien, Kōe would have no way to defend against it.
Since he was going to save them, he had to do it right in one fell swoop. Starting with Miyako, he had to force Aizen to completely change his mind. This was absolutely imperative!