Restricted Death

Chapter 234 The Choice Aizen Gave Me
The once glittering and opulent hall of the Ishida family mansion now seemed filled with an invisible weight of lead. The cold light from the crystal chandelier reflected off the smooth floor, illuminating every tense and hostile face present.

Hirako Shinji, Mukkaku Kensei, Ushōda Hachigen, and others unleashed their powerful spiritual pressure without any concealment. Their overwhelming killing intent intertwined to form an invisible net, tightly locking onto the figure in the center of the hall.

Among them, Hachigen Urajita's enormous hands were already clasped together, his knuckles turning white from the force, and his body emanated a dangerous, ethereal aura, as if he were ready to make a move at any moment.

Despite the chilling pressure that could shatter ordinary souls, Aizen Sousuke maintained a calm yet unsettling smile. He adjusted his glasses, his gaze sweeping over the tense crowd: "Don't be in such a hurry,"

His voice remained steady, with an untimely composure: "It's been many years since we last met. Don't you want to catch up first? It's rather impolite to start with this kind of scene."

Kensei Rokusha let out a short, contemptuous snort, his eyes sharp as knives: "What do we have to talk to you about?! Aizen Sousuke, today is the day of reckoning!" The spiritual pressure surging around him was like a volcano about to erupt.

Aizen shook his head: "I think it would be better to talk first. You didn't have a chance of winning decades ago, but do you think you do now?"

He then casually, as if completely unconcerned about the overflowing murderous intent, turned his gaze to Xin, who was sitting upright on the other side, and said in a tone with a unique meaning, "Xin-kun, I think you wouldn't be as resistant as they are to my request to reminisce, would you? You are someone who understands the value of prudence."

Shin sat there expressionless. Ever since he sensed Aizen's spiritual pressure, his Zanpakuto had been working on him to prevent himself from being hit by Kyoka Suigetsu without his knowledge.

"What, do you think you can give us any reason not to attack you?"

Upon hearing this, Aizen's smile widened, seemingly pleased with Shin's reaction: "I can't be sure about them, but Shin-kun is different from them. After all, didn't Shin-kun convey this idea to me before?"

Shin's eyes flickered slightly, and considering Aizen's presence here at this moment, he instantly understood the meaning behind his words.

shhh-

Just then, a crisp sound of a paper fan being opened broke the brief, speculative silence.

Kisuke Urahara suddenly unfolded his closed paper fan, obscuring half of his face and revealing only a pair of eyes that gleamed with shrewdness and vigilance. His signature, slightly mocking voice rang out in the heavy air: "I'm telling you, please don't say things that are hard to understand at a time like this. It's easy for us to misunderstand."

His gaze, filled with obvious inquiry and scrutiny, lingered on the letter for several seconds.

In fact, Kisuke Urahara felt that now was not the best time to start a war with Aizen, but then he thought that Aizen's spiritual pressure just now was too strange and would inevitably lead the letter there, so they could not sit idly by.

What should have been the prelude to a deadly battle was tinged with an eerie calm amidst the tension. How could Shin and Aizen sit so calmly across the table? This didn't align with Urahara's assessment of Aizen. Their group was indeed determined to settle their blood debts with Aizen at this moment, in this place, even at a heavy price.

However, a deep-seated unease lingered in Urahara's heart: Was this truly the right time? What was Aizen's purpose in appearing so obviously abnormally, almost "deliberately,"? Before arriving here, Hirako Shinji and the others were already burning with fervor, eager for a battle. Urahara had weighed the situation a thousand times in his mind, ultimately choosing to hold back for the time being, precisely because of this subtle and illogical calm in the hall. He needed an explanation, he needed Shin's interpretation of the current situation.

“You’re right.” Shin looked at Aizen calmly and said, “I thought I had disguised myself well enough back then, but I didn’t expect you to see through me.”

Aizen's smile deepened: "Shin-kun, your words are arrogant towards me, and also a disregard for yourself. As I just said, some people are born special, and I will never misjudge someone with such qualities."

As he spoke, he glanced at Kisuke Urahara not far away, "At first, I was surprised when I thought about the two of you joining forces, but the only thing you did after joining forces was to bring Gin into your camp, which made me feel somewhat disappointed."

Aizen finally looked at Gin Ichimaru: "Gin, you must have sensed something, right? How could someone like me possibly trust you? And this distrust has been there ever since you started following me. You've never earned my trust, so what can you do even if you join their side?"

"I actually had two plans for today's events. If Shin-kun is no match for those four Arrancar, they will not kill you in the end, but they will take Matsumoto Rangiku away. However, I will let Gin stay and confess my crimes to Soul Society with you. In this way, Gin can penetrate deeper into your camp and continue to be under my control."

"Gin, your weakness is too obvious. Your nature, the tendency to disregard the process and means for the sake of your obsession, has long proven that you have little sense of righteousness or justice. Otherwise, you wouldn't have chosen to sit idly by my side and remain silent when the plan against Captain Hirako and his group began decades ago. You are just that kind of person who can be easily controlled and precisely used because you have something to gain."

After hearing this, Gin Ichimaru's eyes glazed over, and he stood there motionless.

Aizen continued, looking at Kisuke Urahara and Shinji Hirako, "This would actually be a good outcome for you, because Shin and Gin's confession to Soul Society would have cleared your names and brought the truth of what happened back then to light. But unfortunately, it didn't work out."

Hirako Shinji sneered: "There's no need to sow discord. We all know that there's only one culprit behind all this!"

Aizen sighed and said, "Captain Hirako, don't think of me as so lowly. I truly feel sorry for you because you may never have another chance. The outcome of my second preparation is uncertain. From the moment you met me here, you were very likely to die here."

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a cold, iron-like sense of judgment, like a death knell tolling in a silent hall.

As soon as the words fell, the air in the entire space seemed to freeze and compress instantly, becoming thick and difficult to breathe. Even powerful figures like Hirako and Urahara instinctively held their breath. Yadomaru Lisa's hand rested on the hilt of her sword, and Hiyori's golden pupils contracted to pinpoints.

"If you're going to take action, why waste so much time on empty talk!" Hirako Shinji forced down his palpitations, his tone becoming even colder and more piercing, his Zanpakuto showing signs of being unsheathed.

A major battle seems imminent.

"Calm down, I haven't finished speaking." Aizen gently raised his hand, as if soothing a restless child. The suffocating pressure vanished in an instant, but the chill it brought was already imprinted on everyone's hearts. His tone returned to that irritating composure.

"Shin-kun defeated those four Arrancar, which is why you have the opportunity to meet me here and make a deal with me."

Urahara Kisuke's eyes, hidden in the shadows of his hat brim and paper fan, narrowed sharply, a glint of shrewdness flashing within them: "A deal?"

Aizen met his gaze. "Ah, not bad."

Urahara Kisuke grinned: "I think I know what you want." Aizen chuckled: "That's right, it's that thing."

Kisuke Urahara retorted bluntly, "Do you think you can take it from me while I'm still alive?"

“That’s hard to say.” Aizen wasn’t surprised. “It depends on Shin-kun’s choice. It seems you don’t know what’s going to happen in the future.”

Shinji Hirako, Kensei Rokusha, and the others furrowed their brows so tightly they were almost knotted together, their gazes shifting rapidly between Aizen and Shin with suspicion and uncertainty.

Years of resentment made them unable to trust a single word Aizen spoke, but Urahara's solemn expression and Shin's silent response suggested that things were far more complex than just Aizen's casual remarks.

That information gap, like an invisible rift, quietly appeared between the temporary allies. Although Kisuke Urahara trusted Shin's position more, the information bombshell about the "future" that Aizen had just dropped made him realize the possibility of a more serious situation.

Aizen looked at Shin with a smile: "Shin-kun, aren't you going to explain things to them? Urahara Kisuke, aren't you curious why I'm here? And this Mr. Ishida, you should know him, right?"

Kisuke Urahara covered half of his face with a paper fan. He had noticed this problem when he arrived here and had been wondering about it ever since.

How did a Quincy get involved with Aizen?

After a moment of silence, Shin suddenly said with a hint of sarcasm, "Aizen, I thought you had devised some brilliant plan, but you were actually helpless, weren't you?"

A glint of light flashed from the glasses Aizen was wearing.

Shin sneered: "Because in front of those people, what you did has no way to hide. You can no longer stay in Soul Society, so you have no choice but to take this step."

He understood the predicament hidden beneath Aizen's composed exterior—the immense shadow of that invisible empire was closing in relentlessly. He realized that Aizen's proactive revelation this time was not a simple provocation, but a gesture of seeking cooperation or a deal out of desperation and necessity!
Despite the letter's sarcasm, Aizen showed no anger. Instead, he readily admitted, "Indeed, the Quincy incident was beyond my expectations. Thanks to your discovery, Shin-kun, it actually helped me and prevented me from being put in a passive position in the future."

"Therefore, in return, I am willing to join forces with Soul Society to deal with those enemies."

Shin remained unmoved: "Aizen, you're wrong. This is the only path you can take. The Quincy are everyone's enemy. Do you think you can escape by leaving Soul Society and fleeing back to Hueco Mundo? This is a war that is sweeping across the three realms. No one can stay out of it. So the deal you're talking about simply doesn't exist."

"Excuse me." Kisuke Urahara raised his hand like a student asking a question. "Could you please help us out? We're completely confused. What exactly is going on with the Quincy?"

Aizen chuckled lightly: "Mr. Ishida, could you please explain this to us? As a Quincy, I believe you should know better than any of us."

Ishida Sogen, who had been standing to the side like a transparent person, turned pale upon hearing this. He froze upon hearing Aizen's words, first glancing at the letter, then scanning the crowd present.

Ishida Munen took a deep breath. He didn't want to get involved in these struggles, but from the moment he saw the letter, to when Yu Gelan and the others came to his door and took Ryuken away, and now, reality just wouldn't let him have his way.

Should he resent the letter? It was the letter that dragged him into it.

No, even if none of this had happened, how could they possibly escape once the emperor truly awoke?

He didn't hate his identity as a Quincy. He understood His Majesty's purpose. Just as Shin had said, in this war that swept across the three realms, no one could remain uninvolved.

He only hated his own weakness.

All Xin was doing was looking for an opportunity to break the deadlock. Compared to him, Xin was far better, even though he had already resigned himself to his fate and still harbored illusions. What right did Xin have to resent him?

Ishida Sogen slowly spoke in a low voice: "The Holy Emperor's Hymn prophesied that the King of the Quincy, who was sealed away, would regain his heartbeat after 900 years, regain his consciousness after 90 years, regain his power after 9 years, and finally, regain the world in just 9 days."

"The Empire of Light was not completely destroyed a thousand years ago, and the Quincy were not wiped out more than 200 years ago. They just hid and waited for an opportunity to return to the world."

Shin added at this point: "The time mentioned in the prophecy is not far off. In about ten years, the Quincy King will awaken, and the new Quincy, the Wandenreich, will remain hidden in the shadow world of Seireitei."

After he finished speaking, Ishida Sogen was startled. He thought to himself that the information Shin knew was indeed beyond his expectations. He even knew the hiding place of the Invisible Empire. No wonder Yugran and the others couldn't sit still.

Unfortunately, the Key to the Sun has already been taken by Yugran. Although they know the location of the Hidden Empire, they have no way to enter it.

Perhaps... I should have been more decisive back then.

After hearing this information, Kisuke Urahara and the others were all briefly shocked.

These words contained so much information that some people couldn't even process it all.

Isn't the focus right now on Aizen, to settle the score between these people and Aizen? Why is the Quincy suddenly being dragged into this?

Kisuke Urahara frowned, staring intently at the letter, wanting to confirm with unease, "Are you telling the truth?"

Shin said, "I have informed the Captain-Commander about this matter, and the Captain-Commander has made the decision to prepare for battle, but only a limited number of people know about it, and it has not yet spread throughout Soul Society."

(End of this chapter)