"Yoruichi, relax, Sōsuke is a good guy! A really good one! I swear on one of Old Man Yama's arms!"
Yoruichi looked on helplessly as Kensei patted his chest and assured him so confidently, thinking, "What kind of student curses their own teacher like that?"
"He's the person Old Man Yama specifically requested to investigate. You trust him just like that? You saw his Zanpakutō's ability. Who knows when he might use it on you? Deceiving you would be effortless, wouldn't it?"
Aizen was not surprised at all by Yoruichi's wariness. His ability was indeed likely to arouse others' suspicion. The moment someone witnessed his Zanpakutō's release, they would forever become a prisoner of Kyōka Suigetsu, unable to distinguish reality from illusion... unless they were blind.
Not wanting to waste any more time here, Aizen raised the still-drawn Zanpakutō in his hand, instantly releasing it and hypnotizing the two of them.
"Farewell, Kensei."
Taking a deep look at Kensei, who was now stunned in place, Aizen knew the other had fallen into the illusion he created. After bidding this farewell, audible only to himself, Aizen prepared to turn and leave.
"Hey, what's act with the cool guy?"
Aizen was stunned to find Kensei grabbing his arm, his brain momentarily shut down. I definitely completed the hypnosis just now. How can Kensei still grab me?
"Ohhh—" Watching Aizen's shocked look, Kensei felt refreshed, like drinking an ice-cold black tea on a scorching summer day. "Looks like your Kyōka Suigetsu doesn't work on me."
"That's impossible?!"
"Ridiculous. How could you mortals comprehend the greatness of me, Kensei-sama? A mere Aizen, I can suppress you with one hand."
Kensei laughed arrogantly. Aizen felt that his once-proud Kyōka Suigetsu had become a joke in front of Kensei.
Even Captain-level Shinigami can't escape my Kyōka Suigetsu. How can it have zero effect on Kensei, who's at the same Reiatsu Grade as me? It felt like ever since he met this freak, Kensei had been repeatedly shattering his pride.
Before, Aizen thought his spiritual pressure training speed was so fast it seemed like he was from a different species than other Shinigami... then Kensei was even more exaggerated. His exaggerated learning talent in Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hohō, and Kidō... Kensei was even more excessive. And now, even his most prized Zanpakutō ability didn't work on... Kensei.
Am I destined to be pinned down by Kensei forever?
Aizen felt Kensei was a nemesis sent specifically to her by heaven. Otherwise, why was he better at everything? Oh, wait. His intelligence is lacking.
"Farewell, Kensei." Kensei lowered his voice, exaggeratedly mimicking Aizen's tone from earlier, even pushing up imaginary glasses on his nose with a finger. "Sōsuke, I really should have recorded how you looked saying that just now. We'll engrave it on your tombstone and play it on a loop after you die."
Aizen's mockery by Kensei made him take deep breaths to calm himself, lest his blood pressure rise higher than his spiritual pressure.
"Kensei, look out!"
The moment Aizen dispelled the illusion of Mirror Flower Water Moon, Yoruichi immediately assumed a fighting stance to remind Yuusei to return. Only to see Kensei holding onto Aizen while laughing non-stop, and Aizen with a look of utter despair. She was momentarily confused.
"It's fine, it's fine." Kensei waved a hand, holding his belly, which ached from laughter. "It's just that Aizen's Zanpakutō ability doesn't work on me."
"Are you sure? Isn't this the effect of him hypnotizing you?"
"If you'd seen Sōsuke's expression just now, you wouldn't think that."
Feeling there was nothing worth lingering in this world, Aizen didn't want to speak. He didn't care whether Yoruichi trusted him. The only one who could stand by his side was Kensei. Others' opinions of him were insignificant.
"Alright then, Sōsuke. Now you should tell me what you've been doing in the Rukongai."
"Follow me." Can't win in a fight, can't deceive him. Aizen could only obey Kensei and show him his secret research. "As for you, Miss Shihōin, if you're afraid, you can go back and report me to the Captain-Commander."
"Come on, Yoruichi-nee, give Sōsuke a chance, for my sake." Kensei leaned close to Yoruichi's ear, pleading softly. "Besides, if he wanted to harm me, he had plenty of chances back in the dorm. He never did."
Yoruichi crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. "What if he's playing the long game, trying to catch a bigger fish?"
"You can rest assured, Miss Yoruichi. At least for now, my spiritual pressure isn't enough to affect established powerhouses like the Captain-Commander." Aizen adjusted his glasses. Though he didn't care about others' opinions of him, he didn't want others slandering his relationship with Kensei either. "You don't have to trust me, but you should trust Kensei's judgment a little, shouldn't you?"
Yoruichi stared at Aizen for a few seconds, then looked at Kensei, who was nodding beside him. She resignedly poked Kensei's chest. "You... I just hope there won't come a day when you get sold out and still help the seller count the money."
"I trust Kensei's judgment. But if I find something amiss—" Yoruichi's golden cat-like eyes sharply fixed on Aizen, "—you'll be facing more than just me."
"Alright, Sōsuke, lead the way."
Kensei pulled Yoruichi with one hand and pushed Aizen forward with the other, eager to see how far Aizen's research had progressed.
In a ruin at the edge of the Rukongai, Aizen led the two to a dilapidated wooden door. Channeling spiritual pressure, he quickly tapped several specific points on the door, then ushered them into the relatively intact interior of the building. He then felt along a section of the wall, his spiritual energy tracing a complex pattern. With a slight scraping sound, a hidden door appeared on the floor, revealing a seemingly endless staircase below.
"Truly Aizen. Even getting into a lab is this complicated. You'd have to draw that pattern yourself several times to memorize it."
Coming from the covert operations unit, Yoruichi understood the intricacies better. To open these hidden doors, the sequence of the method absolutely could not be wrong; otherwise, you'd trigger the pre-set demonic attack.
"After you."
Leading the way down the stairs, Aizen imagined what Kensei's reaction would be later. After all, his lab contained quite a few rebel corpses.
"This is..." Following Aizen into the laboratory, Yoruichi glanced at the various advanced spiritual research instruments neatly arranged in the vast space and couldn't help but show a shocked expression. "Wait, even ordinary nobles would have a hard time obtaining equipment like this. Where did you get it?"
"A kind-hearted sponsor provided it."
Seeing Kensei already fiddling around the lab, Aizen hurried over to prevent this silly guy from accidentally breaking his precious instruments.
Yoruichi approached and examined the instruments carefully, her expression subtle as she watched Aizen stop Kensei's antics.
Good grief. These all have the Tsunayashiro family crest. Could it be that the culprit behind the Tsunayashiro family warehouse being cleaned out earlier was Aizen? So everyone wronged Kirio Hikifune.
Looking at the corpses preserved in the lab, Yoruichi mentally compared each one with the Shinigami she knew. After becoming the Second Division Captain, she needed to memorize many faces of death; it would be embarrassing if she couldn't find people for intelligence.
Confirming the corpses here were indeed only those of rebel Shinigami, Yoruichi lowered her guard slightly towards Aizen. She casually picked up the research log on a table and squinted as she carefully examined it.
The more Yoruichi read, the more bizarre her expression became. If it was simply physical therapy research, it wouldn't be a big deal. But the experiment's start date...
Wasn't this the first day Kensei got injured?!
Remembering how Aizen had subtly targeted her with his words back in the hospital room, Yoruichi had a bad feeling.
This guy... Could he have some ulterior motives about Kensei?
***
Dive deeper into the story with 30+ advance chapters, available now on Patreon!patreon.com/CNBLUE
If you're enjoying the novel, please consider leaving a review. Your support is crucial and helps the story grow immensely. Thank you!