Chapter 377: Fake

"The captain of the Fifth Division, Sosuke Aizen, is dead?!"

Upon hearing this news, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni remained calm, his eyes half-closed in contemplation.

Sosuke Aizen had inherited the position a century ago from Shinji Hirako, and his abilities had been tested by Yamamoto himself. He possessed the combat strength of a standard division captain. Yet now, at the very moment Yamamoto decided to let the captains handle things independently, Aizen was dead? And with no warning or resistance?

Yamamoto had felt no trace of Aizen's spiritual pressure while conversing and walking with H'el. Could someone truly be powerful enough to kill a captain-level Soul Reaper without any reaction?

Yamamoto doubted such a capability existed. He had only recently declared that the captains should have free rein, and now Aizen was dead? Since when did the captains of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads seem so expendable?

With a stern expression of authority, Yamamoto dismissed the messenger who reported the death. "I apologize for the disturbance."

"It seems the mastermind behind these events is about to reveal their intentions," he stated, unhurried. "Are you interested, my friend? Would you care to join me at the scene of Sosuke Aizen's death to witness the drama unfolding within the Seireitei?"

"If you don't mind, I'll just watch from the sidelines," H'el replied nonchalantly.

The situation was quite intriguing — a conspiracy a century in the making within the Seireitei. Who was orchestrating this plot, and to what end? H'el's curiosity wasn't particularly strong, but since he was invited to observe the drama, he saw no harm in attending.

Yamamoto certainly didn't mind H'el observing; in fact, he would have preferred if H'el got involved and formed a connection with the Seireitei.

Together, they proceeded slowly to the site of Aizen's death. When they arrived, several captains were already there: Soi Fon of the Second Division, Gin Ichimaru of the Third Division, Retsu Unohana of the Fourth Division, Komamura Sajin of the Seventh Division, and Toshiro Hitsugaya of the Tenth Division.

Aizen's body was pinned to a high tower wall, blood trailing down the white surface in a shocking scene. Nearby, Third Division Lieutenant Izuru Kira and Fifth Division Lieutenant Momo Hinamori were being restrained by other squad members.

Apparently, Lieutenant Hinamori had accused Captain Ichimaru of murdering Aizen and had attacked him, only to be stopped by Kira, which led to a brief skirmish between them until the other captains intervened and ordered their restraint and subsequent imprisonment.

As Yamamoto and H'el arrived, the gathered captains and squad members turned their gaze toward them, nodding slightly in respect. The captains' eyes occasionally drifted toward H'el, who walked alongside the head captain.

"Hm?"

Gin Ichimaru, with his ever-narrowed eyes, glanced at H'el, his usually curved smile faltering for a moment. He had the strange feeling that he had seen this person before, but couldn't place him.

H'el seemed oddly familiar to him, yet Gin couldn't pinpoint where he'd seen him. It was like recognizing a familiar stranger, a feeling that was both unsettling and intriguing.

"Is this another person I should know?" H'el wondered, sensing the gaze from Ichimaru. He felt a vague sense of familiarity, but it was no stronger than what he'd felt when looking at Rangiku Matsumoto earlier.

Both men, sensing the faint familiarity, soon dismissed it and returned to their respective thoughts.

"Head Captain, it's Gin! It's Captain Ichimaru!" Hinamori shouted tearfully. "Captain Aizen warned us to be careful of him! It must be him who killed Captain Aizen!"

The gathered captains glanced between Ichimaru and Hinamori. The guards holding Hinamori back tried to silence her out of respect for the head captain, but Yamamoto gestured for them to stop.

Yamamoto looked up at Aizen's body, pinned high on the wall with blood streaming down the white surface, creating a gruesome and shocking atmosphere. He then commanded Unohana to check the body while turning his attention to Hinamori, asking her for her account of the events.

However, Hinamori had little concrete evidence to support her claims. She was overwhelmed by grief and anger, directing her accusations solely at Ichimaru, while Soi Fon kept pressing her for proof but received none.

Such baseless accusations wouldn't be enough to convict a division captain.

"You can't accuse a captain based on mere words, Lieutenant Hinamori," Ichimaru responded with his usual grin. Anyone looking at him would think he was guilty, with his naturally sly, fox-like appearance.

Enraged and frustrated, Hinamori tried to break free and attack him, but the guards held her back.

Despite the lack of evidence, the captains couldn't help but feel suspicious of Ichimaru due to his previous actions, such as letting the intruders pass through the Seireitei, which had cast doubt on his intentions.

H'el looked up at the body on the wall, feeling a strange sensation in his senses. The feeling was as if he were observing something already predetermined — a fixed outcome. It was odd, but he didn't dwell on it since he often saw the world through such lenses, always seeking the deeper truth beyond the surface appearances.

Looking closer, H'el realized that Aizen's body lacked any residual spiritual energy or reiatsu traces. This meant that the body had no consciousness or any remaining traces of spiritual pressure.

Although spiritual pressure typically dissipates quickly after a Soul Reaper's death, H'el knew that, on a microscopic level, there would be lingering reactions for up to a decade.

Yet, this body showed no such traces. The only spiritual pressure was from the residual energy on the outside, with nothing inside.

This body had never been inhabited by a conscious being.

Looking at Aizen's seemingly lifeless form pinned to the wall, H'el could tell that the killer had shown no mercy. But this body was fake.

Thus, the mastermind Yamamoto had mentioned could only be Sosuke Aizen himself, using a fake body to act from the shadows.

H'el shook his head, feeling slightly bored. As he'd thought, everything in the world was but a web of human conflicts and desires, tangled in the pursuit of different goals. Every conspiracy and scheme was laid bare before his eyes.

Seeing that Hinamori couldn't provide any useful evidence, Yamamoto noticed H'el's disinterested expression. His curiosity piqued, he asked directly, "What do you see, my friend?"

Without much concern, H'el replied, "This body is fake."

°°°

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