"Sōsuke, you must be a good person. I don't want to see you in hell!"
At the main gate of the Shino Academy, Naraku Sora looked at the brown-haired boy in front of him and spoke with earnest gravity.
"Naraku, if your understanding of a good person is based on yourself as the standard, then we will probably find it very difficult to meet again in this lifetime."
A trace of helplessness appeared on the brown-haired boy's face.
They were about to graduate and join the squads, yet this guy still looked so unreliable. He was afraid Naraku wouldn't last a few days before becoming so-called cannon fodder.
Naraku Sora was one of his few close friends within the Academy. He truly couldn't bear to see him die young, so offering some detailed advice felt necessary.
"The Central Great Underground Prison is not like the Gotei 13. The danger coefficient there is extremely high. Once you go there, you absolutely cannot act as recklessly as you did in the Academy."
Even now, Aizen couldn't figure it out. When Naraku Sora first became a student, he already possessed the strength of an ordinary squad member, with few students able to compare.
By graduation, he had just barely touched the level of a seated officer. Although there was still a gap between him and Aizen, it was considered very rare.
Yet, such a bright-future Soul Reaper chose not to become a member of the Gotei 13, but instead turned around and threw himself into the embrace of the Central Great Underground Prison.
It was truly baffling.
Aizen had asked Naraku Sora about his reasoning, but the other always said strange things.
Things like clearing the filth of the Soul Society, or that the justice of the world needed defending.
Seeing that the guy didn't seem to be joking, Aizen felt that Naraku was even sicker than the Soul Society itself.
"Sōsuke, just put your mind at ease. I know my limits," Naraku Sora replied with a confident face. "As the saying goes, if I don't enter hell, who will? There is no place more suitable for me to work than the Central Great Underground Prison."
Actually, like Aizen, he also had an unspeakable secret.
A few years ago, Naraku Sora traveled to the Soul Society. Relying on his innate full soul power, he successfully became a new student at the Shino Academy.
He thought his future would be a smooth path. Even if he couldn't compete with those who used cheats, mixing in to get a position like a seated officer or lieutenant would make this life worthwhile.
But who could have guessed that there would be a deviation in the timeline? This was not any point in time he was familiar with.
Even the future big boss villain, Aizen, was merely a newly enrolled Academy student.
When he learned this intelligence, Naraku Sora nearly burned out on the spot and turned into pale ash.
With his little bit of talent, bullying other students in the same grade was fine, but in front of Aizen, he didn't even qualify to be a meat shield.
Although this guy acted harmless to humans and animals on ordinary days, looking like a model student, Naraku Sora knew his essence better than anyone.
Just as he was despairing, his cheat arrived late.
[Justice System]
[As the saying goes, my heart and actions are utterly unclouded; everything I do is justice. Situated in a world where sin originates, you need to strike against criminal behavior and restore a bright and clear universe to the Soul Society.]
In human terms: depending on the villainy value, successfully suppressing a criminal allows him to acquire corresponding abilities from them.
Such as Zankensoki, cultivation insights, special talents, spirit body strength, Reiatsu values...
But a new problem arose. He was a mere student; where would he find criminals, and where would he suppress them?
To this end, Naraku Sora specifically consulted the omnipotent Aizen and finally reached a conclusion.
The place most suitable for this cheat to function was the Inner Court's Central Great Underground Prison.
Detained there were all the most heinous criminals since the founding of the Soul Society, including sinners of Captain-class caliber.
And due to certain unknown reasons, the death penalty rarely appeared in the Soul Society.
Even reactionary forces that assassinated nobles were only suppressed in a certain level of the underground prison.
However, with prison terms moving in the hundreds or thousands of years, there wasn't much difference from a death penalty.
Although Soul Reapers had long lifespans, that was limited to the strong; the lifespan of an ordinary Soul Reaper wasn't that exaggerated.
The vast majority of sinners would spend a painful and long time in the underground prison until their lives ended.
After learning this, Naraku Sora was disappointed, but at least he had something to strive for.
Rather than becoming a Soul Reaper in the Gotei 13, it was better to directly join the Central Great Underground Prison.
Although suppressing a few heinous criminals wouldn't be enough to lead him to the peak of life, it would at least add some power for self-preservation.
Moreover.
If he remembered correctly, the Aizen in the original work was sentenced to twenty thousand years and later imprisoned in the eighth level of the underground prison, Muken.
If he were the one to suppress Aizen, what kind of powerful abilities could he extract from him?
Now was fantasy time.
Actually, it wasn't that Naraku Sora hadn't thought about suppressing Aizen in advance, but the gap in martial force between the two sides was too large, and the current Aizen simply didn't have any villainy value.
Even if suppressed, he wouldn't be able to extract any abilities.
He had no choice but to give up.
Besides, Aizen counted as one of Naraku Sora's few friends. Backstabbing him or something... that was a bit too difficult for him.
Now that he had graduated successfully, it was time to head to the underground prison and fully utilize the power of his cheat.
Naraku Sora was brimming with confidence.
Aizen looked at the young man in front of him with a calm gaze, attempting to see a flaw in his eyes.
However, the other's eyes held only the purest determination, swayed by no other thoughts.
Seeing this situation, Aizen had to put down the thought of persuasion and smiled.
"I understand."
Just then, the Soul Reaper responsible for receiving the graduating students arrived in front of the Academy. After confirming the list, a Soul Reaper with a very ordinary face came up to the two of them.
Unlike the Soul Reapers of the Gotei 13, his black Shihakushō bore the emblem belonging to the Inner Court.
This person was here to pick up Naraku Sora.
"I should get going, Sōsuke." Naraku Sora seemed a bit worried and emphasized, "You must be a good person!"
Aizen: "..."
Although he was very clear that this guy knew nothing, hearing this advice always gave him an inexplicable sense of guilt.
It was as if his secrets had been seen through.
Regarding the arrangement of certain plans, he had better be a bit more cautious.
Under the urging of the Inner Court Soul Reaper, Naraku Sora waved his hand at Aizen, then followed in step, walking toward the interior of the Seireitei.
Watching his close friend's receding back, a trace of almost imperceptible melancholy flashed in the depths of Aizen's eyes.
The student days filled with friendship and warmth were merely an insignificant part of a long journey.
Friendship exchanged for a disguised facade was ultimately fake and would shatter one day.
Perhaps when that time came, there would be no one else by his side, right?
Discarding the last bit of chaotic emotion, the brown-haired boy smiled at the Squad 5 member walking toward him.
"Hello, I am Aizen Sōsuke..."