"Blue Dream, it's like this."
Under Aizen's unfriendly gaze, Naraku Sora swallowed hard and described the events at Squad 1 in detail, feeling a bit guilty. He naturally added some embellishments—for instance, claiming that if he didn't complete the task, Yamamoto would train him ruthlessly until he was black and blue and on the verge of collapse.
Aizen adopted a thoughtful expression before looking back at the guilty-looking Naraku Sora. His intuition told him that things were far from that dire. Based on the intelligence he had gathered in secret, although Head Captain Yamamoto was dissatisfied with the actions of the nobility, he generally chose to endure for the sake of the big picture. Today's sudden venting of frustration likely had quite a bit to do with the person standing before him.
Considering Yamamoto's reputation within the Seireitei—outwardly strict and hot-tempered but actually soft-hearted and deeply protective of his juniors—it was impossible for him to force a Genryū disciple to deal with the Tsunayashiro, one of the Five Great Noble Families, on his own. He would rather shoulder the pressure himself.
Despite guessing that Naraku Sora was lying for his own 'selfish ends,' Aizen didn't take him to task. From a certain perspective, this situation aligned quite well with his own original ideas.
"The Shihōin family can no longer provide any assistance due to their internal strife," Aizen said, lightly dismissing someone's reckless idea. "So, stop bringing up the plan to join forces with the Shihōin to take down the Tsunayashiro."
"Moreover, even at their peak, the Shihōin might not have been a match for the Tsunayashiro. You can see that just by looking at the allocation of power within the Kinine Council and the Central 46."
"Aside from that, don't you have any other ideas?"
Naraku Sora grinned. "Lord Dragon of Documents, are you testing my intellect? Of course, I have a plan!"
Suddenly hearing that incredibly embarrassing nickname, Aizen felt a phantom ache in his teeth. When others called him that, it gave him a slight sense of satisfaction and pride, but why did it sound so wrong coming from this guy's mouth? Aizen was utterly baffled.
"Divide and conquer, then dismantle them step by step," Naraku Sora said, showing off the strategy he had finally come up with. He looked quite proud of himself. "Starting with the subsidiary nobles of the Tsunayashiro, we strike down their forces one by one—just like we did with the Yokota family. We keep at it until this giant tree rooted in the Soul Society is teetering, then we deliver the final, fatal blow."
Aizen looked surprised and nodded. "Sora, I'm relieved you can think this far ahead."
"But next time, don't think."
Naraku Sora: "?"
He felt as though his brilliant intellect had been insulted.
"The Tsunayashiro family has countless subsidiary nobles. Nearly twenty of them are in the Central 46 alone. Do you plan to charge straight into the Central 46?"
A trace of helplessness appeared on Aizen's face. "If we're going that far, we might as well just charge into the Tsunayashiro estate. There's no real difference in the process."
"Furthermore, this method of nibbling away will only work a few times before drawing the Tsunayashiro family's attention. Once they counterattack, our original plan will fall apart."
"Otherwise, do you think Head Captain Yamamoto would tolerate them so much?"
As the protector of order in the Soul Society, Yamamoto could not directly strike the nobles due to established rules. However, that didn't stop him from interfering in noble disputes. Taking Kyōraku Shunsui and Ukitake Jūshirō—both nobles—as his disciples was a means of restraint. Being on good terms with the head of the Kuchiki family, Kuchiki Ginrei, served the same purpose. Within the existing constraints, Yamamoto had already done the best he could.
Hearing this, Naraku Sora made a face of disgust. "If you ask me, just cutting them down one by one is the easiest way."
"Sōsuke, do you have a better way then?"
Aizen thought for a moment and then nodded. "Of course I do, though it will take a bit of time."
"As for now, just continue with your usual lifestyle for the time being."
Naraku Sora raised an eyebrow. Based on his trust in Aizen, he didn't press further. If this guy said there was a way, then there was.
"Right, I recently learned a new Kidō technique." Naraku Sora suddenly remembered something. He raised his hand and softly chanted the incantation.
"Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south!"
Aizen watched Naraku Sora's raised palm with curiosity. As the chant proceeded, wisps of Kidō Reiatsu gathered continuously, rapidly drawing a pattern in his palm. When the final line of the incantation was finished, a complex and fragile-looking crest formed and settled.
Although it looked like nothing had happened, Aizen could clearly perceive a trace of destructive power within that crest. When he reached out and touched Naraku Sora's palm with his finger, a searing heat instantly swept through. A fire-ball the size of a hand appeared out of thin air and suddenly detonated.
The power wasn't great; there wasn't even a need for intentional defense. A surge of Reiatsu instantly snuffed out the Shakkahō.
"I call it Trigger-style Kidō," Naraku Sora grinned and explained. "It's a technique I learned from Old Man Yama. It doesn't quite fit my fighting style, but I thought you could probably use it."
Trigger-style Kidō was actually the reward for taking down Ishikawa Sosuke. Back then, that guy had set an ambush at Mount Koifushi, hiding multiple high-level and overlapping Hadō spells underground to trigger a terrifying, disaster-like scene. However, after several attempts, Naraku Sora found that achieving such an effect required a lot of energy and time. He might be able to shorten the process thanks to his perfect understanding of Kidō, but ultimately, it wasn't as satisfying as just swinging a blade.
Aizen gave Naraku Sora a deep look. With his own mastery of Kidō, he could naturally see how precious this technique was. While he wasn't sure if Yamamoto had really taught it to him, the sheer, unreserved trust displayed here was enough to be moving.
'But if I really learn this, won't I owe him even more?'
Aizen recalled the fusion technique of Zanjutsu and Kidō he had learned from Naraku Sora previously. That attack style with its staggering destructive power had indeed made up for his shortcomings to some extent.
"Hey, why are you just standing there in a daze?" Naraku Sora turned back to urge him. "You're not planning to learn this in the office, are you? If you blow this place up, that guy Hirako Shinji will go tattle to Old Man Yama again."
Aizen looked up, glancing at the guileless face under the sunlight. He sighed helplessly, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"I'm coming..."