Hearing this, Hikifune Kirio, who had been listening from the side, finally couldn't hold back.
She looked at the group with a speechless expression, "The Twelfth Division clearly has detailed spiritual pressure monitoring records, and didn't you all send people too? That Quincy whose spiritual pressure was almost as strong as mine, wasn't he tailing them the whole time? Since everything was seen with your own eyes, is there really any need to stand here guessing like this?"
She knew very well that all of Kirinji and the others' actions were under the surveillance of Rosse and the rest.
"Senior Hikifune, that's where you don't get it."
Shiba Kuukaku sat up and stretched lazily. Even though she also felt this group was putting on a bit of a show, she agreed with the idea, "According to them, if you don't use your brain, it'll degenerate. Just like the Soul Society these past years. Because it hasn't had to think about survival for so long, it's become this slow."
"What monitoring and surveillance give you is the result. That's dead."
Aizen picked up the conversation, his tone gentle and unhurried, "But guessing and reasoning are ability. Only by constantly maintaining this sharp insight into the situation can you stand undefeated when true unknowns descend. What we enjoy is this process. Even solving a problem when you already know the answer has its own unique pleasure."
"Hah… figures. You people are monsters when it comes to strength, and your minds are just as deep as the ocean," Hikifune Kirio shook her head and sighed.
Prepare for danger in times of peace.
That was why these people could stand at the top.
The more she understood Rosse and Aizen, the more she could feel the gap between the Soul Society, even her former self, and this group.
That wasn't just a gap in spiritual pressure, it was a crushing difference in the level of thinking.
If the upper limit of the Zero Division and the Gotei 13 Shinigami was their own talent, then for this group, their upper limit was the sky, even the world itself.
As long as they didn't die halfway, they were destined to become the strongest.
"So what do we do now?", Hikifune Kirio finally asked, "Leave it alone? Or close the net?"
"Do nothing," Rosse stood up, walked to the window, and looked out at the bustling Seireitei.
His shadow stretched long under the sunlight, making him look both solitary and imposing.
"If they can act, then let them act. I also want to see what kind of choices the people of this world will make when there's no external interference at all."
His world was vast, vast enough to contain everyone here.
If all the Shinigami truly supported him as Captain-Commander, he wouldn't mind doing what he did to Hueco Mundo, packing everyone up and taking them to his world.
But if someone wavered, someone betrayed, and in the end, after learning his true nature, everyone chose to stand against him... a faint, meaningful smile curved at the corner of Rosse's lips.
Then it could only prove that this world deserved to rot in the mire, decaying along with the old era.
"I'm looking forward to it," Rosse murmured softly, "Let's see whether this final act turns out to be a comedy, a tragedy, or just a false alarm."
———
[Thirteenth Division Captain's Quarters]
The cicadas outside the window were annoyingly loud, but inside the room it was so quiet it made people uneasy.
Kurosaki Ichigo paced back and forth in the spacious office, fine beads of sweat seeping out from his short orange hair.
Sometimes he clenched his fists tight, sometimes he let them fall weakly. His whole body was like a bowstring stretched to its absolute limit.
"Ichigo, can you sit down for a bit? You're making me dizzy."
Vice-Captain Kuchiki Rukia sat behind the desk. Though her tone carried a hint of reproach, her violet eyes were filled with worry.
As the person who knew Ichigo best, she could clearly feel the anxiety in his heart, so intense it was close to burning away his reason.
"Rukia… did I really do the right thing?"
Kurosaki Ichigo suddenly stopped, turned his head, his eyes full of confusion and struggle, "That Kirinji guy and Yoruichi… should I really believe what they said? Or should I go find Captain Aizen right now and ask him everything clearly?"
Rukia set down the documents in her hand, took a deep breath, walked up to Ichigo, and looked straight into his eyes, "Since you didn't reject them immediately before, it means you already have doubts in your heart, doesn't it?"
She softened her tone and said gently, "Follow your instincts. No matter the cost, I'll always stand by your side. But before making a final judgment, we need evidence. Not just words, but real proof that Captain Aizen and Captain-Commander Rosse truly have a problem."
Ichigo looked at Rukia's firm gaze, his heart trembling slightly.
In the Soul Society, the person he trusted most was undoubtedly Aizen, who had guided him forward.
But the one he had the deepest connection with, the one he could entrust his back to, was always the girl in front of him.
He believed Rukia wouldn't harm him, just like he believed Inoue Orihime.
But Inoue had died just like that, without clarity, and in a horribly tragic way.
One of the suspects, Ichimaru Gin, was still at large.
And after becoming the captain of the Thirteenth Division, his instincts told him that Aizen-sensei was drifting further and further away from him. All of this made him uneasy.
That unease grew like poisonous weeds in his heart after the truth Kirinji secretly revealed.
Today was the last day of the one-week deadline Kirinji had set.
Ichigo understood that this was a test of mutual trust.
They wanted to see whether he would leak the secret to Aizen during these days. And he also needed time to think things through.
They didn't have to wait long.
Whoosh!
At the open doorway, four figures appeared without any warning.
"Kyoraku Shunsui! Ukitake Jushiro!"
Kurosaki Ichigo's pupils shrank sharply, and the anger he had been suppressing for so long erupted in an instant.
He clenched his fists tightly, his spiritual pressure surging inside him like a tsunami.
In his eyes, these two people, along with Ichimaru Gin, were directly responsible for Inoue's death.
"Kurosaki-kun, regarding your friend, and your father… I'm sorry."
Kyoraku Shunsui wasn't wearing his signature flamboyant haori, only a plain shihakusho. He lowered his straw hat, his voice low and hoarse.
"Sorry? Can a sorry bring them back to life?"
Ichigo roared. He was just about to rush forward when Rukia grabbed his arm tightly.
"Ichigo, calm down!"
Rukia shouted sharply, then quickly caught the key point in Kyoraku's words. Her expression changed as she asked in a deep voice, "Kyoraku, what did you mean just now about Ichigo's father?"
"Kurosaki Isshin is dead."
Kyoraku Shunsui slowly raised his head, revealing bloodshot eyes, "I saw it with my own eyes. He died at the hands of Kurosaki Masaki."
BOOM!
In an instant, a peak captain-level spiritual pressure erupted like a volcano inside the room.
If Kirinji hadn't set up an invisible spiritual pressure barrier the moment he stepped in, this surge of grief and rage would have shaken the entire Seireitei.
"What did you say?"
Ichigo's mind went completely blank. He broke free from Rukia's grip and rushed in front of Kyoraku as if teleporting, grabbing his collar and lifting him up, his eyes blood-red, "My old man is dead? Killed by Mom? You think I'd believe that kind of lie?"
"Shunsui!", Ukitake cried out.
"Ichigo, calm down," Hirako Shinji frowned.
Kyoraku Shunsui, however, didn't resist. Instead, he signaled his companions not to move, letting Ichigo's iron-like fingers choke his neck until it turned bluish. He looked straight into Ichigo's eyes:
"If killing me can make you wake up a little, then do it. But in this crazy world, death is sometimes a kind of release."
According to Kirinji, Ichibe had been watching Kurosaki Ichigo. He had potential comparable to the Quincy King.
Although that Quincy King had been forced by Rosse to flee like a stray dog, charging helplessly into the Royal Palace and having his name erased by Ichibe.
Still, his strength was enough to make Rosse take him somewhat seriously.
If sacrificing himself could make Ichigo switch sides, Kyoraku Shunsui was willing to do it.
"Ichigo, let Captain Kyoraku finish."
Rukia walked over, pressed down on Ichigo's arm, and shook her head to persuade him.
Seeing how calm Kyoraku was, she believed most of it instead.
"You'd better give me an explanation!"
Ichigo suddenly let go, shoving Kyoraku away. His body trembled slightly from extreme anger and fear.
He didn't dare believe it, and didn't want to.
If what the other side said was true, the implication was obvious.
Kyoraku Shunsui coughed violently a few times, then took out a yellowed letter from his chest and handed it over:
"Kurosaki Ichigo, you understand the logic of controlling the five senses, right?", Kyoraku said calmly, "Whether it's Kyoka Suigetsu or the fabricated false Zanpakuto, Koten Kyokotsu, they're all constructed based on the user's cognition. He can't create a situation he knows nothing about, correct?"
Ichigo took the letter, his fingertips trembling, "What are you trying to say?"
"This letter was left by your father before we went to Hueco Mundo. He said if one day he wasn't around, we should take this letter to you and ask you to read it."
Kyoraku stepped back, "This is something only you and your father would know. If it were forged by Aizen or by us, there's no way it could fool your instincts and memory."
Ichigo fell silent, staring fixedly at the envelope.
He didn't dare take it, because he was afraid that if the contents were real, the trust he had built toward Aizen would completely collapse.
At the same time, he was also afraid it was real.
If it was real, then it meant his old man... is dead.
The most critical part was that it was done by his own mother.
That hurt him even more than Inoue's death.
But in the end, he still took the letter and tore it open roughly.
What came into view was Kurosaki Isshin's wild, unrestrained handwriting, with a hint of warmth mixed in.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Ichigo, by the time you see this letter, this useless old man is probably already dead. Maybe I died in Hueco Mundo, maybe I died at your mom's hands. Who knows.
I heard you're in the Soul Society, even became Aizen's student. Rosse isn't easy to deal with. Hope you didn't cause any trouble, kid.
Remember that hide-and-seek math game we used to play?
Brat, let me play with you one last time.
Listen carefully. Those guys wearing haori aren't what you see. Not only did they take Masaki away, they also want to sacrifice the entire world.
Your old man is useless. I couldn't pull your mom back from that abyss. I might even die at her hands. Pretty pathetic, huh?
If you can, once you see this letter, take Karin and Yuzu and run. Don't be like me. Don't try to be a hero.
You have to trust Kyoraku and Urahara. Even if he's not that useful, at least he's still human.
Promise your old man, don't avenge me. As long as you can live safely, even as an ordinary person, I'll be happy over there.
~ Love you, Your old man
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Clang!
The letter slipped from his hands. Kurosaki Ichigo collapsed onto the floor, both hands clutching his head as a muffled, beast-like sob escaped his throat.
When he was little, he always found his old man's childish code games annoying. Kurosaki Isshin used to use them to play treasure hunts for hidden snacks with him. That unique arrangement logic, that tacit understanding only between father and son, was something no one else could replicate.
Following that childish code, piecing together the hidden initial letters and number logic in the letter, the message he got was only one sentence: [Rosse and Aizen are deceiving the world. Escape from Aizen.]
"Hah… hahaha… hahahahaha!"
Ichigo suddenly began smashing the floor like crazy. The hard tatami was shattered under his fists. Tears burst out like a flood, soaking his sleeves.
That was grief.
He had always believed Aizen was his mentor, the guide of his path.
Deep down, Aizen's place in his heart was almost equal to his family.
But the truth hinted in the letter told him that his closest father died at the hands of his own mother.
And he himself had been working for the enemy, even doubting those who tried to tell him the truth.
"Old man… you bastard…"
Kurosaki Ichigo knelt on the ground, his back thin and trembling.
The pain of being abandoned by the center of the world, of being betrayed by those he trusted, nearly tore the boy's mind apart.
"Don't cry, child. Crying won't kill your enemies."
Ukitake Jushiro crouched down gently, unable to bear it, patting Ichigo's shoulder softly, "I've heard about your friend. But I swear, it wasn't me. You can sense it, the right arm of the Soul King in my body has already been taken by Rosse and the others."
"And based on what Shunsui and I have concluded, the one who killed Inoue should be Rosse and your mother, Kurosaki Masaki."
"What did you say?"
Ichigo suddenly looked up, disbelief all over his face.
'Inoue's death is actually related to Rosse and my mother too?'
'Why?'
'Why did mom become like this now?'
"Your mother's ability is absolute control over spirit particles. She can go anywhere without anyone noticing. And the traces of Ichimaru Gin's spiritual pressure… Rosse's Bankai can imitate them."
Ukitake Jushiro, though reluctant, knew these things had to be said.
Only then could they unite and fight against Rosse together, and save the Soul Society.
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