Bleach: Stirring Up a Storm

”So this is what your agreement was about?” After learning that Kōe actually invited Aizen to teach alongside him at the Shin’ō Academy, Ichimaru Gin was, to be honest, somewhat surprised.

This meant either the other party hadn’t been in contact with Urahara Kisuke and was deceived by the illusion Aizen had crafted, or he knew perfectly well the threat Aizen posed but deliberately approached him anyway.

”He said that with my Kyōka Suigetsu, it would be easier for the Shin’ō Academy students to understand the importance of tactics. Of course, I only need to go occasionally.”

”Then, at that time, you...?”

”I used Complete Hypnosis on him at the time, so he did it on purpose, Gin.”

Using Complete Hypnosis on Kōe was originally a test—to verify whether he had truly been in contact with Urahara Kisuke, or even if he had returned to the Seireitei at Urahara’s request.

If Kōe truly knew nothing about Aizen, he definitely wouldn’t have helped conceal Kyōka Suigetsu’s true ability. Even if he was cautious by nature, he could have appropriately expressed his doubts. A Zanpakutō that merely disrupted vision was quite ordinary; even with the addition of weakening Reiatsu perception, it wasn’t impossible to deal with.

Only someone who knew Kyōka Suigetsu’s true ability early on would choose to keep quiet about this matter. Moreover, the ’fugitive’ Urahara Kisuke had previously accused Aizen; bringing up old matters at this time would easily invite suspicion.

Knowing information he shouldn’t have known, it was already certain that there was a connection between Kōe and Urahara Kisuke. But what exactly was the purpose of inviting Aizen to teach together?

*Could it just be to completely eliminate the suspicions of Central 46? I’m afraid it’s not that simple.* Ichimaru Gin felt that Kōe definitely had deeper considerations, but as for what exactly he had up his sleeve, Gin didn’t have a definite answer.

It was just that to accept Complete Hypnosis so quickly without showing any fear—this person was far too confident, or to put it more bluntly, arrogant.

But only Aizen knew that Kōe didn’t even need something as ethereal as confidence. After all, Complete Hypnosis had been forcibly broken by the other party. This was the very first time such a thing had happened.

Yes, Kōe had won this contest, but even he himself couldn’t be certain of this fact, and Aizen had also thought of this possibility.

Actually, it wasn’t difficult to figure out exactly why Kōe returned to the Seireitei this time. Not to mention, after confirming his relationship with Urahara Kisuke, the answer was already obvious—it was Urahara’s research result, the Hōgyoku.

The continuous, uninterrupted investigation into Urahara’s whereabouts had likely put immense pressure on him, making him believe that Aizen’s pursuit of the Hōgyoku was inevitable.

Under such circumstances, the transfer of the Hōgyoku was almost imperative. More accurately, it was the transfer of the Hōgyoku as Aizen envisioned it.

Perhaps Urahara still kept it by his side, or perhaps he placed it in some unknown corner of the Seireitei, and Kōe was here to protect the Hōgyoku.

To put it bluntly, Kōe’s appearance was just to confuse the enemy. He might not need to do anything himself, but his very existence was enough to invite speculation.

But if you thought he wasn’t important, you’d be dead wrong. After all, there was another possibility: Kōe himself was the keeper of the Hōgyoku.

With his formidable strength, coupled with the requirement to stay in the Seireitei indefinitely, Kōe possessed all the ideal conditions to carry the Hōgyoku.

However, once exposed, it would be entirely feasible to use Kyōka Suigetsu’s ability to create some incidents in the Seireitei and frame Kōe. Aizen believed Urahara could also think of this; it had no direct relation to whether Kōe was immune to Kyōka Suigetsu.

Therefore, Kōe was the safest keeper of the Hōgyoku, but also the most dangerous one. The crux of the problem depended on whether Urahara was willing to let his good friend take this risk. That remained a question mark.

Even though Aizen mostly agreed with Urahara, the latter was still too pedantic about certain things, which disappointed him somewhat.

In short, there were too many possibilities regarding the Hōgyoku’s hiding place. At the same time, the longer Kōe stayed in the Seireitei, the more possibilities there were, and the more elusive the Hōgyoku’s location became.

This was an overt scheme. Even if one realized it, they couldn’t stop it, because you simply couldn’t determine whether what was placed before your eyes was a lie or the truth, no matter how much it defied common sense and logic.

And Aizen never thought about untangling this tangled mess. First, it was unrealistic; second, it was completely unnecessary, at least for now.

He tracked the whereabouts of Urahara and the others indeed for the Hōgyoku, but this was only to leave himself a possibility. Right now, his own research was also at a critical juncture. What Urahara could achieve, he, Aizen, might not necessarily fail to achieve.

But this didn’t mean Kōe’s actions could be ignored. On the contrary, his behavior this time was extremely bizarre.

If he wanted to confuse the enemy, Kōe could have completely kept his distance from him. Or rather, keeping his distance was a necessary condition.

This was different from Hirako losing because he didn’t understand him. Confusing the enemy was something that could only be achieved through endless speculation. Too much contact would make it easier for the opponent to filter out incorrect guesses. Even if you could observe your opponent more directly, it was a completely thankless task.

Was it because of confidence or arrogance that he made such a demonstrative move?

This possibility was simply too laughable. Would someone who could remain completely calm and devoid of any desire to win when provoked at his doorstep by the current Kenpachi have such childish thoughts?

More contact meant a greater desire to understand the other party. Based on this premise, there could only be two possibilities.

First, Kōe’s own goal wasn’t simply to confuse the enemy, but to completely expose Aizen’s conspiracy. That is to say, he wasn’t actually a disruptor, but a game breaker, relying on his unknown means to break Complete Hypnosis.

But the problem still existed: could he rescue everyone who had been placed under Complete Hypnosis? According to Aizen’s speculation, the issue still lay with the other party’s Bankai, but no matter how you looked at it, that was a Bankai that could only take effect on individuals.

Moreover, even if it could take effect on others, what would it change? Perhaps the current situation would suddenly become unfavorable to him, but for the Seireitei, it still wasn’t enough to change the past in their cognition.

Therefore, Aizen himself actually leaned more towards the second possibility: Kōe himself couldn’t be sure whether he was no longer affected by Kyōka Suigetsu, and thus he needed more information to verify this fact.

Or it could be understood as Kōe’s exploration of Kyōka Suigetsu’s abilities. After all, even Hirako Shinji and the others didn’t fully understand the Zanpakutō, Kyōka Suigetsu.

Of course, this might not be all of his considerations, but Aizen believed this should be one of Kōe’s goals.

It was just that information was also something Aizen urgently needed. He was also very curious about exactly what kind of ability could break Complete Hypnosis.

Such contact was exactly what he wanted. As for who would ultimately gain more, that would depend on their respective skills.

”It might just be a win-win situation,” Aizen smiled faintly. After waiting for so long, an interesting person had finally arrived in the Seireitei again.

Behind him, Ichimaru Gin also remained silent, as if pondering something. With his intellect, it shouldn’t be difficult to think of this. Aizen turned his head and glanced at Ichimaru Gin. This person who had followed him since childhood was very smart.

Since that was the case, he would help him out and answer the questions in his heart.

”Your captain inauguration ceremony should be in a week, right, Gin?”

”That’s right.”

”Originally, I said we would go to Hueco Mundo once you became the Captain of Squad 3. Now it seems we’ll have to postpone it for a while.” Aizen said, suddenly turning his head. ”Having agreed to Shihouin Kōe, I find myself a bit tied up.”