One month earlier, Kumoi Gyoukaku and his people had captured three spies sent by the Gotei 13 to infiltrate them.
From the interrogations, they learned the earliest of the spies had been planted nineteen years ago—though only recently had they gained access to the Bakkōtōs.
Unfortunately, just as they began their move, Kumoi uncovered them.
For the next month, he showed no mercy, using the three spies as experimental material.
Although a Bakkōtō required the wielder's consent to replace their Zanpakutō and unleash its full power, its corrosive aura did not. That alone was enough to gnaw at the mind and soul.
To develop a way to neutralize this side effect, shinigami capable of resisting the corruption were indispensable.
Under relentless exposure, two spies died early. Only one, a shinigami named Kisaragi Qin Yue, held on, though after weeks of torment, he too succumbed, his mind completely overtaken.
The Bakkōtō corps had been assigned to watch him, preventing an outburst.
"So, the old fox Kumoi was hiding this from me because he feared I'd refuse the Bakkōtō outright if I knew?"
Higashino Shuuichi immediately understood his motive.
But such secrecy was pointless.
Even without foresight or Aizen's aid, after so many years handling dirty work for the Kasumiooji family, there was no way he would ever abandon his Zanpakutō for a Bakkōtō.
Not unless he was cornered with no other choice.
As for Kisaragi Qin Yue, his fate needed no guessing—death, whether in the training grounds for the corps or on the operating table.
One provided combat experience, the other research progress.
Leaving the workshop behind, Shuuichi felt conflicted.
He had no intention of playing savior.
Those spies had accepted the mission knowing full well the risks.
What troubled him was the timing—nineteen years ago.
Because he himself had joined the Kasumiooji family twenty years ago under Aizen's orders.
A year's gap—but if you factored in preliminary investigation time, the match was exact.
Suddenly, his heart began to race as a harmless face flashed across his mind.
Urahara Kisuke.
If there had been any slip in his past, it was twenty years ago—when he'd fought Yoruichi Shihōin, been knocked out in the 2nd Division barracks, and treated by Urahara.
At that time, he'd carried the case holding the Bakkōtō Raika.
Upon waking, he'd checked it carefully, found no sign of tampering, and, influenced by his mistaken belief that simply holding a Bakkōtō would instantly replace one's Zanpakutō, had convinced himself Raika was safe.
Combined with Urahara's kind demeanor, he'd written it off entirely.
But looking back now—there was no way Urahara hadn't examined it. He had almost certainly studied Raika while Shuuichi was unconscious.
Maybe the time was too short to gain much, but the blade's sinister aura couldn't have gone unnoticed.
"So that's why his questions back then felt so strange—he was probing me."
The realization hit Shuuichi belatedly.
And it explained why Yoruichi never sought him again after that, and why he saw little of Soi Fon, except for a few times she snuck out during leave to visit him.
Those visits had stopped too—likely because Yoruichi discovered them.
Clearly, Urahara had uncovered something.
The Bakkōtōs weren't directly tied to Shuuichi, but suspicion around him was unavoidable.
Especially since he'd all but openly worked for the Kasumiooji family afterward, with their envoys never bothering to conceal their dealings from Unohana Retsu.
Though she wasn't one to gossip, if Urahara was following the trail, Shuuichi had no doubt he'd pieced things together.
This was Urahara, after all—the one mind in Soul Society equal to Aizen's.
"Still, he must not know much. Otherwise, he wouldn't have needed to insert spies."
After the first wave of panic, Shuuichi calmed down, sorting through everything.
He had to admit—the Kasumiooji family's secrecy was impressive. Without his foreknowledge and Aizen's Kyōka Suigetsu, they would still be a complete mystery to Seireitei.
Their noble status, just below the Great Five Houses, gave them unparalleled protection.
Even the Gotei 13, with suspicions, wouldn't dare openly investigate.
"But this means I have to make preparations in advance."
Originally, the Bakkōtō scandal couldn't touch him. He had never wielded one or taken part in their creation. He only followed orders. At worst, he could claim ignorance.
But now, Urahara's involvement tied him to knowledge of their existence twenty years ago—an accusation he could never shake.
And if anyone cross-checked his records, they might realize he hadn't been resting in the human world at that time, but had secretly gone to Hueco Mundo.
That would raise endless questions.
Which meant Higashino Shuuichi needed to think ahead—he had to find a way to wash himself clean.
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