Help! I am bound to Aizen!

Chapter 309

2-in-1 chapter:

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“Hmm hmm hmm, old man, the Sixth Division is now fully in my hands, so you’re done for!”

“From here on, just lie back and watch how I reshape the Sixth Division in my image!”

Inside the Kuchiki estate’s main house, Kaelith was seated at the bedside, talking grandly with a smug look on his face.

Kuchiki Ginrei lay on the bed. He looked at this man—once just a student in the Shin’ō Academy, now already a captain—and let out a light chuckle.

“Back then, I offered to support the Yurei family becoming a new great noble house in exchange for your looking after Sōjun. At the time, you turned me down flat, without even a moment’s hesitation.

“Honestly, I was concerned you might have bigger ambitions or simply didn’t wish to take a loss on behalf of the Kuchiki family, and that was why you refused. Now, I’m finally at ease.

“You, brat, really are someone I can entrust things to.”

Kaelith folded his arms and lifted his chin in a grin.

“Of course. I, Kaelith, am the most reliable person in the entire world!”

Kuchiki Ginrei went silent. Depending on how you looked at it, sometimes Kaelith was indeed the most reliable; other times, he was anything but.

Glancing at Kuchiki Sōjun, who stood nearby, Ginrei frowned.

“Captain Kaelith, if one day Sōjun becomes strong enough to be a captain—”

“He’s still not getting it.”

Kaelith waved a dismissive hand, cutting the old man off mid-sentence.

Kuchiki Ginrei looked puzzled. Did Kaelith mean to keep the Sixth Division entirely for himself? If that was the plan, then Sōjun could occupy it anyway—why bring in the Shiba clan? He was about to say something when Kaelith continued:

“Sōjun isn’t cut out to be a captain. Forget whether he’s strong enough—the real problem is his personality, which won’t let him manage people. Putting him in charge would just torture him.

“It’d be better to wait till Byakuya grows up and hand the position to him instead. Don’t worry, with me here, I’ll make sure Byakuya becomes a proper adult.”

Kuchiki Ginrei blinked. It sounded odd. What kind of “proper adult” could come from Kaelith’s training? But he had to admit, every person who’d emerged from Kaelith’s group so far had turned out extraordinarily capable.

After a moment of thought, he decided not to dwell on it. Children and grandchildren have their own paths. He was an old-timer now; no need to worry so much.

Kaelith bobbed his head. “Byakuya is like my own grandson, so I’ll give him the harshest training and help him grow strong. You just watch. If you’re still alive, great; if not, you can watch from above…”

He trailed off abruptly.

Kuchiki Sōjun looked at him. Kaelith’s brow was furrowed, as though some troubling thought had struck him. After a few idle remarks, Kaelith stood up and took his leave.

Once out of the Kuchiki estate, Kaelith headed straight for the Fifth Division.

Aizen was in his office, going through division paperwork, when the door suddenly burst open and Kaelith barged in.

“Sōsuke!!!”

Hmm? He didn’t call me “Sō-lad” or something weird this time, Aizen thought, raising an eyebrow, brush still in hand.

Kaelith closed the door with a sweep and pulled up a chair to sit opposite Aizen.

“Sōsuke, think of something!”

“Something like how to neutralize you forever?”

“No—not that. I mean a solution for handling high-density reishi.”

Kaelith’s expression turned serious.

“Do you know any way to let Shinigami ranked third-class Spiritual Authority or higher reenter the cycle of reincarnation?”

He’d just come from Kuchiki Ginrei’s sickbed, and it left an unpleasant feeling in his mind. He’d always known about high-density reishi souls, known that the Gates of Hell awaited them, but it never felt urgent; all the people around him were young. Even seeing other captain-level spirits sent off to Hell hadn’t really moved him.

But today, he realized that death wasn’t far away—even if one didn’t die of old age like Ginrei, war with the Wandenreich was looming, and he couldn’t guarantee no one close to him would perish. Would he really have to officiate the rites that sent his friends to Hell?

The thought alone made his skin crawl.

He had to modify the heavy reishi makeup of advanced Shinigami—somehow.

Aizen, listening, stroked his chin.

“In theory, it can’t be done. Once a Shinigami’s spiritual rank surpasses third-class, the essence of their spirit particles changes. It’s like trying to turn gold into silver, or water into fire.

“To put it in simpler terms… That is part of a god’s domain, beyond our current reach.”

Kaelith’s face fell. Even “Sō-lad Doraemon” said it was impossible, so probably no dice. He pressed his lips together, making up his mind:

If that’s the case, until I grow strong enough to rival a ‘god,’ I’ll just protect everyone dear to me. Neither the Wandenreich nor anything else will take a single one of my people.

A moment later, Kaelith’s grin returned. Right—if he couldn’t handle even that, how could he talk about changing the world?

Watching Kaelith shake off his disappointment in seconds and get back to full fighting spirit, Aizen smiled faintly. That was one enviable trait of Kaelith’s. Setting aside his brush, Aizen said:

“Don’t be too hasty. I only said it’s theoretically impossible.

“But… rules are made to be broken. No one ever imagined that a Shinigami at the pinnacle could transcend further by Hollowfication, yet we proved it can be done. For someone truly gifted, nothing’s out of reach.”

Kaelith’s eyes lit up. He jumped to his feet, poured tea for Aizen, and held it out with both hands:

“Please teach me, Sensei!”

“Hmph.”

Aizen accepted the cup, took a small sip, wrinkled his brow slightly, then set it aside without comment.

“In any case, though high-density reishi has changed in nature, it’s still reishi at its core,” he continued. “You remember telling me about Azashiro Sōya?”

Kaelith cocked his head.

“Azashiro Sōya? What about him—how he spied on me?”

Aizen raised a hand to his forehead. He looked away, as if to avoid seeing Kaelith’s naive, unguarded eyes that made him want to throw a punch.

“When Azashiro Sōya fought you, why was he so weak?”

“Because he transformed most of his spirit particles into the same type found in nature, scattered them around the Seireitei, merged them into various objects so he could watch and listen through them.”

“Exactly. So do you see my point?”

Kaelith pondered briefly.

Then his face grew grim, a single line across his brow: “That peeping dog must die?”

“I think you should die first,” Aizen muttered, glaring as though at a single-celled organism.

“What I’m saying is that Azashiro Sōya’s Zanpakutō ability could convert his high-density reishi into normal reishi. His spiritual rank was undoubtedly second-class, perhaps even at the high end. If he scattered such potent reishi unaltered, anyone would notice it immediately.”

“From that clue, I can start a research project: using Azashiro Sōya’s body and Zanpakutō to develop a special device that filters heavy reishi into ordinary reishi. If we succeed, then a deceased captain-class soul wouldn’t need to go to Hell; they could cycle back into the Three Realms.”

Hearing that, Kaelith beamed.

“Just as I expected, Sōsuke! I knew you’d have a plan!”

“Don’t celebrate yet—this is just an idea. Whether it works depends on future research,” Aizen cautioned. “I’m guessing you came here fresh from the Kuchiki estate, right? Rest assured, I’ll have some preliminary results before Kuchiki Ginrei passes.”

A touched smile spread on Kaelith’s face. “Sōsuke, you truly are my lifelong friend!”

He grasped Aizen’s hand, eyes brimming with gratitude. Aizen merely gazed back calmly.

Then he said, “Speaking of which: didn’t you promise your subordinates that if they won the Sixth Division captain’s seat, you’d grant them one request?”

Kaelith paused, thinking back, then nodded. “Oh, right, I did say that.”

“Excellent,” said Aizen, opening a nearby drawer and taking out a document. “This is what Shiba Isshin signed. He transferred his right to make a request over to me.

“So now, Kaelith, you officially owe me a favor.”

Kaelith blinked in surprise. Wait, that condition had been for Komamura and Gin, right? When did he tell Isshin, too? He found it odd but figured it didn’t matter. At least the Sixth Division seat had gone to one of his own.

He shrugged. “All right. One person’s wish or another’s, it’s all the same. Very well—my devoted follower, speak your desire to this god!”

He pointed a warning finger. “But I’ll only accept requests that don’t violate moral or ethical principles.”

Aizen gave a small laugh. Morality… from Kaelith’s mouth, that word was practically an insult to itself. Still, outwardly he remained composed.

“You needn’t worry. My wish is simple. One day in the future, I may ask you to do something you cannot understand or may even oppose. When that time comes, you must still do it.

“How about it? Is the almighty Kaelith so weak he can’t keep a promise he made?”

Kaelith looked perplexed at Aizen’s intense gaze.

“Sōsuke, did you eat something strange lately?”

“Stop clowning around,” Aizen said flatly.

Seeing his serious expression, Kaelith turned solemn as well.

“Sōsuke, I’ll always trust you. No oath is needed. If you say so, I’ll do it.”

Aizen blinked, momentarily caught off guard. A few seconds later, he nodded.

“Good. As long as you keep that mindset.

“All right, if there’s nothing else, off you go. I still have work to finish.”

He shooed Kaelith away. Kaelith had nearly reached the door when Aizen remembered something:

“Oh—today, the Fifth Division mess hall has some new dishes based on your suggestions. You should try them.”

Kaelith whooped in excitement and hurried out.

Watching his figure disappear, Aizen smiled to himself and returned to his writing.

…....

..

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Meanwhile, at some hidden chamber within the Fifth Division, Hirako Shinji sat at a table, brow furrowed.

He’d once traveled to the Royal Palace, where the Royal Monk spoke with him in secret. From that meeting, Shinji gathered that the Monk was especially interested in—or wary of—Kaelith.

But in Shinji’s view, the bigger problem wasn’t Kaelith so much as his own lieutenant, Aizen Sōsuke.

It seemed obvious that Aizen was plotting something massive.

The recent competition for the Sixth Division captaincy was the best evidence. On the surface, Komamura, Ichimaru Gin, and Shiba Isshin were all part of “Kaelith’s group.”

But from Shinji’s investigations, Isshin was more accurately “Aizen’s private soldier” than Kaelith’s.

At the final match on the platform, Aizen had shown up and spoken with Isshin. After that, despite severe injuries, Isshin pressed on and fought again, seizing victory through some strange trick.

Shinji would bet anything Aizen was behind it.

Kaelith might be building up subordinates, but he wasn’t really seizing power anywhere. Everyone he’d trained basically stayed in the Eleventh Division.

Things changed once Aizen got involved.

Take the Twelfth Division, for instance.

Shinji’s inquiries revealed that although Mayuri Kurotsuchi hadn’t previously been a formal “Kaelith cadre,” he was an important figure in the research and development team—and thus had a close relationship with Aizen.

Realizing that Shinji broke out in a cold sweat.

Look at the new captains who’d emerged in just a few decades: Kaelith, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Shiba Isshin. Stepping back to see the bigger picture, all were people Aizen Sōsuke could control.

People kept claiming Kaelith was on track to dominate the Seireitei.

Shinji alone knew that was a mirage. The one who truly aimed to take control was Aizen Sōsuke.

Convinced, Shinji had wasted no time sending word to the Royal Palace. He couldn’t go to Yamamoto, who was already taken in by Kaelith’s charm and thus indirectly under Aizen. Only Squad Zero could save the Soul Society now.

But many days passed with no response from the Royal Palace, not so much as a whisper. It was as if they’d vanished.

Shinji felt like ice water had been poured over him.

Could Aizen already have used some special means to block all contact between the Seireitei and the Royal Palace?

No, he couldn’t just sit by and do nothing!

Hirako Shinji clenched his teeth, steeling himself to fight alone if he had to.

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