Seireitei, 4th Division barracks, General Relief Station, second floor.
"Make way, quickly!"
"Vice-captain Higashino, I need help here!"
In the middle of the busy crowd, a Shinigami whose body had been gnawed by a Hollow was urgently carried in.
At once, a male Shinigami crouched in front of a bed, performing Kaidō, then rose without even turning his head, using a Shunpo to arrive at the newly brought-in Shinigami.
"Leave him to me. You can go and help the others."
The male Shinigami spoke gently. Reishi danced in his hands, and the wounds on the injured Shinigami in front of him immediately began to heal.
As more and more Shinigami were treated, time gradually slipped into late night.
Only after finally settling the last injured Shinigami did the members and seated officers of the 4th Division let out a collective sigh of relief.
Situations like this played out in the relief station again and again over the years, and everyone had grown used to them.
What the members of the 4th Division always delighted in was how their vice-captain, Higashino Shuuichi, was just like their captain, Unohana Retsu—both impossibly gentle people.
Working alongside them always filled one with a sense of happiness.
Yet those Shinigami would likely never know that the truth was far more complicated.
In the early hours, the streets of Seireitei were quiet and peaceful. A few scattered trees swayed gently in the night breeze.
A brown-haired, brown-eyed male Shinigami, wearing black-rimmed glasses and the standard shihakushō, strolled idly.
Suddenly, a gust of wind passed, and a figure landed silently at his side.
"Aizen-dono, this is today's harvest."
The figure drew out a transparent box from his robes. Inside were dozens of Reishi clusters of various forms.
As they stepped into the moonlight, anyone from the 4th Division would have recognized the newcomer—it was their vice-captain, Higashino Shuuichi.
"Good."
Aizen nodded slightly, taking the box into his sleeve before continuing his leisurely walk.
Higashino, who had followed Aizen's lead for decades, knew that since Aizen had not yet used Shunpo to leave, there was more to be said. He trailed him by half a step.
The two walked for quite a while until they neared the nobles' estates.
"I remember, it was because you couldn't stand a noble's behavior that you secretly assassinated him."
"Yes, Aizen-dono. And it was because of that incident that you noticed me and led me onto this bright path."
Higashino lowered his head respectfully.
"Thanks to your occasional 'warnings,' all these years the nobles only dared to vent their useless fury on criminals. But it seems that balance is about to break again."
Aizen narrowed his eyes.
"Aizen-dono, should I eliminate those nobles who overstep—"
Before Higashino could finish, Aizen shook his head.
"How many times must I tell you, Shuuichi? Merely killing a few nobles will not change this rotten Soul Society. Not this time, not ever. Do not act against them on your own."
"I understand, Aizen-dono."
Higashino nodded obediently.
Aizen gazed at the noble estates for a moment longer, then vanished with Shunpo, never speaking of the matter in detail.
But Higashino understood. If Aizen hadn't explained further, it meant the matter was simple enough for him to discover on his own. Aizen would only give hints.
Sure enough, the next morning, before Higashino even asked around, several seated officers of the 4th Division spread the news.
"Did you hear? Yesterday the 9th seat of the 6th Division argued with a squadmate during a mission. He killed that squadmate and even the Shinigami who tried to stop him!"
"That's not all! I heard his wife tried to calm him down too. He killed her as well!"
"No way. Then why weren't any of them brought here for treatment?"
"Isn't it obvious? They all died instantly. The 9th Division handled the capture and cleanup."
From their chatter, Higashino pieced the situation together.
Though they never named the 9th seat, Higashino guessed who it was, given the timing and details.
Kuchiki Tokinada, a member of one of the Five Great Noble Families, responsible for managing the Great Spirit Book Gallery.
Later, he would become a major boss figure, after Yhwach.
But at this point, his power was still far from formidable.
This incident only served to introduce a future key villain: Tousen Kaname.
Higashino now understood the deeper meaning behind Aizen's words the previous night.
It was both to reinforce his disdain for the nobles and to frame their current actions with a sense of justice.
And Higashino understood so clearly because he wasn't a native of this world—he was a transmigrator from a Blue Planet.
Unfortunately, when he crossed over, his "template" was wrong. Like those who traveled to his planet's ancient eras, he had only foreknowledge, but no cheats.
He was reborn as an ordinary Rukongai civilian, Higashino Shuuichi. Aside from decent Reiatsu aptitude, he had nothing.
Hakuda, Kidō, Zanjutsu—all had to be learned from scratch. Even his Zanpakutō would come only after joining Shinō Academy.
After nearly a hundred years of grinding effort, he discovered he wasn't cut out to be a Shinigami.
His modern mindset couldn't grasp Soul Society's power system.
Sword meditation? Communicating with a mere Asauchi? How?
Reishi control? Total nonsense to him.
The mechanics of Shunpo? He could only imitate blindly.
Only swordsmanship came somewhat easier, thanks to dramas from his past life.
Even worse, the Shinō Academy teachers didn't care. Show up, lecture, leave. Whether students learned or not was "talent."
Higashino once suspected all those teachers had gotten in through connections.
After finally joining a division, even the vice-captain responsible for training only repeated textbook phrases, offering no solutions to his questions.
The result? His Hakuda, Kidō, Zanjutsu—none were worth showing. He had wasted decades.
In despair, Higashino tore out his hair at night until he made a decision: betray the rules and seek out Aizen.
At that time, Aizen hadn't slicked his hair back, hadn't created the Hōgyoku, and was still keeping a low profile.
He had no real subordinates yet.
If Higashino joined, he wouldn't immediately reach the top, but at least Aizen would patiently answer his questions, taking joy in seeing a loyal subordinate grow.
As for killing Shinigami—Higashino wasn't overly moral. He only wanted to live.
Shinigami lived long lives. If he could just survive the major crises caused by future bosses, he'd be free afterward.
At worst, he could retire to the Human World like a certain shopkeeper.
Most importantly, Aizen treated his own well. Not generously, but fairly. He gave good things to those close to him.
As long as Higashino didn't act stupidly, unlike Tousen, Aizen would not kill him.
For Yhwach later on, Higashino's plan was simple: never interfere. He would even ensure Ichigo Kurosaki's birth if necessary.
Those heroic cries of "my fate is my own" meant nothing to him.
Like a certain bronze dragon once said in a game: if the result is guaranteed, why change the process?
Higashino only needed to survive quietly.
Others? They were "necessary sacrifices" for victory.
Yes, his morals were that flexible.
Originally, his plan had been to take Tousen's place in the plot. But when he joined Aizen, the Hōgyoku research hadn't reached the stage of using souls with Shinigami potential. At that time, Aizen was still focused on studying Shinigami powers and needed vast amounts of Shinigami Reishi as material.
Since commanding Hollows to attack Shinigami was too inefficient, Higashino volunteered to join the 4th Division.
Treating the injured gave him the chance to extract Reishi from them.
He did this for over sixty years.
Step by step, he rose from an ordinary member to vice-captain of the 4th Division. His true strength grew from weaker than a low-ranked officer to rivaling captains.
Hakuda, Shunpo, Zanjutsu, Kidō—under Aizen's tutelage, he had finally become competent in all.
Aizen proved he wasn't talentless—just limited in aptitude and understanding.
He was even capable of becoming a captain now.
Unfortunately, his captain, Unohana Retsu, was no simple woman.
So in the 4th Division, he remained extremely cautious, never letting her catch him siphoning Reishi.
That afternoon, the 4th Division received a notice from Central 46: in principle, Unohana was to attend the trial of Kuchiki Tokinada.
But "in principle" meant optional. Unohana, uninterested, of course wouldn't attend.
The task fell to Higashino.
He could have skipped too. The 4th Division's role was only to provide treatment in case of accidents. If nothing happened, no one would care.
But Higashino wanted to see that future boss. And he knew this trial wouldn't be simple.
Otherwise, Aizen wouldn't have hinted about it the night before.
Clearly, Aizen meant for his vice-captain to go in his stead.
After all, Aizen had just been transferred from the 5th Division's captain, Hirako Shinji, and was still a nobody in the 5th.
"Very well, I'll witness this so-called 'lighthouse' of a trial."
A mocking smile crossed Higashino's lips. He folded the reply letter and handed it to a squad member outside.
//Check out my Patreon for 20 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[[email protected]/Razeil0810](http://[email protected]/Razeil0810)