Inside the secret laboratory of the Fifth Division.
Sosuke Aizen stood with his hands behind his back in front of a massive blueprint of the entire Seireitei.
"Just as I expected." Aizen reached out, his fingertips lightly tracing the emblem of the Second Division on the blueprint. "Captain Soi Fon has a fierce personality. Her blind faith in the rules makes her incredibly easy to manipulate..."
"Right now, all of the Second Division's attention will be focused on Omaeda beating a member of the Kanritei to death... The Seireitei's intelligence network is already half paralyzed."
He moved his finger, pointing toward the Seventh Division.
"Tosen has already taken Captain Komamura to the Central Great Underground Prison to search for a non-existent mole... With his righteous and stubborn nature, he will undoubtedly pursue the matter relentlessly."
"As for the troublesome Captain Unohana..." Aizen smiled as he looked toward the Fourth Division barracks. "The chaos caused by the Ryoka everywhere has already filled the relief clinic to capacity... Until that gentle doctor finishes her work, she won't have the time to delve into the truth."
Behind him, Soya Azashiro sat quietly.
His body was in a state of subtle resonance with the surrounding walls and air, a manifestation of Uro Zakuro fusing with the Reishi.
"That only accounts for three Captains. What about the others?" he asked.
"Let Captain Hitsugaya play his little training game with the Ryoka. There is no need to worry about him."
"Captain Kurotsuchi had his experiments ruined and his files stolen by Nichika. He is currently busy repairing his damaged experimental subjects and the Department of Research and Development's database."
"Captain Kenpachi is indeed a hidden danger, but he won't accept defeat after being beaten by the Ryoka. I imagine he will go looking for the Ryoka's companions to find a way to fight them again."
Aizen paused. "The most ideal situation would be to guide him to the underground prison and have Captain Komamura fight him. That would also help alleviate some of the pressure on us."
"What about the Eighth Division? Shunsui Kyoraku is a troublesome man," Azashiro asked with his eyes closed.
"True, but he is too lazy, and... both he and Ukitake cherish their reputations too much. They are far too cautious," Aizen deduced.
"I suspect that until the situation becomes clear and they figure out whether this is all just noble infighting or something else entirely, those two will merely watch from the sidelines."
Aizen's hand finally came to rest over the directions of the First and Sixth Divisions.
"Therefore, the only ones who can truly be called troublesome right now are the old man of the First Division, and..."
He looked at the Sixth Division barracks and said in a deep voice, "That man who strictly adheres to rigid rules and noble pride, Byakuya Kuchiki."
"This is an absolutely perfect opportunity, Soya."
Azashiro remained silent for a moment before opening his eyes, a trace of genuine curiosity appearing in his cold gaze. "Aizen, you have exhausted every scheme to play the entire Gotei 13 in the palm of your hand... What exactly are you trying to do?"
"Soya, have you ever seen the true sky?"
"The true sky?"
"Yes. I am not talking about the World of the Living, Hueco Mundo, or the Soul Society—these fragile, playful worlds that could collapse from a single misstep. I mean the true sky."
Aizen turned his head and reached out a hand toward Azashiro. "Today, I will put an end to this boring farce."
"It will surely open your eyes, Soya."
Azashiro looked at the man before him.
Beneath that gentle exterior, he saw a soul that was madly arrogant, yet possessed the overwhelming strength to back up that arrogance.
"...I will wait and see."
The sky was gradually brightening, and the sudden downpour had stopped.
South Rukongai, the wilderness.
Space suddenly distorted violently, and a pitch-black fissure was torn open out of thin air.
A figure tumbled out of the rift in a sorry state.
"Cough, cough, cough! Is this Urahara's specially made Garganta passage? I feel like it's worse than a Senkaimon."
Kaien Shiba patted the mud spots off his body while holding his waist to stand up, cursing under his breath. "I'm never taking this smuggling express again. I feel like all my internal organs have shifted!"
On the other side, Asuka landed lightly on the branch of a towering dead tree, looking around vigilantly.
Feeling the familiar scent in the air, his expression turned somewhat grim.
Those low, dilapidated shacks, and the shadowy, numb wandering souls in the distance that looked like dead wood...
It had been... probably over a hundred years since he left.
In his memories, he too had once rushed about in these desolate areas, fighting wild dogs for food just to survive...
He had set foot on this land once more. He had returned to this unpleasant place.
"Is this... the Rukongai?" Kaien looked around.
"That's right. Judging by how desolate it is..." A complex expression appeared on Asuka's face. "This should be the very edge of the South District, perhaps even an unnamed suburb past District 80..."
"Kaien, how much of your Spiritual Pressure has recovered?"
"About fifty percent." Kaien felt the dried-up Reiryoku in his body and smiled bitterly. "I'm really sorry, I just haven't been able to catch my breath."
Compared to this mysterious young man, Kaien was indeed falling behind, but there was nothing he could do about it.
"It's fine. Let's go." Asuka didn't waste words, immediately setting off along the route in his memory. "Time is tight."
At the very pinnacle of the Soul Society, the Soul King Palace.
This was a space isolated from the Seireitei, devoid of night, bathed only in eternal daylight.
At the end of the magnificent Omotesando, Ichibe Hyosube sat cross-legged in the void.
He held a massive calligraphy brush, his broad face completely devoid of expression.
His somewhat terrifyingly large eyes reflected everything happening in the lower realm.
"Hehehe... hehehe... hehehe..."
Ichibe suddenly let out a low chuckle, sounding as if he were talking to himself, or perhaps conversing with some entity in the void.
"That brat named Aizen sure knows how to stir up trouble."
"He has the Gotei 13 running around in circles. Even I was almost fooled by his little magic trick."
"The Prison Realm... just where did he get his hands on such a thing? Is there truly a heaven beyond heaven...?"
There was no voice in the air to answer him, but Ichibe nodded slightly as if he had heard something.
"Yes, it is indeed very dangerous."
Ichibe stroked the brush in his hand, ink dripping from the tip.
"Should I make a move?"
"With just a single stroke over his name, all of his ambitions will vanish into nothingness."
He raised his brush, adopting a writing posture toward the name [Sosuke Aizen] in the void.
As long as this stroke fell, Aizen's power would be halved, or perhaps erased entirely.
This was the absolute authority belonging to the leader of Squad Zero, the Monk Who Calls the Real Name.
However.
In the instant the brush tip was about to touch the void, Ichibe's hand stopped.
He seemed to be listening, or perhaps hesitating.
A moment later, he slowly lowered the brush, a look of suspicion appearing on his face.
"...Are you sure we shouldn't intervene?"
"...Can that boy returning from another world truly change all of this?"
Ichibe's gaze pierced through layers of space, past Aizen's basement, and past the chaotic Seireitei.
It finally landed on that desolate stretch of land in South Rukongai.
There, two travel-worn figures were sprinting toward the Seireitei.
"Asuka..."
Ichibe muttered the name, a profound look flashing in his eyes.
"Since it is your strong desire, I will merely act as a spectator for now."
"I just hope... this gamble isn't too big."
"If it ultimately affects the stability of the three realms, I will still take action. I hope you understand."
He sat cross-legged once more and closed his eyes,
turning back into an eternal, unchanging stone statue.