A crescent moon had just risen.
Inside the Fifth Division barracks.
The dry landscape garden lay there, rocks meticulously arranged, encircling ripples.
"As expected, after returning to Seireitei, the first thing Naruto did was come to find me." The man paused in his task by the 'pool' and looked up.
His gaze extended outward.
On the wall, a dim solitary moon cast the shadow of a sharp silhouette stretching towards the dark shadows.
"After planning something as grand as this, Captain Aizen still finds time to personally tend to the garden," Naruto leaped down, landing on the rock garden.
"It's just that certain things happened that were meant to happen," the man smiled, diligently placing his tools where they belonged, "and indeed, they are good things."
"Aren't you pleased, Naruto?"
Naruto thought for a moment, nodded slightly, "Indeed, I am pleased."
Aizen smiled brightly.
"If it occurred naturally, rather than being pushed by some shady figure," he continued, "it would be even more delightful."
Aizen extended his hand, "After witnessing so much, do you still hold this belief, Naruto?"
"The ugly, insane guise of the Tsukami family."
"Isn't that enough to awaken you?"
Naruto tilted his head, his expression calm, "How peculiar you are."
"You openly engage in your deeds."
"Yet why must you always seek out someone or something even darker and more conspiratorial?"
"And thus comfortably crown yourself with the name of 'justice.'"
Aizen, in a gentle tone with a big-brother smile, asked in return, "Am I not?"
"If Naruto mourns for the unfortunate ants sacrificed under the wheels of justice,"
"then after witnessing the evil deeds of the Tsukami family,"
"how much hatred remains in your heart?"
"What truly drives you to wield your sword against me? Is it hatred, or is it that so-called 'sense of responsibility' ingrained in your life subconsciously guiding you?"
A floating cloud drifted by, covering the crescent moon.
The shadows of night encroached, enveloping the Fifth Division.
Along with it, the power of 'Kyoka Suigetsu' lay shrouded over the area.
Squad members bustled about.
No one could see them, nor could anyone hear them.
"What's wrong with a sense of responsibility?" Naruto asked boldly. "Isn't it this very sense of duty that keeps me from falling into the same trap as the likes of Gonmu Daitachi?"
"And what about you, Aizen?"
"What is it you want to do?"
"What drives you to do all these things?"
Aizen smiled and adjusted his glasses with a light touch. "I thought it would take many more 'exchanges' like today for us to discuss this topic."
He extended his hand, pointing upwards. "Naruto, what do you see there?"
Following his direction, Naruto raised his head.
Dark clouds, faint stars, a gentle breeze, and a sliver of the waning moon formed the endless sky.
"Is that the sky?" Aizen whispered.
"No, that's the High Throne."
"Do you think someone is sitting on that unattainable throne?"
Naruto remained silent.
Aizen lowered his hand. "Above the five great clans, there exists a being known as the Soul King."
"He is the master of the Soul Society."
"Yet he lets those nobles run amok."
He paused, taking a step forward, his voice deep and persuasive. "Possessing power, yet doing nothing."
"He is the root of all evil."
"My goal is to kill him and become the ruler of this sky throne."
A fierce wind blew.
It swept away the clouds obscuring the waning moon, and the few nearby clouds seemed to swiftly flee as if driven off.
Dim starlight adorned the sky.
The 'light' of the moon seemed a touch brighter.
"This is what you seek," Naruto murmured.
Aizen smiled, "Isn't this enough even for you, Naruto?"
"A compelling reason," Naruto shook his head, "if your perspective is correct."
"Oh?" Aizen raised an eyebrow, letting out a slight questioning sound.
Naruto smiled, "Aizen, you're not as all-knowing as you think you are."
Aizen spread his hands, "I've never thought myself to be."
"You're even less knowledgeable than you assume right now." Naruto grinned widely, his smile beaming, "What you understand is not the truth."
Aizen squinted his eyes.
A few hours earlier, at the Urahara Shop.
Yoruichi Shihōin had told Naruto the history she knew.
The ancestors of the Shihōin family never denied the fact of 'colluding with the enemy.'
In fact, according to the Shihōin records, the only somewhat favorable figure was a Shiba ancestor who attempted to replace the Soul King with his own body. Becoming the "Keystone" is no easy feat, as "Shinigami" are not qualified.
Kisuke Urahara believes that to reproduce a "Soul King," perhaps one would need to "fuse all forces as one" in the world:
"Shinigami," "Quincy," "Fullbringer," and "Hollow."
This sounds quite incredulous.
How could all these four powers appear in one person simultaneously?
Of course, Yoruichi's acknowledgment of "sin" validated Gamimarutachi Titana's claim.
"The Soul King is not the ruler of the Soul Society," Naruto declared openly, revealing this "truth": "He serves to stabilize the 'Three Realms' with his being."
"He never wielded power, so there was never any abdication."
"Aizen." Naruto paused, his azure eyes full of sincerity: "I wish I could call you 'Sōsuke' again."
"Before your sins deepen too far."
"There's still time to repent."
Conducting experiments using "captains" as material is indeed a heinous crime.
However, as one's knowledge broadens, how many dare claim they are entirely without sin?
Even Naruto can't claim that for himself.
Besides, within the Gotei 13, the "sins" of Mayuri Kurotsuchi are hardly lighter than those of the current "Aizen."
He was even released from the "Maggot's Nest."
Even if Aizen is imprisoned in "Muken," he too may have a chance of release.
"Oh, is that so?" Aizen replied softly, his eyes gleaming, unaffected by Naruto's words. "The throne above the heavens has never been occupied by anyone from the beginning."
"Is that so?"
"Doesn't this give me all the more reason to obtain it?"
"Rather than letting those despicable people continue using its name to perpetrate fraud."
Naruto was momentarily taken aback.
Yet he wasn't surprised by this answer.
"Is that so? You still hold on to your beliefs," he said, lowering his voice.
Aizen sighed, still wearing a pleasant smile. "It seems we're destined never to walk the same path."
"When the day comes that swords are drawn,"
"I will show no mercy."
Naruto's tone was firm, "I will spare your life."
"If."
He lifted his gaze, looking past Aizen to the Fifth Division barracks. "If your sins become unforgivable."
"I will personally place you upon that throne you so desire."
Aizen smiled, shaking his head.
"If your only confidence lies in that pet of yours,"
"Then choose another."
"It doesn't seem very smart."
Naruto replied, "You underestimate it, Aizen."
The two faced off.
Aizen was the first to avert his eyes, picking up his tools to continue tending the garden.
Naruto departed.
The Seventh Division still had to maintain order.
At this moment, the Seireitei was in chaos.
The Gamimarutachi family, though not completely annihilated, suffered significant losses; only a few young children remained of the main line, from the head of the family to the various ranked successors, all were tragically killed.
Even some figures from the branch family fell to foul play.
The Gamimarutachi family had been as populous as the "Shihōin family."
Yet in a single day, they fell to a state akin to the Kuchiki family, leaving only "Gamimarutachi Titana" as the sole heir.
The Central 46 Chambers were furious.
The Captain-Commander remained composed.
The members of the "Stealth Force" were kept busy, with Suì-Fēng almost never coming to the Seventh Division anymore.
But in just a few days, the issue seemed to vanish without a trace.
Although no effective evidence was gathered, all signs pointed to one undeniable fact: the true culprit behind the massive deaths in the Gamimarutachi family was not anyone else but the current head, Gamimarutachi Titana himself.
He personally issued the order to stop the Forty-Six Chambers' investigation.
In comparison, Naruto's act of injuring Titana, causing his ear to be damaged, was lightly reprimanded by the Captain-Commander with a simple, "Foolishness! Even if he's at fault, you shouldn't have hurt him."
Naruto was then ordered to reflect in the Seventh Division barracks, prohibited from leaving the Soul Society for the "World of the Living" for twenty years.
Initially, the Forty-Six Chambers were dissatisfied with such a punishment, but Titana's demeanor changed their minds.
Whenever he faced their investigation, he would simply show the wound on his ear, saying, "This is the mark of my heartfelt exchange with Captain Uzumaki in the World of the Living."
No matter the question, his response was always the same.
They couldn't find evidence to contradict his words, nor a way to prove he was manipulating events both in the "World of the Living" and within the Soul Society.
This nearly "unflinching" attitude of Titana was causing them a headache.
Even though he was part of the "Five Great Noble Families," one might expect more accountability, especially as he was once a student under the Captain-Commander, a peer of Kyōraku Shunsui and Ukitake Jūshirō.
How could he be so different from "Byakuya Kuchiki"?
There was some suspicion, though.
It's rumored that the Gamimarutachi family possesses the oldest "Zanpakutō," whose powers are now unknown.
If anything could achieve such feats, perhaps only it could.
But such things involve the "Forbidden Secrets of the Five Great Noble Families," making it the most forbidden of all subjects.
In the barracks of the Seventh Division, Suì-Fēng angrily complained to Naruto about the Forty-Six Chambers' behavior.
Despite having the means to continue the investigation, they chose not to.
She was beginning to understand why Yoruichi Shihōin, once, had such an attitude toward nobility and power.
The chapter concludes here.
(End of Chapter)