Soul Society.

There are two main forces in total.

One is the Gotei 13, led by Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni, and the other is the Shinigami nobles, headed by the Four Great Noble Houses.

But now?

Among the Four Great Houses, the Tsunayashiro have been exterminated, and the Kuchiki family expelled. The only remaining member, Byakuya Kuchiki, still followed Aiyan's words as if they were an imperial edict. Even the most powerful Shihōin family's new patriarch, Shihōin Yoruichi, was completely devoted to Aiyan.

The Gotei 13's Visored, headed by Hirako Shinji, had died, was about to be imprisoned, and was imprisoned with gratitude toward Aiyan.

What's left?

Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni, Kyōraku Shunsui, and Ukitake Jūshirō were deceived, fooled, and manipulated at will.

Unohana Yachiru was an unprecedented villain in Soul Society, and she was also on good terms with Aiyan.

After this battle, the only two people who knew the true identity of the Sōsuke brothers—Hikifune Kirio and Shutara Senjumaru—had their souls modified and their memories tampered with. They had become Aiyan's pawns and even pawns within the Royal Guard itself.

"Hirako."

"Can I really live up to your expectations?"

"Did you misjudge me?"

In an instant, after Urahara Kisuke understood the situation, he felt no resistance—only a sense of desolation and helplessness, as if he were invincible yet powerless.

Seireitei.

From the Gotei 13 to the Four Noble Houses, all had either fallen to the Aiyan brothers or had been destroyed.

Even if he searched every inch of Soul Society, he couldn't find anyone who could help him.

Boom.

Just as Urahara Kisuke stood stunned, he suddenly felt the Kidō binding his limbs break apart along with the prison uniform.

What met his gaze was Aiyan's smiling face.

"Urahara Kisuke."

"Why did it suddenly become so quiet?"

"Don't you want to talk to me?"

Facing Urahara Kisuke's stare, Aiyan seemed to see the dejection and weakness in his heart, and the smile on his lips deepened.

"I'm waiting for you."

"Urahara Kisuke."

Others couldn't understand the meaning of Aiyan's words, but Urahara Kisuke heard them clearly.

It was a provocation.

"So what if the whole world is our enemy?"

"So what if no one believes us?"

"At least, there is one person who has bet his life on me."

Urahara Kisuke took a deep breath, and the heart that had sunk to the bottom suddenly became firm again.

That was the kind of perseverance he had.

It was just that the pressure Aiyan brought was too great, and it was inevitable he had lost his composure and grown suspicious.

But after a brief adjustment, he regained himself.

"Urahara Kisuke, you are indeed the man I expected."

After seeing the change in Urahara Kisuke's eyes, knowing he had not been crushed but was growing stronger with each setback, the smile in Aiyan's eyes became even brighter.

It seemed that the change and growth of the man in front of him was exactly what he wanted to see.

After all, who could resist a Shinigami—Soul Society's smartest—trying every possible way to please him?

"Yeah?"

"Since you know me so well, I wonder, Captain Aiyan, have you guessed the function of those four pillars?"

Urahara Kisuke suppressed the thoughts in his heart, his eyes turning cold and calm.

No regrets for making his move.

Now that he had entered the game and laid out his trump cards, he would not allow himself to retreat.

"I am not an omniscient and omnipotent god—how could I know what the wise Urahara Kisuke is thinking?"

Aiyan spread his hands.

"That's the boundary-turning pillar I designed."

"It functions as a huge Senkaimon."

"Everything inside the boundary-turning pillar can be transferred to the space I preset."

Urahara Kisuke ignored Aiyan's teasing and explained the function of the boundary pillar.

"Oh?"

"Then where do you plan to send Central 46?"

Aiyan asked with interest.

"Didn't Captain Aiyan just go there?

Why are you still asking me?"

Urahara Kisuke countered with a look of surprise.

Aiyan's expression didn't change, but when Urahara said the words Hueco Mundo, the Gotei captains and lieutenants around them all reacted in horror.

"Menos Grande Forest, to be precise," Urahara Kisuke added.

"You put the Hollow bait on the expeditionary force."

Shihōin Yoruichi, unable to suppress her anger, gritted her teeth and shouted.

"You could say so."

Urahara Kisuke turned to meet Shihōin Yoruichi's gaze, his expression calm.

After the setback Aiyan had dealt him, he seemed to have grown completely from the inside out—his mind calmer and more decisive.

Even when facing Shihōin Yoruichi, his former best friend who believed herself betrayed and plotted by him, he could remain steady, without guilt.

Unlike before, when he would avoid her eyes and feel deeply ashamed.

"I suspected before that this was done by Muguruma Kensei and the others—"

"—the purpose being to lure Aiyan away."

"I didn't expect it was all your doing."

Kyōraku Shunsui was also shocked by Urahara Kisuke's methods.

A single man, yet the same Seireitei—

Almost all Gotei captains had been plotted against.

If the target hadn't been Aiyan, but any other captain—including himself—Urahara's trap could have killed them.

"Didn't you do it, Captain Kyōraku?"

Yadōmaru Lisa also looked shocked.

Earlier, in the First Division meeting hall, she had thought Kyōraku Shunsui simply didn't want to see Hikifune Kirio and Shutara Senjumaru executed, so he had used Hollow bait to lure Aiyan to Hueco Mundo.

After all, the Fifth Division was a rescue team.

If there was a rescue operation, Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni would naturally assign Captain Aiyan, not the Twelfth Division, which was devoted to research.

"Lisa, what are you talking about?

That's a group of Shinigami who shed their blood for Soul Society—a group of pure righteousness.

Even if I wanted to lure Captain Aiyan away, I couldn't use Hollow bait to plot against them."

Kyōraku Shunsui said angrily.

When he first learned about the Hollow bait from the returning expeditionary force, he had been furious.

If he hadn't prioritized saving Hikifune Kirio and Shutara Senjumaru, he would have been tempted to report to Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni and punish Muguruma Kensei and the others who had used Hollow bait to endanger the expeditionary force.

Unexpectedly, it had all been secretly arranged by Urahara Kisuke.

"Why lure Aiyan to Hueco Mundo?"

Hikifune Kirio frowned slightly, unable to understand Urahara Kisuke's motives.

A sinner who had plotted against her in the Great Spirit Book Gallery couldn't be like Muguruma Kensei or Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō, risking everything to save her from Soul Society.

"Maybe if Captain Aiyan was in Seireitei, Urahara wouldn't be able to set up the four boundary-turning pillars."

"Urahara Kisuke himself said his nature was to have a thousand strategies for every situation. He must have known he would lose to Captain Aiyan."

"As a contingency to save his life after defeat, do you think he would dare make such arrangements under Captain Aiyan's nose?"

Shutara Senjumaru, like Hikifune Kirio, first dismissed the most obvious answer and then pieced together a conclusion from her altered memories.

After hearing her analysis, Hikifune Kirio felt it made sense.

Yes—this must be it.

...

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