That granny was a very gentle person. She not only took Iori home and taught him how to survive in Rukongai, she also asked her other "child" to take good care of him as well.
And so Iori gained a new surname, Aizen.
Well, calling it a surname isn't entirely accurate. In this era, Japanese commoners didn't really have proper surnames. The granny ran a clothing shop and was especially skilled at a fabric-dyeing technique called aizome (indigo dyeing). That's how the surname came about.
The surname itself wasn't a problem, but placed within the Bleach worldview, it really stood out…
And sure enough, Iori then met a black-haired, straight-haired girl named "Soyuki."
She had lived in a very low-ranked district of Rukongai when she was young, until she was adopted by the granny and became "Aizen Soyuki." Normally, though, everyone affectionately called her "Yuki."
Could one conclude that she was that scheming final boss just based on the surname and a similar name? Iori felt that would be jumping to conclusions.
After all, this wasn't a Type-Moon crossover, no one's junk was at constant risk of being erased.
More importantly, Iori himself currently also had the surname Aizen. For all he knew, the one who replaced that scheming glasses-wearing bastard might not be Yuki, but him…
Based on Iori's observations over the years, Yuki's talent really was frighteningly good, and her personality was a bit scheming, but her mental state and way of doing things were generally within the normal range. There were no signs of darkening at all.
Then comparing her to himself, and thinking about how many hearts he'd set on fire over the years just to raise his "art style (presence)," how many people had developed that distant emotion known as "admiration" toward him…
The more Iori thought about it, the more he felt that the one occupying Aizen's position was very likely himself.
Of course, he was sure he hadn't possessed anyone, nor had he been possessed by someone else. So whoever ended up being Aizen… well, stay calm. Whatever.
Speaking of which, Iori actually felt very little emotional turbulence about transmigrating into the family of a BOSS, or becoming the BOSS himself.
Is Aizen a villain? Yes.
But this is Bleach, after all. And this damn place is full of conspirators and villains everywhere you look.
Even the Gotei Thirteen, the Shinigami as a group, aren't exactly a "righteous" organization, but rather a "necessary evil."
Their Zanpakutō are always wielded to protect "order." As for right and wrong, good and evil, those come second.
So really, why is Aizen considered a great demon king?
The secondary reason is that he assassinated comrades and created the Hogyoku.
The main reason is that he wiped out that bunch of immortal old fossils in Central 46. And tried to overthrow the existing order and become the ruler of the throne.
To put it bluntly, they can tolerate mad scientists (represented by Mayuri) and all kinds of rotten nobles, but they can't tolerate an ambitious man.
The Gotei Thirteen is not a clean place. The darkness within runs far too deep…
Iori wasn't going to see the protagonist in the original story beating up every villain and then decide to "uphold justice" himself, getting crushed by bosses along the way, only to turn around and see the nobles still benefiting in the end. Even the original protagonist, Ichigo, as a classic hot-blooded youth, wasn't fighting for some grand narrative, but simply for friendship.
Of course, Iori also wasn't going to evolve into a scheming super-villain just because he became an "Aizen," walking down a one-way road with no return, there was no reason to darken right now.
Iori would never put others first. He would always put himself first, judging gains and losses purely from his own perspective.
Besides, staying in some faction and playing low-profile infiltration wouldn't work.
'Give me a break, even if you want to keep a low profile, you still have to ask whether the final BOSS, Yhwach, would allow it!'
'Pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger?'
'You might end up pretending to be a pig your whole life and become a real pig. Then when the Quincy King returns from the Wandenreich and starts purging and slaughtering the entire Soul Society, you won't even know how to escape!'
Iori was a very straightforward person, his fate could only be decided by himself.
Still, gaining the power to control one's destiny was no easy task.
So first, set a small goal, personally surpass Yhwach and the Great Monk. As for subordinates, the faction under him should at least be on par with Hueco Mundo, the Gotei Thirteen, and the Sternritter, right?
If others knew about Iori's "grand blueprint" and compared it to his actual situation, they'd probably laugh their heads off.
Because in the Bleach world, where spiritual pressure decides everything, Iori, unlike ordinary souls, had a decisive flaw, there was absolutely no way to measure "spiritual pressure" on him.
Spiritual pressure, much like chakra, Haki, Stands, or Cosmo, is an energy system exclusive to a specific worldview.
In Bleach, spiritual pressure is like mana in cultivation novels, it's the decisive factor for strength and realm. Although concepts like the Zanpakuto, a kind of life-bound spiritual weapon, are more eye-catching, without spiritual pressure everything is just a castle in the air.
In theory, all matter in the Soul Society is made of reishi (basic particles), and the souls living here are the same. More or less, everyone has some amount of spiritual pressure.
It's just that most people's spiritual pressure is so low it can be ignored. Only a small portion reach a certain standard and can become "Shinigami."
Iori's situation was actually on the better side.
Perhaps because of a transmigrator's built-in soul buff, his spiritual pressure was relatively high among the souls around him.
But compared to the cheat monsters in the original story… heh.
With his talent, if he wanted to rely purely on his own cultivation to learn Bankai, the time needed would have to be calculated in centuries… This had been verified by a certain unnamed scumbag system.
Because of this, Iori never expected to grow strong by traditional cultivation methods alone, and thus embarked on the one-way road of constantly boosting his "art style"…
———
"It's getting late. Let's head back."
"We'll come visit again next time~"
After helping close the shop and saying goodbye to Grandma, the siblings changed into their everyday clothes and left the store.
It was already dusk, yet the streets were quite lively. Pedestrians came and went, and the cries of various vendors rose and fell. It didn't look like an afterlife at all, rather, it was full of vitality and life.
But Iori knew this was just one corner of the Soul Society.
After saving up some money, the Aizen family had moved to the current "Heijaku" district, one of the highest-ranked areas of Rukongai. It was very close to Seireitei, had excellent public security, and because nobles and Shinigami often came here to spend money, it was extremely prosperous.
But if you kept walking outward, Rukongai would become more and more desolate and chaotic, until it turned into a lawless zone.
And the center guarded by countless Rukongai districts, Seireitei, might look lofty, cold, and magnificent, but in reality it was far from as calm as it appeared. Countless darkness and dangers were hidden beneath the surface.
As a transmigrator, Iori understood this all too well. So even after being reborn here, he hadn't let himself go.
After all, unlike his previous life, this time he had real "family" and attachments…
"What are you spacing out for?"
Yuki glanced at him. "And also, what are you hiding in your shoulder bag?"
"Huh?" Iori raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"What's so surprising? Since just now, your left thumb has unconsciously rubbed the bag thirteen times within three minutes. And when someone passed on your left, the angle at which you turned to dodge was about 13% larger than usual."
'Terrifying!'
'What is wrong with this woman?!'
Sure enough, even in a parallel world version, Aizen was still Aizen. Even genderbending and the 'big chest, empty head' debuff couldn't restrain her?
"Uh…"
Taking advantage of her height, Yuki looked down at Iori and leaned forward threateningly. The boy had no choice but to step back half a step to avoid that familiar elastic assault.
"Especially when I mentioned the shoulder bag just now, your eyes clearly wavered, and you couldn't help sneaking a look. Just like now."
Iori froze for a moment. "You really observe me in great detail…"
"Huh?"
Yuki was also stunned, but she quickly reacted and didn't dwell on it.
"Alright then. What exactly are you hiding that you don't want me to know about?"
"N-Nothing~" Iori's gaze drifted.
"Just some things boys need. You wouldn't forcibly search my personal belongings, would you, Sister?"
"Of course not. You're grown up now, hiding things like spring palace pictures is perfectly normal."
"Normal my ass!" Iori instantly exploded. "Don't slander me!"
"At your age, what else would boys 'use' other than those kinds of things?"
"You seriously misunderstand boys. I'm not the kind of thick-skinned idiot who carries spring palace pictures around everywhere, okay?"
Iori fumed inwardly. Seriously underestimating him. How could something as outdated as spring palace pictures compare to my freshly completed Young Madam?
'Mine is fully illustrated, with hand-drawn full-color images, on a completely different level from this era's cursed art style!'
Letting out a sigh, Iori saw the teasing look in Yuki's eyes and naturally understood she was just messing with him. Since there was nothing shameful anyway, he reached into his bag and took out... naturally not his "new work," but a yellow wooden box with delicate grain patterns.
"I was originally planning to give it to you on New Year's Day."
He raised it up, it was actually a gift for Yuki.
The black-haired beauty widened her eyes in surprise. The corners of her mouth couldn't help curling up, but she forcefully restrained herself from smiling, pretending not to care as she took the box.
"I thought it was something incredible. I didn't expect you'd think of giving me a gift… What is it, a hairpin or a comb?"
As she spoke, she had already opened the box. Inside wasn't an ordinary accessory, but a black wooden frame inlaid with two transparent glass pieces.
"Glasses?" Yuki blinked, a bit confused.
"Why are you giving me this?"
By the calendar of the living world, it was already around the 18th century. Even in modern Japan, things like glasses were rare, but not to the point of being unrecognizable, especially not in the Soul Society, where the tech tree was extremely crooked.
Yuki knew that this thing could correct vision, but her eyes were bright and sharp. Logically, she had no need for it at all.
Iori explained, "These aren't nearsighted glasses. They're plano lenses. Wearing them won't have any effect, they're just for decoration."
"Decoration?" Yuki picked up the glasses and looked them over, then couldn't help laughing. "If you want to please a girl, you'd better choose a hairpin. What is this supposed to be?"
"Because you really need it, Sister." Iori looked disdainful.
"Didn't you say there are quite a few chauvinistic guys at the academy who feel inferior to you in height, spiritual pressure, and kido, so they keep coming to bother you?"
"That's true." Yuki was very calm about it. She was still in the process of developing her scheming personality, and didn't really want to stand out, so she had already been very low-key during assessments, keeping all subjects within the top three and yielding first place to others.
Otherwise, she could've graduated early with undisputed, overwhelming strength.
Even so, Yuki still stood out among the students, and some self-important noble youths couldn't stand her, excluding her at every turn.
Of course, this meant nothing to Yuki, would the moon hide behind clouds just because wild dogs howl at it?
They were nothing but decorative pillows. Yuki actually had to carefully control her strength just to make sure she crushed them without killing them.
Iori continued, "If you wear these glasses, you'll run into much less trouble like that."
"Really?" Yuki was half-convinced.
"Your gaze is too sharp. Even if you deliberately keep a low profile, you can't hide it. Wearing glasses can cover that up very well and blur other people's impression of you."
Iori said seriously, "Glasses can reduce a person's presence. I once knew a guy called 'Shinpachi-kun' who even trained to the point where people would only notice his glasses and completely ignore him."
"…That sounds very suspicious."
Yuki gave the black-rimmed frames a look of disdain, but then glanced at Iori again, pursed her lips, and decided to accept them anyway.
"But you rarely give me gifts… Come on, help me put them on."
"Okay!"
Iori was in high spirits. He carefully put the glasses onto the bridge of Yuki's high nose as she lowered her head and closed her eyes.
"Mm, it feels strange… but unexpectedly nice." Yuki opened her eyes, pushed the frame with her finger to adjust it, and found, surprisingly, that she really liked it.
"It suits you very well, Aizen."
Iori quietly looked at Yuki wearing the glasses, revealing a smile that seemed both nostalgic and like a scheme had succeeded.
"Or rather, it gives the feeling of 'this is what Aizen should be like.'"
"Calling me 'Aizen' instead of 'Yuki' or 'Sister'… Every time you directly call me by my surname, the atmosphere becomes gloomy and heavy."
"Just like I thought, you're hiding something from me, aren't you?"
"..."