Fate in Bleach: Unlimited Blade Works!-Chapter 469: The Returning Captains
Creak...
Above the Seireitei, a Senkaimon gate opened, and the returning captains and vice-captains stepped through.
Although many had sustained considerable injuries during the battle with Aizen, after Captain Retsu Unohana returned to the world of the living, anyone who hadn't died instantly had ultimately been saved by her.
Severe injuries became minor, minor injuries vanished. Even without releasing her Bankai, Captain Unohana's mastery of Kaidō was not to be underestimated.
"Finally back..."
Captain Shunsui Kyoraku of Squad Eight adjusted his conical hat, letting out a sigh. Truthfully, he hadn't expected the final battle against Aizen to turn out that way. Even Master Yamamoto had ultimately fallen to Aizen's hand.
At the same time... Shunsui glanced at Gin Ichimaru, who followed behind Rangiku Matsumoto.
This fellow had played them all like fiddles. He had even come dangerously close to single-handedly killing Sōsuke Aizen.
It was fortunate that the members of Central 46 had all been wiped out, and the nobles attempting to reform it had been purged by Rukia, Byakuya Kuchiki, and others. Otherwise, given Gin Ichimaru's actions, even though he ultimately attacked Aizen, those nobles would undoubtedly have arrested and imprisoned him under some nonsensical charges.
A sudden thought struck Shunsui. Could this also have been Captain Ailin's doing? Had he been paving the way for Gin Ichimaru's return even back then?
Swish, swish, swish...
As Shunsui pondered the connections, several figures appeared instantly before them: Captain Ailin of Squad Five, Captain Byakuya Kuchiki of Squad Six, Vice-Captain Renji Abarai of Squad Six, and Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi of Squad Twelve, who had remained in the Seireitei.
"Captain-Commander," they greeted.
"Mm." Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto nodded at the four. "Captain Ailin, and Ukitake, I leave Aizen to you. Please ensure he is taken to the deepest level of the Muken for imprisonment."
"Yes, Captain-Commander."
Ailin acknowledged with a nod. However, looking at the cross-shaped wooden restraint bound by chains, Ailin felt a flicker of surprise. If he recalled correctly, this sealing Kidō was a failsafe Kisuke Urahara had left within the Hōgyoku. It seemed Aizen's luck hadn't held out. Even after conceding defeat to Ailin, Urahara had still managed to trigger the seal within the Hōgyoku.
Ailin raised his index and middle fingers. White spiritual pressure coalesced at his fingertips, forming a cord of light that wrapped around the wooden restraint. With a slight lift of his fingers, the restraint sealing Aizen was lifted by the light cord, hovering in the air.
"Captain Ukitake, let's go now."
"Alright."
Jūshirō Ukitake nodded and followed Ailin's steps as the two headed towards the Seireitei's prison.
After Ailin and Jūshirō Ukitake departed, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto turned to Byakuya Kuchiki. "Captain Kuchiki, why do I not sense Captain Rukia's presence in the Seireitei?"
Upon returning, Yamamoto had already extended his spiritual senses. Byakuya Kuchiki, Rukia Kuchiki, and Mayuri Kurotsuchi were the captains he had left behind to guard the Seireitei.
This decision had partly stemmed from Yamamoto's wariness towards Ailin. Ailin's strength was immense. Even Yamamoto, at full power, wasn't confident he could defeat him. Not wanting any complications during the conflict with Aizen, he had left Byakuya, Rukia, and Mayuri behind.
Among the three, Byakuya was the head of the Kuchiki clan. Yamamoto was certain that even Ailin wouldn't act destructively towards the Seireitei without Byakuya stepping in to stop him.
Mayuri Kurotsuchi, as the head of the Twelfth Division's Research and Development Institute, secretly monitored the three realms; any unusual moves by Captain Ailin would surely not escape his notice.
As for Rukia, Yamamoto wasn't entirely sure of her stance, so he left her in the Seireitei. With Byakuya and Mayuri present, Rukia couldn't cause significant trouble or damage.
Returning from the world of the living, Yamamoto hadn't detected Rukia's presence. Furthermore, the entire Seireitei bore the atmosphere of a recent major battle, with remnants of spiritual pressure lingering in many places.
The fight against Aizen had considerably humbled Yamamoto's pride as the strongest Shinigami in a thousand years. It couldn't be helped; although Aizen had relied on the Hōgyoku's near-immortal super-regeneration to wear him down, defeat was defeat.
Hadn't Captain Ailin defeated Aizen even after he reached his final stage, fully fused with the Hōgyoku? This proved that Captain Ailin's absolute strength now surpassed Yamamoto's own.
It was precisely because of this that Yamamoto had waited until Captain Ailin and Jūshirō Ukitake left with the sealed Aizen before questioning Byakuya.
"It's like this, Captain-Commander Yamamoto."
Even if Yamamoto hadn't asked, Byakuya would have reported the major events that had transpired in the Seireitei. "The night after you departed, the spiritual pressures of captains emerged from the Twelfth Division barracks, swiftly occupying the Gotei Thirteen..."
"Captain Rukia and I barely managed to escape our barracks. We then infiltrated the Twelfth Division and made contact with Captain Kurotsuchi. From Captain Kurotsuchi's research, we learned that the timing of your return had been tampered with. Although it feels like you just returned from the world of the living, for us, you have been in the Dangai for two weeks."
"With Captain Kurotsuchi's help, we opened a Senkaimon to the world of the living, sending Captain Rukia to the world two weeks in the future to seek aid from Captain Urahara, who remained there. If all went according to plan, Captain Rukia should have just arrived in the world of the living."
"Subsequently, Captain Kurotsuchi discovered that while the Dangai's time flow between the Soul Society and the world of the living had been distorted by two weeks, the Garganta connecting the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo was unaffected by the Kōtotsu's power. Therefore, I used a Garganta opened by Captain Kurotsuchi to enter Hueco Mundo, intending to reach the world of the living from there and prevent you, Captain-Commander, from using the Senkaimon to return, thus avoiding an ambush by the Reigai captains upon your arrival."
"In Hueco Mundo, I encountered Uncle Ailin..."
"The rest was simple. Uncle Ailin returned to the Seireitei with me. All the Reigai that had been created were annihilated by Uncle Ailin alone."
Hearing Byakuya's account, astonishment was plain on the faces of the assembled captains. They couldn't fathom that someone within the Twelfth Division's Research and Development Institute could create Reigai replicas whose strength rivaled their own. If not for Captain Ailin's decisive intervention, some of them would surely have perished upon entering the Seireitei.
"Captain Kurotsuchi, are you certain all the Reigai were killed by Captain Ailin?" Yamamoto asked Mayuri, his expression grave.
"Though hard to believe, my markings on the Reigai within the Twelfth Division indicate that all Reigai within the Seireitei were indeed eliminated by Captain Ailin. As for the others who left the Seireitei with Kageroza Inaba, their spiritual pressures were also tracked down moments ago. The confirmed surviving Reigai include Squad Nine Captain Rukia Kuchiki, Squad Three Vice-Captain Izuru Kira, Squad Five Vice-Captain Momo Hinamori, Squad Six Vice-Captain Renji Abarai, Squad Nine Vice-Captain Shūhei Hisagi..."
"Eh?" Momo Hinamori's eyes widened. "Me too?"
Although a vice-captain, Hinamori was well aware of her limitations. Her promotion was largely due to Captain Aizen's favor. But now, she understood Aizen had only favored her because he found her easy to control. In terms of actual strength, Hinamori felt she was among the weakest of the vice-captains.
"Ha, Hinamori, what's with that face?"
Seeing Hinamori's surprise, Rangiku Matsumoto hugged her from behind, nestling Hinamori's head against her chest. "You're a vice-captain acknowledged by Captain Ailin! Have some confidence in yourself. Besides, didn't you perform well during the battle in Hueco Mundo?"
Rangiku had been good friends with Hinamori for a long time and could usually tell what she was thinking.
"Compared to you, I was pretty useless," Rangiku added, though her cheerful expression betrayed no actual concern about her own performance.
For Rangiku, Gin's return was the most important thing. Nothing else mattered. Moreover, after Captain Ailin returned the portion of her soul that had been in the Hōgyoku, Rangiku could feel her body undergoing some changes. Her Zanpakutō, Haineko, had also fallen into slumber during the process. She believed that when Haineko reawakened, her strength would surely see a considerable boost.
Gin Ichimaru watched Rangiku's happy expression, his own eyes narrowing slightly into his usual smile. Compared to the old Gin, the oppressive, obviously villainous aura was gone.
Shunsui Kyoraku pulled his hat lower. Such a scene, just witnessing it, felt heartwarming. Thankfully, Central 46 was no more. This meant Lisa and the others could return to the Seireitei smoothly. From that perspective, perhaps he should also thank Captain Ailin? Otherwise, given his position, arranging for Lisa and the others' return would have been unrealistic.
"Well, we really owe Captain Ailin for this," Shunsui thought aloud. "If he hadn't killed all the Reigai, we would have been in serious trouble."
Although Shunsui knew from Captain Kuchiki and Captain Kurotsuchi's accounts that there was no Reigai of the Captain-Commander, if his own Reigai, or Ukitake's, or Captain Zaraki's had fought at full power, at least a third of the Seireitei's population would likely have perished.
"Captain Kyoraku, don't speak too soon," Mayuri interjected. "After investigating the Twelfth Division, I destroyed Kageroza Inaba's machine for creating Reigai, but that doesn't mean he can't make more. Here, this is a device I developed these past few days to distinguish Reigai. Using this, you can tell who is real and who is a replica."
"Ha, truly worthy of Captain Kurotsuchi..." Seeing Mayuri's thorough preparations, even Shunsui couldn't help but marvel.
Truly a dangerous individual worthy of being imprisoned in the Nest of Maggots. Although many decisions made by Central 46 seemed foolish, Shunsui had to admit that the noble system, sustained for a million years, might have had many flaws, but it had rarely erred in preventing potential threats from the lower ranks rising to challenge their rule.
The Nest of Maggots was born for this purpose. Anyone deemed a threat by Central 46 could be imprisoned there on the flimsy charge of "potentially disrupting the Seireitei in the future," eliminating talented individuals from the lower strata until death. If Kisuke Urahara hadn't brought Mayuri out, he too would undoubtedly have been destined to die imprisoned.
"Hmph!"
Mayuri snorted, clearly understanding the implication in Shunsui's words. However, he didn't feel offended. Rather, being deemed the most terrifying potential criminal by Central 46 and imprisoned in the deepest part of the Nest of Maggots was, for Mayuri, not a disgrace, but a form of recognition. In his view, regardless of their other faults, the nobles of Central 46 were at least good judges of character. He did possess the ability to overturn the Seireitei.
"Alright, everyone return to your respective squads for now and prepare for potential upcoming battles."
Yamamoto ordered, dismissing the captains to reassure their squad members after hearing about the events of the past two weeks.
"As for you..."
Yamamoto looked at the captains and vice-captains of the Visored legion who had accompanied them. "You few will temporarily return with me to Squad One. After we hold a captains' meeting tomorrow, we will decide how to arrange your positions."
"Yes, Captain-Commander," they replied.
