Although Gin still had concerns in his heart, now was clearly not the time to dwell on such things.
Kyoya walked at the front, not noticing the shift in Gin's expression.
However, when it came to understanding Gin's thoughts, Kyoya felt he had a pretty good grasp.
After all, he and Gin were quite similar in nature.
If someone they cared about was hurt, they would undoubtedly do everything in their power to prevent any future dangers that might befall them, eliminating all potential threats before they could even emerge.
Once they entered the Captain's office, Kyoya activated his Observation Haki to confirm that there were no other Shinigami nearby. Then, a white light flickered at his fingertips.
"Mirror Door!"
In an instant, a transparent barrier materialized within the Captain's office before gradually fading from sight.
"Alright."
"There's no one else's Reiatsu around, and with this defensive barrier, no one else can enter."
"Great!"
Hearing this, Matsumoto Rangiku was overjoyed. She immediately leaped onto Gin, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Gin, I missed you so much…"
"Wha-"
Rangiku's sudden action caught Gin off guard.
But his hands reflexively moved to support her, ensuring she wouldn't fall.
"What's going on?"
The last time Gin had seen Rangiku, he had been worried she might expose their connection.
Back then, Rangiku had acted as if she didn't know him. While this avoided the risk of exposure, it also led Gin to believe that Rangiku was still angry at him for abandoning her in the Rukongai and pretending not to recognize him out of spite.
But judging by her current behavior, it didn't seem like she was upset with him at all.
"Let's sit down first. We can talk properly."
Kyoya sat cross-legged on the floor. Across from him, Gin tried several times to loosen Rangiku's grip, only for her to cling tighter each time.
"Alright, Rangiku-nee."
Seeing this, Kyoya couldn't help but sigh, "Gin is now the Lieutenant of the 11th Division. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, he won't be leaving for a long time."
"Hehe…"
Rangiku giggled sheepishly but obediently released Gin, sitting down beside him opposite Kyoya.
"Rangiku-nee?"
Gin glanced between Kyoya and Rangiku, piecing together the meaning behind Kyoya's address.
"Let me reintroduce myself."
"Hello, Ichimaru Gin."
"My name is Kyoya."
"Yeah, I nearly starved to death in the Rukongai and was saved by Rangiku-nee, so I'm her new family."
'So that's how it is…'
Gin understood.
'No wonder, after becoming the Captain of the 11th Division, Kyoya had immediately brought Rangiku out of the Shin'o Academy.'
"Hehe…"
Hearing Kyoya refer to himself as her 'family', Rangiku let out another soft, happy laugh.
At this moment, she felt like the happiest person in the world.
"Then, Kyoya… it's fine for me to call you that, right?"
Seeing Rangiku lean against him, Gin couldn't help but reach out and ruffle her hair as he asked Kyoya.
"No problem."
Kyoya nodded. "Though we've never really interacted before, I've heard about you and Rangiku-nee from her."
"As for why you suddenly left Rangiku-nee to become a Shinigami, I'm guessing you encountered some kind of crisis that forced you to leave her side to protect her."
"Exactly."
Gin's eyes narrowed.
Though he wasn't familiar with Kyoya, he trusted Rangiku.
Since Kyoya was someone Rangiku acknowledged as family, Gin was willing to trust him as well.
Of course, more importantly, Gin felt that Kyoya could protect Rangiku!
"On the day Rangiku was attacked, I was hiding in the grass nearby, watching as that Shinigami took something from her body…"
As he spoke, a fierce killing intent flashed in Gin's eyes.
"Gin…"
Rangiku tightened her grip on his hand.
When she was attacked, she had blacked out instantly and had no idea what happened afterward.
'But if I had been forced to watch Gin get hurt like that… how could I have endured it?'
'The pain Gin must have felt in that moment was ten times worse than what I had suffered.'
"That person… If I'm not mistaken, the Shinigami who hurt Rangiku was the Lieutenant Aizen of the 5th Division, right?"
"What?!"
Hearing this, Rangiku gasped in shock before quickly covering her mouth with both hands. "Kyoya, are you sure you're not mistaken?"
"I've met Lieutenant Aizen several times, and he always seemed like such a kind person!"
"And many other division's members think highly of him too…"
"Rangiku-nee, you can't define a person just by how they appear on the surface."
"After all, how do you know that what they show you is only what they want you to see?"
"And what you don't want to know, you won't let anyone know at all?"
"And the things they don't want you to know… well, those who do know either serve Aizen… or have already disappeared?"
"How could that be?"
Though Rangiku was still young, she wasn't stupid.
What did 'disappeared' mean?
It meant they'd been silenced.
At this thought, she immediately tugged at Gin's sleeve, "Then, Gin, you-"
"Don't worry, Rangiku. I'm fine."
After gently reassuring her, Gin turned his gaze back to Kyoya.
"How did you figure it out?"
"Is it really that hard?"
Kyoya shrugged. "If it were me, I'd do everything in my power to take revenge on whoever hurt Rangiku-nee."
"Of course, if I wasn't strong enough, I'd bide my time, staying close to my enemy and waiting for the right moment to strike."
"Every time I've seen you, you've been following behind Lieutenant Aizen. If I couldn't guess who hurt Rangiku-nee from that, wouldn't I be an idiot?"
"Of course, what truly confirmed Lieutenant Aizen as the culprit was his recent battle on the arena stage."
"Oh?"
Gin looked up at Kyoya with interest.
Over the past year, though Gin hadn't fully deciphered the ability of Aizen's Zanpakuto, he had formed some suspicions.
"My Reikaku is sharper than most."
Gin nodded.
The last time Aizen had brought him to meet Kyoya, they had changed speeds several times along the way. Gin later realized it was because Kyoya had sensed Aizen's Reiatsu first and altered his pace, forcing Aizen to adjust in response.
"I'm aware of that."
"No, you don't fully understand."
"My Reikaku is different from what you assume it to be."
Kyoya shook his head, "When Lieutenant Aizen fought that Shinigami from the 9th Division, my eyes saw them battling, and I sensed their Reiatsu clashing."
"But my Reikaku told me that Lieutenant Aizen and that Shinigami weren't actually fighting… they were just standing on the stage."
"I suspect that the ability of Aizen's Zanpakuto isn't what he claims… creating mist that confuses an enemy's sense of direction, making them attack each other."
"Rather, it's the power to manipulate perception, including sight and hearing."
"More importantly, Aizen's true strength is far beyond what he displays."
"A Shinigami's battle is a battle of Reiatsu."
"No matter how powerful an ability is, if the gap in Reiatsu between two fighters is too vast, the weaker one's Zanpakuto's ability will pose little to no threat to the stronger one."
"This is especially true for rule-based or support-type abilities."
"Why is it that Captain-level fighters can easily defeat vice-captains without even releasing their Zanpakuto?"
"It's because the difference in spiritual pressure is so immense that the abilities of a Lieutenant's Shikai have minimal, or even no effect on a captain."
"But Aizen's Zanpakuto's ability deceived not just me, but even Captain-Commander Yamamoto and the other Captains. None of them noticed anything amiss."
"This means Aizen's Reiryoku is at least comparable to Yamamoto's… if not slightly weaker, then not by much."
"What?!"
This revelation shocked not just Rangiku, but even Gin.
Though Gin had suspected Aizen's strength, he had only assumed the man was among the stronger Captains. Never had he imagined that Aizen's power could rival the Captain-Commander's.
After all, the fact that Aizen operated in the shadows suggested he feared the Gotei 13.
But if Kyoya's words were true, then Aizen might not actually be all that wary of them.
So why was he hiding his true strength?
"Don't misunderstand."
Seeing the confusion on Gin and Rangiku's faces, Kyoya clarified, "I only said Aizen's Reiryoku rivals Captain-Commander Yamamoto's, not that his combat ability does."
"You should understand this, Gin."
"Your Reiryoku is 5th-class, yet you surpass Lieutenant with 4th-class Reiryoku, don't you?"
Gin's eyes gleamed with realization.
A Shinigami's foundation was their Reiatsu.
However, how effectively they could wield that power depended on the individual.
Yamamoto's Zanpakuto, Ryūjin Jakka, was the strongest fire-type Zanpakuto in existence and the most offensively powerful Zanpakuto in Soul Society's history.
Even if Aizen's Zanpakuto had an incredibly potent ability, it was still support-based. In a direct confrontation, he would be no match for Yamamoto.
"Gin, I know you've been staying close to Aizen to uncover his weakness and strike him down at the right moment."
"But now that I've grown strong enough, you don't need to take such risks anymore."
"Train with me instead."