XX-level Hokage

Ultimately, when the Hogyoku that Aizen wanted was here, and when the solution to extract the Hogyoku was also provided by this side, Aizen's freedom to take action was compressed to the extreme.

Just like the urban legend of the Purple Mirror, which becomes clearer in one's mind the more one tries to forget it, once a predetermined path is established, there is no way to escape from that path.

With the Central 46th Room card gone, the plan to use a double-dip strategy has become a pipe dream. But giving up now is out of the question.

Therefore, at this point, Aizen could only do one thing: find another way to retrieve the Twin Smash from the soul, besides using it.

Everything has a traceable pattern, and everything is interconnected.

Examining everything related to the Hogyoku from Aizen's perspective, the Hogyoku possessed by Kisuke Urahara was created by him (Urahara) and sealed within the decaying...

His technology was also used in Rukia's body.

A technology cannot simply appear out of thin air as if it fell from the sky, especially a technology related to the Hogyoku.

That is to say, even if Kisuke Urahara made further research and use of the Hōgyoku during the past century, the prototype of the technology must have been hidden in the results of his extensive research and testing of the Hōgyoku when he was still the director of the Technology Development Bureau.

Therefore, what Aizen needed was to search through Kisuke Urahara's past research in detail.

In the end, Aizen found the technology he wanted: a technology that directly intervenes in the composition of the soul and forcibly separates it.

He had to review all of Kisuke Urahara's remaining techniques and search for them one by one. Even if he eventually found the techniques he wanted, it would still be a long process.

In this process, Aizen had to face another situation: where exactly was Rukia Kuchiki hiding?

This problem did not end with the end of Central 46; it still stands in Aizen's way.

Even if we eventually find the technology to extract the Hogyoku, it will be meaningless if we can't get Rukia Kuchiki, who possesses the Hogyoku.

In his quest to find Rukia Kuchiki, Aizen employed numerous measures and methods, and likely prepared several backup plans. Under his instructions, Gin Ichimaru attempted to find a breakthrough through Ichigo Kurosaki's side.

Although Aizen believed that Rukia Kuchiki's disappearance was Mashiro's doing, Mashiro's orders and responses after gaining control of the Central 46 didn't seem fake either.

Aizen knew Ichigo Kurosaki's potential better than anyone else. If Ichigo Kurosaki were pushed to his limit, it wouldn't be impossible for him to successfully take Rukia Kuchiki away.

Therefore, we cannot rely on mere inference as factual basis; even the smallest possibility needs to be confirmed.

However, Gin Ichimaru quickly confirmed the matter: Rukia Kuchiki was indeed not in the hands of Ichigo Kurosaki and the others. Thus, the situation suddenly changed.

Rukia Kuchiki is not in the hands of Ichigo Kurosaki and the others, and it is assumed that she is also not in the hands of the Gotei 13.

So, the so-called "mysterious third party" refers to Aizen. But the problem is, Aizen also doesn't know Rukia Kuchiki's whereabouts. Should we then introduce an even more mysterious fourth party?

Continuing down this path would only make the situation more confusing and the truth harder to discern. Therefore, Aizen refused to follow this path that would only make the situation more perplexing.

He firmly believed that Mashiro must have done something, so he only needed to focus on Mashiro to get the answer.

Chapter 152: This is how everything unfolded (Part 1)

Of course, just to be on the safe side, and also with the idea that if you can't take advantage of it, you might as well. Aizen wanted Sousuke to have Gin Ichimaru subtly reveal the information about the so-called mysterious third party to the other divisions of the Gotei 13, guiding the entire Gotei 13 to investigate in that direction.

Even if the investigation continues in this direction, and Mashiro's deliberate interference leads to Aizen's premature exposure, or even designates Aizen as a necessary enemy, it doesn't matter. As long as he can find Kuchiki Rukia, his goal will be achieved.

Thus, the Seireitei once again entered a brief period of calm in its investigations, like the calm before the storm. On the surface, the investigations in all aspects were progressing steadily, presenting a busy yet restrained scene.

It was during this period that a situation that greatly interested Aizen was noticed.

Mashiro, the former captain of the 10th Division who was expelled from Tokishiro, suddenly appeared in Tokishiro and even made contact with Retsu Unohana. In the end, she secretly entered the captain's meeting room.

Since Mashiro did not deliberately conceal her whereabouts, Aizen could not possibly have failed to notice her presence. Therefore, a bold guess, a possibility, would naturally emerge in Aizen's mind.

That is—"Is the most dangerous place the safest place? Is Rukia Kuchiki being hidden around the captain's meeting room, personally guarded by Mashiro?"

This speculation was further fueled by the constant presence of Tousen Kaname in the team's meeting room. Normally, Mashiro wouldn't need to appear before Tousen Kaname.

Aizen's Kyoka Suigetsu requires his opponent to have witnessed the hypnotic ritual to activate properly, and since Tosen is blind, this prerequisite is irrelevant. Even if Tosen is the only example, making it difficult to deduce or impossible to verify, this flaw in Kyoka Suigetsu doesn't affect...

The fact that Tosen Kaname is an extremely special case who is unaffected by Aizen's abilities.

This fact was not only clarified now, but was already hinted at to Tosen Kaname a hundred years ago when Aizen ambushed Hirako Shinji and Kensei Muguruma in Rukongai.

At the time, Aizen never expected that Mashiro would so readily "flip the table." He still wanted Tōsen to grow up in fear, to regard him as an enemy, and thus become the cornerstone and help for him to reach a higher level.

With Mashiro being one of the few remaining combatants in the Tokage world capable of threatening him, and Tosen Kaname serving as an insurance that is not under his control, the fact that the two of them are always together in the First Division makes the possibility that "Kuchiki Rukia is being hidden in the First Division's meeting room" extremely likely to come true.

To put it another way, let's set aside the special circumstances of Mashiro and Tosen and look at it from a common-sense perspective.

Back then, the First Squadron was bustling with people coming and going. The probability of someone being able to hide under the noses of so many people without being discovered must have been very low.

But this seemingly obvious common sense is counterintuitive. All personnel transfers are arranged by Mashiro and Unohana Retsu, who consciously creates a blind spot in these personnel movements, hiding something within it, which is precisely the simplest thing to do.

Most people might not think of this, but Aizen is no ordinary person; on the contrary, he is the one most capable of thinking of this.

Therefore, this aligns with Maki's style of constantly going against intuition from the very beginning. This also lends credibility to this speculation.

Having realized this possibility, Aizen's next move became clear: He ordered Mashiro to leave the squadron leader's meeting room!

Kaname Tosen is insignificant now. Even if Aizen is found among the crowd, he cannot threaten Aizen. The one who is truly frightening is Mashiro.

What Aizen fears most right now is not a single-target, one-hit kill attack, but a devastating attack that covers a certain area—that bizarre time manipulation ability.

Once Kaname Tosen confirms Aizen's presence, Mashiro can instantly seal off the entire area, annihilating all life within it, and then have Kaname confirm it, thus preventing a repeat of the previous situation.

Aizen believed that Mashiro was capable of doing such a thing. From this perspective, the fact that so many members of the First Division gathered together would naturally make people think, "They can't do that, right?" is also a counterintuitive trap.

The moment Aizen realized this, he understood that Mashiro was now in an invincible position.

Therefore, Mashiro, who had previously adopted various proactive measures, adopted a more subdued approach at this stage, which resulted in...

A perfect explanation.

Luring Mashiro out of the First Division's location wasn't a precaution, but a necessity. Based on this, Aizen did two things.

First, he awkwardly threw out the powerful spirit bomb, and the question of how to deal with it was now in front of Mashiro.

Others may not know whose it is, but Mashiro certainly does.

After all, although it's unknown what agreement Mashiro and Captain-Commander Yamamoto reached, there's one condition: Mashiro absolutely cannot harm the interests of the Shinigami. Therefore, this spirit bomb is something Mashiro absolutely must deal with.

So, Mashiro's concern wouldn't be how to deal with the spirit bomb, but rather how many spirit bombs she still had, and what would happen next.

The question of where it occurred is understandable if she were simply ignorant of technology; it would be normal for her to hand over the spirit bomb to the Technology Development Bureau to handle.

But Mashiro is different. In terms of technology, Mashiro is actually very similar to Aizen. Unlike Kiryu, Kisuke Urahara, and Nene, they simply wanted to do technology and research, and what they achieved was a secondary consideration.

Their motivation for pursuing technology was to better achieve their goals, but their talent also brought them to a level comparable to those geniuses who were solely focused on research.

Once we shift our focus away from the spirit bomb itself and concentrate on other threats, the best approach would be for Mashiro to personally take action, analyze the situation as quickly as possible, and then respond accordingly. Mashiro is fully capable of doing just that.

If Mashiro had personally taken action, given her technical skills, there would never have been a situation like when Gin Ichimaru came knocking on their door, and they were still making slow progress researching the spirit bomb.

To this end, Aizen even had Gin Ichimaru appear in the First Division, trying to imply that Mashiro should handle the matter personally.

However, Mashiro remained oblivious to the threat of the spirit bombs. Compared to the possibility that the spirit bombs might explode somewhere, or that similar spirit bombs might already exist in various parts of the Seireitei, causing countless casualties if they were to explode, she appeared unusually calm.

Chapter 153: This is how everything unfolded (Part 2)

To escalate the situation, Aizen did a second thing.

No, it's not so much an escalation as it seems; rather, while they appear to be two related events, they are actually based on completely different lines of thought. Rukia Kuchiki appeared, simultaneously in multiple divisions.

This appears to be one thing, but it's actually two separate things that need to be understood and processed separately. First, Rukia Kuchiki appeared.

Since Rukia Kuchiki disappeared, there hasn't been a single clue as to her whereabouts, meaning she was hidden extremely well. But it's often precisely when such situations occur that those who hid Rukia Kuchiki become even more perplexed.

Could it be that Rukia Kuchiki's hiding place has been discovered? Could it be that Rukia Kuchiki escaped on her own? Could it be that someone rescued Rukia Kuchiki? Several such speculations can surface in an instant, and often, the deeper one thinks, the more likely it is that some part of the plan has gone unnoticed.

The higher the chance of Rukia Kuchiki appearing, the more likely the leak will be.

Under these circumstances, what Mashiro can do is:

First, leave the First Division and go to the area where Kuchiki Rukia appeared to investigate and confirm whether the appearance was indeed the real Kuchiki Rukia. Second, without leaving the First Division, go to Kuchiki Rukia's hiding place to check and confirm that the Kuchiki Rukia appearing outside is just a decoy. Or perhaps... Third...

She remained so confident that she did nothing, which was also a signal that she was confident that Rukia Kuchiki was in a place that she could not rescue by herself or her comrades alone, and that place was in the First Division, in the position she was personally guarding.

Secondly, Rukia Kuchiki appeared in multiple squads.

This may seem like a continuation of the previous incident, but the signal it conveys is not so simple. If you look closely at the squads marked with "Kuchiki Rukia", they all have a subtle characteristic.

That is it.

The captains or vice-captains of these squads were all Shinigami who rose to power after Aizen's era. In other words, theoretically none of them had witnessed Aizen's hypnosis rituals, meaning they would not be affected by Kyoka Suigetsu.

Of course, because this characteristic is too subtle and not easily noticed, and because there are captains in these squads who were affected by the pre-Aizen era, it is necessary to give Mashiro a hint.

It was about time to reveal his identity, so Gin Ichimaru stopped hiding. Using his captain status and the pretext he had previously made with Mashiro, he freely appeared in these squads. For those who hadn't been affected but might cause some trouble, such as a particular 10th Squad captain who was particularly active and involved in investigations everywhere, the captains and vice-captains would take action and defeat them all.

He laid the clues bare before Mashiro, leading her step by step into his carefully laid trap.

In other words, it wasn't because a phantom resembling Rukia Kuchiki appeared at their squad's base, like a murder proclamation, that they were murdered one by one.

In reality, it was their very unique nature that brought about this calamity. The order of cause and effect is different, and this is the brilliance of Aizen's scheme.

Behind the Scenes of the Game: Mashiro and Aizen's Proxy War

Just as Mashiro believed Aizen had sensed something amiss about her staying in the First Division, when the hints reached this level, Aizen also believed it.

Mashiro must have already realized this truth, or even before that.

Looking at the entire process of Mashiro and Aizen's battle, apart from the fact that they both suffered different consequences and took action at the very beginning, what they did after that was almost too simple.

Neither of them has made any further appearances or taken any action in any meaningful way.

After Ichigo and the others invaded, Mashiro stayed in the First Division. She only went to the Guanting Street next to the First Division and returned immediately. Aizen, on the other hand, did not show up at all, as if he was completely uninvolved.

However, they acted like two chess players, driving the entire event from behind the scenes.

Just as the times swept everyone along, forcing them to keep moving forward and drift with the tide, they skillfully guided the development of events.

The path leads to a point where those caught up in it will spontaneously take action.

They exploit those who are aware of some aspects of the situation, or those who are completely unaware, to achieve their goals.

This includes not only the Shinigami of the Gotei 13, but also the highest authority of the Central 46, and even ordinary high school students like Ichigo Kurosaki who know nothing about it.

Even those who were in the know, involved, or promoted, such as Yoruichi Shihouin and Gin Ichimaru, only knew their own part and were unable to see the whole picture.

Their confrontation resembled a proxy war orchestrated by countless agents.

These agents, such as Ichigo Kurosaki and the Gotei 13, often have a dual nature: they may act as Mashiro's "agent" one moment and as Aizen's "agent" the next.

This is a more sophisticated manipulation method. It is hidden beneath the surface of the event and is difficult to detect. If you cannot understand the inside story of Mashiro and Aizen's relationship and their logic, and only look at the event itself, you will feel like you are looking at flowers through a fog. You always feel that something is about to happen, but in the end it just disappears without a trace, which is frustrating.

That's because, from beginning to end, apart from the fact that Shinji took over the Central 46 Chambers, which Shinji himself reaped the benefits of,

Neither Mashiro's nor Aizen's plans progressed to the end as was inevitable in the story.

If we use the process of beginning, development, turning point, and climax as an analogy, most of their plans were forced to be abandoned or changed direction before they even reached the "development" stage, or even just the "beginning" stage. Therefore, they never progressed to the final climax and decisive battle.