"Long ti no see."
Unlike Jūshirō Ukitake's cold, piercing gaze,
Aiyan wasn't surprised to see his forr classmate appear.
He even greeted Tessai Tsukabishi with a chuckle.
"It's been a while."
"Even I never thought that one day I would stand opposite you…"
"and be the one to kill Captain Aiyan with my own hands."
When Tessai Tsukabishi looked at Aiyan, his eyes were complicated—
There was awe, anger, and disbelief.
"Then what are you waiting for?"
Aiyan raised his hand, signaling Tessai Tsukabishi to start.
"Urahara."
"He didn't switch the package or do anything suspicious."
"I saw with my own eyes that Captain Jūshirō retrieved the historical records of Aiyan and Aizen from the Great Spirit Book Gallery and rushed straight here without stopping."
Tessai Tsukabishi took a breath, then turned to Urahara Kisuke.
"Are you sure?"
Urahara Kisuke addressed Tessai, but his eyes never left Aiyan.
That sa unshakable calm was still there—
not the slightest ripple of abnormality.
That incredible calm made Kisuke feel inexplicably irritable.
The nagging feeling that he had overlooked sothing returned once more.
"I never took my eyes off Captain Jūshirō," Tessai said steadily.
"During this ti, except for being repeatedly stopped by the mbers of Central 46, he had no contact with anyone."
"Aiyan, do you have anything else to say?"
Urahara Kisuke nodded noncommittally and stared at him like a victor— Yet what he received in return was only a quiet chuckle.
"Urahara Kisuke, what do you want to know?"
Jūshirō Ukitake suppressed his anger at having been followed.
At least, he was thankful he hadn't risked taking any of Central 46's sages and judges outside the barrier.
Otherwise, all of them—including himself—would have been transferred into the nos Forest.
As a veteran Gotei 13 captain, if his body didn't hold him back,
He was confident he could cut his way in and out of the nos Forest.
But escaping while protecting a group of exhausted officials? That was another matter entirely.
"The Kuchiki Family Hollow Incident."
Urahara Kisuke forced down his irritation.
"See for yourself," Jūshirō said, opening the book containing Aiyan's historical records.
Without the central system of the Great Spirit Book Gallery,
He had to flip through the pages manually.
Upon finding the Hollow Incident entry, he injected his Reiatsu into the book.
In an instant, a vivid, almost holographic projection erged, falling before everyone's eyes.
As the only survivor of the Kuchiki family Hollow incident,
Byakuya Kuchiki stared at the projection, afraid to miss a single fra.
Through it, he saw the Sōsuke brothers rushing to Central 46 to report that Kōga's spiritual power was weakening.
He saw the ugly, bickering faces of the sages and judges.
He saw the indignant expressions of Aiyan and Aizen—
but all he himself could do was watch helplessly.
Afterward,
Aiyan ignored Central 46's orders, slamd the door, and rushed toward the Kuchiki mansion.
However—
delayed by Central 46—when he arrived, the sight was nothing but corpses and rivers of blood.
Killing Hirako Shinji, startling Kōga, sending Kuchiki Ginling into Hollowfication and ruin— the later scenes were Byakuya's own mories, now forced to relive them from Aiyan's perspective.
The wound that had barely healed was torn open again for all to see.
In that mont, as much as he hated Urahara Kisuke,
He felt only gratitude toward Aiyan.
"Urahara Kisuke… in the na of Kuchiki, I will kill you."
Witnessing Aiyan saving the Kuchiki family, Byakuya closed his eyes, his breath uneven.
A mont later, his face returned to its usual stoic mask,
but the murderous intent in his gaze toward Kisuke was almost tangible.
"What happened to the Kuchiki family is my regret—my lifelong sha."
"Thank you, Urahara Kisuke…"
"for making relive this unbearable past."
Aiyan's voice was calm, but Shihōin Yoruichi could feel the killing intent beneath it.
Urahara Kisuke didn't answer—
he only stared blankly at the book in Jūshirō's hands.
This was not what he had expected.
Could Hirako Shinji have deceived him?
No.
If that were true, what about the Tsunayashiro family?
"Tsunayashiro."
"Captain Jūshirō, I want to see the Tsunayashiro incident."
"What role did Aiyan play in it?"
Urahara Kisuke's tone turned cold.
"No."
Jūshirō Ukitake flipped through Aiyan's history, then glanced coldly at Kisuke.
"What do you an, no?"
"No ans no."
"There is no record involving Captain Aiyan and the Tsunayashiro family in this book. What exactly did you expect to show you?"
Ukitake's words made Kisuke's expression darken further.
"In the Great Spirit Book Gallery, Tsunayashiro Tokinada was killed—Captain Kirio and Lieutenant Shutara were assassinated," Kisuke pressed.
"No."
Ukitake's answer was unchanged.
"Where's Aizen?" Kisuke demanded.
He rose from the floor, using his Zanpakutō, Benihi, as a crutch.
"Except for the Kuchiki family Hollow incident, which he reported to Central 46, Aizen has no other connection—just like Aiyan."
Ukitake opened the book of Aizen's history, examined it carefully, and delivered Kisuke another crushing blow.
At that mont, even Tessai Tsukabishi looked shaken, casting complicated glances at Kisuke.
People can lie— but the records of the Great Spirit Book Gallery cannot.
If they could be altered, the sha of the Five Noble Houses' ancestors and the filthy origins of Soul Society would have been erased long ago.
Urahara Kisuke fell silent, mind in chaos.
Why did the records of Aiyan and Aizen co out like this?
If both brothers were so righteous, why had Hirako warned him otherwise?
Could Shinji truly have lost his mind?
Or was this all Kōga's doing?
"Give the book."
Kisuke suddenly raised his head, stabbing Ukitake with a sharp gaze.
He suspected there was sothing wrong with the two history books.
"Captain Aiyan, may I?" Ukitake asked.
"These contain not only your past deeds, but possibly your Zanpakutō abilities—and your skill in hand-to-hand combat."
"If Urahara Kisuke discovers them…"
He didn't act imdiately, but waited for Aiyan's answer.
Zanjutsu, Kido, Hakuda and Hohō could be exposed, and past history too—
but a Zanpakutō's abilities, especially Bankai, were every Shinigami's deepest secret.
Even Ukitake himself wouldn't accept his Bankai being shown to the world.
Aiyan glanced at Kisuke, then shook his head with a faint smile.
"It doesn't matter—he's too weak."
...
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