Even during his sword ditation, Satoru's eyes snapped open at Aizen's words.
He froze for two seconds before reflexively asking, "What did you say?"
"I said I'll be taking the graduation exam at the end of the month too," Aizen repeated impassively to Satoru's foolish question.
Satoru couldn't help tilting his head in confusion, question marks practically floating above him.
The scheming Aizen actually wanted to graduate early?
Moreover, graduating five and a half years ahead of schedule?
Such a flashy move didn't seem like sothing he would do.
After so thought, Satoru reached out to feel Aizen's forehead, checking for fever.
Aizen swatted away Satoru's paw. "What are you doing?"
"Checking if you're sick," Satoru replied.
Aizen: "..."
Whether he was sick or not was debatable, but Satoru definitely had issues—serious ones.
He closed his eyes to compose himself, lest Satoru's antics provoke him.
After a few seconds, he reopened them and said, "Satoru, have you considered what the verdict on Rennosuke Kamikawa's case implies?"
"What?" Satoru raised an eyebrow.
Seemingly too impatient to wait for his thoughts, Aizen cut straight to the point: "As I said earlier, Rennosuke Kamikawa's cris are severe enough to warrant Muken."
"The fact that he wasn't imprisoned ans there's already a problem within the Central 46."
"It's not hard to guess that the rebels have ties to the Five Great Noble Houses. Initially, I thought only one of them was involved."
"Though the rebels hold so influence in the Central 46, they were at a relative disadvantage, barely managing to maneuver."
"But now, it seems I was mistaken."
"If they could protect Rennosuke Kamikawa, it ans the rebels have gained significant sway within the Central 46."
He looked at Satoru intently and said gravely, "Do you understand what I'm implying?"
"The rebels likely have the backing of more than one of the Four Great Noble Houses!"
"And among the Gotei 13, the captains swayed by the rebels aren't limited to just Rennosuke."
"If you charge in recklessly like this, sooner or later, you'll fall into the traps set by those lurking in the shadows."
"When that happens, your status as the Head Captain's student won't save you—it'll only drag you down."
Hearing this, Satoru's expression cleared with realization.
It suddenly occurred to him that when the Head Captain announced Rennosuke's sentence, Yoruichi's expression had darkened.
At the ti, he thought she was just upset rembering Rennosuke.
But now, it seed Yoruichi might have already considered what Aizen was saying, which was why she was angry...
Then, curiosity got the better of him.
If Aizen was right, and the rebels had the support of multiple Great Noble Houses, who could they be?
The Kuchiki Clan probably wasn't involved—Ginrei Kuchiki had always been the Head Captain's right-hand man, and the two were close. That old man had no reason to betray him.
Yoruichi likely wasn't either—given her personality, she wouldn't bother with such convoluted sches.
The Shiba Clan... their current head was practically unknown, so there was no point analyzing them.
That left the remaining two lesser-known houses as possible supporters of the rebels?
At this thought, Satoru couldn't help but frown and close his eyes.
But that might not be the case either. The decisions of noble houses weren't dictated by personal temperant or preferences.
If siding with the rebels promised so hidden, imnse benefit, even the Kuchiki and Shihōin Clans might hedge their bets.
After so consideration, he decided to stop dwelling on it.
Why should soone with a ager salary like his waste ti speculating about the sches of the elite?
Glancing at Aizen beside him, Satoru suddenly rembered sothing and spoke up:
"Oh, right, Sosuke. When I went to study under the Head Captain earlier, I overheard him discussing sothing with the 8th Division captain."
"They ntioned a mysterious expert appearing in the Rukongai, killing several rebel-affiliated Shinigami."
"If you ever leave the Seireitei, be careful not to run into that person."
Aizen blinked in surprise but quickly regained his composure.
He nodded. "Understood."
Satoru's intel had co at the right ti.
From now on, he'd have to be more cautious when hunting rebels to collect souls.
Under normal circumstances, knowing the Head Captain was aware of his activities would have made him halt imdiately and wait for things to cool down.
But now was the ti when strength was needed.
Although it might involve so risks, compared to the potential gains from successful research, these risks were worth taking.
Seeing that Aizen didn't seem too concerned, Satoru crossed his arms and said:
"Actually, you don't need to worry too much. From what I gathered from the Captain-Commander's words, they've already obtained so intelligence about the enemy and have sent people to capture him."
"Probably before long, the crisis will be resolved."
After saying this, he watched Aizen's reaction with great interest.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Aizen's expression beca slightly more serious.
If Yamamoto Genryūsai said so, it definitely wasn't without basis.
Fortunately, Satoru had brought back this news; otherwise, he might have been caught off guard and suffered losses.
But now that he was prepared, the situation was different...
As he pondered this, Aizen suddenly froze.
He instinctively looked at Satoru.
Why would this guy suddenly tell him all this?
Although Satoru occasionally shared stories about his experiences in Squad One during their usual conversations, the timing and topic now seed too coincidental.
Could it be that the Captain-Commander already suspected him and deliberately had Satoru say this to observe his reaction?
After so thought, Aizen dismissed this idea.
Unless the Captain-Commander was omniscient, there was no reason to suspect an ordinary student like him.
If the Captain-Commander truly were omniscient, he wouldn't resort to such roundabout thods.
Then, could it be that Satoru had guessed sothing and was testing him?
After staring at Satoru for a few seconds, Aizen averted his gaze.
He must have been overthinking things lately, becoming overly sensitive.
Satoru, though often unreliable, was undoubtedly a "normal" person.
If he really knew that Aizen was collecting experintal materials through murder, he wouldn't be able to converse so casually with him as he was now.
When that day ca, even if they didn't beco enemies, Satoru would likely treat him as a stranger.
Imagining that scene, Aizen curled his lips slightly.
Soone like him, who disregarded common sense, held no reverence for rules, and could even be indifferent to life, would undoubtedly end up alone.
The seemingly friendship-filled and passionate student days would eventually beco nothing more than a brief, beautiful mory in his life.
One day, there would be no one left by his side.
Thinking about it, it was almost laughable.
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