[Five Days Later, Central 46]
Rosse was wearing his captain's haori, walking all the way in from the main gate. The Shinigami guarding the door acted as if they had not seen him at all, completely ignoring his existence.
When he stepped through the doors of Central 46, what he saw was a scene as noisy as a vegetable market.
Forty-six representatives chosen from among the nobles seemed to be arguing so fiercely over something that their faces were flushed red.
Rosse only gave them a faint glance, then withdrew his gaze and looked toward the far end of Central 46, where a tall, straight figure was standing.
"Captain Aizen likes watching monkeys perform?"
Rosse walked inside step by step, treating the clamor around him as if it were nothing, heading straight toward Aizen.
"Monkeys performing? An interesting description, but to compare these high and mighty nobles to monkeys, it seems only Lord Rosse would dare to put it that way," Aizen let out a soft laugh.
"If they are not monkeys, then what are they?"
Rosse flicked a glance at the crowd of people in Central 46 and spoke calmly, "According to how you Shinigami divide spiritual pressure, it seems there are twenty grades of spiritual power. Those at grade five and above can serve as vice-captains, and those at grade ten and above are at captain level. Among these monkeys, the strongest is nothing more than grade-five spiritual power, so what qualifications do they have to stand above captains?"
"This is civilization and system."
Aizen smiled slightly. He assumed Rosse was used to the law of the jungle in Hueco Mundo, so he spoke up to explain, "These nobles do not represent themselves. The reason they can stand above captains is only because they are closer to royal authority. The king's servants are always more noble than some gatekeepers. This is the same in Hueco Mundo, is it not?"
"It is indeed the same in Hueco Mundo. Just like back then, even Barragan's lackeys dared to provoke a Vasto Lorde."
Rosse stood beside Aizen, shoulder to shoulder, listening to the farce below with him.
From just a few snatches of words, it seemed what they were talking about down there was cutting back the welfare of the Gotei 13. These noble lords seemed to feel that the annual funds allocated to the Gotei 13 were far too much.
Such a foolish idea.
If there were no such funds, that bunch of thugs in the Gotei 13 would probably just go and rob for themselves.
"However," Rosse paused, then said with a squinting smile, "Whether it is in Hueco Mundo or in Soul Society, it seems you can never avoid some fellows who do not know their own place. Is this the innate bad habit of living beings?"
"Lord Rosse, I believe that as long as they are sentient beings, they cannot avoid having some foolish thoughts."
Aizen looked down on the discussions in Central 46, speaking softly, "Just like these people. Do they not know how powerful captains are? No, they are clearer about it than anyone. But they were born nobles, and think themselves incomparably high and noble, and do not wish to bow their heads before the strong. Yet this kind of twisted mentality is nothing more than a ridiculous inferiority that satisfies them as weaklings.
"If one truly showed his strength in front of them, they would only grovel like dogs, or else shout from their mouths that they are nobles, convinced that you would not dare to offend them. It is all laughable thinking."
"Rules are something made by the strong. Only when the strong are willing to abide by them, can they be called rules."
Hearing this, Rosse chuckled and said teasingly, "But unfortunately, the strongest person in Soul Society wants stability, and the kind of stability so stubborn it has become ossified."
"Heh! There are people who are simply born with great power, but they have never possessed a mindset that matches that power."
Aizen smiled and shook his head. He knew Rosse was referring to Captain-Commander Yamamoto, and at the same time was teasing him by implying that he was not the strongest in Soul Society.
That point he did indeed have to admit.
After all, with his current strength, there was still a certain gap between him and the Captain-Commander.
Even so, he had never once considered Captain-Commander Yamamoto to be a true strong man.
When the other founded the Gotei 13 a thousand years ago, he indeed deserved to be called a strong man.
But now, a thousand years later, with all his edges completely worn away, how much of his former boldness can the current Captain-Commander still possess?
Aizen did not know, but he believed he would find out soon enough.
"All right, let's get back to business. I imagine you did not have me come this time just to discuss these ideas with you," Rosse steered things back to the main topic.
Aizen had his own path to walk. He would not interfere, only quietly watch.
As for whether Aizen could walk this path all the way to the end, that would depend on his own fortune.
After all, with his existence, many things were already no longer the same.
"Of course."
Aizen smiled and nodded. Since Rosse did not want to talk about these things, he naturally would not say more. Inviting Rosse to Central 46 today, he did in fact have another purpose.
"When the Captain-Commander asked Lord Rosse to investigate the disappearances of souls in Rukongai, does Lord Rosse still remember this matter?"
"Of course I remember. If you had not invited me, I was already planning to set out," Rosse nodded slightly.
He was not sure whether this matter had anything to do with Aizen. If it was Aizen, the latter would naturally explain it to him.
If it was not, then he would be all the more interested in taking a look. After all, there were quite a few interesting people in Soul Society who liked stirring things up behind the scenes.
"This matter has nothing to do with me. Or you could say, precisely because the Captain-Commander knows who did it, that is why he sent Lord Rosse to investigate," Aizen said with a smile.
"It is not you? Then who did it?", Rosse raised his eyebrows. Before Aizen could reply, he cut him off, "Let me guess."
He lifted his head and looked at the noisy chamber of Central 46 below, smiling faintly, "Since today's meeting place is here, could it be that this crowd of monkeys down there did it?"
"Worthy of Lord Rosse. To be precise, it was the Tsunayashiro clan among the nobles."
A look of admiration flashed in Aizen's eyes. He had known Rosse would be able to guess a thing or two. This was exactly the opponent he strove to chase.
"The Tsunayashiro clan… one of your Shinigami's Five Great Noble Houses? It seems they are still competing with the Kuchiki clan for the position of head of the Five Great Houses?", Rosse asked with interest.
"You could say they are competing. After all, among the Five Great Noble Houses, only those two have yet to fall into decline," Aizen's lips curved with mockery.
So-called Five Great Nobles had never been worth his regard. They were all just pieces on the board along his path forward.
"You specially came to tell me this. Are you trying to make some sort of deal with me?", Rosse looked at Aizen and asked.
He did not believe Aizen would tell him these things for no reason.
This matter was already obvious.
Because he was a captain recommended by the nobles, Captain-Commander Yamamoto wanted to test his relationship with the nobles.
You did not even need to think about it to know that these nobles did things much more crudely than Aizen. As long as he went to investigate, he was sure to dig up lots of clues.
And the Captain-Commander's goal was to see how he would handle this matter.
Even if Aizen had not given advance warning, it would not actually have made much difference. Sooner or later he would have found out who was behind it.
"I only have one small requet."
Aizen smiled slightly, his gaze resting on Rosse, his voice carrying a tone of sincerity, "I ask that Lord Rosse help me find the person who has been constantly peeping at me."
"Oh?"
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