"Captain-Commander!"
Under that pressure powerful enough to warp the air itself, every Shinigami present, whether captains, vice-captains, or even the prisoners Rukia and Ise Nanao, instinctively tensed their bodies and lowered their heads respectfully.
No matter their stance, toward the strongest Shinigami who had guarded Soul Society for a thousand years, everyone held sincere respect.
"Hm."
Captain-Commander Yamamoto did not turn around. He merely let out a low response through his nose.
The scorching air currents whipped around the haori that symbolized absolute authority on his shoulders. The fabric snapped loudly, like the sound of flames burning.
His half-closed aged eyes slowly opened a little wider. His gaze shot out like twin blades, piercing straight toward the direction of the Eighth Division barracks.
Within that look intertwined disappointment, anger, and something even deeper. Even Rosse could only glimpse the tip of that iceberg.
Still, though he could not fully read the expression, Rosse understood the old man's state of mind quite well.
Being betrayed by someone close to you never feels good.
But compared to the curtain call that should have belonged to Captain-Commander Yamamoto, Rosse believed this grand funeral now unfolding might suit him better.
The tide of a new era was already roaring in, and the pillar that once upheld the old age had reached the moment it must fall in tragic glory.
BOOM!
As if responding to Yamamoto's gaze, from the direction of the Eighth Division in the distance, two equally astonishing spiritual pressures shot into the sky.
They belonged to Kyoraku Shunsui and Ukitake Jushiro.
Two top-tier spiritual forces of Soul Society surged forward like wild dragons, sweeping across with the force of wind and thunder.
Several vice-captains instantly turned pale. It felt as though a massive stone had been pressed against their chests. Even breathing became difficult.
"Hmph!"
Facing those two seemingly provocative spiritual pressures, Captain-Commander Yamamoto only gave a light snort.
In that instant, the already scorching air seemed to ignite. An even more domineering and purer crimson spiritual pressure burst from him like a tidal wave, crushing outward.
Crack!
It was as though something invisible shattered.
The imposing spiritual pressures from Kyoraku and Ukitake collapsed and disintegrated the moment they touched that blazing wave, melting away like snow meeting fire.
The heavy oppression weighing on the vice-captains vanished in an instant.
Thud!
Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni struck his wooden staff hard against the ground. His aged yet authoritative voice echoed into the sky.
"Rebellious disciples, since you have come, why do you not dare stand before this old man!"
"Oh my, old man. Since you've already waited so long for this execution, what's the rush for another minute or two?"
A lazy sigh tinged with helplessness drifted across the grim Sokyoku Hill like a light breeze.
Before the voice even finished, two figures appeared abruptly beneath the execution platform along with a gust of wind.
Kyoraku Shunsui, wearing a straw hat and a flashy haori, lowered his brim slightly and stood at the very front. Ukitake Jushiro stood quietly beside him, both facing Captain-Commander Yamamoto.
Their stance made their position crystal clear.
With their appearance, the air seemed to freeze solid.
Every captain and vice-captain present almost at the same time placed a hand on the hilt of their Zanpakuto.
Cold spiritual pressure intertwined into an invisible net, killing intent sharp and ready, clearly a battle stance prepared for combat.
Kyoraku Shunsui was not surprised in the least.
Only those falsely accused know how unjust it feels.
But so what?
Before a Zanpakuto that could control the five senses, all explanations were pale jokes.
Since words had already lost their meaning, it was better to save the effort and use action to tear open the curtain of this absurd play.
Kyoraku spoke in a low voice.
"It seems none of you plan to hear what we have to say today. Fine. No more talk, then."
"Let the facts speak."
However, the moment those words fell, from the perspective that only he and Ukitake could perceive, an extremely strange ripple of spiritual particles swept across the entire field.
In the next instant, under their disbelieving gaze, the entire world before them twisted in a shocking distortion.
One second ago, they were standing opposite all the captains of the Gotei 13, bearing countless accusations.
The next second, the ground beneath their feet seemed to shift under an invisible hand. They were now mixed among the captains, even standing behind Captain-Commander Yamamoto and Sasakibe Chojiro.
And in their original positions, two figures identical to them had appeared.
"Hey… Shunsui, was this part of your plan too?"
Ukitake Jushiro's expression changed slightly as he looked uncertainly at his close friend.
But when he saw Kyoraku's face beneath the shadow of his straw hat, dark enough to drip water, he understood.
Something outside the plan had happened.
The plan had completely spiraled out of control.
"There's a problem!"
Kyoraku said grimly, his eyes scanning the seemingly empty air around them.
"Hey! At this point, there's no need to hide anymore. If I'm going to lose, at least let me lose knowing the truth. Who exactly are you?"
He knew clearly that the words he had just spoken were heard by no one except Ukitake.
But there was definitely one person who could hear him.
The one who had turned all of Sokyoku Hill into a massive stage, turning all of them into puppets on strings.
'Could it be Aizen? No. Probably not.'
Aizen's spiritual pressure was strong, but still within his understanding. He could not possibly deceive everyone present at once, including those watching from the Research and Development Institute and other monitoring points.
If Aizen truly had that kind of power, why bother with conspiracies at all?
He could simply crush Seireitei head-on.
Pulling off such an exquisite perfect crime could not possibly be just for fun.
As his thoughts raced, a low, unfamiliar male voice suddenly sounded from behind him.
"The one who set up this situation is not Aizen… My apologies. It seems I am powerless as well."
Along with the voice, the ground trembled faintly, as though space itself had been torn open.
A man dressed in plain white robes, hair tied in a noble topknot, his bearing proud and aloof, appeared abruptly before them.
Yet this earth-shaking scene drew no reaction from anyone else present.
Not far away, Captain-Commander Yamamoto still stared expressionlessly at where Kyoraku had previously stood.
Meanwhile, Sixth Division Captain Kuchiki Byakuya stepped forward, reading in his cold voice, word by word, the charges of betrayal against Kyoraku Shunsui.
It was as if he were reading lines from an invisible script.
Absurd. Utterly absurd.
"You're Azashiro Soya?"
Ukitake Jushiro's face was filled with shock.
Azashiro Soya had once served as the Eleventh Division Captain over two hundred years ago. He was the eighth Kenpachi, having earned the title by defeating the seventh, Kuruyashiki.
Even among captains, his strength had ranked near the top.
But he once attempted to turn Rukongai residents into weapons to wage war on Hueco Mundo. Before being exposed, he turned himself in and was ultimately imprisoned in Muken.
Ukitake had lived through that time and naturally recognized him.
"You're the help Shunsui brought?"
Seeing no hostility from him, Ukitake quickly guessed the situation.
"Yes. Aizen was the mastermind behind the captain Hollowfication incident a hundred years ago. I witnessed it personally," Azashiro Soya nodded slightly and explained concisely.
"Though imprisoned in Muken, with my Zanpakuto's special ability, I am aware of most matters in Seireitei. And I am unaffected by Aizen's Kyoka Suigetsu," He was extreme, yes. But his extremism was for improving Soul Society, not for personal power or hatred.
In his view, Aizen, who allied with Hollows, was the greatest cancer of Soul Society.
"What's going on now?"
Kyoraku asked in a low voice, urgency in his tone, "Didn't you say you could project the true scene to others using your Zanpakuto's ability?"
That was the biggest trump card of this operation.
Yet before it could even be revealed, it seemed something had gone wrong.
"The one who set this up is not Aizen."
For the first time, seriousness appeared on Azashiro's expressionless face.
"Kyoka Suigetsu can control the five senses, but it is not powerful enough to block Urozakuro's transmission of spiritual particles. And right now, I can clearly feel that Urozakuro has been completely sealed by a higher-dimensional force."
"Its spiritual particles cannot even leave the blade. Naturally, it cannot merge with the outside world or transmit any information."
He had no reason to lie about this.
He truly came to help, but the fact was that he too had become an audience member on this stage, unable to act.
The one suppressing his ability possessed spiritual pressure control far beyond captain level. Otherwise, with his first-class spiritual pressure, it would be impossible for even the spiritual particles to leave his Zanpakuto.
"If it's not Aizen, then who else could it be?"
Kyoraku felt like he was losing his mind.
In just those few seconds of conversation, Kuchiki Byakuya had finished reading the charges.
Immediately after, Fifth Division's Hinamori Momo stepped forward, tears streaming as she angrily denounced him for slandering the Fifth Division.
If this play continued according to the script…
After the judgment, would they send him up Sokyoku Hill to atone in truth?
"Gentlemen, there is no need to keep guessing. We of the Hueco Mundo Royal Palace will take responsibility for this matter."
A woman's soft sigh echoed faintly around them. At the same time, Kurosaki Masaki's figure seeped out from the massive shadow of the Sokyoku like ink spreading in water, eventually solidifying.
"You?"
Kyoraku exclaimed, though his eyes did not show too much shock.
That someone within Soul Society was colluding with the Hueco Mundo Royal Palace had always been expected.
What he did not expect was that even Azashiro Soya's existence had been known, and that they possessed the perfect method to counter him.
"Yes, me."
Kurosaki Masaki tilted her head slightly. Though her tone held curiosity, her delicate face was expressionless like porcelain.
"Shouldn't you first wonder why I severely wounded Aizen?"
"Heh! The 8th Espada…", Kyoraku pressed down his hat, his gaze sharpening, "If I'm not mistaken, though Aizen has joined the Hueco Mundo Royal Palace, he probably does not even rank among the top ten Espada. A few days ago he must have used his full strength, yet still could not harm you in the slightest."
As the words fell, their gazes met in the void.
After confirming Azashiro's intent, Kyoraku took a deep breath.
Azashiro needed time to break the manipulation of the five senses. Success was uncertain, but it had to be attempted.
And the task of buying time fell to him.
"Based on your previous attitude, if I'm not wrong, there should be an Espada of higher rank than you lurking within Soul Society. Otherwise, given your strength that day, when you could have wiped out everyone present, there would be no need to single me out as the mole."
Kyoraku spoke evenly, but each word struck sharply.
"Let me guess… That mole is stronger than you, holds higher status than you, and was unwilling to fake defeat in public. So you guided everyone to target me instead. And since Ichigo was present that day, it gave you a reasonable excuse to withdraw."
"But if it were an official order from the Hueco Mundo Royal Palace, the presence of Kurosaki Ichigo would not justify you exposing yourself to save someone. Unless it was your personal action. Or perhaps this entire situation was already part of the Royal Palace's script."
"If it was personal, then to avoid punishment, you had to create chaos and make me the focus, so the one behind the scenes could proceed more smoothly. If it was planned, then framing me was meant to clear the way for that mole."
"So the one who has moved most smoothly and remained completely unharmed during the recent turmoil in Soul Society… is the mole of the Hueco Mundo Royal Palace…"
At that point, Kyoraku's voice abruptly stopped. His face turned stiff.
All clues converged to a single point.
But that point was the one he least dared to think about.
"Go on. What a brilliant analysis."
Kurosaki Masaki smiled at him, not the slightest bit annoyed at being exposed. Instead, there was malicious encouragement in her voice.
"Why stop? Are you afraid to say that name?"
"Shunsui, who did you think of?"
Ukitake reacted a beat slower, but seeing Kyoraku's pale face, he urged anxiously.
"Oh, he thought of a key supporting character in this grand play."
"From the very beginning of this incident, that person's shadow has always been present. Yet he was never the protagonist. Every time something changed, he was always among the first to be involved."
"From capturing Rukia, to opposing the Central 46's decision, to blocking the Eighth Division gates, to fighting Kurosaki Ichigo. Later, he participated in the destruction of the Shihoin clan, and when the Fifth Division was framed, he personally led a team to Central 46…"
Kurosaki Masaki smiled sweetly and spoke the name without hesitation.
"That person is called…"
"Rosse!"
"Right? The captain who seems to see through everything."
Her voice carried mockery.
"I've just spoken his name. But do you dare believe that he is the true mastermind behind all of this?"
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