Setting aside the prison uniform Aizen was wearing, he looked almost like an emperor being carried along by a group of people. A carriage accompanied him, surrounded by guards. In terms of sheer spectacle, the procession far exceeded even the Captain-Commander's usual escort.
And Aizen himself played the part of a king perfectly. His head was held slightly aloft, his eyes narrowed as he surveyed his territory under the protection of Squad 9.
Because Tsunayoshi was present, no shackles had been placed around Aizen's face or otherwise used to humiliate him. Watching Aizen's arrogant, haughty demeanor made Kensei's teeth itch.
So infuriating...
And yet he couldn't beat him.
"All right, that's enough. Tone it down a little. You don't want to end up crawling through the streets, do you?" Tsunayoshi warned Aizen half-jokingly.
Aizen's expression finally softened. He once again assumed that refined, gentle demeanor of his, taking in the changes to the Seireitei while simultaneously transmitting his voice to Tsunayoshi through Reiatsu.
"The changes in the Seireitei... Were they driven by you, Sawada Tsunayoshi?"
"You're giving me too much credit. Old Man Yamamoto wanted to change things a long time ago. He was just being held back by those nobles." Tsunayoshi had no habit of taking credit for other people's achievements.
"The nobles? Hah. It seems I played a part in this after all."
"That's right. You sacrificed yourself and the Central 46 was restructured. Only then could the old man's policies gradually be implemented." Tsunayoshi didn't hide anything. All of this was information Aizen could discover himself.
"So I was the wind that set this windmill turning?"
Aizen sighed somewhat wistfully.
If his goal had not been to become the Soul King, but instead to work alongside the Captain-Commander to change Soul Society, what would the outcome have been?
"To be honest, with your talent, if you hadn't caused so much trouble, becoming the next captain of the Gotei 13 wouldn't have been impossible. That guy Kyōraku is already thinking about becoming a hands-off Captain-Commander before he's even properly settled into the position."
Tsunayoshi spoke as though he could see straight through Aizen's thoughts.
"Every revolution requires blood to drive it forward. I have no objection to becoming the price paid for change."
Aizen had never regretted anything he had done.
Even if he were given another chance and had no intention of becoming the Soul King, he would still slaughter those parasites who contributed nothing while clinging to their positions. He would do so without hesitation, simply to force Soul Society to change.
"Then there's nothing more to say."
Tsunayoshi shrugged.
In other words, no matter how many times things were repeated, Aizen would inevitably end up imprisoned unless he became stronger than everyone else—or managed to avoid Urahara's little trick.
They passed through the familiar streets of the various divisions, then through the shopping district and training grounds. Eventually, they caught a distant glimpse of the Shin'ō Academy.
With Aizen's Reiatsu, he could naturally sense that there were people within the academy whose spiritual power was no weaker than his own.
"Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto is managing the academy? That's quite an ambitious arrangement."
Aizen sighed.
With this, the future generation of Shinigami would have no reason to worry about its prospects.
"The old man can't sit still. He needs somewhere to go." Tsunayoshi answered indifferently. Then he suddenly asked, "By the way, don't we need to take a detour ahead?"
"No. What she admires is merely an imagined version of me."
Now that he had no reason to pretend, Aizen had no qualms about showing his true self.
Clack.
A sound came from the corner ahead.
A petite, adorable young woman had dropped the textbooks in her hands. She was wearing the uniform of the Shin'ō Academy.
She wasn't a student.
She was a teacher.
A trace of reminiscence flashed through Aizen's eyes.
Momo Hinamori.
Of everyone, she was the person Aizen felt he had wronged the most—the lieutenant who had followed him blindly.
Unfortunately, the man she admired had never been the real Aizen.
Both Tsunayoshi and Aizen had detected Hinamori's faint Reiatsu before they reached her. Since Aizen was willing to meet her, Tsunayoshi naturally had no reason to refuse.
"Aizen...-sama?"
Hinamori stared blankly at Aizen sitting upon the prisoner carriage.
The sensation of warmth from when Aizen had personally run his blade through her body still flashed through her mind from time to time.
After Aizen had severely damaged her Chain of Fate, Hinamori had survived, but the amount of Reiatsu she could now generate was no longer sufficient for her to continue serving as a Shinigami.
Relying on her record as a lieutenant, Hinamori had returned to the academy and become a teacher—a position she took great pride in.
She had thought that she would never see Aizen again in her lifetime.
Yet here they were, reunited at the entrance to the academy.
Hinamori had imagined countless possibilities for this meeting.
What should she say?
Should she demand to know why Aizen had abandoned her?
Or should she stab the man who had robbed her of the chance to remain a Shinigami?
But when imagination became reality, Hinamori discovered that she couldn't do any of those things.
She simply stood there, frozen.
The moment she saw him, all of her resentment had already vanished.
"Hinamori. Long time no see."
His voice was as gentle and refined as ever, exactly like the man in her memories—if one ignored the prison restraints covering him.
It was only a simple greeting.
Aizen had no intention of having a long conversation with Hinamori. He allowed the carriage to continue carrying him forward, treating her almost like an old friend and almost like a stranger.
"Please, wait!"
Hinamori suddenly called out and stopped the procession.
She hurried forward, but the moment she approached, the members of Squad 9 blocked her path.
"Momo Hinamori, right? Aizen is an important prisoner. Please keep your distance." Kensei Muguruma stepped forward and spoke to her.
"I'm not going any closer. I just want to say one thing."
Kensei's intimidating presence had frightened Hinamori somewhat. After losing so much of her strength, even her courage was no longer what it once had been.
Kensei simply stood in front of her.
He neither permitted her to approach nor explicitly stopped her from speaking.
Well-versed in the rules of the workplace, Hinamori immediately raised her voice.
"Aizen-sama! Thank you for taking such good care of me when I served in Squad 5!"
There was no accusation.
No anger.
Only gratitude.
Hinamori knew that from today onward, she and Aizen would walk completely separate paths. They would never have another opportunity to meet.
At this final moment, perhaps gratitude was the only thing left to say.
Aizen had indeed personally run his blade through her body atop the Sōkyoku. But Hinamori couldn't deny that during their time in the division, Aizen had genuinely cared for his subordinates.
Whatever his motives had been at the time, Hinamori could feel that his concern for those under his command had been genuine.
For a time, Hinamori and her friends had believed Aizen was the finest captain in the Gotei 13.
Rather than allowing their relationship to remain tangled in hatred and resentment, it was better to use this final meeting to draw a definitive end to their past.
The carriage did not slow down.
Hinamori didn't chase after it either.
She silently picked up the books she had dropped and watched Aizen disappear from her sight.
From today onward, she would have to accept a new life.
Hinamori turned toward the academy and walked inside with determined steps.
The past would eventually remain in the past.
Now, she needed to embrace the future.
"Thank you for everything you've done, Lieutenant Hinamori..."
The familiar voice suddenly seemed to explode beside her ear.
Hinamori hurriedly turned around.
There was no trace of Aizen's carriage anywhere.
But Hinamori was certain.
That had been Aizen's voice.
A crystal tear rolled down her cheek, while a smile as radiant as blooming peach blossoms spread across her face.
That's wonderful... So Aizen-sama isn't really as cold and indifferent as he pretends to be.
I'll do my best to live my life, Aizen-sama!
"Oh, my, oh, my. Lieutenant. Hinamori must have been really moved. Don't tell me you deliberately arranged that little performance, Aizen?"
Aizen's method of compressing his voice with Reiatsu had allowed him to evade Kensei and the others' notice, but there was no way it could escape Tsunayoshi's ears.
The moment Aizen finished speaking, Tsunayoshi's teasing followed.
"Hmph. Why don't you say that this reunion was deliberately arranged by you?"
Aizen would never deny the things he had done.
Likewise, he would never admit to having feelings for anyone else.
"Fine, fine. I arranged it. Happy now?"
Tsunayoshi's helpless admission only made Aizen even more irritated.
"Enough!"
Aizen's fiery tone abruptly softened.
"Take me to the First Division."
"So you have no regrets now? Want me to let you meet some of your old companions as well?"
"From the moment we stepped out of the Seireitei centuries ago, neither of us had the option of regret. That was the agreement between Kaname and me."
Aizen didn't want to see Kaname Tōsen.
Nor did he need to.
Whether they succeeded or failed, each of them would sing praises of the other's courage.
That was an understanding between men.
"Then let's go. Everyone, head toward the First Division."
At the First Division barracks, only Shunsui Kyōraku was waiting at the entrance.
He didn't bother with pleasantries.
"You finally made it. I've been waiting for ages."
"I think you were hoping we'd take even longer." Tsunayoshi immediately saw through Kyōraku's desire to keep slacking off. "Why are you the only one here?"
"When you're imprisoning the most powerful criminal Soul Society has seen in nearly a century, the fewer people who know how it's done, the better."
Kyōraku lifted his straw hat slightly and greeted Aizen.
"Congratulations, Captain-Commander Kyōraku."
Aizen spoke calmly.
"In the future, I'll be counting on you to take good care of the Underground Prison, Aizen."
Kyōraku Shunsui replied.
He likewise didn't believe that this so-called great prison could truly restrain Aizen.
It was merely Aizen restraining himself.
And perhaps that wasn't such a bad thing.
Aizen entering the Underground Prison gave the Seireitei the dignity it needed. To some extent, the prison had also gained an extraordinarily powerful guardian.
"Lead the way."
Aizen spoke as though he were the one managing this procession rather than the prisoner being escorted.
They descended the steps one after another.
Before long, Tsunayoshi returned to a familiar place.
This was where they had witnessed Aizen's battle after he had stormed the Soul King Palace.
"Open the gate."
At Kyōraku's command, the great prison gates opened.
Absolute darkness lay beyond them.
Neither Tsunayoshi nor Kyōraku entered.
Instead, several strongmen from the First Division carried Aizen inside and placed him at the designated location.
"Get some good rest, Aizen."
That was Tsunayoshi's farewell.
"If the day comes when you need my help, come find me here, Sawada Tsunayoshi."
Aizen's resolute voice echoed from the darkness.
The tour through the Seireitei had not been meaningless.
Although he didn't know exactly what had happened, Aizen was certain that Soul Society had become more stable.
That was good news.
But why had such good news never appeared during his centuries as a Shinigami?
For something this positive to suddenly happen, it was likely because Soul Society needed to prepare for some bad news that might be coming.
That was why Aizen had left Tsunayoshi those words.
As far as strength alone was concerned, he possessed absolute confidence in himself.
"Shunsui Kyōraku, work hard. I'll be watching you from down here!"
Aizen's parting words left Kyōraku with a bitter smile.
Great.
He had gained another source of pressure.
And this one was literally sitting underneath him.
There had been a threatening undertone to Aizen's final words.
If Kyōraku failed to do his job properly, Aizen might one day emerge from the Underground Prison and return to Soul Society.
As far as Aizen was concerned, his love for Soul Society was no less than anyone else's.
The prison gates slowly closed.
A dark, endless life behind bars was about to begin.
A flicker of curiosity appeared in Aizen's eyes.
"I wonder, little mouse... What kind of amusement will you be able to show me?"
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