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After Shiraha and Kira Izuru arrived at the Fourth Division barracks, Shiraha quietly extended his Observation Haki and imdiately perceived the familiar presences of Kyōraku Shunsui and Ise Nanao.
"The Captain of the Eighth Division… and Vice-Captain Nanao," Shiraha murmured, holding Yoruichi in her black cat form while Izuru followed respectfully behind. He stepped forward and greeted them calmly.
Ise Nanao bowed with her usual formality. "Captain Shiraha. Fourth Seat Kira."
Shunsui, who had abandoned his lazy facade for once, spoke in an uncharacteristically solemn tone. "You should already know… Sōsuke has passed away."
Shiraha offered a small, unreadable smile. "Yes. The Liting Unit just inford ."
Only then did Shunsui's gaze flicker toward the cat in Shiraha's arms. For the briefest instant, surprise flashed across his eyes. Though most Shinigami would never recognize Yoruichi's feline form, Shunsui had served as a captain for centuries. He had seen the black cat many tis before and could never mistake Shihōin Yoruichi.
"Captain Kyōraku, let us see Aizen first," Shiraha said with a faint smile. He had already caught the subtle shift in Shunsui's reiatsu through Observation Haki and knew his old comrade had recognized Yoruichi. Still, there was no need to dwell on it.
"Xiao Xu, you and Kira should wait here," Shunsui said lightly. "Captain Shiraha and I will go ahead."
Side by side, the two captains entered the Fourth Division. As they walked, Shunsui's voice dropped. "Shiraha, she is the forr Second Division Captain, Shihōin Yoruichi, isn't she?" His tone carried more certainty than question.
"Long ti no see, Jingle," Yoruichi answered without hesitation.
Over a hundred years earlier, she and Urahara Kisuke had been close to both Shunsui and Ukitake. When the Hollowfication incident struck and Central 46 branded Urahara guilty, neither Shunsui nor Ukitake truly believed it. They had argued on his behalf before Yamamoto, raising every doubt they could, but when Yoruichi spirited Urahara away the night before his execution, the matter had been sealed.
"I see," Shunsui said quietly. "So you slipped back into Seireitei alongside the ryoka."
"Correct," Yoruichi admitted.
"Then tell plainly—Sōsuke's death has nothing to do with you or them, does it?" His eyes narrowed.
"We didn't kill him," Yoruichi replied firmly. She would not reveal Aizen's deception without Shiraha's permission, but neither would she allow suspicion to linger.
"That's a relief." Shunsui let out a breath, though tension still weighed on his voice. To assassinate a captain without detection—very few in Seireitei possessed the skill, and Yoruichi was one of them.
"Shiraha, do you believe this was done by the hidden hand inside Seireitei?" he asked gravely.
"It's possible," Shiraha answered with an ambiguous smile, neither confirming nor denying.
Their discussion ended as they stopped before a ward. Sliding the door open, they found four figures already gathered: Tōsen Kana, Captain of the Ninth Division; Komamura Sajin, Captain of the Seventh; Kotetsu Isane, Vice-Captain of the Fourth; and Unohana Retsu herself, the Fourth Division's captain.
On the bed lay what appeared to be Aizen's lifeless body, pale and still beneath a white cloth.
To others, it was a corpse. To Shiraha's Observation Haki, there was only emptiness beneath that sheet. The illusion of Kyōka Suigetsu cloaked the truth. Aizen had not co in person, but he had sent Tōsen to observe whether Unohana might detect the deception.
"Captain Kyōraku, Captain Shiraha," Unohana greeted softly as they entered. Her calm gaze fell briefly upon Yoruichi, and a flicker of recognition crossed her eyes, though she asked nothing for now.
"Captain Unohana," Shunsui's voice carried faint grief. "Is it true… is Sōsuke really gone?"
"Yes," she answered gently. "When I removed him from the sacred wall, there was no breath left."
Shunsui's expression darkened. He had often shared quiet cups of sake with Aizen when Ukitake was too ill to join him.
"What about the possibility of a false body?" Tōsen asked, his head tilted slightly downward.
"I considered it," Unohana replied. "I examined every trace for signs of substitution. All results confird it was indeed Captain Aizen's body." As she spoke, she pressed her hand gently against the form on the bed.
"I see," Tōsen murmured, his face unreadable, though shadows crossed his eyes.
Komamura stood silent, his broad fra radiating silent tension.
"After this turmoil ends," Unohana continued, "a new captain for the Fifth Division will be chosen by Central 46 and the Head Captain."
Her words fell like a weight in the room. Changes in captaincy were rare, nearly unheard of in modern centuries, except when Shiraha had replaced Komamura not long ago. To lose a captain in such a way unsettled them all.
"Captain Tōsen, Captain Komamura, please return to your divisions and steady your n. I will attend to the front lines once I finish here."
Komamura inclined his head. "You bear heavy burdens, Captain Unohana. Thank you." With that, he and Tōsen turned and departed.
As Shunsui and Shiraha made to leave, Unohana's voice halted them. "Please wait."
"Is sothing the matter, Captain Unohana?" Shunsui asked quietly.
"Isane, step outside a mont," Unohana instructed her lieutenant.
"Yes, Captain," Kotetsu Isane replied, bowing before slipping out and closing the door behind her.
When they were alone, Unohana turned her calm eyes upon Shiraha and Shunsui. Her voice, soft yet sharp, cut through the silence. "Shihōin Yoruichi… why are you here?"
"Captain Unohana. It's been a long ti," Yoruichi greeted. Unlike with Shunsui, her tone carried a trace of wariness.
Unohana did not press about Yoruichi further. Instead, she said, "Shiraha. Captain Kyōraku. Do you know why I stopped you?"
Shunsui shook his head. "No."
"When I examined Captain Aizen's body," Unohana said quietly, "I sensed sothing wrong. No matter what thod I used, everything confird it was indeed his corpse… and yet, the body itself left with a profound sense of discord."
Her eyes lingered on the bed, calm as ever, but sharp with unspoken suspicion.
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