Chapter 455 - 455: Take Off All Your Clothes

After leaving Cyrus, Aizen finally allowed himself to relax.

Having heard the one piece of information he had wanted most, he had momentarily stopped bothering with his usual disguise.

Tosen, walking behind him, could feel the enormous pressure radiating from Aizen's body.

"Lord Aizen."

Aizen's pace slowed.

"Do you truly believe what that man told you?"

Tosen knew how long Aizen had been searching for the Hōgyoku.

Urahara Kisuke had hidden it before fleeing Soul Society, and despite all their efforts over the years, they had never been able to locate it.

Now Cyrus had simply handed them a clue.

"Whether I believe him or not isn't particularly important."

Tosen's question brought Aizen fully back under control, and the oppressive presence surrounding him gradually faded.

"We only need to check."

"That's true."

Tosen immediately understood.

There weren't many members of the Kuchiki family to begin with.

It was an ancient noble house, but its actual number of descendants was relatively small, and there were even fewer young women who fit Cyrus's description.

Tosen had already formed a likely guess.

The girl Kuchiki Byakuya had brought back from Rukongai.

"If she's managed to conceal it for this long, then her compatibility with the Hōgyoku may be unusually high."

Aizen had naturally seen Kuchiki Rukia before, yet he had never sensed anything particularly unusual from her.

Even her abilities had never struck him as especially remarkable.

Of course, that was by Aizen's standards.

To an ordinary Shinigami, Rukia was undoubtedly talented.

"Come. We'll deal with their arrangements first."

Aizen and Tosen returned to Seireitei.

…

Inside the Fourth Division, the two captains arrived to visit Gin Ichimaru, who was still very much confined to bed.

Officially, of course, they were merely checking on an injured colleague.

"Captain Ichimaru's condition?"

Aizen asked Unohana calmly.

"Not good, though his injuries are under control."

Unohana frowned.

"The burns are extremely severe. For a moment, I almost wondered whether the Captain-Commander himself had attacked him."

Even with her medical abilities, all she could do for now was stabilize Gin's condition. Fully recovering would likely take a very long time.

"Of course it wasn't him."

Aizen shook his head slowly.

"We all know that now."

"Yes…"

Unohana's expression turned grave.

"That man…"

"The Captain-Commander will probably make further plans regarding this incident, but I doubt Soul Society will act again anytime soon. Not until we understand more about what is happening in Hueco Mundo."

With that, she turned and led Aizen and Tosen toward Gin's room.

Matsumoto Rangiku had put aside her own duties and was currently taking care of him.

"You idiot. Was that really the kind of fight you needed to throw yourself into?"

She grumbled while working.

"If you'd at least won, maybe I could understand. But you went out there and got yourself beaten half to death."

Wrapped almost entirely in bandages, Gin lay there with his eyes narrowed as usual and gave no response.

Footsteps approached.

Rangiku stood and turned to find three captains entering.

"Captain Unohana. Captain Aizen. Captain Tosen."

After greeting them, she glanced once more at Gin before leaving the room.

The moment Gin saw Aizen, his narrowed eyes opened slightly.

"Looks like you only need time to recover."

Aizen looked him over.

"If Captain Aizen had gone a little easier on me, maybe I wouldn't need quite so much time."

Gin spoke suddenly.

Unohana behaved as though she hadn't heard a word.

She stepped forward, checked Gin's condition once more, then quietly left.

"There was no choice."

Aizen looked at Gin with complete calm.

"If we wanted to conceal what truly happened, we needed something dramatic enough to draw everyone's attention."

"A captain returning gravely wounded and nearly dead serves that purpose perfectly."

"Fair enough."

Gin gave a faint chuckle.

"Though I suppose that means I won't be able to go back to Hueco Mundo and pick anyone up for you."

"There's no need."

Tosen answered.

"I already brought them into Soul Society."

Gin laughed softly.

"Heh. Then I really am useless right now."

"Of course not."

Aizen's tone remained gentle.

"I still have considerable need for your abilities."

"So?"

Gin looked directly at him.

He didn't believe for a second that Aizen had come all this way merely to check on his recovery.

Something had happened.

And it almost certainly involved the man from Hueco Mundo.

"The plan is moving forward."

Aizen went straight to the point.

Gin's eyes opened fully.

For once, genuine surprise appeared in them.

"For now, however, you should remain here."

Aizen continued.

"You may even benefit from staying in Soul Society for a little longer."

Gin's heart sank.

Aizen wanted him to remain behind?

That was not good news.

Gin's true purpose had never been to help Aizen achieve his ambitions.

He had joined him to recover what had once been taken from Rangiku.

"You don't want to?"

Aizen noticed the change in his expression.

"I've been associated with you for too long."

Gin answered without hesitation.

"If you move forward with your plan and eventually leave Soul Society, no one is going to believe I had nothing to do with it."

"If that becomes a problem, I'll take you with me."

Aizen said simply.

"Until then, stay here."

He glanced toward Tosen, then turned and left.

"Lord Aizen intends to place someone in your division."

Tosen spoke once Aizen was gone.

Gin blinked.

That had escalated quickly.

Then the realization hit him, and if his injuries hadn't been so severe, he might actually have sat bolt upright.

"That man?" Gin asked.

"Yes."

"That man."

Gin stared at Tosen.

"What exactly does he plan to do?"

"I don't know."

Tosen answered honestly.

"Lord Aizen doesn't entirely know either."

Gin clearly disliked that answer.

They were putting Cyrus inside the Third Division.

Worse, they were doing it while Gin himself was bedridden.

Who knew what kind of disaster that man might cause?

Gin certainly didn't believe Cyrus had any intention of obediently following Seireitei's rules.

If he decided to cause trouble, it wouldn't be a small disturbance.

"The decision has already been made."

Tosen continued.

"Lord Aizen's plan will also officially begin moving forward. However, the exact target is still being investigated, so some time will be required."

Then he turned and left as well.

Gin remained lying there, but for once his eyes refused to narrow again.

"This soon?"

Once the other two were gone, Gin gradually calmed down.

Thinking it through carefully, he realized Aizen genuinely seemed to be rushing.

'Because that man feels like a threat?'

Gin's expression became thoughtful.

'Can I use that somehow?'

…

Aizen moved quickly.

A Shinigami team soon arrived in Rukongai to test local souls for spiritual aptitude.

Robin, Hancock, and Baby 5 slipped into the group of candidates who tested positive for Reiryoku with almost absurd ease.

As for what Reishi and spiritual power actually felt like, the three women still had no real idea.

Cyrus, meanwhile, entered Seireitei directly.

And the very first thing he encountered was…

"Take off all your clothes."

A woman's voice rang out.

Cyrus's expression immediately darkened.

At last, he understood why the Shinigami who had escorted him here had been wearing such a strange expression.