Chapter 164: The Report


    <span style="font-weight:400">As Tosen stepped into Aizen’s room, the soft sound of pages turning reached his ears. He found the Captain engrossed in a book. No Shinigami would dare think of Aizen as the man plotting to overthrow the ‘God’ and change the very foundations of this realm.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Aizen closed the book with a gentle thud, his smile warm but with a hint of calction in his eyes. “Tosen, how did the search go?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“We could not find Vasto Lorde, Aizen-sama,” he admitted, shaking his head slightly. “There were no signs of any Vasto Lorde outside of Las Noches. Captain Ichimaru and I personally searched the whole Hueco Mundo.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Tosen was inwardly frustrated, feeling the weight of his failure. He was well aware of the importance of locating the newly ascended Vasto Lorde and herpanion, whose immense Reiatsu had sent shivers down his spine. A Hollow with that power must belong to their army.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Interesting,” Aizen mused, pushing his sses up the bridge of his nose thoughtfully. “It means they’re no longer in Hueco Mundo.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Could they have ventured into the Living World? But the 12th Squad hasn’t detected any strong Garganta signals recently, nor sensed any Vasto Lorde-level Hollow."


    <span style="font-weight:400">ess to a Garganta for each Hollow depended on their power level. Had a Vasto Lorde opened a Garganta in any city under the Gotei 13’s supervision, they’d have been alerted already.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Aizen leaned back, his gaze piercing as he considered the possibilities. "There are only a few usible exnations. They evaded your search and remained in Hueco Mundo, they’ve mastered opening a Garganta outside Shinigami’s jurisdiction, or they have found a way to deceive the devices searching for dimensional distortions."


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I see.” Tosen nodded, his mind racing with possibilities. “What does Aizen-sama believe?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Third.” Aizen rose from his seat and tucked the book in the bookshelf. “Three months ago, a Vasto Lorde Arrancar showed up in Karakura Town with another Arrancar. The time frame aligns with Barragan’s hunt for the Vasto Lorde Tier Harribel and her Vasto Lorde aplice.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Tosen held his chin, recalling the details from Las Noches. “I see. He is working in cahoots with multiple Hollows.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“What’s fascinating is theck of reports aboutrge souls disappearing. The stronger Hollows need souls to maintain their strength. Karakura Town is bing more and more… intriguing.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Theck of souls must be rted to Tier Harribel. As per Las Noches’s reports, she refused to indulge in any Hollow. Barragan spected her Aspect of Death to be Sacrifice.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“A Hollow who doesn’t eat her kind… she seems like an interesting individual. For this mysterious Vasto Lorde to work with Harribel, he must share the same virtue of kindness and mercy.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Tosen crossed his arms. “I can send out a group of Hollows to disturb the order.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Aizen shook his head at Tosen’s suggestion. He had sent out a group of fodder-ss Hollows when Quincy used a Hollow bait — a whimsical test to test the waters of the Karakura Town and provoke a response from the former Captain of the 12th Squad.


    <i><span style="font-weight:400">‘Well, no matter. Urahara-san won’t be able to resist the lure of my Karakura Town’s grand spectacle.’</i>


    <span style="font-weight:400">The thought of the mysterious Vasto Lorde lingered in the back of his mind, but Aizen knew he had to tie up the loose ends with Kisuke Urahara first.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Aizen, I almost forgot why I came here,” Tosen interrupted, breaking the silence. “That student you told me to keep an eye on — he humiliated Vice Captain Byakuya Kuchiki in Shunpo. From the reports, he seemed confident enough to take on both Kuchikis.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Aizen’s lips curved into a self-assured smile, his eyes gleaming with a dangerous glint. The student ‘Kazuya Ishihara’ joined the academy out of nowhere and started fighting on par with Captains. Even Kenpachi Zaraki, the man with the most absurd raw stats, had a vague exnation for his powers. Kenpachi Zaraki was a result of the endless violence infesting the deeper districts of Rukongai.


    <span style="font-weight:400">But this student, Kazuya, was different.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Aizen couldn’t decipher the source of his strength or his hypnotic voice. The fact that Kazuya had ties to the noble Shiba n, a family with a Captain and Vice Captain among their ranks, only added to his mystery.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Yet, Aizen held back from acting at the moment. From every report so far, Kazuya showed ack of ambition, using his powers to fuel his ego and indulge in intimacy with women. Kazuya had even chosen his Shinigami Squad based upon his attraction to the Dai Senpai of the Gotei 13 — Yachiru Unohana — the second most troublesome individual in the Seireitei.


    <i><span style="font-weight:400">‘Lust is an easy sin to exploit. Dangle a beauty and they will bark like a dog.’</i>


    <span style="font-weight:400">He was in no rush to deal with Kazuya. In due time, Kazuya would be another victim of Kyōka Suigetsu — they who saw what he wanted them to see, felt what he wanted them to feel, heard what he wanted them to hear, and sensed what he wanted them to sense.


    <span style="font-weight:400">The whole of Soul Society would one day dance in the palm of his hand.