"It wasn't me, it was a friend of mine."
Naraku Sora explained with a face full of honesty.
Aizen had repeatedly warned him to always hold back thirty percent of the truth when dealing with people and situations.
Regardless of whether he actually did it or not, deny it first.
Who knew what this Mikado family was really here for? Were they friend or foe?
If they were planning to use him to fill that Eye of Hell, he would be doomed.
As long as he didn't admit to it outright, there would be room to maneuver later.
Mikado Mamoru paused for a moment, then smiled.
"Then let us assume it was your friend. The fact that he saw the Gates of Hell when others could not proves that his affinity with the Gates of Hell is extremely high."
"Oh, I almost forgot."
"Under normal circumstances, Soul Reapers do not understand the Gates of Hell."
"Generally speaking, souls who committed grave sins during their lives and cannot be purified by a Zanpakutō are targeted by Hell. The moment they die, the Gates of Hell will appear nearby and forcefully drag them into Hell."
Mikado Mamoru's attitude was modest and gentle, completely lacking the haughty airs of a noble.
"As time passes, the sins within Hell continue to multiply. Those entities unwilling to simply fade away will attempt to breach Hell and return to the Three Realms."
"The Gates of Hell also serve as the final line of defense."
"Incidentally, the duty of our Mikado family is to monitor and guard them."
Naraku Sora nodded. It was more or less the same as the intelligence he remembered.
This showed that Mikado Mamoru had come with sincerity and wasn't trying to trick him.
"Here is the crucial part."
Mikado Mamoru took a sip of tea, gathered his thoughts, and revealed a profound smile.
"Having an extremely high affinity with the Gates of Hell means that your friend, provided he knows the correct method, can open the Gates of Hell all by himself."
Pfft!
Naraku Sora nearly spat out the mouthful of hot tea he had just drunk. He looked up at the middle-aged man before him in sheer astonishment.
"What did you say?"
"Open the Gates of Hell all by himself?!"
Mikado Mamoru smiled and nodded. "This is recorded in our family's ancient texts, though I cannot tell you the specific method for now."
"To maintain the order of the Three Realms, the Gates of Hell must never be opened lightly unless absolutely necessary."
Naraku Sora nodded with an awkward smile.
"Of course. It would be terrible if something that shouldn't be let out was released."
Mikado Mamoru gave him a deep look but did not continue the topic. Yamamoto, who seemed to have spoken with him before Naraku Sora arrived, did not show much shock.
He simply continued to drink his tea in silence.
The reception room was filled with the fragrant aroma of tea.
"Actually, aside from answering the questions Head Captain Yamamoto relayed earlier, I also came to report a rather serious matter to you all,"
Mikado Mamoru said.
Yamamoto paused his motion of lifting his teacup, raising his gaze to stare intently at the face across from him.
As the Head Captain of the Gotei 13 and a Soul Reaper who had lived for thousands of years, he knew one thing very well.
Anything involving the Mikado family was never a trivial matter.
And when the head of the Mikado family described something as 'serious,' it meant the situation had deteriorated to a horrifying degree.
Mikado Mamoru's expression grew more solemn, his voice dropping slightly.
"The Mikado family has never interfered in the power struggles of the Seireitei or the Soul Society. To that end, we even withdrew from the allocation of seats in Central 46."
"The purpose of doing so, aside from focusing more intently on guarding the Gates of Hell..."
"...is to avoid major conflicts as much as possible and reduce the deaths of powerful Soul Reapers."
"After all, the Soul Society cannot allow Reishi of the third-class Spirit Class or higher to return to the earth."
"Yet even so, under the ambitions of certain individuals, the situation has grown increasingly dire."
"The consecutive deaths of three Captain-class Soul Reapers have filled the earth of the Soul Society with Reishi that cannot enter the cycle of reincarnation. If this drags on any longer, it will become very troublesome."
Yamamoto lowered his gaze slightly, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes.
It was just as he had suspected. The three Captain-class Soul Reapers likely referred to—
Squad 9's Takeda Goki, Squad 11's Gosuke Kenpachi, and Tsunayashiro Taketori.
Speaking of which, a squad member had previously reported that Squad 10's Captain, Umino Unpei, had heard intelligence regarding the remnants of the Tsunayashiro family and chased them straight into the Rukongai. He still hadn't returned.
Everyone originally thought the man had fallen victim to the Tsunayashiro remnants, but looking at it now, there might be a hidden truth behind it.
"..."
"Head Captain, the Soul Burial Festival, which normally occurs once every twelve years, should be moved up."
Mikado Mamoru's final sentence was clearly directed at Yamamoto.
"I understand."
Yamamoto nodded expressionlessly.
Mikado Mamoru revealed a modest smile. "That is all I came to convey. Since that is settled, I will take my leave."
Before leaving, he suddenly looked at Naraku Sora.
"If the opportunity arises, please come visit the Mikado family as a guest, Lord Naraku."
"Definitely, definitely," Naraku Sora replied perfunctorily.
He had always kept a respectful distance from such extremely mysterious nobles who lacked useful intelligence.
After Mikado Mamoru left, Yamamoto's gaze suddenly shifted over to him.
"You know what I am about to say, don't you?"
"?"
Naraku Sora's eyes widened. "T-Teacher... you aren't planning to make me in charge of this Soul Burial Festival, are you?"
Yamamoto picked up his teacup and took a calm sip, letting the boiling hot tea pour all the way down his esophagus.
He had long grown accustomed to drinking tea this way.
"Do not misunderstand."
Yamamoto let out a slow sigh and explained,
"The Soul Burial Festival is divided into two stages. One is the memorial ceremony in the Soul Society, and the other is called the Preliminary Ritual of Menreibaku."
"Under normal circumstances, the Soul Burial Festival can only be attended by Captain-class Soul Reapers. But right now, the Gotei 13 is in a transitional period. Due to the previous unrest and those out on missions, there are far too many vacancies."
"Coupled with the fact that Jūshirō is unfit to participate in this ceremony, I need you to preside over the Preliminary Ritual of Menreibaku."
"When the time comes, you will be responsible for leading the Lieutenants to the World of the Living to capture Hollows and bring them back to the Soul Society."
Seeing Yamamoto's serious expression, Naraku Sora thought for a few seconds before agreeing.
"The Mikado family... I have some impression of them."
At the secret base in Mount Koifushi, Aizen devoted a tenth of his attention to responding to Naraku Sora's words while conducting his research.
"When I visited the Great Spirit Book Gallery previously, I saw records related to this family."
"It is exactly as you said, though there are some deviations in the details."
Hearing this, Naraku Sora hurriedly asked,
"Then is there any intelligence regarding the Gates of Hell in the Great Spirit Book Gallery?"
"There is."
"Did it mention what happens if a Soul Reaper has an excellent affinity with the Gates of Hell?"
Aizen's hand paused. The experiment he had painstakingly completed more than half of was instantly ruined, erupting in a burst of brilliant light before leaving a scorched black mark on the operating table.
He turned around, looking expressionlessly at the figure sitting on the sofa.
That completely unwavering gaze made Naraku Sora feel a bit creeped out.
After a long time, Aizen took off his specialized gloves, tossed them aside, and said seriously,
"Let's talk. What exactly did Mikado Mamoru say?"
It had been a long time since he had seen Aizen with such an attitude. Naraku Sora wasn't quite used to it. He subconsciously straightened his posture and then recounted Mikado Mamoru's words in detail.
Aizen narrowed his eyes slightly, his body exuding a spine-chilling pressure.
"The Gates of Hell? Affinity?"
"Why didn't you mention this earlier?"
Naraku Sora coughed lightly and explained with an awkward smile, "Wasn't I just getting to that?"
Aizen gave him a deep look and didn't press the issue further, simply stating seriously,
"Getting involved with the Gates of Hell is an extremely dangerous matter."
"According to some records in the Great Spirit Book Gallery, Hell is independent of the Three Realms and is a highly unique world."
"For safety's sake, absolutely do not get involved with the Gates of Hell."
Seeing his adopted son's serious face, which showed no signs of joking, Naraku Sora also put away his smile and nodded earnestly.
Leaving the secret base, Aizen walked along the path back to Squad 5, his mind recalling the information Naraku Sora had shared.
For some reason, he had an ominous premonition in his heart.
He couldn't shake the feeling that he had overlooked something.
He carefully summarized the things he needed to do recently, yet he couldn't find the source of his unease.
Since there was no issue on his end, the problem definitely lay with that guy.
Thinking of this, Aizen didn't immediately return to his own dorm but instead walked toward the Lieutenant's quarters.
Early the next morning, Aizen arrived at the office as usual to handle the day's official documents.
Not long after, a flurry of hurried footsteps echoed from outside the door.
Looking up, a highly displeased face came into view.
"Captain, is there something you need?"
Hirako Shinji sat in the chair next to him and curled his lips.
"That guy Koji suddenly fell ill and has already been sent to the Comprehensive Relief Clinic."
"But there's an urgent mission that needs to be handled recently. As the Captain, I have other work and can't get away for now. After thinking it over, you're the most suitable."
"After all, there aren't many Seated Officers who have mastered Shikai, and you just so happened to learn Shikai a while ago and proudly showed it off to us."
"Therefore, this mission is yours and yours alone."
Aizen looked troubled. "But these official documents..."
"Just leave them for the subordinates to do," Hirako Shinji waved his hand impatiently.
Seeing him say this, Aizen had no choice but to agree. "Then what are the specific details of the mission?"
Hirako Shinji grinned.
"Go to the World of the Living and hunt Hollows!"
In the blink of an eye, the Soul Burial Festival officially arrived.
Because they had been notified in advance, the Lieutenants of the various squads arrived at the Senkaimon on time, ready to depart and execute the Hollow hunting mission.
However, to everyone's surprise, the person leading this mission was not Squad 1's Lieutenant, Sasakibe Chōjirō, but a guy who wasn't even a member of the Gotei 13.
The head of Shino Prison, Naraku Sora.
For a moment, almost everyone's gaze focused on him with complex expressions.
As for this genius Soul Reaper, although they hadn't seen him many times, his deeds were etched into their hearts.
Setting aside the matters related to the nobles, his performance during the Captain's proficiency test alone was enough to thoroughly convince everyone of his capabilities.
As the Senkaimon opened, Naraku Sora took the lead and walked inside.
The others followed suit one after another.
Sasakibe Chōjirō trailed at the very back. Looking at the backs of the crowd in the passageway, a trace of melancholy flashed in his eyes. He could only hope that nothing would go wrong on this trip.
##Discount##
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